EVENTS: FLOWER CITY CHALLENGE, SHEEP SHEARING FEST 22 ART REVIEW: “ANIMAL OBSCURA” @ 1975 GALLERY 26 THEATER REVIEW: “THE WHO’S TOMMY” @ BLACKFRIARS 22 CHOW HOUND: VIETNAMESE SUBS, BOULDER NEWS, MORE 11 URBAN JOURNAL: OUR NEXT SQUABBLE
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CROSSWORD, NEWS OF THE WEIRD 43
h.r. • chinese choral society • russell scarbrough big band • o.a.r. • julia nunes • Candye Kane • AND MORE MUSIC, PAGE 14
April 27 - may 3, 2011 Free
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Greater Rochester’s Alternative Newsweekly
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Vol 40 No 33
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News. Music. Life.
Brizard’s departure should not cost the city.” MAIL, PAGE 4
A special delivery for URMC. NEWS, PAGE 6
Chili plans for wind turbines. NEWS, PAGE 7
Charter school at Franklin? NEWS, PAGE 8
The treasures and trials of the Central Library. FEATURE, PAGE 12
City Newspaper’s 2nd Annual Best Busker Contest. DETAILS, PAGE 4
MUSIC | STORY AND PHOTO BY FRANK DE BLASE | PAGE 16
Joywave finds the value of melody His past isn’t the least bit checkered, but Rochester rocker Dan Armbruster wants to leave it behind him. His new band, Joywave, has been steadily gaining traction and slowly emerging from the shadows of his previous endeavors, The Hoodies and Vice Grip. And aside from the line-up, there are no similarities, or any comparison, between the three projects. Joywave has a lush, more enveloping sound with an epic cadence and rock ’n’ roll tone — something neither The Hoodies nor Vice Grip ever had. “I think this is what we always wanted to do,” says Armbruster, who equates The Hoodies’ pop-
punk leanings to high school. “It’s something we almost got stuck doing,” he says. “A lot of kids were coming to our shows. We ran with that awhile, and then re-aligned the music that we wanted to make with the music we enjoyed. We’ve been doing the Joywave thing for about a year now. So far, so good.” This Joywave “thing” is big and bold, with a hint of Brit pop and atmospheric rock. Where the arrangements take chances, the melody does not. That’s not to say the band isn’t adventurous, but the melodies are simple, catchy, and prevalent.