Upstate Underground hits No Radio on Saturday
Published by Natasha November 9th, 2007 in Local, Music, Interview.
Lately, we’ve taken quite a shine to the nascent underground free folk/avant scene brewing in the Upstate New York area. There’s always been a hunger for experimental sounds in Ithaca, but the past six months have revealed many fascinating collaborations, connecting musicians from Ithaca, Syracuse, Albany, Rochester, and Buffalo. The upstate area has not typically been a region to boast a large number of experimental musicians, but these folks have united under their love of avant-garde music and the undeniable sense of camaraderie.
This Saturday, Nov. 10, Buffalo micro-label House of Alchemy will present Sleepwalkers Local 242, Antique Brothers, Century Plants, Stone Baby and Ithaca’s own Mirabile Dictu in concert at No Radio Records. The lineup is bi-coastal — Sleepwalkers and Antique Brothers are both based in L.A. — but their roots are in Upstate. Sleepwalkers is the solo project of Grant Capes (also of L.A.’s VxPxC; formerly of Syracuse), who uses guitar, pedals, and keyboards to create haunting guitar melodies and dense, swirling dirges.
Besides Mirabile Dictu, Rochester-based Stone Baby is the only act to have performed in Ithaca, and we found their avant-ambient guitar drones and tape manipulations to be quite blissful. They have a number of interesting CD-Rs to their name, including the Carbon Records release, Fully Render(ed) /Cloud/s, and the duo has been instrumental in solidifying this network of likeminded musicians.
“Though we’re all geographically separated I think the whole community, in general, is pretty close-knit, and really becoming more so,” says guitarist Cory Card. “Here in Rochester, Jen and I stepped into an already established community of experimental musicians via the A|V space… It’s really interesting and exciting to see more of this stuff cropping up across the region and finding people that are just as interested and welcoming as the people at A|V are.”
His partner, Jen, agrees. “I’m often amazed at the ever-increasing communication and growth of community. What was once a few spread-out and alienated groupings of people, is now becoming a close knit interweaving of people and sound. The acts of collaboration and communal networking add a sense of empowerment to an already profound scene.”
Century Plants, a twin-guitar duo featuring Eric Hardiman and Ray Hare, hypnotize with dense, mercurial ooze that reminds us uncannily of Double Leopards’ primal drone rock. The duo — both of whom also perform in the sprawling Burnt Hills collective — formed earlier this year, joined together by similar music interests. They have since released no less than five CD-Rs on various labels, including Hardiman’s own, Tape Drift Records. “I have no idea how or why we connected so easily,” recalls Hare. “For me, the key has been Eric’s support and how incredibly hard he’s worked with our tapes.”
“We had absolutely no intentions of being a band, putting out records, any of that. We simply wanted to play and have fun,” adds Hardiman. “Being a recordist by nature, Ray taped everything. As we listened back for the first time, we just both knew it was worth keeping… I think the whole thing kind of astounded us, because we went in with totally low expectations, and when the Century Plants sound emerged, it felt very right.” Soon, their minimalist guitar drones attracted the attention of Phantom Limb Recordings, who put out Century Plants’ second release, Fingers. Through Phantom Limb, the duo soon encountered the House of Alchemy folks, including Stone Baby. “That’s how [this] tour came about, which I think will really foster much more collaboration across the state,” says Hardiman.
Century Plants may be relative newcomers to the Upstate scene, but thanks to openminded CD-R labels, curious musicians, and frequent communication, this small scene has coalesced into something surprisingly potent. “My hunch is there are probably other groups we have yet to connect with who will become a part of the community, and that is tremendously exciting,” says Hardiman.
What a relief it is that high-quality, sonically adventurous experimental music can be found in abundance without having to travel to NYC, Toronto, or Philadelphia. There are a few other shows happening on Saturday night — out-of-towners Castanets and Matt Pond PA come to mind — but how exciting it will be to see such a diverse lineup presenting sounds right out of our own backyard.
To read Aaron’s extensive interview with Eric Hardiman (Century Plants/Burnt Hills/Tape Drift), visit our interviews section. It is a far more in-depth look at Eric’s contribution to the scene, and a must-read.
We also interviewed, via email, Cory and Jen of the Rochester duo Stone Baby. It’s extremely informative, and they provide a great list of links and resources where you can find out more. Read it here.
If you’re reading from Buffalo, this lineup (minus Mirabile Dictu) will performing tonight at Buffalo’s Soundlab. More deets here. They’ll also be playing a handful more dates, including shows at the UAG in Albany on Nov. 11 [Upstate Artists Guild]; at The Spotty Dog in Hudson on Nov. 12; and at the Bug Jar in Rochester on Nov. 13. But don’t forget tomorrow night’s show at No Radio Records — the music starts at 8pm sharp. See everyone there!
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