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 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).

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]).

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

Retrospect Records: A Retrospective

 

Logo appears under fair use and label may no longer exist. Courtesy Discogs.

    Retrospect Records, an indie label and seller based in Las Vegas and St George, UT, seems to have gone out of business. They were once one of the biggest independent metal labels in the world. I also knew them for selling used CDs like anyone else. They offered bootlegs and Russian pirates, as well as artists not easily found in the US like Gary Moore and Magnum (which led me to write this). I've bought IQ, Pallas, Yes and solo Rick Wakeman for myself and Queensrÿche and maybe Billy Squier for Boris (I would've bought even more if money weren't an object!). Whether the pandemic or just the economy since did them in, it's an all too familiar scene these days across the board. As a label, they may not have had the resources that even other indies have. Fish and his label are one thing since there's no one else on it. Retrospect are another since they signed dozens of obscure artists like Mystery (not the French Canadian band I know, since generic names can mean two or more people with a conflict).

    Like a regular news outlet, I reached out to the owner for comment, something I don't typically do. I simply asked what happened as a past customer and not as a blogger. I haven't ordered from them in over ten years time and they haven't had anything new since at least April of last year. The owner told me that he stopped renewing his subscription to the host service, thinking it wasn't worth a bother anymore. Even a free service is not on. We'll just have to let this one go as there are plenty of other places to order from and there's nothing on the label even worth reselling if you ask me.

eMusic

Current logo.

eMusic is where I go for independent artists on official mp3.  Doesn't mean it's all there.  One artist says he didn't get too much return (Spotify pays even less) and a label head in LA says it's a ripoff.  I managed to find a number of albums for over a decade.  They even had major label releases for a period before going back to their indie roots.  I truly would rather have everything on both LP and CD when I can.  Also there isn't always something there not at the other place.  What I do find I put on that site later.  I can only suspend my account twice a year and I won't cancel as something comes up eventually if I look for people I know.  My credits usually refresh when I pay my subscription for internet, so I'm able to download by then.

UPDATE: I have cancelled my account as this is a lost cause.

Childhood's End - Pink Floyd Tribute Band

Ian Cattell (left) in Brit Floyd

There used to be a Pink Floyd tribute band in my area called Childhoods End (no relation to one in Italy nor a track by Marillion for that matter).  I have seen them at Palace Theatre and Westcott Theatre in Syracuse.  They went the way of the real Floyd a couple years ago.  Their site said so but then it had something else and then was taken off.  Ian Cattell would be hired several years ago by The Australian Pink Floyd Show former member Damian Darlington (above right) to form Brit Floyd who I saw the other night after missing the last two times local boy (Cattell) was back in town.  Childhoods End meanwhile carried on with another lineup or two until they broke up amicably.  Two regular venues, Uptown Theatre in Utica and Suzys Tavern in Auburn have also gone out of business.  End had fewer resources than the others and the furthest they've played was Jim Thorpe, PA if not somewhere else outside CNY to my knowledge.  They released no CDs or DVDs.  Even a gofundme or indiegogo appeal now might not gain as much traction as an all-original project would.
There have been a plethora of Floyd tribute bands founded over the past three decades such as The Machine who I saw in town as well.  The two Commonwealth ones can have more people on stage like backing vocalists and additional musicians to do the songs justice.  CE at least staged The Wall but having fake bricks like solo Roger Waters would was either a fire hazard inside a smaller place or not practical on a budget as licence royalties may be considered among other possible costs.
Steve Schad who played keyboards in CE has gone on to another tribute act called Beatlecuse who I saw twice last year but is the name of a show with a collective of local people and guest doing Beatles et al.  Other members such as Tom Robinson (guitar), Eric Garboushian (drums), Jimmy Simpson Puma (bass) , Gregory John (guitar), and others have moved on to other things for all I know.  Did see former manager Greg Jackson and his wife Sandra (who took photographs of the band during the show) at the chippy last year.  At least one could see Waters if they can make the trip.
I just wanted something to give the band and fans closure as there's nothing saved on record about the End of Childhoods End which is named for a track on Obscured by Clouds which true fans know.

1964 the Tribute - Not Beatlemaniamania but an Incredible Simulation (Review)

After a lifelong devotion to the Beatles and most of their solo careers, I finally managed to see a tribute band. Even though I saw tributes to other successful EMI acts, I had some reservations about this kind because of how big they were. Since 1964 the Tribute from Oklahoma were playing the state fair for a free show (with admission), I thought I'd try it once; also since no one else I liked were there this year.
The music critic from the paper didn't bother to come, as he isn't too big on tribute acts after slating one, so I'll have a go at it. He let me do a review of a Queen tribute and put it on his blog, but more on that later.
There were a lot of fairgoers of every living generation there. It was also over-60s day at the funfair, so many of those that were boomers came, as well as the Tom Brokaw generation, in addition to those who weren't even born when Messrs Lennon and/or Harrison were alive. Of course real fans came. I couldn't convince some to go with me, reasons ranging to schedules to being taken aback by someone else pretending to be John, Paul, George, and Ringo.
The show ranged from every vintage from late 1962 through 1966. Nothing after would work, even though competitors will do that and even some solo to boot like Rain. At first, I just looked briefly at the screen so not to kill the mystique, as the band members are ageing and have been at it as a group much longer than the real thing, which is always the case. Sometimes, the impersonations weren't perfect, but at least were still Northern. You have to forget that those were Yanks doing a Scouse take of what Shakespearean thespians or maybe Renaissance fair reenactors do so it's not like Madonna to put it that way! The gear and instruments were replicas of those used in those crazy days of screaming girls, press conferences, and hotel confinements. One can hear what's playing here. I wonder what the genuine article thought of this kind of thing. The missuses even. Apple's solicitors stopped Beatlemania! at first, but backed off later.
From "Please Please Me" to "Taxman", many favourites were revisited, along with some banter which did break the time warp so to speak, as "John" told everyone to get out their "pocket phones" for "In My Life". I tried filming that, but I'm no Dickie Lester! It wasn't the kind of show I would bootleg, so I'll order the album on emusic instead.
So Beatle people, do try it once to see if it does the boys justice. I feel this is living vicariously for both the players and fans. Still, it will never truly be the same.