ROUGH MIX

BIGGER IS BETTER Clifton Park’s mainstay rock club, Northern Lights, has undergone quite an impressive renovation lately. Owner Kip Finck added 5,000 square feet to the club, creating an entirely new section that’s practiacally as big as the existing room. The new space comes fully loaded, complete with tables and chairs for dining (the club serves pub fare, like wings and appetizers), pool tables, a brand-new bar, new bathrooms, an Internet kiosk (so with the help of a digital camera, you can send pictures of a band live to your friends), and big-screen televisions on which to watch the game or the live band. Finck says patrons will be able to see the band from wherever they are in the club. In addition, if duty calls, the staff is able to separate the new section of the bar from the other side of the club by a heavy curtain for special events.

Finck says that he’s not done with the expansion, either. While he is currently concentrating on making money back that was expended on the renovation, he looks forward to buying a room on the other side of the original club and adding that room on to the club as well. (That new room has higher ceilings—when that space is acquired, Finck says he’ll move the stage into that room.)

In addition to the transformation of the bar, Finck is excited to announce another added feature of the club. Northern Lights will shortly become the home of a Ticketmaster office, where you’ll be able to buy tickets to any Ticketmaster concert.

Be on the lookout for upcoming acts like Finger Eleven, Twizted, Chris Cagle, Buddahead and Jimmy Eat World, as well as events like the Coors Light and Channel 103.1 Most Original Band Contest. For more information, including full schedules, visit www.northernlightslive.com, or call the club at 371-0012.

 

This hair is perfect for headbanging: Ahmad Alkurabi will represent his band, Beyond All Reason, on MTV’s new show, Battle for Ozzfest.

HELPING TO PUT THE CAPITAL REGION SCENE ON THE MUSIC MAP Sweet! One of our local industrious hardcore bands was picked to be one of the five finalist bands on the new MTV reality show Battle for Ozzfest. Beyond All Reason have been playing together for about two years, gigging at local spots like Saratoga Winners, Northern Lights and the New Age Cabaret.

Beyond All Reason guitarist Scott Gara said, “We originally got involved with Battle for Ozzfest by attending an open call in New York City. The open call was posted on Ozzfest.com, and between New York and L.A. about 700 to 800 bands turned up. . . . After a series of eliminations, it was all said and done, and we were one of the [eight] remaining bands on the show.”

One musician per finalist band was selected to represent their group and to fight for a slot on the Ozzfest stage alongside supergroups like Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Slayer and Slipknot, to name a few. So, 20-year-old Ahmad Alkurabi from Latham was selected to act for his band while everyone’s favorite reality-show parents, Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne, will test his, and the other chosen musicians’, physical, mental, moral and musical mettle.

Predictably, Gara isn’t allowed to disclose many details about the show—“for more info . . . you’ll just have to tune in to the show,” he tells me—but he and his band are really excited about the possibilities that being on this show will present to them. “It was a pretty surreal experience to say the least,” Gara says, “and now that we are getting to watch it on MTV it’s even more mind-boggling.”

New episodes of Battle For Ozzfest air on MTV on Monday nights; current episodes are repeated throughout the week. To find out more about the band, check out their Web site at www.byon dallreason.com, or www.mtv.com, where they have a get-to-know-you video spot for each of the bands. Catch Beyond All Reason when they play their next show at the Hudson Duster (40 Third St., Troy) on Nov. 10 at 8 PM, where they will share the stage with Pound for Pound, Overthrown and Save Your Breath. Take advantage of this $5 cover—with their newfound fame, Beyond All Reason will likely be charging a little extra during their upcoming tour.

—Kathryn Lurie