Hello music lovers, and welcome to another edition of Why Music Matters. I’m your host, music journalist and musician Jeff Miers.

Today, my guests represent a cross-generational journey through the ever-evolving world of jazz.

Alex McArthur is a singer and storyteller whose resume reads like that of a musician three times her age. A winner of multiple JazzBuffalo Vocalist of the Year awards, Alex brings a distinct soulfulness to any music she lends her voice to, whether she’s singing something she wrote herself, or flexing her interpretive muscles on the works of legends like Ella Fitzgerald, Stevie Wonder, and Mavis Staples.

Alex is joined today by a man who has acted as a significant mentor in her musical journey.

Pianist George Caldwell is credited by Alex as, quote, “the first person I ever attempted to sing jazz in front of, and the person who encouraged me to explore vocal jazz and improvisation in the first place.”

In his role as Director of the Student Jazz Ensembles and Music Piano Performance Instructor at the University at Buffalo, George has employed his decades of experience as a Grammy-winning professional musician to help mold the musical imaginations of countless young artists-in-the-making.

Those decades of experience include tenures with the Count Basie Orchestra, the Duke Ellington Orchestra, tap dancer and choreographer Saivon Glover, R&B legend Ruth Brown, and right here in Buffalo, the awe-inspiring Star People, a Miles Davis Repertory Ensemble.

Currently, Alex and George are in the midst of performing Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill, a recreation of Billie Holiday’s final performance, with Alex inhabiting the role of Lady Day, and George acting as Musical Director.

The show, a MusicalFare production, is running at Shea’s Smith Theatre in Buffalo’s Theatre and Entertainment District, through February 15. (You can learn more about the production and purchase tickets through musicalfare.com.)

Welcome to Why Music Matters, Alex McArthur and George Caldwell!

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’ve got an old friend stopping by 678Main Studios.

I’ve known Greg Klyma for more than three decades. During that time, I’ve watched him evolve from an aspiring songwriter and bandleader performing during Open Mic Nights at Nietzsche’s in downtown Buffalo, into a seasoned touring artist with more than a dozen album releases to his credit.

Taking a page from the book of greats in the folk, old school country, and singer-songwriter schools, Greg hit the road in the late 90s, and he hasn’t looked back since. Along the way, he’s played his songs to rooms full of strangers who’d soon become friends, honed his craft as a performer and writer, and learned a thing or two about our country as the tires of his ‘apartment-on-wheels’ passed over its varied terrain.

If you know Greg, you already know - he’s a gifted and passionate raconteur, one who is always ready with a song and a story to go with it. His love for music is deep and boundless. And during today’s episode, he offers us some insight into both the roots of that love, and the way it has evolved over time’s passage.

Welcome to Why Music Matters, Greg Klyma…

Hey there, everyone.

I’d like to welcome you to a special edition of the podcast - a joint creation between Why Music Matters and The Buffalo History Museum.

This episode, which we’ve named 12/8/80 (In the Name of Love), was created with my good friend Anthony Greco, Director of Exhibits at The Buffalo History Museum, and creator and host of the Museum’s podcast.

The episode explores an evening that changed the world for the worse. And it turns out that there’s an interesting Buffalo angle to the story of this tragic night.

On December 8, 1980, as a then-unknown band called U2 played to a sparse crowd as they opened for the power trio Talas at Stage One, just outside Buffalo, the world was upended by the murder of John Lennon.

Lennon’s death transformed an ordinary evening into a defining moment in music and cultural history. This episode tells the story of that night.

I’d like to thank Anthony Greco for his outstanding work on this joint venture. And shout-outs are in order to Willie Nile and Billy Sheehan, both of whom were kind enough to share their memories of that fateful evening with me. Additional thanks to WKBW in Buffalo, who shared with us an excerpt of their 2017 interview with Bruce Moser - a Buffalo promoter and dear friend who played a significant role in breaking U2 in the American Northeast, way back in 1980.

Bruce passed away in 2020. This joint podcast is dedicated to his memory, with thanks for all he gave - to Buffalo, and to the world. We all miss you, Bruce.

Thanks for joining us. Take it away, Anthony Greco…

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 Evan Laedke, a musician with an impressively broad skill-set, one that has made him a first-call keyboardist for a wide variety of WNY bands, one-off gigs and sessions. Currently playing keys for Tsavo Highway, the Little Mountain Band, and others, Evan somehow found time in his busy schedule to take on the role of Music Director at Third Space, a 4,000 sq. foot, 2-story cafe, art gallery and entertainment space. Evan and his partner, owner Chelsea Mae, opened their ‘dream come true’ in the historic Sidway Building at 777 Main St. in Buffalo, last December. In the time since, he’s poured his considerable passion for our city’s music scene into making Third Space into a home-away-from home for regional artists, bands, poets and comedians. During our chat, Evan told me about his life in music, his early inspirations, and his hopes for Third Space going forward. Welcome to Why Music Matters, Evan Laedke! --- Follow 3rd Space on Instagram! https://www.instagram.com/third_space_buffalo --- 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

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.

Produced by 678Main Studio and Creative Services: https://678main.com

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…