1/17/10
Half Step's return to the BrickHouse Brewery was a big one with many highlights. Smoking versions of "West LA Fadeaway", "Cassidy" & "Music Never Stopped" in the first set and the second set saw the long overdue debut of "Help On The Way" > "Slipknot" & "Crazy Fingers". Thanks to all who made it out and a very special thanks to Cindy Lopez for singing most of the show with us! The next show will be our debut at P.J. Finnegan's in Levittown 2/6/10.
12/31/09
Happy New Year to all the Half Step families, fans and friends and thank you for making this past year a special one for us. We look forward to many heated jams and high times in the Coming year! Peace, be safe and see you at the Brickhouse on January 16th
12/24/09
Merry Christmas and a Happy, Healthy New Year! Weir back in action Jan. 16th at The Brickhouse Brewery in Patchogue. Peace to all and to all a good night!
11/21/09
My head is still ringing from last night's show at O'Reilly's which was overall a hot night! First set highlights were "Half Step" , "Peggy-O" and "Bertha" and gems like "Terrapin" and "Morning Dew" graced the second set. The new faces in the crowd were receptive and thanks to our regular fans who made it out. Be sure to join Half Step when we return to the Brickhouse Brewery on December 19th. Also, visit us on our Facebook page for added videos and info.
11/15/09
Half Step is gearing up for their maiden voyage to O'Reilly's in Oakdale, NY on 11/20. This show is not one to be missed! Come down, shake your bones and help show this new venue what this band and our fans are made of. New tunes have been added to the ever growing set list and we've been taking into account all of your requests. The band members have a few of their own and hopefully we will get to them all! See ya there!
10/31/09
Toomey's was off the hook last night! Thanks to all the good folks who came out to boogie down with us on this special gig. And a very special thanks to Dave Diamond for filling in on drums and vocals. Dave and Tom go way back to their days with The Underdogs and it was great to see them play together again.
Drummer Ron Cohen returns at the next show - Half Step's debut at O'Reilly's- Oakdale, NY Friday, Nov 20th. See ya there!
10/29/09
Great fun was had by all last Saturday night at the Grey Horse Tavern in Bayport, NY. Despite the torrential rain that fell, the crowd managed to make it hot night and the band responded gratefully. Half Step is anticipating another fierce evening of Dead jamming at Tommeys in Amityville, NY this Friday, October 30th 9:30pm. Come and join the party!
9/28/09
A quick welcome to Tom San Filippo who will be stepping into the lead guitarist/vocalist role! Tom is an accomplished musician who has been on the circuit for 25 years and we couldn't be more grateful for him coming on board. He brings a style we haven't seen yet, his keen sense of harmony and showmanship is going to push us forward as a band. Come check it out on October 24th at the Grey Horse Tavern in Bayport, 9:30 start! Go to calendar page for more details!
9/4/09
"Summers fade and roses die...."
We'd like to thank everyone who came out this summer for their continued support. Our show at the Village Gazebo in Lindenhurst was a huge success and definitely the highlight of the summer. That being said, the Halfstep line up continues to evolve and revolve but is not ready to dissolve! Moving forward into September we're stoked to have Tom San Filippo stepping into the lead guitar/vocal spot. Tom is a native Long Islander whose been on the scene for 25 years. His accomplishments are too much to list here so you can check it out for yourself at www.fliptrax.com. Our old friend Ron Cohen is back on the drums, back where he belongs!
On the 19th of September we're playing The Rick Pabon Benefit at the Crazy Donkey in Farmingdale, L.I. Rick tragically passed away on June 13th, leaving behind his wife Jill and their children Miles, age 5 and Maddie, who was just a newborn at the time of his passing. Rick grew up in Nassau County and was a graduate of Holy Trinity High School, Class of 1991. He loved many and was loved by even more it seems. He was a Marine, a husband, a doting father, and a loyal friend and an avid music fan. The spirituality he acquired during his short stay on earth seems to have been passed on to all his family and friends who will love him forever. I think he even helped Some Softball Team win a Championship recently???? Anyway, the Benefit taking place at the Crazy Donkey on the 19th is gonna raise money for his family, as well as celebrate the life of this individual who we should all strive to emulate! Tickets are 50.00 and this is money that will change lives. We hope you can get involved. Email us here on the Halfstep website and we'll arrange for tickets......We hope you can get involved! Peace
8/13/09
We just wanted to thank everyone who came out for the 2nd Annual Jerry Garcia Musical Celebration in Lindenhurst on 8/8/09! It was a huge success, according to the Town officials it was their largest crowd to date for the Lindenhurst Summer Concert Series! This Saturday we're playing our first show down on the Jersey Shore in Somers Point at The Pearl. Much thanks to everyone for their continued support, and we'll see you soon!
