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Metal and hardcore music comes to Radio Radio X 2019

By
Art Fredette
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In 2019 we’re going to blow a few speakers, the loud hours are coming!

Big Frank and the Bargain Bingers – Americana on the Hudson

By
Staff
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At the General Store down the river, go about five miles south past the last Cow Crossing sign, where the trucks in the lot all have mud finishes and if they don’t sell it, you just don’t need it, and you might just find Big Frank and the Bargain Bingers kickstarting Judgment Day.

With Frank Novko on bass, Johnny Hoffman and Bob Resnick on guitar and drums respectively, and everybody pitching in on vocals, Big Frank and the Bargain Bingers have here, there, and a little bit of everywhere. We sit down with Big Frank for a chat.

Photo credit: Joanna Palladino Resnick.

RRX: I’ve heard you all described as “swamp rock” and having heard some of your stuff, I can definitely see that. Can you describe your sound to our readers? How else would you describe yourselves beside swamp rock?

BF: Our sound is the sum of our influences, varied as they are, with the common thread being what is now termed the Americana music/genre. Which is an all-encompassing term itself, being a mix of blues, rock, classic country, Motown/Stax and R&B. Beside “swamp rock” I would say our sound would be what you would hear in a roadhouse somewhere out in Oklahoma in, say, 1964 – a bit of country, some R&B, a little surf, some rock, a bit of garage rock, etc…

RRX: You guys are a three piece. There are a lot of power bands that are three piece, like Stevie Ray Vaughn and Double Trouble, the Jimi Hendrix Experience, Cream, Rush… what do you think are advantages of being a three piece band?

BF: For one it’s easier to get everyone together for rehearsals and scheduling gigs. Also it’s a purity of sound; with fewer members, it’s easier at times to give the music space, and also lets us all have our moment to stretch out.

RRX: Can you tell us how Big Frank and the Bargain Bingers came to rock the Capital Region? Is your current lineup the lineup you’ve always had, or have there been other players throughout the years?

BF: The genesis of the band came about as I was tired of being reliant on singers/front people. I was writing songs, and wanted to do something different, something that incorporated originals and covers you don’t typically hear.

The lineup, as with many groups, has changed a little over the years, with the constant members being Johnny Hoffman (guitars, vocals) and I. We’ve cultivated a good musical dialog over the years. I joke at times; it seems we have the Spinal Tap drummer curse. We’ve had a few talented people on drums – former members are Johnny Long, Matt Robbins, and Corey Hough on guitar, harmonica and vocals. We use the guys as fill-ins when Bob has another commitment.

RRX: You guys have been bringing joy to the region for a long time. Can you think of any notable shows you played? Any notorious shows? Do you have a place around here that you really like to jam out at?

Big Frank. Photo credit: Billy Francis LaRoux

BF: A more recent notable show was last year at The Hanger on the Hudson, we opened for The Fleshtones (we’ve opened for them a few times.) This gig, we played a couple of tunes from their back catalog, songs they hadn’t played in years as an unannounced tribute to them. The feedback from Keith Streng (Fleshtones guitarist ) was very positive; he enjoyed what we did.

Notorious shows – well there’s been a few. A gig in Herkimer at Brownies with a group called Boneslaw, a crazy night with a packed house the typical rock debauchery. Many gigs at Positively 4th Street with Black Cat Elliot, the Lawn Sausages, Phillips Head…

Places we like to play – pretty much anywhere that will have us, but of note, The Ale House in Troy and the Lost and Found in Albany. We did a Sunday session there this past spring/summer. Also The Olde English Pub and Indian Ladder Farms Cidery and Brewery.

RRX: Following from the previous question, you all have been in the local scene for a long time. You’ve probably seen it change considerably over the years. So, broad question: what do you think has changed around here since you started playing? And just as important, what has stayed a constant in the 518 music scene?

BF: The obvious answer, the venues to play at have changed, opening/closing. Places to play original music is limited. Gigs start earlier (which isn’t a bad thing.) New opportunities have risen at the local breweries that host live music which is nice to see.

The constant is the level of talent in the area; we have some damn fine musicians, talented songwriters, and the camaraderie of bands and musicians is good.

RRX: We’re all influenced by people, but I hate asking people to list influences. So I try to be creative. Discuss this among yourselves and compose a super group that you’re going to open up for. The players all must be from different bands. What’s the lineup?

BF: As I’m writing this alone here’s my supergroup (Frank) it does not reflect the opinion of the Bargain Bingers

OK here’s the group:
Vocals: Big Mama Thornton
Drums: Charlie Watts
Bass: (upright) Ron Carter
Keyboards: Jon Valby
Guitars: Roy Nichols, Rick Miller, Steve Ferguson
Horns: the Blood Sweat and Tears horn section from 1973

Photo credit: Julia King.

RRX: Sharing is caring. Share for us some local musicians, in your genre or not, that you’d like to show some love to. And to add to this, say one thing about them to pique our interest. Who do you love?

BF: Skip Parson of Skip Parson and the Riverboat Jazz band. Skip has been playing in the area forever, and now in his 80’s he’s still bringing it on clarinet. Dixieland and trad. Jazz, he’s the real deal. Catch him at The Fountain on New Scotland Ave, Albany. He’s been playing there since 1971.

Got to shout out to Black Cat Elliot. I played bass for them a few years ago when they needed a player. Great tunes and fun guys to hang with.

Guitarist Bernie Mulleda, from the 1980’s Albany band The Stomplistics. If he’s out playing, catch him, be it gypsy jazz, R&B, or slinky Stones rock. He crushes it.

Catch Big Frank and the Bargain Bingers at the Radio Radio X-Mas Rock and Roll Show of Shows at the River Street Pub in Troy on December 7th, with Blase Debris and Joe Mansman and the Midnight Revival Band.

Blase Debris – the Phoenix and the Christ

By
Staff
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0
Blase Debris. Photo credit: Richie Sorensen.

