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Tonight: Alex Berkley

October 2, 2019

Poetic indie-folk bard Alex Berkley headlines a very diverse bill tonight at Nietzsche’s. A mainstay of the local scene for many years, Berkley has been devoting his time to other pursuits, namely marriage and fatherhood. Among his more interesting projects is his 3 part Days of Fun series; where he wrote a song every day for the month of February in 2013, 2014, and 2015 respectively. But it was his 2008 debut Lists and Listlessness that still garners widespread acclaim. With his everyman persona and deeply poetic and relatable lyrics, Berkley has cemented his status as one of the finest singer-songwriters in the Buffalo music scene. Those who have been lucky enough to catch one of Berkley’s rare appearances in the past few years have been treated to intimate performances with a deep emotional staying power. It’s very exciting to see his return to the circuit, and one would hope[...]

Various Artists – Coast to Coast: Recordings from the Bedroom

March 27, 2017

Our Album of the Week comes from four different artists this week, in the form of a starry compilation from the Buffalo-bred, San Francisco-based record label Joysdead. The compilation, aptly titled Coast to Coast Vol 1: Recordings from the Bedroom, features prominent local musicians from both sides of the country—Buffalo’s Alex Berkley, Roger Bryan, and Ray Fulton, and San Francisco’s Sean Mikula (formerly of Buffalo). If you couldn’t deduce from the title, the collection features tracks that forgo the crispness of high-quality production for the glorious little imperfections of self-recording. The first thing that struck me about Coast to Coast is just how interpretative the term “bedroom recording” can be. All four songwriters on the compilation contributed very different tracks, making the collection particularly listenable. To Mikula, it is a method of self-recording that involves drum machines, multi-instrumentation, and synths (much like the stylings of his Buffalo baby Besnyo), while[...]

Tonight: Small Houses

May 12, 2016

Small Houses’ sound is about as humble as the moniker would suggest. I found it difficult to not be receptive of the warm, smoky folk song stylings of the Austin-based solo project birthed by Jeremy Quentin. With each tune, he figuratively sits you down in a porch chair across from him to tell swelling tales of heartache and summers past. Even from a few seconds worth of listening, it’s undeniable that Quentin projects a voice well seasoned beyond his years — it’s almost like a beautifully fine sandpaper, gruff yet gentle enough to maintain some finesse among the lyrics. Obvious or not, Bob Dylan comes to mind as an influencer, or perhaps at least someone who had similar musings and expression. Seeing Small Houses perform in one of Buffalo’s most intimate venues is going to be a real treat, especially with the folk leanings of the rest of the lineup.[...]

Guest Picks: Alex Berkley

December 14, 2015

For our Best of 2015 coverage, we once again decided to reach out to some friends of the blog to get an idea of what made the year in music so great for them. For the latest installment in the guest series, singer/songwriter Alex Berkley submitted his year end list. 2015 saw Berkley release the latest installment in his annual Fun-A-Day series, 28 Days of Fun: Shuffled, and later this week, he will be opening up for Parade Chic at Mohawk Place on December 17th. Make sure to follow all of the blog’s year in review coverage throughout the month of December. Hello buffaBLOGGERS! Boy, wasn’t 2015 one heckuva year? I’ll say! Great tunes, great buds, and other things! And the best is yet to come: a new non-Lucas Star Wars movie, a Lombardi trophy (you gotta Billieve), and a new President (congratulations in advance, Donald Trump, you fucking monster)! Look, I’m done talking about the future.[...]

Silo Sessions

June 19, 2015

Today is going to be a busy Saturday. If you’re looking to get the most out of your all-access Herd Fest bracelet, your itinerary will take you to Record Theatre in the afternoon, Black Dots in the evening, and the Buffalo bustle of Allen Street to cap off your fat schedule at a number of Allen’s finest watering holes. And if you tough it out and stay up and at ‘em for the final show of the night, you’ll find yourself at Nietzsche’s for the stacked, jacked and packed Silo Sessions showcase. Thanks to weekly videos of Silo Sessions—one of the local music scene’s newest and most unique upstarts—the cavernous natural reverb of Buffalo’s old grain silos has proven to be a valuable sonic entity in one of the city’s coolest new music spots. Since its inception last year, Silo Sessions has recorded over thirty musical performances in the Silos,[...]

