CRUMBS Cafe

06 Apr 2009: The first thing that people notice about Sean is his voice. Much of Rowe's musical influence comes from soul and street beat sounds. This influence flows through the percussive acoustic guitar technique he has developed over years of playing solo in bars. The heel of his palm makes an ever-present thump driving the song while the leftover fingers pluck through often wildly detuned guitar strings. Hyptonic chord patterns support Rowe's agile melodies maintaining a constant framework while the lyrics and vocal lines dictate the dynamics of the song. His lyrics are observation and passionate; a perfect marriage of spiritual questioning and world weary pondering. November 2004, 27, Rowe's official debut album was re-released. The record earned several awards including the prestigious New York Foundation of the Arts Artist Fellowship Grant for music composition. In fall 2005, Rowe was selected out of 1000 American acts to tour the UK for a month under the management of CMEAS. In late 2007, Rowe was one of four finalists chosen from a pool of over 1000 songwriters in the Williamsburg Live Songwriter Competition produced by Jezebel Music. This year, Rowe was selected as a showcase act to perform at South by Southwest SXSW 2009 a music festival that takes place annually in Austin, TX. The songs from Magic (Rowe's upcoming album due for release in 2009) have been called "pure magic," the songs "poetry." The first single from Magic called Wrong Side of the Bed includes an acoustic version of the much requested Surprise that will not be available on the upcoming album. Rowe will be releasing the album through Collar City Records in his native Troy, NY.

25 Mar 2009: A rocking singer-songwriter in the tradition of Tom Petty and John Mellencamp, Rob Jonas tells tales about the struggles of life and love. His first EP, "Wandering Madison," yielded two songs that earned airplay on local radio stations. With his upcoming full-length album, "Take Me Anywhere," Jonas hopes to make a bigger splash in the Capital District music scene. Rob is the type of musician that hangs low around the local music scene and always catches you off guard with this performance. You may have caught once his live performances on stage at Tess's Lark Tavern as he is a regular at the Wednesday night open mics. His song "Wondering Madison" is featured on WEXT and continues to receive constant praise. Don't let his mild manor fool you. He is a blues and rock artist that easily could be named the area's best song writer. Rob has been known to perform with nothing more than an acoustic guitar and his voice. For larger shows he has a full band accompanying him on his rockin' songs.

18 Mar 2009: Slick Fitty are a group of young men from the great state of New York. They consider themselves young men from solid upstanding American backgrounds. Good boys who provide their audience with good, wholesome entertainment in every city they perform. That's part of Slick Fitty. The band boasts a cast of characters. First at bat is Crazy Joe Domingo with his greasy black hair and his Latin Lingo! He bangs out the chords and he sings real pretty. He's got the smoothest voice from here to New York City. What's a rock and roll without a lead guitar? It's a polka band that never got far. Take a little Duane Eddy and Chuck Berry on pills...shake it up real good, you get Million Dollar Bill. A saxophone with nutty tone. That's what we've got we're proud to say: The people line up to hear The Jay Man play. A bass guitar that goes boom boom boom. A bass guitar that fills the room. He's a kid dynamo who's big with the jammers give a big nod to Bri-Bri Two Hammers. Now we've saved the best for last, a tall drink o' water who plays real fast! He's a business man but, the beat's his thing ..........Hip,Hip Hurrah for Mickey King.

09 Mar 2009: Drew Jacobs has been playing guitar for over 40 years! After that much time, you would think that he would be a better picker! However, he is proud of the fact that nobody has ever told him he stinks. After years of performing in cover bands, Drew decided to spend more time writing and recording. His first commercial success came in 2001, when "Santa Claus is Coming To Rock You" aired on the nationally syndicated Dr. Demento Radio Show. In 2004, Drew's first original Christmas song, "Rudolph's On Steroids," was played on Dr. Demento, and has become an annual favorite. In 2006, "Where Are All The Songs About Chaunakah?" also received national airplay. 2007, Drew's first commercially available CD "Easy Listening For The Hard of Hearing," was released on Swingbatter Records. Six selections from the CD have been in rotation on Sirius/XM Satellite Radio's Laugh USA.

11 Mar 2009: So this week in the CRUMBS Café studio I guess we officially had Le Petit Railbird with Sara and Chris. It was quite the night as we were able to record three amazing acoustic performances of their songs. They mentioned they don't typically play these songs as such but man they sounded fantastic. Download this episode today and carry it around with you on your iPod. It sounds great. Railbird is an all-original indie folk rock group with eclectic, lyrically driven songs from Saratoga Springs, NY. The band is fronted by singer/songwriter Sarah Pedinotti who is described by Billboard Magazine as "a talented young singer/songwriter on the rise." In a recent review of "Railbird" Pedinotti's songs are compared to that of Dylan, The Band and Patti Smith. Pedinotti is a storyteller, who finds inspiration in the fiction and poetry of writers such as George Orwell, Philip K. Dick, Walt Whitman, Allen Ginsberg, and W.B. Yeats. Railbird's debut disc was listed as #8 in Billboard's editors' picks for 2008, hailed as "a great indie band set to break out."