Punk to me is a raw force that pushes back against the tide of bullshit that seeks to suck the sand from beneath our feet. And metal, which I’ll admit is my favorite of the two genres, hate mail be damned, is like that razor’s edge that carves through all the garbage bags to show the world what it’s throwing away. Okay, these analogies suck, but imagine finding a band with the raw angst of punk and that technical, melodic savor of metal, pretty boss, right? That’s Blasé Debris.

Blasé Debris, currently composed of singer and guitarist Duane Beer, lead guitarist Patrick “Ginsu” Ginnelly, bassist Charlie Monroe, drummer Bill Ketzer and saxophonist Justin Birk, has been an established name in the Capital Region and elsewhere since 2002. Kids born to Blasé Debris’s first jam are just now getting their learner’s permits, for perspective. We sit down with Duane Beer for a few questions.

RRX: I read your bio, and it said that you set out to close the gap between classic metal and punk rock. I watched the video for Collecting Stares; it had a really full sound, something I thought was missing in some of the music I hear from either genre. Can you talk a little bit further about how you all met, and how you all were put on this musical quest?

DB: Jamie, Tony, Rob, Earl, Karl, Billy, JJ, Charlie, Patrick, Ketzer, Justin and myself make twelve. A dirty dozen different members over the years. I remember telling Tony (aka Sewers) that no matter what happens, no matter how many different members, it is Blasé DeBris from this day forward. We “all” have known each other prior to playing together.

In the beginning we were looking to do double kick punk rock with a Broadway-esque style live show. Something with sort of a Oliver-meets-Rocky Horror vibe. We were a wild live band that felt right at home within the Horror Punk genre. We signed to Altercation records fairly early on, released the “collecting stares” video you referred to, and hit the road in support of our 1st full length album, entitled Creep Cool.

We played some really cool shows and burned the candle at both ends. Driving from state to state in a van with one tire in the grave is nerve wracking. There were breakdowns and boozed filled nights that would make nearly anyone question their sanity.

RRX: Being as how you all exist in a bit of cross-genre, do you have any issues with metal purists or punk purists in your fandom, like those music trivia arguments that happen around the music? Have you hybridized your fan base, or is there a state of friendly rivalry between metal and punk?

DB: We have transitioned fairly smoothly from our horror punk beginnings into a “this is DeBris” rock band with a solid old school punk and classic metal foundation. I love what we are doing now, and I like what we had done and had attempted to do in the past. We had lofty aspirations and carried on despite countless setbacks.
Our fan base locally is mostly made up of friends and fellow musicians. When you have been around as long as we have you will see “the scene” change multiple times. I feel like most musicians do a real decent job of supporting each other.
I highly doubt we would be near the top of any punk or metal “purist’s” playlist. The majority of folks I find myself talking to at our shows enjoy listening to the Ramones as much as they do Black Sabbath. Really, that’s us, our band, our friends, and hopefully our fan base.

RRX: You all have played in monster venues and festivals, and you’ll be playing in smaller spots like the show coming up here. What do you guys see as the benefits and drawbacks of big stages vs. little stages. Is one preferable? And which type of venue, real-world or dream-world, do you all think is the perfect vehicle for your sound?

DB: Larger stages tend to have better monitors and sound systems. Smaller stages force the band to be closer to each other. It’s kind of cool to feed off of each other’s energy.
Personally, I like to be able to move around on stage. Give me a big stage and a crowd that is hearing us for the 1st time, and for me, that is exciting. That being said, I am “most” comfortable in a well air conditioned, smaller club with a cool stage and rockin lights. The old QE2 setup (downtown Albany) with its stage, cage, sound, lights, artwork and eclectic clientele was what dreams are made of. Simply put; it was the coolest hang out.

RRX: You have Justin Birk on sax in your latest line-up. You don’t expect to hear sax in anything metal or jazz. What do you all see it as bringing to the sound your putting out there? And are there other instruments you’d like to see brought in to the blend?

DB: Loving the current lineup with Justin on sax. [He is] a sax player with a solid background knowledge of classic punk and metal. Why didn’t we think of this sooner? There is a time and place for everything I suppose.

When putting our latest album together in my head I could hear horns on a handful of songs. Did I know it would work on everything? Nope, I did not hear that coming. It’s good to be surprised.
As soon as we started working everything out it was obvious to all of us that this was the direction we would be headed in. Playing together felt right and sounded fantastic. Justin’s playing really solidifies the new sound of DeBris. The five of us make up the band, but when it comes down to recording, we will always be soundscapably adventurous.
Gimme piano, gimme cello, trumpet, xylophone, fiddle and endless imagination.

 

Gauze, 2018.

RRX: On your Facebook page, in About, it says that you guys are “greaser punk meets classic metal in a rocky horror hypothesis…” I like that. It’s very visual. If you can, can you take a song, or a favorite album, and tell us what it is, and give us a visual description of the world you all put into that song or album?

DB: I will gladly elaborate on the song Up in Smoke, off of our latest album. It is a song of reincarnation and immortality. You can draw parallel lines between the life of Christ as it is most often perceived and the mythical lives of the phoenix. Musically it was important to be open and comfortable in the verses.

I wanted the vocal to feel like it was landing on a hotel collection soft standard pillow. It tightens up and gets more resounding in the chorus and closes with a fury of chaotic drum fills before landing on the pillow once again for the finale.

If given the choice between reincarnation or immortality which would you choose?

As the phoenix, you would live a solitary life. As it is written, only one phoenix can exist at one time. It is endless reincarnation. Both Christ and the phoenix (sometimes referred to as God’s pet) have the ability to heal. Christ chooses to heal others as the phoenix can heal itself.

When the phoenix reaches the end of its life, it sets the nest and itself on fire and is burned to ashes. Only to rise again and begin its life anew. It just sounds lonely to me. To be the only one of your kind. I choose immortality. To lift a line from the chorus, “immortality is worth the wait”.

RRX: I just had a chance to check out your new CD, “The Gauze.” Such a great mix of songs you got there. How about I shut up at let you all talk shit about how your CD can beat up everybody else’s CD?

DB: “Beat up everybody else’s CD”??? Nah, I just don’t approach music that way. It is certainly us against us. I visualized hearing this album “the gauze” long before beginning the recording process. It was always a, “see this through”, you must “see this through” sort of thing. Try not to settle, and then make peace with the recording.

