IDLE CHATTER

Here Comes the Fuzz

Carrie and Fuzz Sangiovanni know precisely how to paint a picture of their music for new listeners: “If Django Reinhardt, the cast of Stomp and The Beatles all had a party at Tim Burton’s house, Caravan of Thieves would be the band they hired.” That description, straight from the band’s selfwritten bio on their website, www.caravanofthieves.com, does well to include several facets of the band’s unique sound.

“We actually came up with it {the bio},” Fuzz explains in a phone interview from his home in Connecticut. His wife, Carrie, also on the line, chimes in, “’Cause nobody got it. You know what your influences are and what elements stick out. The Beatles: the harmony vocals, the songwriting we use. Reinhardt: the chords and swing, Tim Burton: kind of the spooky, dark, satirical side to us, too. It helps paint a picture if people don’t get it right away.”

For those who want to see the crazy combination in action, Caravan of Thieves will be playing the Barge Canal Coffee Company, 37 Lebanon St., Hamilton, on Saturday, Dec. 3, 8 p.m. Admission is free. For more information, call 824-4331.

The Sangiovannis, joined by violinist Ben Dean and double bassist Brian Anderson, began building their spooky, swinging style in the spring of 2008. The Sangiovannis had performed as an acoustic duo and then with a rock band, but found themselves uninspired by the latter’s music. They decided to return to their acoustic roots and picked up Dean and Anderson along the way, as they infused the music with a gypsy-swing-jazz feel and then began incorporating costumes and an entire stage show to complete their wild image and sound.

“There were things that we learned from being in our acoustic duo that we didn’t want to do,” Fuzz Sangiovanni explains. “We find there’s been a surge of acoustic music going on right now, a kind of singer-songwriter, pop-and-folk, alt-country and all this sorta stuff. We don’t want to go up these roads because they’re pretty flooded. When we were doing our live acoustic show, we found that people would come up and be like, ‘You have a lot of energy for just two people,’ and some of the more energetic, spunky, swingy stuff was working.”

Now the four-piece makes it work more than ever. Their live show incorporates “fun, rackety, bangin’ on stuff” like pots and pans, according to Fuzz, as well as theatrics such as jumping into the audience or rolling around the stage. “Even if the music is something that some people might not get, they’ll have fun at the show,” Carrie Sangiovanni says. “People always leave with a smile on their face. Whether the music is your thing or not, you’ll probably still have a good time at the show.”

Although the group released the independent CDs Bouquet (2008) and Mischief Night (2010), the Hamilton gig will feature songs from their forthcoming album The Funhouse (UFO), due next spring. Advance copies will be available at the Barge Canal. In addition to their own original material, the caravan has often thrown in unexpected covers including Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody,” a disco grouping of “I Will Survive” and “Stayin’ Alive” and a hellish medley featuring everything from “Sympathy for the Devil” to “Devil’s Haircut.”

Fuzz laughs when asked about the nutty covers: “I like to try to pick something that’s so far off the path that you wouldn’t expect us to do it just because it’s such a challenge. The only thing we don’t cover is really, really kinda bubblegummy or poppy; that stuff is just too hard. It has to have some element of mystery and bizarreness in its own right. We tried to cover ‘Sailing’ by Christopher Cross, but there’s just nothing we can do to caravanize that.”

—Jessica Novak

Toy Story

A sparkling lineup of six local bands will storm the stage at Upstairs at the Dino, the venue above Dinosaur Bar- B-Que, 246 W. Willow St., to raise cash for needy kids while raising hell for the entertainment of their audience on Sunday, Dec. 4, 2 to 7:30 p.m. The Toys for Tots fundraiser is being hosted by highrevving Americana/alt-country quartet Reckless Drivin’ and emceed by Dave Frisina, host of Soundcheck on WTKW-FM 99.1/105.1 (TK99/TK 105).

Reckless bandleader Mike Burke called in favors from Central New York’s finest musicians to make sure fans have as much fun as kids on Christmas. “There’s a lot of talent going across the stage, a lot of Syracuse history,” Burke raves. “These guys have been playing in the area, they’ve won a lot of awards. They’ve done things that were musically significant.”

Burke can’t hide his admiration for the talent that will play the show. “The Fabulous Ripcords are a truly amazing band that I always enjoy watching,” he says. “Irv and Rex Lyons as the two big guitar gunslingers, with a great feel and dynamics and a kick-ass rhythm section. The Fab Cats play great Beatles/British Invasion/1960s pop with real passion. They’ve got Gary Frenay and Artie Lenin and of course, Dave Novak. All these guys have been in tremendous bands through the years.”

Last Train Out motors in from Auburn with more heavy hitters. “Lou Kaplin and Al Macomber played together for years in Mad Jack and they served a long stint as members of Kim Simmonds’ Savoy Brown,” Burke points out. “They’ve teamed with Bob Baschta, who played with the Prison City Rockers and Joe Whiting and the Bandit Band. A rockin’ blues combo playing covers and originals.”

Then there’s the Perry/Mulhauser Band with Lou Miceli and Dan Welsh. “Terry Mulhauser and Bob Perry played together in the Sandy Bigtree Band and Mulhauser and Miceli played together in The Kingsnakes,” Burke recalls. “They’re doing a great mix of roots rock and country blues that nobody else around is doing and nobody brings the history and experience these guys do.”

The only new band on the bill, The Loomis Gang, combines the talent of more familiar Syracuse players. “They will be doing their debut performance with Lee and Mark Tiffault, who were in Out of the Blue,” Burke says. “And they’ve got Mike Ranger and Mark Gibson, who have been in tons of bands over the years. They play with perfect tone and feel. Great, heartfelt delivery.”

