Tag Archives: alternative

The Blind Owl Band

Posted on January 26, 2012 | Leave a comment

SARANAC LAKE – For newcomers to the Blind Owl Band – a hard-driving, heavily bearded, original string music quartet that’s caught the ears of music aficionados from across the North Country – there are a few ways to tell the group’s story.

For starters, there’s the bit about how the band – which consists of Eric Munley (mandolin, vocals), Arthur Buezo (guitar, vocals), James Ford (banjo, vocals) and Christian Cardiello (bass) – got its name.

“We were at Paul Smith’s College, and we just finished playing a song, when this bird slammed into a window,” Munley said during a recent interview with the Enterprise. “It was a saw-whet owl. It got up and just stared at us for 45 seconds or so, then it took off. And one of the nicknames for a saw-whet is a ‘blind owl.’”

…Read More

The Blind Owl Band — Revolving Door

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Colorblind James Experience

Posted on January 22, 2012 | Leave a comment

Colorblind James Experience were an alternative roots/pop/rock band founded in 1980 in San Francisco, California . Bandleader and singer/songwriter/guitarist “Colorblind” James Charles Cuminale was originally from Rochester, New York but assembled early versions of what would become the Experience in Oswego, New York before relocating to San Francisco.

After a couple years of mixed results there, the band regrouped and moved again, this time back to Rochester which remained its home base until Cuminale’s premature death in 2001. The band enjoyed brief fame in the UK and Europe after BBC DJ John Peel gave the Experience some exposure, and their music has made a deep and lasting impression. Their “Dance Critters” single reached number 10 on the UK Indie Chart, while their albums Colorblind James Experience and Why Should I Stand Up reached numbers 5 and 13 respectively…

Their line-up changed repeatedly over the years, and their third album was released under the name of Colorblind James and the Death Valley Boys

Chuck Cuminale unexpectedly died of an arhythmia in July 2001.

Colorlind James Experience played the Finnegan’s Wake Music Festival in 2000′

The Late Colorblind James at the Grassroots Festival 1996

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never a dull moment on the nyc subway

Posted on January 5, 2012 | Leave a comment

This via Corey Doctorow

In this video from the NYC subway, a singer named Jessica Latshaw, bearing a small uke, finds herself sitting across from a gentleman with a fine pair of bongos. The two begin an impromptu jam session, emceed by a random gregarious stranger and captured for posterity by a subway rider with a camphone. The performance is just fine, and it’s clear from the footage that the rest of the car is having a fine time.

In theory, it’s possible that the whole thing is a fix, “buzz marketing” from Latshaw and co, and if so, well, it’s an extraordinarily nonobnoxious example of the form.

okay- what you are about to watch is a true new york experience. what originally started out as a typical nyc subway ride (sitting across from guy who smelled like urine) turned into an awesome performance by two people who have never met before. i captured the whole thing on video.

never a dull moment on the nyc subway (Thanks, z7q2!)

Watch it on You Tube:  2P-i_5skhsU

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Pete Holidai

Posted on June 26, 2011 | Leave a comment

Pete Holidai – The Devil’s Guitar CD (625 Label)

By way of explanation. Pete Holidai is known to some as the guitarist with the cherished Radiators ( from Space ), an undersold entity spawned as Dublin’s best shot during the mud of late 70’s punk. This band drew from a wide catchment of sources so it’s no surprise that The Devil’s Guitar utilises the 1950’s as it’s pivot. Although the Formula Steamroller pace of the Rads has probably left Mr Holidai plenty of time to write and record as an outside entity, this solo album is a debut – probably long conceived and talked up before a note was ever strummed…read more at Wretch Falafel

Fallen Angel by Pete Holidai

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Wild Flag

Posted on March 15, 2011 | Leave a comment

WILD FLAG is a Portland, Oregon and Washington DC based quartet consisting of Carrie Brownstein, Mary Timony, Rebecca Cole, and Janet Weiss. The members of WILD FLAG have played in numerous and notable bands, including but not limited to: Helium, The Minders, Croissant Cocktail, Feeble Knees, Quasi, Dogz, Sleater-Kinney, @@@, The Consortium, Asia, and Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks…read more

Update: September 6, 2011 – Video: Wild Flag: “Romance” – Lunch hour hijinx from this indie supergroup

Wild Flag on Facebook

Wild Flag – Future Crimes – 11/13/10 (Portland)


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Frank Black

Posted on February 5, 2011 | Leave a comment

Black Francis, (born Charles Michael Kittridge Thompson IV on April 6, 1965) is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. He is best known as the frontman of the influential alternative rock band Pixies, with whom he performs under the stage name Black Francis. Following the band’s breakup in 1993, he embarked on a solo career under the name Frank Black. After releasing two albums with 4AD, he left the label and formed a backing band, Frank Black and the Catholics. He reformed the Pixies in 2004 and continues to release solo records and tour as a solo artist, having re-adopted his current stage name in 2007.

His vocal style has varied from a screaming, yowling delivery as lead vocalist of the Pixies to a more measured and melodical style in his solo career…read more on Wikipedia

Frank Black Don’t Get Me Wrong

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John Scarpulla Band

Posted on December 20, 2010 | Leave a comment

Acoustic guitarist, singer and songwriter currently based in Schoharie County, NY.

John Scarpulla Band

Myspace Page

John’s Home Page

John Scarpulla with Todd Grossman – Better Than The Blues


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Rodrigo y Gabriela

Posted on December 4, 2010 | Leave a comment

Rodrigo y Gabriela (Rodrigo and Gabriela) are a Mexican musical duo who specialize in playing fast, rhythmic acoustic guitars. The duo’s members are Rodrigo Sanchez, lead guitar, and Gabriela Quintero, rhythm guitar.

The musicians gained a reputation by playing in the pubs and bars of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, and despite their unusual style, gained a cult following. Reviewing one of their gigs, The Independent notes that “Rodrigo y Gabriela’s secret is maybe quite simple. They are resourceful musicians who can really play, and are open-hearted, happy entertainers. That, very often, is what people want.” Both live a vegan lifestyle and support animal rights…read more on Wikipedia

Here’s their MySpace page

Rodrigo y Gabriela “Hanuman” live @ Eurockéennes


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Yo La Tengo

Posted on November 29, 2010 | Leave a comment

Yo La Tengo is an American alternative rock band formed in Hoboken, New Jersey in 1984. Since 1992, the lineup has consisted of Ira Kaplan (guitars, piano, vocals), Georgia Hubley (drums, piano, vocals), and James McNew (bass, vocals).

Despite achieving limited mainstream success, Yo La Tengo has been called “the quintessential critics’ band” and maintains a strong cult following.  The band is renowned for its encyclopedic repertoire of cover songs both in live performance and on record….read more on Wikipedia

Update: Watch Yo La Tengo Act Out a “Seinfeld” Episode

Yo La Tengo – Little Honda- Formoz 2007


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CrackTown

Posted on September 3, 2010 | Leave a comment

CrackTown, a self-described “dark spreading on the ceiling,” are a satirical Blues/Folk/Country band from Kingston Upon Hull in England, who sing “Songs in the Key of Fuck Off.”

Cracktown – My Nazi Girl


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