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IS
THAT A GUITAR IN YOUR POCKET,OR ARE YOU JUST HAPPY TO SEE
ME? Many area musicians are still suffering due to their
lockout from the Hilton rehearsal spaces. The doors to 448
and 450 N. Pearl St. in Albany, two warehouse buildings down
from our friend Nipper, were padlocked July 22 after police
arrested some folks for allegedly using one of the spaces
for prostitution and pimping. During the arrest, their eyes
must have wandered to the many things in the building not
up to code. Wonder what they were looking at when investigating
the huge gear heist from those spaces a year ago—apparently
the lack of smoke alarms, sprinkler system and the abundance
of electrical hazards were less important then. The buildings
housed a slew of tiny rehearsal spaces, which were always
full and always in use, as well as a couple of recording studios—and
nobody can get back to work there until the buildings’ landlord,
John Hilton, corrects the problems. He apparently has moved
some musicians to spaces across the river, but many of the
renters still can’t get into the place to get their stuff.
And folks who made their living out of these buildings, Scarlet
East Studios’ John Delehanty, for example, are shit out of
luck.
CHANGE
OF LIFE: The Sixfifteens keep going through changes,
a transformation that has been occurring ever since the longtime
power-pop band Dryer became the Sixfifteens—albeit with a
new bassist. Their recent changes include the departure of
bassist Gene Davenport—who’s fleeing our area for a
taste of the Big Apple—and the addition of former Glitter
of Cohoes drummer Jeffrey Fox. Fox plays guitar for
the Sixfifteens, and his influence on the band, steering them
closer to Mission of Burma, can be heard in their newest songs,
to be put on record in the near future. The band will perform
bassless until just the right fit shows up, but you can hear
some of Davenport’s playing and influence on the band if you
head to www.thesixfifteens.com, as the mp3s on their site
are of songs recorded with him.
LONG
DAY’S JOURNEY INTO NOISE: One of our favorite noise-rock
bands, the Amazing Plaid, voted best new band in our
recent Best Of (and though they’ve been around for, like,
three or four years, their shiny luster still hasn’t worn
off), will embark on their Amerika: Wha Happened Tour on Friday,
starting in New York City and heading all over the damn place
before returning for a show at Valentine’s on Aug. 24. They’ll
reach as far west as Madison, Wisc., and midway through the
jaunt they’ll be joined by their friends and rockers, the
High Socks.
TRADING
UP: Former Artie’s Lansingburgh Station proprietor Art
Fredette has found a new home in downtown Troy’s All Sports
Pub. He’s now managing the venue at 194 River St, and is thrilled
to have found the large space (it’ll fit 350 people) with
a full stage and PA. Expect the rocking to commence. We’ll
keep you posted.
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| Space
age hooligans: Giagni gives the Erotics some motivation. |
SPACE
IS THE PLACE: Local glam-punk band the Erotics (featured
in our Best Of issue as the area’s best rock band) have sought
out area filmmaker Dean Giagni, director of the recently
released short film The Situationist, to shoot the
video for “Space Age Mafia,” from their release All That
Glitters Is Dead. The band are portrayed as mafia dons
seeking revenge on a record honcho who apparently gets tossed
into the Hudson for the trademarked sleeping-with-the-fishes
scene. The footage was shot last weekend and some more will
be captured this upcoming weekend. The band’s label, Cacophone,
plans to include the video as a CD-ROM track on the album’s
second pressing.
—Kate
Sipher
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