7/10/09
Halfstep played it's first show at Munchaba Lounge in Levittown, L.I. on July 9th, 2004. Since then, the line up has changed with a rotating cast of players due to differences in ideas, clashes of personalities, family obligations bruised egos, etc..... It has never been about any one person, it's always been about the power of the songs and the joy it brings to people who dig the music of the Grateful Dead, and that will continue! We lost a key player this week as is evident from the e-mail that went out recently. That being said, Halfstep is very much an active band, and all the shows scheduled will be played. So, back through the revolving door of the band is original member Jason Ferguson to fill out the lead guitarist position for the Brickhouse Brewery show, Gary"Keys"Knipple in the hot seat on piano, Christian Harper on drums, You know him, you love him Greg Smith on bass and Scott Bardolf on rhythm guitar and vocals. It will certainly be a different flavor with the addition of Jason, but look for a tighter, more country and blues based sound in the songs. In the meantime we're licking our wounds, jumping into rehearsals and getting ready for all of our upcoming shows..... As the mighty maestro once sang..... "Whistle through your teeth and spit, 'cause it's alright, we will get by!"
4/2/09
Spring is finally here and that means the Dead will be rolling into town in a couple of weeks!!! We're pretty busy through April. This Saturday, April 4th we're back in Amityville at Toomeys, show starts at 9:00 p.m. The following Saturday, the 11th, we're back at CJ Wellingtons in Franklin Square, and the 18th we're at JD's Place in Farmingdale.
On a side note, Andy Trister is playing some shows with The Ronnie Penque Band. Ronnie is the bassist in New Riders of the Purple Sage and when he's not playing with David Nelson, he's working with his own band. Check out www.ronniepenque.com for more details.
Following the Friday night Dead show at Nassau Coliseum (4/24), Scott will be sitting in with the JFP Band who's hosting a "Dead After-Party" at CJ Wellingtons in Franklin Square. It is exactly 5.1 miles down Hempstead Tpke. from the Coliseum! Spread the word, we're looking to blow the place up!
3/11/09
We want to thank everyone that came to Mulcahy's last week to support the JOHN THEISSEN'S CHILDRENS FOUNDATION. Many thanks to the JFP for opening the show as well. A lot of money was raised for a good cause - and there was some good music happenin' too! Next stop - The Grey Horse in Bayport. Great place, good food and atmoshpere - hope to see you there.
01/17/09
Much thanks to everyone who braved the cold last Saturday and came on down to Farrells! We had a blast, and based on the amount of people shaking their bones it appeared ya'll had a fun time too! That second set of the night was a ton of fun! Weir hoping to see a bunch of people turn out for CJ Wellingtons, that's shaping up to be a raucous evening.... Lots of old friends, good company and a smokin' band all but guarantee a good night! See ya Saturday night!
12/31/08
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!
12/25/08
We'd like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas, a Happy Chanukah and a Very Healthy, Happy New Year!
And with the New Year, we'd also like to welcome Larry Menaker on drums! Larry's talent and love of the Grateful Dead and music in general, is going to be a very positive addition to the 2009 Halfstep line-up!
We're taking it easy until after the holidays and will be back in action on Jan. 17th at K.J. Farrells in Bellmore, L.I. w/ an 8:00 p.m. start!!!!
P.S.
Check out Larrys photos for some very cool pix of him playing w/ the Boys!!!! As well as the video footage of him jamming with the band on Playin' in the Band!
11/17/08
We'd like to thank everyone who braved the rain this past Saturday and came out to Toomeys on the Crik! We had a blast and are looking forward to our return there on Feb. 7th! We're also getting ready for our Saturday, November 29th show at KJ Farrells in Bellmore. Hopefully everyone will be recovered from their Wednesday before Thanksgiving hangover, their tryptophan turkey hangover, Black Friday shopping and be ready to get down with Halfstep on Saturday night! See ya then......
10/24/08
"RIP" Merl Saunders 2/14/34-10/24/08
9/18/08
We'd really like to thank everyone who came out to KJ Farrells in Bellmore the other night. The joint was jumpin'! We truly appreciate it when our "regulars" come to shows, you know who you are. We're trying to keep it fresh, so that's why we've been adding new material and will continue to do so!
