by Mark Saleski “…The disgusting stink of a too-loud electric guitar: now that’s my idea of a good time.” Ah yeah, tell it Mr. Zappa! One of my all-time favorite quotes concerning the instrument, Frank wasn’t proclaiming the guitar the king of instruments so much as noting that it’s theRead More

by Mark Saleski “Subtlety” is not a word to be used lightly in a music review, mostly because it’s likely to scare off the listener before even a single particle of the music has entered their ear parts. The sad fact is that “subtle” and “entertaining” are often thought ofRead More

by Mark Saleski For many years, I was very comfortable with the statement: “I hate country music.” It was easy to say because there was so much evidence all around: Garth Brooks, Toby Keith, Faith Hill and all of that — it was really just pop music with belt buckles,Read More

By Mark Saleski You look at the song listing and see “Alfie,” “Pennies From Heaven,” “Shadow Of Your Smile,” and…”Smoke On The Water“? What? Did I read that right? Yes, and singer-guitarist KJ Denhert is not foolin’ around. Well, except for when she is.Denhert refers to her music as “UrbanRead More

by Mark Saleski What is it about a vacation? Let’s say that there’s just the two of you, a house, no kids. Then, you go on vacation, arriving at your destination spot. So now the house has been swapped for a nice hotel room with a view (in our case,Read More

by Mark Saleski, at Binghamton University, Vestal, N.Y. Oh dear, I was this close to feeling disappointed. I loved the Orchestrion concept and music so much that tickets were procured and a trip was planned (across southern New Hampshire, Vermont, and all the way out past Albany to Binghamton, NY)Read More

by Mark Saleski The sun is setting earlier, the nights are already much longer, and it’s sorta dark when we get up in the morning. This is probably the last weekend for decent foliage-viewing, marking what we all know is coming: winter. The snow will fly, the storm windows willRead More

Photo by Jimmy Katz by Mark Saleski You might wonder, if you’re the curious/skeptical sort, why the late 1800’s concept of the orchestrion needs a modern update. Aren’t we headed toward the inevitable, all-digital future? What’s with all of these “new” instruments with their pesky & outdated moving parts? ToRead More

by Mark Saleski Jazz fans tend to have a love/hate relationship with pop music covers. On the one hand, there are examples like Coltrane’s “My Favorite Things” that are sort of hard to argue with. Face it, reinterpretations like that not only put a new spin on an old favorite,Read More

by Mark Saleski I remember exactly where I was when I found out. I was hanging out in a friend’s first floor dorm room in Aroostook Hall at the University of Maine. The only things I can remember about him are that his name was Fred and he was fromRead More