[00:00:02] Speaker A: Welcome to unsigned 518's Weekend Spotlight for the weekend of April 11, 2025. Got a great show coming up for you. Got music from Simon Elijah, Belle Skinner, Alec Lewis Group, Sabrina Trueheart, plus our band show presents Sound of a Smirk and the return of I Miss Beer. So without further ado, let's get started.
[00:00:32] Speaker B: Is such a good dude, the kind of guy that it's easy to talk to. He's got some cool stuff he'd like to share with you.
[00:00:39] Speaker C: Yeah, you.
[00:00:39] Speaker D: It's the weekend.
[00:00:40] Speaker B: You know what you should do? It's the weekend. Spotlight the weekend. All right.
[00:00:47] Speaker A: Up first, tomorrow night we have Simon Elijah at the Paper Moon in Troy. The show begins at 7pm but also if you miss Simon Elijah on Friday at the Paper Moon in Troy, he is also playing the next day at noon at Bliss Cafe in Del Mar. So you get two chances to see Simon Elijah at two opposite times of the day. So, I mean, you could even. Even catch them both. If you go see him Friday, then you're like, yeah, that guy fucking rocked. Let's go have some. Have some brunch and go see him tomorrow. But anyway, Simon put out his debut album for out back in February, and right now we're gonna play a song off of that album. This one is called Poughkeepsie Simon Elijah, right here on unsigned 518's weekend spotlight.
[00:01:38] Speaker C: I used to call you on the phone every day sometimes twice I tell you about my day and you'd give me your advice you took under your wing till you taught me how to fly and I sure did fly away after a while well, the day is long but the years fly by. I'm 18 and you're 75.
So put me on a train to Poughkeepsie get a ticket right out of all beneath like an eagle flies.
Pick me up front by the station I'll be there right on time.
Well, you still mo with that Kubota.
And the crane sits down by the pond resting away waiting to be used.
Maple trees they hide in away from view the grass grows longer than it used to.
Never forget that I'm here for you too.
The days are long but the years fly by. I made tea and you're 75 so put me on a trip to Poughkeepsie to ticket right out of all me.
Like an eagle that flies down the Hudson Pick me up front by the station I'll be there right on time.
[00:04:38] Speaker E: Anytime, anywhere.
[00:04:45] Speaker C: Call me, I'll be there anytime, anywhere call me, I'll Be there anytime, anywhere way Call me I'll be there oh, I'll be there Put me on a train to Poughkeep Get a ticket right out of me like an eager to find down the Hudson down the Hudson Pick me up from by the station Be there Put me on a train Put me on a train to keep se get it taken right.
[00:05:59] Speaker B: Out of me.
[00:06:04] Speaker C: I can eat.
[00:06:11] Speaker A: That was Simon Elijah with Poughkeepsie here on unsigned 518's weekend spotlight. And you can catch Simon tomorrow on Friday at Paper Moon in Troy at 7pm and then this Saturday at Bliss Cafe in Del Mar at noon. So right now we have the return of I Miss Beer. I know at least a couple of you noticed its absence and have had sent me messages, but Brendan was just taking a little break, you know, it wasn't over. It was just a little break. And now he's back. So we're gonna have again weekly editions of I Miss Beer. And if you happened to become a listener in the little bit of a break when I Miss Beer wasn't here. What it is is Brendan does not drink anymore. He recently celebrated six years being sober and he really likes beer. So. So he has discovered that there are tons and tons of great non alcoholic beers out there, not just, I don't know, what was it like O'Tools or.
Yeah, I think it was like O'Tools or caliber. I think it was a Caliber with a K. It was like Harps version. But there's like tons and tons of styles and different brews for like every palate if you still like the taste of beer and you know, you just don't want the alcohol. So every week he takes a different non alcoholic beer. He does a very quick review of it. He sniffs it, sips it, scores it, then slams it at the end. And it's a really cool thing. And again, I, you know, as a lot of you know, it'll be a year in May since I've had my last drink, so I think it's really cool. Anyway, I miss beer. Let's check in with Brent.
[00:07:55] Speaker F: Okay.
[00:07:58] Speaker G: My name is Brendan and I miss beer. And on today's episode of I Miss Beer, we're going to be trying Blue Moon n a starting off week five with a lot of foam snippet. Sip it, score it, slam it. Okay. I don't like Blue Moon. Never have. I've given it many chances over the years. I just don't like it. Which is funny because I love oranges and orange. Anything but there's something about this beer that I just don't like. Let's give it a sniff.
Whatever. Give it a sip.