**Please visit our new Audio Page**
8/9/08
" There's alot of spaces and advances between The Carter Family, Buddy Holly and, say, Ornette Coleman, alot of universes, but he filled them all without being a member of any school. His playing was moody, awesome, sophisticated, hypnotic and subtle. There's no way to convey the loss. It just digs down really deep."
Bob Dylan August 10, 1995
8/7/08
What's up ya'll? We've got seven or eight shows lined up taking us right into November. Next up, August 9th in Lindenhurst, L.I., always a bittersweet day, so we're honored to have been hired by the Village of Lindenhurst to commemorate it. Check out the website for more details on upcoming shows at www.halfstepgd.com
06/11/08
Firstly, Happy Birthday to Greg and a BIG Happy 40th Birthday to Ron "Ron the Drummer" Cohen! You made it.
Want to thank Beau out in Greenlawn for having us last week, sorry we couldn't play longer, we just didn't have it in us, especially Jeff our keyboardist, who was playing his third gig of the day!
Our next outing will be at Chesterfields in Huntington, L.I. on June 20th. This is on a Friday night, a nice break from our usual Saturday night gigs! Hope to see some old friends on this summer solstice weekend!!!!!!
5/13/08
First off, thanks to The Brothers of the Road for a fun night in NYC, and thanks to all who showed up. It was nice to see old friends from our American Spirits days! May that old hole in the wall rest in peace.
We'll be cranking it up this Saturday in Patchogue at the Brickhouse Brewery. If you've never been, it's a great place for freshly brewed beer, good food, good people and a double dose of Grateful Dead music! Show starts at 10:00 p.m. sharp.
4/22/08
"Will we leave this place an empty stone? Or that shining ball of blue.....we can call our home?."
Happy Earth Day! HalfStep is ushering in spring with a special show on May 3rd in NYC @ Connollys on W.46th St.! We'll be playing with The Brothers of the Road Band! And with the unfortunate cancellation of the annual Allmans run at the Beacon, this is a great chance to get your Allman Brothers fix, sprinkled in with a little vintage Greatful Dead! It's gonna be a fun night for sure!
Also a special thanks to Steve and Scott for their generous recordings of the band! Thanks fellas! And thanks to everyone who came out to Artanas, look for that video footage to be added on the site soon.
3/28/08
Hello to everyone in Israel, Europe, Australia and all the other far off places where, believe it or not, you're checking us out, downloading videos and browsing the site! Drop us a line, let us know who you are.
For all of you in North America who come to HalfStep shows, thanks for your continued support! We're really excited for our April 12th show at Artanas in Wantagh. It's going to be professionally filmed and recorded for our EPK( Electronic Press Kit) so we'd love to have as many family and friends as possible to make it a special night! The footage will be going on YouTube, our MySpace page etc... It's gonna rock. Weir adding new material to keep things interesting, including new Dylan tunes, Garcia Band tunes and the like. So..... we humbly ask you, please come to Artanas and get down with us!
2/19/08
Hello Grateful Dead Fans! '08 is off to a nice start! Last Saturdays show at The Brickhouse Brewery was a really fun night! The joint was jumping, the staff had a blast, so it was a win/win situation all around. We were also asked to be part of a L.I. Blues Festival taking place at The Brickhouse Brewery in early June, more to come on that!
We're also pleased to have Jeff Pearlman on board for all our shows through May. Jeff brings a beautiful dynamic to the band with his soulful keyboard/organ skills. He's a busy guy, so he's on loan to us until May, when he hits the road with his talented wife Katie, and their aptly named original band, The Katie Pearlman Band. Check out www.myspace.com/katiepearlmanmusic for tour dates and samples of their original music. See ya'!
1/16/08
What's up everyone? Happy New Year and all that stuff! '08 is looking like it's gonna be real busy for us. We've got shows booked right through until May, so we hope you can make some of them. We're really excited to be going back to the Brickhouse Brewery, a really cool place for music, food and microbrews! We're also psyched to be playing with The Brothers of the Road! N.Y's premiere Allman Brothers Tribute band (check out their site at www.brothersoftheroadband.com) That will be Saturday, May 3rd at Connolly's, located on W.45th St. between Broadway and 6th Ave. More details to come on that show! Hope to see you soon!
11/14/07
So our post Phil and Friends after-parties went over real well here in NYC on Nov. 11th and up in Glens Falls on 10/20! Thanks to everyone who came out and made it possible! Much thanks to Jeff and Katie Pearlman for the work they've done with us! Hopefully there will be more of that in the future. We've got nothing booked until January, but check back in as that might change. Happy Holidays!
