New Years Eve
Concert Preview
What? Well, it is whatever you think it means… but it is what it is. The Ball Drop! The first annual New Year’s Eve celebration hosted by Turkuaz at the legendary Rock n Roll Resort! After spending a number of December 31sts in California, Turkuaz brought the party home to the Northeast last year, in Northampton, MA. With concert opportunities coming in from the West Coast for 12/31/2014, the band decided they wanted to stay closer to home and closer to where it all began. They decided to start a new tradition for their Northeast friends, fans, and any other hearty souls want to drive or fly in to the ideal party location: The Hudson Valley Resort & Spa, home of The Rock n Roll Resort!
So what is The Ball Drop? Simply put, it’s a one-day Winter mini-festival & slumber party with a thousand or so close friends, of course. It’s a celebration of the year gone by and the one that lies ahead. It’s hanging out with bands and fans, all together, under one roof, with nowhere to drive when the party ends. It’s a very special gala affair, a Dionysian display of revelry and joy, featuring great music, dancing, food, libations, festive attire, costumes, mirth and likely a bit of mayhem… it’s The Ball Drop. What else?!
The Ball Drop is based on the concept of Rock n Roll Resort, a unique, intimate music experience designed by fans for fans and quickly becoming the ultimate music destination event for the festival lifestyle set. Rock n Roll Resort’s rising popularity is in many ways tied to the ideal setting of the Hudson Valley Resort & Spa, an expansive, inviting and intriguing grand resort nestled in Shawangunk Mountains of New York. Just 90 miles from New York City, the Hudson Valley Resort & Spa is sited on 400 wooded acres adjacent to Minnewaska State Park and surrounded by gorgeous Catskill views. Guests can enjoy the fitness room, arcade centers, jacuzzi, sauna and steam rooms, heated indoor pool, on-site shopping and more.
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Turkuaz
Credible bios are supposed to be objective and not full of superlatives and hyperbole, but it’s hard to avoid gushing when the subject is a funk army of multi-instrumentals and singers that is part freight train and part tyrannosaurus rex, who—even on an off night—can blow away a room on the basis of sheer physics alone. That’s one way to describe Turkuaz, but it doesn’t address the music. In this regard, as with any band, influences are everything. One cannot escape them as one seeks to carve out a unique sound for themselves. Still, there are so many benefits to having Sly & The Family Stone, Rick James, Parliament and Bohannon in your record collection. With this as the basis for a recipe, Turkuaz adds healthy doses of jittery, world-pop-power groove—reminiscent of Remain In Light era Talking Heads—and a passion for Motown and R&B, resulting in a refreshing twist on the funk idiom.
Turkuaz certainly does have sheer size in their favor, but when broken down into the basic components, each stands out on their own. Founders Dave Brandwein and Taylor Shell had the cream of the crop to choose from at Berklee, but making it happen as a large touring ensemble takes more than chops: it takes the right blend of personalities. When Turkuaz takes the stage, the chemistry is clear. The special combination of elements—singers in sequined dresses, guys in tails (or sometimes all of them in jumpsuits or other complimentary outfits) horns, keys, guitars, amps and drums and smiles all around… well, it’s easy to get caught up in the explosive auditory and visual circus and find oneself dancing. Despite all of the gear and people on stage, it becomes clear that it is not the size that matters here: it is the performance.
Consider the Source
NYC trio Consider the Source defy easy description. If intergalactic beings of pure energy, after initiation into an order of whirling dervishes, built some kind of pan-dimensional booty-shaking engine, powered by psychedelics and abstract math, it’d probably just sound like a CTS tribute band. Drawing from progressive rock, fusion and jazz, with alien sounds soaked in Indian and Middle Eastern styles, CTS blends disparate parts into a striking, utterly original whole. Dubbed “Sci-Fi Middle Eastern Fusion”, the band’s music strikes a rare balance between cerebral and emotional, intellectual and primal. A relentless touring schedule has won the band a fervent following from California to Israel, with fans ranging from jam-band hippies and jazz cats to corpse-painted headbangers and prog geeks.
