CHLOE KOWALYK
Editor in Chief
ELENA FITZGERALD
Special to The Leader
On Friday, Sept. 29, Main Street Studios experienced an unfamiliar glow of television screens and the sight of new concert promoters.
Fish Out of Water, a new company for DIY shows, recently put on their first show. The company is led by Cebastian Spisak, Parker Walters, Ava Sargente and Sterling Brownell — all students at SUNY Fredonia.
Fish Out of Water’s first show was mainly hip-hop, a genre not commonly seen in Fredonia.
The stage Fish Out of Water set up was unique: three TV screens were positioned at various heights, and played content such as “Spirited Away,” “The Nightmare Before Christmas” and “Dragon Ball Z.”
The lighting was also different from other Main Street Shows, as LED lights in blues, purples and greens illuminated the performances.
There was also a bright white light that would occasionally strobe as the artists performed.
Three different artists performed during the show: Alexander Pryll, Sadboymanii and Jaali Cypher.
Pryll was up first, and his set was incredible.
His voice was incredibly smooth and seemed to fit with the backing track almost perfectly.
Throughout the set, he would instruct the audience to stand up and sit down at various times.
No matter what position they were in, the audience would sway back and forth to Pryll’s music. Oftentimes, Pryll would even sit down with the crowd, adding a new dynamic to shows at Main Street.
Not all of Pryll’s set was sitting down, however.
Near the end of his set, Pryll divided the crowd, forming a circle with a large center.
A dance circle broke out, with several audience members hopping into the middle to move their bodies to the beat.
Overall, Pryll’s set was awesome, and we had such a great time listening to his art.
Sadboymanii was up next, and although he had the shortest set of the night, he was able to bring even more energy to an already enthusiastic crowd.
Editor in Chief.
Originally from New York City, he was the only SUNY Fredonia-based artist performing at this show.
It was nice to see a familiar face performing at Main Street Studios for the first time, and the audience could tell he was ready to perform.
His heavy beats and smooth voice blended together perfectly in the venue, and he commanded the stage, only making the audience more excited.
Between people there to support Sadboymanii and people hearing his music for the first time, everyone was up close to the stage to dance along.
“LOML (Love of My Life)” was a specific crowd pleaser, getting the audience to sing along to the catchy lyrics. Between the lighting, full stage setup and good sound, this was a perfect set for Sadboymanii to perform.
The last set was Buffalo artist Jaali Cypher, who brought out a band for a set of songs ranging from rap to rock. Cypher has been performing in bands since age 14, and everyone in the crowd could see that he loves performing to this day.
As he has performed in Fredonia before, this was his first time at Main Street Studios, which has been a new favorite venue for many artists passing by Fredonia.
Cypher and his band had no issue filling the room with intricate instrumentals and moving lyrics. With songs like “Stop, Listen & Learn” and “Feel So High,” he was able to bring the entire crowd together.
As the set went on, he sat us all down for a mellow moment to read us a poem he wrote.
Ultimately, he ended with a showstopper that got the crowd riled up one last time, but that was not the end.
As Jaali Cypher left the stage, his band members stayed to jam for one last song, as they are all a part of a band called Starship Brigade.
The set felt so personal, and as an audience member, we felt extremely connected to the musicians, which is the pleasure of going to a show at Main Street Studios.
Jaali Cypher is worth seeing, and we hope he comes back to Fredonia soon.
Spisak, a junior double major in music industry and economics, feels that his first show with Fish Out of Water went well.
“It was a great time and very positively received by the artists and fans. Although attendance was a little lower than expected, I think the show brought out a different community that is essential to expanding the Fredonia scene,” he said. “Our goal was to stand out and I think we achieved that. There will be many more shows to come.”
New artists traveling from out of town to perform at these venues for the first time is crucial for keeping a music scene alive, especially in a smaller town like Fredonia.
It is such a pleasure to go to concerts in an area with such a welcoming and open music community, where artists can be themselves and share their music.
The show as a whole brought together those who regularly go to shows in the music scene with people who were going for the first time.
As people who go to just about every concert in the Fredonia area, it was one of the first times in a while where we could look back and see a completely different group of people than usual.