Mark Drums Pisanelli

Beaconite Mark Pisanelli performs last year at Beacon Riverfest 2012. He will be performing with The Costellos at this Saturday's fourth annual Beacon Riverfest. --photo courtesy of Rob Penner

By Ray Fashona
Beacon may not be a musical mecca yet, but it’s headed in the right direction.

Witness Saturday’s fourth annual Beacon Riverfest, bringing together 14 diverse bands featuring sounds from Latin fusion to Zydeco to indie-pop-waltz that defies definition. All of this free music – that’s right, there’s no admission fee, although donations to keep the series going are accepted – will float along the breezes of the glorious Hudson at Beacon’s Riverfront Park starting at noon.

Music teacher and performer Stephen Clair, who created Riverfest in 2010, said he expects between 2,500 and 2,700 visitors to the festival, about the same as last year. Music lovers come from throughout the valley, and as far away as the Berkshires and New York City, to hear the “intriguing variety” of sounds.

“It’s all about the music,” Clair said. A lifelong musician who moved to Beacon six years ago and “fell in love with it,” he conceived Riverfest to “help put Beacon on the musical map.”
Clair said he finds it satisfying that festival-goers “respond to different types of music.” And this year’s lineup is, as in past years, a mélange of styles and ethnic sounds. Chicha Libre, for example, combines Latin rhythms with surf guitar and Andean folk music for songs that are both vibrant and haunting. (Check them out at www.chichalibre.com.) The band has performed worldwide, from Germany to Portugal to throughout South America.

Besides internationally known bands such as Chicha Libre, Riverfest is also a showcase for homegrown talent. Band making its Riverfest debut is Higher Animals, a band with a unique sound based in Beacon.

For those who want to bring the family, the kids’ tent offers Imagination Playground equipment, face painting and Bubble Boy. Also on the grounds will be a variety of food vendors and artisans selling local homemade crafts.

Beacon Riverfest will take place from noon to 8 p.m. Information: Call 1-917-806-1348 or visit www.beaconriverfest.com for a full lineup of bands. - Beacon Free Press

BEACON, N.Y. — The folks in T-shirts, shorts and artsy eyewear at the Fovea photography gallery were deep in a discussion over what someone had labeled “iPhoneography,” the visual clutter and glut in a world where everyone with a cellphone can be a photojournalist. Then a voice piped up from the front row.
Summer Nights

Strolling Main Street Summer Rituals

This is the fourth in a series of articles exploring how people in the New York City area spend their summers after dark.

Previous Articles in This Series »

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Michael Sullivan, a personal trainer and art enthusiast from Newburgh, N.Y., at the event.

“Are we concerned about the shifting sands — and it sounds like an oxymoron — of the new cliché?” asked Andrew Courtney, a photographer and filmmaker from Croton-on-Hudson, N.Y.

Mr. Courtney, it turned out, had a lengthy résumé that included an upcoming photo exhibit on African Palestinians, and films and photos from Cuba, apartheid South Africa, Iraq and post-Katrina New Orleans.

Fovea, the gallery said, refers to “a small depression in the retina, constituting the point where vision is most clear.” It seemed just about the right place to begin Beacon’s Second Saturday for July, in the sweltering summer of 2012, when clear vision is hard to find, the shifting sands (at beaches, at least) can be too hot to please and anyone with an Internet connection knows that the new cliché is just a tweet away.

Second Saturday, a monthly assortment of art shows, free wine and cheese, street music and people-watching, has become a favored institution in this old Hudson River industrial town, where Dia:Beacon, the giant modern art museum that opened in 2003, jump-started postindustrial life and made Beacon one of the Hudson Valley’s aspiring arty towns.

The days are too hot for the parade up and down the mile-long Main Street. But when the sun goes down, people meander until well into the night past the giant mural of the American Indian looming over the Hudson River; past the local band, the Costellos, flanked by tiki torches on the flat roof of Hudson Beach Glass; past the Hop craft beer and artisanal fare tasting room and the Artisan Wine Shop; past Foxy’s Beauty Salon and Sexy Nails; past the Masjid Ar-Rashid Islamic Teaching Center of Beacon and more than a dozen galleries until things peter out just past Feng Shui America and the high-end Roundhouse at Beacon Falls hotel, spa and restaurant taking shape across the street.

Second Saturday, like Beacon, seems to hang its hat on the idea that art, as muse, recreation, status signifier and economic development strategy is one of the few things that have a permanent growth market.

