The First Acoustic Sunday Show at Mr. D's

The Feast of Noise had its first show at Mr. D's this past Sunday, March 16th. Basically four artists performing acoustic blues, classic rock, and pop. We had our three featured artists, John Santiago, John Black, and Dinosaur Lightning do their thing, and Ralph Conte of the Riff Bangers, who also joined in and did some of his tunes and some classic rockers.

Ladies and gentleman the idea works-you have a mix of featured artists and invite all to join in and you have a cool Sunday afternoon.

It was a very cool acoustic show ranging from the blues, with covers of Stevie Ray Vaughn, a couple Hendrix tunes, and even a Zeppelin classic, What is and What Should Never Be. We had a Foo Fighters cover and the Credence tune, Have You Ever Heard the Rain.

So you got a dash of something you know, and yet everyone who performed was doing some of their own tunes too, so we got something new and different too. Basically four different artists, four different directions and all done with acoustic guitar and voice. and everybody had a good time.

Those in the audience were digging what they were hearing. We had maybe 20 folks pass thru, So an alright beginning. It was a good afternoon and evening, and the Feast of Noise will back on March 30th with an even better show! Right now the roster includes Brian Grosz, Karascene, Statues of Liberty, and John Black, who did not have enough this past Sunday.

See you on the 30 at Mr D's in Yonkers.

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Voices and Guitars

One thing I have come to appreciate in my travels to various shows and performances is the power of the human voice. It always comes back down to the human voice. I have seen amazing bands, fantastic drummers, great guitar players but really at the end of the day, it is the human voice that often grabs me.

Regardless of what type of music is being performed, and I have seen a range of acts, it aleays goes back to the voice-back to the vocals. If the voice does not stand out in some way, then the music probably just does not work. Whether that voice soothes, haunts, calms or terrofies-that voice has to have some effect on you

I know there are exceptions. Jeff Beck has no vocals. Bernie Torme sings but is not the ideal vocalist, but I would be at either of their shows. They bring other things to the table. The point here today is simple, good vocals go a long way. You may not need a front man but if you do not have that voice to lure your audience in, you are just adding to an already daunting task.

All of this brings me to acoustic music. At the end of the day, I would argue that regardless of what type of music one makes, it pays to try it out acoustically. Don't throw things like electronica or death metal at me. I have no idea if those can be translated to acoustic and retain some component of themselves. Death metal probably could.

In general if you can take what you do and it works acoustically, you probably got something. By stripping away all the gadgetry, electronics, amplifaction, and effects, you may just find out what it is. And it is in this environment that the voice, the singer, accompanied by guitar or piano, is heard most clearly.

That is one of the thoughts behind the Acoustic sets We are kicking off this weekend. We got alternatvie, metal, rock, and blues acts experimenting with the acoustic stuff in addition to folks who claim acoustic rock or folk as their niche. It should be interesting.

That is happening at Mr D's Pub and Tavern at 748 Yonkers Avenue, Yonkers. The show starts at 4:00 PM and ends at 8:00.

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