One of the cooler ideas that has graced Buffalo's music scene this year is Sugar City's Queen City Music Lottery. The concept was simple: willing participants (both musicians and non) threw their names into a hat, and randomly, bands were assembled, regardless of experience and instruments of choice. Upon forming, bands were asked to come up with a name and roughly 15-20 mins of music. Over the last couple months, a handful of acts have been teasing us with song samplings, which have included cuts of surf rock, dance punk, and garage.

After 10 weeks of practicing, the final products will make their debuts this evening at the Foundry (298 North Hampton Street). Doors for tonight's showcase open at 6pm, while music starts at 7pm. Cover is $5. Check out the event page here for the full schedule.

Nearly two years after they closed up shop at the former Wadsworth location, Buffalo DIY collective Sugar City has found a new home. Located on the West Side at 1239 Niagara Street, the venue (pictured above) will continue to offer all ages, alcohol free events in various shapes and sizes under the art realm. Luckily, the group has not been dormant during their long search for a new space as their Ride the Metro, Queen City Music Lottery, and mainstay event, Soul Night, have gone on/continued despite not having a central hub. The art space, which should hold around 170 people, is currently under renovation and is projected to (hopefully) open sometime in the early summer. 

Sugar City will be hosting an informal meeting at Niagara St. location on Thursday, March 27th at 6:30pm in hopes to recruit new volunteers, discuss community involvement, show off the new space, and maybe gain a few bucks to help the process. You can get full meeting details here.

Sugar's City's February Fun-a-Day series once again stirred up some interesting, and yes, fun music projects. Between Bryan Johnson tackling Top 40 radio and Alex Berkley's ambitious Fun-a-Day Part 2 record, there was no shortage of quality music to come out of what was otherwise a pretty rough month here in Buffalo. Another music endeavor from the creative month was 28 Movements by Doran Kerfien. The duo, consisting of Kathy Doran and Steve Kerfien of Buffalo's Fleshy Mounds, recorded short yet complex fractures of sound bites daily (a similar process to Berkley), and turned them into 10 musical pieces. What results is a freewheeling and anxious collection of glitchy noise rock and IDM that recalls Liars, Secret Mommy, Matmos, and Mouse on Mars. 

The entire 28 Movements can be streamed on the duo's bandcamp page, and keep an eye out for future material from the duo as this does not appear to be a one time collaboration. In the mean time, listen to "Home of the Rabbit" below.

One of the more unique bills in recent memory, 2x4 is centered around the simplest musical grouping, the duo. Bringing together a bunch of Buffalo mainstays, possibly in the name of science, 2x4 explores what ideas can come when two sensibilities come together to create something new. It is almost elemental. Even more elemental is the promised arm-wrestling competition, which is perhaps the most pure test of strength one can offer while also avoiding legal liability and insurance issues.

Headlining tonight is Schwervon! a two piece known for raucous live sets and who have been described as an "expression of imperfect love through jagged rock minimalism." Opening for them will be a new duo featuring Eric Kendall (Stay Lows) and Nick Gordon (JOHNS), a noise based collaboration from weirdstronauts Bobby Griffiths and Andy Czuba, and a multimedia performance from Pat Kewley (local goof extraordinaire and sometimes Mark Twain impersonator) and Aimee Buyea (DIY/artspace tsar). The show starts promptly at 8 and will be held at the Jungle Gym.



Sugar City Presents 2x4 Featuring Schwervon!, Kendall/Gordon, Andy/Griffiths and PK/ABOO
The Jungle Gym
Doors at 7pm, Show at 8pm
$4 (for touring musicians)

So what exactly is the Queen City Music Lottery? Rather than attempt to explain it myself, I'm going to steal from the facebook page.

In a nutshell, the Queen City Music Lottery is a showcase of "new" Buffalo area bands formed entirely at random! These "new" bands must complete a few simple but super important tasks to remain eligible to perform in a final Queen City Music Lottery Show case!

How does it work?
To participate you must come to one of the TWO SIGN UP meetings being held. At the meeting all names of the willing participants will be DRAWN at RANDOM and you will be formed into a BAND!

IMPORTANT-Bands ARE NOT chosen based on participants musical "skill" or what instruments they might play. ALL BANDS ARE FORMED AT RANDOM. For example: this means that any given band could consist of multiple members that primarily play guitar or maybe your band consists of people that normally play drums, or maybe no one in your band actual knows how to play anything and you are all complete strangers!!! The point is to met new people, play new instruments, and DO SOMETHING NEW AND FUN!

EVERYONE and ANYONE is welcome to participate!