“When you get to a point in your life where you have a wall, paint on the wall and now you’re thinking of hanging art on the wall, you’re a little bit beyond just having mayonnaise sandwiches,” said Michael Sullivan, a personal trainer (his business card reads: “Hudson Valley Muscles”) from across the bridge in Newburgh. “If you want to talk to God, you better have a poet or an artist.”

Mr. Courtney’s second stop was the “Summer Blues” group exhibition featuring 14 artists, most from the Hudson Valley, at the Theo Ganz Studio, with the “Don’t be Frackin’ Crazy” sign in the window.

The show was not strictly about summer, though Margaret McDuffie’s blue Westport chair, a precursor to the Adirondack chair, sitting by the window, afforded perhaps the perfect perch for watching the passing parade. Instead it was full of diverse images, many with a dissonant buzz, like Elana Goren’s “Through Humans’ Scope,” a series of etchings with explosive dark fields reminiscent of gunshots depicting or hinting at violence to animals.

“I used to look forward to summer when I was a kid; it took forever to be summer again,” said Eleni Smolen, an artist and the gallery owner. “But it seems now summer has this unpredictable quality, it’s chaotic. So I didn’t want this to be purely celebratory because summer can be melancholy and sad, with climate change and erratic weather and this darker part that’s there.”

Beacon has its celebratory and melancholy vapors as well, and the long trek across Main feels a bit like walking across America. Its two ends, like the East and West Coasts, are destinations of energy and culture, where the cool people hang out. Much of the space between is frayed, barely hanging on or waiting for better days: an abandoned building bears painted faux storefronts of imaginary businesses like the Neighborhood Deli and Main Street Flowers.

Still, the trek has its rewards. At the DGAF Gallery (the letters have varying meanings, some printable), Catello Somma, a former graffiti artist from Brooklyn, and V’Nessa Tzavellas, a singer-songwriter and photographer from Queens, preside o - The New York Times, PETER APPLEBOME

BEACON, N.Y. — The folks in T-shirts, shorts and artsy eyewear at the Fovea photography gallery were deep in a discussion over what someone had labeled “iPhoneography,” the visual clutter and glut in a world where everyone with a cellphone can be a photojournalist. Then a voice piped up from the front row.
Summer Nights

Strolling Main Street Summer Rituals

This is the fourth in a series of articles exploring how people in the New York City area spend their summers after dark.

Previous Articles in This Series »

Connect with NYTMetro
Metro Twitter Logo.

Follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook for news and conversation.
Enlarge This Image
Marcus Yam for The New York Times

Michael Sullivan, a personal trainer and art enthusiast from Newburgh, N.Y., at the event.

“Are we concerned about the shifting sands — and it sounds like an oxymoron — of the new cliché?” asked Andrew Courtney, a photographer and filmmaker from Croton-on-Hudson, N.Y.

Mr. Courtney, it turned out, had a lengthy résumé that included an upcoming photo exhibit on African Palestinians, and films and photos from Cuba, apartheid South Africa, Iraq and post-Katrina New Orleans.

Fovea, the gallery said, refers to “a small depression in the retina, constituting the point where vision is most clear.” It seemed just about the right place to begin Beacon’s Second Saturday for July, in the sweltering summer of 2012, when clear vision is hard to find, the shifting sands (at beaches, at least) can be too hot to please and anyone with an Internet connection knows that the new cliché is just a tweet away.

Second Saturday, a monthly assortment of art shows, free wine and cheese, street music and people-watching, has become a favored institution in this old Hudson River industrial town, where Dia:Beacon, the giant modern art museum that opened in 2003, jump-started postindustrial life and made Beacon one of the Hudson Valley’s aspiring arty towns.

The days are too hot for the parade up and down the mile-long Main Street. But when the sun goes down, people meander until well into the night past the giant mural of the American Indian looming over the Hudson River; past the local band, the Costellos, flanked by tiki torches on the flat roof of Hudson Beach Glass; past the Hop craft beer and artisanal fare tasting room and the Artisan Wine Shop; past Foxy’s Beauty Salon and Sexy Nails; past the Masjid Ar-Rashid Islamic Teaching Center of Beacon and more than a dozen galleries until things peter out just past Feng Shui America and the high-end Roundhouse at Beacon Falls hotel, spa and restaurant taking shape across the street.

