photo: Kathryn Lurie Sing along: Mitch Elrod croons at the Lark Street Book Shop show.

NO DIETS HERE Undoubtedly, many of us have made some New Year’s resolutions for 2005. Unattainable or not, we make them, and most of us break them, but hey, we have good intentions, right? Out of curiosity (or sheer nosiness—you choose), we polled some local musicians to see what they were determined to accomplish this year (yes, musicians can have resolve, too).

 

Mike Trash, singer-guitarist of the Erotics: “I’ve already made my resolution three months ago. I stopped drinking. Now it’s been 90 days of sobriety.”

 

Bob Carlton, singer-guitarist for the Sixfifteens: “Stop taking advice from John Rodat.”

 

Matto, singer-guitarist for Kitty Little: “Find new and creative ways to continue to make a spectacle of myself at all costs.”

 

Mike Gleason, band leader for Sensemaya: “Sensemaya’s No. 1 New Year’s resolution is to keep the music hot and the people dancing!”

 

Mike Grosshandler, singer-guitarist for the Velmas: “I resolve to continue working my arse off in order to reach my goal of musical world domination.”

 

Brian Patneaude, jazz saxophonist:“In terms of a resolution for the coming year, I’d like to make better use of my free time, something I resolve to do every year and never wind up doing.”

 

Rob Skane, singer-songwriter: “My new year’s resolution is to do whatever I can to reunite Boston, Mass., rockers the Neighborhoods for one more gig!”

 

Sean Rowe, singer-songwriter: “My No. 1 resolution was to quit my day job. Mission accomplished!”

 

DJ Michael Campion: “To finally record and release my acoustic album The Foundation First in 2005 and continue to be a supporter of the local music and art scene.”

 

Jason Martin, musician, recording engineer, video artist: “I resolve to commit freaky experiments in new and exciting fields for a ’zine and CD I’m working on. And not to chicken out about releasing it. There.”

 

George Jorvic-Englarsson, drummer, Five Alpha Beatdown: “My resoluting for New Year time is simple and this: To release album Hello We Are Five Alpha Beatdown and conquer America with much rocking.”

 

FEED THE FOOD PANTRY It’s still the season for giving: Hop on over to the WAMC Performing Arts Studio (339 Central Ave., Albany) on Sunday (Jan. 9); the venue will host Food for the Pantry/Jazz for the Soul, a jazz concert to benefit the Food Pantries for the Capital District from 3 to 5 PM. Featured artists include Rob Lindquist & the New Regime, the Albany Jazz Collective, and Sensemaya. The cost to see this show is $10 and can be ordered by calling 459-2981.

 

IF YOU NEED HELP, HERE I AM If you have music news we should know about, e-mail me at klurie@metroland.net. If you have a record you want us to hear, mail it to us at 419 Madison Ave., Albany, NY 12210. If you have a show that you would like to see listed in club dates, e-mail all the pertinent information (venue, address, phone number, time, date, band and lineup information) to calendar@metroland.net, with “attention clubs” in the subject line.

 

COME TOGETHER, RIGHT NOW Don’t forget to visit our Web site, www.metroland.net, where you’ll find a new link to pictures taken at the Lark Street Book Shop on Tuesday, Dec. 28, when a gathering of local singer-songwriters (including Mitch Elrod, MotherJudge, Erin Harkes, Brian Bassett, Carl Smith, Bryan Thomas, Rosanne Raneri and others) participated in a celebration of the store’s
two-year-old monthly Tuesday-night acoustic-artist series.

—Kathryn Lurie