Ë®¹ûÅÉAV's 5 most-read entertainment stories of 2018
- Ë®¹ûÅÉAV staff
- Updated
- 0
Ë®¹ûÅÉAV's most-read entertainment stories of 2018 included a few local Halloween destinations and more.
- David Wilcox
- Updated
What began as a humble pumpkin patch has become a 50-acre Halloween party in Union Springs.
Open weekends through Oct. 28, Penny's Country Farm offers a corn maze, a haunted trail and a western town complete with a saloon, sheriff's office and blacksmith shop, among other attractions.
The farm is owned and operated by Tom and Penny Minnoe, who also own Auburn Medical Transport Co. They've lived on the 53-acre Union Springs property for 25 years, and built their home there.
But since opening a U-pick pumpkin patch there 11 years ago, the Minnoes haven't stopped building. They now spend most of their weekends maintaining the Halloween attractions on their property, or adding new ones. And for the six weekends leading up to the holiday, the farm is "out-of-control crowded" with families and a staff of 12 the Minnoes hire to cook, direct cars and more, Tom said.
"We had no idea it would morph into this thing that's going on now," he said. "Every year it seems like we've gotten bigger and more diversified."
Tom said many of the Halloween attractions at Penny's Country Farm were suggested by visitors. That includes the 5-acre corn maze, which the Minnoes opened about eight years ago. Tom said they devise the maze to be as challenging as possible, so they have staffers who've memorized it ready to "fish out" the people who inevitably get lost inside. There's also a smaller children's maze that takes the shape of a square or oval. And, in a bit of a gag, there's a "grandpa's corn maze" next to the large one — but it simply consists of a bench where families can take pictures, Tom said.
All of the farm's Halloween attractions are family-friendly, Tom said. Even the Spook Woods, a haunted trail, is toned down for younger eyes. The five-minute daytime walk through the woods features skeletons hung on the trees and other mildly frightful sights, but "no one's going to jump out at you," Tom said.
Children who still want to avoid the trail have plenty of other options at Penny's. There's a pirate's cove playground with ships, as well as bounce houses. There's a live animal area, Billy Goat Mountain, with mini donkeys and horses, chickens, alpacas and turkeys, plus baby goats in another barn. One of the horses, Sparkles, is dressed as a unicorn, Tom said. There's also the Boo Train, a children's barrel ride, as well as wagon rides, which last about 10 minutes. And most ages can fire the pumpkin cannon, which "just rocks" gourds about a quarter of a mile, Tom said.
But the most popular attraction at Penny's Country Farm — and the subject of Tom's most enthusiastic talk — is its western town. Titled Tombstone, it has a saloon, sheriff's office, church, general store, water tower and new blacksmith's shop. The decorated wooden structures can fit more than a dozen people each, Tom said, and the saloon, which sells snacks, is two stories.
It's the Minnoes and their staff, however, who make Tombstone come alive. Cowboys have gunfights at the O.K. Corral, and Grandpa Gus performs music shows in the saloon from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. every weekend. He encourages children to grab a guitar, fiddle or bass and play along in what Tom called "a petting zoo for instruments." There's also a cowboy show where Billy Bob comes to town and robs Miss Kitty. Children can then help Grandpa Gus catch the bandit by saying "one-two-achoo" to stop him from sneezing. And once Billy Bob goes in the slammer at the sheriff's office, children can tease him as he pleads for them to give him the key, Tom said. Even those aboard the farm's wagon rides might find themselves being "robbed" and becoming part of the story, he added.
Tom, whose father performed country music as Tim Minnoe and the Silver Spur Band, said a hotel is the next addition to the town.
"The kids just love it," he said. "It's a pumpkin patch with a little western twinge."Â
- David Wilcox
- Updated
All Joe Gallow wants is to become part of "Friday the 13th" history. Fittingly, he'll do so on Friday, April 13.
The Scipio man has organized a screening of a fan film inspired by the horror series, that night at Track Cinema in Fingerlakes Mall. The fan film will be followed by "Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives." The event will also include Jason Voorhees-themed cookies by the mall's , raffles for autographed posters and other items, a costume contest with a bloody "Part VI" Jason mask painted by a friend of Gallow's as the prize, and a display of Jason masks from each "Friday the 13th" movie from Gallow's collection.
But Gallow doesn't just collect Jason masks — he wears them. He posts photos of himself as the character on Gallow Goes to Hell, a cosplay (costume play) Facebook page.
Gallow began dressing as Jason after years of watching "Friday the 13th" movies with his father. He then began piecing together Jason costumes from the Army jackets of his father, a Vietnam veteran, and his grandfather, a World War II veteran. In 2007, after years of making do with flimsy plastic Jason masks, Gallow got his first real one, red chevron designs and all.
Gallow said he prefers Jason to horror counterparts like Freddy Krueger and Michael Myers because he looks cooler — but also because of his character.
"Jason's kind of a victim," he said. "I felt bad for him, in a way."
Though Gallow has done a few Jason photo shoots since 2008, it wasn't until October, when he started working with friend and Auburn Emily Lane, that his cosplay took off. She shoots most of the pictures of Gallow as Jason, and recruits friends like Megan Davison to portray his victims. Gallow does much of the editing, he said, such as swapping backgrounds and adding blood and gore. They shoot several times a year — including a recent winter shoot, because "you never see Jason in winter" — and Gallow posts about three photos a day to his page, he said.
