Notsky Promotions

Top dog for your event! Made with AI and Magic Eraser

 While trying to convince these agencies to hold or restrategise their talent shows, I decided to start my own company called Notsky Promotions. Since I've been putting him in these posters, and other companies have been putting floof in theirs in some form (usually for building sites), I thought that he should be the mascot and name of the company. I look at how Harvey Goldsmith worked his way up to become one of the UK's premier promoters, and it might be too easy to compare these days, it shows that we all start somewhere. It's just hard to later in life with no experience, resources, or connections. I would also be hired to hold private events like weddings, birthday and anniversary parties, as well as regular and adult proms, the kind of events I rarely ever get to go to myself. Concerts would be for artists that seldom come to the area or even the country. They would be ones that don't need all of the overhead that the current or classic Top 40 would. I would suggest fundraisers for various non-profit organisations like registered charities, NGOs, houses of worship, museums and civic organisations. If prom or a talent show is not on, then a different approach, such as a holiday or upcoming annual event. I may have to do some more research before I can make this a reality since it's hard to start a new business these days. It's just better to start things yourself instead of waiting for somebody else.

The Westcott Theatre

The Westcott in happier times at nights, December 2014. Courtesy CP Thornton/Creative Commons/Flickr.

 The Westcott Theatre on Syracuses east side near SU has closed because of code violations which the owner is fighting in court. In recent years, it has been a live venue for local and smaller national acts. If he can't get it back, he should just sell it to a new owner, who could get better security and also install seating because it was chiefly SRO the last that I remember, going there to see Pink Floyd tribute bands Childhoods End and The Machine. Before that, it was a second run cinema, which I went to when I was going to OCC and had to see Michael Moores Bowling for Columbine, which even had our own Dick Clark in a cameo that he didn't want to make. I never went there in the previous century when I went to school on that side of town. The neighbourhood has lost Big M, Seven Rays, and other businesses on Westcott St over the decades (this is more suited for the sister blog). If the Westcott were done up and repurposed a bit, then perhaps the city would reconsider and issue a new permit and operating licence, and if I ran it, I would more or less keep out acts that would attract bad actors as it were. I don't want to be like the owners of Red Rocks outside Denver or local authorities were at one point, going Mary Whitehouse for a period after an unfortunate incident. I would have the kind of events I would like to see such as proms, plays, talent shows, concerts for small time acts, presentations, events, and the ocassional film like old times (even if it's indie or art house, which would likely have a lower royalty rate than even Lionsgate for that matter). I may even write a post about starting my own promotions company. After one agency's talent show, another's would have to be somewhere else out of principle, and if downtown is too expensive, the Westcott could provide a budget-friendly alternative. For me, one downside is that Centro just doesn't go that way at nights for the public anymore, just for students and faculty during the semester on a special line. It'd be blocks from the next closest bus, and I had to take a cab home before rideshare was even a thing. SU students used to have Jabberwocky in the '70s and '80s, where Bonnie Raitt and our own Lou Reed would go, and the building that had that was recently demolished. I can't think what could go in the Westcotts place if it can't be a live venue anymore. Maybe a registered charity or shop. Westcott Nation doesn't have the same aura that it did when the founder of Boom Babies was still alive. She would have wanted the theatre to stay open since these places looked out for each other. There was just the annual festival, which still draws crowds this day and age, so there should be support for the Westcott to continue under new management for many years to come.

Advocates Incorporated Live Talent and Art Show

Same floof, different place. No endorsement implied.

 Still buzzing from Launch's talent show, I just was informed by rival Advocates Incorporated that they would not be holding their annual Virtual Talent and Art Show this year because fewer people were participating anymore. It started back in 2020 during COVID-19 and continued as such until last year. I even sent some of Notskys pictures in, I'm sure. I think if it were held in person like Launch and Indera (who had a couple at two different places already this year; the last one being the first under the new name), perhaps some more clients would have a go at it. We're not the next Star Search, of course. We probably won't even have an Ed MacMahon (yet that show has a reboot on Netflix, but that can go on the sister blog). Just a special event for clients to show everybody what they can do. I do know that our Henry Awards winner (if you know, you know) would not only have an advantage, he'd know how to sort everything. Like the other place, there'd be several sponsors to help cover costs. The Red House in downtown Syracuse in the former RKO Keith and Sibleys would make sense since the Landmark Theatre up the street would be too big, overbooked and expensive for a small time affair like this. It would be more of the same to let the Palace because Launch were just there and it may confuse some people. Downtown is more centralised and close to businesses, despite the cost and availability of parking and what have you. I'm not the Harvey Goldsmith or Bob Geldof of NGO talent shows, mind. I just think that there's a better way than online. I didn't do much virtual earlier in the decade and I don't even care for Zoom and all that lot. I'm sure it can be done, even if it doesn't happen until next year.

