Lisa Forrest
An award winning poet and two-time Pushcart prize nominee, Lisa Forrest has been involved in Hughes’s annual Robot Holiday project since 2010, where she has penned songs with fellow songwriters Jim Whitford (Uncle Cisco’s Nudie Pen, Old Joy), Doug Lambert (Crazy Hearts, Perfect Snow Song), David Mussen (Winter Moon), and Jonathan Hughes (Robot Love). Forrest’s songs are also featured in Robt Holiday’s War of 1812 project, where she collaborates with Jim Whitford (Snake Hill), and Doug Lambert (Sobbing Sophie).
Forrest currently resides in Clinton, N.Y. where she serves as Director of Research & Instruction Services at Hamilton College. Before relocating to Clinton in 2013, Forrest spent twenty years in Buffalo where she performed with the Best-of-Buffalo nominated Shady Grove (along with Nikki Carroll, Sally Fehskens, and Doug Lambert), and the indie folk duo Honey Girl & the Horseshoe Falls (with Doug Lambert). After Shady Grove dissolved in 2010, Lambert encouraged Forrest to record her own originals. Forrest’s first full-length album, Oh Lake Erie (produced by Jonathan Hughes, 2011), was composed almost entirely at a secluded lake cottage just outside the city lights of Buffalo.
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Seamus Gallivan
In addition to freelancing for The Buffalo News, Seamus is a Buffalo repat who founded The Good Neighborhood in 2010 after moving back to The City of Good Neighbors for good. The Good Hood is online with a daily dose of the greater good, and on the town with a cause for every event — such as Robot Holiday Live! and its support of the Food Bank of WNY! For more information, visit. For more information, visit www.thegoodneighborhood.com
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Jonathan Hughes
Jonathan Hughes is a bass player, electronic musician, and graphic designer from Buffalo, NY. In addition to playing bass with many Western New York musicians, he has released numerous CDs of original electronic music, scored two documentaries, and wrote the original Music for “August Evening,” an independent film that won top awards at the 2007 LA Film Festival and Independent Spirit Awards. He also heads up the yearly Robot Holiday project. For more information, visit www.jonathanhughes.com
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Hussalonia
Nominated for nothing and regular recipient of money-saving Valpak coupons, Hussalonia is a pop music cult in Buffalo, NY. The Hussalonia Internet Concourse, conveniently located on the Internet, offers digits upon digits of free digital downloads, which makes sense since recorded music has no value. The Hussalonia founder, who is owned and operated by Nefarico™ (makers of quality soap products), aspires to one day be inducted into a Wikipedia page, preferably posthumously. Visit www.hussalonia.com for more or less information.
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Guillermo Izquierdo
When not being the “ultimate dad” and designing websites, Guillermo loves playing music and considers himself blessed to be able to play with so many talented musicians, such as the Robot Holiday crew. His “main project” is The Corrections, with whom he sings lead and plays acoustic guitar and mandolin. The pop band was the winner of “Best New Original Band” at the 2005 Buffalo Music Awards. Their album “Let’s Not Call It Love” was produced by Dan McLoughlin at The Vault Recording Studio in Hoboken, NJ. The Corrections have opened for national recording artists such as America, Chris Trapper, The Push Stars, and Willie Nile. Other artists he has had the pleasure of playing with include Nelson Starr and The Benjamins, The Bob Fera Band, Michael Oliver & The Sacred Band, Missing Star, The Contortionists, and Hillary Piatek. His past bands (i.e. ones in which he was involved in the songwriting and lost sleep over) are Original Skin, Bread Gone Wry, Wisdom of Children, and Wallflower.
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Joelle Labert
Joelle Labert is a vocalist in Buffalo, New York. She currently plays in a twang-rock/Americana band called Flatbed. Bob Silvestri of Best of WNY has described her as “one of Western New York’s most versatile and beautiful voices.” With influences that range from Patty Griffin to Los Lobos, Joelle has one of the most unique voices you will hear. Joelle released a solo CD in 2010, entitled Dancing Virginia — a collection of Americana songs with flavors of bluegrass, country, and pop. The CD includes contributions by 21 Buffalo musicians, with instrumentation including pedal steel guitar, dobro, mandolin, banjo, piano, and a string trio. For the release of Dancing Virginia, Seamus Gallivan, writing for the Buffalo News said “known to most as a member of Flatbed, her understated grace, soul-on-sleeve vulnerability, and service to the song have made her a favorite guest singer for a host of local bands..” Joelle occasionally sings with other bands/musicians, such as A Band Named Sue, Shaky Stage, Robot Holiday and Doug Yeomans. She can be found singing on releases from the last three artists, as well as Rob Lynch, Greg Klyma, and Danny Lynn Wilson, to name a few. Dancing Virginia and Flatbed CDs are available at Record Theatre stores in Buffalo, as well as on www.cdbaby.com. For more information, visit her Facebook musician page here
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