I can’t even begin to tell you how many times I said to the engineer/producer (Arthur Scott Verner, DMS Studios) I know no one will hear the difference here except for myself. But, I can assure you that no one will listen to this recording more than myself. Art gets it and is great to work with.

Now that I am able to step outside of myself and listen to the album as a whole I love it. From start to finish it just flows well. From the artwork to the tom drum outro, it is all DeBris.
We have created a signature album that deserves to be heard. Go out of your way to give it a listen and get out there and catch a live show. Until then, Thank you for your time and attention.

PS: We will be performing at the Radio Radio X-Mas event on Friday Dec. 7th at the River Street Pub. 194 River St. Troy NY along with Joe Mansman and the Midnight Revival Band and Big Frank and the Bargain Bingers. Also, keep your eye out for a soon to be released vinyl version of Blasé DeBris’s latest album The Gauze with two bonus tracks. (via Cacophone Records)

Special RadioRadioX Bonus!

Here are the full lyrics to the song Up in Smoke, mentioned above, with permission from Duane Beer.

UP IN SMOKE

of yin and of yang
with the neck of a snake
don’t get carried away
on tombs and on graves

red hot is the heat
that fans itself with the flames
don’t get ash in your eye
there is no escape

and so I call on this flesh of mine
if I’m to burn with celestial rays
let’s go up in smoke, this ain’t no joke
immortality is worth the wait

quit the body that dies
rediscovering life
don’t let Eve get away
with her looks and her lies

creep cool on the coals
I’ll be a loner for life
don’t you ever get cold
don’t hand me a line

Celebrating a lifetime of punk rock

By
Art Fredette
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24 hours of Punk Rock sponsored by Collar City Tattoo Troy.  RRX   is digging into an arsenal of music (1969 to current). Your input is encouraged email us info@pzf.rsq.mybluehost.me.  We Compiled a mighty list of  requested bands   (The Queer’s, Black Flag, Rise Against, The Dicks, Sonic, Youth, The Heartberakers,  The Business, Sex Pistols, Sheer Terror,  U.S Bombs, The Melvins,  7 Seconds, The Ramones, X,  Patti Smith , Fear, Cro- Mags, The Stooges, Pansy Division, Minor Threat, Dead Kennedys, Quicksand, Talking Heads, The Clash, Violent Children,  The Clash, Husker DU, Negative Approach, Bad Religion, New Bomb Turks, Sleater Kinney, Jerry’s Kids, Agnostic Front, The Replacements, AFI, Misfits, The Offspring,  to name a few) We will do our best to include all requests.  Send us pictures of your old punk show flyers

“Is celebrating punk rock, the right punk thing to do?”  Short and simple, the answer is yes! It really depends on who you ask.   Everyone has their own opinion on what punk is and identity, we will respect that.  Book shows, make flyers, pass out mixed tapes.  We all have hung out with the dude who know’s everything about punk and only likes the demo. We still hang out with him.   D.I.Y. ethic (do it yourself), and of course the worldwide  underground family.  While thinking about this too much, we decided to do some research.   We decided quickly, Thursday January 31, Radio Radio X will play 24 hours of punk rock music.

Punk Rock was said to be invented in the 1960’s with extreme garage rock?   The experts say it was The Ramones and Sex Pistols in the 1970’s.  National Punk Day is a holiday celebrated all over the world. where people dress punk rock or like there favorite punk bands. The day being January 31, because it’s Johnny Rotten’s birthday,  Radio Radio X should and will provide the soundtrack.  24 HOURS OF PUNK  Starting at midnight January 31, 2019.  Your opinion, input, & requests are welcome please email Ralph@pzf.rsq.mybluehost.me

A Piece of Basstory Comes to Town

By
Art Fredette
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It looks like heavy metal story tellers is coming to town? Noodles, Hammer on’s, hotel rooms , and  theory? Well all the reviews have been gold from local metal heads, bass players, press and fans alike. Most of who, have already traveled to see this rare show.  They will be in attendance this Wednesday night as well.

Grammy award winning Megadeth bassist, author, businessman and legend, David Ellefson Lands at Chrome in Waterford this Thanksgiving eve with his Basstory tour, with special guest Bumblefoot (ex-Guns  N’ Roses, Sons Of Apollo) and opener Dead By Wednesday,  get there early to support the locals I Recant, Deveria, And Uncivil Liberty. For more info see below or Chrome Food & Spirits   Wednesday November 21, 7:00pm

(see below for details).

Joe Mansman & The Midnight Revival Band – Shotguns and Joyrides

By
Staff
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Man, there is some crazy shit going on in the sticks around Glens Falls. Fast living, shotgun show-and-tells, boozin’ bamboozlers, bar brawls and in the middle of it all, like a backwoods church choir, is Joe Mansman and the Midnight Revival Band. With members Joe and Alex Mansman, Chris Becker, Jesse Ordansky, Shaft and Johnny Smokes, the Midnight Revival Band makes rebel rock that’s both fresh and time-honored, like a new batch of ‘shine using the family recipe in moon-kissed stills. We had a chance to sit down with Joe Mansman.

Joe Mansman & the Midnight Revival Band.

RRX: Okay, you guys are good. So how about a little unmasking before we begin? Joe, I assume you sing, but what does everybody else do?

JM: My brother Alex Mansman plays guitar, Chris Becker is keys, Jesse Ordansky does drums, and Johnny Smokes is our most recent addition, he plays the dad guitar. Bass.

RRX: I love the feel of your music. I fully plan on adding it to my car’s play list. Being from the Albany area, it’s great to hear country rebel rock that originates from upstate New York. Please, Can you comment on why upstate New York has a country, rural, outlaw voice, and why you all chose to use that voice?

JM: That’s a good question and hard to answer. I guess I can’t say for certain why Upstate NY has it, even if it’s slightly buried. We chose to go that direction a few years ago just because that’s where we were just at in our hearts at the moment. Fuck art man, we tried it and it sucked. I’m 33 years old, I don’t give a crap anymore about writing my swan song. I just want to fucking rock and roll. We’re just over the playing safe thing, Rock and Roll is about sexuality, about swagger, and it’s supposed to be dangerous. And there was a reason moms and dads in the old days grounded their kids for going to see bands. Nobody has thick skin anymore, people everywhere are offended about this and that and some groups are even creating what they call “Safe Scenes”. I’m sorry but if you pay to see a Rock and Roll band you should expect it to be a raucous environment.

