http://www.journal-register.com en-us Copyright CNHI All Rights Reserved. 5 Mon, 01 Dec 2008 11:28:00 +0000 http://www.journal-register.com/music/gnnnightanddaymusic_story_336113133.html http://www.journal-register.com/music/gnnnightanddaymusic_story_336113133.html It’s Christmas Eve, 1943 and the troops are far from home. The USO entertainment team has left their own families behind to bring cheer to the war zone and “I’ll be home for Christmas,” is the song in everybody’s heart.That’s the premise of “GI Holiday Jukebox,” a musical review at Stella Niagara in Lewiston that is also a salute to Niagara’s own military forces. Fri, 21 Nov 2008 10:16:00 +0000 http://www.journal-register.com/music/gnnnightanddaymusic_story_326101810.html http://www.journal-register.com/music/gnnnightanddaymusic_story_326101810.html It seemed like the day would never arrive. Guns N’ Roses’ “Chinese Democracy” album became an infamous mess and a long-running joke as the years — 14 of them — rolled by. When pressed, Guns N’ Roses leader Axl Rose always insisted the album was coming. But almost every interested observer was skeptical. Dr. Pepper offered a free can of its soft drink to “everyone in America” if “Chinese Democracy” was released during 2008.Get ready to drink up. “Chinese Democracy” will be released Sunday and sold exclusively at Best Buy. Mon, 17 Nov 2008 10:51:00 +0000 http://www.journal-register.com/music/gnnnightanddaymusic_story_322105448.html http://www.journal-register.com/music/gnnnightanddaymusic_story_322105448.html When asked how Murder By Death’s dark, Western-tinged sound comes out of a place like Indiana, singer/guitarist Adam Turla said it takes an understanding of the state, which just this year switched from red to blue on the political landscape.“Indiana’s a funny place,” Turla said. “Nobody knows where to put it. In some of ways it’s the center of the country, but a lot of people there think it’s where the South starts. In other ways it’s like the Midwest, so it’s hard to pinpoint what kind of music comes out of there.”The band’s sound is just as mixed up, drawing from hard rock and punk influences while blending in a healthy dose of Southern sounds to create a style all their own, while the lyrical themes are just as complex, even though some of the early songs were spun on the fly. Fri, 07 Nov 2008 09:50:00 +0000 http://www.journal-register.com/music/gnnnightanddaymusic_story_312095448.html http://www.journal-register.com/music/gnnnightanddaymusic_story_312095448.html Scene: A wild dance party in some cutting edge bar. The DJ plays a tune so hot that everybody is on their feet, screaming and throwing their fists in the air. The room is about to explode in a frenzy of jubilant movement when the song ends and the DJ puts on a slow song. Can you say buzzkill?It’s the number one DJ mistake. But there are others, according to Derek Hockenberry, a DJ and party promoter who has been out in the local bars nearly every night lately, stirring up a buzz for his first event at 10 p.m. Saturday at Kold One’s on Third and Main streets in Niagara Falls. Mon, 27 Oct 2008 10:06:00 +0000 http://www.journal-register.com/music/gnnnightanddaymusic_story_301101015.html http://www.journal-register.com/music/gnnnightanddaymusic_story_301101015.html When Bud Redding played with Green Jello back in the early ’80s, he used to cover his keyboard with plastic so he didn’t end up with green gelatin all over everything.That’s the kind of band Green Jello was when it started up in the Kenmore area. The group would show up in outlandish costumes, spilling out of a hired limousine. There was a wheel of torture that lead singer Bill Manspeaker used to tie himself to and spin around on while he sang. And at the end of every performance, there would be a green Jell-O food fight. Fri, 10 Oct 2008 11:25:00 +0000 http://www.journal-register.com/music/gnnnightanddaymusic_story_284112933.html http://www.journal-register.com/music/gnnnightanddaymusic_story_284112933.html After hearing Okkervil River for the first time, it would be an understatement to say that Travis Nelsen didn’t think much of the band.“I actually thought they were terrible,” Nelsen said in a phone interview from New Orleans. “The fact that they got a lot of press upset me.”It’s an odd statement coming from someone who has long been Okkervil River’s drummer, but Nelsen’s journey to the band was a strange trip indeed.Okkervil River comes Friday to Buffalo’s Tralf as a critically acclaimed, literate band — two mainstay descriptions of the group. But the band has seen its star rise in recent years from small, beloved indie band to bigger, more beloved indie band (Okkervil River’s most recent album, “The Stand Ins,” debuted at No. 42 on the Billboard 200, the band’s highest chart position ever). Wed, 01 Oct 2008 15:08:00 +0000 http://www.journal-register.com/music/gnnnightanddaymusic_story_275150958.html http://www.journal-register.com/music/gnnnightanddaymusic_story_275150958.html I’m all for experimentation, but much like their brethren in the movies, many songs don’t need any sort of cover or remake, no matter how fondly the artist might think of the original song or singer. Fri, 