St James & The Apostles w/ Sugar Burns

St. James & The Apostles are a family trio from Philadelphia that plays heavy psychedelic soul. They recorded their first 2 LP’s, ’Baphomet’ (2012) & ’Via Dolorosa’ (2014), using a back-to-basics approach, After a considerable amount of touring, they hooked up with producer Joe Nicolo to craft their 3rd album, “White Devil”

 

A BIG YES AND A SMALL NO

After getting kidnapped in Colombia in 1997, Kevin Kendrick got back to the U.S. knowing one thing: Despite studying at the prestigious Interlochen Arts Academy and being on a full ride for classical percussion, a symphonic career was not for him.  He soon joined the “prodigiously talented” (Entertainment Weekly) Fat Mama.  However, being “critically acclaimed but ill-fated” (Relix), this band expired in 2001.  After finally getting clean from heroin in 2005, Kevin moved to NYC. Surrounded by all that talent, he called the best musicians he knew; the boys from Fat Mama.  It’s no wonder Blurt Magazine said, “like great pop music from Burt Bacharach or Brian Wilson, the virtuosity is hidden, and designed to seem effortless.”  Virtuosity indeed.  Their first album was “the 14th most-added band to college radio playlists for July 2008”, and the newest one is coming out on Royal Potato Family April 20th, 2018.

THE STRANGE BREW CREW

  • The Strange Brew Crew are a Lambertville based band that plays a wide range of cover music that includes such diverse artists as Johnny Cash, Sublime, The Band, Jack Johnson, The Black Keys, the Stones and the Lumineers.The band features Mike MacManus on acoustic guitar, harmonica and lead vocals; Kenny Heller on lead guitar and backup vocals; Mike Cifelli on bass guitar and vocals; and Rick Kropp on drums.

NEW PONY

Philly born and bred, New Pony is an electrifying funk and soul band that will absolutely, without a doubt, unequivocally make you shake your groove ‘thang in ways that will scandalize the school board, make the preacher blush, and cause your mom and dad to wonder where they went wrong.  Musically, New Pony is a band that revels in a wide array of influences ranging from the classic sounds of Parliament-Funkadelic, The Isley Brothers, and Go-Go icon Chuck Brown, to the greasy, soulful New Orleans funk of The Meters, Galactic, and Dumsptaphunk.  But it’s the grit and grind of their beloved hometown – “Philly, yo'” – that provides the deepest influence.

New Pony’s live performances leave no doubt that they have enough energy to power a small fleet of motor vehicles, and the engine burns full-throttle.  The motor is ignited by the heat of lead singer and drummer Stephan “Butch” Young’s soulful voice, followed up by the power and passion of the supporting cast of Chris Devenney on guitar, Hadi Sumoro on keys, and Max Guerin on bass.  The Philadelphia City Paper recently said of them “they groove, they rock, they make you dance, and they throw one of the best parties around.”  ‘Word.

In their time together, New Pony has been tapped to open for a number of national acts including Bonerama, George Porter Jr., The Budos Band, Bernie Worrell, and Dumpstaphunk.  Their schedule also includes yearly visits to a variety of local and regional festivals, including Stir Fry Music Fest, Opple Topple, and the Cape May Music Festival, and they’ve been mainstays at Philly’s own Blocktober Fest since its inception.

New Pony released its second CD, “Make Your Move” in 2016.  Presently, they are touring and working on material for what they hope will be a return to the studio some time in 2018.

NAUGHTY CLOUDS

NAUGHTY CLOUDS IS…

…the meeting of the minds of two songwriters from different sides of the Hudson River.

Ray Kubian and Alexis Moon met doing a David Bowie tribute at Arlene’s Grocery in NYC (six months before the untimely death of the Thin White Duke.) They became fast friends on social media, “liking” each other’s posts on everything from Bernie to Buzzcocks.

At the time, Ray was playing drums with a few renowned NJ and PA bands (as great drummers who sing are wont to do) such as Dean Ween Group, Chris Forsyth’s Solar Motel Band, Chris Harford’s Band of Changes, and backing up Pulitzer prize-winning Irish poet Paul Muldoon.

Alexis Moon, a native of NYC, had cut her teeth (a few times over) as a solo singer-songwriter performing at venues such as Wetlands Preserve and Knitting Factory in TriBeca, as well as having sung for Joe Gallant’s jazz-rock orchestra Illuminati.

In the month that our lord and savior, David Bowie, passed, Ray and Alexis happened to be rehearsing together again for the first time since the previous summer’s Bowie tribute. Commiseration was like a salve for both musicians and, that quartet, which featured guitarist Keith Hartel and bassist Tom Shad, eventually became an early incarnation of Naughty Clouds.

Duo chemistry prevailed, however, and Ray and Alexis began to play out on their own, having started to accumulate a set of co-written music. As a duo, they have now released their first full length album Everything’s Hard. Because everything IS hard.

Although, it’s a little easier with two…

St. James & The Apostles Texas Send-Off

2019 is looking to be a great year for St. James & The Apostles. We’re heading down to Texas to start production on our 4th album, “Black Psalms”. But before we go, we’re playing a couple of shows as a grand send-off.

Friday, January 18th, 2019 we’re back at our favorite spot in the known universe, John And Peter’s in New Hope, PA, with our friends The Bad Larrys & Canyon – Band. Gonna be a ripper of a show! NOT TO BE MISSED!
$10 – 21+ – Doors at 9pm

 

CALLA BERE & THE ATTITUDE

Calla Bere & The Attitude is a blues rock group based in New Hope, Pennsylvania, USA. Formed in January 2017, the band is led by the powerful vocals and classic songwriting of Calla Bere, driven by Mastermind’s Rich Berends on drums and the Duane-Allman-influenced style of Kevin Rovner on guitar. After releasing their first album in the summer of 2017, the band has been playing out all over the place, harnessing their craft, and working on the next record, set for release later in 2018. This is a band that lives to perform!