RRX: What got me, in doing my research, was the videos you guys have done. In one of them, I believe it was the video for Cut Out My Tongue, there was a lot of partying that went on. Tell me you did your own stunt-drinking. But also, there was a driving scene where you guys were wearing Halloween masks and toting a shotgun in the passenger seat. Did you plan that route out so the cops wouldn’t stop you, or do they even give a shit about that out there?

JM: That was a fun video, man. So the whiskey bottle being poured into our bass player’s mouth was ice tea. However, all those beers were real. We filmed that video next door to our practice space, which had the floor completely covered in empties at that point because we’re pigs, I guess, and we literally took a broom and swept them all next door for the scene. The part with the masks and guns, we just drove through town like that and hoped for the best. There were onlookers walking their dogs and grabbing their morning papers and shit just flabbergasted seeing us roll through. I wonder what they told their families about what they saw that morning.

RRX: Now, being that you guys are based out of Glens Falls (is that right?.) if you could take a moment to “map out” the Glens Falls scene, that would be great. Are there great acts or venues people should make the trip up (or down, or over) for? And being a band with such an outlaw vibe, do you find more exposure comes from rural gigs, or city gigs?

Joe Mansman.

JM: Yeah, we’re from Glens Falls. The scene is tight out here right now, and bands are making moves, dude. Some of my favorites are Between Now and Forever and Paradox Saints among others. But all the band members from everywhere all know each other and we all go to each other’s shows. Some great things we do out here are GEM Fest every July and Gugs season in the winter time. You’ll see all the Glens Falls bands kinda pull together in the summer to make the festival huge. In the winter time, we all hole up from touring and play all the Gugs nights together, because it’s like the great gathering place of music dudes in their twenties and thirties.
Our band has always had a better response in the rural areas, playing those off the cuff dives, barns, and whatnot. We don’t do terribly in the cities; we actually had a great show in NYC. But all of our appearances in Providence, Philly, Boston, and Burlington have been pretty low key compared to our other shows, as expected for a band at our level. But we had a ton of fun at each one of them and met some cool fans, bands, and promoters who we still work with on a regular basis, and we’d play those places again.

RRX: Of course, I ask everybody about influences, and it’s no different with you guys. But I like to twist it. Name two ‘influence’ bands that you all generally agree on. One you get to jam with, one you get to party with. Which band is which, and why?

JM: We have our regular influences, but we pick up new ones on each record, which is why they all sound different. As far as our standard ones we all agree on, we all love AC/DC, Danzig, Bon Jovi, and Aerosmith to name a few. On our last record “Bastard” we were all on a southern rock and hardcore kick where we listened to a lot of Maylene and The Sons of Disaster and Crobot. You can hear that in the whole record with the heavy blues rock riffs and breakdowns. On our new record it’s been a lot of Motley Crue, Warrant, and Skid Row (Sebastian Bach era.) You can hear that influence on with the bigger choruses and soaring guitar solos. If we could pick a band to party with it would probably be Steel Panther, for obvious reasons. Not sure who we’d Jam with though. Maybe Slipknot, cause we could just get fucking loaded and put on masks and bang on some shit, like trash cans or something.

RRX: Okay, time for a war story. It can be from a show, a practice, or a hang out, but at least most of the band had to be there. Pitched battles only please, no border skirmishes. The weirder the better, and names can (should) be changed.

JM: One time this dude was talking to me behind a fence for a show he couldn’t get into, and demanded I grab his friend for him to get him in. I told him to fuck off and he started talking some shit, to which Al promptly responded by flicking his lit cigarette at the guy’s forehead, sparks and all. That ended the shit-talking real quick.

RRX: We’re all a family here, so bring out your kin. Other bands, places, events that you think really bring out the best of the upstate music scene. Want to give shout-outs to friends? Here’s the spot.

JM: Ralph Renna of course is one of the best dudes we know and has always had a heart for the little guys. Brian Michael, a local promoter and singer for Iüdica has always been a fantastic dude when it comes to giving the bands he books 100% of his time and resources. And of course our fans. We’ve got a few diehards that come out to every show and we’re forever grateful for their time and resources too.

 

See Joe Mansman & the Midnight Revival Band  Live this weekend at #GemFest2019

RadioRadioX Stream

By
Tom Atkins
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The Clay People – Demon Heroes Don’t Wear Capes

By
Staff
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The highways and back-alleys of the Capital Region’s punk-industrial landscape would arguably be best put to the music of The Clay People. This Albany based band is as much a movement as a collection of musicians. Through the current line-up of Daniel Neet on lead vocals, Brian McGarvey on guitar and Dan Dinsmore on drums, and Vegas Nacy and Eric Brayner on back-ups, beats, and bass respectively, the Clay People have been able to cultivate a sound that has evolved over decades to be just as razor’s edge as it was before many of us had to shave. We sit down with Dan Dinsmore and Brian McGarvey with our usual brand of oddball questions. Let’s hope they’re good sports.

RRX: I remember seeing you guys at the QE2 back in the 90’s, maybe ’94, ’95. You were opening for Fear Factory, I think. There was a ton of energy back then, I mean, we were hanging off the walls. Part of it is that QE2 is such an intimate (read: small) place. In all of your touring, both back then and even recently, can any of you talk about places, here or elsewhere, where you felt the energy really matched what you guys do?

Dan: All of the shows have had that vibe since we started touring The Demon Hero record. We really were not sure of what the reactions would be but it has been unreal. It is the same feeling you describe and in bigger places. We just got back from playing the Gramercy Theater and The Starland Ballroom and it was people having a great time and letting go. I think that The Clay People really evoke a community togetherness vibe like there is no difference from being in the crowd or being on stage we are all there together letting go and celebrating the ridiculousness of everyday life.

