How to gain exposure and fans in other ways? There are few questions:

1) Where are you located?
2) What genre are you?
3) Do you have a band, are you a solo act?

a1) If you’re located in a moderate sized city, start playing at places that suit your style. For an obvious example, if you’re pop, don’t play the local hardcore dive or else you will probabiy be physically harmed.
a2) Your genre determines your outlets for finding people. If you’re a classical/musical singer, you have to hook up with performing arts companies. If you’re indie, folk, or adult contemporary, you should start playing at local coffee shops and other intimate venues. If you’re a pop star, find a backup band and start playing larger venues, festivals and competitions. If you’re rock, find a rock backup band and start playing rock venues.
a3) If you have a backing band, you’ll have more options for places to play.

In all, simply playing out and gaining tread (through fans, connections and experience) is the best way to attract attention. The likeliness of a cold sent demo (to an A&R rep at a major company) resulting in a contract is as small as the likeliness of finding a good Mexican restaurant in Canada.

Don’t be discouraged. Meeting people is easy. Networking to the right people is the best way to get your music heard by the money up top. Stay tuned here for more tips.

Best of luck,
Jbrickman

The brains, fingers, and mouths over at the Remington camp have been busy. Not only has their tour schedule been packed with dates, but the band has released a wonderfully refined and lovingly handcrafted EP.

Off of their own record label, Blue Collar Music, The Warm Winter EP was posted for download and purchase this week. Remington is an intelligent, dance driven NYC Dance Rock group out of the genre’s namesake town. Ross Mintzer, Mike Thurber, and Greg Evans make up the trio of extraordinarily talented musicians, all of whom have spent some time at the city’s higher music education institutions (like Manhattan School). The group has already gone quite the distance, citing 2006 as the year they first started their endeavors. Although the undeniable originality of their sound is one of the group’s most attractive qualities, if you were to demand that I relate them to other artists in the field, I’d tell you that their beat spawns out of an Arcade Fire-esque forum. However, the core of the sound goes beyond any groups in my eclectic reckoning. Remington truly is one of a kind. (Random fact for music geeks: Ross Mintzer is the ineffable jazz band leader/composer/arranger Bob Mintzer’s nephew.)

The true beauty of The Warm Winter EP is found it’s tasteful balance between complex musicianship/songwriting and approachable, down to earth style. Their performances stand as a representation of their intent (a novel concept right?). To start, every tune has an earthly groove that encourages even the most stubborn wall flowers to discover the beauty of the dance floor. To foster this allure, Thurber (bass) and Evans (drums) together generate a groove synthesis, in tasteful interplay that drives each tune on the album ever forward. “New York Minute” exemplifies this phenomenon, as the drum groove and bass line dance around each other, as if they are independent but absolutely inseparable. This effect is deliberate as the groove choreography in their playing tells you that you have to dance to their music.

Over the top of this seemingly innate foundation floats the ethereal sound of Ross Mintzer’s guitar. It is apparent that each note is carefully selected based on Thurber’s choices, purposefully creating a fresh harmonic cuisine that is light, open and unique. This is indicative of their philosophy of love, fun and the unbearable lightness of being. As a polarity, the sound of Mintzer’s guitar in the track “On the Road”, is haunting. However in context, the sound develops sentimental and inspiring feelings. My girlfriend says “It sounds like a sunset.” - she’s a fan…mission accomplished.

The vocal melodies and harmonies are similar to Mintzer’s playing in their original shape/color and light floating tone. Thoughtful and poetic lyrics accent the effect, serving as a conduit for the entirety of the aforementioned musicianship. They make it possible for a listener of any level to become enraptured with the Remington experience.

It’s difficult to find fault in this carefully, handcrafted artistic short. I’m not sure of what resources the group had available to them, but I find the production of the album to be lacking in a few ways. The most striking weakness is the distance of Greg Evans’ drums. The sound left me desiring more kick for my groove, and more cymbal splash, which seemed to be drowned by the other colors on the album. The songwriting is nearly impeccable, however I found that the melodies got to wandering a bit and might have done better to be a little more consistent. That’s some serious nit picking though.

