Tuesday, December 28, 2010
2010 World Bubble Hockey Championships
Hockey Towne USA Fan Fest
Local Rockers Take Center Stage at World Junior Hockey Championship
BUFFALO, NY - Buffalo's own, The Pillagers will be playing a special New Year's Eve Concert at HSBC Arena from 6:30 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. as part of the World Junior Hockey Championship, organizers announced this week.
The Pillagers' New Year's Eve concert is an all ages, free concert and will be followed by U.S.A. vs. Switzerland, which will require separate admission. Gary Zoldos, lead vocalist for the Pillagers, issued the following statement, "We are proud to represent the United States, the National Hockey League, the City of Buffalo and the Buffalo Sabres. We love our Country, we love our Sabres, we love hockey, but most importantly, we love this great City of ours. It is an honor to be thrust onto the Center Stage during this World Showcase. We are looking forward to rocking all of you and we have lots of surprises planned. We'll be onstage from 6:30 PM until 8:00 PM and our concert is free and for all ages".
For additional information, please visit www.thepillagers.com or visit The Pillagers Facebook page.
The Pillagers' New Year's Eve concert is an all ages, free concert and will be followed by U.S.A. vs. Switzerland, which will require separate admission. Gary Zoldos, lead vocalist for the Pillagers, issued the following statement, "We are proud to represent the United States, the National Hockey League, the City of Buffalo and the Buffalo Sabres. We love our Country, we love our Sabres, we love hockey, but most importantly, we love this great City of ours. It is an honor to be thrust onto the Center Stage during this World Showcase. We are looking forward to rocking all of you and we have lots of surprises planned. We'll be onstage from 6:30 PM until 8:00 PM and our concert is free and for all ages".
For additional information, please visit www.thepillagers.com or visit The Pillagers Facebook page.
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Shemekia Copeland @ The Tralf!
Headliner: SHEMEKIA COPELAND
Support: TBA
Venue: THE TRALF MUSIC HALL
Patron info number: 716-852-2860
Venue address: 622 MAIN STREET, BUFFALO NY
Date: WEDNESDAY MARCH 2ND 2011
Time: 7PM DOORS 8PM SHOW
Ticket price: $22 ADVANCE $24 DAY OF SHOW
On sale date: DECEMBER 23, 2010
Tickets available at: All Ticketmaster Locations 1-800-745-3000 716-852-2860 www.tralfmusichall.com www.ticketmaster.com The Tralf Box Office
At a young age, Shemekia Copeland is already a force to be reckoned with in the blues. While still in her 20s, she’s opened for the Rolling Stones, headlined at the Chicago Blues Festival and numerous festivals around the world, scored critics choice awards on both sides of the Atlantic (The New York Times and The Times of London) and shared the stage with such luminaries as Buddy Guy, B.B. King, Taj Mahal and John Mayer. Heir to the rich tradition of soul-drenched divas like Ruth Brown, Etta James and Koko Taylor, Copeland’s shot at the eventual title of Queen of the Blues is pretty clear. By some standards, she may already be there.
Copeland’s passion for singing, matched with her huge, blast-furnace voice, gives her music a timeless power and a heart-pounding urgency. Her music comes from deep within her soul and from the streets where she grew up, surrounded by the everyday sounds of the city – street performers, gospel singers, blasting radios, bands in local parks and so much more.
Born in Harlem, New York, in 1979, Copeland actually came to her singing career slowly. Her father, the late Texas blues guitar legend Johnny Clyde Copeland, recognized his daughter’s talent early on. He always encouraged her to sing at home, and even brought her on stage to sing at Harlem’s famed Cotton Club when she was just eight. At the time, Shemekia’s embarrassment outweighed her desire to sing. But when she was fifteen and her father’s health began to fail, her outlook changed. “It was like a switch went off in my head, and I wanted to sing,” she says. “It became a want and a need. I had to do it.”
At only 19, Shemekia stepped out of her father’s shadow with the Alligator release of 1998 debut recording, Turn the Heat Up!, and the critics raved. The Village Voice called her “nothing short of uncanny,” while the Boston Globe proclaimed that “she roars with a sizzling hot intensity.” A year later, she appeared in the Motion Picture Three To Tango, while her song “I Always Get My Man, was featured in the film Broken Hearts Club.
Her second album, Wicked, released in 2000, scored three Handy Awards (Song of the Year, Blues Album of the Year, Contemporary Female Artist of the Year) and a GRAMMY nomination. Two years later, New Orleans R&B legend Dr. John stepped in to produce her third recording, Talking To Strangers (2002), which Vibe called “a masterful blend of ballsy rockers and cheeky ballads.”
