Buffalo Rising Online

Susan Marie

Lenny Revell hails from Buffalo, NY and began classical piano at the age of nine. Seven years later, he wrote his first song and therafter began singing lessons. His first CD “Lessons” was engineered at Pine Audio Studios with Dave Camarda in Williamsville in 2007.

Lenny Revell is solo on piano, vocals and lyrics, yet often has a band behind him. The musicians are diverse. He has performed with: Tim Webb (Gruvology), Jason Neubauer (That 80’s Hair Band) , Ric Stave (Disco Duck), Dave Camarda, Larry Perry, Amanda Nagurney, Brian Seeger, Mark Verdino and Tim Collins. Lenny has been featured in WNY Music, ArtVoice, The Buffalo News, Rochestor At Home, Keyboard Magazine and Teen Ink Magazine.

His song entitled “Who Am I?” has been featured in Regal, Lowes and AMC movie theatres nationwide during the release of Spider Man 3 in May of 2007. Another track o…

Annie Schentag

After traveling extensively throughout North America, photographer Viktoria Ciostek has produced a body of work that captures an aesthetic reminiscent of Buffalo. In "Trash and Treasure (Life on Forgotten Frontiers)," her images focus on subjects that have been "left to rot beneath a shadow of unappreciated neglect." By examining the beauty hidden in dilapidated buildings and discarded objects, these ten photographs illustrate human patterns of abandonment and shifting cultural values. These visual themes seem particularly appropriate for Buffalo, suggesting a fresh appreciation of our surroundings, be it a renovated cathedral or a crumbling factory. Buffalo's history seems to breed a personal understanding of both ruins and renewal, creating a local form of respect for the kind of beauty that links those two extremes.

Ciostek's exhibit, to be displayed May 10 at Buffal…

Anthony Swinnich

Back when video games were still in their infancy, developers relied on whichever computer system they were programming for to create any kind of audio for their games. Today's video games can sound like anything from an orchestra to a jazz band because the audio is pre-recorded and loaded onto a CD, eliminating the need to rely on the limited resources a primitive computer provides.

Those limited resources forced programmers to think carefully about what sort of music would play during their games, and there are beautiful compositions hidden in the bleeps and bloops because of this. These songs were so well written that many people feel a nostalgic connection with them today. Enter Armcannon – Buffalo's own video game rock maestros. This 5-piece outfit carefully splices many well-recognized video game tunes with elements of metal, jazz and straight-up rock to create a s…

Elena Cala Buscarino

Buffalo born artist Ralph Sirianni will have an opening reception this Friday, May 9. A student of Walter Prochownik at the University at Buffalo, Sirianni describes himself as an abstract expressionist who lives and breathes art.

Indeed, everything Ralph does is art related, but his collective endeavors run the gamut from poetic to scientific. A Marine Corp veteran himself, Sirianni's day job is that of art therapist at the Veterans Administration hospital. In keeping with sharing his art, he is also an instructor of portrait drawing through Ken-Ton Continuing Education.

On the flip side, Sirianni is a police volunteer, doing sketches of criminal suspects for the local news as well as the national television show, America's Most Wanted, when he was asked to draw a 10-year beyond composite of bike path rapist, Altimio Sanchez, based on the description of a past 14-ye…

Anthony Swinnich

It's not often you hear about someone moving from California to Buffalo to pursue a career in music, but Bernice Marie has done just that. A Niagara Falls native, she moved to Palm Springs when she turned 18, but ultimately found herself drawn back to Buffalo's closer-knit community.

Bernice played shows for about a year in California, but felt like she was lost in the shuffle.

“LA and Palm Springs are very overrated as far as music. You're just a small fish in a huge pond there. It turns out that when you leave Buffalo, you come to realize that you really love Buffalo. I mean, I really have honest 'Buffalove,'” she said.

She feels that Buffalo provides a better opportunity for artists, among other things. It's not like Bernice didn't get a fair shake in LA, where she played large venues like the Airliner and the Wire. She simply prefers the Queen City.

“We ha…

Susan Marie

The next up-and-coming jazz and blues artist with a little bit of soul can be heard on “Blind Faith” by Melissa Kate. Van Taylor, Flick Williams and Melissa Kate through TMI International produced this 8 track solo debut. Recorded at Pharoah studios through Van Taylor Production, this compilation showcases various renowned artists.

Melissa studied Barbershop, Classical, Opera and Musical Theatre. She was trained classically by Mr. Robert Wells and studied with Mr. Amuso who provided her with the basics of Jazz. Melissa became engulfed in the NYC Jazz scene and has performed at the World Trade Center, Swing 46, Pops Is Tops, the American Lindy Hop Championships, and at Louie Armstrong’s house.

Melissa Kate is an international vocalist and began her artistic development with the award winning Taylor Made Jazz through Van Taylor Production. She is a pow…

Doug Sitler

Big Orbit Gallery, located on Essex Street on Buffalo’s West Side, has long been a haven for emerging artistic talent and mind-bending art. Tucked away in the confines of the Essex Arts Center, one never knows what they’ll experience when walking through the doors of the intimate and celebrated art space. This Saturday night from 8 to 11PM, video artist Geoffrey Alan Rhodes continues that tradition with “Double Narcissism.”

Last night I stopped by Big Orbit to see what Mr. Rhodes has in store for the exhibition that will run through June. Geoffrey – who actually goes by the name Alan – took time out from installing the show to talk about “Double Narcissism.” As we sat on the gallery’s stairs talking, the engaging Seattle native, who now resides in Buffalo was clear about why he lives here.

“Buffalo is a great city for the arts,” said Rhodes, “I feel very…