Some Prospects for 2016!

Happy New Year to All!

Something a little different for the first post of 2016! We reached out to various bands over the last week or two and asked them: What they are looking forward to in in 2016?

This is what we got back:

Black Satellite shared that they are currently working on their our second EP, "Infinite Illusion". They plan on releasing it late in February or early March. "We can't wait for everyone to hear it." Stay tuned for their EP and our review!

Black Satellite

Jane Lee Hooker -  The big news with them is of course that they have signed with Ruf Records, which will entail a new record this year. Also tied to that I imagine are the recent gigs they added to their schedule. They got two shows at BB Kings in the coming weeks, and then another handful in upstate NY, PA and one over in Delaware! Then, I see they are hit Las Vegas in September for the Big Blues Bender! Last year JLH were busy. It appears they will more than continue that on into 2016!

Jane Lee Hooker

Mother got back to me with the announcement that they are currently heavily focused on writing some new tunes at the moment, but will be back to playing NYC in the spring. So I am looking forward to that. For those who in meantime want to check out some of their current stuff there is a sampling on Facebook. and no doubt we need to finally get them onto WildWestRadio. . . And it appears they too are also heading out to Pennsylvania in February hitting some venues around Harrisburg.

Mother

Ten Ton Mojo is right out of the gate, heading down to the Stone Pony in Asbury Park NJ for the Light of Day Winterfest Festival on January 15th, and then on January they are with Killcode and others at the Shop in Brooklyn. And that I am sure  is only the beginning. . .stay tuned for more.

Ten Ton Mojo

Which brings us to KILLCODE. So you already know they are heading to Brooklyn on January 30th for a gig at the Shop. On top of that they have recently released a new tune, the Answer, and that is what you should be checking out. More to follow no doubt.


Queen V. . . I have been a fan of hers since late 2003, when I got that Radical Records collection of NYC Bands. I remember plugging that into my CD player on my way up to the Chance in Poughkeepsie to see Bent Brother (aka Twisted Sister). It was one of their holiday shows they do now and again. Who was warming up. . . Queen V, who had just wrapped up a tour with Billy Idol. Good Girl Gone Bad still rocks. Her new EP Bridges will be coming out on February 12th! To follow that up she will be at the Rockwood Music Hall on Thursday, February 18th and promises more shows to come!

Queen V

Now we arrive at Maniac Rise. They quickly got back to me with this: "Maniac Rise will conquer the world!!" I am looking forward to it!

Maniac Rise

The next two entail a jump across the pond over to the UK. One a fairly recent entry into the scene, and the other a bit longer. . .

The Gang, which have been at it I guess since 2013, and just announced a January 2016 Tour, of course of the UK. Regardless, anyone who is in the area, I do encourage them to check them out! If you aren't in the UK, they still got a recent collection of tunes up at

Lastly, there is Mr. Bernie Torme, who with two recent CD releases, two successful Pledge Music campaigns, and numerous gigs throughout the UK happening, I ask What's Next?

Again a Happy New Year to all! The above just scratches the surface of what is coming. As DLR said so long ago. . .:"Don't be staring at your stereo, fool. . ."

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Two Shows in Yonkers, One Done, One Soon to Happen!

I have been neglecting this page for awhile. . . Damn! Just too much going on!

This past weekend - Sunday night to be exact - we had a very cool show and this Friday coming up - June 12th, we have another a great show happening!

Sunday night we had the Dark Prophet, and Rob Salter, Mike Lunapiena and Marc Black. The Dark Prophet and Rob Salter are two very different acts but both are pretty cool. Rob just has this great blues feel and the Dark Prophet is basically metal stripped down to bare bones acoustic. Both are friends and welcome at Acoustic Sundays anytime.

Marc was playing his first gig at Mr D;s and was pretty cool. He had some acoustic chops and and his tunes worked too. The highlight of the night though was Mike Lunapiena. Mike is a classicaly trained cello player who just happens to run his cello through a series of effects boxes. Mike was the one who really caught my attention.

He played some JS Bach - appropriate stuff for a cello, and mixed that up with two or three improvised numbers. On one or two occasions he clicked on the effect box and gave us a hint of what could be done running his cello through those effects.


So Sunday was pretty cool, and this Friday we are back at it! Again in Yonkers and this time with Queen V who will rock-who always rocks! Plus three other acts-Drew Torres, Words On Parchment, and Jason Fresta - all will kick ass. As Drew would say it will be a sick. Yes, all acoustic, but they all will put on quite the show! And those of you interested in cello music, Mike Lunapiena is back, playing with Jason Fresta on Friday night! Trust me, he is worth checking out.