LAUNCHing Our Talents: 4th Annual Talent Show

Notsky in AI version of poster with added logos

 I should have written this before it was held, but at least, I can now write about how it went. On 1 October at the Palace Theatre in Eastwood, Launch CNY held their fourth annual LAUNCHing Our Talents fundraiser. It was a free show instead of selling tickets, one approach to getting bums in seats while still trying to raise money, even with several great sponsors and the support of the community. Instead, we had raffle tickets with baskets from different businesses, as well as sold brand licenced T-shirts, and I even bought one (she keeps everything). I had several drawings of Notsky displayed in the corridor, most of them tied to Arena, even though no one there knows who they are. Missus may have thought they were my band. I wish! We didn't even have a band, being relatively low budget; just video and backing tapes with a couple dads on acoustic guitar for two songs. Two of my colleagues were having some trouble up there. A handful of others listed in the programme ultimately were no-shows. I thought that maybe a stablemate from another agency would be attending, but he likely had rehearsals for his own professionally run musical downtown, but that's show business. There were covers of Queen, The Beatles, The Go-Gos, Taylor Swift, Disney, Neil Diamond, Mama Cass Elliott, Jars of Clay (knowing the family who own the place and the shop they used to have down the street), and some country and newer artists I just don't know as well. There was some poetry and comedy thrown in, and a moving tribute to a client who had passed away this spring that I didn't know personally. It may have not have been the same calibre as the big name benefit concerts, of course. More like our own Amateur Night. It was nothing like Opportunity Knocks or New Faces, since no one was competing or looking for a career in the biz per se. By the end of the night, Launch had raised several hundred dollars. I'm not sure what the totals are, since it's a non-profit organisation. If you couldn't make it, you can contribute anytime. There should also be a link to the show, which was streamed and recorded, given that last year was so we could dedicate this years to missus. Her art was also in the lobby, likely provided by her family. We should start planning again by late spring/early summer, even if one place we work with do the same thing with one of their annual events not long after. Already looking forward to the next one, even if I may be somewhere else by that stage (no pun intended). It was my first time at the Palace since just under a decade with BeatleCuse Deux-Over where I met Denny Laine and got his autograph, even though I'm just blocks away, the Palace has become another tribute band cabaret lately, but that's a whole other post. Not to say that talent shows aren't too far from Lizas old film in a way.

Lansure's Music Paraphernalia: NAKED EYES | Press Kits | Memorabilia

Rob Fisher and Pete Byrne, 1983.

Lansure's Music Paraphernalia: NAKED EYES | Press Kits | Memorabilia: NAKED EYES Burning Bridges EMI 3|16|1983 NAKED EYES [Always Something There To Remind Me / Naked Eyes...

Pete Byrne 1952 - 2026

Rob Fisher 1956 - 1999

Leaving Syracuse

Allied moving lorry

 I have decided to leave Syracuse. I've explained this more on the sister blog. No one wants me around anymore, and it's not just one person. I've outgrown the area, and it's gone downhill. I might go to south Florida, since I've had the idea for several years, and would even try just wintering there like pensioners do, even though I would have to work and outlive them to actually do that. Remote work is above my pay grade unless I can get something in AI. I'm just unhappy here now, and I'm ready to fill up boxes and get my cat and hope to meet new people, which may be easier where you have no track record. I think this is the straw that broke the camels back. Much of the area is a state these days, and people vote with their feet by buggering off to where they don't have income tax, even if they watch Fox News.

lavcd.ru

Screenshot of banner from Wayback Machine

 It appears that lavcd.ru has gone offline. I even tried the online detector to see if it was just on my end or if it had server issues. The detector claimed that it was business as usual, but I couldn't put down that it wasn't. This is where Boris has been getting most of the pirate CDs for me. Because there has been little to go on from either end lately, as well as events of the past several years, we're lucky to do this once a year now. Even though some new releases have come up that I know are in there, it's just finding enough older material to maximise the cost of P&P, especially because I have to go through a third-party service via the post or FedEx, which is a bit more expensive, along with finding all of these rare CDs in person, trying to avoid getting them all online, despite even the simplest things becoming harder to find at brick and mortar stores these days since they can't all compete with the internet. I wonder if the site is blocked outside of Russia or if the authorities even took it off, which wouldn't surprise me at all. Also having to go back to the site each week and downloading each file just became too much, and I have a life and schedule now. I hate to see this come to an end, yet I would rather get more official CDs locally in person, but not even the better known artists are on every corner, let alone ones who hardly if ever touched the US or any chart for that matter. I'm just not aware of other resources there one can turn to now. I will have to look into this some more when I have the time. It could just be either technical difficulties or they are no more. More as I can find anything, but until then, it's just indefinite hiatus.

UPDATE (25/8/26): The site is up and running again. I think they were just down for a period.