Blue Moon without alcohol. Pretty much. Now, the nose is pretty good. Smells like fresh orange peel. Is it gross? No, but just not really that good, in my opinion. It has a hint of suntan lotion. I know that sounds weird, but I don't want to drink suntan lotion. Let's rate it. Is it in the fives? No, I'm going to go 6, 7 on this.
[00:08:49] Speaker D: Let's slam it.
[00:08:54] Speaker A: That was Brendan with I miss beer. And you're going to be able to catch that every week here on the Weekend Spotlight. So up next on Friday we have Belle skinner at the 11 at Lara call starting at 7pm And I reached out to Belle Skinner today to see if it was cool if I played one of her songs. And she said that. That I could. And I could. Could choose whichever one. And she gave me a few suggest. So I'm gonna go with the one of the songs that she suggested, which is It Must Be Spring. Because, you know, it's obviously fitting, even though right now it's. It's pretty cold out. But it's coming, you know, Spring is certainly coming. So go see Belle Skinner on Friday at the 11 at Lark Hall, 7:00pm and right now, let's check out It Must Be Spring by Belle skinner here on unsigned 518's weekend spotlight.
[00:09:43] Speaker H: Cold lonely heart they shake and they shiver like trees in the wind and mine was the sun Buried deep in snow Asleep in the winter but something in the air now tells me Everything has changed Like I am lost inside of a drain Though, oh, I know that I'm wide awake what can it be? There must be spring and now as far as the eye can see Is a beauty that's hard to explain I feel it wash over me it must be spring I, like many food thought I knew better that life would always be cold and bright Little did I know that it was only the weather and the weather's getting better and better day by day and though I lost any sign of a home I now can feel it return like the birds who fly back north to love and sing I feel my heart starting to melt and my words starting to turn into a melody it must be spring m It must be spring it must be spring it spring it spring.
[00:11:58] Speaker C: Must.
[00:11:59] Speaker H: Be spring it must be spring it must be spring it must be spring.
[00:12:21] Speaker A: That was Belle Skinner. It must be spring and you can go see her on Friday at the 11 at Lark hall at 7pm so right now we're going to check in with another weekly segment. It's my friends Pat and Christian over at our band show. And every week they're going to bring us a clip of a band, you know, maybe a little bit of an interview and a song that they do and kind of get you into what they're doing over there at our band show. And if you don't know, go check them out. It's really, really super cool. And I may even have a little something in the works for the summer, A little collaboration with our band show on a. On a higher level than just on the weekend spot, spotlight. So keep an eye out for that. But there's good coming. But Anyway, go to YouTube, check out our band show and see all the great work that they're doing. And right now we're gonna check in with Patrick and Christian and see what's up. So over to you guys.
[00:13:16] Speaker F: Thank you, Andy Christian here from our band show. It's a pleasure to be back with the unsigned 518 community. And this weekend, not only are we going to spotlight some awesome music, but we're going to spotlight our beloved scene right here in Poughkeepsie, New York. We're featuring a guest from our episode all the way back in August of 2023 in our second year. A local band, really great band and really great friends of mine called Sound of a Smirk who have quite literally seen the ups and downs of our beloved Poughkeepsie scene. We all come from, and myself included, performing and playing at the Chance Theater in Poughkeepsie, which was like a local hub for music. I mean, I had gotten multiple record deals out of that building just because of the way the ANRS management industry folks would flock to it. It really was a hub for music in that late 2010 era. And sound of a Smirk as well, had seen a lot of success. They'll go on in a few seconds in the interview clip to talk about some of the great bands they played with. And then all of a sudden, one day, the scene just went away. And here we were, you know, talented musicians without a home, without a place to play. And it took quite some time before venues started started popping back up. But I don't want to tell the whole story, so let's turn it over to Son of a Smirk to sort of fill us in on us spotlighting our hometown scene. I just felt like it was such a given that there could be local shows and there was people coming out constantly and you could write songs that would actually be heard by someone. And then that went away pretty suddenly. But you guys managed to survive and make it through that golden era. So talk to me about the perseverance, because it must have taken perseverance, like.
[00:14:57] Speaker A: Selling pictures of our feet.
That's pretty much what did it. It's how we survived, man.
[00:15:04] Speaker C: The sole contributing factor.
[00:15:05] Speaker I: Yeah, I mean, the biggest thing was, like, once the local shows started kind of breaking down a little bit, and the loft, the issues with that, and my place Pizza shutting down, which is like, shout out to my place Pizza for existing at one. Curse, dude. It was. Yeah. Like, we opened Turnover. The turnover, Turnover, like, at my place Pizza, which is insane to me.