Some of you might have heard of or seen Queen V, she has done several big shows and tours and has opened for several big acts including Billy Idol, Twisted Sister, and even Bon Jovi at the Meadowlands. Currently she is doing a monthly show down at Don Hills in NYC-both with band and unplugged. I know that is all well and good, but the really cool thing, the important thing, is that she puts on an amazing show. and that is true whether she is with a full band or just solo and unplugged! She just has this an amazingly rich vibrant voice and some equally cool tunes.

The rest of the bill is not too shabby either! Drew Torres is just a great guitarist with some speed and some style, and again with some good tunes. He will get your attention when he is playing. Words on Parchment are a duet doing what I would call acoustic alternative. Again, Anthony, who does most of the singing has a great voice and they just know how to entertain and have a good time. Lastly, Jason Fresta, I cannot comment on his show. . .I will be seeing him perform for the firt time too on Friday, but his tunes just got this cool mellow vibe. And with Mike supporting him on cello, I am sure it will work.

I do hope all wander down and join us - join in the chaos.

No where else are you going to get a better show this Friday night. It is $5.00 to enter. It will be a cool show in a cool venue. (When I first talked to Queen V three years ago about her doing such a show-this was the venue I had in mind). It will finally happen. Doors open at 8:00 PM.

The venue is Mr D's Pub & Lounge located at 748 Yonkers Avenue, Yonkers, NY 10704

$5.00 Cover and 21 to Enter. Doors open at 8:00 PM.

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A Tribute Act I Can Appreciate and Other Stuff

Regardless of what else is going on, there are plenty of local talent playing out doing shows! We keep a small running list of some of those, but that list is far from complete. Occasionally I add some national acts, such as the Jeff Beck shows in NYC happening in April. Rarely do I mention tribute acts.

The one exception to that is Lizzyhead. a Thin Lizzy tribute show, which happens every year around St Patricks Day. I am just a serious fan of Thin Lizzy and as Thin Lizzy, well Scot Gorham, John Sykes and company are not coming to US these days, what choice do I got. And Lizzyhead does a damn good job. I caught them last year and I was quite impressed. their goal is to get it to Live and Dangerous standards and they are pretty damn close. What more could a Lizzy fan ask for. Well maybe some Beaujolais I suppose or Guinness as it is St Pats. . .

Other stuff going on includes Queen V's release of Death or Glory. finally. Though I need to get to that website and order it. Made it to the CD release part last week at Don hills. It was a cool show and she does have a solid band behind. Her guitar player is more than up to the task. I am hoping she hooks something up and has to take a break from the Don Hill's monthly shows.

This recession stuff does make shows a challenge,at least for myself. I went to the Queen V show last week, my ass was dragging and I just spent much of the ride back and forth thinking bout shit and in the course of the night, I was not there-not really. Good show but I was in many ways not there-could have stayed home. Perhaps it is part the age thing-hard to shake some stuff off.

Lastly, there is Mad Juana. This is an interesting act originally from NYC but in the last year or so have been over in CA. Mad Juana is a pretty cool band featuring Sami Yaffa (Hanoi rocks and recently New York Dolls). What makes them cool though is their sound. they are acoustic, with a dash of gypsy music, and horns. Karmen Guy is front and center and reminds me of an old fashion torch singer. So you have an eclectic mix of styles and it just works. As one reviewer suggests, they could be the soundtrack to a Tarantino movie.

I do wonder if they are going to make it back to NYC for a couple shows to celebrate their new well recent CD "Bruja on the Corner". I could have sworn I saw some shows listed in NYC on their Myspace, but now they are gone. I thought I did. Not sure if I was hallucinating or what, but now we just have the SXSW shows down in Texas. Hopefully they will make it back to New York sometime soon.

In the meantime we got Lizzyhead at Europa and that will more than work. Recession crap or not I will be there.

Bob Schaffer
March 3rd, 2009

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Stuff Going On. . .

We may not be doing much over here but some of the acts we are in touch with are hard at work. Some are in the studio, others are just trying out something new and different in rehearsals. Here is a quick and dirty update on some of that.