The sassy vocals of charismatic Kay Miracle-Burke front Reckless Drivin’. The five-time Syracuse Area Music Awards (Sammy) winners careen through a repertoire of original songs and rarely played covers, ignited by their trademark energy and sparked by the lightning guitar work of Mike Burke, who toured with The Velcros.

A terrific adult toy, a Dell Inspiron Laptop computer, will be given away to one lucky fan at the end of the show. “Dinosaur donated use of the room and bartenders,” Mike Burke boasts. “Reckless Drivin’ is providing the audio, Americar donated the door prize and all the bands are donating their performances. Every dollar collected will go to Toys for Tots.” Dinosaur cuisine will be available just downstairs and a 50/50 raffle will provide a cash prize. Admission is $10 at the door.

—Kevin Corbett

Wages of Sin

Brand New Sin has been busy promoting its October CD release United State (Goomba Music), but they have found some time for a stop at some old stomping grounds. North Syracuse nightclub Station 58, 3504 Brewerton Road, will host the band plus A Pale Horse Named Death and A Pool of Thorns on Friday, Dec. 2, 9 p.m.

The group just returned from a nine-day tour that brought them to their label headquarters in Detroit, Mich., among other destinations. While at Goomba, the boys made a music video for the LP’s first track, “The Lord Came Down.” Vocalist and guitarist Kris Weichmann chatted about the satisfying yet bizarre creation: “Everybody’s really happy about it. But it’s really kind of an uncomfortable experience. If you’re a musician or guy in the band, there’s something ridiculous about making a video because you’re not really playing the song. We were lucky enough to have a big, loud PA pumpin’ out the song to us, but we’re not really playing. It’s awkward, but this time around was pretty easy.”

The band is sticking close for the holidays aside from a few dates throughout Central New York and a December date back in Michigan, but Weichmann’s high hopes are for 2012. Throughout his 10 years with Brand New Sin, they’ve made it as far as the United Kingdom, but haven’t broken into Europe just yet. “I think that’s what we’re all really shooting for,” he says. “I think we’re finally gonna be able to get over there with this record. So I’m excited about that. Everybody is.”

Although the outfit often plays Mac’s Bad Art Bar in Mattydale when they’re in town, Weichmann is excited to return to Station 58. “We used to play there a lot,” he says about the station, “but for one reason or another we kinda fell off that. But what I can remember: cool stage, cool sound, cool bar.”

Tickets are $10 in advance and $15 at the door. Pre-sale tickets are available at Twisted Headz, 927 N. Salina St., or Sound Garden, 310 W. Jefferson St. For more information on the show, visit www.station58.com or call 455-1010.

—Jessica Novak

The Music Buzz

• Although most of the year the members of Celtic Thunder are touring the world singing about Galway gals and whiskey in a jar, on their pass through the Landmark Theatre, 362 S. Salina St., on Friday, Dec. 2, 7:30 p.m., the sweet-voiced sextet will instead be singing yuletide hits. Celtic Thunder Christmas (Decca), released in 2010, features holiday favorites such as “Silent Night,” “Winter Wonderland,” Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas is You” and the boys’ own “Going Home for Christmas.” The album capitalizes on the members’ individual and collectively soft and smooth vocal techniques, while the Landmark gig promises to pack a punch with large stage sets and a full live band. Tickets run $30 to $68 plus fees and are available at www.ticketmaster.com. For more information, visit www. landmarktheatre.org or call 475-7980.

• The Syracuse Gay & Lesbian Chorus will present their celebratory winter concert, “20 Years of Joy,” at 8 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 2, and Saturday, Dec. 3, at Pebble Hill Presbyterian Church, 5299 Jamesville Road, DeWitt. Formed in 1991, the troupe is a no-audition choir that is uniquely a mixed gay chorus; the chorus still adheres to its objectives to uphold an educational character, choose quality compositions and balance advocacy with art. The program will feature the world premiere of “My Song,” a choral piece composed by David L. Brunner to text by Bengali polymath Rabindranath Tagore. Other festive favorites on tap will include “Caroler’s Noel,” “We Three Kings,” and “Pachelbel’s Canon of Peace.” There will also be holiday raffles of homemade scarves, restaurant gift certificates, movie tickets and an autographed New York Jets football. Advance tickets, available at www.syrglc.org, are $15 for adults, $12 for seniors and students and $9 for children under 12. Tickets at the door are $18 for adults, $15 for seniors and students and $9 for children. For more information, call 476-4329.

• Blues, roots, rags and country all find a place in Toby Walker’s finger-pickin’, down-home sound that draws on traditional Piedmont and Delta blues. The influence of his travels through the deep south that brought him to seasoned musicians like Etta Baker, Jack Owens, Eugene Powell, James “Son” Thomas and others come through in his music, full of passion and originality as well as musical references to his foundational education in the blues. Walker brings his twangy tunes to life with virtuosity, highenergy and a sense of humor to match, as he will demonstrate at the May Memorial Unitarian Universalist Society, 3800 E. Genesee St., on Friday, Dec. 2, 8 p.m. Tickets are $15, available online at www.folkus.org, although advance ticket holders receive preferential seating.

—Compiled by Samara Napolitan and Jessica Novak

The Coachmen: The reconstituted 1960s-era rock'n'rollers plus pretty songbird Elizabeth Fern offer "A Cruizin' Christmas" featuring a hefty Santa's bag of danceable favorites plus some unlikely novelties (think "Christmas in Jail") during two weekend shows at Pensabene's Casa Grande, 135 State Fair Blvd. The holiday gigs take place on Friday, Dec. 2, 6:30 p.m., and Saturday, Dec. 4, 1:30 p.m. Admission is $30 for adults, which includes a buffet dinner, the show and dancing, while children under 12 are charged $15. There is also a show-only fee for $15. For details, call 466-0312.