Upstate Beat: Coming home to Nippertown

An emotional and well-attended memorial service for longtime Capital Region arts and music writer Greg Haymes in May of 2019 concluded with a second-line parade of sorts through the lobby of The Egg in Albany after Greg’s wife, Sara Ayers, handed out Mardi Gras beads and kazoos.

Greg and Sara loved New Orleans, and the kazoos were a fitting tribute to Greg’s musical career because he frequently brandished one in the Ramblin Jug Stompers, the band he was in for years after Blotto, one of the first groups ever seen on MTV and one of the biggest musical success stories to ever emerge from our area.

After the ceremony — at which I was one of the speakers, a role that had been terrifying for me but overall went well — I headed farther downtown for a post-memorial gathering at McGeary’s Irish Pub, a fitting location since the Ramblin Jug Stompers often played there and it was a convenient watering hole for anyone attending performances at the nearby Palace Theatre, as Greg often did when wearing one of his reviewing hats. He started at the Daily Gazette and the now-defunct Metroland. Later he wrote for the Albany Times Union as well as for Nippertown, the arts and culture website he founded — almost exactly 10 years before his death — along with his wife Sara, a talented and accomplished musician in her own right.

While looking for parking for the McGeary’s get-together I wound up, unintentionally, in the nearby Albany warehouse district. When I got out of my car, looming overhead was the large Nipper dog statue that guards the skyline on Broadway from the top of an otherwise nondescript storage building.

There’s always something wonderful about seeing the RCA Nipper dog mascot there, with his head cocked to one side and ear raised as if listening to some faraway music or distant secret. The sky that day was a clear blue and the streetlights were just coming on.

Greg and Sara understood Nipper’s status as a beloved area fixture when they gave their site the name Nippertown. They intuitively understood the power of Nipper when they affixed his image next to a sky-blue background on their website masthead. His presence was especially fitting because they also cherished their own real-life dogs, and some of my favorite posts at Nippertown were the ones that featured Greg and Sara’s pets. Sometimes their dogs wore funny hats in photos or romped in a field near Greg and Sara’s rural Rensselaer County home. Occasionally their cat made an appearance.

Last Saturday, I — along with a score of local writers and photographers — arrived at the Daily Gazette building in Schenectady for a meeting. Greeting us out front was a white statue of Nipper — signaling an exciting development in arts and music coverage for the Capital Region. The Daily Gazette and Nippertown merged in August. As you see today, the Ticket arts and entertainment section that runs every Thursday is now branded as Nippertown.

How did this happen? In June 2019, only a month or so after Greg died, Sara — who had wanted to retire from Nippertown duties — transferred the site to Jim Gilbert and Laura DaPolito, formerly of NYSMusic. That was a great development, because until that happened Nippertown’s future as a force for local music and arts had been uncertain. Jim and Laura were a great choice to carry the Nipper torch, because in addition to being nice people they also understood the power of paying tribute to Nipper. And they also love dogs.

But most importantly, they share an abiding love for the local music and arts scene — and a desire to see it spotlighted.

When I entered the Daily Gazette conference room on Saturday, where longtime area arts journalists such as Michael Hochanadel, Don Wilcock and many others gathered to discuss our plans for how this merger of The Gazette and Nippertown resources will greatly expand our arts and music coverage in exciting ways, we were met by a greeting written on a white board that read: “Nippertown Town Hall, Welcome Home!”

I do believe that I — as a longtime area music writer for both Nippertown and the Daily Gazette — and music and arts fans around the region have now come home.

Happy Thanksgiving from the Upstate Beat, from everyone at Nippertown and the Daily Gazette — and from Nipper.

The Week Ahead
*Longstanding Albany Americana group Coal Palace Kings play their traditional Black Friday show at the Hangar on the Hudson on Friday. They promise CPK with all the fixins! 6 p.m.
*Swordpaw studios kicks off its Rock the Pantry campaign with a show at the Hangar on the Hudson on Saturday to collect shelf-stable goods for the food pantry at Oakwood in Troy throughout the winter months. Swordpaw’s Pony in the Pancake, Rabid Children, Revival Revival and Architrave will perform. 7 p.m.
*Jimmy and Liam Barrett of River Street Beat Shop in Troy celebrate two decades in the music business selling records, CDs and tapes with a 20-year anniversary celebration on Sunday at the shop with a performance by Off The Record. 12 p.m.

Contact Kirsten Ferguson at theupstatebeat@gmail.com.