The Buffalodown, Vol. 2, Issue 26
Stories & Events for Social Connection
By Seamus Gallivan
- Supporting Agents for Advocacy
- Musings on Music: Last call for live music in Larkin Square this summer
- Featured Events: 20 this week, always encouraging submissions!
- Links to the Deep End: Investigative Post, Ezra Klein Show
Welcome to the Buffalodown, thank you for your attention!
Honored by the request from Agents for Advocacy founder and executive director Mark Talley to join their board of directors, I encourage everyone to learn more and support this nascent nonprofit organization, which is offering a Back to School supplies giveaway this Saturday, August 23rd, from 12-2pm, in the lot at the corner of Jefferson and East Utica – please spread the word to anyone you know in need of help with school supplies or simply seeking such a cause to support.
I met Mark in late 2022, four months after his mother Geraldine Talley became one of the ten fatalities of the 5/14 white supremacist terrorism at Tops on Jefferson. He’s been on a mission to channel his grief into service of the greater good, “from tragedy to advocacy”; in turn, the mission of Agents for Advocacy is “to spread awareness of socioeconomic inequality and systemic racism.”
Mark expands on this on the Agents for Advocacy website: “Our mission is clear: to create a world where every individual, regardless of their race, ethnicity, or background, can live free from fear and inequality. We strive to dismantle the deep-rooted structures that perpetuate injustice and work tirelessly to empower marginalized communities.
“Through advocacy, education, charity, and community engagement, we aim to affect lasting change, one step at a time. Together, we can challenge hatred, eradicate bigotry, and build a future where every person’s worth is recognized and celebrated.
“I invite you to explore our initiatives, join our cause, and contribute to the collective effort of creating a world that embraces diversity, equality, and justice. Let us stand united, unwavering in our pursuit of a better tomorrow.”
Mark has also written a book called 5/14: The Day the Devil Came to Buffalo that he’s sold out of at events I’ve hosted, which I hope to repeat in the near future. Much more to come – please stay tuned, and reply if you’re interested in getting involved!
Become a paying member to support social connection!
Musings on Music
Last call for live music in Larkin Square this summer
While I intended to send this out in time for folks to catch Tsavo Highway and Record Store Night with the Damone Jackson Outcome this past Tuesday and Wednesday in Larkin Square, we still have one week to go there – looking forward to Jony James Band for the finale of Food Truck Tuesdays, and Grosh Prime featuring Zak Ward and Harry Graser for the finale of Live at Larkin Wednesdays!
Jony James is simply one of my favorite humans, let alone musicians. The following is part of a bio I wrote for him maybe 20 years ago: Jony James is overflowing with soul. It drips down from his hands onto his guitar, in lyrically urgent bends and intense ethereal assaults. It pours out through his weathered, leathery voice, telling vivid, open-minded tales of a tumultuous life. His jovial, yet pensive nature is evident in both his music and stage presence.
He is often compared to Stevie Ray Vaughan; however, he’s actually a year older than Stevie, with similar formative influences. Born in Buffalo, Jony was raised in Chicago, where B.B. King, Albert King, Otis Rush, Muddy Waters, Buddy Guy and Jimi Hendrix were among his influences. By the age of 17, Jony was playing blues clubs on the south side of Chicago, with local Blues legends such as Eddie Taylor, Willie Williams and J B Hutto, among others. After touring with Hutto and chasing Hendrix to Europe, Jony settled in Canada, playing with the Native American “Roadhouse Band from Six Nations” and finally the Matt Minglewood Band from Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. In the 1990s, Jony returned to his birthplace of Buffalo and began playing and writing his own material as well as forming the Jony James Band.
As for Grosh, while much younger, the old-soul solos of guitarist Grace Lougen have been drawing many of the same fans who’ve long loved Jony. First combined with drummer Josh English – hence the name, Grosh – as the hard-hitting duo grew into a quartet with vocalist Megan Brown and bassist Dylan Hund, they’ve built a stiff-upper-lipped signature sound that’s both familiar and original, at times ethereal and more often raucous, with songs that tell straight-ahead stories about the self as well as our relationships with each other and society.