Maplewood Bar & Grill

AI of Maplewood Bar & Grill in Mattydale Plaza

  Maplewood Inn started as an indie hotel on 7th North St in Liverpool after Days Inn had moved a mile away, in a part of town with lodging off of I-81 and the Thruway with proximity to the airport. Then it became a franchise of Holiday Inn Express after the full-fledged one had left the once-again Randolph House on Electronics Pkwy (previously Sheraton, later Ramada, and now sister chain Wyndham) and the later original Comfort Inn on Buckley Road (previously covered). Either corporate or the franchise shut down the restaurant section over a year ago. Not too far away in Mattydale, the flagship Zebb's in the former kmart Plaza on Brewerton Road (US 11) had closed, so the owners bought it and we're still waiting for it to open. Mattydale, Hinsdale, Pitcher Hill and Northern Lights Plaza have all fallen into decline in recent years like many part of the country as far as business goes. The ongoing I-81 Project has also caused concern for the hotel owners. The economy overall worries everyone these days.

 I went to the original Maplewood once for Halloween a few years ago when looking for somewhere to go on the night (we'll cover that later before then). I've eaten at Zebb's on occasion over the years. That chain once stretched from Rochester to the Mohawk Valley. There isn't much left in that plaza, even with their neighbor across the street making an effort to prove presenter Dave Portnoy wrong. He must have slated Mattydale Plaza as well if he bothered to look at that, but much of these places were nice once. As for Maplewood, their menu is quite good, and they focus more on local artists like Ronnie Leigh, John McConnell, Little Queen (tribute band to Heart, not Queen), and Tom Chick (seen a couple of them at other places, not sure if two have played the old guard, I know about the tribute band being regulars, and I don't typically or specifically see area performers like I would for national artists). My idea is when they have events for specific holidays and annual traditions. After three recent  attempts at Mardi Gras, only to find it's not like the other holiday as in the South with a Cajun twist, maybe the end of Carnival could have some resemblance to Orleans Parish next year, and a Zydeco, Dr John type (he did OCC for Jazz Fest once), or other band could play (I'm not the Bill Graham of CNY, mind, so it's up to them who it is). I'll have to go through the year like Stevie Wonder to determine which ones would work. St Valentines Day, then Fat Tuesday if not the same day, St Patricks Day (perfect for the local), also an Easter Sunday buffet and community-focused get-together for those of us with nowhere else to go and/or no one to go with), Adult Prom (that was inevitable, but it's big enough from what I remember as Zebb's), Fourth of July with this years milestone, even my birthday next year if I'm in town since some people hold a public birthday bash, Labor Day if that's a thing for a show, the H-word, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years Eve. Getting there by bus at nights and weekends may be an issue. Open Jam and something else are going to be a regular occurrence. It's still early days just finishing up everything. I really would like some small-time yet international names to come here once in a while without pushing out CNY ones like Jess Novak, Mark Zane (OCC professor by day), and Paul Davie (seen them too). I love supporting small and local business, even if I go to see hometown people per se to a lesser extent. I'm looking forward to the new Maplewood Bar & Grill and their continued success in future. Not to be confused with any other place called Maplewood, given the generic nature of the name (you know how it is). Nothing new on their Facebook page since June, and it still looks a state there.

Copied from our sister blog with a few edits. Dedicated to the memory of Steve Schad (Childhoods End [Pink Floyd tribute band covered earlier]/Beatlecuse [Davies tribute show]).

The Rowboat Syndicate: Cover Art Down Under

Courtesy Apple Corps, Ltd./Universal Music Group

The Rowboat Syndicate: Cover Art Down Under: Australia generally replicated The Beatles' UK album releases during the '60s, although there were a couple of oddities along the way. T...

Bluetooth at home and on the go: Now in its 30th year

Leto Bluetooth speaker (no relation to Jared and Shannon Leto)