26 Sep 2008 09:23:00 +0000 http://www.journal-register.com/music/gnnnightanddaymusic_story_270094546.html http://www.journal-register.com/music/gnnnightanddaymusic_story_270094546.html Unless Emmylou Harris is singing the national anthem before a Sabres game, the odds that “country music,” “ice hockey” and “the feminist ideal” are making their rounds in the same circles are pretty poor.Yet defying those odds are part of the allure of Kathleen Edwards, the Ontario songstress who hits the local stage Sunday at the Ninth Ward at Babeville. Mon, 22 Sep 2008 09:55:00 +0000 http://www.journal-register.com/music/gnnnightanddaymusic_story_266095548.html http://www.journal-register.com/music/gnnnightanddaymusic_story_266095548.html If there were any musical justice in this world, we wouldn’t be subjected to this. But as we’ve all learned, the concept of musical justice is but a beautiful dream.Therefore, New Kids on the Block are in the midst of a successful comeback. Tue, 16 Sep 2008 10:26:00 +0000 http://www.journal-register.com/music/gnnnightanddaymusic_story_260102915.html http://www.journal-register.com/music/gnnnightanddaymusic_story_260102915.html Start the countdown clock on MTV’s countdown era: “Total Request Live” will soon shut down after 10 years on the air.The music video show will conclude in a two-hour special on a Saturday afternoon in November, Dave Sirulnick, executive producer of “TRL,” said Monday. He stressed that the show wasn’t ending for good but was taking a break after an unprecedented run on the cable music channel. Thu, 11 Sep 2008 10:10:00 +0000 http://www.journal-register.com/music/gnnnightanddaymusic_story_255101416.html http://www.journal-register.com/music/gnnnightanddaymusic_story_255101416.html Toby Rotella hasn’t owned a blues club in more than two decades, but he still feels the music that was played in his former business on a daily basis.The former Niagara Falls resident created The Imperial Garage in 1980, a converted mechanic’s shop on Third Street that hosted blues legends such as B.B. King, Stevie Ray Vaughan and John Lee Hooker during its short life.Rotella moved to Florida after the club shut down in 1984, and he began hosting blues reunions there about seven years ago. Shortly after, he gauged interest in a full-blown Imperial Garage reunion.With enough backers on board, those effort will culminate this weekend with the inaugural Niagara Falls Blues Festival. Wed, 03 Sep 2008 16:27:00 +0000 http://www.journal-register.com/music/gnnnightanddaymusic_story_247162819.html http://www.journal-register.com/music/gnnnightanddaymusic_story_247162819.html Driving around town this past weekend, it was quickly clear that there was a holiday Monday.Radio stations of many genres rolled out their “best-of” lists, the gimmick they use most three-day weekends during which some guys at the station (or station listeners) rank the top songs of that station’s format of all-time.Of particular interest to this child of the ’90s was a modern rock countdown on a Canadian station. After the top of the list touched upon Stone Temple Pilots, Pearl Jam and Nirvana, “Under the Bridge” from the Red Hot Chili Peppers was unveiled as the top song. Wed, 03 Sep 2008 16:17:00 +0000 http://www.journal-register.com/music/gnnnightanddaymusic_story_247161858.html http://www.journal-register.com/music/gnnnightanddaymusic_story_247161858.html Millions of people still watch music videos. Though it may be hard to believe, considering the lack of music videos being shown channels that used to be known for them, it’s true. As with anything else, fans have flocked to the Internet to satisfy their needs. Many of the most-viewed videos on YouTube.com are music videos, with a few videos registering more than 50 million hits. Thu, 28 Aug 2008 09:42:00 +0000 http://www.journal-register.com/music/gnnnightanddaymusic_story_241095027.html http://www.journal-register.com/music/gnnnightanddaymusic_story_241095027.html Entering songwriting sessons for the new Candlebox CD, singer/guitarist Kevin Martin made no bones about how important this record would be for the band.The Seattle-based group, which had broken up in 1999 after three albums and a couple of key personnel changes, regrouped two years ago when Rhino Records decided to put together Candlebox greatest hits album. Fri, 22 Aug 2008 09:53:00 +0000 http://www.journal-register.com/music/gnnnightanddaymusic_story_235095310.html http://www.journal-register.com/music/gnnnightanddaymusic_story_235095310.html Toby Keith’s screenwriting career might not be off to a good start, but he fortunately has a pretty good day job upon which to fall back.The country singer’s debut writing effort, “Beer for My Horses,” tanked at the box office, earning only $209,253 in a limited release of 91 theaters ($2,299 per screen) during its opening weekend Aug. 8.He doesn’t have much time to reflect on that, though, with the continuation of his “Biggest and Baddest Tour.” The tour, which comes this weekend to Darien Lake, kept Keith busy pretty much every day in the months leading up to the film’s release, as he’d work on the film and do publicity on weekdays and perform concerts on weekends.