Mike Gent, What Was the First Album You Ever Bought?

By Greg Haymes On Oct 16, 2009

MikeGent “As far as I can remember, I think the first record album that I bought was the Beatles’ ‘Let It Be’ at K-Mart. I was really young, too. I was probably like five years old or something. Another one of my first records was also `Scraps’ by NRBQ.

Those are the earliest albums that I remember buying, but the first 45 RPM that I ever had was ‘Sundown’ by Gordon Lightfoot, which I still have.”

With the Figgs on a short hiatus, Mike Gent leads his other band the Rapid Shave into Valentine’s Music Hall on Saturday, October 17.

Figgs Mike Gent

Greg Haymes18126 posts

Greg Haymes founded Nippertown, along with his wife Sara Ayers, in 2009. Greg was a musician, journalist, and ambassador to the Capital Region arts community. Greg passed in April of 2019, but his legacy continues.

ArtBeat: “Sanctorium” @ CAC Woodside, 10/17/09

Pretty scary, eh kids? Headless Horseman Hayride and Haunted House

Event Details

Doors: 7:00pm / Show: 8:00pm
Tickets: $20 Advance / $22 Day of Show
Artist Presale: 7/28 @ 10am
On Sale: 7/30 @ 10am
Purchase: https://bit.ly/Dopapod_Saratoga2021

Symmetry defines Dopapod. The band and each of its seven albums sports a palindromic name, meaning it can be read the same forward as backward. More than that, balance has become the band’s modus operandi, with the group consciously juggling the darker tones of heavy rock with lighthearted humor; synthesizing tastes of funk, jazz, bluegrass, electronica, and more within their complex improvisational compositions. During live shows, Dopapod is known for taking fans on a full-out journey, guiding attendees through periods of frenzied dance contrasted with moments of thoughtful contemplation.

Since forming at Berklee College Of Music in 2007, Dopapod—composed of Eli Winderman (keys and vocals), Rob Compa (guitar and vocals), Chuck Jones (bass), and Neal “Fro” Evans (drums)—has racked up an enviable list of accomplishments: a flourishing fanbase across the country, yearly show counts tallying into the hundreds, and high-profile appearances at festivals like Bonnaroo, Electric Forest, Summer Camp, High Sierra, and more. Most recently, in fall of 2017, the group released Megagem, the band’s fifth studio album, which Glide Magazine called “simultaneously their most focused and thematically ambitious affair to date.”

After a successful decade together, Dopapod went on a planned hiatus in 2018 with the goal of restoring balance to the band. Explained Eli Winderman, “We have a fresh perspective on the whole thing—a different outlook on the band and on life. There’s a lot of renewed energy we’re feeling around it all.”

Energetically, the space allowed each member to rekindle their passion for the project and bring their long-standing friendships with one another back to the forefront. With this time gifted to themselves, the group has also intentionally reflected on their music, working together to breathe new life into old songs and revitalize live performances.

“We’re excited to come back and play these songs together again, to see if they can take on a new life,” Chuck Jones added. “After this year off, we’re not just going to be playing the same songs the same way we were five years ago.”

Band Website: www.dopapod.com

https://www.facebook.com/events/506082943806577/

Time

(Wednesday) 8:00 pm - 11:00 pm

Location

Putnam Place, 63 Putnam St, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866, USA

Calendar GoogleCal

20oct8:00 pm11:00 pmFeaturedWillie Watson / Nat Myers8:00 pm - 11:00 pm Lark Hall, 351 Hudson Ave, Albany, NY 12210, USA

Event Details

Willie Watson is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, banjo player, actor and founding member of Old Crow Medicine Show.

For nearly two decades, Willie Watson has made modern folk music rooted in older traditions. He’s a folksinger in the classic sense: a singer, storyteller, and traveler, with a catalog of songs that bridge the gap between the past and present. On Folksinger Vol. 2, he acts as a modern interpreter of older songs, passing along his own version of the music that came long before him.
Southern gospel. Railroad songs. Delta blues. Irish fiddle tunes. Appalachian music. Folksinger Vol. 2 makes room for it all. Produced by David Rawlings, the album carries on a rich tradition in folk music: the sharing and swapping of old songs. Long ago, the 11 compositions that appear on Folksinger Vol. 2 were popularized by artists like Leadbelly, Reverend Gary Davis, Furry Lewis, and Bascom Lamar Lunsford. The songs don’t actually belong to those artists, though. They don’t belong to anyone. Instead, they’re part of the folk canon, passed from generation to generation by singers like Watson.
And what a singer he is. With a quick vibrato and rich range, he breathes new life into classic songs like “Samson and Delilah,” one of several songs featuring harmonies from gospel quartet the Fairfield Four. He’s a balladeer on “Gallows Pole,” whose melancholy melodies are echoed by the slow swells of a four-piece woodwind ensemble, and a bluesman on “When My Baby Left Me,” accompanying himself with sparse bursts of slide guitar. “Dry Bones” finds him crooning and hollering over a bouncing banjo, while “Take This Hammer” closes the album on a penitent note, with Watson singing to the heavens alongside a congregation of Sunday morning soul singers.
Arriving three years after Folksinger Vol. 1 — his first release since parting ways with the Old Crow Medicine Show, whose platinum-selling music helped jumpstart the 21st century folk revival — Vol. 2 expands Watson’s sound while consolidating his strengths. Several singers and sidemen make appearances here, including Gillian Welch, the Punch Brothers’ Paul Kowert, and Old Crow bandmate Morgan Jahnig. Even so, Watson has never sounded more commanding, more confident, more connected to the music that inspires him.
“I’m not trying to prove any point here,” he insists, “and I’m not trying to be a purist. There’s so much beauty in this old music, and it affects me on a deep level. It moves me and inspires me. I heard Leadbelly singing with the Golden Gate Quartet and it sounded fantastic, and I thought, ‘I want to do that.’ I heard the Grateful Dead doing their version of ‘On the Road Again,’ and it sounded like a dance party in 1926, and I wanted to do that, too. That’s the whole reason I ever played music in the first place — because it looked and sounded like it was going to be a lot of fun.”
Nodding to the past without resurrecting it, Willie Watson turns Folksinger Vol. 2 into something much more than an interpretation of older songs. The album carries on the spirit of a time nearly forgotten. It taps into the rich core of roots music. It furthers the legacy of American folk. And perhaps most importantly, it shows the full range of Willie Watson’s artistry, matching his instrumental and vocal chops with a strong appreciation for the songs that have shaped not only a genre, but an entire country.●

https://www.facebook.com/events/343170373956192/

Time

(Wednesday) 8:00 pm - 11:00 pm

Location

Lark Hall, 351 Hudson Ave, Albany, NY 12210, USA

Calendar GoogleCal

21oct7:00 pm10:00 pmFeatured"Folk Heritage Series" with Andy Cohen7:00 pm - 10:00 pm Caffe Lena, 47 Phila St, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866, USA

21oct7:00 pm11:00 pmFeaturedCaroline Rose / Joanna Sternberg7:00 pm - 11:00 pm Empire Live, 93 N Pearl St, Albany, NY 12207, USA

21oct7:30 pm11:30 pmFeaturedMurderer’s Row / Dark Hippie / R.B.N.X. / Random Sleeze7:30 pm - 11:30 pm The Avalon Lounge, 29 Church St, Catskill, NY 12414, USA