Josh Burke comes home with The Red Jump Suit Apparatus with stories to tell

Josh Burke was 17 years old the last time I sat with him in a conference room, talking rock music and life. The kid was all right back then, a guitar player of considerable talent and a junior at Cicero-North Syracuse High School with a story to tell that gathered plenty of attention after it…

Hail, hail, Mr. Chuck Berry

Chuck Berry died last week, and I of course bowed my head to a major man of my musical past. Before my time, certainly, this guy who rightfully took his place as one of the first inductees when they openedthe Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, for helping shape that form as well as R&B…

Roger McGuinn still relishes bringing his unique sound around the world

People used to call him Jim McGuinn. The musician making folk music at the time didn’t think his given name sounded quite special enough, so he changed it to Roger McGuinn. Now that has a ring to it still, does it not? The man who made “Eight Miles High” ring so true during his time…

The B-Sides sound A-1 at Shifty’s

When my good friend Dave Kaspar gives me the heads-up that a trip to Shifty’s is needed to see a new band on the Syracuse scene, I believe him. After all, over the last quarter century, I’ve stood next to the guy hundreds of nights, appreciating the best our city has to offer. And then…

The Baseball Project sounds perfect for this time of the season

Bring on the playoffs, say baseball fans all over today. Not just in New York, where the Mets and Yankees have both qualified for the first time since 2006. Can we get the second Subway Series, 15 years after the World Series matchup? (In retrospect, that was one I believed helped pave the way for…

Hot April Night

Early on during his concert Saturday night in the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C., Neil Diamond asked how many people had gotten their tickets as Christmas presents. Half the 16,000 or so folks there cheered. I hollered out “anniversary, Neil!” The wait from October was worth it. My dear wife Karen can now cross seeing…

Pale Green Stars enters NPR Tiny Desk Concert contest

Jeff Jones was always a good, smart guy to be around when I worked the music and entertainment beat for the big daily. Leading the historic glam-rock band Dracula Jones. Fronting the Americana band Pale Green Stars. Being a citizen of Syracuse. I like the guy. He’s sent over a couple of emails of late,…

What’s Phantom Chemistry, you ask? Hot rock, to start

Listen attentively to the lyrics “Whiskey Slurs” and you’d think these could be the stories of people fighting out their living one block over, one street down, one neighborhood away. Maybe even in the garage next door. They sing about being in a band and how proud they are of it and hell no, that…

A rocking party to celebrate a special album

Many of you took the time to comment about my Friday review of Castle Creek’s new recording “The Only Life,” so I thought you might like to share the vibe of the duo’s Sunday night CD release party at Syracuse’s cool room Upstairs at the Dinosaur Bar-B-Que. I had my iPhone 6 warmed up and…

Carlos Santana soars, with no obstructions

It had been while since my dear wife Karen and I had gone to a concert in the Turning Stone Resort and Casino Event Center, but when I heard the word that Carlos Santana was bringing his guitar to the 5,000-seat room just 30 miles east of Syracuse, I knew that would make one heckuva…