The big Syracuse music party will bring together Jam Factory

If there’s anything I’ve learned from watching musicians and music fans mix and mingle at the Syracuse Area Music Awards since the debut edition in 1993, it’s that everybody digs the reunion set. This year’s spotlight band will be Jam Factory, the Sammys organizers announced last week at a news conference at The Palace Theatre…

Hail, Caesar! pictures Hollywood in its glorious past

Envision Hollywood as it was in the 1950s, with big stars in the middle of epic historical remakes, comedies and musicals all the while embroiled in dodgy personal lives sure to draw the interest of the best gossip columnists and the American public at large, all of it keeping studio officials on their toes to…

No more meatloaf, please and thank you

The infomercial about the ultra-thin wallets has caught my eye. Not enough to go to the phone or web site, mind you, but enough to push me over the line regarding the life span of my trusty black leather version. Too worn. Too thick. A hockey puck in my possession whenever it must be carried.…

I’ll crow about the big rooster

Every once in a while, now that I’ve settled into the role of a red wine drinker, I decide to check out a new bottle. Before the holidays, I walked into the store and went for something different from the 19 Crimes red blend that’s been satisfying my once-a-week-or-less routine since summer. A bottle on…

He shoots, he scores at the AHL All-Star Classic

The best of the American Hockey League gathered in Downtown Syracuse Monday night for something all the banners and posters dubbed the All-Star Classic. And the old Onondaga County War Memorial rink was hopping. My dear wife Karen scored tickets Friday at SMG, and we were glad to take our two spots among the 5,710…

Five for Fighting at a hockey party seems so right

When my dear wife Karen texted from SMG on Friday afternoon with the news that she’d snagged a pair of free tickets for the AHL All-Star Classic weekend, I was all-in. The VIP Party on Day One brought rock band Five for Fighting to the Oncenter in downtown Syracuse, the convention center next door to…

Four floors of jazz warms up the winter

From bottom to top, the CNY Jazz plan to keep the genre hopping at Mohegan Manor worked quite well. The Syracuse arts organization uses its winter one-day festival in the big, old brick building in quaint village of Baldwinsville, N.Y., to raise funds and awareness for America’s own brand of music. On the last day…