Second Saturday, like Beacon, seems to hang its hat on the idea that art, as muse, recreation, status signifier and economic development strategy is one of the few things that have a permanent growth market.

“When you get to a point in your life where you have a wall, paint on the wall and now you’re thinking of hanging art on the wall, you’re a little bit beyond just having mayonnaise sandwiches,” said Michael Sullivan, a personal trainer (his business card reads: “Hudson Valley Muscles”) from across the bridge in Newburgh. “If you want to talk to God, you better have a poet or an artist.”

Mr. Courtney’s second stop was the “Summer Blues” group exhibition featuring 14 artists, most from the Hudson Valley, at the Theo Ganz Studio, with the “Don’t be Frackin’ Crazy” sign in the window.

The show was not strictly about summer, though Margaret McDuffie’s blue Westport chair, a precursor to the Adirondack chair, sitting by the window, afforded perhaps the perfect perch for watching the passing parade. Instead it was full of diverse images, many with a dissonant buzz, like Elana Goren’s “Through Humans’ Scope,” a series of etchings with explosive dark fields reminiscent of gunshots depicting or hinting at violence to animals.

“I used to look forward to summer when I was a kid; it took forever to be summer again,” said Eleni Smolen, an artist and the gallery owner. “But it seems now summer has this unpredictable quality, it’s chaotic. So I didn’t want this to be purely celebratory because summer can be melancholy and sad, with climate change and erratic weather and this darker part that’s there.”

Beacon has its celebratory and melancholy vapors as well, and the long trek across Main feels a bit like walking across America. Its two ends, like the East and West Coasts, are destinations of energy and culture, where the cool people hang out. Much of the space between is frayed, barely hanging on or waiting for better days: an abandoned building bears painted faux storefronts of imaginary businesses like the Neighborhood Deli and Main Street Flowers.

Still, the trek has its rewards. At the DGAF Gallery (the letters have varying meanings, some printable), Catello Somma, a former graffiti artist from Brooklyn, and V’Nessa Tzavellas, a singer-songwriter and photographer from Queens, preside o - The New York Times, PETER APPLEBOME

The vista to the north is framed by the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge, while downtown Newburgh punctuates the western sky.

The Hudson River links them both as it dissolves into the southern horizon, offering an opportunity to connect with a waterway that defines existence for so many Hudson Valley residents, as they kayak its waves, commute over its bridges and work and live in its communities.

At the center of this scenario is Beacon’s Riverfront Park, which on Saturday will host an arts offering that will bring music from many miles away to a burgeoning Hudson Valley community.

Beacon beckons New York City residents with its Metro-North train station and draws folks from Ulster and Dutchess counties with attractions that include Dia:Beacon, a contemporary art museum; The Beacon Theatre on Main Street; and art galleries that anchor this arts community.

On Saturday, the third annual edition of Beacon Riverfest will be staged on the city’s Hudson River shore, with live music, food and crafts.

“It’s a funny marriage,” said Riverfest Director Stephen Clair, “between a rock music festival and lots of kids and families.”

Scheduled to perform at this free event are The Wiyos, Schwervon!, The Figgs, Octomen, the M Shanghai String Band and Brooklyn Qawwali Party, which interprets 700-year-old Pakistani Sufi music, focusing on the works of musician Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.

Many modern music fans know Khan from a recording he made some years ago with Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam fame.

Qawwali music, according to http://worldmusic.nationalgeographic.com, “Is a Sufi tradition that is completely unique to the Indian subcontinent. But with its heartbeat-like pulse, vocal fireworks and message of universal love and peace, this style has found devoted fans all across the globe.”

Brooklyn Qawwali Party drummer Brook Martinez said he is drawn to Sufi music by “the passion, the fire, the intensity of it, the way it can transport both performer and audience to ecstatic states, sometimes, if you’re lucky. I love music that can just build and build, and take you to higher and higher places as a listener or as a player. That’s really the heart of the matter for me. It’s intense, passionate music and it has a great rhythm.” - Poughkeepsie Journal

The vista to the north is framed by the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge, while downtown Newburgh punctuates the western sky.

The Hudson River links them both as it dissolves into the southern horizon, offering an opportunity to connect with a waterway that defines existence for so many Hudson Valley residents, as they kayak its waves, commute over its bridges and work and live in its communities.

At the center of this scenario is Beacon’s Riverfront Park, which on Saturday will host an arts offering that will bring music from many miles away to a burgeoning Hudson Valley community.

