As I write this I am bristling with anticipation because I’m going to be on my way to see DAVE ALVIN and LOS STRAITJACKETS at Club Helsinki in Hudson in an hour. As my regular readers know, I’ve been touting the merits of this show for the last 3 weeks, and now it’s finally here. I’ll be looking forward to seeing my old friend, Dave, and the guys in Los Straitjackets, again, who are also friends, but there will be a touch of sadness in it for me because this is the first time I’ve hung with Dave since the passing of our dear friend, Chris Gaffney, a few years ago. Chris was Dave’s partner in crime for many years, and I am proud to have counted him as a friend. We had a lot of good times together all over the country, and Chris was also a major talent in his own right (check out his band, Chris Gaffney and The Cold Hard Facts). Chris and The CHF were one of the bands that kept my own band, The Brooklyn Cowboys, out of the #1 position on the Americana Music charts, a few years back, but after that we met and became fast friends. I owe my friendship with Dave to Chris, and I really miss him. RIP buddy.

We’ve got a couple of cool shows coming up this week at The Bearsville Theater, starting tonight, June 23, with TODD RUNDGREN. Todd will be bringing his crack band with him, which includes area resident Jesse Gress on guitar, longtime bass player, Kasim Sulton, and Prairie Prince, formerly of The Tubes and Jefferson Starship, on drums. Every one of these guys is world class on his instrument, and this will be rockin’!

Two days later, on June 25, TUBA SKINNY, returns to The Bearsville Theater. Tuba Skinny is a new band, at least to me, but I have heard amazing reviews of their past shows, so I’m very interested in checking these guys out. I don’t know what to expect, but from what I’ve heard, you won’t be disappointed.

And if you’re in the mood for a road trip, WILCO brings it’s SOLID SOUND FESTIVAL to North Adams, Mass., on the weekend of June 24-26.  Wilco, The Levon Helm Band, Thurston Moore from Sonic Youth, and 20 other bands, comedians, and other interesting acts will be appearing. For more info, visit www.massmoca.org.

For you musicians out there, there’s a pretty cool open jam that takes place every Friday night in the summer at the home of my friends’ Steve and Dona Crawford in Olivebridge. All are welcome. They have drums and a PA, so all you have to bring is your axe and amp. On the third Friday of every month, Charlie Blumstein brings his home made, portable pizza oven and serves up the best pizza this side of Brooklyn! In nice weather, the stage is outside, but last week, the third Friday of this month, it rained, so the Pizza Jam will be this Friday night, June 24. Steve and Dona’s address is 49 Weber Lane, Olivebridge, NY 12461 and the jam starts around 7:30. More information can be found on Facebook at the Pizza Jam page. Once on Facebook, just search for “Pizza Jam”, and it will come up.

That’s about it for this week. It’s time to turn off the computer and get ready to rock!

Hi again. We’re back with a huge week of live music events, and it’s late, so I’m just gonna get right to it. The big show, for me, as I mentioned last week, is DAVE ALVIN and LOS STRAITJACKETS at Club Helsinki in Hudson. This show is a perfect storm of music – great venue and 2 of the hottest bands out there. It’s Sunday night, June 19. This is the capo di tutti capi of rock n roll shows, the show of all shows! Pick of the Week! Just go!

Now to the rest of the pack. Last week the paper came out on Tuesday, so I’m starting with Wednesday night, June 15, which is the first night of JOSEPH ARTHUR’s week long stand at The Living Room in Manhattan. Now I don’t know much about Joseph Arthur, except that he’s in a band with Dani Harrison (George’s son) and Ben Harper. That’s pretty good company! He finishes up here on June 21.

Friday night, June 17, we’ve got one of the great reggae vocal groups coming into the Bearsville Theater, THE MIGHTY DIAMONDS. These guys are one of the originals of reggae and should definitely be worth the price of admission. Also on Friday, June 17, if you’re more in the mood for something rockin’, check out LARA HOPE and THE CHAMPTONES, one of the best rockabilly bands out there, appearing at Market Market in Rosendale.

Saturday, June 18, is the first day of the CLEARWATER FESTIVAL. Always a great, fun, and educational event, the incredible musical line up this year includes over 60 acts each day, plus crafts booths, good food, information, and the entire event is powered by sustainable energy. That’s right folks, 100% of the power needed to run this massive event is produced by wind, solar, or geo-thermal energy sources. So when they try to tell you that sustainable energy can’t work, they’re lyin’ to you! The festival continues on Sunday, June 19. This is an all day, daytime event.

If you make it down to the festival on Saturday, you might want to think about checking out LOS LONELY BOYS at the Tarrytown Music Hall that night. These guys are great, and you’ll be nearby anyway, if you go to the Clearwater Festival. If you’re downstate, they’re at the Beacon Theater in Manhattan on Wednesday, June 22.