We opened for Can't Swim and Movements and. And we got to open for these bands that we loved. Have Mercy, who's on tour right now. And, yeah, like, the local scene was sick. It was awesome. And a lot of touring bands used to come through. It's not to say that the local scene has died because there are still amazing bands that you guys have had on here. Like, Alliteration is still push. And they've been around as long as you guys have. Yeah, at least like, half as long, if not double that. Like, they have been playing shows for so long. And we. I remember playing Alliterations first show, which is wild. And you were in local bands. Like, I think the biggest thing was that touring bands stopped because the loft kind of stopped doing it. And my place Pizza shut down. And thank God for Reason and Ruckus, who's building it back up. So shout out to Reason and Ruckus. Shout out to the Grange in Bonneville in or in Newburgh, Bonville, Grange. Shout out to the local places that are still booking doors at 7 is killing it. Bands like New Vision, bands like no Momentum, they're still pushing. And that's like, all that matters about this local scene to me.
[00:16:46] Speaker F: Speaking of bands that are still killing it, Sound of a Smirk are crushing. So allow us to share their song State Speed Limit from their performance on our band show.
[00:17:06] Speaker I: If you know this one, sing along.
[00:17:18] Speaker B: You were driving me crazy Crazy.
[00:17:29] Speaker C: In all the best ways.
[00:17:34] Speaker B: My heart pumps octane.
[00:17:40] Speaker C: Fill my throat with God.
[00:17:51] Speaker B: Burn my body tonight.
[00:17:57] Speaker C: I think.
[00:18:01] Speaker B: Flashing lights and hazy dreams. I need to stop now. I need to stop and got enough of you.
I won't let go. I won't let go.
You were shifting my head Swift earthly humpty substance Sonically fill my voice with all your blind.
Won't you burn my body till I can shadow I can't get up Flashing lights and hazy dreams I need to stop now I need to a get enough of you I won't go I won't go Won't you calm me down and cool me up My lungs are burned with this gasping I need your hands I need your tone oh come me down and call me on yeah my nature has my nature coming down and show me up yeah Flashing lights and hazy dreams I need to now I need to duck it got enough of you I won't go I won't.
[00:20:27] Speaker C: Go.
[00:20:33] Speaker B: I won't let go I go.
[00:21:10] Speaker F: All right, guys, that's all the time we have for today. Andy, thank you again so much for having us here on the Weekend Spotlight. It's truly a pleasure. If you want to keep up with what we do, visit our bandshow.com or follow us on Instagram at our bandshow. Until then, we'll catch you in the next episode.
[00:21:28] Speaker A: Thank you again. That is my friends Pat and Christian down at our band show and look for a lot of. A lot of great things from them constantly. They put out such great content. So go check them out over on YouTube. So also coming up on Friday, we have Alec Lewis Group at 518-craft starting at 7:00. And Alec just put out an EP not that long ago. I don't know, was it a couple months ago? I don't know exact dates it was. Don't Cross Me, it's called. And just I love, love everything this dude puts out. Like I said a couple years ago when he put out his solo, how, how are we? Fine. That was just Alec Lewis. I think he put it under. I said it was my EP of the year. It was like really great. I loved. I loved it so much. And then he's got the Alec Lewis Group, which is, you know, now a collaborative with other great musicians. And the songs are super tight live performances, obviously super tight. So go check out Alec Goose group Friday at 518 Craft. And right now we're going to hear one off the latest ep, Don't Cross Me. This one's called Half Empty, Half Full and it's right here on unsigned 518weekend spotlight.
[00:23:08] Speaker D: Walking through the park in a part of town that I don't know I was surprised by an older guy coming up on my left side. Nowhere to be and I wasn't feeling mean. He just wanted time so I gave him some of my and he said thanks. Gotta be careful. There's some freaks up in this park, you know. In fact Those who leave might say that it left its mark I said, hold up, what do you mean those who leave? Then he pulled a knife Said don't scream well, that's my cue to beat I wanna trust people but people fucking suck I wanna like this life but fuck around it's all oh fucked maybe.
[00:23:51] Speaker B: It'S just me maybe I should toughen.
[00:23:54] Speaker D: Up Half empty no, half full.
[00:24:00] Speaker C: Shit.
[00:24:01] Speaker D: I can't even find a cup luckily for me I got 30 years upon that guy so I book it through a thick tree line Till I get through the other side Feeling pretty shook Think I'd better stop and pet some dogs but once I walk away I feel my wallet is gone Retrace my steps but that dog walker must have got me in quick I take out my phone to call to cancel all my cards so my bank account don't slip Put the call and all was lost when it hit I couldn't find my wheels this is where I parked I guess that Civic was a steal I wanna trust people but people fucking suck I wanna like this life but.
