Remembering Stud Cole on his birthday

Remembering Buffalo-born Patrick Tirone aka Stud Cole with 2 songs cut in 1968 reissued by Norton on the Burn Baby Burn CD. 

Cortex brings Troupeau Bleu to Buffalo's Electric City, October 19

Here's the scoop...

There is hardly any comparison for the first time one hears the legendary French Jazz-Funk band, Cortex. Like tearing a sports car down the Côte d'Azur, their crisp bass lines and seductive piano stabs conjure fantasies of playful hedonism, sun-drenched luxury, and escape. Among the numerous European groups that absorbed American Funk and Jazz influences during the 1970s, few are as celebrated, or as mysterious. Over the years, their music has made its way to global audiences through Hip-Hop. As it stands, Cortex is one of the most sampled artists from France, appearing in tracks from Tyler The Creator, Flying Lotus, Conway The Machine, and most notably MF DOOM & Madlib. Check out a few Cortex performance clips below. 

There is little information available online about Cortex’s elusive founding member, Alain Mion. Born in Casablanca shortly after World War II, Mion was raised in Paris. By the late 1960s, he had formed his own trio, and was regularly gigging in Parisian nightclubs, as well as sitting in with visiting Americans such as Hank Mobley and Philly Joe Jones. In 1974, Mion founded Cortex with drummer Alain Gandolfini, and recruited talented session musicians, as well the singer Mirelle Dalbray to round out the group. Their first two albums, Troupeau Bleu and Vol. 2, brought them great attention across Europe from TV and radio stations and remain their most well-known works. 

Today, their impact among instrumental acts remains stronger than ever. Groups like High Pulp, Hiatus Kaiyote, and many others are descended from the group’s psychedelic blend of Funk and Jazz. Though they were only briefly active, the music of Cortex shaped tastes and for future generations while remaining an impenetrable mystery. Now, as they make their way to American soil, join us in what is sure to be one of Jazz Is Dead’s most unforgettable concerts. 

Cortex plays Electric City (433 Pearl St, Buffalo) on October 19. Check out Electric City's site right here: https://electriccity.com. Watch a few clips of Cortex in action below.

 

Guided By Voices, Weird Nightmare @ Buffalo's Iron Works, August 4

Might be time for a road trip to Buffalo for GBV's show at the Iron Works (49 Illinois St) on Friday, August 4. Info here.

For those who haven't been keeping up, Stuart Berman presents the best of Guided By Voices since 2012 right here. 

Watch Hasil Adkins & T-Model Ford rock Buffalo's Lafayette Tap Room in 1998

Check out Hasil Adkins and T-Model Ford playing sets at Buffalo's Lafayette Tap Room back in 1998. 

Watch Robert Cage, Elmo Williams and T-Model Ford in Buffalo, 1998

The late Elmo Williams (above), Robert Cage and T-Model Ford each kicked out the jams at Buffalo's New World Records in '98. 

Whaddya mean you don't know The Hamiltones

From deepest darkest Western New York comes The Hamiltones' terrifyingly twangy debut LP, Dracula Invitational1791.

Here's the scoop...

You are about to hear the score of the most ridiculous, b-movie Dracula film no one has ever seen (and may not even exist). The Hamiltones' debut LP, Dracula Invitational 1791 (out now on Swimming Faith/Big Neck Records) is an instrumental, surf-punk adventure that has as much in common with Ennio Morricone and The Cramps as it does with the Ventures. Nimble guitars, lurking bass, swirling organs, and eerie violin create a sound that can transform from uptempo and raucous to dark and baroque, harkening back to an era when ghouls roamed every Eastern European forest. 

Get a copy of Dracula Invitational 1791 – now in it's second pressing – via Bandcamp right here. Check out a few tracks below. 

R.I.P. Lou Courtney, 1943-2021

Sadly soul singer & songwriter Lou Courtney – born Louis R. Pegues in Buffalo – has passed away. Here are a few of his gems.  

Happy Birthday Jack Blanchard!

Cheers to Buffalo-born Jack Blanchard of Jack & Misty fame! Check out their 1970 eco-activist message tune "Tennessee Bird Walk" and a couple of other gems.

"Firetruck" is an ode to Buffalo from Toronto's Enchanters

"Firetruck" is off the Enchanters upcoming 7" single. They're joining Cool Hands at Jonathan Toubin's Soul Clap party at the Velvet Underground  Saturday. 

Horton's Holiday Hayride hits Buffalo on Thursday

Rev. Horton Heat is playing the Tralf Music Hall with Junior Brown, Big Sandy & The Blasters – time for a road trip?

Buffalo's punk elite The Drains & Facilty Men play in-store @ Parkdale Platters, Saturday

Check out tunes by The Drains and Facility Men joining Toronto's own FLQ playing from 6pm to 9pm. 

Bill Kirchen's Honky Tonk Holiday @ Sportsmens Tavern (Buffalo), Monday

Bill Kirchen & Too Much Fun knock out some seasonal swingers at 326 Amherst in Buffalo tonight from 7-10 pm.

Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell rock Bourlon

Be sure to grab a copy of Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell's latest single Isobel b/w Break Up out now. 

Dave Rawlings & Gillian Welch's current road trip doesn't run through Toronto

The Dave Rawlings Machine hits Buffalo's Asbury Hall Nov 5.  Watch the "The Weekend" clip and their HSB set.

The new Dave Rawlings Machine album Nashville Obsolete is out now. Check their complete tour schedule below.

MC Abdominal loves chicken wings

LINKS 
MC Abdominal site
Anchor Bar page

Abdominal's Sitting Music release party @ Supermarket tonight – stream the new album!

Exceptionally skilled Toronto hip hop MC Abdominal is celebrating the release of his well-chilled Sitting Music (Pinwheel Music) album with the Obliques at Supermarket tonight. Laidback and largely acoustic yes, but the personally revealing performances of Abs still swing hard thanks in no small part to the on-point support of guitarist Andrew Frost and percussionist Colin Kingsmore.

Along with a sharp shout-out to Buffalo's famed Anchor Bar on A Brief History of the Chicken Wing and a fiercely flowing collabo with Jurassic 5's Chali 2na on Balance Both, the album also features a hip hop first: a mother/son rap duet on track Courage which you can hear by following this link to the full album stream of Sitting Music. And check out the Abs interview conducted by Vish Khanna below...

LINKS
site http://mcabdominal.com/
label http://pinwheelmusic.com/artist/abdominal/
FB http://www.facebook.com/mcabdominal