Beacon beckons New York City residents with its Metro-North train station and draws folks from Ulster and Dutchess counties with attractions that include Dia:Beacon, a contemporary art museum; The Beacon Theatre on Main Street; and art galleries that anchor this arts community.

On Saturday, the third annual edition of Beacon Riverfest will be staged on the city’s Hudson River shore, with live music, food and crafts.

“It’s a funny marriage,” said Riverfest Director Stephen Clair, “between a rock music festival and lots of kids and families.”

Scheduled to perform at this free event are The Wiyos, Schwervon!, The Figgs, Octomen, the M Shanghai String Band and Brooklyn Qawwali Party, which interprets 700-year-old Pakistani Sufi music, focusing on the works of musician Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.

Many modern music fans know Khan from a recording he made some years ago with Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam fame.

Qawwali music, according to http://worldmusic.nationalgeographic.com, “Is a Sufi tradition that is completely unique to the Indian subcontinent. But with its heartbeat-like pulse, vocal fireworks and message of universal love and peace, this style has found devoted fans all across the globe.”

Brooklyn Qawwali Party drummer Brook Martinez said he is drawn to Sufi music by “the passion, the fire, the intensity of it, the way it can transport both performer and audience to ecstatic states, sometimes, if you’re lucky. I love music that can just build and build, and take you to higher and higher places as a listener or as a player. That’s really the heart of the matter for me. It’s intense, passionate music and it has a great rhythm.” - Poughkeepsie Journal

If you’re a regular shopper at Beacon’s Key Foods, you’ve undoubtedly met Alex Campone, the congenial cashier with tattooed arms and a shaggy mop of black hair. He started working part-time at the grocery store while a student at Beacon High School. Now that he’s graduated, he’s starting his first year at Dutchess Community College and working to support his passion, playing in the local punk band Buddha Heroes.

Alex and his buddies Mark and Rob are the core of the Buddha Heroes, a band whose sound some compare to the Southern California punk scene of the early 1980’s. Listening to their demo, you can certainly hear early Social Distortion or Agent Orange, but the Buddha Heroes are not interested in comparisons.

Download the Buddha Heroes' MP3 "Wavin in the Sun"

I learned about Alex’s alter ego after seeing him behind the wheel of his multi-colored van, a 1987 Chevy with about 150,000 miles on the engine. Like something from a psychedelic A-Team episode, the van will be the band’s home as they tour the Northeast and beyond to build their audience one club at a time. The Buddha Heroes just came off consecutive shows at Club Crannell Street in Poughkeepsie and the Continental in Manhattan. I was able to catch up with Alex C., Mark P., Rob C., and their good friend Derrick at Mark’s parents’ house here in Beacon late one weekday night in late August (bass player Clark E. couldn’t make the interview.)

Why don’t we start with introductions?

Mark: I’m Mark, I play drums and sing.

Alex: My name’s Alex. I play guitar and sing.

Rob: I’m Rob, and I play guitar, nasty guitar, and do backup vocals, I suppose.

Alex: Rockin rhythm, rockin lead, rockin everything, rockin Rob!


How’d you guys meet?

Alex: I’ve been with Mark for the past 5 years. At the end of my freshman year at Beacon High School I was looking to start a band for the first time. A friend of mine told me about a friend of his that played bass. And I said, ‘bass? I don’t want a bass player, I want a drummer.’ Turns out he was a drummer, and my friend got it wrong.

So I called Mark out of the blue one day. I didn’t know him and we’d never been introduced. We hung out and kinda got a thing going. We started jamming and while we were doing that we came up with the name Buddha Heroes.

Where does the name come from?

Alex: I always had a big thing for Buddha. I’ve always collected Buddha dolls, and I have a whole big collection. We have a bunch of statues that we use at practice.

Mark: But there’s no religious thing there –

Alex: It’s more of a good luck thing – more visual than meaningful. So one day around Halloween a couple of months later Mark called me and we started the first version of the band, which was Mark, me, and a couple of other guys.

Mark: A few days after that we got together and started playing in the barn.

What’s the barn?

Mark: The barn’s in the back of the house here. We did our first set of recordings in there. We had a mixing board and we recorded our first song for a project in school --

Alex: We did it in one night – it was really fun…

What grade were you in at this point?

Alex: This was sophomore year of high school. This was our first recording that actually sounded kinda good. We were just kids in high school trying to start a band. We weren’t that good, but we were having fun. So then me and Mark became really good friends, and we started hanging out all the time, and decided to get serious. So one of our friends, Liam, who lives in Beacon too, got a bass and learned to play it with us, on the spot.