What do Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, Keith Richards, Dave Edmunds, and Elvis Costello have in common? They’re all fans of NRBQ, 2 of which former members will be returning to the Bearsville Theater on Saturday night, June 18. THE SPAMPINATO BROTHERS return triumphantly to Woodstock, and you should be there!

Monday, June 20, KD LANG brings her powerful voice to the Beacon Theater in Manhattan. Tuesday and Wednesday, June 21 and 22, EDDIE VEDDER from PEARL JAM pulls in to the Beacon, and closing out the week on Thursday, June 23, is former Woodstock resident and local fave, TODD RUNDGREN at The Bearsville Theater.

That’s some week, huh? Have a great week and don’t forget to put the Reservoir Music 5th Anniversary Party on your calendars for July 15 with Pitchfork Militia, The Cheating Hearts, Green House Funk Band, The Whateverly Brothers, and TJ and The Manchilds.

Howdy folks, and welcome to this week’s Reservoir Music Notes. Well, last week was Memorial Day, so I took a holiday, but now I’m back with a vengeance.

The big announcement I promised you 2 weeks ago about the Reservoir Music 5th Anniversary Party can now be made! The date and location, as I already told you, is July 15 at The Bearsville Theater. Doors will open at 7PM, and the music will start at 8. The headliner will be Pitchfork Militia, whom, as regular readers of this column already know, is, IMHO (that’s In My Humble Opinion, for you non-tech savvy readers), the best band in the Hudson Valley (apologies to The Reddan Brothers Band, The Organiks, Kristin Capolino, et al.). So I’m extremely happy to have them on board.

There will be a total of 5 acts playing that night. Opening up will be TJ, with or without his band, The Manchilds. That will be a game day decision. But either way you’re in for a treat because both acts have been ensconced at the #1 position on the Reverb Nation charts for the Hudson Valley for over a year now. (By the way, if you haven’t visited Reverb Nation on the web, you should. It’s a great site for musicians to get their music out on, and also a great place for music fans to find new music that you probably won’t find anywhere else.) TJ is a songwriter in the vein of John Hyatt, Bob Dylan, and Leonard Cohen, but he’s also a great guitar player, who will rock the house, especially if The Manchilds show up with him.

Following TJ’s set will be a short set by a new acoustic/electric duo called The Whateverly Brothers. These guys are masters of picking material and also write great original songs, and I’m sure they’ll have a handful of each at The Bearsville Theater. Like great rock n roll artists have always done, these guys are sure to teach you a song or two that you’ll love, that you’d never heard before.

After The Whateverly Brothers, we’ll have an Americana set from The Cheating Hearts featuring Just James, Jimmy Eppard, Chuck Cornelis and yours truly. Again, as my regular readers know, Jimmy Eppard is my favorite local guitarist, and we’re very lucky to have him with us for this show. I guarantee you’ll hear some guitar solos that will have you smiling and shaking your head in amazement.

Next up will be The Green House Funk Band, who are well known to many Hudson Valley inhabitants. Based around the guitar and bass playing of Gary and Allan Phifer, these guys do a mix of old and new school R n B and Rock, so, watch out!

And Then, Pitchfork Militia will close out the show.

Special guests have been invited, and some of them even said they’d show up!

It’s gonna be a late night, so if you’re sitting home at 10 o’clock, and you suddenly remember it’s July 15, not to worry. You’ll still have time to catch a couple of the bands. Throw some clothes on and come on over!

Back to this week’s reality, I only noticed a couple of good shows this week, but who cares! We need a rest after the last 2 weeks, and next week has the best show of the summer, so far, which I’ll tell you about in a minute.

Coming up this week though, on June 9, at The Tarrytown Music Hall, we have the great Eric Burden, voice of the Brit-rock Invasion band, The Animals, and later on, War. This guy’s one of the greatest singers ever. Like most his age, he may have lost a step or two, but he can still knock the wind out of most singers.

On June 10, we have local faves, The Paper Planets appearing at Market, Market in Rosendale. Five years from now, you’ll be bragging that you saw them in a place that held a hundred people.

And get yerselves ready, because next week is the hottest show yet this summer. It’s Dave Alvin and Los Straitjackets at Club Helsinki in Hudson, on June 19. Both of these acts are amongst my favorites anywhere, anytime! Dave is the brains behind The Blasters, one of the top 5 rockabilly rock n roll bands of the last 30 or 40 years. I’m not kidding. Check them out. He’s still rockin as hard as ever, and to quote my good friend, Tommy Hill, said at a Blasters concert, “It doesn’t get any better than this”.

But it can get pretty damn close, and the opening act that night does. They’re Los Straitjackets, and they are all amazing musicians who also have an ear for comedy, songwriting, and song selection. Their style of music varies, but it’s mostly psycho-surf and rock n roll. Do Not Miss These Guys! Do Not Arrive Late For This Show! I’ll remind you again next week, but put it on your calendars NOW!

Alright, gotta run. I’m late for a gig!