CRUMBS Cafe

02 Apr 2013: A band that truly represents Upstate New York! With members ranging from Albany to Troy to Lake George, this up-and-coming 4-piece brings together its diverse influences to create a unique yet familiar sound that will make you want to move your feet. With thought-provoking and soulful lyrics, soaring melodies, and an emphasis on tight instrumentation and improvisation, this band brings a familiar freshness to the term 'jam band'. In there very short 1-year tenure, they have shared the stage with regional/national acts such as The Brew, The McLovins, Dopapod, Twiddle, Capital Zen, Turbine, Goosepimp Orchestra, and MK Groove Orchestra while playing most of the regional stops in Upstate NY for original music. With their roots in jam, jazz, funk, electronica, blues, bluegrass and many others, this group is sure to satisfy whatever your taste in music while making it truly their own.

26 Mar 2013: Anthony was born and raised in upstate New York in the Capital District. He has been playing music since he was five years old. At the age of five he began taking piano lessons, few years later he began violin. When attending Niskayuna High School Anthonys main instrument was the drums. In the summer before attending Mohawk Valley Community College (Utica, NY) he began teaching himself how to play guitar. In the fall of 2008 he transfered to Plymouth State University (Plymouth, NH) and began writing his own music.

05 Mar 2013: Upstate New Yorks own Hard Soul burst onto the music scene in late 2011, debuting their own take of what guitar-driven rock n roll music should be all about. The group, led by lead guitarist and vocalist Johnny Salka, channels the guitar and lyrical styling of Thin Lizzy, the hooks of The Beatles, the emotion of Oasis, and the sheer volume and groove of Led Zeppelin. From humble beginnings as an acoustic rock duo performing in bars, coffee houses and music venues across the Capital Region the band honed their live performances, cultivating both acoustic and electric guitar-driven songs that forged their straight-forward rock n roll sound. The band plans on continuing to bring their particular brand of rock n roll to the masses with the release of their second EP 'Seize the Year' in early 2013 which is the follow-up to their debut EP 'Love Eats the Young.'

26 Feb 2013: The Boston Globe sums it up, 'Little band. Big Sound.' No more needs to be said. Although the only thing 'little' about Sirsy is there are just two of them. The rest is bigger than balls on a buffalo.

Listen to the power in their latest recording 'Coming Into Frame'. You can feel it. Its crank-up the volume music, even when the heartfelt ballads kick in. And why so much power? Melanie Krahmer on drums and vocals, Rich Libutti on guitar. Thats why.

And, according to Sirsy a lot of credit goes to Grammy-winning producers, Paul Kolderie and Sean Slade (Hole, Radiohead, Dresden Dolls, Pixies). According to Melanie, known as Mel to fans and friends alike, 'Our fans have said that the energy of our live show hasnt translated onto our previous recordings. They are going to notice a different energy level on this record and its because of how Paul and Sean worked with us.'

Do you know what a click track is? Its like a metronome and is used in recording to keep things perfect. Some believe it can take away from the spontaneity of a recording artist. According to Mel, 'On some tracks, Paul and Sean didnt use a click track on purpose. The result is a few of the songs vary in tempo to suit the mood and energy of the song.' In other words the recording is real. Rich, the highly talented guitarist for Sirsy says, 'It seems ridiculous to remove tempo changes. Listen to The Cost Of You. It speeds up at the end. That gives it the intensity there.'

19 Feb 2013: Tamerlane formed in 2011. Former members of The Broken and Out To Bring Us Down, Chris Itani and Mike lema initially created this band with the idea of acoustic rock, with an orchestra vibe. Replacing the traditional lead guitarist and bass with cello and violin. But as any musician knows, nothing last forever. Our cellist moved out of the area as did our violinist. Tamerlane brought in Mario Petrucco, formerly of Out To Bring Us Down to fill the bass role. Tamerlane acquired a fill-in drummer to round out the band, and began writing their debut album and continued playing shows, as well as working in the studio with Tim Lynch of The Recording Company. During this time, Tamerlane shared the stage with the likes of Taproot, My Darkest Days, HED PE, Days of the New, Kittie, Brand New Sin, and more. In January of this year, Tamerlane finally found that missing piece, with the addition of drummer Jason Nowak. With a new found energy, Tamerlane is hard at work completing their debut album due out spring of this year! Tamerlane plans on hitting the road hard in the near future promoting their album and continue writing new material to bring their authentic sound to music fans everywhere.

12 Feb 2013: Accents came out of nowhere...and in a big way with an astonishingly mature debut that oozes with indie rock bliss. Their songs are constructed with the combined result of the genuine, honest and often heartbreaking songwriting of TJ Foster matched with production wiz Benjamin Hemingways keen knack for making the sweet sound even sweeter. 'Alright With Me' and 'The Fog' showcase the duos ability to craft hooks that cant be denied. They take risks on up-tempo rockers like 'Routine Movements' and 'Divide,' while also demonstrating they can piece together stripped-down, emotion-laden tunes like 'Storms' and 'The Low.' When the angelic chorus enters the last verse of Storms, youre left utterly shattered; a moment tender enough to bring tears to the toughest of men. But it is the last track on the record that truly dictates Accents are much more than a one-trick pony. 'Sorrow' builds up with an epic arrangement of atmospherics, gang vocals and pounding rhythms that sends chills down your spine. The words make you keep coming back, continually revisiting the album as if it were a call to action for the disillusioned, the jaded and the hopeless. But youll find comfort in these songs no matter how you feel because of the worn, almost surrendering authenticity to it all. Accents has a masterful ability to juxtapose themes of frustration and detachment so perfectly with hopefulness and encouragement and, leaving you content in the peace that indeed, there is a love that will find us all.

05 Feb 2013: Heartfelt and distinctive original songs, as well as a few unexpected covers. Tor and the Fjords is a local indie folk band in Albany, NY. Singer-guitarist Tor Loney has performed locally for years, and was chosen as a finalist for the 2012 Hudson Valley Songfest Best New Artist showcase. He is also a librarian, and has combined his two loves by performing at area libraries and at the 2012 annual conference for the SUNY Library Association. He is one of the organizers of Albany Public Librarys Garage Bands and Acoustic Sidewalk series, along with Sarah Clark, who plays bass in Tor and the Fjords, Charmboy, Philo Beddoe band, and more. On drums is Scott Smith, who also plays with Sarah in these other ventures. The band plans to go into the recording studio soon to prepare their next album.