CRUMBS Cafe

15 Mar 2011: As a songwriter, Michael Eck has four solo albums to his credit, each of which reflects different facets of his own interest in the reach of American music. Michael is also a nationally recognized, widely published music critic and radio personality, as well as a visual artist focusing on portraits of American roots musicians. In addition, he is a member of the 'funky American string band,' Ramblin Jug Stompers. Tom Lindsay is a photographer and recording engineer specializing in live and location recording. In January 2004 RECORDING magazine praised his version of Michaels 'Songs of Leaving' - 'One of the smoothest, fullest vocals that weve heard. Period.' Tom teaches American music history, audio technology, and photography at a small private school in Troy, New York. Toms nature photography has appeared in books, magazines, newspapers, brochures, postcards, maps and even on vending machines. In the early days of radio, families would gather around the fancy tabletop Philco Cathedral on Saturday nights and tune in favorites from the Mississippi Delta, the Great Smoky Mountains or the plains of Texas. The big shows -- like the Grand Ole Opry, the National Barn Dance and King Biscuit Time -- brought music into every home from coast-to-coast. Revisit the lost days of live radio with this broad selection of favorites and re-discovered relics from across the spectrum. In addition to a mixed-bag of hillbilly, gospel, string band and classics from the folk tradition, expect nuggets from the likes of the Delmore Brothers, Cousin Emmy and Hank Williams.

15 Feb 2011: Holly and Evan ARE the blues. Both from long, rich musical backgrounds, Holly Taormina and Evan Conway have updated the tradition of the Barrelhouse, with their unique style. Together, they showcase a wide range of original and cover material, in the styles of Blues, Jazz, and Soul. he acoustic duo has snagged a high-profile gig this week, performing at Caffe Lena in Saratoga Springs at 7pm on Wednesday, smack dab in the middle of Travers Week. The performance is part of the famed coffeehouses Emerging Artists Concert Series. Wherever they have performed, Holly and Evan have attracted an ever-growing fan base of people from different musical backgrounds: older acoustic blues fans, the folk music community and the younger alternative singer-songwriter crowd. Armed with acoustic instruments and dressed in vintage clothing the duo are not out-right imitators of a bygone era but they do appreciate the traditions of the past. Though still in their twenties, Holly and Evan are talented old souls who are grateful for the interest, support and the opportunities that regional fans, local musicians and club managers have given them. The next step in their professional evolution is putting out a CD.

22 Feb 2011: Hailed as 'Excellent' this year by Iron Maiden, and 'one of the best female guitar players around' by numerous fans from Berlin to NYC, Kelly Zullo has seen some not so instant success this year. Following a 3rd album release and a 15 city tour of Europe, one of the most underground acclaimed songwriters returns to America to release a fourth album due by the end of January 2011. Recently appearing on internationally syndicated and local radio including, Rock On Radio central New Jersey, Exit 97.7 WEXT, and Albany NYs Capital Underground, Kelly Zullo has been showcasing her unique complex left hand technique and aggressive acoustic guitar playing. Kelly Zullo stands out from a sea of singer-songwriters. Her strengths lie in her unique slamming and rapid fingerpicking on her acoustic guitar. She wows listeners with her Outstanding guitar accompaniment. She has been paying dues on the road and steadfastly playing away in Nashville clubs for seven years now, and her recent release, Thin Line, has all the battle scars and enlightened world-weariness to prove it. Thin Line is a tense record, balancing frustration and loss with hope and liberty- finally resulting in a commanding, self-possessed collection of six thoughtful songs. Zullos voice, at once gritty and sweet, lingers somewhere in the Melissa Etheridge and Michelle Shocked relam, and her writing is truthful and simple. Thin Line contains contributions from phenomenal session bassist Jackie Street and drummers Ben Phillips and David Burch, but Zullo herself does the lions share of playing, including guitar, bass, and harmonica.

03 Feb 2011: The members of the all-star Albany NY quartet have spent years touring and recording as solo artists and in notable combos like Blotto, the Star Spangled Washboard Band, Commander Cody and his Lost Planet Airmen and The Neanderthals. Now Bowtie, Cousin Clyde, Mr. Eck and Wild Bill have returned to their roots in jug band music, old-time, folk, country and blues -- in the process creating a singular ramblin style that nods to the great tradition of American string band music while embracing more contemporary sounds like the Jug Stompers patented Appalachian calypso. Those whippersnappers in The Mammals and Old Crow Medicine Show aint got nothing on the seasoned Stompers. The groups debut album, Crooked Songs: Live at Caffe Lena, is culled from a sold-out show at the legendary Saratoga Springs NY folk club. It reflects the raucous energy, silly showmanship and solid chops that the bands fans have come to love; and it features classic Stomper-ized selections from the songbooks of Lead Belly, Uncle Dave Macon, Grandpa Jones, Roy Acuff, The Memphis Jug Band, Cannons Jug Stompers and more.

Ramblin Jug Stompers have quickly become a hit, headlining at nightclubs, festivals, colleges and concert venues including: The Troy Savings Bank Music Hall; WAMC Performing Arts Studio; Caffe Lena; Berkshire Harvest Festival; First Night Saratoga; Albany Tulip Festival; Bennington Museum; Tang Museum; Union College; Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; Hudson Valley Community College and their Tess Lark Tavern home base.

