Pigments of Sound Sensation – WHERE MUSIC AND COLORS COLLIDE

March 2, 2022March 2, 2022

LIVE: Plush (with Daughtry) Gets Standing Ovation From Audience at Their First Ever Live Show (July 31, 2021)

Originally Written for Nippertown.

Clearly I’m publishing this months after it was first published. And since then I’ve been to a few more Plush concerts. So there might be some edits I make with a newer perspective. But I’m not sure. I haven’t reread this since it was written. But so much has happened since my last entry that pertains to this one, and so a little context is needed.

In October of 2020, in the midst of a pandemic, Moriah’s father and mother reached out to me about taking some photos for a secret project. Moriah was putting together a band, and they wanted some promo shots and a demo song to send to record labels. They sat around my dining room table, my cat settling into Moriah’s dad (Josh)’s lap within minutes of them taking a seat. We discussed the project, costumes, locations, poses…and planned a date for all four of these women to come together. They were so newly put together that they didn’t even have a band name yet.

January 12, 2021January 19, 2021

Madison VanDenburg Permeates the COVID-Quiet Halls of the Bearsville Theater

Originally written for Nippertown.

The pandemic has brought many challenges for many-a-musician, but some artists have found ways to connect with and perform to audiences from afar. In a COVID world, living rooms and bedrooms and even bathrooms become concert halls. And occasionally, there’s an empty concert venue all gussied up for a live stream show. Such is the most recent performance by our own Idol alumni and pop music poster child Madison VanDenburg, who took up residence in the historic Bearsville Theater in Woodstock on Sunday (01.10.2021) night for a livestream concert.

With an itch for live music that hasn’t been satiated since last March, I was more than happy to attend at Madison’s request as one of only two people who weren’t venue staff (or Madison’s team.) To wander the halls of an empty venue is spooky. The absence of an audience was certainly felt, and it wasn’t just the performance space itself that made my skin prickle. It was the echoing crunch of gravel under your feet in the sparsely occupied parking lot, the locked doors, darkened rooms, vacant lounges with empty bar shelves, and this weighty silence that wrapped around you in the half-lit hallways.

Madison on the grand piano on stage at the Bearsville Theater

August 1, 2020January 12, 2021

A CONVERSATION WITH JESSIE FRYE, SWEEPING YOU UP IN A SYNTHPOP ROMANCE

God, I love retrowave (also known as synthwave). There’s something about the way it completely steals me away, making me nostalgic for an era I never lived in. Retrowave is based in the sounds of the 1980s, particularly the distinctive sounds of the movie soundtracks and video games. The music swirls with synthesizers and whimsical lyrics that long for lost loves, lost days, or the vibrancy of a sunset. If I were to describe retrowave as a scene, well, let me set it for you. It is South Beach at sunset; The neon lights from the art deco buildings are lighting up around you. The convertible top is down, and the rumble of ocean waves breaking and caressing the shore is in the distance. The smells of salt and sand and Cuban food is wafting into your nose, and the ocean breeze is tousling your hair in the dwindling heat of the day.

But that’s me. Your experience and accompanying imagery may differ, especially since the world of synthwave and synthpop are changing with every artist who enters into the increasingly-popular scene, artists like Jessie Frye.

Jessie Frye, photographed by Richard Gilbert

July 23, 2020July 23, 2020

A CONVERSATION WITH MAESTRO DAVID ALAN MILLER, VIRTUOSO OF AN ALBANY TRADITION (PART 2 OF 2)

This is part two of an exclusive two-part interview with Director and Conductor of the Albany Symphony Orchestra, Maestro David Alan Miller (MM) on Nippertown. Read Part 1 here. Part two can be found on Nippertown here.

Elissa Ebersold: How do you go about finding a composer or commissioning someone? How do you discover these individuals to write these pieces for you?

July 23, 2020July 23, 2020

A CONVERSATION WITH MAESTRO DAVID ALAN MILLER, VIRTUOSO OF AN ALBANY TRADITION (PART 1 OF 2)

Initially written for and posted Nippertown

The Albany Symphony Orchestra has been a staple of the Capital District’s cultural and music scene for nearly a century. Since its inception in 1930, the ASO has been home to eight music directors, though none whose tenure has been as long as the current director and conductor, Maestro David Alan Miller. Under the guided swish of his baton, the UC Berkeley and Julliard graduate has produced a vast majority of the symphony’s recordings, and for them earned three Grammy nominations and one Grammy win.

For nearly 30 years, Miller has not only brought his musical prowess and passion to the orchestra, but also his creative and avant-garde approach to orchestral traditions. Somewhat analogous to his animated personality, he offers audiences not only classical favorites, but a balance of a diverse range of contemporary, even theatrical compositions often played on-location in atypical venues. Miller continues to bring life and modernity to a centuries-old musical tradition, and will expertly entertain music-lovers of all ages while doing so.

