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Honeymoon Suite

[HARD ROCK] Over the last 34 years, Honeymoon Suite has loved, lost, and prevailed. Forming in 1981, the Canadian happy-hard-rock outfit dominated the airwaves throughout the 1980s with a string of punchy, melodious hit singles. After a brief hiatus during the grunge era, they reunited in the spring of 2001 to release some of their strongest material yet.

Gaelic Storm

[CELTIC ROCK] Gaelic Storm made their debut performing in the 1997 blockbuster, Titanic. Their scene is marked by excitement through dance and laughter — likely meant to juxtapose the (spoiler alert) upcoming sinking of the Titanic. That celebratory excitement epitomizes the live experience. The Celtic rock band is “first and foremost, a live band,” according to guitarist, Steve Twigger. Each musician’s talent is palpable.

Nausea

[EXPERIMENTAL] As drummer for the haunted surf-noir of Aussie three-piece Tangrams, Andrew Dalziell is a rhythmic force, but Nausea is his new, drum-less solo project. Marrying simple electronic beats with overarching fuzzy guitar riffs, Dalziell creates a moody stew with his vocals buried deep in the mix.

Knife the Symphony

[PUNK] Cincinnati-based post-hardcore trio, Knife the Symphony, means business with an unapologetic, punishing vibe that remains quite listenable. There’s no pop to be found in this punk, leaving more room for compelling pockets of dissonance, progressive song structures, and shifting time signatures. Interested in a challenge?

M.A.G.S.

[ROCK] A new project born from the demise of The Malones, multi-instrumentalist Elliott Douglas created M.A.G.S. of his own volition, writing and playing everything on the forthcoming Cellophane EP himself. It’s a test he passed with flying colors:  the EP reveals an intuitive tunesmith who combines the contagious hyperactivity of a myriad British guitar bands with a more grounded sense of pop smarts.

Jonathan Scales Fourchestra

[JAZZ FUSION] The steel drums can conjure up images of the Caribbean and sounds of a similar origin. The instrument has leant itself to jazz over the years in small pockets, but has been largely pigeonholed and typecasted throughout history. Jonathan Scales should be considered the great liberator, leading the charge in taking the steel drum out of its comfort zone and showcasing what the instrument is truly capable of.

Brother Minister: The Assassination of Malcolm X

[SCREENING] Did the NYPD and the FBI have any roles in the assassination of Malcolm X? That is one of many questions asked in the 1994 documentary film Brother Minister: The Assassination of Malcolm X. In February of 1965, the 39-year-old Muslim minister and human rights activist was killed in a hail of gunfire at the Audubon Ballroom in Manhattan as he prepared to address the Organization of Afro-American Unity.

Bradley Crowder

[LECTURE] In 2008, two young men were accused of intending to bomb the Republican National Convention with eight homemade molotov cocktails. Those young men are Bradley Crowder and David McKay. Their plan was foiled by none other than their mentor, Brandon Darby, who turned out to be an FBI informant. His testimony was instrumental in convicting Crowder and McKay, who were sentenced to two years and four years in prison, respectively.

How to Be Creepy

In this article about Cheektowaga politics, I referenced a story that was published on what I called an “irresponsible local website”, which accused Cheektowaga town Councilwoman Diane Benczkowski of working to “suppress” the details of an investigation into allegations of misuse of town resources by politically connected people.

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