Copeland released The Soul Truth in 2005. The album was produced by legendary Stax guitarist Steve Cropper (who also played on the CD), and featured generous doses of blues, funk and Memphis-flavored soul.
She joined Telarc International for the February 2009 release of Never Going Back. This new chapter in the Shemekia Copeland story represents a crossroads on her ongoing artistic journey – a place where numerous new avenues are open to her. While she will always remain loyal to her blues roots, Never Going Back takes a more forward view of the blues, and in so doing points her music and her career in a new direction.
“I’ve had success in my career, and I’m happy with that,” she says. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t want to continue to grow. In order for an artist to grow – and for a genre to grow – you have to do new things. I’m extremely proud to say I’m a blues singer, but that doesn’t mean that’s the only thing I’m capable of singing, or that’s the only style of music I’m capable of making.”
She adds: “I want to keep growing. My main goal when I started this was that I was going to do something different with this music, so that this music could evolve and grow. I got that idea from my father. He didn’t do the typical one-four-five blues. He went to Africa and worked with musicians there. He was one of the first blues artists to do that. I want to be the same way. I want to be innovative with the blues."
Support: TBA
Venue: THE TRALF MUSIC HALL
Patron info number: 716-852-2860
Venue address: 622 MAIN STREET, BUFFALO NY
Date: WEDNESDAY MARCH 2ND 2011
Time: 7PM DOORS 8PM SHOW
Ticket price: $22 ADVANCE $24 DAY OF SHOW
On sale date: DECEMBER 23, 2010
Tickets available at: All Ticketmaster Locations 1-800-745-3000 716-852-2860 www.tralfmusichall.com www.ticketmaster.com The Tralf Box Office
At a young age, Shemekia Copeland is already a force to be reckoned with in the blues. While still in her 20s, she’s opened for the Rolling Stones, headlined at the Chicago Blues Festival and numerous festivals around the world, scored critics choice awards on both sides of the Atlantic (The New York Times and The Times of London) and shared the stage with such luminaries as Buddy Guy, B.B. King, Taj Mahal and John Mayer. Heir to the rich tradition of soul-drenched divas like Ruth Brown, Etta James and Koko Taylor, Copeland’s shot at the eventual title of Queen of the Blues is pretty clear. By some standards, she may already be there.
Copeland’s passion for singing, matched with her huge, blast-furnace voice, gives her music a timeless power and a heart-pounding urgency. Her music comes from deep within her soul and from the streets where she grew up, surrounded by the everyday sounds of the city – street performers, gospel singers, blasting radios, bands in local parks and so much more.
Born in Harlem, New York, in 1979, Copeland actually came to her singing career slowly. Her father, the late Texas blues guitar legend Johnny Clyde Copeland, recognized his daughter’s talent early on. He always encouraged her to sing at home, and even brought her on stage to sing at Harlem’s famed Cotton Club when she was just eight. At the time, Shemekia’s embarrassment outweighed her desire to sing. But when she was fifteen and her father’s health began to fail, her outlook changed. “It was like a switch went off in my head, and I wanted to sing,” she says. “It became a want and a need. I had to do it.”
At only 19, Shemekia stepped out of her father’s shadow with the Alligator release of 1998 debut recording, Turn the Heat Up!, and the critics raved. The Village Voice called her “nothing short of uncanny,” while the Boston Globe proclaimed that “she roars with a sizzling hot intensity.” A year later, she appeared in the Motion Picture Three To Tango, while her song “I Always Get My Man, was featured in the film Broken Hearts Club.
Her second album, Wicked, released in 2000, scored three Handy Awards (Song of the Year, Blues Album of the Year, Contemporary Female Artist of the Year) and a GRAMMY nomination. Two years later, New Orleans R&B legend Dr. John stepped in to produce her third recording, Talking To Strangers (2002), which Vibe called “a masterful blend of ballsy rockers and cheeky ballads.”
Copeland released The Soul Truth in 2005. The album was produced by legendary Stax guitarist Steve Cropper (who also played on the CD), and featured generous doses of blues, funk and Memphis-flavored soul.
She joined Telarc International for the February 2009 release of Never Going Back. This new chapter in the Shemekia Copeland story represents a crossroads on her ongoing artistic journey – a place where numerous new avenues are open to her. While she will always remain loyal to her blues roots, Never Going Back takes a more forward view of the blues, and in so doing points her music and her career in a new direction.
