CONCERT – 6 p.m. Get out for fun concert featuring The Legendary Wailers and guest starring Hanzolo. All ages welcome. Tickets, $10/person. Proof of full vaccination or negative C-19 test required. Masks will also be required. Foothills Performing Art Center, Oneonta. 607-432-2941 or visit www.facebook.com/DestinationOneonta/
The Community Arts Network of Oneonta had a fundraiser Saturday, Sept. 18, for the 2022 City of the Hills Festival.
It was billed as a block party and it had that feel with music being played by Jump the Shark and Hanzolo, as well as craft beers being served provided by Roots Brewery. There was also a silent auction and a raffle.
With the arrival of fall, many organizations are being innovative, hosting events safely despite the rise of the Delta variant. Destination Oneonta is no exception.
Friday, Oct. 15, at the Foothills Performing Arts and Civic Center, D.O. will host a concert with the Legendary Wailers and the Cooperstown-based band Hanzolo.
On Oct. 16, they will hold a “Harvest Party” at Oneonta’s Neahwa Park.
BACK TO SCHOOL – All Day. Students return to school.
LAKEFRONT CONCERT – 7 – 8:30 p.m. 3 local organizations collaborate to present this years Lakefront Concert Series. This week enjoy a performance of local favorite, Hanzolo. Lakefront Park, Cooperstown. Visit www.wearecooperstown.com
FIRE PIT FRIDAYS – 7 – 10 p.m. Get out and enjoy a fun night around the fire with friends, drinks and music. This week features Hanzolo, alternative funk. Brewery Ommegang, 656 Co.Hwy. 33, Cooperstown. 607-280-2900 or visit www.ommegang.com/event/fire-pit-fridays-2021-2/
VIRTUAL CONCERT – 7 p.m. Dance to local alt rock band Hanzolo in the safety of your home this Cooperstown Winter Carnival. Visit www.cooperstownwintercarnival.com for info.
COVID-19 TESTING – 8 a.m. Free rapid testing for people with no symptoms of Covid-19. Appointments required. Oneonta Health Center, 125 Main St., Oneonta. 607-433-6510 or visit www.bassett.org/covid-19
ART EXHIBIT – 4 – 7 p.m. Stop at airy gallery to view exhibit by local artist ‘George Hymas: Spontaneous & Deliberate. ’ Hymas uses visionary, colorful sculpture from castoffs like construction debris, twisted trees, spent bullets, more. The Art Garage, middle bay, 689 Beaver Meadow Rd., Cooperstown. 607-547-5327 or visit www.facebook.com/TheArtGarageCooperstown/
CELEBRATION – 5 p.m. Start a safe & sober New Years celebration with parade down Main St. followed by poetry readings, festival featuring live music, games, dancing, & special guest Anthony Eardley, Oneonta’s American Ninja Warrior. Then first ever talent show featuring $1000 prize at 7:30, then black-light after-party featuring entertainment by Cosmic Karma Fire Spinners. Foothills Performing Arts Center, Oneonta. 607-431-2080 or visit www.facebook.com/FNOneonta/
Hanzolo brought the crowd to the stage and got them dancing at Albany’s annual Pearlpalooza festival. From left are band members James Matson, Nick Summers, Joey Katz, and Carl and Jack Loewenguth. (Ian Austin/AllOTSEGO.com)
Editor’s Note: This article was first published in last week’s Hometown Oneonta and The Freeman’s Journal. Click here to subscribe online.
Brothers Carl, right, and Jack Loewenguth get their groove on
ALBANY – Driving to the PearlPalooza festival Saturday, Sept. 14, in downtown Albany, members of alt-funk band Hanzolo heard a familiar song come over the radio.
“WEQX was playing ‘Not Easy’,” said guitarist Carl Loewenguth. “I got chills. I turned and high-fived Nick” – Nick Summers, keyboardist and trumpet player. “It was a big moment for us.”
In August, the Cooperstown-based alt-funk band won two Battle of the Bands contests at the Skyloft nightclub at the Crossgates Mall – that won them the prestigious opening spot at PearlPalooza, last weekend’s annual Albany music festival.
“I was intimidated because the other bands were crazy-good,” said Loewenguth.
Hanzolo brought the crowd to the stage and got them dancing at Albany’s annual Pearlpalooza festival. From left are band members James Matson, Nick Summers, Joey Katz, and Carl and Jack Loewenguth. (Ian Austin/AllOTSEGO.com)
Editor’s Note: The next chance to see Hanzolo locally is Friday, Sept. 20, at Brewery Ommegang’s Fire Pit.
Brothers Carl, right, and Jack Loewenguth get their groove on
ALBANY – Driving to the PearlPalooza festival Saturday, Sept. 14, in downtown Albany, members of alt-funk band Hanzolo heard a familiar song come over the radio.
“WEQX was playing ‘Not Easy’,” said guitarist Carl Loewenguth. “I got chills. I turned and high-fived Nick” – Nick Summers, keyboardist and trumpet player. “It was a big moment for us.”
In August, the Cooperstown-based alt-funk band won two Battle of the Bands contests at the Skyloft nightclub at the Crossgates Mall – that won them the prestigious opening spot at PearlPalooza, last weekend’s annual Albany music festival.
