in the flamingo lounge

On Tuesday, February 27, 2024, Joy Ann Wrona, Michael Wah and David G. Poole from the Imperial Court of Buffalo joined Rockabilly Greg to talk about musical theatre and their upcoming MisCast fundraiser.

All have worked together on stage over the years and reminisced about the many facets of performing in live musical theatre productions.

Most people know this week’s guest, Jeff Miers, as the former music critic for The Buffalo News. Jeff visited the Flamingo Lounge on January 27, 2024 and talked about his music, his family and son Declan.

These days Jeff can be found contributing to his BLOG “Miers on Music” as well as his bi-weekly podcast “Why Music Matters”.

A Buffalo Music Hall of Fame inductee, Jeff also currently sits on the board of Music is Art and is the Executive Director for the Sportsmen’s Americana Music Foundation.

Zuri Appleby joined Rockabilly Greg In the Flamingo Lounge on Friday, December 29 to talk about her music and help celebrate the 100th episode of the podcast.

Zuri is a professional bassist, vocalist, model, and educator. The daughter of musicians and educators, Rodney and Linda Lombardo Appleby she has been described as “The complete package” and “Looks like a million dollars and plays bass like five million”.

Zuri has toured with a multitude of artists including Nick Jonas, Adam Lambert and Lizzo.

Zuri also has a passion for education and has taught for Young Audiences of Western New York, where she worked with children in junior and senior high schools.

This week’s guests In the Flamingo Lounge are Blaise-Mercedes and Malachi Fibonacci from Blaised and Confused: A femme led, high energy rock band from Buffalo, NY. They joined Rockabilly Greg in the Flamingo Lounge on January 6, 2024.

Blaise Mercedes stands as the guitarist, singer, songwriter, and the visionary band leader. From picking up the guitar at the age of 9 to almost a decade of professional singing, Blaise's musical journey is a testament to their versatile artistry. They have a voice that carries grit, power, and a vulnerable edge, the emotional centerpiece of their sonic exploration. Beyond the notes and chords, their lyrics tell a deeper story, often delving into the intricate landscapes of mental health.

Malachi Fibonacci is a self-taught multimedia musician born in Buffalo. He started playing in a small band in 2017 and eventually went on a quest to find like-minded musicians and found Blaised and Confused in that journey.

This week’s guest In the Flamingo Lounge, Patti Parks, is a multi-award-winning vocalist and was inducted into the Buffalo Music Hall of Fame in 2016. Patti joined Rockabilly Greg In the Flamingo Lounge on January 10, 2024 for a great conversation on her music and musical endeavors.

Patti is a soulfully uplifting singer, handling ballads, driving blues, swing and Motown with ease and style. Patti is also a dedicated working nurse, and has received national recognition for “Nurse’n Blues” the unique therapeutic program she founded in 2015. 

She just released a new album, COME SING WITH ME, featuring soul blues legend Johnny Rawls, who teams with her on two duets. As a performer and a nurse, she understands the healing power of the blues.

This week’s guest In the Flamingo Lounge, Bob "The Record Guy" Paxon is the person most responsible for my love, and familiarity of local music. He is one of the most knowledgeable music collectors in Western New York, particularly with local, Buffalo-area records. He was a regular contributor to WNYFM, a virtual museum of the music culture of the Buffalo/Niagara region of Western New York and contributed a feature on local 45 records from the 50’s and 60’s entitled “45 Fridays”.

He was also a member of Grim Reaper, the band that eventually evolved into Aunt Helen, the Toys and the New Toys, becoming one of Buffalo’s earliest punk/new wave bands.

Bob joined Rockabilly Greg on January 3, 2024 for a great conversation on local musicians and records.

This week's guest In the Flamingo Lounge, Jamie Sunshine, is a percussionist and educator from Buffalo, New York. She holds a Masters degree in Music Performance from West Virginia University and a Bachelors degree in both Music Performance and Music Therapy from The State University of New York at Fredonia. She has studied Western percussion extensively, and performs with various percussion ensembles, orchestras, jazz ensembles, classic rock groups and children’s groups throughout Western New York.  She can work with and perform for children in elementary schools to adults in nursing homes.

Her interest in travel and culture has influenced her to study different musical styles from around the world including West African drumming and xylophone, Mexican marimba, and Brazilian drumming.

This week's guest In the Flamingo Lounge, Chuckie Campbell is an American recording artist, booking agent, poet, fiction writer, editor, publisher, and educator. His music has appeared in Billboard Magazine, The Huffington Post, DJBooth, The Source, Young Hollywood, and The Examiner. In the past, he’s won A3C’s “This Is My Year” Contest, and took home All WNY Music Awards for “Best Hip-Hop Artist” and “Best Hip Hop Performer,” ArtVoice Awards for “Best Hip-Hop Artist” and “Best Original Music,” as well as Canalside Buffalo’s Battle of the Bands. For live shows, he performs with a live band, for a five-piece live approach to hip-hop filled with fluid instrumentation, lush musical arrangements, and heartfelt poetic nuance. He is currently sponsored by Three Chord Bourbon and signed to Automatic Records, a multi-genre label with offices in New York City, NY; Minneapolis, MN; and New Brunswick, NJ.

