Taylor Made
A busy summer season for Chris Taylor and the Custom Taylor Band gets under way, starting with a performance at the Turning Stone Resort and Casino Showroom on Friday, June 1, 8 p.m. And fans of the award-winning country quintet will get a chance to take home a new CD, produced in Syracuse.
A portion of the proceeds from sales and downloads of the new single “Something Beautiful” will go to the North Area YMCA, a program the Taylor family embraces. “I’m at the Y four times a week with my two girls, they’re ages 4 {Leah) and 2 {Myah}.” Taylor explains. “I’m part of the Y Partners program that helps with the different programs they have. I thought it would be a good way to raise money for the YMCA.”
The song, a ballad written by Canadian Country Music Association award-winner Sean Hogan and produced by Central New Yorker Bob Halligan Jr., is one Taylor Band fans have cheered in live performances. “It’s a song about enjoying time with your kids while they’re still small,” the singer relates. “We played this song at {Vernon club} Nothin’ Fancy and it stopped the bar. We showed a video of my daughters and had everyone, men and women, in tears.”
Although Taylor won a 2010 Syracuse Area Music Award (Sammy) for the CD Down at the Honky-Tonk, “Something Beautiful,” which he cut with engineer Jocko at More Sound in Syracuse, was done with some familiar collaborators. “I’m recording with the band,” he says, “something I’m excited about since I haven’t recorded with them before.”
Friday’s Turning Stone country dance party also features T.J. Sacco and Matt Chase and Thunder Canyon. Tickets are $15 in advance, $20 at the door.
“Something Beautiful” will be available for purchase for $5 at the Turning Stone as well as on iTunes. Look for a link and more information at customtaylorband.com.
Hilltop Homecoming
There’s no better place for a country show than a hilltop barn. Thus, a “Country Classics” night at Kellish Hill Farm, 3192 Pompey Center Road., Manlius, on Saturday, June 2, promises to be pretty authentic. It also marks a homecoming of sorts for two local fan favorites. Former Southbound lead singer Lorrie Sheaks Royal makes a welcome return, as does Bob Fleming, who played—and still does occasionally—with the enormously popular rock and country act of the 1970s and 1980s known as the Moss Back Mule Band.
Royal will launch her versatile and fiery vocals as the guest of host band Larry Hoyt & the Country Classics, as they cover honky-tonk gems from such greats as Patsy Cline, Johnny Cash, Hank Williams, Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson. Fleming will lend his genuine country style and affection for western swing to the combo that also includes Dana “Short Order” Cooke on mandolin and vocals, Judy Stanton on violin and Mark Petrie on bass. Vocalist Eileen Rose will also guest.
The evening opens with a country music jam at 5 p.m. followed at 6 p.m. by a couple of hours of open country showcase for performers. Singer-songwriter Hoyt and his band will headline with a concert starting at 8 p.m.
The cover charge is $10. For more information or directions, call Kathy Kellish at 682-1578 or visit kellishhillfarm.com.
—Kevin Corbett
Pride Fest Moves and Music
Daredevil comedians, energetic rockers, prolific singer-songwriters and more will help make the 2012 edition of the annual CNY Pride Festival colorful as ever.
The free festival, slated for Saturday, June 16, at the Inner Harbor Waterfront Park, West Kirkpatrick Street, will run from noon to 5 p.m. and will feature three acts, Julia Weldon, DJ Bigboy and Square Pegs, with the event emceed by stand-up comedian Kristen Becker.
Since 1996 the nonprofit organization works to support and celebrate the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community as well as its friends and families. The annual festival, a family-friendly event, helps raise awareness for the organization as well as its mission and incorporates artists who match that mission as well.
Becker, a stand-up comic with 10 years of laughs beneath her belt, has been called one of the “Funniest Lesbians in America” by Curve magazine and effectively mixes bawdy humor with a touch of charm. As emcee, she’ll help move the day along as others take center stage including Julia Weldon, a guitarist and singer-songwriter in the queer folk-pop arena. She tells stories through her songs which hit hard lines and soft sounds, demonstrating her dominance over dynamics.
DJ Bigboy, who got his start spinning vinyl during parties for Syracuse University and Le Moyne College students and grads, branched out to Utica College of Syracuse University and became a campus radio deejay. From college parties, he jumped to internships at Def Jam Records and VP Records and has DJ’d for artists including Ray J, Camron, Fabolous and more.
And to pump the party up right until the end, the energized Square Pegs five-piece DJ and band will keep bodies shaking with popular hits from artists spanning Missy Elliot to Neon Trees to Salt-N-Pepa.
Additional events throughout the week will include a rainbow flag raising at downtown Syracuse’s City Hall on Monday, June 11, at noon, CNY Pride Interfaith Services at Temple Concord on Tuesday, June 12, 7 p.m., and the CNY Pride Parade on Saturday, June 16 at 11 a.m. For more information, visit cnypride.org.
—Jessica Novak