8/13/07
As the summer winds down, we're gearing up for some interesting shows. But first, Joe Chirco has been tapped to play drums in the band currently opening for American Idol winner, Taylor Hicks. He'll be playing at the Mid-Hudson Civic Center in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. Thursday, August 16th! As he steps aside to focus on that, Ron "Ron the drummer" Cohen will fill his shoes ( which is no easy task)! Ron brings to the table some stellar lead and harmony vocals and we're pleased to have him in the fold! We'll end the summer at the world famous Memory Motel in Montauk, L.I. on August 24th! Always a swinging time! September marks our first appearance at the Brickhouse Brewery in Pathchogue, L.I. October brings us into Grateful Dead country when we venture up to Glens Falls, N.Y. when we will host a "Phil Lesh and Friends After Party" on the 20th! No rest for the wicked! Hope to see you at some of these dates!
5/14/07
Thanks to all who helped make the 30th Anniversary Cornell Show a huge success! Namely, Alan Bigelow and Dahdang Productions, Peter Martin and the staff at The Triad Theatre, all the musicans who participated at the show and all the music lovers who showed up!! We had a blast. We're excited to have just added a show at the Brickhouse Brewery in Patchogue on Sept. 14th. It's one of the few remaining cool spots on Long Island that has great food, brews and live music! See ya soon!
4/29/07
Thanks to all who came down to the Twisted Shamrock the other night! Your support is greatly appreciated! As a reminder, the "Cornell 30th Anniversary Show" at the Triad Theatre on Friday, May 11th, starts at 9:00 pm. The admission is FREE! However, there is a two drink minimum. Each band had to submit a choice for which songs they'd like to perform. Looks like we'll be doing Lazy Lightning >Supplication in the first set, and Estimated Prophet in the second set. Should be a fun night, and hope to see you there!
4/11/07
What's up ya'll? Some exciting news on the HalfStep front! We've been asked to participate in a 30th Anniversary Show celebrating the legendary Grateful Dead performance at Cornell Universitys Barton Hall, which took place on May 8th, 1977! The anniversary show will take place on May 11th, 2007 at the Triad Theartre in NYC, located on W. 72nd St. This is a free show and will start at 9:00 p.m. HalfStep is one of many bands performing that night, and so far, the song roster is not finalized. More info to come!
3/18/07
I'm at a loss for words, but okay, here it goes. If you were with us on St. Patricks Day, you didn't just hear some music, you felt the power and joy that's derived from these tunes! Andy Tristers guitar playing whipped the crowd into a psychedelic jig. Joe Chircos drum solo mesmerized not only the entire bar, but also had Scotts unborn son dancing in his mothers womb! Kudos to Jeff Pearlman for stepping into the keyboard slot, unrehearsed, singing the the Garcia tunes, sounding like Brent on the keys/organ! Gregs tasteful playing really brought it all together! If you want some more, we'll be cranking it up again this Friday night, 3/23, at Bartinis in Babylon Village. Go to the calendar page for details! Thanks to all who came out for our first St. Patricks Day show. A good time was had by all, "so it was!"
02/05/07
Well, we were looking for a good turn out the other night and we got it! Thanks to you all for braving the cold. My ears are still ringing from the first set closer, Music Never Stopped! That got a few of you up on your feet! The Estimated>Eyes to start second set really got the people shaking their bones! It was a beautiful thing to see three generations of Deadheads dancing away! Stay tuned for more sight updates and added shows! See you on St. Pattys Day!
"Dress myself in GREEN!"
1/31/07
So, we're all having a ton of fun! And we're looking for a good turn out at The Twisted Shamrock this Saturday night, Feb. 3rd 10:30p.m. We've weathered the storm of last year and emerged with our tightest outfit to date! We're honored to have Joe Chirco on drums. His career spans 25 years and he's played with such greats as Tony Trishka, Barry Sless, Derek Trucks, Peter Rowan, Mookie Seigel, The Zen Tricksters, and David Nelson.... I know.... pretty cool indeed! (For more info visit www.jchirco.com) And if that wasn't enough, Andy Trister on lead guitar falls into our lap! If it's been a while folks, it's time to check us out again! You know who you are! Many thanks to everyone that came down to Murphys. That was a nice way to start the year and it seemed like a good time was had by all!
We've got two shows lined up on L.I. We'll be at the Twisted Shamrock in Babylon on Sat. February 3rd, and.... our first ever St. Patty's Day gig at Pistachios in Lindenhurst on ...you guessed it, March 17th, which happens to be a Saturday night! And you know what that means! Stay tuned, for more shows are bound to pop up!