The group has come along so very nicely since I first picked up a copy of their bootleg EP with the snail on the cover. You can tell these fellows have spent a considerable amount of time making music together. The songs are smarter, the sound is more homogeneous, and the dance groove is still making me move.

“On the Road” stands out as a single that has the potential to go far.

Listen to this album! You can download the album for free (as is consistent with the Remington philosophy) or you can purchase it. Buying the album will help out an independent artist in an age of starvation in the industry. Here’s how:

http://www.myspace.com/remingtonmusic

You know what’s really cool about this band? They’re so much about celebrating life and having a good time that they host “Remington” parties. You pay a nominal flat fee and they bring the beer, the cups, the music, t-shirts and other fun party materials. This isn’t any corny ploy, it’s just a genius way to streamline having a good time. Check out the service at their Myspace.

I love these guys. Show them some love,
- Jbrickman

PS What do you think? Leave some comments.

Whilst browsing the internet, enjoying the vast expanse of art that exists in cyberspace, I stumbled across a photographer that really stands out.

I especially enjoyed her work in vintage camera techniques. The way she uses her medium to shape her art is striking. I’m no expert, but it looks like Alessandra employs a combination of a vintage camera with which she takes photos and the medium on which she prints the photo. I love this one:

Here’s to a smaller world thanks to the internet: She’s from Milano, Italy. If you want to see more, stop by her portfolio:

Allessandra Maggioni Photography

Or if you want to show love, stop by her deviantArt page:

Allessandra Maggioni on deviantArt

Stay well,
jbrickman

As we were catching our breath, the view nearly stole it from us again. Visibility stretched to the curved horizon, as we beheld the sprawling Adirondack wilderness. We admired the earthy monuments of the high peaks to our south, and the far reaching hills of the New York North Country. Reaching the peak of Ampersand Mountain is truly a rejuvenating experience, reminding you that life’s value is found in awe striking moments such as that.

This past Sunday, I hiked Ampersand with Mikey, Belinda and Cole.

Ampersand is a mountain nestled in the northern area of the Adirondack high peak region, located in northern New York. The mountain itself is not a high peak. However, a distinguishing feature of the mount is its very large peak area with a true and clear 360 degree view - a characteristic that it shares with only a few other mountains that are not a sanctioned ADK high peak. A moderately - agressive 5.4 mile hike, the route 30 trail head (found between the Tupper Lake and Saranac Lake) leads you to a hike that takes you up 1775′ vertical feet to a breath taking view.

My crew caught a beautiful early spring day: 45 degrees, clear blue skies, and a light breeze only on the mountain top. The trail was still covered with melting snow pack. Almost 2 feet deep in places, our feet would sporadically drop the depth as the ice cap on the snow was spotty in places.

The hike was rather difficult as we gently glided along the snow packed route without the aid of snowshoes. The ascent proved to be especially difficult, as the trail does not take to very many switch backs. In places where the pitch was considerable, we had to employ a rather awkward sidestep as we reached for whatever growth we could use to aid our climb.

It had been sunny and warm in the days previous, leaving us a wonderfully clear and dry peak area. As we were catching our breath, the view nearly stole it from us again. Visibility stretched to the curved horizon, as we beheld the sprawling Adirondack wilderness. We admired the earthy monuments of the high peaks to our south, and the far reaching hills of the New York North Country. Reaching the peak of Ampersand Mountain is truly a rejuvenating experience, reminding you that life’s value is found in awe striking moments such as that.

The descent was the most exhilarating part of the trip. Mike bravely took the first few steps off the peak, onto the steep descending pitch, only to straighten out and swiftly land on his ass, and subsequently body luge at a frightening speed about 30 feet down the trail before he was able to regain control. What followed was a fast paced slide down the mountain, whether it was on our feet, our knees, or, as Cole tended to do, on our rears. We turned almost an hour and a half of ascent work, into literally 10 minutes of descent. What a great time!

The group retired to car, our stabilizer muscles exhausted from fighting the slick trail conditions. The view off the top of Ampersand is a view not to be missed.

Anybody else have an experience with this mountain?

