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ROUGH
MIX
FIRE
WALK WITH ME: Shame on the local TV news stations for
making an already difficult situation worse for Howard Glassman,
proprietor of Albany club Valentine’s. Glassman had to shake
off swarms of reporters inquiring about his fire policies
following the Great White disaster, yet nary a reporter verified
the facts regarding a house fire that took place behind his
club on Monday (March 3). Which is a shame, since the stations
reported on it anyway—erroneously. Contrary to their hearsay
reporting, the club was relatively unaffected by the blaze.
Only the phone line, due to its outside location on the back
of the building, and the fire-escape canopy were affected.
So, other than the phone, the club suffered no damage, and
all scheduled shows are still on.
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Piano bard: Adrian Cohen. Photo
by John Whipple
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HOPE
YOU LIKE JAMMIN’ TOO: The weekly Tuesday-night jazz jam
that takes place at Schenectady club the Van Dyck recently
celebrated its one-month anniversary, and by all accounts,
things are going rather nicely. It’s hosted by the jazz supergroup,
the Adrian Cohen/Brian Patneaude Quartet—which, along
with saxman Patneaude and pianist Cohen, includes drummer
Danny Whelchel and bassist Mike DelPrete. They
play a short set, and then open-mikeness ensues. Those still
wet behind the ears get to choose one tune, the more skilled
get two—with two to four people climbing on stage at a time.
The weekly event has been drawing in the crowds, with their
first gig attracting roughly 60 people. The weekly average
for the event is now 80, with more people coming to listen
than to play (how’s that for a successful open jam?).
“It all happens upstairs on a beautiful stage,” exclaims Cohen.
“The front room with the bandstand is more of the listening
area, and the back bar area is usually full of college kids.
It’s a diverse mix, and lately more young people are coming
out, which is great.”
Also, check out Cohen’s newly remodeled and updated Web site,
adriancohen.com, designed by Latin Kings drummer Nick Lue.
It looks hot.
SITUATE
YOUR BAD SELF: The Glen Slingerland Situation, which airs
on cable channels 2 and 14, begins its second year on TV this
Wednesday (March 12). Some of you may chance upon it late
at night (well, 11, 11:10 and 11:20 to be exact) while channel
surfing, wondering what the hell is going on? It’s music.
It’s action. It’s inaction. It’s sponsored by Smitty’s and
the Toll Gate. The Situation, based on the long-running radio
show of the same name, is a seven-minute aural and visual
snippet, highlighting new music from such artists as Tony
Levin, Porcupine Tree and Albany’s own Blotto. Their second
year features two new nights—it will expand to five nights
(Monday-Friday) in August—and the whole show will now, apparently,
be in Esperanto.
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Look around you: the Suggestions.
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THE
POWER OF THE SUGGESTIONS: The Suggestions have recently
released the EP Mix Tape, on their own Mr. Duck records,
and they’re touring like madmen behind it. Frontman John
Brodeur, bassist Keith Hosmer and drummer Jason
Schultz will officially head out on the road on Sunday
(March 9) and return in late April-early May, with 22 stops
in between—including a slot at the International Pop Overthrow
festival. Go to www.thesuggestions.com for information about
the band, the CD, the tour, the meaning of life, and such.
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HEADS
UP: Aggro-rockers Great Day for Up have recently
returned from a weekend-long recording session in Boston at
New Alliance Studios, where they worked with engineer-producer
Andrew Schneider (Godsmack, Scissorfight and Cracktorch).
They’ll use the songs for an EP, but may work them onto a
split-CD with a band on the Curve of the Earth label—owned
by New Alliance cofounder Alvan Long. They head back to the
studio in April to add to the three songs already recorded,
and, they sound “fucking cranking,” according to GDFU guitarist
Mike Vitali. “We’re pretty psyched about it,” he says
of the experience. “I’m now starting to feel like we’re getting
some stuff down that better represents our sound.”
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YOUNG
AND OUT OF THE WAY: Rockin’ young’uns Lincoln Money
Shot have been busy playing local shows lately—mostly
those of the out-of-the-way, down-in-the-basement variety—and
testing out their new material on those masses. They recently
played the new Altar Records, housed in the old Café Web storefront,
and with only e-mail communications on the afternoon of the
show, accrued a large crowd. Man, these lads know how to network.
LMS, aka Nick Carpenter and Mike Keegan—who
switch off between electric guitar and drums—have had their
debut CD in the can for some time. Since they have about a
dozen new songs kicking around, they’ve decided to utilize
their time spent waiting for their first CD to be pressed
to record them. They’ll start recording their second album
in a few weeks, once again utilizing Brent Gorton’s
production skills. Look for them in a basement near you. You
can also read all about them at http://lmsnoise.cjb.net.
—Kate
Sipher
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& Opinions
