Notes & Events for Social Connection & Beloved Community

By Seamus Gallivan

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• The latest nonsense from City Hall
• Musings on Music – Buffalo artists featured on NPR!
• Featured Events – 35+ this week, submissions welcome!
• Listening Links – about that nonsense from City Hall…
• Reading Rundown – spotlight on The Buffalo News this week

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Welcome to the Reconnecter Roundup! This free weekly email connects people, places, and causes by featuring events, news, and notes.

Happy Monday, y’all! Grateful that no one was injured by the tornado(!) that hit downtown Buffalo today. A couple notes about this week’s Roundup:

• Buffalo summer wins again in keeping me from uploading more concert videos from the past week and a detailed Week in Review – there’s too much happening on the town for me to sit still at home for long! Maybe this week I’ll upload them all to the Reconnecter YouTube channel, which stands at 31 videos and counting – enjoy and subscribe if you’d like!
• Following this intro with a hot take on current events from my unique perspective of being deeply involved in both Buffalo music and politics, and repeating for posterity that Reconnecter is a space where we’re comfortable discussing often uncomfortable subjects such as city government and electoral politics – part of that comfort is welcoming an array of opinions and perspectives, so please reach out with anything you’d like me to know and/or share.

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City Leaders Ease Sudden Squeeze of Music Venues

“I don’t know how much more they can squeeze out of us.”

A couple weeks ago, City of Buffalo officials desperate to balance the annual budget after decades of dysfunction-turned-deficit sent letters to a slew of local music and entertainment venues stating that they’ll suddenly be expected to pay new permit fees for every single event or attraction they host.As venue operators calculated increased costs into the tens and hundreds of thousands for basic operation of an already tough business – a sort of insult to injury, given the recent scars of pandemic shutdowns – many took their concerns to Common Councilmembers and media channels, which may have helped cause a bit of backing down, at least for now.

Hat tip to Investigative Post reporter Geoff Kelly for this thorough coverage, from interviewing the afflicted as well as those administering the pain to finding the obscure corner of the city code that city officials were poised to exploit in order to solve their budget woes – instead of, say, regulating tragically negligent property owners or slimming down the mayor’s ever-expanding executive staff.

And hot tip that the latest news in this simmering saga is deep in the latest podcast episode of Why Music Matters with Jeff Miers featuring Josh Mullin, co-owner of Jack Rabbit, Riff City and Sol, who shared in conversation that he’d just met with city officials saying they’d heavily adjust the fees down.

  My hot take on this is similar to other sad stories from City Hall, although I’ve rarely said it publicly over the three years since being part of the heart of the campaign of India Walton for Buffalo Mayor, which surprisingly beat our incumbent Mayor Byron Brown in the usually-decisive Democratic Party primary, only to lose to Brown in a wild and dirty write-in effort:

We could’ve had a real one, y’all.

We had Arts & Culture as a pillar on our ten-point platform; Byron Brown’s record shows that can barely be bothered with such matters.

This is yet another example of a Brown administration that for five terms now has been aloof at best, arrogant almost always, and arguably corrupt.

 But wait, there’ll be more! Could the swirling rumor be true that as soon as tomorrow, August 6th, Mayor Brown may resign in order to take one of the many cushy jobs he’s apparently been seeking, which in turn by our city charter would make Common Council President Chris Scanlon acting mayor for the rest of the term, giving Scanlon the edge of incumbency in his obvious quest to be our next mayor? Once again, hat tip to Geoff Kelly for bringing light to this believable backroom scenario.

As we approach the next mayoral election next year with a strong chance of another choice between patronage and progress, may this latest saga be a reminder – whether or not you choose to “do politics,” politicians are gonna do you.

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Musings on Music

NPR All Things Considered Features Buffalo Artists

What a pleasant surprise last week to hear Buffalo musicians Ellen Pieroni & the Encyclopedia of Soul named on NPR’s All Things Considered among three “jazz standouts in this year’s Tiny Desk Contest entries,” which received nearly 7,000 submissions!

Tiny Desk producer Felix Contreras floated the honor, namedropping Ellen alongside her heroes Cannonball Adderly and The Crusaders and adding:

“Ellen, in fact, plays the same instrument as Cannonball Adderley, the alto sax. And in this tune, she doubles the melody with the guitarist Adam Bronstein.“

When she takes her solo, it really warms my heart because I hear the same soulfulness of Cannonball or any of the sax players who played with Ray Charles back in the ’50s or the more contemporary alto saxophonist, David Sanborn. And, you know, the secret ingredient is the prominence of the blues in this style….this band is very retro but with a nice new sheen.”

Here’s their submission, from Buffalo’s West Side to NPR’s spotlight!

Catch this groove and more when the EoS celebrates the release of their latest album “Soul Vacation” at the Sportsmen’s Tavern later this month:

  On top of that NPR shoutout, EoS guitarist Adam Bronstein got a Spotify spotlight last week on his latest album “Jazz ≠ Jazz,” released last week right before his AB Trio headed out on tour – tune in and reach out to music lovers you know along the way, and note those Buffalo dates later this month to help welcome them home!

