We Are Launched!

Michael Eck by Sebastien Barre

Michael Eck performing at the Launch Party, by Sebastien Barre

Many thanks to all those who came out last Friday to help us inaugurate the Albany Music Coalition! The show was a great success, a load of fun, and a great opportunity to chat with some more members of the community about our goals and how everyone can get involved.

A few specific thanks are in order. First and foremost, thank you so much to Matthew Carefully, Michael Eck, and Tom McWatters and the Philo Beddoe Band for performing. They have all been involved, to varying degrees, with the Coalition during our establishment and preparations for launch, and we are deeply appreciative of all their support.

Matthew Carefully by Sebastien Barre

Matthew Carefully performing at the Launch Party, by Sebastien Barre

Also, a great deal of thanks must go to Howard Glassman, who has been in on the planning of the Coalition literally since the moment we had the idea for it, and who has been endlessly accommodating, and to the amazing staff at Valentine’s who kept everything running smoothly. And last but not least, thanks to WEXT for co-sponsoring the event.

If you were at the show, and took pictures, we would love to see them! Add them to our brand-shining-new Flickr Group, Facebook, or send us a link to where we can find them.

Tom McWatters by Sebastien Barre

Tom McWatters and Scott Smith, by Sebastien Barre

So, what next? There is of course no rest for the weary — we are hard at work on launching a series of events for this summer, which we hope to be announcing soon. As always, you can remain informed about our activities and learn how to become involved by signing up for our mailing list. You’ll find the form to the right of this post, or by clicking here.

All photos in this post by Sebastien Barre. Check out his blog here.

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Harith, April 17th 2012 | Tags: , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Coalition News, Events

TONIGHT!!

The Albany Music Coalition Launch Party is TONIGHT!!

Co-sponsored by EXIT 97.7 WEXT

________________________________________________________________________

7:30 PM - Seven Dollars

Valentines Upstairs (17 New Scotland Ave. Albany NY 12208)

Come prepared to hear some wonderful local musicians 

MATTHEW CAREFULLY / MICHAEL ECK / TOM MCWATTERS and the PHILO BEDDOE BAND

________________________________________________________________________

Many Thanks to EXIT 97.7 WEXT

 

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Katie, April 13th 2012 | Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Events

Featured Local Artists: Matthew Carefully, Michael Eck, and Tom McWatters

Matthew by Rich Orris / Michael by Thomas D. Lindsay / Tom by Bennett Campbell

This month’s Local Artist Feature is not only one artist, but all three of our special performers for the Launch Party tomorrow night, April 13th!

Matthew Carefully is the performing alias of local mainstay Matthew Loiacono. After spending numerous years with the Kamikaze Hearts, Matthew has spent the past few years honing his solo sound, an inventive mixture of traditional string instruments, vocal harmonies, and electronic and distorted sounds. He has released six albums and EPs under this moniker, most recently The Brunswick Soundtrack, the score to the documentary film Brunswick by Nate Simms.

Matthew plays an important role in Albany Music Coalition history, as he introduced Harith Saam and Katie Hammon, leading them to co-found the Coalition. Matthew is constantly playing music. He and Hunter Sagehorn performed as Rosary Beard at the Coalition’s press event in March. They will be releasing their first album in May.

Check out Matthew’s website here, or head over to his Bandcamp.

Michael Eck is most often seen performing in the groups Ramblin Jug Stompers and Lost Radio Rounders, but it is his long history of solo performance that has earned his reputation as one of the area’s great songwriters. Since his first solo release in 1995, Eck has become known for a sound he terms “maximum solo acoustic,” roots-rock that is as much indebted to Woody Guthrie as Tom Waits.

Between the Jug Stompers and the Ronders, Michael has been keeping so busy that he hasn’t played a solo show in ages. It will be a great and all-too-rare treat to have him on stage at the Launch Party.

Head over to Michael’s website for more info.

