The Vindys Recording Live Album at Westside Bowl
By Guy D’Astolfo
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – The Vindys are a band that has to be seen in concert to be fully appreciated, and fans of the Youngstown-based rockers have been clamoring for a live album.
The wait will soon be over.
The band is filming and recording its Saturday show at Westside Bowl for a live CD/DVD package slated for release in the first part of next year. The goal is to capture the band in its natural setting: on stage at a rock ’n’ roll club.
“Fans have been requesting that we release some live material since we have such a great dynamic on stage, and this seemed like a great opportunity,” says Vindys singer Jackie Popovec. “It will be great to have documentation of what the full band can do in a live setting.”
Advance tickets for the all-ages show are $10 and can be purchased here. Tickets at the door are $12.
The Vindys perform with a three-piece horn section on special occasions, and that will be the case for the West Side Bowl show. The full contingent, which Popovec refers to as “the family,” beefs up the act’s sound.
“The horns are integral to the complete sound,” she says. “People will ask ‘why didn’t you bring them this time’ once they’ve seen them before, and the reason is we’re just not always able to. But I am so excited every time they are involved. It makes me feel complete when they are on stage.”
Opening the show will be Erica Blinn of Nashville and Brandi Booth, a Youngstown native who now lives in Atlanta.
“We have fantastic openers,” says Popovec. “Erica will do an acoustic set. She is kind of rootsy, Americana.
“And Brandi just recorded a new EP, which I am in love with,” continues Popovec. “It’s a little bit R&B and soul and even some rapping in there. It’s going to be an eclectic show.”
Handling the recording and filming Saturday will be Forty Two Event Production of Youngstown. Popovec says the company knows The Vindys well and has worked with the band in the past.
“We’ll give them a set list and they’ll know exactly what lighting to use for what songs, and what to do as far as pushing up the sound in the mix,” she says.
Before the live album/DVD is released, The Vindys will release a studio effort with several new songs.
The band is currently putting the finishing touches on the EP, and hopes to release it before the end of the year. “I keep saying that, so fingers crossed,” says Popovec.
The first single, “Morning Light,” will be released next week.
“We’ve been performing these new songs at our recent shows and they’ve gotten a great response,” says guitarist John Anthony. “We’re really excited to get some new material out there that represents our current tastes and interests.”
Those who attend the West Side Bowl show can expect to hear the new material.
After a busy year, The Vindys are winding down a touring schedule that hit several states and some large festivals
“One of the bigger ones was Summerfest in Milwaukee, where we won the Emerging Artist Fan Favorite award for the day,” Popovec says. “We also played New York, did our first full-band show in Nashville, Knoxville (Tenn.) and Chicago, and will play Philadelphia and New Jersey at the end of this month.”
As the band widens its footprint, its also becoming more entrenched in northeastern Ohio.
“Within the last year, Cleveland has been the biggest change for us,” Popovec says. “We’ve been playing a lot at the Music Box and House of Blues, and internet radio there is on our side. In sheer numbers, I’ve seen changes. It’s getting like Youngstown has been and I love going back there.”
You know you’re connecting with a city when you see fans at shows singing the words to songs, and that has been happening in Cleveland, she notes.
“That is the craziest thing,” says Popovec, “when people are singing or calling out songs of mine that we hadn’t played in a while. It’s crazy, because I wrote those words and we put together that music. I’ve had people come up to me and say we’ve helped them through tough times, and I’ve affected them.”
Akron and Canton have also become home turf for The Vindys in the past year. The act played The Auricle in the Football Hall of Fame City last weekend as opener for The Clarks, and has opened for Michael Stanley and Donnie Iris in that city earlier this year.
Pittsburgh has been a tougher market to crack, but The Vindys took a huge step with their video for “Are You Ready?” which was played dozens of times this year during Pittsburgh Pirates telecasts as part of a series that features area bands.
The Vindys and The Clarks will again team up on Nov. 29 at Jergel’s, in the north hills of Pittsburgh, where the video for the Pirates was shot in the spring.
Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