The name Grosh Prime – technically if you’re a math and grammar stickler, Grosh′ – comes from their history of having special occasion shows with guests who give more power to their already potent sound. Zak Ward and Harry Graser have been go-to guys for this occasion – regular readers here know that I’ve waxed poetic about both just this summer – and while we’ll miss Alex McArthur as she’s unable to perform at this show, these six musicians in all will surely give us the exclamation-point ending to another summer of musical merriment in Larkin Square.
See below for a few videos to show – including Jony at Larkin in 2016 and Grosh with Zak and Harry from their album release show at Town Ballroom earlier this year – and as always, please say hey if you see me there!
Ha, found this clip I filmed of Jony trying to get me to put down the camera and sing on my favorite song of his, “Stubborn as a Mule,” with his band combined with Dive House Union for the ol’ dual-band encore at Larkin Square, heady days!
Zak sings part of Grosh’s “Mr. Rogers” with Harry helping on keys
Harry eases into the heavy “Karma>Tread the Wave”
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Events in the Week Ahead
Thanks to all who’ve submitted their events! Welcoming submissions with a flyer and link to seamus@reconnecter.org.
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Links to the Deep End
Deeper dives into issues that matter for social connection
Leading with a local connection to the national immigration issue, and following with a binge on The Ezra Klein Show, which I enjoyed on a road trip and continue to cite here as my go-to for deep dives into a wide range of issues – his interviews lead to incredible insights, in these cases on how we understand ourselves, each other, and the events that impact us.
While past episodes require a subscription to The New York Times, in my opinion such deep journalism is a worthwhile investment, as is supporting Investigative Post.
Judge overturns immigration court arrest – article, Investigative Post – “Ruling by Federal Judge Lawrence Vilardo could have national implications. He rejected the Trump administration’s rule changes that ICE has used to detain migrants in midst of their asylum cases, saying they amount to moving the goal posts in the middle of a game.”
How the Attention Economy Is Devouring Gen Z — and the Rest of Us – podcast, The Ezra Klein Show – “Donald Trump and Zohran Mamdani are both proof of how the ability to capture attention is power. And the attention economy isn’t reshaping just politics; it’s also reshaping the actual economy: the crypto market, A.I. venture capital, and how people, especially Gen Z, are making career decisions. Kyla Scanlon has emerged as a leading theorist on the economics of attention and is herself a member of Gen Z. She is the author of the book ‘In This Economy?’ and Kyla’s Newsletter on Substack. I asked her on the show to walk us through her theory of the attention economy.”
Why Does My Mind Keep Thinking That? – podcast, The Ezra Klein Show – “Mark Epstein is a psychiatrist and also a Buddhist. He’s spent decades observing the mind through those two distinct traditions, and has written many books that helped build a bridge between them, from his 1995 landmark book, ‘Thoughts Without a Thinker,’ to his latest work, ‘The Zen of Therapy.’ So I thought it would be interesting to talk to him about what he’s learned about the mind after all these decades of observing it.”
Why Trump Can’t Shake Jeffrey Epstein – podcast, The Ezra Klein Show – “…we discuss the rise of QAnon, Donald Trump’s slippery relationship to the more conspiracy-minded factions of his base and how the intrigue around the Epstein files has challenged his credibility as an outsider taking on the ‘corrupt elites.’”
Why American Jews No Longer Understand One Another – podcast, The Ezra Klein Show – “The consensus that held American Jewry together for generations is breaking down.
“That consensus, roughly, was this: What is good for Israel is good for the Jews; anti-Zionism is a form of antisemitism; and there will someday soon be a two-state solution that reconciles Zionism and liberalism — or, at the very least, Israel is seeking such a solution.
“Every single component of that consensus has cracked. And as I’ve been talking to people from different walks of American Jewish life — politicians and rabbis and activists and analysts and journalists — what I realize is there is nothing coming in to replace it.”
Thank YOU for reading this far and being part of it all – extra thanks to everyone supporting this work with a membership at www.reconnecter.org!
Please share with friends to sign up for next week’s Buffalodown, and reach out with any feedback, all ideas welcom
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