Brian: We’ve been fortunate to play many iconic venues that no longer exist like CBGBs, Limelight, and Coney Island High, also The Whisky in LA, Metro in Chicago, but really any venue where we can feel the energy of the crowd with us. It makes the show fun. Otherwise it can feel like work. The Chrome show we played in August was a highlight. It was such a triumphant event for us. New material with a new lineup after so long. It felt like everyone in the room was a part of it.

RRX: Being that The Clay People is as much an institution as it is a band, are there any rituals, rites of passage, etc. – even if they’re normal everyday things that would tell a new member, “Well, you’re in The Clay People now!”?

Dan: I think it is just the insanity of the constant joking and laughing. There always seems to be some sort of drama flying around we are just trying to pinpoint where that insane dark comedy comes from but I think we all have an idea. There definitely is a unique vibe to the band. We are all very different people with our lives and very different musically.

Brian: I don’t think we do anything consciously. I think we all just sense when the chemistry works. And we’ve all been friends for over 20-25 years, so we know each other. Jared Weed is half our age and probably twice as wise. He is an asset to any band and he just seamlessly meshes with the rest of us. We couldn’t be happier with the vibe in the band right now. It’s alot of fun. It feels so natural for all of us to be playing together.

The Clay People. Photo Credit: Jim Wertman

RRX: There have been long breaks, and for whatever reason the group has gone dark before. Was it totally dark? Were there moments that didn’t rise to the level of a resurgence like you’re having now, but could’ve been? May a tasty jam session, or listening to a shitty band (no names) that you all knew you could’ve taken what they were doing and blown it up? Can you talk about any moments or scenes like that?

Dan: Sure, There were definitely times we had gotten together and even did some one off shows. I was always in touch with Dan, Brian and Mike. Brian and I would jam when we could and I was very busy with Overit and the band OWL for about 9 years. We always had it in mind and knew we would probably get to writing at some point but it just kept getting pushed. Brian and I started recording Demon Hero like 3-4 years ago and we always had a vision but the timing just was not right for me and I knew when the time arose we had to be 150% to do it right. So here we are.

Brian: I never wanted to take the breaks, but when we did, I took the opportunity to play solo and with other bands and other styles and discovered musical dimensions that I was not aware of, including writing the Outlaw Mystic record that featured Dan Dinsmore on drums. In the long run, it made me a better more well-rounded musician when I came back to TCP. And nothing else really felt as comfortable and natural to me.

RRX: You’ve had your songs in movies, such as Strangeland and Universal Soldier. And your music, and I’m talking Demon Hero, which we’ll get to later – would just fucking slay in so many movies. So this is a weird question: If Demon Hero was being used as the soundtrack to a new movie coming out, what’s that movie about? Bonus points if you can give me the director.

Dan: Well I’m a bonus points kinda guy so I would say David Fincher or Tim Burton if he did something darker. I also am still holding a flag for M Night. Im sure the other guys have strong opinions on that but those are some I think we would be awesome in. The movie could be about underdogs overcoming hardship and misery or could be about the utopian lie we are all living with right now. Ah hell maybe a creature living under your stairs.

Brian: I’d love to have a tune in a Christopher Nolan Batman film or one featuring a misunderstood villain/anti-hero figure. Or anything that features fast cars and monsters. I think our music fits the darker action stuff.

Photo credit: Tomoko Sawamura.

RRX: With a band that has history, been around in some form or another for as long as The Clay People, you have a good timeline on the changes that have occurred between getting the music and the word out before social media, and how it is now. The way we’ve democratized production and crowd-sourced funding and developed DIY platforms… What does all this give, and what does it take away? And examples would be great.

Brian: Thanks to the internet, we now have people from all over the globe following us. Countries and areas we’ve never been too. That’s really cool.

Dan: This could turn into a long documentary answer. I can remember when as a kid I would know every members name, could recite orders of songs on albums and really dug into a band i loved. Those days are now gone with the amount of data being thrown at us on a 24/7 basis. It’s kind of sad to not really grab onto an artist and really give it the time to tap into your soul. This was a big factor in what we set out to do with Demon Hero. We wanted to create a record and not try to write some shit box single. We wanted to write material that people could grasp but also something real and personal.

I think this record is anti-industry and that is okay by me. As far as social and DIY, Overit and Magnetic Eye Records have been developing a new digital marketing system we have built out that is proving to be very successful in reaching new audiences that will like what we are doing. We are going to continue building this out and I think it has a shot to really help a lot of emerging artists get in front of the right people. You have to be in front of the right audience and let people hear your music or see your videos and content. That has not been easy it’s a ton or work and it’s about time the industry needs a shot in the arm.

RRX: You have a new album out, Demon Hero and Other Extraordinary Phantasmagoric Anomalies & Fables. For someone who grew up on Clay People, it is a little bit of a change. Not in any bad way; it seems that it’s evolved. The sound is tight as ever. Would you like to talk about the direction that you went with Demon Hero, and where you see yourself musically going forward?

Brian: We had no preconceived ideas regarding direction. We never discussed anything or were even in the same room together during the whole process. We just knew we wanted to bring our A game. For more than half the record, I played to my demo tracks with just an engineer in the room. Then I conducted Dan [Dinsmore] through the glass when he tracked drums. For the other songs, I received drum and vocal mixes and wrote guitar to them at home. There really was no band until we had to get a live show together or shoot a video. This may seem unusual, but it allowed us an incredible amount of freedom to develop ideas and express ourselves in the most authentic ways. We’re never trying to be anything other than what we are. So that’s what constitutes our sound.

As far as the future goes, I have unlimited amounts of more of the same and am always recording new demo ideas, but I also am open to adding to our repertoire and evolving.

Photo Credit: Eric Durkin.

Dan: I would love to hear how you feel it has evolved / changed. It is interesting you say that because it definitely has. We want to always keep the energy and angst that we have always had but we have grown as people and wanted to expand musically and also be more real or as real and open as possible lyrically. Dan [Neet] has gone through a lot of experiences as we all have but I really think he relates to a lot of people and is being very honest. We also wanted to tap into statements of what we have experienced and taking a stance / drawing a line in the sand as to what we believe in.

