WE’RE GONNA HAVE A CELEBRATION Locally revered record store Last Vestige (433 Broadway, Saratoga Springs) is celebrating its seventh anniversary all week long. The reason why the number seven is more important than 10 or five is, admittedly, a bit vague to us, but seven years is seven years. Last Vestige Saratoga manager Walt Wallen has told us that there will be plenty of events going on this week in celebration of the anniversary: midnight madness sales, free hot dogs, performances by area musicians, and much more. Duplex Planet creator and Metroland freelancer David Greenberger will help the store celebrate this evening (Thursday, June 8) at 7 PM, telling seven seven-minute-long stories, some of which are featured on his new CD, 1001 Real Apes. Stop in to the store or call 226-0811 for more information and a complete lineup of acts for the week.

LOCAL BASSIST DOES GOOD Prominent Boston music-promotions company the Mass Industry Committee nominated Boston-based R&B-soul-hip-hop act Velvet Stylus as a contender for the Best Live Group category at the 2006 MIC Hip Hop Awards. Why should we here in the Capital Region care about this? Well, because the bassist for the group, Jay Prokorym, is an Albany native. Prokorym joined the band in early 2005. He had worked with Velvet Stylus keyboardist James Auburn in the late ’90s band Mumbo Jumbo, whose first album was co-written and produced by Prokorym. Prokorym, like the rest of the members of Velvet Stylus, is a graduate of the Berklee College of Music. According to the band’s press release, “Velvet Stylus is the only nominee in the [Best Live Group] category who are not fronted by a rapper, though the group backs rappers on a regular basis.” The MIC Hip Hop Awards will be determined by the public. Voting is open until this Saturday (June 10); you can vote by visiting velvet stylus.tripod.com. For anyone who plans on being in the Boston area this month, the award ceremony will take place on June 17 at the Back Bay Events Center (180 Berkeley St.), at, we’re told, 6:17 PM. For more about Velvet Stylus, visit myspace.com/velvetstylus.

GET READY FOR DEATH (METAL, THAT IS) Metroland’s 2002 Best Band choice Skinless are touring like mad this year to support their new album, Trample the Weak, Hurdle the Dead, which is set for a release next week on Relapse Records. This album, which was recorded with engineer Brett Portzer at Max Trax Studios, is the first to feature new vocalist Jason Keyser. Guitarist Noah Carpenter says that this album is “some of the heaviest stuff Skinless has done.” With track listings like “Deviation Will Not be Tolerated” and “Spoils of the Sycophant,” the follow-up to 2002’s From Sacrifice to Survival should please Skinless fans young and old. The Skinless CD-release show will be held at Saratoga Winners on June 17; check out our next issue for more information on the show. For more about Skinless, visit www.4skinless.com.

THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING Area hardcore outfit End of a Year were signed to Revelation Records in March. Their debut release, tentatively titled Sincerely, was recorded at Inner Ear Studios with Don Zientara (Fugazi), and is set for a July release. Look for End of a Year as they tour the country all summer. For more information about EOAY, visit myspace.com/endofayear.

SPREADING THE MESSAGE Broadcast Live, a local socially conscious hip-hop rock band, debuted in the Top 40 on the College Music Journal hip-hop chart last month. The band, known for their self-described “bombastic” live performances, have a mission: to “uplift and empower people through poetry and the rebellious rhythms of hip-hop, brought back to its roots with the sounds of live guitar and drums.” Rebel Army Media released B-Live’s debut album, Underground, last September, and since then the disc has been played at more than 180 college radio stations in the United States. Catch Broadcast Live next at Red Square in Albany on June 30. For more information, or to sample Underground, visit myspace.com/broadcastlive or www.broadcastlive.org.

SHOW ’EM WHAT YOU GOT There are a couple of new open-mic nights in town. The first is at the Muddy Cup Coffee House (1038 Madison Ave., Albany) on Monday nights from 8:30 PM to 11:30 PM (signup at 8 PM), and is hosted by local acoustic duo 1/2 Step Down. The other takes place at Red Square (388 Broadway, Albany) on Tuesday nights, beginning at 9 PM (signups open at 8). That one promises to have “at LEAST” a full drum kit on hand, and it’s hosted by none other than Moon Boot Lover frontman Peter Prince who will open each show with a half-hour solo set. In classic open-mic fashion, poets, comedians, musicians and the like will all be welcome to perform at these events. Visit www.muddycup.com and www.redsquarealbany.com for more information.

—Kathryn Lurie

Got Rough Mix items? Contact Kathryn Lurie at klurie@metroland.net or 463-2500 ext. 143.

Got Rough Mix items? Contact Kathryn Lurie at klurie@metroland.net or 463-2500, ext. 143.