What did that first recording sound like?

Alex: Well… (laughs)

Mark: It was crap!

Alex: At the time we thought it was awesome, but we just listened to it the other day and it gave us a headache.

Derrick: At the time we thought, ‘oh, this is amazing’, but you look back at it now, and you’re like --

Alex: Four years ago we we’d spend $300 and do it ourselves. But now we know better and go to a studio. Soon after that Mark, Liam, and me played our first club show ever at Club Culture in Washingtonville. It was a big deal to us -- we were really stoked.

How’d you get that show?

Mark: I went to Imperial Guitars and bought my first real drum set, and as I was leaving they were like, ‘by the way, do you want a show?’ I said, ‘wow, sure!’ And I called Alex and that’s where we started.

Alex: After we played that we got our first show up at Club Crannell Street in Poughkeepsie. Then they opened the Loft, and we played there a lot. And we thought, maybe one day we’ll play the Chance.

Were you still the Buddha Heroes at this point?

Alex: Yeah, every time we’d stop and start a band with new guys we’d try and think of a new name for the band, but it always came back to Buddha Heroes. Always. At first it was corny, and it kept getting cornier and cornier, but now it’s just stuck. We can’t even get rid it, it’s who we are.

Mark: - by Michael Daecher

If you’re a regular shopper at Beacon’s Key Foods, you’ve undoubtedly met Alex Campone, the congenial cashier with tattooed arms and a shaggy mop of black hair. He started working part-time at the grocery store while a student at Beacon High School. Now that he’s graduated, he’s starting his first year at Dutchess Community College and working to support his passion, playing in the local punk band Buddha Heroes.

Alex and his buddies Mark and Rob are the core of the Buddha Heroes, a band whose sound some compare to the Southern California punk scene of the early 1980’s. Listening to their demo, you can certainly hear early Social Distortion or Agent Orange, but the Buddha Heroes are not interested in comparisons.

Download the Buddha Heroes' MP3 "Wavin in the Sun"

I learned about Alex’s alter ego after seeing him behind the wheel of his multi-colored van, a 1987 Chevy with about 150,000 miles on the engine. Like something from a psychedelic A-Team episode, the van will be the band’s home as they tour the Northeast and beyond to build their audience one club at a time. The Buddha Heroes just came off consecutive shows at Club Crannell Street in Poughkeepsie and the Continental in Manhattan. I was able to catch up with Alex C., Mark P., Rob C., and their good friend Derrick at Mark’s parents’ house here in Beacon late one weekday night in late August (bass player Clark E. couldn’t make the interview.)

Why don’t we start with introductions?

Mark: I’m Mark, I play drums and sing.

Alex: My name’s Alex. I play guitar and sing.

Rob: I’m Rob, and I play guitar, nasty guitar, and do backup vocals, I suppose.

Alex: Rockin rhythm, rockin lead, rockin everything, rockin Rob!


How’d you guys meet?

Alex: I’ve been with Mark for the past 5 years. At the end of my freshman year at Beacon High School I was looking to start a band for the first time. A friend of mine told me about a friend of his that played bass. And I said, ‘bass? I don’t want a bass player, I want a drummer.’ Turns out he was a drummer, and my friend got it wrong.

So I called Mark out of the blue one day. I didn’t know him and we’d never been introduced. We hung out and kinda got a thing going. We started jamming and while we were doing that we came up with the name Buddha Heroes.

Where does the name come from?

Alex: I always had a big thing for Buddha. I’ve always collected Buddha dolls, and I have a whole big collection. We have a bunch of statues that we use at practice.

Mark: But there’s no religious thing there –

Alex: It’s more of a good luck thing – more visual than meaningful. So one day around Halloween a couple of months later Mark called me and we started the first version of the band, which was Mark, me, and a couple of other guys.

Mark: A few days after that we got together and started playing in the barn.

What’s the barn?

Mark: The barn’s in the back of the house here. We did our first set of recordings in there. We had a mixing board and we recorded our first song for a project in school --

Alex: We did it in one night – it was really fun…

What grade were you in at this point?

Alex: This was sophomore year of high school. This was our first recording that actually sounded kinda good. We were just kids in high school trying to start a band. We weren’t that good, but we were having fun. So then me and Mark became really good friends, and we started hanging out all the time, and decided to get serious. So one of our friends, Liam, who lives in Beacon too, got a bass and learned to play it with us, on the spot.

