A City of "Note"worthiness

In the summer of 1977, a band named The Grateful Dead played in a little Upstate New York town named Ithaca. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame says of the 2000+ concerts performed by the group in its lifetime,(GRATEFUL DEAD ABOVE) this one is ranked #1 by Deadheads. In fact, this summer the current mayor of Ithaca, Carolyn K. Peterson, declared May eighth "Dead Day" in recognition of that influential concert. This act gathered national attention, putting Ithaca into the spotlight. Ithaca has had its fair share of the lime light. In the early 1900's Ithaca was a center for silent films. The industry eventually relocated to Hollywood, where studios could shoot year round without having to deal with winter weather. But maybe that was best for the Ithaca community. One of the most interesting things about the community is its ability to have internationally renowned musicians still use independent recording labels right in I-town.

I-town Records is an independent recording label used by most Ithaca bands. This is just one example of communal nature of the Ithaca music scene. John Brown's Body is probably the most noted band coming out of Ithaca right now. JBB was actually one of the first bands that helped I-town Records get off the ground. JBB has been performing for ten years and hasn't lost a step anywhere in the journey. They have been touted as America's best reggae band. In a review of JBB's latest album, Pressure Points, The Beat says the band is "confident and humble, edgy and easygoing, Pressure Pointsis a brilliantly realized step forward for John Brown's Body, for American reggae and for reggae in general." It seems like each band coming out of Ithaca, although ranging from reggae to jazz improvised cellists, each brings a little of the same flavor into their music.

This certainly applies to the cellist Hank Roberts . The New York Times says Roberts is "...able to shift through the best elements of European classical music, pop and jazz, and bring them to a reapproachment that sounds new." His ability to go from one style to another and do it with seamless transitions is one of the reasons that his sound is so unique.

Here he is playing with another local Ithaca band, and one of my personal favorites, Wingnut.

He has worked extensively with John Brown's Body and also another member of the I-Town crew, Sim Redmond.

The Sim Redmond Band has graced the music scene since 1999. Some classify the band as being in the same genre as Dave Matthews, but I think they're so much more. The band is made up of five guys and a girl. Sim Redmond and Unnit Carruyo's vocal harmonies are really spectacular, on top of a blend of almost folky roots-rock with an African under current. Right now, they are pretty much the number one band in Ithaca, and one of the growing stars in the Northeast. Just take a look at the press reviews on their web page and you can see how much people appreciate the sounds that they produce.

Ithaca is not a great music town solely because of the artists that it produces, but also because of the locations available for performances. Some of the venues are absolutely amazing. Yes, you have your Cornell, (where that 1977 Dead concert was played) and you have Ithaca College. In fact, Ithaca College is one of the premiere music schools around. If you get a chance, check out ABC Café's open mike night, where a lot of music school students perform. In Downtown Ithaca the State Theater, as well as the Landmark Theater here in Syracuse, is one of the last great theaters of its kind. Opened in 1928, the State Theater was one of seventeen majestic theaters in Ithaca. As more television sets entered homes, more of the theaters went by the wayside. Thanks to a community effort to get it registered in the National Register of Historic Places in 1996 and serious renovations, the State Theater is now a place where local, national, and international acts perform. This past year the Vienna Boys Choir performed. Los Lobos and Arlo Guthrie have also performed at the Theatre as well. This coming January, Ladysmith Black Mambazo will be performing. The all-male group is from South Africa and is probably best known for their work with Paul Simon.

A little outside the Downtown area of Ithaca, you'll run across another hotbed of Ithaca music. The Haunt: it's not as spooky as it sounds but sometimes it can get pretty close. The club used to be just a couple of doors down from the State Theater but has moved on to a bigger space. This club has seen the likes of Phish and many other bands pass through its doors. Unfortunately, just as buildings get facelifts, so do websites, and the Haunt's website is getting one right now, so it automatically takes you to their Myspace page. But since The Haunt's relocation in Ithaca, I can remember Quiet Riot and Whitesnake coming through for a show. While this was definitely after their glory days as hard hair rockers, they were still getting into clubs, nonetheless.

The main point is that Ithaca is such a crossroads for music and for life. Some might even see it as a hidden Shangri-La of music, disguised in the hills of Central New York, on the shores of Cayuga lake. Such rich musical offerings have remained relatively untapped by commercial music, retaining that true Ithaca vibe. And that vibe is one of community, world rhythms and world sounds.