woodstock Archives | MendoWerks

Broken Axles, Live Radio and Yasgur Road Reunion 2026

20Aug

By Andy GladdingNo Comments

Events, Features

Broken Axles, Live Radio and Yasgur Road Reunion 2026

Nothing says Woodstock weekend quite like breaking an axle on the way to Yasgur’s Farm. That was how my Saturday started. I was headed to Bethel with the KZE Kamper loaded with enough broadcast and recording gear to make turning around not much of an option when the axle decided it had other plans. Fortunately, this is where the music community tends to show what it is made of. Lee Mazzola and Tim Craig from Mazzstock jumped in and helped get me back up and running. This was a shining example of the old GD mantra.. but instead of “strangers helping strangers,” it became “festivals helping festivals. “Jeryl needs you over there, I’m gonna need you next weekend. So get to it,” was the last thing I heard from Lee as I was getting ready to finally hit the road. A few hour...

24Dec

By John BarryNo Comments

Features, Music

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...

Saugerties, NY, Woodstock ’94, Jack Petruzzelli and Celebrating The Local: A Photo Gallery

3Nov

By John BarryNo Comments

Features, Music

Saugerties, NY, Woodstock ’94, Jack Petruzzelli and Celebrating The Local: A Photo Gallery

Singer-songwriter Ginger Winn performs Oct. 26 at The Local in Saugerties, NY. Photo by John W. Barry Saugerties, New York, in 1994 hosted Woodstock '94, a 25th anniversary celebration of the 1969 Woodstock festival. As he was in 1969, Woodstock festival promoter Michael Lang ran the show and, yes, there was plenty of rain and plenty of mud. Saugerties in 2024, in a clever move, hosted a 30th anniversary celebration of Woodstock '94. Yes, that's right, a 30th anniversary celebration of the 25th anniversary celebration of the 1969 Woodstock festival. And yes, doesn't this seem completely appropriate, and doesn't this make total sense for the community where funny man and successful television comedian Jimmy Fallon grew up? Agreed! Saugerties, like Woodstock on the other end of ...

Lost Leaders, featuring Byron Isaacs of The Lumineers, Set for Two-Night Run in Hudson Valley

12Oct

By John BarryNo Comments

Features, Music

Lost Leaders, featuring Byron Isaacs of The Lumineers, Set for Two-Night Run in Hudson Valley

Lost Leaders, Byron Isaacs, left, and Peter Cole. Lost Leaders, the band that includes Byron Isaacs, bass player for The Lumineers, will play two shows in New York’s Hudson Valley come November. This bill also features singer-songwriter Ginger Winn, who offers a compelling edge to just about everything she does. This righteous spectacle of triumph, which will celebrate creative minds that defy description and empower creative abandon, will unfold Nov. 15 at The Falcon in Marlboro, Ulster County; and Nov. 21 at Park Theater in Hudson, NY, Columbia County. Both venues anchor New York’s Hudson Valley, which is home to the Town of Woodstock and gave birth to the famed Hudson River School of Art of generations ago. Peter Cole is the Lost Leaders guitarist, vocalis...

Goo Goo Dolls Continue To Evolve With New Album ‘Chaos In Bloom’

11Aug

By SimonNo Comments

Features, Music

Goo Goo Dolls Continue To Evolve With New Album ‘Chaos In Bloom’

Photo Credit: Claire Marie Vogel Grammy-nominated mainstays Goo Goo Dolls are back with a brand new album. Chaos In Bloom is available everywhere you listen to music. The album marks the beginning of a new chapter for the band as it is the first to be produced by frontman John Rzeznik. Recorded at Dreamland Studios outside of Woodstock, New York, Chaos In Bloom was recorded during the early days of the pandemic. The location, which is as remote as it is rich in historic rock music roots, proved to be the ideal setting. The album carries a live quality that the band captured by blending vintage instruments and gear with cutting-edge recording processes and techniques. https://twitter.com/googoodolls/status/1557940343827337216 Embarrassing Interview Experience Pre-MendoWerk...

New Levon Helm Book Chronicles Midnight Rambles

17Jul

By SimonNo Comments

Music

New Levon Helm Book Chronicles Midnight Rambles

A new book chronicles the legendary Midnight Ramble concerts and the incredible comeback of icon Levon Helm. Writer John W. Barry was given exclusive access to cover the legendary Woodstock concert series. The result is the highly informative Levon Helm Rock Roll & Ramble. Photo Credit: Dino Perrucci / Cover design: Mike Dubois Levon Helm was the drummer, mandolinist, and vocalist for The Band. He would first join The Hawks with Ronny Hawkins in the late 1950s. An outfit of musicians that would go on to serve as the backing band for Bob Dylan in 1965 and 1966. From there they moved to upstate New York and started work on The Basement Tapes the following year. This material would form the foundation of The Band's debut album Music From Big Pink which was released in the summe...