What did that first recording sound like?

Alex: Well… (laughs)

Mark: It was crap!

Alex: At the time we thought it was awesome, but we just listened to it the other day and it gave us a headache.

Derrick: At the time we thought, ‘oh, this is amazing’, but you look back at it now, and you’re like --

Alex: Four years ago we we’d spend $300 and do it ourselves. But now we know better and go to a studio. Soon after that Mark, Liam, and me played our first club show ever at Club Culture in Washingtonville. It was a big deal to us -- we were really stoked.

How’d you get that show?

Mark: I went to Imperial Guitars and bought my first real drum set, and as I was leaving they were like, ‘by the way, do you want a show?’ I said, ‘wow, sure!’ And I called Alex and that’s where we started.

Alex: After we played that we got our first show up at Club Crannell Street in Poughkeepsie. Then they opened the Loft, and we played there a lot. And we thought, maybe one day we’ll play the Chance.

Were you still the Buddha Heroes at this point?

Alex: Yeah, every time we’d stop and start a band with new guys we’d try and think of a new name for the band, but it always came back to Buddha Heroes. Always. At first it was corny, and it kept getting cornier and cornier, but now it’s just stuck. We can’t even get rid it, it’s who we are.

Mark: - by Michael Daecher

Cultural center hosts high-energy concert. A Beacon arts center known for hosting classical music is now pushing punk. The Howland Cultural Center on Main Street in Beacon Saturday night will host a punk rock concert featuring The Buddha Heroes, NCM and Another wasted day. Also scheduled are solo acoustic performances featuring the music of The Misfits and Close Enough. The Buddha Heroes and NCM are from Beacon, the musician from Close Enough are from Hopewell and Another wasted day is from the Pocono Mountains. The Howland Center exists for the community and it’s a cultural center, “it’s not just a classical music venue or something like that” said Howland Acting Director Florence Northcutt. “We encourage all kinds of music to jazz to classical. There is no reason why punk rock can’t be apart of that”. The Howland Cultural Center Staged a night of Punk rock in the spring, Northcutt said. Concert organizer Pete Crotty of Beacon will perform twice -- solo, offerings takes on Misfits songs and in the guitar-drum duo NCM.
- John W. Berry

Cultural center hosts high-energy concert. A Beacon arts center known for hosting classical music is now pushing punk. The Howland Cultural Center on Main Street in Beacon Saturday night will host a punk rock concert featuring The Buddha Heroes, NCM and Another wasted day. Also scheduled are solo acoustic performances featuring the music of The Misfits and Close Enough. The Buddha Heroes and NCM are from Beacon, the musician from Close Enough are from Hopewell and Another wasted day is from the Pocono Mountains. The Howland Center exists for the community and it’s a cultural center, “it’s not just a classical music venue or something like that” said Howland Acting Director Florence Northcutt. “We encourage all kinds of music to jazz to classical. There is no reason why punk rock can’t be apart of that”. The Howland Cultural Center Staged a night of Punk rock in the spring, Northcutt said. Concert organizer Pete Crotty of Beacon will perform twice -- solo, offerings takes on Misfits songs and in the guitar-drum duo NCM.
- John W. Berry