I think we will just keep writing and have a lot more to do. We already have enough tracks laid down for the next record but we also have a bunch more ideas. I think Brian has ideas daily. It is so inspirational when you have folks just churning ideas and creativity. We really forgot how creative this unit is and I think we all have so much more appreciation for the band and each other. Moving forward I am sure we will dig deeper and push ourselves. We also have some new blood in the band that really brings many new ideas and influences.

RRX: I like to ask every band or musician about influences, and as important, people who are contemporaries that you wish more people had heard about. Seeing as word of mouth is still the number on way for bands to get exposure. So let’s combine influences and shout outs into one; give us a mix-tape of bands past and present, local and national, that you would throw onto a cassette tape and chuck into a time machine that was heading back to each of you when you started out. Who would be on that mix-tape?

Dan: Again your going to get different answers from each person in the band. BIG differences.
If i could send a mix tape back it would go something like this.

Tool
The Jackson 5
Jane’s Addiction
Sunny Day Real Estate
Pantera
21 Pilots
One King Down
Rage against the machine
Soundgarden
Section 8 & Ill remembered
Clutch
System of A Down
Justin Timberlake
Fat MooKeN
Super 400
NIN

Demon Hero and Other Extraordinary Phantasmagoric Anomalies and Fables

Brian: Early Metallica and Iron Maiden were untouchable in my formative years. Pantera, Sepultura, Prong, Fear Factory, all brought metal to a new level for me. Then there’s the laid back heavy of Soundgarden, Alice In Chains, Kyuss, Clutch, Monster Magnet. Ministry, Neurosis, Massive Attack, and Dead Can Dance altered my musical perspective as well.
Locally speaking, an aha moment for me was when Cranial Abuse, who later became Stigmata, played my high school and I saw guys my age on stage playing original heavy music.
I’ve seen Super 400 at least 50 times and they always bring the rock as well as anyone ever. And I don’t think I’ve ever heard anything like what 1000 Young was doing. Very cool band.

Be sure to check out The Clay People’s newest, Demon Hero and Other Extraordinary Phantasmagoric Anomalies and Fables. I have it; it is great. And if you are feeling a winter road trip down south, check them out on The Art of Dissent Tour with Otep and One Day Waiting in December, kicking off in Atlanta, GA and finishing off in Memphis, TN.

Food Pantry Confidential – Holiday Giving

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Staff
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Food Pantries of the Capital Region.

We strive to bring you closer to the musicians and bands you know and love in the Capital Region. But that starts with the desire to bring people closer together period, and nothing brings us closer than our compassion during the holiday season. Through donating to our local food pantries and charity drives, and volunteering at soup kitchens, our good natures do shine through. Tomorrow is the fourth annual Foodstock, a great concert for a great cause. So today, I talk with Natasha Pernicka, the Executive Director of The Food Pantries for the Capital District, a coalition of 65 food pantries in the Albany, Rensselaer, Schenectady and Saratoga Counties. Join us for a bird’s eye view of hunger in the Capital District, and how your help matters so much.

RRX: Welcome, Natasha. I’d like to start off with the big picture problem. I read a post from your Facebook page that said, among other thing, that 89,850 (2016 Feeding America) people in the Capital District struggle with hunger. If you can, talk about what it means to be “food insecure,” and put this figure into perspective for people.

NP: People are shocked when they learn that more than 1 in 10 of our community members are struggling with food insecurity. The 89,850 includes more than 27,000 children in the Capital Region. Food insecurity exists when people don’t have the resources for or access to nutritious food for a healthy life. It’s not just the homeless person begging for change on the corner, its families, working people, and seniors who are retired on a very limited income. Its veterans and single parents, people juggling three part time jobs, and those without transportation and living in an area without grocery stores, having to make do with corner stores and fast food.

RRX: We have a region that is a mix of urban and rural landscapes. I’m sure the fight against hunger, while universal, presents different challenges depending upon where it’s happening. Are there any challenges specific to rural Capital Region? Anything specific to the Tri-Cities?

NP: There are many challenges that come up for people struggling with food insecurity. Food deserts are one. USDA Defines Food Deserts as parts of the country vapid of fresh fruit, vegetables, and other healthful whole foods, usually found in impoverished areas. This is largely due to a lack of grocery stores, farmers’ markets, and healthy food providers. Food deserts exist in both urban and rural areas in the Capital Region. Thankfully there are food pantries throughout the region and many are making efforts to provide more fresh produce.

Another challenge is transportation. A typical food pantry provides food for a minimum of three days for an individual or family to take home. Some rural pantries recognize that a person may need to travel 20 miles to get to the food pantry and they will provide 10-14 days’ worth of grocery items to help reduce the burden of transportation. In urban areas, some people rely on special transportation services and the time and coordination it can take just to schedule a visit to a food pantry can take up an entire morning.

Time can be very limited when you don’t have enough to get your basic needs covered and you are reacting to crisis after crisis, stress after stress.

One of the benefits of the food pantry system in the Capital Region is that due to the nature of the collaboration through The Food Pantries coalition, service coordination efforts help ensure that those looking for assistance find the help that they need.\

 

Behind the scenes at a food pantry.

RRX: It’s the beginning of the holiday season now. I know a lot of people, including myself, are looking for a way to give, and I can imagine it’s coming on feast season for local food pantries. But are there specific dates, months, or seasons that trend lean? If you could add an extra “boomerang month” for people to double-back and give again, when would that be, and why?

NP: That’s a great question. We are so grateful for all of the people reaching out to help right now during the holidays but it is important to raise awareness that hunger is a year round concern for many. After the holidays and summer are two other good times to get involved. Many pantries provide holiday programs so after the holidays restocking the shelves helps.

During the summer children are home from school. Families who rely on school lunch and breakfast programs often turn to food pantries to help ease the extra burden during this time. Donations of food that is easy for children to prepare helps families stretch their resources.

RRX: When people think of food pantries and food drives, they feel a connection to giving, the physical holding of food in their hands that they are giving to a hungry person; it’s visceral, something you can’t get by putting a bill in a jar. Yet that bill might actually go farther, all things considered. How do you weigh the donation experience of giving “in-kind” donations (cans, boxes, etc.) versus giving cash?