Tom McWatters has performed in and around the Capital Region for over a decade, both solo and with the band The Sense Offenders. His songs meet at the intersection of rock, soul, and blues, and he has come to be known both for his riveting solo acoustic performances and his electrifying full-band rock show. Tom’s current band, the Philo Beddoe Band, is comprised of members of Charmboy Eric Halder, Sarah Clark, and Scott Smith, and former Kamikaze Heart Bob Buckley. Tom has been a member of Harith’s record label, The Rev Records, since day one, and has released three solo recordings there, including the Live at the Dovecote EP just over two months ago.

Attendees on April 13 will have the great pleasure of seeing The Philo Beddoe Band in action. They will close out the night with the exact opposite of a whimper.

Click here to learn more about Tom, or head over to his Bandcamp page.

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admin, April 12th 2012 | Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Featured Artist

Who Are We?

Katie Hammon and Harith Saam at The Albany Music Coalition Press Event

Photo taken by Jesse Matulis at The Foundry for Art Design + Culture

As The Albany Music Coalition steps up into the community, here is a little more depth into what we have in the works for this coming year.

In building the vast community of musicians and music lovers, we plan to work across all genres, ages, professions and experience; providing events that will pull the community together as well as educate those around us. There are many subsets of musicians and professionals working in the music field that seem to be unaware of one another; we plan to bridge the gaps and connect these communities into one large music community.

Through our website we plan to have an interactive calendar that anyone can submit events to, a monthly newsletter, features on local artists, as well as a series of informational and educational podcasts on topics related to our music community. We hope that the music community will use these tools as well as other items on our website, but we are most focused on events and educational materials that help to connect those around us in person.

Some of the events we are planning for this year include a local musician’s concert series, shows for kids, workshops, panel discussions, town hall meetings, and a culminating conference. In founding the Albany Music Coalition Harith Saam and I, Katie Hammon, discussed many issues we saw in The Albany Music Community. We formed the Coalition as a way to solve these issues and improve the community as a whole.

We founded The Albany Music Coalition for the musicians, and music lovers and hope that the community will jump on board as we work together to make Albany and the surrounding area a more cohesive place to be a musician, write about music, record music, teach music, listen to music, and much, much more.

Coaltion Press Event Attendees

Photo taken by Jesse Matulis at The Foundry for Art Design + Culture

The Coalition wishes to provide free benefits for the first year and possibly more depending on our ability to sustain ourselves solely on volunteer work and ticketed events. If and when we move to a paid membership, dues will help fund educational projects and events requiring more resources then we can currently afford. We do not wish to turn anyone away; therefore dues will be very low.

I hope those interested in The Albany Music Coalition understand a little more about who we are and what we have to offer. We hope you will attend our first event on April 13th to learn a bit more about The Coalition and enjoy the sounds of these amazing local musicians. Admission will be used to support The Coalition as we move through the process of establishing non-profit status.

Thank you for all of your support and interest.

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Katie, April 11th 2012 | Tags: , ,
Posted in Coalition News

Launch Party Set for April 13

Launch Party Flier

We’ve been working hard for the last few months to get the Coalition ready to go, so we’re anxious to actually get out into the community and get started. Luckily, the wait is over: our official launch is Friday, April 13, at Valentine’s in Albany. Performing will be the outstanding local musicians Michael Eck, Matthew Carefully, and Tom McWatters and the Philo Beddoe Band. The event is co-sponsored by WEXT.

Aside from seeing some really great performances, this will be our chance to start talking to members of the music community about setting up some of our activities. The idea of the Coalition is to foster communication among everyone involved in music in the Capital Region, so there is no better way than to get as many people involved as possible. I personally can’t wait to start getting people on board for some of the great events and programs we’re hoping to launch over the next year.

To see the full press release, click here. See you on the 13th!

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Harith, April 3rd 2012 | Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Coalition News, Events, News Releases