A grand farewell to the ROC

Dear loyal readers:

The time has come, as it does for many young Rochestarians, for this punk chick to move on outta Rochester. I am off to one of punk's finest homes, San Francisco, so writing about the music scene in Rochester, though I love it, loses its cred.

I want to share a special thanks to the bands and individuals along the way that have shared their passion for music with me. Lapse. Call Me The Patriot. Makyo Star. And especially, the discerning voice of Sakes Alive!!, Chris Vandevivier. Thanks to my dude, Dan, for letting me rip his old Murdock and Museums albums, while inspiring me with his drum work.

Thanks to Such Gold, Polar Bear Club, Like Wolves, and many others for your dedication to keeping hardcore and punk alive in Rochester.

Thank you to the fine folks of Water Street Music Hall, Flying Squirrel, The Bug Jar, and Montage for their continued efforts to showcase local music.

Thanks to the copycats and haters. You make me smile.

Always,
PunkROC aka Stephanie (@Strep)

Homegrown punk goodness

I have admittedly been missing out on few recent great shows, and since I'm leaving Rochester soon (details to come), I frantically realized that I wanted some delicious hometown music before I check out.

Thankfully, the BugJar is my savior, and is hosting a sweet group of bands this Sunday. For less than $10 you can stop by, enjoy the people watching, and vibe to some dirty, DIY, Roc music–some indie, some punk, some....et cetera.

Doors at 8, music at 9, including Bad Kids, Torus, Sexy Neighbors (Brooklyn), and Goons.

Drunken Lullabies

Flogging Molly is playing The Armory tomorrow night. This girl will be hoisting Guinness and carrying on, will you be in attendance?

Here's Your Valentine

Happy Valentine's Day, punks.

Saturday night in the ROC

What do you get when you add one part Hot Rod Circuit, one part Taking Back Sunday, one part Coheed and Cambria and a heaping spoonful of some fantastic, dance-along ska/punk? A solid night at Water Street.

Saturday night in the ROC, we welcome ska all stars Streetlight Manifesto on their Ship of Fools Tour featuring opener and pop-rock conglomerate Terrible Things to the stage at Water Street. I saw Streetlight back in 2009 on Warped Tour, and they were a personal favorite with their horn section and enthusiastic beats. Anyone who can get hundreds of exhausted, sweaty Warped Tour-goers to smile in the middle of the day and dance along earns a special spot in my heart.

It's guaranteed to be a night of fantastic music, ranging from punk to pop. Doors at 6:30, tickets are $20 at the door.

Art For Our Sake

There comes a time in every musician's tenure where they are faced with the harsh reality that the outside world pushes against them. Most of the local bands that I've chatted with over the course of the 1.5 years I've been writing this blog have shared an experience or two.

Usually, this experience manifests as a hesitance to tour widely or press a ton of records before testing the waters of what their audience will support. But, I wanted to share a post from my boy Chris of Sakes Alive!! and his take on creating music for the sake of the art form and his thoughts on taking the life risk to keep playing, despite the odds.

"I don’t know if this is all that relate-able for you, but I never received any type of support from my family for pursuing music as my lot in life.

I mean, it makes a ton of sense. Could you ever imagine telling your kid “hell yeah! School? Fuck that! You should scream and yell and make shit tons of noise all for the love of it instead of attending college, which would cement a salary that’ll cover your ass when the going gets tough. Music is what FUELS the soul”?

So (un)surprisingly enough, they made every effort to shake me of the siren song that was calling my name towards the hazardous rocks of ruin.

They couldn’t break me from the spell though. And ever since, I’ve been chasing my white whale with no consideration for life, limb, finance, or relationship since. It’s been a long road of extreme highs and lows. Some of the most euphoric moments I’ve ever experienced in my life. And then immediately crushed by the most cruel lows I think anyone could ever endure.

It’s hard living an art-centered lifestyle. The biggest reason honestly because you seem to be fighting off the army of cynicism and criticism from every angle. Being surrounded on all sides, a lone ship that’s been hopping from island to island for a quick reprieve from the advancing fleet. A drink from the oasis, a visit to the merchant for supplies, and off again. Fighting to taste the bittersweet freedom that hangs in the air and your nostrils, teasing you like a carrot on a stick.

Maybe not for all, but I’ve dealt with a large share of criticism. None of it I would say unreasonable from the opposing point of view. But ultimately makes for a shoddy support system. More or less you have to rely on your self-confidence and squash your self-doubt to keep moving ahead."

Read the rest of the post here

Ladies Night in Rochester

Don't ask Danielle LeBeau if she'll play Business Men. Lauren Ciarpelli will not be found crooning from a standstill any longer. These ladies are half of one of the latest indie/hardcore incarnations to take Buffalo and Rochester, Lapse. And, if they look and sound familiar, it's because only months ago they were half of Lights of Autumn, a Rochester pop-rock favorite.

But those poppy tunes are behind them as they embark with fellow musicians, Joey Raab, Garrett Tuchrello and newly added guitarist, Will Whaley, into a newer, harder, more experimental sound that they won't commit to one genre. As Ciarpelli says "We're melodic with a hardcore sound, but we're not 'melodic hardcore.'"

Confusing, right? Well, don't let the lack of definition throw you, Lapse has a specific sound and they're not afraid to shout it all the way to the back of the club. With the ladies citing their influences as a range of metal, punk, and hardcore, and Ciarpelli and Raab driving the creative force, expect great things from them.

I had the luck of finally seeing Lapse live at Holiday Havoc in December after a few misses at other live shows. With the other bands sticking to textbook metal breakdowns and unintelligible lyrics, Lapse stepped up and wailed us with a wall of music. Real music. Don't get me wrong, Ciarpelli is up front shredding her vocal cords like we've never heard before, but it mixes with the instruments in a way that totally rocks. They don't rely on tried and true metal or hardcore structure to build their tracks, and the result is uniquely them.

But, die hard LOA fans will probably be let down by this departure, though awesome. Lapse anticipates this and for the mean time are releasing their tracks digitally and in limited hardcopy quantities. LeBeau says it's also because people are hesitant to spend their cash on different genres than what they're used to. This is not the first time I've heard this from a local band. With independent financial backing and new musical offerings, who can blame them for testing the waters with an EP.

Overall, their sound is refreshingly hard, which I hope draws fewer Paramore comparisons on their behalf. The end of one chapter, and the beginning of the next, as LeBeau said "Why stick with the same thing?" Indeed. Be sure to check out Lapse this Sunday at Buffalo's Sugar City along with Iron Rain, Better Times, and Worthless.

All My Best Friends Are Metalheads

With Bayside and Terrible Things come and gone-and me still pissed I had to miss them- it's time to get geared up for the next great show to come to the ROC. It's almost time for one of the more prolific 90s-2000s pop-punk-ska band to light up Rochester with their confetti guns and horn section.

Last time Less Than Jake came to town I was lucky enough to catch their acoustic set at the HOG and snag an autograph from Chris Damakes. This time, I'll be less of a stalker, and more of a devoted fan from the pit at Water Street on January 31st. Tickets are $16, $20 at the door. Featuring Supervillians, Off With Their Heads and more.

New year, same old song

I posted it last year, I'll post it again:

Happy New Year!