CRUMBS Cafe

14 Apr 2010: Public Noise Concern; also known as PNC. The record label When's Lunch Records recently announced them as their newest item to the menu. The band is from East Greenbush New York have 4 songs ready for a 7" digital E.P. release coming this fall! The songs have been recently sent out to be mastered and two songs where even recorded by Don Fury. The self described "not hard-core punkers" have caught the label's attention and should be hitting the scene in this area soon. Having opened for many great punk acts like Kevin Seconds, Smartbomb, and Far From Finished these girls will win a place in your hearts and a place in your record collection has their first release is around the corner. The band consists of Kate on guitar, Katie on Bass, and Heidi on drums. The have been together in 2004, and in Punk years that's a long time.

17 Mar 2010: Saratoga blues man Phil Drum often refers to Michael Eck as a "songster," a descendant of those street singers who had little regard for definitions of style, preferring instead to play all types of songs as long as they moved either the heart or the feet. Eck has certainly spent some time listening to the likes of Lead Belly, Skip James and Woody Guthrie but he's also dropped the needle on Joe Henry, Dave Alvin and Gillian Welch.\n\nIf he is a songster, it's of a very contemporary stripe.\n\nAs a songwriter, Eck does his best to fuse the drive and passion of those early greats with a modern lyrical sense all his own. He calls his thing "maximum solo acoustic" and it's maximum in every way, from his hulking frame and primal-folk bashing to his quiet country-tinged ballads. It's roots-rock that traces the bloodline from Blind Lemon Jefferson to Hank Williams, and from Tim Hardin to Tom Waits. In 1995, after years spent in too many hardcore, cowpunk and R&B bands to mention, Eck pulled out his battered old Martin D-18 and recorded his long-awaited debut album, "Cowboy Black" -- a direct to two-track collection of road-weary songs written in Texas and Louisiana. The album garnered plenty of critical acclaim and established Eck as a literate new force on the songwriting scene -- one influenced as much by Sam Shepard and Raymond Carver as by Johnny Cash and Townes Van Zandt.

10 Mar 2010: Tern Rounders' music paints a richly varied landscape. From the rootsy vistas of fellow songwriter/musicians like Gillian Welch & David Rawlings, Emmylou Harris, Townes Van Zandt, to further down the coast to California, warping back to a time where Gram Parsons & The Burrito Bros. flew high over L.A. and the Buffalo Springfield still roamed. The band has undergone quite a (r)evolution in its short lifespan, from its inception as an acoustic trio to its current electric four piece formation. The vocal harmonies of Kim Noyes and Marc Clayton, who both play guitar, form the centerpiece of the band while drummer Jim Ketterer and bassist Harry Strole complete the Tern Rounders sound. Tern Rounders has been promoting their debut album "A Different Land" at full tilt all summer, with live shows at such venues as Caffe' Lena and the Albany Public Library Garage. The band founded and hosts a monthly "Moonlight Jamboree: Alt-country Roots Revue" the first Saturday of every month at the Bread and Jam Café in Cohoes - a series that highlights local talent in the folk-rock-country vein, with the goal of fostering a signature gathering place for the capital region's roots music community.

02 Feb 2010: ThE BLiSTeRz are 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 kick drums, sticks and ladies' hearts with reckless abandon! They 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 backbeat that brings you to your feet, throwing your fists in to the air. Come to a show and you may find yourself on stage with the boys singing back up or playing "BLiSTeRz Guitar Hero". It's always a party and nobody is safe. So run for cover because the fun is about to start!!!