Chuckie joined Rockabilly Greg In the Flamingo Lounge on December 17, 2023 for a great discussion about his music.

This week's guest In the Flamingo Lounge, Vinnie DeRosa, is a versatile musician and knowledgeable singer-songwriter who possesses fluency in nearly every core instrument, enabling him to conceptualize and produce every facet of his original song ideas. Since its inception in 2012, Vinnie has spearheaded the band VITAMIN D, continuously seeking new musical collaborators. Through his skillful live looping artistry, Vinnie masterfully expresses his diverse genre influences, utilizing his virtuosity on solo guitar, voice, and MPC. He joined Rockabilly Greg In the Flamingo Lounge on November 11, 2023 for a great conversation about his music, and a few songs, too.

This week’s guest In the Flamingo Lounge is singer, songwriter, multi-Instrumentalist, recording artist and a bandleader, Melissa Sauers. She joined Rockabilly Greg (and Zooey) on Saturday, November 4, 2023 and reflected on her music and performed some original music.

This week's episode is a walk down McVan’s memory lane. Many performers played at Mcvan's over the course of its existence from 1922-1984 under owners Lillian McVan and Joe Terrose. Performers included Nat "King" Cole, Ella Fitzgerald, Art Tatum, Gypsy Rose Lee, Jimi Hendrix, The B52's. McVan's also served as an incubator for bands like The Good, The Enemies,The Jumpers, Pegasus, Mark Freehand and many more.

Bob James, Bernie Kugel, Bob Kozak, Pauline and Robby Takac talked about their experiences and memories of seeing shows and performing at McVan's.

James Patrick "Jimmy" Lynch originally made his mark on Buffalo's country music scene in the 80's and 90's until moving to Nashville in 1994. He was a "first Call" for Buffalo promoters to serve as opening act for the biggest names in country music. He has opened for many major acts including Dwight Yoakam, Willie Nelson, George Jones, Asleep at the Wheel and Marty Stuart at legendary venues such as Melody Fair, Kleinhans Music Hall and The Tralfamadore.

He is a song-writer and continues to record his music in Nashville studios! 

This week’s guest, Chelsea O, is host of The Scene, on WBFO The Bridge: a show that focuses on broadcasting artists from the Buffalo and Toronto area and is also an alt/pop/rock artist from Buffalo, NY with her project, Stress Dolls.

This week In the Flamingo Lounge we're talking about folk icon and Buffalo Music Hall of Fame inductee, Jackson C. Frank.

Joining us to discuss Jackson is Jim Abbott. Jim was Jackson's guardian and cared for Jackson until his death in 1999. Jim also wrote and published a well-researched memoir about Jackson's life, titled Jackson C. Frank: The Clear, Hard Light of Genius.

This week in the Flamingo Lounge is a conversation sparked by my 40th high school reunion in July 2022. Since then, I've learned that three of my classmates' fathers were musicians with fascinating stories. These stories, often untold, need to be shared, especially when they come from the people we know and love.

Milissa Albano, Bizzie Rathgeber Cors, Lisa Rathgeber Bobotas and Lisa Roeder shared stories about their fathers, Richard A. "Dick" Albano, and G. Donald "Don" Rathgeber and
Dr. Harold H. "Buck" Roeder. Lisa also shared her experience writing a book with her sister Lynn about their travels in the mid-1970's with Donny and Marie Osmond.

Dennis Reed Jr., Andrew Gianni and Alaina Reid from Yellow jack joined Rockabilly Greg In The Flamingo Lounge on August 30, 2023.

Yellow Jack are known for playing ROWDY ROOTS MUSIC FROM THE LAST 200 YEARS including Fiddle tunes, Appalachian murder ballads, bluegrass standards, folk revival anthems, union songs, ballads and spirituals.

This week's episode of In the Flamingo Lounge is a little different, as I focused on music venues and music fans. To get a venue perspective, I spoke with Don Papaj, Managing Partner and Fred Zillner, Director of Golf at Diamond Hawk Golf Course and Pub where they offer live music three nights a week all year long.

To get a music fan’s perspective, I invited friend and family member, Pearson Constantino to get his take on venues, fans and the Buffalo scene.

Multi-instrumentalist, Dave Mucha, who has played with many local musicians and is a Buffalo Music Hall of Fame Inductee with McCarthyizm joined Rockabilly Greg In the Flamingo Lounge for a great musical conversation on July 26, 2023.

Scott Reynolds visited the Flamingo Lounge for the second time on Monday, July 24 with guitar in hand, and recorded and played some songs off his new album "Magic Beans and Time machines". Scott reviewed how the process of song-writing works for him. This episode is chock full of great music from Scott and is great fun.

Ron Walker, Buffalo Music Hall of Fame inductee as a member of “The Exoutics”, owner of Three 2 Go Music Publishing and RW Music Video Production and the Chief Executive Officer of Three 2 Go Music Alliance, joined Rockabilly Greg "In the Flamingo Lounge on July 10, 2023, to talk about his music and the the business of music.