(Neighbor Mike playing gypsy accordian at the Inn)
Greetings Route 32ers! October is nearly upon us and the new month looks great for the DYI musical lovin’ you dig so much. September marked the beginning of something great, not just for Route 32, but for the greater New Paltz music scene.
On September 1st Route 32 brought No One and The Somebodies in all their experimental rock glory and colossal soul-punks The Brooklyn What straight from the borough to 39 North Chestnut for a show reminiscent of the bygone age of Kitty City. I’ve spent plenty of sweaty, intoxicated nights at Club 39, but this one stood apart. No One and The Somebodies brought a boatload of energy to the table and rocked the house despite having to stop for a brief intermission so as not to alert New Paltz’s boys in black. The coppers left and the band played on, bringing the thunder to the end and getting a basement full of sweaty, sexy people to get way too close to one another. NOATS and The What were joined by New Paltz’s own Year on a Mountain who once again demonstrated their unique brand of folk-infused punk rock n’ roll. YOAM represent everything worth being excited about within the new-New Paltz scene: they’ve got unique brass n’ string instrumentation, are thoroughly up-and-coming, and are all younger than the average bear. Fellow New Paltz rock juggernauts, Nelsonvillains, rounded the evening out and delivered the heartfelt, curly-blonde spirit we’ve come to expect. The music was loud, the crowd was satisfyingly moist, and doggone-it-all if 39 wasn’t packed to the rafters with degenerate music hounds of all stripes.
(PORCHES. gets it right at Bacchus)
On the 10th Route 32 brought things above ground and made history by presenting Bacchus’s first ever 18+ show! The show featured Porches., songwriter Aaron Maine’s indomitable indie-heart-rock vehicle, plus New Paltz singer-songwriter/poet-poemwriter/pretty-feelings-maker Tom Christie. In true Route 32 fashion, Year On a Mountain and Nelsonvillains held things down and brought a bulk of barely legal music fans usually relegated to punk-rock cellar-dwelling to the surface. In addition to great music, Bacchus was home to great, local visual art produced by some enterprising young Paltz residents.
As if Route 32 hadn’t done enough, September 17th brought tidings of atmospheric art-rock with the likes of C.J. Boyd and Underground River blowing vulnerable young minds yet again, this time at Salvation Recording Co.’s studio and headquarters, The Inn. For many of us, the big white house with the wooden porch is a welcome relief from the basements and the bars and the only place to see great music. The living room was as packed with music lovers as its walls were packed with vintage axes, and the homegrown, handmade aesthetic set the perfect tone for Boyd’s lilting, circular compositions and masterful sonic looping. Boyd’s unwavering sense of aural decay and faithful timing made for a religious, ceremonious display that left me without words. All the while C.J.’s JAMbulance, fresh off a national tour, waited patiently in the driveway to whisk the music man to the next stop on his never-ending ramble. Underground River, fresh from their Johnson City warehouse studio, braved flooded roads and treacherous passways to bring us their haunting analog sounds. In addition to Boyd, stellar-songster and Salvation Recording artist Wind-up Bird treated the audience to a rare solo performance, offering up lonesome treatments of the songs with which we’ve all come to emotional blows.
(View of Wind-Up Bird’s Scott Nicholas from the piano at the Inn)
October 6th heralds the next chapter of the Route 32 tale with the release of Nelsonvillains latest raw-rock bombardment, Our Evil Inside Joke, and a raucous release show to match at Bacchus. You’ve seen the lights of gay Innis Avenue and it was good. Don’t miss another opportunity to have your spirit set ablaze by the hoarse-heart-hollering that only the Nelsonvillains can deliver.
Thanks to No One and The Somebodies, The Brooklyn What, Porches., Tom Christie, Nelsonvillains, Year On a Mountain, Wind-up Bird, C.J. Boyd, Underground River, and Bacchus for hosting a wonderful all ages event and proving that there is a place for everyone in the New Paltz arts scene! Stay tuned for more updates and weekly blog posts from your favorite fest!
Love,
Kyle Miller & Rt.32