For more details you MUST attend the following meeting (The first meeting already happened):


QUEEN CITY MUSIC LOTTERY
Sign Up Meeting # 2
Feb. 8th 2pm
SPIRAL SCRATCH RECORDS
291 Bryant Street
Buffalo, New York
14222

SOME INFO TO HELP AVOID CONFUSION:

The reason I did TWO MEETINGS:

REASON #1: I WAS BASICALLY OUT OF TOWN FOR 3 1/2 WEEKS AND DIDN'T GET THE PROMO ON THIS STARTED AS EARLY AS I WOULD HAVE LIKED.

REASON #2:I want to give as many people as possible a chance to participate in the project.

Here is rough idea of what will happen at each meeting: The rules of the project will be discussed. Then the names of willing participants will be collected. Based on the number of participants at each meeting, a number of bands will be created (no more than 5 people per band). We will take a little time out at the meeting, names will be collected, bands will be formed, and then the final announcement will be made at the meeting. This will be the same process at EACH MEETING, so you ONLY NEED to go to ONE MEETING and depending who attends each meeting, that is basically the pool from which the bands will be formed.

Attending both meets DOES NOT get you into two bands. Only one band per person.

Again, bands are formed basically at random and NOT based on what instrument you currently play.

There will be a few simple but important requirements that must be met to "complete" the project. Those "bands" that do not meet these specific deadlines for the requirements will be removed from the project and will not be allowed to participate in the final showcase gig.

What are the requirements? Come to a meeting and find out!

Again, this project is OPEN TO EVERYONE!


For more information email Matto at
peterwalkeerecords@gamil.com

www.peterwalkeerecords.com
http://www.buffalosugarcity.org/

And now, heres some music that's totally unrelated to anything.

Sugar City is going all out for the next edition of their highly popular "Soul Nights" tonight at Milkie's, the joint formerly known as the Elmwood Lounge, home base of local treasure Lance Diamond. Milkie's recently got some national TV love from Mo Rocca and "CBS This Sunday Morning" during his Super Bowl Sunday bit about our beloved chicken wing (yes, chicken wing- they can call them "Buffalo wings" everywhere else, but here, they're chicken wings, deep fried and served with bleu cheese, not ranch dressing) as a place for getting down. 

Tonight, asses will be moving to sweet soulful sounds served up by Handsome Dan, Fab Frankie Rainbows, Lil Nicky, The Good Reverend Johnny Drama, and DJango featuring Lawrence Luster. They'll be laying down the sounds starting at 10pm while Sugar City rocks a mixtape/mix cd exchange, raffles, and surprises all night long all for the donation of $5 (or $4 if you bring a mix). Milkie's will be where it's at tonight. Show up. Get down.

Trying to start a band but don't know any other musicians? Or maybe you are sick of your current band mates and want a fresh start? Well, Sugar City & Peterwalkee Records have you covered. Behold, the first ever Queen City Music Lottery, giving musicians a chance to throw their name in the ring and form a completely new and original band. Musicians of all skill set are encouraged to sign up and be flexible as band mates are not chosen by instrument, meaning bands may have multiple drums sets, or all keyboards, etc. You get the idea.

• Entry is free for Squeaky members and $7 for non-members.
• The screening starts at 8pm.
• After the screening, a dance party of large proportions shall ensue, with spinnings from the repertoire of Sugar City DJs.
• You better bloody well be in costume!

Sugar City has been getting some well earned recognition recently, winning a Robert Rauschenberg Foundation Seed Grant to support their grass roots work in fostering the WNY Arts Community. Tonight, in partnership with the Erie Canal Harbor Development Corporation, UB's Techne Institute, the UB Art Gallery Center for the Arts, UB's College of Arts and Sciences and the Seymour H. Knox Foundation Fine Arts Fund, they will be doing one of their most ambitious and exciting events yet, turning the Metro Rail into an underground art and performance space featuring small art shows, performances and local music.

Starting from University Station and going to Erie Canal Harbor Station and then back, each stop featuring a dizzyingly exciting variety of Buffalo's creative talent. Starting at 7pm (SHARP). For those who cannot join right at 7, a schedule of each stop is below:

7:00PM Start at University Station
7:34-7:54PM Amherst Station
7:56-8:16PM Humboldt Hospital
8:19-8:39PM Utica Station
FREE ZONE Travel through above ground stations with on train entertainers
FREE ZONE 8:55-9:04 PM Special Events
FREE ZONE Travel back above ground stations with on train entertainers
9:18-9:38PM Allen St Station
9:40-10:00PM Summer/Best Station
10:02-10:24PM Return to Humboldt Station
10:30PM Arrive back at University Station.