“I’ve had success in my career, and I’m happy with that,” she says. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t want to continue to grow. In order for an artist to grow – and for a genre to grow – you have to do new things. I’m extremely proud to say I’m a blues singer, but that doesn’t mean that’s the only thing I’m capable of singing, or that’s the only style of music I’m capable of making.”
She adds: “I want to keep growing. My main goal when I started this was that I was going to do something different with this music, so that this music could evolve and grow. I got that idea from my father. He didn’t do the typical one-four-five blues. He went to Africa and worked with musicians there. He was one of the first blues artists to do that. I want to be the same way. I want to be innovative with the blues."
Friday, December 17, 2010
THE WIZARDS OF WINTER PERFORM A TRANS-SIBERIAN MIRACLE
Venue: THE TRALF MUSIC HALL
Patron info number: 716-852-2860
Venue address: 622 MAIN STREET, BUFFALO NY
Date: DECEMBER 27TH
Time: 7PM DOORS / 8PM SHOW
Ticket price: $15
On sale date: ON SALE NOW
The Wizards are coming!! and not Harry and friends but New Jersey based TSO tribute
band “The WIZARDS of WINTER”
Featuring some of New Jerseyʼs best progressive rock artists including Scott Kelly
former keyboardist and Michael Clayton Moore former frontman of critically acclaimed
“Contrarian” and current founding member of “Alchemy X “ bassist Steve Ratchen, the
band plays and fathfully recreates the music and unique experience that is “Trans
Siberian Orchestra”.
Performing TSO classics such as Sarjevo, Wizards in Winter, Old City Bar and
Christmas Canon Rock the band tells a family friendly Christmas story thru music and
narration.
They also perform music from Savatage and at select shows will be performing other
progressive and classical rock favorites by bands such as Styx,Deep Purple and
Kansas.
Band members include a backup guitarist for TSO and a violinist that studied with TSO
string player Mark Woods as well as many outstanding vocalists and musicians.
Start your Holiday season off with a celebration of music and lights!
Come see The WIZARDS of WINTER.
For information go to http://www.thewizardsofwinter.com/home.cfm
Patron info number: 716-852-2860
Venue address: 622 MAIN STREET, BUFFALO NY
Date: DECEMBER 27TH
Time: 7PM DOORS / 8PM SHOW
Ticket price: $15
On sale date: ON SALE NOW
The Wizards are coming!! and not Harry and friends but New Jersey based TSO tribute
band “The WIZARDS of WINTER”
Featuring some of New Jerseyʼs best progressive rock artists including Scott Kelly
former keyboardist and Michael Clayton Moore former frontman of critically acclaimed
“Contrarian” and current founding member of “Alchemy X “ bassist Steve Ratchen, the
band plays and fathfully recreates the music and unique experience that is “Trans
Siberian Orchestra”.
Performing TSO classics such as Sarjevo, Wizards in Winter, Old City Bar and
Christmas Canon Rock the band tells a family friendly Christmas story thru music and
narration.
They also perform music from Savatage and at select shows will be performing other
progressive and classical rock favorites by bands such as Styx,Deep Purple and
Kansas.
Band members include a backup guitarist for TSO and a violinist that studied with TSO
string player Mark Woods as well as many outstanding vocalists and musicians.
Start your Holiday season off with a celebration of music and lights!
Come see The WIZARDS of WINTER.
For information go to http://www.thewizardsofwinter.com/home.cfm
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Will Holton's Soulful Christmas Affair
Saturday, December 04, 2010
ESI EVENTS is pleased to announce the following show…POPA CHUBBY
Support: w/ Wanted by the FBI
Venue: THE TRALF MUSIC HALL
Patron info number: 716-852-2860
Venue address: 622 MAIN STREET, BUFFALO NY
Date: JANUARY 28TH, 2011
Time: 7PM DOORS 8PM SHOW
Ticket price: $14.50 PRESALE $17 DAY OF SHOW
On sale date: DECEMBER 7TH, 2010
Tickets available at: All Ticketmaster Locations 1-800-745-3000 716-852-2860 www.tralfmusichall.com www.ticketmaster.com The Tralf Box Office
“The Fight Is On”, classic Bluesrock from New York City's bad boy coming at you Feb 2010 . Get Knocked Out!!!! Tour dates will begin in March with shows in all major European and U.S. markets.