MC SeonWoo, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

 While Bluetooth has been around for some time now, it's not like me or other people to catch on late, often times because of the cost. Some even got telly decades after most of western civilisation to put it that way. When I switched phones, I couldn't use the classic cord that I grew up with anymore. A few years ago, I managed to find a pair of JBL headphones at the charity shop for $7. They work with my Android and I don't think I had them yet for my ageing iPhone. Only today at the chaz, did I finally find a standalone Bluetooth speaker that I could afford. I do have it in my record machine in another part of the house, but it's more inconvenient than playing good old vinyl since I just don't have that much room. On the same token, I have dozens of CDs stored in the attic, and it can be too cold in winter and hot in the summer to rummage through a large moving box in cramped quarters, especially if I need to play something at a moments notice or on a certain day. While I still want to go to shops and get real LPs and CDs when I can afford it, subscribing to Amazon and sometimes even going to YouTube or even a pirate site saves time and money, which is why streaming is mega these days. Netflix is more suited for the sister TV blog, and I don't watch much TV either way anymore. However, I wonder if it's actual stereo or just a glorified mono folddown. One brand sold at Dollar Tree with $5-10 items says to buy two speakers for true stereo, but I'm lucky to get this used one, since it takes time for newer tech to cost less and reach the second hand and even the thrift store, which doesn't happen everyday, but that can be explored at the retail blog. There's no need to spend hundreds more on hi-fi for your wi-fi. It was a right fortune as it is just to get the phone fixed after it broke more than once, mind. As for getting a good deal on Bluetooth at a place that is usually just full of junk, sometimes on a good day, you win the pools.
UPDATE (5/4/26): I brought my 5 CD carousel changer up from the basement and plugged it into the AUX jack in the back. I had the adapter for the RCA cables which I used for my old stereo that has since been recycled. Now I have a nice little system upstairs while the record machine downstairs has Bluetooth itself. At least I have both since streaming can get cut off, especially with several different apps running on a slightly older phone and on public wi-fi when I'm not at home between numerous people using it and the inherent risks unless you have VPN and antivirus software installed because you just can't be too careful these days with all the scams out there. Not to be Dale Gribble, mind, but you know how it is now. I also don't want to use up battery or data when an outlet and wi-fi are unavailable.

Arena

Arena, 2020. L-R: Kylan Amos, John Mitchell, Mick Pointer, Paul Manzi, and Clive Nolan.

Kajamera, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Courtesy Verglas Music/Wikipedia.

 Arena are a band that I have been dabbling with for some time, but unlike some of the related bands, I may not be getting all of the CDs since it gets expensive to go after all these every time I bring someone new into my collection. Mick Pointer, late of Marillion, and Clive Nolan, also of Pendragon, started the band in 1994, and there have been several different lineups ever since, which have included John Jowitt, late of IQ and Jadis; John Mitchell of Frost*, It Bites, Fish, Lonely Planet, and now Asia; and former Landmarq and Threshold frontman, as well Headspace and Rick Wakeman band member Damian Wilson (his joining is what got me to buy their most recent studio album, The Theory of Molecular Inheritance). Unfortunately, other commitments will have him moving on by years end. Paul Manzi left in 2020 to join the Sweet of all people, which some may consider selling out, by going from a complex prog band to a latter day lineup of a glam band from the '70s. However, he will be back for good by next year. Now I know why I used an old photo (Manzi was originally supposed to be on the last album before the split was announced). Pointer still plays his old bands music on occasion in a side project with original bass player Cliff Orsi, proving that he's no Pete Best. Mitchell and Nolan have also worked the late John Wetton of Asia on his 2003 solo album Rock of Faith, and the former on the Wetton (Geoff) Downes Icon series.
 Arenas sometimes dark lyrics and layered sound design resonate with me and many listeners. The band have been independent from the start, managing themselves and running their own label. They have built up a cult following spanning over three decades. Like other artists with simplistic names, they get confused with obscure artists of the same name on Amazon, where I stream them, Spotify and maybe even indie specialists emusic. Look for the Verglas label, or at least what you know is the real Arena on these services, given the generic nature of the name. No word yet on the next studio album now that Manzi is poised to return in one years time. At least I can easily stream the band at home as I can on the go and at home, but that will be the next post, this being the first in 2026. I guess it comes from getting bored of the other bands and despising current mainstream rubbish. I may have even designed the next albums sleeve for them out of sigils, which current bass player and art director Kylan Amos could adapt, even though AI even knows his style. I drew them for something else while playing the band the other week..
    One more live album would be nice from the current lineup. Tracks like "Valley of the Kings" from the latest tour have not been officially recorded or filmed live with Wilson (or even original singer John Carson [no relation to Johnny Carson] for that matter from the first album and tour, if any, since there was little live activity with him, and he imitated Pointers former colleague Fish at times to where they had to play the old guard just to fill the set and seats at the same time). Bootlegs don't even seem to exist of Arena (pirates do, but we've been over that with other people), while shows of different lineups are on YouTube, including some of the oldest from early guitarist and seasoned session player Keith More, who is terminally ill and once worked with Paul and Linda McCartney, sharing an interest in animal rights and the environment. Increasing security at most venues these days make it much harder to film or record most shows, yet one survives from this past year on video (it wouldn't be worth it to try to copy the audio and spend all day trying to split up the tracks, which is why there should just be official soundboard recordings fans can buy, or even what the Grateful Dead allowed when they were still together with a taper section and trading recordings, yet Arena are indie and are more cult than the Bay Area icons by comparison, so it may not be feasible in the current climate).
    I hope to get more from Arena as I can afford. They have been upstaging everyone else, even those I know and love. I know I can build on this as I have for much of the collection I've accumulated.

AI of original album design for next album