25 Feb 2009: Over the last year, the members of Albany-based Sea of Trees have been busy cultivating their own brand of indie-rock music. After the release of a demo last year and many performances throughout New York, Sea of Trees is now preparing for the release of their first full-length album, Animal Sounds. Taking nearly six months to complete and recorded in the hot attic of Franklin's Tower Restaurant in Albany, Animal Sounds is a carefully-crafted album. Band members Dylan Palazzo (guitar, vocals), Cecelia Martinez (vocals, percussion), Justin Engineri (guitar), Mitch Masterson (bass) and Ian White (drums) came together with the goal of creating something that was consistent both musically and emotionally. Produced, recorded, and mixed independently with Masterson at the helm, members of Sea of Trees have been on the front lines for every step in the album process. The music of Sea of Trees skirts the lines of many different genres. Palazzo describes it as "manic and moody. High-peaking dynamics laced with gentle melodies. We are striving to invoke chills down the spines of our audience." The band has been described as both a "prog-rock extravaganza" and "a mellow, indie-folk rock group with some gorgeous male-female vocal parts and bells" by members of the Albany music community.

17 Dec 2008: What a great way to wrap up Season 4 of CRUMBS Café with the Ramblin' Jug Stompers. The guys were able to perform three songs in the studio and talk about some quite interesting topics including traveling by boxcar to get to the next gig. 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 ain't got nothing on the seasoned Stompers. The group's 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 band's 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, Cannon's 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; Berkshire Harvest Festival; First Night Saratoga; Albany Tulip Festival; Union College; Rensselaer Polytechnic University; and their Tess' Lark Tavern home base.

03 Dec 2008: It was great having Matthew in the studio. We could have easily recorded three episodes worth if we recorded the discussions before and after the interview. So many great topics kept coming up and he had some great points about and ideas for the local music scene. We'll have to get him back in for a follow up. We caught Matthew in the midst of releasing his 2008 album Kentucky. There is a fascinating note about how the album was recorded or more importantly what instruments were used to record it. Listen to the songs on the album and try to guess how many musicians performed using how many instruments. The answer is in this Café episode. You'll be pleasantly surprised. Matthew Loiacono is a musician from upstate New York. Performing original and adapted / rearranged music in the moment on mandolin, banjo, acoustic & electric guitars, drums, percussion and much more, he is mildly obsessed with marrying traditional instruments with modern technology and sounds. Known to utilize live on-the-fly looping, octave pedals, thick distortion and heavy reverb, Matthew delivers a unique, constantly evolving musical performance.

19 Nov 2008: The Nite Train Band has been entertaining Albany, NY (Capital District) crowds since its' inception in March of 2003. The band has come a long way since its' first show, with the most radical upheaval occurring in 2006 when bassist/band-leader Ken Briggs and keyboard/ sax-player Marcus Benoit set out about the task of turning the band into a Full-Fledged Horn Band! The recent addition of the talented High Voltage Horns and the band's return to Stonewall Studios with this current line-up has truly energized the Nite Train Band into High Gear!!! With the release of it's first all-original Compact Disc, Best Man, the Nite Train Band with the High Voltage Horns is setting its' sights on playing larger venues and, in particular, the Festival Circuit. The band remembers its' humble beginnings, however, and still keeps the NTB Locomotive well oiled by playing the local Capital District watering holes where it has gained its' credibility and notoriety. We had a great discussion with these guys in the CRUMBS Cafe studio about music during the interview. This was one of those nights where we had a great discussion, some would say even better discussion than what was recorded. Maybe we should keep the recording rolling until the bands leave. There is just too much great stuff that is not recorded and we miss. The topic that keeps coming up is where is there a great place for local bands in this area to play on a regular basis and what can be done to give it a boost. We'll have to have another night on this at a later date.

12 Nov 2008: Vicki and Mike lived within miles of each other for years in Guilderland, a suburban community in upstate New York. Then suddenly their paths crossed again and again. First, they became friends. Then they found out that when they sing together, magic happens. Vicki Gayle was born in Jacksonville, FL, and first played in front of an audience at age seven. For many years, she performed country, folk and soft rock music around the New York Capital Region. Her philosophy about music is simple: it has to be good, and it has to be fun, and that comes across clearly in 2Late's performances. Mike Short grew up in Madison, WI. His mother started training him on the piano very early with formal lessons starting in fourth grade. He picked up the guitar in seventh grade and never put it down. His family gets together whenever it can to play bluegrass, folk and country gospel tunes. His experience in the family band has paid off in 2Late, as Vicki's lead singing is the perfect foil for his harmonizing. Mike is an accomplished songwriter, specializing in Christian Contemporary and modern acoustic folk music. 2Late features six of his songs on its new album, Comments from the Kitchen, released on February 18, 2006. Veterans of several upstate New York venues, 2Late plays acoustic music ranging from country to angst-filled folk, with just about every emotion in between. Vicki is the lead singer and rhythm guitarist, and Mike is the lead guitarist and rhythm singer. Together, they far exceed the sum of the parts, with hot licks and cool harmonies to please any audience.