Review: Rock and Roll is Alive in Oneonta, New York

Geoff Doyle is a bit of a renaissance man. Most know him from the fabulous job he does as the executive director of the Foothills Performing Arts Center in Oneonta. But Geoff has been a creator and a musician for a long time, and just dropped a brand new record, four years in the making.

20 years ago, Geoff and I were part of a pretty amazing live music scene in Oneonta. There were local acts, and bands that came together as part of SUNY Oneonta's music industry program. We were of the latter. Bands from both subsets regularly came together to share the stage and make a whole lot of noise. Genres weren't important. You'd see hardcore, metal, jam, hip hop and ska all on the same bill. Somehow it just worked.

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Geoff and I collaborated on a long forgotten project that was at the intersection of Mike Patton and John Zorn's work. Loud, abrasive, improvised, and a whole lot of fun describe those times. Don't go looking for it, the one and only master recording lives at the bottom of my closet somewhere, and that's where it shall remain.

I was delighted to see Geoff drop a brand new record over the weekend entitled "Give Fits". According to his social media post surrounding the album, this was a labor of love spanning the better part of four years. According to him: "I spent the last four years writing and recording an album. There were no deadlines. No rehearsals or gigs to worry about. Just me, in the basement making music late into the night when I should’ve been sleeping."

Over the years, Geoff has continued to make music, mostly with bands he's been a part of. This is his first solo foray he's put out.

It's good to hear Geoff still making solid music after all these years. I've listened to the album three or four times since it dropped, and I'm a fan. As a music geek, I love to listen closely and try to pick out influences and nuances. On first glance, whether intentional or not, I hear a lot of Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age, Kyuss) in the mix. The first three tracks Abandon Everything, All For Granted, and End-Life Crisis are absolute barnburners, and with the fourth one being a mid tempo affair, pacing is dead on for this kind of music.

Overall, I found the record bringing me back to the Seattle Sound of the 90s, with strong, healthy doses of what's come after throughout. This is a rock solid record. Be sure to give it a spin, you can do so for free by clicking this link.

Rock on, and support local music!