New Math / Sugar Tradition / Sastrugi
Sat
April 27, 2024
9:00 pm
EDT
(Doors: 8:00 pm )
The Bug Jar
,
219 Monroe Ave, Rochester, NY
Ages 18 and Up
$10.00 - $15.00
Forming in the fall of ‘76, New Math went through a few lineup changes in their earlier years, but the core lineup consisted of enigmatic frontman Kevin Patrick, bassist Gary Trainer, guitarist Chris Yockel, drummer Roy Stein, and keyboardist Mark Schwarz. The band opened for big names like the Ramones, the Cramps, and Gun Club at now-extinct local clubs like the Triangle Theatre, The Penny Arcade, and of course Scorgie’s, practically the Max’s Kansas City or CBGB’s of Rochester. The band also probably played there over a hundred times. Towards the end of the 1970s, New Math lit a spark in the local rock scene that also produced primal garage rock revivalists the Chesterfield Kings, adventurous post-punks Personal Effects, and pop-punk purists the Cliches. Before they changed their name to Jet Black Berries and wandered down the path of goth-tinged country blues throughout the 1980s, New Math hammered out an eruption of raucous tunes loaded with an endless supply of ascending guitar lines and catchy hooks, tapping the source code to amphetamine-fueled power pop. Last summer, Propeller Sound Recordings (The dB's, Current Rage, Love Tractor) unearthed an 11-track compilation of the band's early singles and unreleased material called Die Trying & Other Hot Sounds (1979-1983). Along with the new release, the band has been playing a few reunion shows around Rochester with new lead singer Derek Sapienza (JDS, The Shine, The Grievants) filling in for Patrick, who's been unavailable since the band started to gain a cult following.
Sugar Tradition:
Composed of guitarist-vocalist Antonio Keka, bassist Arlo Betley, and drummer Kevin Irwin, primal garage rockers Sugar Tradition have been tearing it up and leading the pack in Detroit's current rock 'n' roll scene that includes The Stools, 208, and Shadow Show. Following up a few limited releases, Sugar Tradition caught the attention of Sam Richardson of Feel It Records, who put out the trio's latest EP More Sugar back in October '23. Sugar Tradition have managed to capture that raw, driving the classic Motor City fuzz sound in damn near perfect form on their latest EP that's a roaring fourteen minutes at 45 RPM. The young trio of rockers are one of the brightest sets of young heads on the face of planet rock 'n' roll right now, and More Sugar proves that to a tee.
Sastrugi:
Rochester post-punk unknowns Sastrugi started out as a solo venture for Matthew Treadwell in 2017. A year later, Treadwell worked on four songs that eventually became the project's debut EP The Time: Night, engineered by Sam Snyder (Overhand Sam) and released in the summer of 2018. Since then, the project has been quiet, only playing a couple shows before the pandemic. However in October '23, Sastrugi returned to the stage to open for Memphis synth-punks Optic Sink with a newly-formed live lineup that now includes guitarist Anthony Lalena, bassist Brendan Merhab, and drummer Matthew O'Brian. The band's sinuous guitar interplay and pounding, motorik rhythms supply perhaps the ultimate in lightheaded ecstasy with Treadwell's mildly offbeat lyrics imitating the ascension into heaven.