Hello Friends, I'm getting pretty excited about the rollout of my new CD. Gee, it's only taken 4 years to finish it, why would I be excited?? Yeah, there's been mucho work behind the scenes to get the whole promotional thing in motion now that the actual CD is done and in hand. Promoting a CD is just as painful as making them! (It's kind of worse actually; making them is laborious fun.) I'm really not complaining, except a little. But ya gotta do it! Ya gotta try to launch your thing into the stratosphere! Or even the heliosphere.

I have a ridiculously long list of things to do (again, not complaining, just riffing), but fortunately I've got some smart technical help now. So in the near future you'll see lots of fun things from Camp Falg (official fan club name maybe?) including a total website redesign, a real live (well lipsynched actually) music video for the first single "Hello Radio", and fun behind-the-scenes type weirdness and random thoughts at my new Facebook page which I would be honored if you would consider joining here.

I don't expect anybody to take my word that the new CD is HOT POTATOES, even though I feel that way. You get to make that decision on your own b/c I'm giving away 3 songs from the disc to get you started. Yep, 3 free tunes! No strings attached. Just follow this link and instructions to register and get your own password to download the songs.

And if you like what you hear and you want to pick up the full CD (a glorious 18 songs, 69 minutes) you can do that securely here (itunes) and here (compact disc).

I'm also excited to have a stable rock and roll band again for the first time in YEARS. The breakup of my previous band The Contortionists was fairly depressing. After that collapse I was in no rush to start another group, so I started doing more solo acoustic gigs, as many of you who have seen me play the last several years can attest, and continued writing. (This is why I ALWAYS suggest to budding musicians and songwriters to learn how to both sing AND play an instrument, so that you can always accompany yourself when the house of cards folds around you. Because it happens to almost everybody sooner or later unless you're really lucky.) So, 6 years later and I've been averaging a good 50-80 shows a year, mostly just me and my guitar. And now I'm re-interested in what a band is about because I like and respect the people I'm working with. The energy of a band is so different from a solo show that it's like comparing apples and carburetors. Let me just say I am ready to make some glorious melodic noise with these fine people. Here's the scoop on the CD release show next month:

SPORTSMEN'S TAVERN - SAT. MAY 8 - CD RELEASE SHOW
326 Amherst Street, Buffalo NY - 716-874-7734 - NO COVER
Rob Falgiano Band (feat. Ray Hangen, Jonathan Hughes, Mike Criscione & Dee Adams)
9:30pm start, with opening set by Dee Adams.

60 million people were killed in WW II. Human life was even less valuable then than now. We are animals. Our subconscious agendas are driven by this. But probably even more so in the past when we were closer to whatever animal we evolved from. The irony being that in the future we will be more like machines when we merge with our technology. Have a great day!

My last 'newsletter' note was harsh in places, just like me. But it's only b/c I love music so much that when artists fail to strive to their full creative potential it irks me. If you're going to bother to make music when SO MUCH great music has already been made, then why wouldn't you push as far as you could in a direction of your choosing? Push as hard as you can - be interesting, even if you fail. What point is there in pandering to the audience with another rendition of "Brown Eyed Girl" and "Margaritaville". It's a form of slow suicide.

And when I said that perhaps most local music is not worth hearing I was somewhat right, and also wrong. I should have said that most music (national/professional and local) is not worth hearing. I'd put that figure at about 90 or 95%. American Idol is the worst promoter of regurgitated karaoke.

But I should also be clear that the cream of the crop here in Buffalo is ABSOLUTELY as good as the cream of the crop in any city or scene, and nationally. I'm not just saying that. Why would I? I've been to NYC a lot and just got back, and guess what - their music clubs don't hold a candle to Buffalo's. Perhaps b/c they correctly believe that they don't even have to try to make the club a good place to play b/c everyone wants to play NYC. On the whole NYC sound systems are terrible, house equipment is terrible, and bands are nothing special, and you might have to pay to play for a whole 30 minutes! How does that foster a sense of 'community' or a scene? Well, it doesn't. Legendary blues clubs Iridium and The Blue Note in Manhattan are dumps. The Tralf is far classier.

For rock clubs it's the same. Kenny's Castaways and the Mercury Lounge in NYC are famous, but the rooms stink. Nietzsche's, Sportsmen's Tavern, and Town Ballroom are all far superior.