04 Nov 2009: Dave Rhodes, bass, guitar, vocals. Dave regards himself, first and foremost, as a songwriter. His tunes have aired on the Songwriter's Network (www.musictogousa.com), on Martha's Vineyard Radio (www.mvyradio.com), and with Three-Quarter North on Crumbs Radio (crumbs .net/bands). Dave also has songs placed with Prolific Arts, Inc. and Karnal Promotions. He wrote three of the songs on Three-Quarter North's new CD, "North By Northeast." Dave is a member of the Albany Musicians Union, The Northeast Country Music Association and the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers. Dave plays bass and guitar with Three-Quarter North, but his musical credits don't stop there: He also plays trombone with Georgie Wonders and his big band, the Nisky Dixie Cats, the Colonie Brass Choir, and the Delmar Community Orchestra. But it's with Three-Quarter North that his songwriting ambitions find thier fullest expression, for which the band is pleased and grateful. Dan Johnson, mandolin, vocals. After studying bluegrass picking at the Cantab Lounge in Cambridge, MA, Dan Johnson picked up the mandolin in 2000 and has been studying it ever since. He splits his time between upstate New York, where he can be found picking his guitar and mandolin, and Downeast Maine, where he can be found raking berries and picking bugs. Dan's hobbies include riding the golf cart at the Old Songs festival, hiding in the kitchen at the GottaGetGon festival, hanging out with New Yorkers at Grey Fox, and crossing campgrounds at night to find the best jam. His musical heroes are Jay and Molly, Peter Davis, Sid Purple and Roger Allen. ...And he regards Frank Wakefield with a mixture of awe and envy! Mark Smith, guitar, vocals. Mark Smith was not born with a guitar in hand but found one there early and hasn't let go since. His first instrument was the trumpet, but it didn't rock, and it didn't last. Then he heard the Beatles and his fate was sealed. At different times over the years he experimented with the banjo, piano, drums, synthesizers and other instruments, but the siren song of the guitar always called him back. He wrote songs and played in coffee houses during his college years, both solo and with a group, and later with a couple of bands which never quite made it to a stage. But he kept at it, jammed with a lot of good people and learned a few guitar licks along the way. And he never stopped writing songs. He plays a mix of folk, blues, bluegrass and rock and roll. Mark's musical heroes include James Taylor, John Fogarty, Bob Dylan, the Beatles, Chuck Berry, Ralph McTell, Leo Kottke, Hot Tuna, Norman Blake and Tony Rice. Jim Atkins, banjo, guitar, harmonica, vocals. From jug band, folk, old-time and traditional music to Irish, bluegrass and rock, Jim has been performing professionally for more than 25 years. A native of Western Massachusetts and a resident of Galway, Saratoga County, Jim has played guitar, mandolin, harmonica, tenor and five-string banjo at festivals, fairs, coffeehouses, radio stations and clubs throughout the region, performing with the groups Dooley, Fire in the Kitchen, the Medicine Hat String Band, the Fiddler's Tour and Three-Quarter North.

04 Nov 2009: Mother Fletcher is an eclectic and unique mix of ska, rock and reggae. Their special blend of music brings together sounds and styles from all over the world; with the creative use of such instruments as the harmonium out of the far east, to the sardonic sounds of the violin. Mother Fletcher takes it to the next level by layering on top notch percussion, free style beat box, trumpet, and an array of dubbed out crazy sounds. With lyrics that convey lost love, loneliness, regret and the hope of new beginnings, Mother Fletcher keeps it surprisingly upbeat and extremely danceable bringing their audiences to an insatiable frenzy and leaves them wanting more, more, more.

02 Nov 2009: Chris Dukes is an emotional singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist from Albany, NY. He has appeared in clubs and theatres throughout the northeast and his songs and vocal stylings have been associated with artists like Rob Thomas, Chris Daughtry, and Ed Kowalczyk from (Live). Born in Albany, New York and raised in a small town outside the city called Voorheesville, Chris spent the majority of his teens singing and writing music. Without a band Chris needed to gain a grasp of multiple instruments in order to record his ideas as he heard them. Though prolific in volume at this time of his life his writing needed time to mold his style to its present status. Chris started private training on the drums before he perused his vocal advancement. "The drums just seemed to make sense to me. I'm not sure what it was, but I would sit down with my teacher and everything that he was saying about them was clear to me." His musical influences range through a broad spectrum. In his own words, "My love lies with music itself not in a specific genre." His songs are filled with catchy hooks, poignant lyrics and creative counter-melodies. Some of the artists that have moved Chris in one way or another are: U2, Queen, Live, Matchbox 20, Metallica, Breaking Benjamin, Vertical Horizon and various others. When asked what was in his CD player right now, Chris said "you'll find OneRepublic, The Fray, and Jason Reeves there right now. I love what they do. All of them have great song writing craft that is un-deniable in my mind." Over the years Chris has had the pleasure of playing along side a very talented cast of musicians. He has played drums for "College Farm" which is made up of members and writers from a past band called "Big Barn Burning."