Formed in 2004, Consider the Source features Gabriel Marin on fretless double-neck guitar, bassist John Ferrara, and drummer/percussionist Jeff Mann. Called “the guiding light for his generation of six-stringers”, Marin channels the mystical fury of McLaughlin and Coltrane into wailing melodies, kaleidoscopic soundscapes and boneshaking riffs. With a background in classical musics both Eurpoean and Indian, and an instinct for avant-jazz and destructive metal, Marin’s hypnotic fusion of styles is ever unpredictable. Ferrara’s propulsive, percussive attack, equally suited to simple grooves and impossible chords, can ground the music or launch it into space. His madcap gumbo of slap bass, Indian rhythms, earthy minimalism and complex tapping constantly pushes into strange new worlds, whilst still dropping thick booty-clap beats. Underneath them lies Mann’s rolling thunder; dense rhythmic architecture built from pure swagger and bounce. Half double-bass prog-metal, half crackle-pop Buddy Rich swing, with African and Balkan swirls, Mann’s muscular, freewheeling polyrhythms are the engine fuel for Consider’s multiversal mischief. Even when not improvising, Consider’s music is always a conversation, a roiling stew of dynamic interplay. Each member of Consider the Source alternately leads and follows, spars and assists; in any single song, alliances are made and broken, bargains struck and divorces finalized.
Touring from coast to coast, as well as Europe and the Middle East, has not only earned the band thousands of fans, but has allowed them to perform with wide variety of well-known artists, including Victor Wooten, Wayne Krantz, King Crimson Projekt, Kris Myers (Umphrey’s McGee), Wyclef Jean, Andy Statman, Grace Potter & The Nocturnals, Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey, Dumpstaphunk, Keller Williams, George Porter, Jr., Jeff Sipe, Panzerballet (Germany), Eatliz (Israel), Freak Kitchen (Sweden), Morglbl (France), and many others. They have performed at numerous festivals and events, including Catskill Chill, The Big Up, Burning Man, Sun Seekers Ball (Canada), Mid-Summer Meltdown, Rootwire, the NYC Fretless Guitar Festival, and the NYC Gypsy Festival.
Tauk
TAUK is heavy instrumental rock fusion created by Matt Jalbert (guitar), Charlie Dolan (bass), Alric “A.C.” Carter (keyboard-organ), and Isaac Teel (drums). The transcendent instrumental band seamlessly brings together genres as diverse as melodic rock, fusion, gritty funk, progressive rock, ambient, classic rock, hip hop and jazz.
The Oyster Bay, New York-based quartet has received accolades from a number of tastemaking authorities, including an “On The Verge” feature in Relix Magazine and frequent rotation for the singles “Mindshift”, “Sweet Revenge”, “Dead Signal” and “In the Basement of the Alamo” on Sirius XM Jam On. Despite their years of experience as a musical unit, the quartet is a young promising band that Jambase calls “a guaranteed quickly-ascend band.” The Washington Post describes the band by saying: “TAUK’s instrumental music melds genres and styles, creating a hard-charging, often melodic fusion that – thanks to a penchant for improv – offers limitless possibilities” and The Deli Magazine singles out the band’s compelling melodic sense through explaining: “the quartet has a rare ability to channel emotional melodic leads, and all without a lead singer.”
The band’s latest album, Collisions, is a breakthrough in that it finally captures the essence of TAUK’s entrancing live shows. It’s a thoughtfully composed album with captivating hum-along melodies, but this time the band was able to road test the songs, allowing the recorded versions to reflect the group’s adventurous improvisations. The 10-song album spans delicate ethereal textures, highly imaginatively funky drumming, labyrinthine arrangements, and fiery solos—often in the same song.
Spiritual Rez
The Spiritual Rez reggae funk dance experience is an unabashed display of musical virtuosity. When paired with a deep, sub-sonic groove and powerful heart felt vocalization; crowds are left dancing and screaming for more.
Over the past 9 years, these six men have relentlessly toured the country to share their music and appreciation of the arts. Rooted in rock, reggae, and funk; their diversity exemplifies their love and desire to put on a live experience that will not only cut to your core, but also ignite the inner flame that exists in us all.