“I was intimidated because the other bands were crazy-good,” said Loewenguth.
Crazy-good, sure, but not as good as Hanzolo.
“We won because we were a different kind of band than the others,” he said. “We’re funkier, dancier, and our fans really came out to support us. That really shows the judges.”
Fans Ben Breiten and Dash Keiler show off a light-up stage sign.
Hanzolo’s earliest incarnations came out of Cooperstown High School, where Loewenguth, Summers and James Matson (trombone) formed their first band, Cheese of the Misty Ceremony.
“We put the word ‘cheese’ into a random band name generator,” said Carl. “That was the first time we played a live show.”
Meanwhile, Joey Katz (saxophone) Nate Olmstead (Drums) and Carl’s brother Jack (bass), formed a jazz outfit called Goats with Narcolepsy.
They all graduated and went to college, but after graduation, back in Cooperstown, they formed Hanzolo in 2015. “We got back together and decided to take it seriously,” he said.
“Hanzolo is really just a melding of Goats and Cheese folks,” said Katz.
Their first major live show was the 2016 Cooptoberfest, and along the way, they added a second drummer, Sebastian Green, a Milford native. Though they initially started with covers, they soon began writing their own music.
“We all have similar tastes in music,” said Carl. “Jack and I grew up listening to Stevie Wonder and Paul Simon, so that’s ingrained in us. It’s jazz and soul with a little weirdness.”
from back left, Joey Katz, Sebastian Green, Nathanial Olmstead, Nick Summers. front left, Carl Loewenguth, Jack Loewenguth and James Matson.
Similar tastes, even, in childhood pastimes. “We do a cover of the music for the character Pablo from the video game ‘Backyard Baseball’,” said Katz. “He’s the best player!”
The name comes from a combination of the ‘Star Wars’ character Han Solo and ‘Kill Bill’ character Hattori Hanzo. “For legal reason, we say it’s from ‘Kill Bill’,” joked Katz.
They bill themselves as “Upstate funk” or “Alt-funk.” “Even our covers fall into that mold,” said Jack. “Sebastian wanted us to play Justin Timberlake’s ‘My Love’ and he laid down this entirely different beat.”
According to Katz, Loewenguth writes “99.9 percent” of the songs, but he and Olmstead both contribute. “They’re all a little different, but they work in the same mold,” he said.
They released their debut album, “Table Butter” earlier this year. “A friend of ours came up with the title,” said Matson. “He described our sound as smooth enough to spread, but hard enough to hold together.”
Dwynn Golden, Carl and Jack’s mom, and Hanzolo manager Sierra Sangetti Daniels, dance to the music.
The album is available on streaming platforms, including Spotify and iTunes, and in June, they shot a video for “Not Easy.”
“That song has a really romantic premises, to just keep dancing,” said Loewenguth. “We shot it at Innerskate 88, and the Hill City Rollers were our extras! The whole shoot was so fun.”
Katz lives in Boston and Green lives in Brooklyn, so they join the band when they can. “It’s just amazing playing with these guys, so I try to make it up as much as possible,” he said.
They’ll perform at Brewery Ommegang’s Firepit Friday on Sept. 20, and at the Schenectady County Funk N’ Jazz Festival on Saturday, Sept. 21 at Gateway Park.
And as winter settles in, they’re take a break from touring to work on their sophomore album. “We’ve got 15 new songs,” said Loewenguth.
To cheering crowds, Hanzolo, the Cooperstown band on the make, ends its set a few minutes ago at PearlPalooza, the downtown Albany music festival underway today. The band qualified for today’s main stage by winning radio station WEQX’s Albany-area Battle of the Bands last month at the Crossgates Mall. (Libby Cudmore/AllOTSEGO.com)
ARTS FESTIVAL – 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Fine Arts On The Lawn presents artists showing, selling works, hosting demonstrations, more. Concurrent with exhibits “Made in New York: The Art of Wood” & “Keeping It Real” solo exhibit of stone lithography by Amy Silberkleit. Cooperstown Art Association, 22 Main St., Cooperstown. 607-547-9777 or visit www.cooperstownart.com
ARTISANS FEST – 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Find beautiful items hand made by NY artisans, enjoy food, entertainment, more. Lawn, Otsego County Courthouse, 193 Main St., Cooperstown. 607-547-9983 or visit www.cooperstownartisanfestival.info
Hanzolo, the popular Cooperstown band, won WEQX’s Battle of the Bands last night at the Skyloft in Albany. The win gets them a spot at PearlPalooza, downtown Albany’s free music festival Sept. 14; they’ll perform at 1 p.m. The local band consists of Carl Loewenguth, vocals, guitar; Nick Summers, trumpet, keys; Jack Loewenguth, bass; Sebastian Green, drums; Nate Olmstead, aux percussion, drums; Joey Katz, sax, keys, and James Matson, trombone.
Artist May-Britt Joyce holds up an original painting of swimmers at the village’s Fairy Spring Park that will be sold at silent auction during 80th anniversary of the park’s opening 7-8:30 p.m. Friday at the East Lake Road facility. The artist began the painting from a kayak offshore from the park. The local fun band Hanzolo will perform, and Stewart’s will provide free ice-cream floats. Public welcome.