Popa Chubby has had a prolific career spanning several decades. From the break out early 90's hit “Sweet Goddess of Love and Beer” from the Tom Dowd produced “Booty And The Beast” to his inspired interpretations of Jimi on “Electric Chubby land” he continues to output a steady stream of fire and brimstone. February 2010 will see the release of his first release in almost 2 years with “The Fight Is On”.
Popa Chubby speaks from his Hudson Valley New York studio nestled in the hills, “This is Bluesrock for the people, I set out with some cool riffs and a house full of vintage guitars. I sat down and played and tried to come up with classic sounds. I called on my friends to help me and we started recording between tour dates. Then we'd take it out to the people and if they went wild we knew we had it!” This is evident from the first drum hits of the title track “The Fight Is On” A killer detuned Zeplike rocker followed by the anthemic “We Got Some Rockin' To Do” this record does not let up. Halfway through the recording Popa visited longtime mentor and friend Jerry Williams ( Bad Brains Producer) in his Joshua Tree California lair.
“We hiked deep into the desert in the middle of the day. As I sat something shifted and the weight of the cosmos passed before me, Time was no longer valid and all I did not need died in an instant.” Say's Popa as he shifts in his seat. “I was shattered and restored in an instant and something changed in my playing forever” We started to hike back and I followed Jerry like a Sherpa. The noon soon was relentless and I came close to dying before making it back to New York and recording the Power Ballad “Locked In A Memory.” I think this is my best guitar playing to date and I'm extremely proud of the searing Les Paul Solo in this song.” “N.Y.C. 1977” till… celebrates the glory of Rock And Roll while” “Rock and Roll is My Religion” proclaims the true faith! The record ends with Popa's killer rendition of Motorheads “Ace Of Spades” live from the 2008 tour.
Critical Praise for Stealing the Devil's Guitar:
"Excitement doesn't come cheap, and Popa Chubby gets it every way he can in these 13 eclectic songs. The New York City singer/axe-mangler keeps things rolling at a heart-thumping pace by one-upping Satan on "Slide Devil Man Slide" and the jazz-inflected instrumental "The Devil's Guitar," running drugs in "Smuggler's Game," and cranking the steel-on-steel peal of six-string slide to the max. But he makes time for soul, too, plunging into the funky old-school R&B of "Back in My Baby's Arms" and covering Mississippi hill country matriarch Jessie Mae Hemphill's prayerful "Lord, Help the Poor and Needy" (retitled here "In the World"). Toss in the blues-rocker "Long Deep Hard and Wide" and the acoustic bluegrass thriller "Buffalo Chips"--where Chubby blazes through a sweet and breezy melody on mandolin, Dobro, and guitar--and you've got the full profile of an artist whose talent is even bigger than his considerable girth."
- Ted Drozdowski
Critical Praise for "The Good, The Bad, and The Chubby"
"No one could accuse Popa Chubby of being a blues purist - his songs are way too adventurous for that - but, with his soulful playing and explosive tones, Chubby wears that raw, funky, urban vibe like a badge of honor."
- Art Thompson, Guitar Player
"... Somebody Let The Devil Out, is a killer fusion of stone blues, psychedelic rock and trip-hop that may be the best 9/11 inspired song out there." * * * *
- Ted Drozdowski, Pulse!
"...if Chubby's blues were food, they'd be the kind that stay crispy in milk. The Good, The Bad, And The Chubby is his most confident effort yet."
- Genevieve Williams, Blues Revue
"Truly a bluesman for the new millennium - purists may cringe at that thought - Popa Chubby (born Ted Horowitz) has an abiding affection for the tradition but uses it only as a springboard for his distinctive style. With The Good, the Bad and the Chubby, the rotund New York guitar-slinger has created his most compelling artistic statement yet." ***1/2
- Nick Cristiano, The Philadelphia Inquirer
"If you don't already know Popa Chubby, he's a funkier version of John Popper, with incredible guitars added to an arsenal of harmonica and unique vocals that fall somewhere between Big Rude Jake and Ray Charles. Chubby's guitar talents are versatile, ranging from slide-guitar blues to electric riffs on "No Trouble No More" (which is reminiscent of vintage Aerosmith)."
- Paul Baretta, CMJ
Venue: THE TRALF MUSIC HALL
Patron info number: 716-852-2860
Venue address: 622 MAIN STREET, BUFFALO NY
Date: JANUARY 28TH, 2011
Time: 7PM DOORS 8PM SHOW
Ticket price: $14.50 PRESALE $17 DAY OF SHOW
On sale date: DECEMBER 7TH, 2010
Tickets available at: All Ticketmaster Locations 1-800-745-3000 716-852-2860 www.tralfmusichall.com www.ticketmaster.com The Tralf Box Office
“The Fight Is On”, classic Bluesrock from New York City's bad boy coming at you Feb 2010 . Get Knocked Out!!!! Tour dates will begin in March with shows in all major European and U.S. markets.
