Welcome to Why Music Matters, a podcast where we examine the power and influence that music can wield in our lives. I’m your host, Jeff Miers.

Today, my guest is podcaster and Western New York music historian Greg Hennessey.

Through his weekly podcast, In the Flamingo Lounge with Rockabilly Greg, Hennessey shines a necessary light on Buffalo music, celebrating our region’s rich musical history, and honoring the best of the current generation of bands and artists living and working in Western New York.

Greg served on the Buffalo Music Hall of Fame’s Board of Trustees for 11 years, and is currently the Vice President of the Sportsmens Americana Music Foundation board. That’s where I got to know Greg, in my role as executive director of the SAM Foundation. Greg’s passion for Buffalo music has been a great asset to the Foundation’s music education and community outreach mission.

Spend any time in the Flamingo Lounge with Greg, and the dude’s love for rockabilly in general - and the seminal early work of Elvis Presley in particular - becomes immediately apparent. He also counts artists like Buddy Holly, Wanda Jackson and the Stray Cats among his favorites, and we talked about all of them during this episode.

Welcome to Why Music Matters, Rockabilly Greg! --- Produced by 678Main Studio and Creative Services https://678main.com --- Follow Why Music Matters on social media https://instagram.com/whymusicmatterspodcast https://www.facebook.com/whymusicmatterspodcast https://twitter.com/wmmpod

Hey there, music lovers.

Welcome to Why Music Matters, a podcast where we examine the power and influence that music can wield in our lives.

I’m your host, Jeff Miers.

Today, I’m excited to welcome back to Why Music Matters my friends Elliott Hunt and Chris Lillis, two fifths of the rising indie-alternative band Letter To Elise.

The last time Elliott and Chris sat down with me here at 678 Main Studio, we talked about their earliest influences, their lives in music, and their then-just released collaboration with Robby Takac of the Goo Goo Dolls and the Buffalo Bills Mafia - a rousing interpretation of the Killers’ anthem ‘Mr. Brightside.’

In the time since, Elliott, Chris and Letter to Elise have released a new EP, Risen from Rust, and are in the midst of recording a full-length album they hope to release in the spring.

Elliott and Chris are also fresh off an incredible experience - the two teamed to bring their harmony-heavy sound and estimable spirit to the current season of NBC’s The Voice, where they represented their city and the Buffalo sound with a performance that landed them a spot on 'Team Reba.'

During our chat, we touched on some details from the duo’s run on The Voice, what the experience taught them, why Letter To Elise is proud to be a band of brothers, and the new opportunities their appearance on the national stage has earned them.

Welcome back to Why Music Matters, Elliott and Chris from Letter to Elise.

Produced by 678Main Studio and Creative Services https://678main.com

Welcome to Why Music Matters, a podcast where we examine the power and influence that music can wield in our lives.

I’m your host, Jeff Miers. Let’s start today’s podcast with a little anecdote.

The text from my friend Jennifer Brazill, President of the Borderland Festival, arrived about 18 months back.

“Are you interested in producing, mixing and mastering an album for a reggae-based band from Micronesia, through a grant from National Geographic?”

“Um… well, *** yes, I’m interested. Details???”

Thus began a journey that culminated in a performance at the Borderland Festival on Saturday, September 13, when founding members of the band Ulithian Vibes traveled from Guam and Hawaii to Western New York, to be joined by a cast of Buffalo musicians for their first international public performance.

It was immediately following this performance at Borderland that today’s podcast was recorded.

During this episode, you’ll hear Jerry, Konner and Kira - three of the singers who form the Ulithian Vibes collective - along with manager and project coordinator Samantha Stollenwerck, who travelled from Germany to oversee the band’s visit to Buffalo, discuss the way their group formed as a means of preserving the culture and traditions of the island of Ulithi for future generations, through a marriage of music and storytelling.

We also discussed the Ulithian Vibes album. You can find that album, which you’re hearing excerpts from in the background right now, wherever you stream music.

I hope you’ll get a sense of why I fell in love with the band’s story and its music, and how much being involved in this project has meant to me, and to my colleagues as well.

I have a feeling you’ll fall in love with it, too.

Welcome to Why Music Matters, Ulithian Vibes. -- Produced by 678Main Studio and Creative Services https://678main.com