25 Jan 2011: A four-piece rock band based in New York consisting of; Tommy Krebs (drums), Hunter Sagehorn (guitar), August Sagehorn (bass), and Joe D. Michon-Huneau (vocals). Their sound has been described as 'If Jeff Buckley fronted Modest Mouse.' Alta Mira started out in Clifton Park, NY in the summer of 2004 when a mutual friend introduced Michon-Huneau to Tommy Krebs and the brothers Sagehorn, who were rehearsing several upbeat ditties. After playing two of his solo songs Michon-Huneau was inducted into the band's lineup. Initially they played coffee shops and parking lots, working their way up to local clubs and bars within a year. In 2006 they really began to develop their distinct style, opening for such national acts as The Felice Brothers, The Join, Lisa Germano, and Steel Train. A mixture of indie, progressive and alternative rock, Alta Mira has been turning ears throughout the Northeast. After recording at Barefoot Studios in Massachusetts, they released 'The Fables and Fabrications EP,' in 2007 with the support of Indian Ledge Records,an Albany-based record label, who scooped up the talented quartet at its inception. Press for Alta Mira has been encouraging. In 2007, Alta Mira earned Metroland's 'Best New Band' category and have garnered the praise of Albany's Times Union, Schenectady's Daily Gazette and Hudson Valley's Chronogram magazine, as well as various online reviews from InYourSpeakers.com and RadioExile.com. Having returned to Barefoot Studios, Alta Mira recently finished recording their first full-length album. Mixed by Grammy Award winning engineer Corin Nelson and mastered by the world renowned Bob Ludwig, their debut album is now widely available online for purchase.

05 Jan 2011 :Rob Jonas has been writing and recording music in his native upstate New York region for the past five years. Influences include (but are not limited to) John Mellencamp, Neil Young and Bruce Springsteen. He has released two albums -- 2007's Wandering Madison and 2009's Take Me Anywhere. More recently, he's formed a full band that prides itself on being able to play anywhere without rehearsal. The band includes Albany-area blues guitarist JV Abbey and Capital District music scene veterans Mike Guzzo (bass) and Mark Adamo (drums).\n\nRob is starting off 2011 with another CRUMBS Cafe appearance and his third episodes. The band played three songs that will appear on the new album - "Overlook," , "So Much More" and "NERFIL" (which stands for "Nobody Ever Really Falls in Love"). There is also the obligatory interview segment, which (after much editing) should be as entertaining as the music.\n\nThe band will also be heading back to Collar City Sound to continue work on the new album. Already, the nine songs are starting to take shape.

04 Jan 2011: The Dan Wos Project (DWP) is a Rock n Roll Party. After completing a successful road tour extensive NYC club dates and album promotion with Shock Rock Band U.S.Bandit, Dan Wos came back home to Upstate NY to form the club band that would change Albany's music scene and give it the high energy electrical shock it needed. Word on the street was that this guy \"Johnny B\" was the one to call for the drum position. They were right, John Buehler walked in with a trail of cigar smoke and a bag of rock beats that were just what the doctor ordered. But the band still needed another guitar. A friend introduced Dan to this guy named Glenn Winroth, a guitar player from Saratoga Springs, NY. People say Glenn is the quiet one in the band. Wait 'till his amp warms up. Together Dan and Glenn have created a guitar team most bands would die for. The dueling guitar solos, smokin' crybaby and insane talk box leads are what people are talking about when the topic of electric guitars comes up. These guys can play. Stan Lenic was asked to join the Project after sitting in on a gig in 2005. He was clearly the right choice for bass player and gives the band's sound that Kick in the Pants every rock band wants. The band has developed a song list of everything from Godsmack to a rock version of the hugely successful 70's disco song Funkytown and of course Dan's sizzling original material including Burn Out, Voodoo man and Wild Child. The highlight of the live show is definitely the Peter Frampton cover, \"Do You Feel Like We Do\" with Dan's extended live version talk box solo. This one sends the crowd into guitar frenzy every time.

21 Dec 2010: Their musical teeth were cut in living rooms and basements, filed in laundromats & pavilions, and chipped at the Battle of the Bands at the local bowling alley-sometimes while not even in the same band. Just as Robert Johnson was to meet his destiny at the crossroads, the artistic and musical paths of Neil Eifitz, Chas Hollywood, & Lars Bumgratenschlef were destined to intersect. The first exposure to multi-track recording came after a visit to Dream Studio, run by an aspiring singer-songwriter, Jim O'Brien. Inspired by the possibilities, Chas & Lars, in a flurry of creativity, and using the pen names of Gene Tobelsnaz & Sampson Burzitz, wrote & recorded Love Songs for Matty, quickly followed by Love Songs for Matty Vol. 2. The cassette-only releases gained an underground following in the greater Selkirk area, but the duo had their sights set on the horizon. As fate would have it, and as the haze cleared after four-years of Stoli-pong, Neil, Chas, & Lars each found themselves on the west coast, living in California. It was then, in the Fall of 1996, that Lüt was born. Using borrowed equipment from Neil's' new-wave neo-pop ensemble, they set up a recording studio in the basement of an upscale San Francisco flophouse and hit the record button, resulting in The Devil.

21 Dec 2010: 1/4 cup of Westerberg, 4 tablespoons of Springsteen, 8 ounces of Ness, 3 slices of Mellencamp and a dash of Petty...mix that in with a pinch of humor and a sprinkle of sarcasm then stir vigorously. Pour on to any size stage...let it rock for 30 to 45 minutes.\n\nDave is also the front man of The Blisterz: A three piece rock band hailing from Albany, NY. They are comprised of a loud mouth guitar player who loves power chords in the key of G, a reserved yet stylish bass player who blinks during photos and performs wizardry on the 4-string, and a thrashing beast on the drums, who breaks sticks, kick drums and ladies hearts with reckless abandon!\n\n\nThey are loud, they are fast and they are infectious. Their three-chord anthems will have you shouting along before the second chorus. Influenced by bands such as Social Distortion, The Clash, the Buzzcocks, and the Goo Goo Dolls their sound is a guitar driven fury, fueled with catchy lyrics and a thundering back beat that brings you to your feet, throwing your fists in to the air.