Popa Chubby has had a prolific career spanning several decades. From the break out early 90's hit “Sweet Goddess of Love and Beer” from the Tom Dowd produced “Booty And The Beast” to his inspired interpretations of Jimi on “Electric Chubby land” he continues to output a steady stream of fire and brimstone. February 2010 will see the release of his first release in almost 2 years with “The Fight Is On”.
Popa Chubby speaks from his Hudson Valley New York studio nestled in the hills, “This is Bluesrock for the people, I set out with some cool riffs and a house full of vintage guitars. I sat down and played and tried to come up with classic sounds. I called on my friends to help me and we started recording between tour dates. Then we'd take it out to the people and if they went wild we knew we had it!” This is evident from the first drum hits of the title track “The Fight Is On” A killer detuned Zeplike rocker followed by the anthemic “We Got Some Rockin' To Do” this record does not let up. Halfway through the recording Popa visited longtime mentor and friend Jerry Williams ( Bad Brains Producer) in his Joshua Tree California lair.
“We hiked deep into the desert in the middle of the day. As I sat something shifted and the weight of the cosmos passed before me, Time was no longer valid and all I did not need died in an instant.” Say's Popa as he shifts in his seat. “I was shattered and restored in an instant and something changed in my playing forever” We started to hike back and I followed Jerry like a Sherpa. The noon soon was relentless and I came close to dying before making it back to New York and recording the Power Ballad “Locked In A Memory.” I think this is my best guitar playing to date and I'm extremely proud of the searing Les Paul Solo in this song.” “N.Y.C. 1977” till… celebrates the glory of Rock And Roll while” “Rock and Roll is My Religion” proclaims the true faith! The record ends with Popa's killer rendition of Motorheads “Ace Of Spades” live from the 2008 tour.
Critical Praise for Stealing the Devil's Guitar:
"Excitement doesn't come cheap, and Popa Chubby gets it every way he can in these 13 eclectic songs. The New York City singer/axe-mangler keeps things rolling at a heart-thumping pace by one-upping Satan on "Slide Devil Man Slide" and the jazz-inflected instrumental "The Devil's Guitar," running drugs in "Smuggler's Game," and cranking the steel-on-steel peal of six-string slide to the max. But he makes time for soul, too, plunging into the funky old-school R&B of "Back in My Baby's Arms" and covering Mississippi hill country matriarch Jessie Mae Hemphill's prayerful "Lord, Help the Poor and Needy" (retitled here "In the World"). Toss in the blues-rocker "Long Deep Hard and Wide" and the acoustic bluegrass thriller "Buffalo Chips"--where Chubby blazes through a sweet and breezy melody on mandolin, Dobro, and guitar--and you've got the full profile of an artist whose talent is even bigger than his considerable girth."
- Ted Drozdowski
Critical Praise for "The Good, The Bad, and The Chubby"
"No one could accuse Popa Chubby of being a blues purist - his songs are way too adventurous for that - but, with his soulful playing and explosive tones, Chubby wears that raw, funky, urban vibe like a badge of honor."
- Art Thompson, Guitar Player
"... Somebody Let The Devil Out, is a killer fusion of stone blues, psychedelic rock and trip-hop that may be the best 9/11 inspired song out there." * * * *
- Ted Drozdowski, Pulse!
"...if Chubby's blues were food, they'd be the kind that stay crispy in milk. The Good, The Bad, And The Chubby is his most confident effort yet."
- Genevieve Williams, Blues Revue
"Truly a bluesman for the new millennium - purists may cringe at that thought - Popa Chubby (born Ted Horowitz) has an abiding affection for the tradition but uses it only as a springboard for his distinctive style. With The Good, the Bad and the Chubby, the rotund New York guitar-slinger has created his most compelling artistic statement yet." ***1/2
- Nick Cristiano, The Philadelphia Inquirer
"If you don't already know Popa Chubby, he's a funkier version of John Popper, with incredible guitars added to an arsenal of harmonica and unique vocals that fall somewhere between Big Rude Jake and Ray Charles. Chubby's guitar talents are versatile, ranging from slide-guitar blues to electric riffs on "No Trouble No More" (which is reminiscent of vintage Aerosmith)."
- Paul Baretta, CMJ
