December 2025 | MendoWerks

24Dec

By John BarryNo Comments

Features, Music, Uncategorized

Woodstock, NY: Jeffrey Gaines Returns

Jeffrey Gaines By John W. Barry Musician Jeffrey Gaines isn’t much for the holidays. “I don’t do any holidays,” he said. “I don’t celebrate my birthday. I don’t just blindly carry on traditions because they were already going. I don’t join a lot of parties. Valentine's doesn't mean extra love. I love ya all the time. “My birthday, I had nothing to do with it. It’s just a happenstance. I’m lucky, I’m happy that I get to have another one. But I’ll keep it to myself. It’s nobody else’s news.” This honest, authentic and transparent approach to zigging while others zag is reflected in the music that Gaines performs. The creativity he generates is raw, real and ready. His solo, acoustic version of Peter Gabriel’s “In Your Eyes” sizzles and crackles like a roa...

moe. celebrates 35 years of Friendship, Music and Survival

The band moe., left to right, Jim Loughlin, Nate Wilson, Chuck Garvey, Rob Derhak, Al Schnier and Vinnie Amico. Photo by Jamie Howard. By John W. Barry The band moe. two days after Christmas will return to a city in upstate New York for a homecoming performance and banner way to close out the ensemble’s 35th year of making music together as an improvisational collective of inquisitive, creative and funny guys. Asked about that which lies at the heart of moe.’s endurance, drummer Vinnie Amico fired back with a hilarious quip and a laugh. “Stupidity,” he said. “No,” he continued, bringing the conversation back on track. “We really enjoy making music, playing it, playing together, being together, continuing to write good tunes. And at this point, we don’t know how to do...

There’s Nothing Phish-eee Here: Artist’s Proof of ‘New Piece,’ aka The Rhombus, Goes Up for Auction

By John W Barry A timeless piece of art that can hold as much meaning for fans of the band Phish as it does for creative minds around the world is going up for grabs at an online auction set to go live on Monday, Dec. 15—at 4:20 p.m. Call it what you will. “New Piece.” The rhombus. And hail it as a testament to the creative genius of sculptor Tony Smith; or marvel at the inspiration it delivered to Phish co-songwriters Trey Anastasio and Tom Marshall. Hell, if you attended Phish’s 2023-2024 New Year’s Eve concert at Madison Square Garden, you were immersed in an entire world—“Gamehendge”—that unfolded like a rock opera and evolved around a giant rhombus. The actual “New Piece” sculpture sits on a lawn at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, NJ. The IAS is one o...