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.

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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

The iconic independent artist talks about the importance of ‘showing up’ in these unprecedented times

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’s episode is a very meaningful one for me, because it features a musician, poet, activist, and independent music icon whose life’s work was an inspiration for the creation of this podcast.

If anyone can stand as a representative of 'why music matters', it’s Ani DiFranco.

Over the course of nearly 35 years and the release of 23 albums, DiFranco has carved a path that is wholly her own. A dyed-in-the-wool independent artist, Ani has never taken the knee, steadfastly refusing to follow trends or bend to the will of self-appointed tastemakers and music industry gatekeepers, all while crafting a body of work that speaks truth to power, spits fire, and embraces the beauty found in simplicity, in equal measure.

When I spoke with Ani, she was enjoying a brief break in her current tour, supporting her brilliant, groundbreaking newest album, Unprecedented Shit. That tour brings Ani back home to Buffalo on August 31, at the Terminal B Amphitheater on the Outer Harbor, for her first hometown gig since 2016.

During our chat, we talked about the new record; about the disturbingly strident march toward authoritarianism in this country and around the world; about the importance of, in Ani’s words, showing up for the job at hand; and about music’s unerring ability to speak to what is good and true in all of us.

It’s an absolute honor to welcome Ani DiFranco to Why Music Matters…

Hello, 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’s guests are siblings Maria, Grace and Jarrett Brzykcy, who together perform and record as The Water Dogs.

The Brzykcy siblings are multi-instrumentalists, whose early love of the Beatles and their daily life in a music-loving household grew into a desire to form a family band.

After the band formed in 2014, Maria emerged as the primary songwriter, and both Jarret and Grace happily found their own respective roles as arrangers and instrumentalists, crafting a sound that blends folk, pop, country and Americana into a refreshing hybrid.

The band recently released a new single, ‘Constellations,’ which was recorded at Robby Takac’s GCR Studios in Buffalo, under the watchful ears of legendary producer and engineer Fred Betschen.

During their visit to 678Main Studios in Buffalo, I spoke with the band about their roots, their current musical agenda, Jarret’s budding side-job as a guitar designer and builder, Grace and Maria’s love for video direction, and their plans for the future. The band also performed a few of their songs for us, live in the studio.

Welcome to Why Music Matters, Maria, Grace and Jarrett Brzykcy - The Water Dogs.

Hello, 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.

On today’s episode, we’re celebrating the Goo Goo Dolls, and in particular, the 30th anniversary of their mainstream breakthrough album, A Boy Named Goo.

Though the band had already been around for a decade by the time they released this album, which would go on to reach double platinum sales status, A Boy Named Goo pushed the band over the edge, largely on the strength of the timeless hit, Name.

This summer, the band is on the road, co-headlining the Summer Anthem Tour, alongside Dashboard Confessional. That tour hits KeyBank Center in Buffalo on August 9 - nearly 30 years after the Goos played the very first show in what was then known as Marine Midland Arena, on September 21, 1996.

I caught up with Goos co-founder and bassist Robby Takac from the road, a few days into the Summer Anthem Tour, and we talked about A Boy Named Goo; the new generation of Goo Goo Dolls fans who discovered the band through social media outlets; the level of excitement surrounding this summer’s shows; his upcoming Music is Art Festival - which takes place in and around the Terminal B Amphitheater on Buffalo’s Outer Harbor on Saturday, September 20 - and the whole long, strange, and largely wonderful trip that has led the Goo Goo Dolls from the stages of Buffalo clubs to the arenas of the world.

Welcome back to Why Music Matters, Robby Takac!

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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. Way back on episode 12 of the podcast, I was joined by my friend, the musicologist, writer, historian and archivist Ray Wawrzyniak. Ray’s main passion in life, aside from his family, is the beloved Canadian progressive music trio Rush. As fellow Rush freaks, Ray and myself became fast friends after meeting about a decade back, bonding over discussions of the nuances of this dearly missed band’s body of work. With Rush now celebrating 50 years of groundbreaking work - and in consideration of the fact that Ray’s first appearance on Why Music Matters remains one of the most popular episodes of the series - it struck me as fitting to invite him back for another go-round. We discussed the various Rush-related projects Ray is currently involved in, the forthcoming debut of Rushfest Toronto, the Buffalo area’s continuing love affair with this great Canadian band, the timelessness of the finest music in the Rush catalog, and why - for both of us, and for so many others - Rush music continues to matter. Welcome back to Why Music Matters, Ray Wawrzyniak…

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Hey now, 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, my guest is the legendary guitarist, performer and band-leader Jamie Holka. As a musician whose name is mentioned in hushed, reverential tones by his peers, Jamie has earned a reputation as a virtuosic guitarist and a fearless improvisor, whether he’s playing blazing electric blues, fiery progressive rock, or effortlessly hip finger style jazz. The Niagara Falls native is well-loved across the Western New York region, but he’s also caught the attention of many of the finest musicians he grew up revering. That’s how he ended up as an influential member of the rekindled 1970s progressive rock/jazz fusion ensemble Captain Beyond, with whom Jamie performed between 2017 and 2020. And that’s also how he befriended the brilliant rock drummer Bobby Rondinelli, a veteran of Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow and Blue Oyster Cult, among many others. Jamie and Rondinelli teamed to create The Gathering, a new album of guitar-centered instrumentals that features heavy input from legendary guests like Deep Purple keyboardist Don Airey, and iconic bassists Billy Sheehan and Kenny Aaronson. Jamie, Rondinelli, Aaronson and friends will celebrate the release of The Gathering with a show at The Cave, 71 Military Rd in Buffalo, on Friday, June 6, at 7 pm. During our chat, I asked Jamie about the genesis of his love for the guitar, how it feels to be making music with his childhood idols, and what it means to be an eternal student of music. Welcome to Why Music Matters, Jamie Holka…

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