[00:24:46] Speaker B: Look around it's all oh maybe it's just me maybe I should toughen up.
[00:24:52] Speaker D: Half empty no, half full.
[00:24:58] Speaker B: I can't.
[00:24:59] Speaker D: Even find a cop Found a bar next to the park Where I can stop and think I asked to use the phone but they say not unless you buy a drink Tell them about the day I've had but no pity Diddy dole voice from behind me says I'm buying Bobby make it cold Thinking maybe Found myself a friend to help me find her out but she's staring me down with baby browns I know that look and I am out Second guess the drink Just as my lips hit the foam and I'm thinking Better luck if I just start walking home I want to trust people People suck I want to like this life but look around it's all maybe it's just.
[00:26:20] Speaker B: Me maybe I should toughen up Half.
[00:26:23] Speaker D: Empty, no, half fun I can't even.
[00:26:29] Speaker A: Find a cop Alec Lewis Group. Half empty, half full and again, catch them Friday at 5:18 craft, beginning at 7:00pm so right now we're going to dip into Metroland's hot singles in your area, which is a playlist that TJ Foster curates every month he takes the month before. So you know, we're in April now, so we're dealing with March's playlist, but he puts out a release of the singles that came out from all the locals, so. So you can stay in tune with what's being put out There and then every week I take From Metroland Now's Hot Singles in youn Area playlist and I play a song. So right now what we're gonna do is play a song off that playlist. The latest release from Sabrina Trueheart. This one's called Sad Smile. It's here on Sign 518's Weekend Spotlight.
[00:27:21] Speaker E: I am the bearer of a sad sad smile and my wing things have needed patching for a while I'm hopeless at best Flirting with death I am waiting for life while I hold my breath I am waiting for life while I hold my breath I'll be long come before my stars alive if I'm heading where I should Then give me a sign Spring bleeds into summer then into fall and I can't sing but the meaning of it all I am the bearer of a sad sad smile and I can help but feel that nothing's worth my while I'm hopeless at best Flirting with death I am waiting for the while I hold my love I am waiting for life while I hold my love Between a thousand dreams in the world it is turning yet I'm standing still at sea Let in.
[00:29:20] Speaker A: Precious time pass like San.
[00:29:35] Speaker E: I am the bearer of the sunsets my but please don't ask me questions Cause I don't know why I'm hopeless at best Flirting with death I waiting for life while I hold my life I am waiting for life while I hold my love I am waiting for light while I hold.
[00:30:11] Speaker A: It was Sabrina True Hearts, Sad Smile. And you can find that on Metroland now. It's hot singles in your area for March playlist. It's on Spotify and you know, all the other months are in there as well and you should just make like a big mega playlist of all the. The recent releases and you can be super, super in tune with with all the local releases. Well, anyway, that is it for me. But I do want to mention coming out on Friday tomorrow I have a special episode of Unsigned518. I got to talk with members of Blotto about the movie that is premiering this weekend at Caho Music Hall. It's called hello, my name is Blotto the movie. I got to talk to members of Blotto and Rob Lichter who is the director of the documentary and I put that in in interview form in Metroland now and you can read that@the metrolandnow.com but also because it was such a a long conversation and these dudes were really interesting and really engaging and really funny. I have the entire, I think it's like 36 minutes or so. I have the entire conversation basically unedited that I'm gonna release as a podcast. So, you know, you can go read the the interview on Metroland now, but then you can kind of hear the really long form unfiltered conversation that took place. I had Bowtie Blotto, Broadway Blotto, and F. Lee Harvey Blotto and Bert Blotto, who is Rob Lichter, the filmmaker. So we have a conversation. I asked them about the film, I asked them about the old days, the video, and all sorts of stuff. So check out the interview on themetroland.com and look for the podcast coming out tomorrow on the metroland.com and everywhere you stream podcast. So thank you so much for listening and supporting local music. I am Andy scullin. This is unsigned 518's weekend spotlights. I'll see you on the road. Unsigned 518 is produced and hosted by me, Andy Scullin. New episodes are available every week wherever you stream podcasts. If you'd like to help support the show, please like and subscribe wherever you are listening. Or you could buy me a
[email protected] unsigned 518 if you would like to advertise on the show, send me an email at unsigned518mail.com and to be a guest on the show, reach out to me through Instagram at unsigned518.
Take care of one another and I'll see you next week.
[00:32:52] Speaker C: And.