See you out there!
- jbrickman

On behalf of Cities Over Seas and the staff of Madstop Records, I’d like to thank everybody who came out to the show. We were in the company of many more friends than we anticipated, and for that we were all overjoyed. If you enjoyed our company as much we enjoyed yours, check out Cities at any one of their upcoming public dates:

5.3 - WAIH-B-Q - SUNY Potsdam - Student Union - Free
5.4 - Knowlestock - SUNY Potsdam - Knowles Quad - Free

If you care to have a memento of the experience, pick up their CD “National Phantom” on its release in late April. You will be able to download/order a CD here at MadstopRecords.com.

If you want to get connected with Cities Over Seas, stop by their Myspace at:
http://www.Myspace.com/citiesoverseas

Stay well!
Jared Brickman
A&R Executive - Madstop Records

Ever since its inception, Madstop Records has been a student-volunteer organization focused on supporting the local music community and educating its members on the operations and techniques of the music industry. Quickly developing throughout the years, the label has ever sought new avenues to participate in the music scene and help artists achieve their dreams. The growing number of Madstop Records members has brought a consistent flow of new ideas and fresh talent, continuing the evolution of the organization.

It all began in the spring of 2003, when a small group of Music Business students in SUNY Potsdam’s Record Company Administration course brainstormed and executed the launch of Madstop Records, a student-run not-for-profit label. In the following fall, with the consent of the on-campus, nonprofit auxiliary college services organization PACES, Madstop Records became an entity of PACES which is the business wing of the college foundation and as such has 501c3 status. The subsequent year found the skeleton crew at Madstop working hard to establish a structure and mode for the organization to operate by. The efforts of that year came to fruition in the June 2004 with the release of Madstop’s first album, a compilation entitled “this is the fun part”. The album was iconic of the label’s efforts: promote local artists and generate excitement about the local music scene.

In the fall of 2004, the compilation was starting to get the attention of local artists. The SUNY Potsdam rock band Ask Ryan approached the Madstop about the development of their first album. A milestone in the history of artist service, Madstop signed Ask Ryan as the first group to receive the benefits of the label’s very “artist-friendly” contracts. During that year, the group recorded at a professional studio and brought a master to be released by Madstop. In the spring of 2005 “Rough Copy” was released on Madstop Records to the local market, marking the label’s first artist LP. This all transpired while Madstop was promoting events such as Battle of the Bands and Potsdam Idol.

With the spring of 2005 came the graduation of almost all of the founding members of Madstop. Subsequently, in the fall of 2005, a new group of volunteers stepped into the ranks of Madstop. Due to the increase in visibility brought by the successful events and album releases, the membership in Madstop increased from the small four person group that founded the label. That personnel helped produce the speedy release of Madstop’s second compilation ablum: Compilation2. similar to it’s predecessor, the second Madstop Records compilation featured six artists, but this time put the focus on high sound recording quality. The compilation was released locally in the spring of 2006.

In the following fall, Madstop Records began to expand the scope of its activities. Recognizing Madstop’s efforts to support the local music community, the Crane School of Music’s Music Business Program donated a large amount of money to purchase new audio equipment to the label. This included a live sound setup, giving Madstop the ability to not only supply their own sound at events, but give its volunteers experience in the field. Also unique to the 2006-2007 seasos was the first annual Lillian Cohen Competition. In cooperation with the Lillian-Cohen Foundation the label played host to over 24 different classical musicians competing for a scholarship and a chance to record in the newly updated Madstop studio.

Also in early 2007, Madstop Records signed its second artist: The Cherubs. A noise-dance-rock duo, The Cherubs’ revolutionary performance music was a unique venture in truly original, independent music. Following their CD release party in May at SUNY Potsdam, The Cherubs took the album to Canada and locations in the western United States. This marked the first time that a Madstop album was sold on a major international tour.

Madstop greatly expanded its boundaries in the holiday season of 2007 when it provided tour management for the 16 piece Potsdam Rock Orchestra. Taking after the celebrated Tran-Siberian Orchestra, the large group was a unique oppurtunity which the Potsdam music scene had yet to hear. Madstop provided services in booking, marketing, and audio engineering as the group played very successful dates at SUNY Potsdam and SUNY IT in Utica.