The Fight is a 5-song 13 Ep which is quite fast, very punk rock with a little Metal twist but a little more progressive than the 70s punk, and very energetic. It falls flat a little in the third song, which is why it didn't get 10/10. I just felt it lacked a certain.. well indescriable pitch which the first songs hit so well. The first two songs are perfect punk rock, they combine everything you would want in a song that is agressive and fun - but the third song seems to drop off a bit. Forunately, the Third song also is a transition song between the fourth and fifth song which aren't punk songs anymore - but genre defining art works. Unforunately, personally they aren't as much as I like the first two songs. You won't hear that metal influence until the third song, which actually seems to progress itself until the guitars would be very metal sounding in the fifth song.
I may also say as a critism the vocals seem to drop off a bit in the last two tracks. Actually about the time of the scream in the second track. This is a very good cd though, excellent if You want to go with the 9/10 being a guideline. It's very punk esc, but manages to be very entertaining. Lyrically I didn't see anything that stood out, and for some reason the third track shows a decline from the first song being probably the best underground punk track I've ever heard.. but it's still a very very good cd. There's a lot of solid guitar lines, all the music works together, and the vocals are quite good throughout the entire cd. The bass doesn't stand out - at least as much as I hope it would on a punk cd, but that's their style.
Another reason this cd is good is that it never stops being aggressive. In fact it gets more aggressive - very much so in fact, but it starts off as an aggressive cd and never looses that "cool" which is presented inside all the tracks. It all has this steady rhythm and feeling to it, but "The Fight" increases, making an impulsive feeling of ear magic. This isn't a cd which will appeal to people not into punk rock, and it doesn't feel to seem like a cd Which Buddha Heroes spent more time then they would have on a regular cd. I haven't heard their earlier work, but this is a very professional cd, and has a sound which will change the world forever!
So you may ask yourself - should you listen to this cd? Yes, yes you should, but it isn't the type of punk music which stands out to people who don't commonly listen to it - like special guitar lines and sing alongs. However, it is very true to itself, and is presented in a way which is enjoyable and that's more important than user interaction. It's a bit aggressive, so make sure the kids are warned before listening to it, and it's only 13 minutes (though the cd is complete, and if it was longer it may be out of place, and the 9/10 does imply the cd hasn't hit the high point of being the best thing in the world) - but you should sit down and listen to it. See it for yourself, it's a band who is from around here, putting out much better music than a lot of younger bands, and it's a well done cd. I'd pay $3 bucks for it unconditionally, though if I was making a mix tape I probably would throw the whole thing on.

- Jim Gi.

The Fight is a 5-song 13 Ep which is quite fast, very punk rock with a little Metal twist but a little more progressive than the 70s punk, and very energetic. It falls flat a little in the third song, which is why it didn't get 10/10. I just felt it lacked a certain.. well indescriable pitch which the first songs hit so well. The first two songs are perfect punk rock, they combine everything you would want in a song that is agressive and fun - but the third song seems to drop off a bit. Forunately, the Third song also is a transition song between the fourth and fifth song which aren't punk songs anymore - but genre defining art works. Unforunately, personally they aren't as much as I like the first two songs. You won't hear that metal influence until the third song, which actually seems to progress itself until the guitars would be very metal sounding in the fifth song.
I may also say as a critism the vocals seem to drop off a bit in the last two tracks. Actually about the time of the scream in the second track. This is a very good cd though, excellent if You want to go with the 9/10 being a guideline. It's very punk esc, but manages to be very entertaining. Lyrically I didn't see anything that stood out, and for some reason the third track shows a decline from the first song being probably the best underground punk track I've ever heard.. but it's still a very very good cd. There's a lot of solid guitar lines, all the music works together, and the vocals are quite good throughout the entire cd. The bass doesn't stand out - at least as much as I hope it would on a punk cd, but that's their style.
Another reason this cd is good is that it never stops being aggressive. In fact it gets more aggressive - very much so in fact, but it starts off as an aggressive cd and never looses that "cool" which is presented inside all the tracks. It all has this steady rhythm and feeling to it, but "The Fight" increases, making an impulsive feeling of ear magic. This isn't a cd which will appeal to people not into punk rock, and it doesn't feel to seem like a cd Which Buddha Heroes spent more time then they would have on a regular cd. I haven't heard their earlier work, but this is a very professional cd, and has a sound which will change the world forever!
So you may ask yourself - should you listen to this cd? Yes, yes you should, but it isn't the type of punk music which stands out to people who don't commonly listen to it - like special guitar lines and sing alongs. However, it is very true to itself, and is presented in a way which is enjoyable and that's more important than user interaction. It's a bit aggressive, so make sure the kids are warned before listening to it, and it's only 13 minutes (though the cd is complete, and if it was longer it may be out of place, and the 9/10 does imply the cd hasn't hit the high point of being the best thing in the world) - but you should sit down and listen to it. See it for yourself, it's a band who is from around here, putting out much better music than a lot of younger bands, and it's a well done cd. I'd pay $3 bucks for it unconditionally, though if I was making a mix tape I probably would throw the whole thing on.

- Jim Gi.