And back on the subject of Buffalo music, from my four years running the Fantastic Four Song Circle I can tell you without reservation that our top songwriters are as good as anyone nationally. My friend Dee Adams writes beautiful songs in the Americana tradition. Emmylou Harris might be the famous face of the genre, but can you name a single hit by her or even a memorable melody? Fact is, Dee is a better artist, but doesn't get treated that way b/c she's 'local'. Too bad, isn't it? It's b/c we believe in the myths and the imagery, but do we really listen to the songs?

I'd also add Noa Bursie to that list. And Alan Whitney, who I'd rather hear than Lyle Lovett. Lovett's got the fame, but Alan's songs are equal. Leroy Townes sings Ryan Adams better than Ryan Adams does. I like his songs better too. Then there's the more quirky gems like Madeleine White, Tina Marie Williams (as interesting as KT Tunstall), and Maria Sebastian. Tom Stahl is our local Dylan.

Where some, but not all, of these local songwriters fail though is in the quality of their recordings. They cut corners or don't invest the time to polish out the performance mistakes. When someone buys your disc it should sound as produced and complete, and error free, as a national release, or you will not be taken seriously, nor should you be. If you don't know how to do this yourself, then work with people who do, b/c they are here in Buffalo. Including Mike Rorick at Audio Magic, my talented co-producer on the forthcoming disc. Or the talented home studio guys like Jonathan Hughes. There's another great example of local talent. Mike Rorick's recordings at Audio Magic are as often as good as anything you'll hear nationally, especially when local artists give him the actual freedom to produce.

Being in NYC for 4 days cleared my head. It made me realize that the artists of Buffalo are as good as those in the supposedly major markets, possibly even better b/c we try harder. My trip to Key West a few years ago was similar, and left me shaking my head. Every bar had a washed up Jimmy Buffett wannabe singing badly and no one seemed to care. The bars of Key West have a captive audience b/c the weather is usually so damn good that the people come either way. But this does not make the artists there strive to improve the way we do in Buffalo. They're lazy, and their scene is a joke. I could think of a dozen Buffalo songwriters off the top of my head who would shame them down there.

So this is a call to arms. No more apologizing for being what we are Buffalo. It's time again to celebrate our local talent and stop believing in the false hype of TV that tells you some cookie-cutter jerk on American Idol has got it over us. And it's not just in music - look at the depth of our theater community. Or our painters. When it snows for 4 months a year people dig in and practice and get good at their art in the winter. In Key West they drink all year and lie in the sun. They are soft and we are strong.

I have spoken.

I feel I am observing the slight breakdown of local live music venues, and maybe a national trend? All the Buffalo biggies are still in place - Nietzsche's, Mohawk Place, Tralf, etc - but it feels like the fringes of the coffeehouse and alternative bar 'scene' are coming loose. Maybe the fact is that most local original music is not really worth hearing? The audience votes with their feet when they leave. I'd like to believe I keep more of them around when I'm playing, and that seems to be the case, but who knows? I'm feeling reclusive and have been performing less while I try to figure out why it's bugging me.

These things do seem to flow in waves. Music has moved towards cultural wallpaper. It is no longer the counterculture. The Conservative Revolution of the 80s has succeeded in commodifying more art than ever before - there is barely any art for art's sake. People can't wait to jump into the fire as a flash in the pan for a meaningless fame grab. I guess it's the artists' fault too - either by making the blandest, safest, clichéd music for the masses, or on the flipside - esoteric music that nobody can relate to except some small sub-clique they pander to. Music's there in the background but people spend more time on their cellphones at concerts than actually listening. American Idol is glorified karaoke. Some nice voices, but the songs?? Just a rehash of all we've heard before. Endless recycling of tired material. I guess that's what people want so I should just shut-up right?

The good news? My new CD is done. 18 songs; 69 minutes. No compromises. No pandering. No idea who might like it other than myself though I hope many people will. I am stubborn but it's how I respect myself. I haven't figured out the release party yet, but will shortly. I hate to jump the gun when some loose strands remain (wow, I'm really mixing metaphors) but I'm trying to tie the CD release to a music video release. The 'video shoot' is supposed to be next month if all goes as planned, so I'd say a joint CD/video release is more likely towards April.