June 30, 2020June 30, 2020

Sawyer Fredericks: Growing His Own Roots in Folk

Initially posted for Nippertown

Based out of Fultonville, Sawyer Fredericks and his haunting singing and songwriting skills have been in the nooks and crannies of “the 518” for a while. He was singing open mics and farmer’s markets long before he earned a four-chair turn during his “I’m a Man of Constant Sorrow” blind audition on season 8 of The Voice. Several weeks before he later claimed the prestigious title of the winner that season, being the youngest one to win at that point at only the age of 16, he repeatedly achieved spots in the Top 10 of the iTunes charts. His vocal prowess led to his strong covers of Al Green’s “Take Me to the River,” Goo Goo Dolls’ “Iris,” May Erlewine’s “Shine On,” Buffalo Springfield’s “For What It’s Worth,” and Christina Perri’s “A Thousand Years” taking top ten spots in the charts in positions ten, four, three, three, and two respectively. Republic Records later stated that Sawyer broke many sales records for The Voice, selling nearly one million downloads on iTunes during his run on the show.

Since then, Sawyer has been carving out his own path in indie music in a genre self-described as “free range folk.” Like alchemy, Fredericks fuses elements from blues, roots rock, jazz, and folk to form his own distinct sound. Give a quick listen to this gentleman, and let Fredericks’ sand-textured vocals and honest lyrics whisk you away to the illusion of a simpler time.

May 3, 2020May 3, 2020

Madison VanDenburg: From Second-Runner-Up To Running Full Speed Ahead (Part 2 of 2)

This is part two of my interview with superstar Madison VanDenburg, initially written for and posted on Nippertown. (On blog here.)

Madison Vandenburg at Upstate Concert Hall in April 2018 with her guitarist Tom.

EE: How did you choose your audition song(s)?
MV: I was in a voice lesson and I had been playing around with “Speechless” [by Dan & Shay] for a while because I had fallen in love with the song, and me and my boyfriend had seen this specific performance of them doing it at a radio station. It was the best I had ever heard anyone ever sing in my entire life. And I said, “I wanna do this song.” It was strange for me because I had never really strayed from the twenty or thirty songs I go through in my setlist. It’s usually what I always use for anything, including auditions. It was totally weird for me to go for this country pop song. My vocal coach was like, “Go for it! I think it sounds good.” I was just like, “Might as well try it!” and it worked out. I think I was going to do “Fallin’” by Alicia Keys. We were supposed to prepare two songs in case the judges wanted to hear more. But they just passed me on the first one, which I was really grateful for.

May 2, 2020May 2, 2020

Madison VanDenburg: From Second-Runner-Up To Running Full Speed Ahead (Part 1 of 2)

Initially written for and posted on Nippertown

Photo: Elissa Ebersold. Madison VanDenburg, Aurora Games, Albany, NY, 08.20.19

When it comes to reality TV shows, there’s no such thing as the binary. It’s never just as simple as “I watch it” or “I don’t watch it.” There are so many gradations that float in between “do” and “don’t.” There’s the guilty pleasure watchers. There’s the casual watchers, or the home-sick-in-bed watchers. You could be one of the watching religiously watchers and/or one of the live-tweeting commentating watchers. Or you could be like many and watch when a citizen of your locale becomes a focal point of the show. While I probably more closely fall into the “casual watcher” category, having turned these reality competition shows on and off for the past fifteen years or so, I know the latter category probably encompasses many citizens of New York’s Capital Region these past couple of years. Who could blame them with incredible talents such as Moriah Formica (The Voice, American Idol), Sawyer Fredericks (The Voice), and now more recently, the incredible Madison VanDenburg coming out of the woodwork and taking second runner up in season two of American Idol at only 17. No, sorry, scratch that. Not coming out of the woodwork. Coming in like a Category 5 hurricane.

So, if you haven’t seen how absolutely mind-blowingly talented Ms. Madison is, well this interview is sure to be a good place to learn all about her. Madison is a queen of melisma and control, and damn good pitch. Her voice sucks you in, and she sounds exactly like she does on TV. No autotune needed. She is incredible to see perform live, and I am fortunate and humbled to know her and watch her forge her own path and conquer her dreams.

May 2, 2020May 2, 2020

Moriah Formica: The Reality After Reality TV (Part 2 of 2)

Initially written for and posted on Nippertown. Part 1 (on blog) h ere.

Editor’s Note: This is the second part of the powerful interview with local rock star, Moriah Formica, a motivated and talented musician that was on the reality TV music competitions, American Idol and The Voice. Be sure to read the first part of this exclusive interview by Nippertown’s Elissa Ebersold, of what happens when the cameras stop rolling.

May 2, 2020May 2, 2020

Moriah Formica: The Reality After Reality TV (Part 1 of 2)

Initially written for and posted on Nippertown

Moriah Formica, if you live in the good old 518 area, is not a new name. She is another one of the many extremely hard-working and talented superstars to find fame, be it local or international, on a reality television music competition show. She is what Adam Levine, frontman for Maroon5, has called a “pint-size powerhouse” and what country superstar Blake Shelton once referred to as someone who received an extra dose of talent when God got distracted when He was sprinkling it onto people. It’s people like Moriah that make me joke that they need to save some talent for the rest of us.