Costing only metro fare, this is a really wonderful opportunity to not only be part of a one-of-a-kind event but to also get a rapid tour of that thriving Buffalo Cultural Scene you keep hearing about.

Indeed people are bummed by the closing of The Vault last night and rightly so. I however am still bummed out by Sugar City's closing last year; oh that wonderful space, the happenings that happened there, the shows, and their wacky Flaming Lips Zaireeka listening parties... great things happened at Sugar City. Sugar City has since transcended the physical plane to exist conceptually and as an ethos, and tonight, Sugar City is bringing back the nastiness for a special night of no limits musical delights at Gordon's on Delaware Avenue courtesy of Pat K, Nicky G, and Joe P. School's out for summer and it's time to get down, tonight at 8 PM.

This here is the third Sugar City Record Fair. For you folks that enjoy listening to vinyl, come down to this free event from 6:00-9:00. There will be about a dozen vendors selling both new and used vinyl at some really great prices. Also, there will be sets by Max Weiss and 33 1/3, who are on the road from Ohio. Lastly, this is the second night of Sugar City's "A Really Great Week" so if you are looking for something to do this week, they got you covered.

Fans of old school soul music would be wise to head down to Milkie's on Elmwood (also known as the Elmwood Lounge) tonight when the club puts on Sugar City's Soul Night. The evening will feature performances by The Good Reverend Johnny Drama, Handsome Dan, with Special Guest DJ Reazon.

The theme of the evening is Shake Your Hips and Meet Some Lips. For those looking to enjoy some music you don't hear on the radio anymore, while dancing up a storm, this is probably your best option for Friday night.  $5 gets you through the door and the jams start up at 10pm

It is that time again for the people of our fair city to congregate over at the Elmwood Lounge aka Milkie’s for another nutritious helping of Soul Night, presented by Sugar City. And while the sweet-toothed DIY art collective are still in the hunt for a space to call home since they moved off Wadsworth back in April, they are still just as determined to hold awesome events like Soul Night, designed to quench your thirst for gettin down with dance. DJ sets will be put on by The Good Rev. Johnny Drama, Handsome Dan, and a special guest spot by DJ Press. The music starts at 10. Help keep our city sweet and bring a $5 donation.  To RSVP go to the Facebook event page.

Sugar City, while still looking for a permanent home, has been quite active this summer. Today, stop by the Adam Mickiewicz Library for a free record fair and show. With over 12 vendors and many more bringing a crate or two to sell, there are sure to be a lot of great records available.

The fair is free and features performances by Returners, Resist, Control, Ratzinger. 

Sugar City Record Fair
6:00pm - ??
Adam Mickiewicz Library and Dramatic Circle
612 Fillmore Avenue
Buffalo, NY 14212

Only a couple more day's until Sugar City closes at its current location. No need to fret though. In the Sugar City tradition, that doesn't translates to tears, it translates to party!

Tonight, we're celebrating in style as some of hardcore's most buzzed about bands will be making their way to Buffalo's quaint little venue. Code Orange Kids have a chaotic, noise influenced sound while Full of Hell rock a variety of hardcore influences. You also have noise merchant F.K.F doing his thing, Rochester sludgemasters Night Terror, and new Buffalo band Scales. It's an early one (6pm) so make your on time to catch all the bands, and say your proper respects to one of Buffalo's most beloved venues.

Tonight Sugar City (19 Wadsworth St) will host ex-Plan-It X Records’ Ghost Mice, with support from locals Unwelcome Guests and Bryan Johnson and the Family . Headlining is Cairo, Illinois’ folk punk tag –team, Ghost Mice. They are bringing their politically charged acoustic anthems (think Against Me!, Andrew Jackson Jihad, Japanther) to one of buffaBLOG’s favorite venues in Allentown. You may be familiar with Ghost Mice’s Chris Johnston and Hannah Jones from their numerous pop-punk bands they have played in throughout the years, namely Disarm, The Devil is Electric, and Operation: Cliff Calvin. They are DIY pioneers and have been known to play anywhere from backyards to street corners. This energetic duo two play au natural, never with mics or amps. 


Also on the bill is Bryan Johnson and the Family, who you may remember from their killer set at buffaBLOG’s Christmas party. This upbeat trio will be pumping out their beachy surf jams (think Beach Boys meet Surfer Blood). Last but certainly not least is Buffalo-based Unwelcome Guests, whose raw energy and shout-along alt-country punk choruses will certainly pump the crowd up. It’s an early one, with doors at 6:00pm with a $6 cover.