They play hard, they play heavy, they play quick, and they play tight. Think Green Day meets The Ramones, with Ozzy Osbourne’s musical fangs and a little bit of No Doubt ska sound, but with a much harder edge. The Buddha Heroes out of Beacon have more kick than a double espresso or line of Radio City Music Hall Rockettes. “I guess you could say we’re faster punk rock, not the mellow stuff you hear on the radio,” Said guitarist Alex Campone, who is 19, attends Dutchess Comm. College and has been working at key food since he was 16 and hopes to make a living as a writer, if the music thing doesn’t pan out. “We try to keep the roots together. We want to stay focused on what we love doing”. The Buddha Heroes – Alex Campone, Mark Pisanelli, 19 on drums, Clark Erb, 23 on Bass, And Rob Codichiny, 26 on guitar – will be doing what they do best Saturday night at The Chance. They are set to share a bill with the headliners The Misfits.

Mystique and Magic

A different incarnation of The Buddha Heroes – with Campone and Pisanelli – performed several years ago at The Chance. This famous night club which in the past hosted The Police, David Bowie, Bob Dylan and dozens of other heavy hitters, maintains a mystique and magic that many agree gives the building a personality its own. “It’s amazing, “Compone said of playing at The Chance. “Since I was a little kid, I’ve been going to see shows there – big name bands, no-name bands. My one favorite thing in the entire world is playing in front of people. It’s amazing. It’s got so much history. It’s such a presence. It’s a feeling like you’re a big band, like you’ve been around forever. So many other bands have played on that stage. It’s insane that we get to play where all these people played”. The sounds that the Buddha Heroes will bring to The Chance might be hard and heavy, but the origins of the band’s originals hail from far and wide. “One thing we love doing is bringing a whole bunch of different musical styles into it,” Campone said. “I’m a big reggae fan, Mark likes Hardcore and Rob likes classic rock. It’s a really good mix. It helps us add our melody.” Another thing you might not expect to hear from the guitar player for a punk band: “We love harmonizing together. We are really focused on the harmonies. It’s one thing we base all our music on.” Harmonies are nice, but the Beacon Buddha Heroes also keep in focus those for whom they play. “We’re all about putting on a good show” he said. “We’re not treating fans like our fans. We like to treat them like they are our friends. We’re all in it just for the love of music and playing”. For more information on the Buddha Heroes go to www.myspace.com/buddhaheroes
- John W. Berry

They play hard, they play heavy, they play quick, and they play tight. Think Green Day meets The Ramones, with Ozzy Osbourne’s musical fangs and a little bit of No Doubt ska sound, but with a much harder edge. The Buddha Heroes out of Beacon have more kick than a double espresso or line of Radio City Music Hall Rockettes. “I guess you could say we’re faster punk rock, not the mellow stuff you hear on the radio,” Said guitarist Alex Campone, who is 19, attends Dutchess Comm. College and has been working at key food since he was 16 and hopes to make a living as a writer, if the music thing doesn’t pan out. “We try to keep the roots together. We want to stay focused on what we love doing”. The Buddha Heroes – Alex Campone, Mark Pisanelli, 19 on drums, Clark Erb, 23 on Bass, And Rob Codichiny, 26 on guitar – will be doing what they do best Saturday night at The Chance. They are set to share a bill with the headliners The Misfits.

Mystique and Magic

A different incarnation of The Buddha Heroes – with Campone and Pisanelli – performed several years ago at The Chance. This famous night club which in the past hosted The Police, David Bowie, Bob Dylan and dozens of other heavy hitters, maintains a mystique and magic that many agree gives the building a personality its own. “It’s amazing, “Compone said of playing at The Chance. “Since I was a little kid, I’ve been going to see shows there – big name bands, no-name bands. My one favorite thing in the entire world is playing in front of people. It’s amazing. It’s got so much history. It’s such a presence. It’s a feeling like you’re a big band, like you’ve been around forever. So many other bands have played on that stage. It’s insane that we get to play where all these people played”. The sounds that the Buddha Heroes will bring to The Chance might be hard and heavy, but the origins of the band’s originals hail from far and wide. “One thing we love doing is bringing a whole bunch of different musical styles into it,” Campone said. “I’m a big reggae fan, Mark likes Hardcore and Rob likes classic rock. It’s a really good mix. It helps us add our melody.” Another thing you might not expect to hear from the guitar player for a punk band: “We love harmonizing together. We are really focused on the harmonies. It’s one thing we base all our music on.” Harmonies are nice, but the Beacon Buddha Heroes also keep in focus those for whom they play. “We’re all about putting on a good show” he said. “We’re not treating fans like our fans. We like to treat them like they are our friends. We’re all in it just for the love of music and playing”. For more information on the Buddha Heroes go to www.myspace.com/buddhaheroes
- John W. Berry