The previous years have brought about a quick development of the label. With a constant flow of new students to the ranks of Madstop Records, the label continues to expand not only in numbers, but in presence and service to the music community.

To learn more, visit http://www.MadstopRecords.com

(doors at 7p, show at 8p)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Jared Brickman
Cell Phone: xxxx
Email: madstop(at)potsdam.edu
Potsdam, NY – March 28th, 2008
REFRESHINGLY ORIGINAL INDIE ROCK BAND TO MAKE DEBUT
Cities Over Seas To Play Hurley’s Night Club - April 5th

On the evening of Saturday, April 5th, at Hurley’s - SUNY Potsdam, Potsdam’s newest band will make its debut, bringing a never before heard sound to the area’s music scene. A consortium of music talent, Cities Over Seas is highlighted by the vocals of celebrated solo artist Doug Cambell, backed by members of the previously active atmospheric rock band Slow Release, and drummer Joe Parker, who will be making his own personal debut to the scene. With songwriting by Alex Butler and Craig Marrer, the group is a slight departure from projects that its members have played in the past, incorporating new influences and elements of electronic composition into the mix. When asked what their greatest motivation is, the musicians of Cities Over Seas reply that they are making music for the sake of art and as an outlet of expression. Most members are originally from the Central New York area, where they will be spending a portion of their time playing shows and building a following. The Hurley’s show comes with the much anticipated release of their debut album, National Phantom, set to hit the market in late April.

Alex Butler, bassist and founding member of the Cities Over Seas project describes the creation of the group: “[It was] three friends that wanted to continue making music together and saw the opportunity to expand their sound and talent with new musicians that we very much respect.” The group and the album join the small legion of others that were an in-studio incarnation. National Phantom started on Butler’s laptop and keyboard, which then moved to the studio and employed live musician elements. This is where the group began to develop its sound, discovering new ways to puzzle each other’s style and taste together into a Indie rock masterpiece. The group cites the revolutionary atmospheric rock band Radiohead as their greatest influence.

The album comes out of the upcoming, student run, independent record label: Madstop Records. Its website states that it is “…a not-for-profit record label that places emphasis on supporting the music community and educating its members on practices of the music industry. ” A large portion of the work that was completed to produce Cities Over Seas’ new album was in the Madstop recording studio, using the resources that are provided to its signed artists. Alex Butler acted as executive producer, doing the majority of the audio engineering. The album was mastered by affiliate SubCat Music Studios in Syracuse, NY.

Now, just a few short months after the completion of the studio project, Cities Over Seas is ready to explore the scene. “We would like to begin working on more experimental music,” Alex explains, “trying to push our music in new directions that we find interesting and that hopefully our audiences will enjoy.” The group has several appearances in the Potsdam area before the summer, when they look to expand their reach in areas throughout Central New York and beyond.

For more information about Cities Over Seas and to listen to singles off of National Phantom go to:
http://www.MadstopRecords.com

Join Cities Over Seas in their maiden voyage:
Live @ Hurley’s Night Club - SUNY Potsdam
44 Pierrepont Dr.
Potsdam, NY 13676
All Ages
Free for SUNY Potsdam Students with ID | $3 all others

- Jared Brickman

# # #

For more information on this topic, or to schedule an interview with Cities Over Seas, please e-mail Jared Brickman at: madstop(at)potsdam.edu

Regardless of whether you are truly guilty or not, these 9 steps will guide you to a case dismissal. (It’s impossible to guaranty such a result, but personally, I got off a bogus ticket following these exact steps - so they work!)

(I did this in my home state of New York. There is a chance that it’s different in your state, although it seems to me to be something that would be common practice nationally.)

Dismissal - When a court dismisses your traffic violation case, you receive no penalty, and no points on your license. As far as I understand it, there are 4 ways to get your traffic violation dismissed:
- Upon recommendation by the district attorney (unlikely)
- The officer’s failure to write a supporting deposition (possible)
- The officer is too lazy, too busy, or on leave, so he doesn’t show up in court (very possible)
- You find a weakness in the officer’s notes on the ticket (possible)

Here are the steps to vie for a dismissal:

1) When pulled over and asked if you know what you were pulled over for, say no.