NP: I think that most people don’t realize that of the millions of pounds of food that is distributed each year, most is sourced from the food bank and has a cost associated with it. If you donate cash to food pantries the dollar can go much farther than if you buy food at the grocery store to donate. $1 can provide up to 6.25 pounds of food! This goes a long way when you consider our local pantries provided food for 3.3 million meals last year and this year is on track for similar community need.

Pantries do appreciate food as well. Not all of the items in need are always available at the food bank. If you are donating to a particular food pantry asking what they are in need of helps. And don’t be afraid to think outside the “box of pasta”. People are in need of personal hygiene items like soap, deodorant, toothpaste, laundry detergent, feminine hygiene products, diapers, and more!

RRX: Coming from the last question, we know that giving donations, physical ones, connect people intimately to the people they are helping. The experience of that kind of giving is high beyond the benefit of getting food to people. How can we capitalize on it to get awareness, especially given the sheer magnitude of hunger and food insecurity even just in our area? How do we make the community care as actively in the off-season as they care in the on-season?

NP: We raise awareness throughout the year through outreach programs and public speaking and are actively building partnerships to help fill the gap with organizations and people who care. Invite us to come and speak to your community group or in your workplace! Get involved by volunteering! An easy way to give throughout the year is by setting up automatic online donations – $20 a month equates to $240 a year which can provide 1,500 pounds of food!

The more people learn about food insecurity the more we can break down stigma and recognize that it could be your neighbor down the street or the assistant that works in your doctor’s office. The more we recognize the reality that far too many of our community members face, when we do have a chance to make a difference, we get involved. Every dollar and pound of food donated, every hour of time spent volunteering, and every action in the greater community adds up!

Events such as Foodstock help us meet new friends too! We are grateful for community members hosting events to help us raise awareness and support.

RRX: I have three hundred-dollar bills, and I’m in the supermarket. I didn’t do a smart thing, like call my local food pantry ahead of time; I just want to spend money. My first hundred, I’m going to spend on “the stuff they always need.” Second hundred goes to “the stuff that no one thinks to get.” The third hundred goes to “treats, cause everyone should get treats once in a while.” … Help me spend my money. What am I buying which each bill?

NP: Ha ha love this! Ok, well this is a tough question because every pantry serves its own neighborhood with their unique tastes but this will be a good start!
First hundred on pantry staples like peanut butter, canned tuna fish, canned soups and stews, canned vegetables and fruits, cereal, rice, pasta, and pasta sauce.

Second hundred on personal hygiene products like toilet paper, and the items that I mentioned above.

Third hundred on coffee, dried herbs and spices (a treat to have tasty food), and whatever you enjoy!

I want to add that while food drives are not ideal for perishable food items, if you are donating directly or through The Food Pantries for the Capital District, fresh produce is needed as well as meats. In a survey of pantry patrons that we conducted in partnership with Dr. Cynthia Bott of Siena College, meat scored number one as the item people would like more of available through food pantries. Just make sure the pantry has a refrigerator or freezer ahead of time!

 

Volunteers make it happen.

RRX: Have there been collaborations with other stakeholders, like grocery stores, farms, restaurants, etc. – that have shown promise in building any local food-security infrastructures? Any stand-out stakeholders you’d want to recognize?

NP: Food pantries are largely supported by charity through individuals, businesses, foundations, and other community organizations. We are lucky that New York State is taking food insecurity and provides resources to community food assistance providers as well. While the list of collaborative partners and stakeholders is too long to list here, I want to mention that we will be holding our 2nd Food Summit the spring of 2019 to bring together stakeholders to share best practices, research, and innovations in community food assistance efforts. We expect more than 250 people to attend and come away with new friends and ideas, partnerships strengthened, and a renewed energy to keep up our local efforts to fight hunger.

For more information about the 2019 Food Summit, to volunteer or donate, to schedule a guest speaker, or if you need food assistance, please contact us at pantries@thefoodpantries.org or 518-458-1167.

Be sure to check out Foodstock on Sunday, November 4th at the Rustic Barn Pub in Spiegeltown from 2-8 pm, to benefit The Food Pantries for the Capital District. Enjoy music by The Barn Boys, TyEs, Off the Record, Diva & the Dirty Boys, Soulsky, Back 40 Band and the Greasy Fingers Band.

Super 400 – Three People in a Room

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Staff
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Lori Friday. Photo credit: James Wertman.

Any musician who’s gotten past the lottery dreams of fast cars and decadent hotel rooms knows the story of the rock trio Super 400. It’s one of cigarette haze, dimmed lights and pick up sessions, trying to find the right fit and the right sound, and of course, hand-blistering jam sessions in nondescript groove stations clad in concrete and stone-shattered windows. Singer Kenny Hohman, drummer Joe Daley and bassist Lori Friday tour endlessly, making new music classic as soon as it comes out of the speakers, or carries its way to the back of that small club. And they’ve been doing it since the late nineties. The band has agreed to sit with me to answer a few of my probing questions.

RRX: So, of course I’ve got to pick on the first time you all officially met. Word around the internet is that Kenny brushed off Lori at first. Seeing all the magic that’s happened since then, were any beers or mixed drinks owed by anyone to anyone after that first jam session?

Kenny: That is a true story and I fully own up to it! Joe and I were playing at Pauly’s Hotel in Albany one night when Lori introduced herself to me and asked me to join a band she was starting. I was in a serious relationship at the time. I was attracted to Lori so I thought ditching [her] number was the best way to stay out of trouble! Super 400 was just getting started and even though we needed a bass player, being the uneducated fool that I was at the time, I didn’t even consider the possibility that a “girl” like Lori would be an option. How good could she possibly be? We were not looking for some cute girl to get on stage and hold a bass. We were looking for that Jack Bruce, John Paul Jones, Berry Oakley and Paul McCartney stuff! Unpredictable, hard driving, melodic, exciting, thunderous bass…. which turned out to be exactly what she was bringing! The credit – and drinks for life – belong to Steve Candlen. He called me and asked if Joe and I had met Lori and if we were going to get together with her. He informed me that she was a “for real” player with a great natural feel. Joe found out that she was working over at Last Vestige record shop and he asked her to come over to our loft on River Street in Troy a few days later to play. After a brief hello, and no discussion of what we would play, she plugged in and we started into a jam that lasted about 45 minutes. It was obvious by the time we played the last note that we were a band. Whatever “thing” we have as a band was there from the first note. I continue to learn from this amazing woman that I am still so blessed to play with to this day… and that I am also now lucky enough to call my wife! Thanks Steve!

