April 18, 1999

Sounding Board

SOUNDING BOARD featuring Bryan Thomas originally aired the weekend of May 7, 1999, and repeated the weekend of October 15, 1999. For more info, visit the Sounding Board web site.

Bryan Thomas Rocks Sounding Board; Capital Region Gets a Taste of 'Mama' on Mother's Day Weekend

[April 28, 1999 -- Albany, NY] Fresh from a knockout performance in New York City opening for acoustic assassin Hamell on Trial, singer-songwriter Bryan Thomas rocked the Time-Warner studios in Albany last Sunday with an inspired set for a taping of Sounding Board, the popular cable television series spotlighting music makers in New York's Capital Region.

The program airs Mother's Day Weekend on Time-Warner Cable Channel 9, premiering Friday May 7 at 8 pm. It repeats four times: Saturday May 8 at 10 am and 8 pm, and Sunday May 9 at 10 am and 10 pm.

Thomas' set was a solo-acoustic celebration of songs from his recently released debut CD Radio Plastic Jennifer which spent its first three weeks at online distributor CDBaby.com as the No. 1 seller out of 650 artists. Jennifer is now holding steady in the number No. 3 slot. The "acoustified punk pop soul" album is also available in the Capital Region at Borders, Last Vestige, Media Play and Music Shack.

Many from the Albany music scene turned out for the taping, including Norman Kee (Decadent Royals), Paddy Kilrain, John Powhida (The Staziaks), Mother Judge, Rosanne Raneri, Meg Hutchinson, Mario Sevayega, Matt Loiacono, Hoby Ebert (Moondog Studios) and of course, the show's host, Amy Abdou. Poets A.C. Everson ("Breaking My Art") and Freddie Lyles were also in the house, as well as indie film producer Carl W. Liss and WMHT/Channel 17 personalities Gary Carter, Marianne Potter and Jim Salengo.

Post-performance, many in the audience noted the irony that the show would air on Mother's Day, with its inclusion of the hilarious 'Mama,' a bluesy number in which Thomas confesses to his girlfriend that he is more fond of her mother. (More irony: Thomas was born on Mother's Day.) A studio version of 'Mama' appears on some copies of the new CD "Radio Plastic Jennifer" as a hidden track.

WT3 Records extends much props to the many who attended the taping - and to the Sounding Board production team for making things run so smoothly. Peace.