2) When the officer explains to you exactly what you were doing wrong, say to him “I don’t believe that was the case.”
* Do not admit anything (you are not obligated to so). Also, be as respectful and cooperative as possible.

3)Thank the officer for the ticket, go home and read the ticket thoroughly. Take note of the exact title of violation.

4) Mail the court pleading “NOT GUILTY” and request a supporting written deposition from the officer.
* At this point, a lot of people write a letter to the district attorney asking for a reduction or dismissal of the violation. It is unlikely that you will secure a case dismissal from writing a letter to the district attorney. (If you were successful, you’re lucky and I’m jealous.) It may be in your best interest to simply go for a reduction. But, if you want to try to get it dismissed (which involves a small hearing called a “bench trial” [no, it will not have a negative effect your record]), read on!

5) If the officer fails to write the court with a supporting deposition - you’re off the hook! Case dismissed. If the officer writes a supporting deposition, there’s still plenty of hope, read on!

6) Request the officer’s notes on your ticket. According to Nolo.com, “Make a specific written request for the disclosure of all notes or documents relevant to the case [and send it to the court you have been summoned to].”¹

7) Look up the exact law you violated (it should say on your ticket). Read each item included in that law to see if you did indeed violate all of the conditions or just some. If you can prove that you did not violate even just one part of that specific law, you’re off the hook! When you prove this in court, case dismissed. But, read on!

When you receive the officer’s notes, look for weaknesses, inconsistencies or provable falsehoods. Write brief notes for rebuttals to the officer’s notes, a description of the conditions where the supposed violation took place, and you’re description of the event. You are allowed to supplement the testimony you give (where you’ll be referencing the notes you prepared), with diagrams and photos of the location of the violation/conditions.

9) Show up to your court date a little early with your notes, looking spiffy, and being prepared to state your case. If the officer doesn’t show up to be “examined”, the prosecutor can not make a case and will most likely recommend that your case be dismissed! However, if the officer is there, it is common for them to only state their case from the notes they wrote on the accident. If you’ve prepared your notes against his, supported by diagrams and photos, and you respectfully show that there is some doubt pertaining your guilt, the judge will dismiss your case!²

My personal experience: I didn’t run a stop sign. When the officer pulled me over he said I did run that stop sign, to which I said “I don’t think I did.”. It took me at the most, 7 hours of my time spread over a 5 month period to go through these 9 steps. My case was dismissed this morning and I feel great because my insurance rates won’t go up and I don’t have to pay an annoying fine.

Please comment with your experiences or advice! Check out my references, they have some great advice as well.

- jbrickman
Obviously, I’m not liable for any undesired result of employing these steps.
¹Nolo.com - Obtain The Officer’s Notes Before Going To Traffic Court
²Nolo.com - Five Strategies For Fighting A Traffic Ticket

I’ve learned quite a bit about gigs with bands in the past few year. I draw my experience from managing multiple bands, the most successful of which (Behind Bad Luck!) has played high profile gigs, such as the Knitting Factory in NYC and with revered groups like The Pietasters, Reegal Beagal, and King Django. Here is what I have learned:

Who to Contact To Book A Gig

Gigs can be done either directly through the venue or via a show promoter. Promoters are people who have nights locked at bars and venues, making it so you have to work through them to get gigs.  They’re supposed to help organize and promote your show, making it easier for the band and the venue. For these services they will usually take either a flat fee or a % of the pay your band receives. Sometimes they take 10% (which is real nice deal for band), and sometimes they’re not nice people and take something like 40%. There have been occasions in the past where my band has given a % or flat fee to a promoter for a show, and they’ve done absolutely nothing to promote or organize the show.

It is possible, albeit a little more difficult to penetrate the scene, for your band to contact venues directly and book yourself.

Agreeing On the Terms of the Gig

For the gig agreement, the most ideal situation is to have a paper contract, outlining the aspects of the gig. This option is more time consuming, so most people don’t do it. The next best thing is to have an e-mail on which you have both agreed and noted that “This e-mail represents a contract between Slim’s 80’s Music and El Bar De Fredtown.”