Tonight: Parlor Trix #3

May 29, 2015

Buzzing Purchase, NY pop act, Adult Mom, will be one of the highlights of tonight’s latest installment of Steak & Cake’s Parlor Trix series at the label’s home base venue of Curly’s (note: this is not the Lackawanna restaurant). The group’s latest single,”Survival,” has been getting some serious burn over at Pitchfork. I would have compared the act to Rilo Kiley if the P4K crew didn’t meet me to it first. Rounding out tonight’s bill will be Alex Berkley, whose most recent release, Shuffled, premiered as part of Sugar City’s annual Fun-a-Day art installment this past March, Helen, the haunting folk project of Bourbon and Coffee’s Andrew Biggie, and the extremely unknown act/musician Thelma. Seriously, I found nothing on them. $5 is all it will cost to figure out who Thelma is, in addition to catch an on-the-rise touring act in Adult Mom, and two of the city’s finest songwriters[...]

Tonight: Lazlo Hollyfeld

May 15, 2015

Every once in a while Buffalonians get together for a true Harvestsum banger. Tonight is that night. Resident xylophone-toting instrumental rockers, Lazlo Hollyfeld, are going to be bringing it home tonight. Don’t forget the quiet crush of Applennium, the fuzzy garage pop of Johnny Nobody, or the intelligent musings of Alex Berkley & co. Mohawk Place is the place to be. 8:00pm is the magical hour – make sure you bring $5 for admission. Also, bring your friends. [soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/175635118″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]

Alex Berkley Premieres Annual “Fun-a-Day” Album, 28 Days of Fun: Shuffle

March 12, 2015

This being a music blog, my favorite project to look forward to during Sugar City’s annual Fun-a-Day exhibit (create something artistic for every day of the month) is the concept album from Alex Berkley. His first year album for Fun-a-Day, 28 Days of Fun, was a collection of songs, one recorded every day of the month: a simple, yet quality undertaking. For year two, he went more ambitious, recording a collection of diary-like entries chronicling the day to day life of the Elmwood Village every man for 28 Days of Fun: Sick of the Sound of My Voice. As for this year, his third musical installment for Fun-a-Day, the singer/songwriter put his iTunes on shuffle daily and proceeded to write a song, resulting in 28 Days of Fun: Shuffle. Some of the random songs that inspired the album were “Our Singer” by Pavement (Song 19: “Wings & Billy Madison”), “Jamming” by Bob[...]

Tonight: Alex Berkley & Sonny Baker

February 16, 2015

Tonight Nietzsche’s will be set to host a fairly low-key night, featuring two of Buffalo’s best singer-songwriters doing what they do best – singing and playing original songs. On the line up is the man of a thousand bands, Sonny Baker, performing his Jim James-style ballads that have been perfected over his close to ten years in the Buffalo music scene. Also set to perform is Elmwood Village introspective songwriter, Alex Berkley. Perhaps Berkley will debut some of his newly-written tracks from his Fun-a-Day project? Get there around 8pm and there is no cover. [soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/190882198″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]

Alex Berkley Drops First Track from Latest Fun-a-Day Album

February 2, 2015

The start of February means the start of another month of Fun-a-Day. The now annual collective project, where people are asked to do something “fun,” normally artistically fun, every day over the course of our shortest, and at least in Buffalo, most miserable month (see outside currently), is a nice way to get through some winter blues. Curated by Sugar City, the finished products will be on display at the DIY headquarters on March 12th. In what is now becoming a yearly traditional, local singer/songwriter, Alex Berkley, has already begun his Fun-A Day project, following up last year’s ambitious Sick of the Sound of My Voice, and 2013’s 28 Days of Fun. While his 2015 project has yet to be titled, for this year’s album, Berkley has decided set his iTunes on shuffle, and whatever song comes up first, write an original tune about a memory said song conjures. Repeat[...]

Day 10: Alex Berkley & Kayleigh

December 23, 2014

One of the nicest holiday projects to come out of Buffalo this season was a charming covers album, titled Put Some Records On While I Pour, from newly married couple, local singer/songwriter Alex Berkley and his wonderful wife Kayleigh. The two tackled some classic holiday standards, even “Auld Lang Syne” if your New Year’s Eve mix is a song or two short. Surprisingly, the best track on this album is the pair’s cover of Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You.” Its a touching number sung between the two, giving the song a bit more depth and heart than you would normally expect from Carey’s original. Stream the full album here, and listen to “All I Want For Christmas Is You” below.

Tonight: Alex Berkley

November 29, 2014

End your stuffed holiday weekend strong tonight as Elmwood village every man, Alex Berkley, takes the stage at the Gypsy Parlor over on Buffalo’s West Side. 2015 looks to be a busy year of projects for Berkley, between a hopeful full length with his backing band, the Atlanta Falcons, to a new solo album to some collaborations with fellow Queen City singer/songwriters, Damian and Sonny Baker. The latter pairing just released a couple demos earlier this week that you can listen to here. Music begins later this evening at 8pm. Folkfaces will also appear on the bill. Cover is $3 Photo Credit – Silo Sessions