  Back to NPR, a bonus Buffalo music bit in that same episode of All Things Considered – soon before the spotlight on Ellen and the EoS, beloved Buffalo native Ani DiFranco was featured in their “Wild Card” interview series, for which a famous person picks a card bearing a big question about their life. Host Rachel Martin had the honor of asking:

MARTIN: What’s a place that shaped you as much as any person did?

DIFRANCO: Let’s go with New York – came here when I was 18, was just in shock.

MARTIN: We should say where you came from – Buffalo.

DIFRANCO: Oh, I came from Buffalo. Yeah.

MARTIN: That’s relevant.

DIFRANCO: Yeah. You know, the Buffalo I grew up in was economically struggling. It wasn’t like I – you know, New York was my first rodeo, but wow – a lot of suffering around me, which made me cry every day, every day. And also, you know, I was sort of a smiley kid from borderline Midwest, you know, Buffalo. Hello. So, you know, it’s like, wipe that smile off your face. This is hardcore. But then, yeah, the lightness that shines through the bars and the cracks and the little green things that grow up through the cement, you know, become even more profound in a city like New York – and the ways that people find to love each other and uplift each other. So I was experiencing all of that all the sudden.

Eternal praise to Ani for blazing a legacy here from Nietzsche’s to her baby Babeville, which she saved from demolition along with longtime co-conspirator Scot Fisher, who along with a brilliant crew are carrying that torch forward – as seen below in the event listings nearly every week…

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Events in the Week Ahead

Thanks to all submitting their events! Welcoming event submissions with a flyer and link to seamus@reconnecter.org.

Listening Links

As we prepare to launch the Reconnecter podcast and a section for podcasts on our website, adding weekly listening links that align with the intentions of Reconnecter. Music Advocate, Club Owner and Musician, Josh Mullin – Why Music Matters with Jeff Miers – “As owner of both Jack Rabbit and Riff City, Josh has worked tirelessly to boost the Buffalo Music scene, by providing artist-friendly spaces that act as hubs for the region’s music-loving community. Josh is also a fighter, and he never backs down from his principles, whether that means pushing back against the city of Buffalo’s proposed ‘Amusement License’ fees, or pointing out the negative influence of certain concert venues that seem intent on disturbing our delicate live music ecosystem. Throughout our conversation, Josh pulled no punches, and his love for the Buffalo music scene was wholly evident.” What’s Next? | Reconnecting to Prevent Social Unrest – WBFO – Leaving this link up for a while, as I’m honored to have been invited onto this profound program – this went real deep from the jump, please listen! Here’s how they described it: “Seamus Gallivan’s latest endeavor is Reconnecter, a ‘social connection space’ that aims to bring people together in person and online ‘by illuminating the ties that bind us.’ That means music showcases, variety shows, and media elements — all to help provide a need that he believes can help prevent social unrest. Gallivan sits down with Thomas O’Neil-White to speak about the power of reconnection and his plans for the new project.”

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Reading Rundown

With intent to connect, inform, and inspire action, every Reconnecter Roundup closes with links to other sources and stories that deserve more attention. Always welcoming links to read and share at seamus@reconnecter.org.

Shout to The Buffalo News this week – while its continuing debacle of corporate ownership by Lee Enterprises thins this beloved institution by the day, its writers, editors and photographers are still producing profound and necessary coverage of our community that’s worthy of paid subscription, including:

• A dangerous situation’: Safety fixes sought after Tonawanda crash kills teen bicyclis – by Stephen T. Watson – “People who knew and loved Luke Guetti have left candles, flowers, photographs, footballs, bottles of Gatorade and bags of sunflower seeds at a growing memorial to the 15-year-old who died last week when he was struck by a pickup truck while riding his bicycle in the Town of Tonawanda.”
• Bill aims to remedy Buffalo’s blighted buildings – by Robert Gavin – “The legislation, sponsored by state Sen. Sean Ryan and Assembly Member Jonathan Rivera, both Democrats, would enable a court-ordered receiver to pay for necessary repairs to bring the buildings up to code, then initiate legal actions to require the owners to pay for the work.”
• Effort begins to overturn decades-old drug convictions of Buffalo civil rights activists – by Natalie Brophy – “More than 50 years after two Buffalo civil rights activists say they were framed by police for selling drugs, their supporters are calling on the Erie County District Attorney’s Office to vacate their convictions.”
• Just before Aerosmith’s retirement, this WNY musician was rehearsing with Steven Tyler – by Tim O’Shei – “About 48 hours after Seth Roberts received the news that the tour was off, he talked about getting the news and his memories of his time with the legendary rock band.”
• A new state childcare program will lighten the load for working parents – The Editorial Board – “In the face of escalating child care crisis, a statewide program that allows families to lower the cost of the childcare expenses to as little as $15 a week should offer much-needed relief.”
• Logging in Zoar Valley should not be an option – Another Voice – “As a long time National and Buffalo Audubon member, I am totally against the logging project in Zoar Valley planned by Connecticut Audubon and the NYS DEC. I am not aware local Audubon members were asked for feedback about this plan.”

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