On this e-mail contract you want to have answers to the following questions (think about the gig, there may be some that don’t apply):

a) How the band gets paid? Does the venue pay the band? Does the venue sell the band tickets to sell people? Does the venue take a cut of the door? Does the venue give the band a single payment and take all door charges?
b) Does the venue provide a contract?
c) Is the venue all ages, 18+ or 21+?
d) Are there other bands on the bill? Can we, after approving it through the venue/promoter, add other bands to our bill?
e) Does the venue do any promotion?
f) Are there any booking agents/promoters that the venue usually works through?
g) What is the capacity (body count) of the venue?
h) What genre of music does the venue tend to host regularly?
i) What equipment does the venue provide? PA? House instruments/amps?
j) Does the venue provide free drinks/meals to the band?
k) How many people can we comp in?
l) When do you expect the band to be in house?
m) Is there a sound check?
n) When is downbeat?
o) Is there anything else we should know about playing that venue?
p) Who can we use as a contact at the venue, and what is that person’s contact information?

! Be careful about telephone only agreements as you have no recourse if the venue decides to pay you $5 instead of $500 after the gig. !

Getting Paid

$$ Getting paid for a gig is an interesting experience. In my experience my band, Behind Bad Luck!, has pretty much run the gamut on different ways to getting compensated.

As far as I understand it, these are the different ways to get paid:

- Guaranty - this language indicates that the venue/promoter is obligated to pay you a set amount determined before the date, no matter what the crowd. Promoters/Venues may require you to pay a small fee/deposit before the date. Typical promoter/venue fees/deposits will run from aprox $25 - $50 (I’d be weary of any deposit requirements beyond $50).
- Door charge (your own guy or their guy takes it) - and the promoter/venue gets a percentage (or takes $1 you take $3 on every head), you get the rest.
- Door charge (on multiple band bills) - promoter/venue takes count of who came to see who and splits pay amongst band according to draw. You have serious potential to get screwed by the promoter/venue’s eyeball. However, the last time my band played such a gig we scored $200.
- Space rental - you pay to play in a space, which may include staff. You determine cover and take 100%. Any venue that takes a % after you’ve payed rent is trying to screw you.
- Free - you can play for free for great exposure opportunities like large festivals or fund raisers. However, bands like a 70’s and 80’s cover band probably doesn’t really care very much about exposure. Still make sure that the logistics of the gig are described specifically.
- Tips - there are venues that do not pay and expect you to play for tips only. Although very rare, some venues/promoters will tip bands for an excellent job playing or drawing a crowd.
- Contracted amount - obviously, things get more complicated when you start to talk about major gigs with major contracts, that run thing legit while paying mind to government regulations and such.

Amenities you should expect from a venue, especially those that are bar/restaurant gigs:
- 1 meal per member
- Free fountain drinks
- Bottled Water

As far as alcoholic drinks go, I wouldn’t ask for them - you want to save seeming presumptuous to your venue/promoter. I have played bar gigs where they did not provide free alcohol and one where they did.

Don’t Get Screwed!

Protect yourself from getting screwed on a gig. How promoters/venues may screw you over (more often promoters):
1) …take an inappropriate cut. If your promoter is pushing past 30%, it’s not so great. If your promoter goes beyond 50%, seriously think about if the gig is worth it or not.
2) …not promote your event. Check out the reputation of your venue/promoter. Some are infamous for simply taking your money, and not even showing up to your show, let alone do anything to promote it. This is terrible, especially if you’re relying on the door charge. I’ve had this happen multiple times.
3) …pay you something other than the agreed amount. Especially if all you have is a verbal agreement, things have the potential to change.
4) …they don’t charge at the door when they said they would. I’ve had a venue pay my band $13 and then tell us “You didn’t have anybody working the door. We did you a favor and worked the door the last 15 minutes.” This was where they almost always have staff working the door, and never mentioned that we’d need our own door person.
5) …add bands to the bill that either suck or clash with your genre/crowd (with an exception to cross-genre festivals/showcases). How do you explain your 80’s cover band sharing the bandstand with an indie emo band? It’ll make all the musicians involved look foolish and it will make your following think your artistic judgment is really whack. !If you do not trust the venue/promoter to make good choices, you should try to secure creative control over who you share the bill with!

