Latest Posts

Faux Leather Jacket’s Trevor Courneen Launches Audible Handshake Podcast

May 26, 2015

Late last month, Trevor Courneen, member of Rochester’s alt-country outfit, Faux Leather Jacket, launched a new podcast series titled Audible Handshake. The first two episodes featured interviews/chats with fellow Rochester musicians Katie Preston of Pleistocene and Howlo‘s Ben Morey. “I wanted to start the podcast because for the past few years that I’ve lived in Rochester, I’ve met a lot of cool people,” begins Courneen. “People in the music scene, the art scene, the food scene, etc., I consider many of them friends at this point, but the truth is, I know very little about them beyond what they do. Katie and Ben are exceptions to this obviously because I’ve been good friends with them for a few years (which is why they were the first two, I knew I’d be comfortable and it would get me used to the process).” The podcast is more than just friendly talk with musical friends, but[...]

Faux Leather Jacket Releases Music Video for “Only I Can Break My Heart”

August 27, 2014

Rochester’s alt-country rockers, Faux Leather Jacket, released a music video late last week for “Only I Can Break My Heart,” the shining track on their debut EP, Sorry, Bud. In collaboration with Rocco Hagan, who shot and edited the video, it features a dreamlike montage of friends goofing off, dudes playing with hatchets, and, as many of us can relate to, a man on a mission to make things as hard as possible for himself. With a wisdom of the ages, this youthful group highlights the song’s title through the pointed words of a repeating chorus: “Don’t go feeling guilty/ Don’t even start/ It’s like I’ve told you once/ Only I can break my heart.” It only seems right, then, that the video’s protagonist (songwriter, lead vocalist, and multi-instrumentalist Trevor Courneen) might be likened to something of Sisyphus, as he makes a hellish journey across town hauling a burlap sack[...]

Faux Leather Jacket Releases Debut EP, Sorry, Bud

May 27, 2014

On slow blog days like this, we thank the tireless Rochester musician Ben Morey for giving us some quality music to write about. Morey stepped into the producer role this time around to mix, master, engineer, shoot the cover photo, and who knows, maybe cooked a four course meal, for the recording of the new EP from Rochester act Faux Leather Jacket. Featuring songwriter Trevor Courneen and former Cottage Jefferson guitar player Erick Perrine, among others, the sextet’s four track Sorry, Bud is a laid back collection of jangly alt-country, full of sunny harmonies and a touch of 90s college rock. Fans of Uncle Tupelo, Beachwood Sparks, the Old 97s (Courneen sounds a bit like Rhett Miller), and even Buffalo acts like Roger Bryan & the Orphans and the Old Sweethearts (RIP) should be downloading this right about now. You can check out the full Sorry, Bud EP here and[...]