A constant festival favorite, The Rez can shake a stage like a psychedelic dance earthquake. Evoking their personal power animals, they fearlessly forge into the musically unknown, creating a masterpiece every performance. It’s this power, this creative desire, that has fans traveling across the nation to experience this raw and intoxicating display of musical bliss.
2013 will hold great things as Rez is releasing their fourth independent album, “Apocalypse Whenever.” Look out for prerelease’s from this “end times” inspired record all Summer.
Their album, The Nexus (2010), is a perfect example how the band developed a sound all of their own. After two independent releases with strong foundations in the positive ideals of reggae; The Nexus was created by combining elements from a multitude of influences gained from years on the road. The result is an album that showcases how they have grown into a primed party machine; ready to churn out hard-driven guitar solo’s, inspiring vocals and powerful, funkified dance grooves. The bands newest record will take that energy one step further. “We want to create an album that flows as one piece of art sonically and conceptually. Apocalypes Whenever is an album for the times. We want to encourage the poeple not to fear the future but to embrace it.” –Toft Willingham
While creating a style of their own, The Rez has been lucky enough to share the stage with many of the originators of the reggae music culture. Artists such as Gregory Issacs, Toots and The Maytals, Steel Pulse, Culture, Israel Vibrations and Barrington Levy have given their time and knowledge to share the one love that we all hold. Showing their diversity as artists, The Rez has also rocked with George Clinton and The Parliament Funkadelic, Golgol Bordello and Jimmy Buffett. Legendary keyboardist and founding member of Funkadelic/Talking Heads Bernie Worrell is known to play entire shows with Rez creating a whole new musical experience.
Look out for this powerhouse Reggae/Rock musical experience coming to town near you…..
Primate Fiasco
To a deaf person, they look like a New Orleans dixieland street band. To a blind person, they sound like a rave DJ mashing-up house beats with 60′s folk lyrics. To the police, it’s a busy day on the sidewalk.
The Primate Fiasco uses instruments that are loud without electricity, giving them the opportunity to attack at any moment, in any location, with or without permission. No one is safe, not even an elevator or city bus. If The Primate Fiasco sees a dull moment somewhere, they will pop out of the nearest sewer drain or trash can to lead an irresistible dance party.
On stage, the sound is different. This band has pioneered what is possible with mindbending harmonies of Accordion and sax, funky pockets of a hyperactive Sousaphone player and banjo that thinks it’s a Fender Strat. Add lyrics that grab hold of even the most inattentive audience and beats that channel surf like a remote that’s been sat on. The music is always high energy and extremely imaginative. Most importantly, this is fun. People smile from the first beat to the last smoldering ash of what was previously a dance floor.
Following a Grammy-nominated kids album, several conquered jam and electronica fests and stolen hearts at prestigious folk festivals, the Primate Fiasco audience demographic is as diverse as a New York City street. No one is safe from the Fiasco. You will smile.
Primate Fiasco started as a roaming band at a major amusement park. After spending awhile exclusively performing on sidewalks, they headed indoors to try their luck on stage. That simple move allowed singing, which turned out to be the icing on the proverbial cake. Complicated icing, even, as their singer was a successful folk act in a former incarnation that pre-dated the army of brass. Those who listen to lyrics will often get into hour-long discussions about them. The resulting stage shows have since successfully turned music venues inside out, turned festival stages into circus tents and turned random paths or spots on festival grounds into stages.
Throughout the Northeast and well-beyond (thanks to the power of radio) the Primate Fiasco experiment has evolved into the animated superhero persona that you see today— humorously drawn, but based on a true story— and that you will continue to see circulating throughout the music-loving club and festival community, via the highways, byways, subways… and other ways.
Mister F
Formed in 2013 from members of Timbre Coup and Capital Zen, Mister F is an eclectic, high-energy 4-piece band that takes a no-holds-barred approach to blending genres while keeping your feet moving. Having performed at festivals such as Mountain Jam, moe.down, Summer Camp, Camp Bisco, and snoe.down with their previous bands, members of Mister F are no strangers to the music community. Their first show, March 1st 2013, was very well-received, and they are already taking their show on the road to cities as far as Chicago, IL and Knoxville, TN.