Last week I wandered down and caught Karen Curious (The New Professionals) and Lani Ford (Stark) doing some acoustic stuff at a little place on Avenue C. It was a cool show-mellow but still neat. Karen tried out a new song or two, both sounding promising. the neat thing though is that she is moving from bass guitar to lead guitar. We got a sampling I think in the course of the acoustic set, as she was just not into the bar stool acoustic show. She was up and about more like doing the electric guitar on a stage with a band. From the little I caught, she should be fine. Soon enough the New Pros are heading to SXSW.

Lani Ford has likewise busy. She was playing out in Pennsylvania last weekend and at Arlene's this weekend. the more interesting news is that her and the band (Stark) are in the recording studio working on what will be their third album. We got a sampling of one tune they had just recorded along with a mix of other numbers from her most recent CD.

Jumping ahead to next week, we got have the release party for a CD that has been done for awhile. Queen V will be having a CD Release/ Birthday party at her Take Back New York show at Don Hills. Quite the CD, Death or Glory features various guest artists, including Vernon Reid of Living Colour. Forget the artists, she just has some cool tunes on this album, (not that her earlier stuff was not good!). i have heard some of these on off for the last year or more and it will be nice holding the Death or Glory CD in my hand. I am, I guess, one of those folks who still likes a CD. I won't go the next step and say that vinyl is even better-it ain't. Regardless of all that, it is just very cool that Death or Glory is finally coming out!

Well who else was I wanting to talk about. . . There are two acts who are in the studio now or will be soon enough. Both KILLCODE and Do You See The Dark are aiming to have CDs out shortly and they are or will be in the studio shortly. Do You See The Dark has been working on new material for awhile and their sound and even their older material has evolved, so I am looking forward to their CD!

Lastly it seems that Words On Parchment appear to be back! Rob and Anthony are back and perhaps even have a drummer so they moving from the acoustic indie sound to a pop punk band sound. Last i heard, they were still needing a Bass player. And they are back at Mr D's in Yonkers sometime soon with the Halfway Crooks. And with the new sound has come a new name=Burning Times.

So that is an update on what is going on with some of the local talent I am in touch with.

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Two Shows in One Week and a Third on Monday!

It might be the tail end of a grey drab February, but you can still rock out in NYC-regardless. Granted it snowed-finally last week, but still it is back to gray drab stuff now.

Saturday, February 23rd at Arlene's Grocery on Stanton Street down in the village, however, shined. It was the first time in a long long time that I was at ahow that the audience and the band were just wild. It was so good to be part of such a show. I am talking about the Statues of Liberty at their CD Release Party.

The energy for that show was great. the band was digging it and the audience in turn was there too. We had folks jumping up on the stage and people pushing thru the crowd o the front. Yes it was a crowd. It has been a long time since I stood in a crowd waiting for a show. It was nice to see such a scene. It was nice having to fight my way to the bar, knowing these folks came to see the Statues tear up the stage.

When the band did go on we did have a small delay, getting the technology working to premiere their first video, Run Motherfucker. It was worth the wait. And moments later they turned their amps on and got the show on the road. And for the next 40 minutes maybe an hour, they played. They did all their songs. I have seen them multiple times and they are always good. the music is good. the musicianship is there. they know how to have fun up there, and it all comes out and it came out that night.

Now the thing that was differentthat night was the crowd. It was just so nice to see a capacity crowd. we need more of that.

On a different front-tomorrow night, Thursday March 28th at Don Hills, Queen V is at it again with her "Take Back New York" shows. Once a month, now with band and amplified, Queen V takes back New York. She is on to something in that the city is missing someithing with all these clubs dissappearing lately. I caught the November show and that was pretty cool, again with a good crowd. We hope to wander down tomorrow and check her out again!

I am missing some good shows. I am not sure what I have been doing but I just have a craving for some kick ass shows. Maybe it is symptom of the winter drab that seems to be plaguing me lately. Spring is coming but in the interim, a few shows like these will get me going. I not perhaps I am simply dead.

Last point. . . one more kick ass show happening March 3, a Monday, is Antiproduct. You have seen these folks on Leno, You have heard them do dunkin donuts commercials, now you need to see them do an amazing version of Good Vibrations-the old beach Boys tune. You think I have lost it? You have not heard them do this song. you say that a band cannot live on one song-well hey have their own, songs such as Bungee Jumping People Die. Even if this song sucked, it would still deserve something for its title.

Come out to the Haunt in Yonkers to check them out. they are coming from the UK and claim to be the end result of a genetic diaster if one ws to take thegenes of Kiss Abba and Slayer, and mash them together. They are also on this tour campaigning for Britny for President. This will be another of those shows that will kick one in the groin and get you going again.

Bob Schaffer

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