RRX: My last question leads to this question. That first jam session. Now I know you all work extraordinarily hard to develop your own sound, and to work out the musical space. Thinking about the influences that you all had in common, what issues did you have in creating something new? How did similar tastes help? Where did they hinder things? Were there key differences?

Lori: When we first came together, the three of us had so much in common, musically, but there were a few influences that we each brought in. I had never dug into the early Van Halen catalog before meeting Kenny; now I love VH, I went through a phase where I listened to them every day for 4 months. Joe introduced Prince, who I’d not known much about. The three of us each have some musical loves that aren’t shared mutually, but when we get together, the pieces fit. A really fun part of being together for 23 years is that we’ve been turned on a so much great music during this ride, together as a band. When we were signed to Island in 1997, they offered us our picks from anything in their catalog. The open candy jar! We left their London office with bags of cds, and soaked it all up.

When I listen to Super 400 records I can hear the echoes of the stuff we were heavily into at the time we recorded them. At its core, though, our music still sounds a lot like that first jam session in 1996. Three people in a room, connecting.

 

Kenny Hohman. Photo Credit: James Wertman.

RRX: Super 400 plays internationally as well as locally. I watched the DMTv segment where you all talked about the feeling of playing Europe. I know that you can’t honestly say which fans, U.S. or European, you like best, but can you talk about the norms of let’s call it “show etiquette” that exists in Europe, as opposed to the U.S.? For example, do cell phones come out more in Europe than here during concerts?

Lori: I’d like to comment on the fans in Spain, especially. They wear their passions with pride and honesty. The music fans there show their love very openly. We’d never witnessed such a demonstrative reaction to our music – they sing along, pump fists, crowd the stage; and afterward, give hugs and laughter til the sun makes an appearance. There are cell phones, but it seems as though most of them would rather experience the moment with their senses instead of a screen.

We haven’t been back to Spain since I had a bad auto wreck in 2011. The fans there still write to us, asking when we are coming back. That kind of love has motivated us to start recording our next record this winter, with an aim to return to Spain, maybe this summer.

RRX: I guess mentioning phones in concerts brings us to another question. Super 400 considers itself a “taper-friendly” band, meaning that you encourage people to tape live shows and trade those tapes. Is that right? If not, please clarify, and, if so, was this something that came about as a matter of practicality, or is it a purposeful statement about art and performances?

Lori: We’ve always felt that once our music goes up into the air, it should be available to anyone who wants to hear it. In the days before YouTube, we hadn’t started heavy touring yet, and it made us happy to know that bootlegs were being traded. I get excited when I’m able to hear a recorded performance by a band I like. It brings me closer to the them.

RRX: Here’s the ‘influences’ question. I could spend an hour here, because as I am very much in love with blues and classic rock, among other genres, I’d love to swap references. But I like to play with this question. I’d like each of you to mention one group, performer, etc. that’s an influence, and tell us one thing about them that few people know but has made you love them even more.

Kenny: Well, I don’t think that it is much of a secret to most musicians, but it may not be known by the general public that some of my favorite artists are multi-instrumentalist super heroes! Stevie Wonder, Prince and Paul McCartney come to mind. Any one of them could have made a name for themselves as a non-singing instrumentalist on any number of instruments…and they are the best singers you could ever hope to hear. Oh, also they wrote some of the best songs of all time. Crazy talent. It’s hard to give them more credit than they have already but somehow they really still deserve more!

Lori: I love the magnetism and confidence of David Bowie onstage. The way he connected with his audience, it was like witnessing a purer and more powerful level of being. We saw him at Roseland Ballroom, it just about knocked me off of my feet. It’s surely been an influence; I’ve always tried to shed my insecurities before we step onstage, so that I can be in that precious moment, really experience it. It’s such a blessing to have any opportunity to perform.

Joe Daley. Photo credit: James Wertman.

RRX: Again, one question leading to another. The last album I could find of yours after exhaustive trawling of the internet was Sweet Fist, in 2009. Your website mentions that you had the album recorded and the vinyl cut at a studio famous for classic rock and other genres. Would you like to comment on that?

Lori: We recorded Sweet Fist at Ardent Studios in Memphis, where Cheap Trick, Issac Hayes, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Big Star, REM, The Replacements, ZZ Top, and so many others have made records. Larry Nix was the mastering engineer there. In his studio resided the famous lathe from Stax Records, the very machine used to cut wax on all the Stax recordings in the 60’s and 70’s. And, Zeppelin III was cut on it! It sat there, inoperable in Larry’s studio, like a museum artifact. I started bugging him to have the lathe repaired so that we could cut vinyl for the Sweet Fist album. He told me that the parts needed were no longer being manufactured, and that we were out of luck. I trusted my instincts and I became a bit persistent, which paid off. A couple weeks later, Larry told us that he had found someone who would supply the parts needed. Before long, we were back in Memphis, witnessing the lathe in action, cuting grooves in wax.
We videoed the whole thing, it was like watching sorcery! That was a magic time. There’s a cool article about the lathe, here: https://www.prosoundnetwork.com/prosound-news-blog/1636

RRX: This is where I harness the power of social media. You all have seen bands out there that are top shelf, but maybe haven’t had so much success in building a buzz. What bands locally are the bands that everyone must see once? Who should I be looking to interview in the future?

Kenny: The best new band I have seen locally recently is Motorbike, Mike O’Donnell’s band. They will be opening for us at Hangar on the Hudson Dec. 8th.
Solo artist Steve Candlen is also amazing.

Check out Super 400 at the Hangar on the Hudson on December 8th at 8 pm, with special guest Motorbike.

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