Well, I hope all this anecdotal information helps. Good luck out there! Drop me a line sometime soon and let me know how it’s going.

Jared Brickman
A&R Executive - Madstop Records
Bassist/Manager - Behind Bad Luck!

My fair university wrote a press release about my band, Behind Bad Luck!’s incredible show at the Knitting Factory!

SMALL TOWN BAND “BEHIND BAD LUCK!” TAKES A BITE OUT OF THE BIG APPLE

Potsdam originated, self-proclaimed small town SKA band “Behind Bad Luck!,” all students of SUNY Potsdam’s Crane School of Music, rocked New York City’s “The Knitting Factory,” March 1.
For aspiring artists like those in “Behind Bad Luck!,” SUNY Potsdam provides a cozy home where they can focus on perfecting their craft and testing their art at small, local venues. However, the chance finally surfaced for this small town band to transition to the fast- paced, talent-quenched streets of NYC, “Behind Bad Luck!” was up to the challenge.
The band members include freshman John Pizziruso (electric guitar) of Massapequa; senior Jared Brickman (electric bass and general manager) of Syracuse; sophomore Ben O’Brien Smith (percussion) of Willston (VT); freshman Jon Wibben (trumpet) of Kings Park; freshman Hugh Stuart (trumpet) of Penn Yan; freshman Luca Fustioni (trombone) of Pleasantville; freshman Scott Kopstein (alto saxophone) of Franklin Square; and freshman Devon Toland (baritone saxophone) of Kings Park.
“Behind Bad Luck!” found its beginnings in a “Facebook” group titled “I Want to Start a SKA Band,” in which Pizziruso invited musicians he had met at The Crane School of Music. “We identify our training at Crane as an influence on our compositional style and musicianship,” said Brickman.
SKA combines elements of Caribbean “mento” and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. It is characterized by a walking bass line, accented guitar or piano rhythms on the offbeat and jazz-like horn riffs.
Utilizing Crane as a convenient and well-appropriated place to practice, “Behind Bad Luck!” is provided with all of the space and equipment that they need.
“For the tunes I write for the band, I apply a lot of the knowledge I gained from my music theory courses. Along with the composition techniques, the ear training involved in Crane’s aural skills courses helped me hone my ability to write music as I hear it in my head,” said Brickman.
“Behind Bad Luck!” was able to attain the gig at “The Knitting Factory,” located on the lower West Side of Manhattan at 74 Leonord Street when the band was able to play with King Django, a reggae-dub artist who is also a promoter for a monthly reggae-SKA-dub showcase at “The Knitting Factory” in New York City.
“He was so impressed with our sound that he invited us to play in the March 1 showcase,” said Brickman.
Since the fall of venue “CB GB’s,” “The Knitting Factory” has become the iconic venue in New York City. It plays host to a large range of genres that generally target people in their teens and 20s. This venue has seen big names such as “My Chemical Romance,” “Fall Out Boy” and “Beck.”
“This was a huge step for ‘Behind Bad Luck!’” said Brickman. “We got a taste of some big league action.”
The crowd responded better than expected. For the first time in the history of the showcase, the room was over sold: 210 tickets sold for a 200 maximum occupancy space.
“When we went on stage, the audience packed up to the front and cheered our arrival. Come downbeat, a large portion of the audience was dancing, and by the end of the show, there were kids literally hanging off the pipes on the ceiling rocking out to our music. After our last song, people were chanting our initials ‘B! B! L!’ and demanded an encore. There was an incredible response to our music. It was an unforgettable experience,” said Brickman.
The band played a 40-minute set with the highlight being their single “Soviet Russia.” “The audience, made up almost entirely of people that we did not know, sang along word for word,” recalled Brickman.
Brickman describes the music scene is New York City as “alive and meaningful to many.”
“The people in the crowd that night paid $12 to see us and the other bands play. Their energetic dancing and singing reflected their strong interest in the show,” he said.
To find out more about “Behind Bad Luck!,” visit www.behindbadluck.com.

- jbrickman