The same month he started working with Lane, Gallow took a chance on "Never Hike Alone." Though he's wary of fan films, the "Friday the 13th" enthusiast fell in love with it. About 53 minutes long, the film depicts a man going hiking alone, only to encounter Jason in Camp Crystal Lake. Director Vincente DiSanti "put a lot of money and love into it," Gallow said, so "you can't tell it's a fan film."
Gallow started communicating with DiSanti with an internet comment about the design of Jason's mask in the film. Later, Gallow asked the director about the possibility of a Blu-Ray release of "Never Hike Alone" due to the difficulty of watching it on YouTube in Scipio, where Gallow doesn't have good internet. He was surprised when DiSanti gave him permission to premiere the film in New York.
Gallow chose Track Cinema, as his wife, Sherri Gallow, is a manager there. And he chose "Part VI" to follow the fan film because that's where it fits best in "Friday the 13th" continuity, he said. He also hopes Friday's event not only spotlights the work of Lane and Davison, but the local popularity of the horror icon who brought them together — and sent them to hell.
- David Wilcox
- Updated
Connor Cuthbert is trading the haunted attraction he started, Nightmare on Anna Street, for something even scarier: college.
The attraction will open for its 12th year the next two Fridays and Saturdays. Then — because Connor is graduating from Auburn High School in the spring and going to study civil engineering at a college he has yet to select — Nightmare on Anna Street will be over.Â
The last year of the haunted attraction is a bittersweet one for Connor, who started it with his sister, Ailish. Hosted at the home of their aunt, Cheryl Foster, it requires two weeks of setup by about a dozen friends and family members. From raising its three tents and planting its fake tombstones to timing its projection effects and advertising, preparing the attraction is "such a big commitment for everyone," Connor said. So is performing it: The Nightmare on Ann Street cast numbers 35, he added.
It's all been for a good cause. The attraction has supported several organizations over its 12 years, including the Finger Lakes SPCA of CNY, Operation Enduring Gratitude and, this year, Warm the Children. Connor estimates Nightmare on Anna Street has raised more than $20,000 total for those and other causes. And that doesn't include the food the attraction has collected for St. Alphonsus Food Pantry every year, which Connor estimates to be 12,000 to 15,000 cans.
This year's Nightmare on Anna Street will serve as a "greatest hits" of sorts. In addition to new scenes — singing jack-o'-lanterns, an alien abduction, a mummification — the 15-minute attraction will feature retired scenes from past years. Connor has fond memories of the more ambitions ones he's added, including a fake pipe organ made from a keyboard, wooden casing and PVC pipes spray-painted gold, as well as a Pepper's ghost illusion. Using angled mirrors and Plexiglas, it projects the image of a see-through person.
As Connor pointed out, though, he and Ailish started Nightmare on Anna Street when they were young children. So the haunted attraction has never been too scary, he said, and the cast tones it down when it knows younger audiences are coming through.
However, it's possible that one day Nightmare on Anna Street will take a page from the scariest of horror characters and return from the dead, Connor said.
"It's always a lot of fun," he said. "In addition to raising money for these great causes, we all just have so much fun doing it."
- David Wilcox
- Updated
New band Death Travelers is doing things "a little backwards," guitarist Gary Mann said. But that may be appropriate for a band about going from the afterlife back to earth.
The metal five-piece, which won't play its first live show until Feb. 16 in Syracuse, released a self-titled and a for song "The Book of Derrick" earlier this month. The members of Death Travelers aren't new to the business, though: Three were part of If Hope Dies, an Auburn metal band that built a in the 2000s through three albums and nationwide tours.
Aside from a few shows, If Hope Dies has been done for almost 10 years, said Mann, of Auburn. About two years ago, he was hired to write some music for a friend's project. So Mann worked on it with his songwriting partner in If Hope Dies, drummer and fellow Auburnian Brandon Wakeham. The friend's project never materialized, however, leaving Mann and Wakeham with six songs that had no home. Mann called the songs "more structured" than If Hope Dies, though certainly influenced by his and Wakeham's time in the band during their late teens and early 20s.
Both proud of their work, Mann and Wakeham decided to hold tryouts for a new band. In , of Syracuse, they found not only their singer, but much of the band's creative direction.
First, the vocals Magee laid down were more melodic than what Mann and Wakeham expected. But they liked them, so the two reworked their songs, adding keyboards and orchestral touches.Â
"We made the music more theatrical now that we knew we had more versatility than a guy screaming," Mann said.
Next, Magee pitched a lyrical direction that, for Mann and Wakeham, made him the person to front their new band. He described "a heaven and hell version of 'Star Wars,'" Mann said, about a reluctant hero and his mentor who can travel between the two destinations and earth. When they discover a plot by hell to conquer heaven, the mentor guides the hero to take action.
Mann and Wakeham had moved past songs about girls and don't want to wade into politics, Mann said, so they were sold on the supernatural concept. The EP takes place in the middle of the story.
Next, the band needed a name. The singer suggested the name for the two main characters of his story: Death Travelers.
"When he first pitched the name, I didn't want it. I was already in a band that has 'Dies' in it. Do I need 'Death'?" Mann joked. "But when he explained the meaning, I was like, 'Yeah, I want this.'"
Rounding out the band is guitarist Shaun Secaur, of Port Byron, and bassist Thad Jackson, of Auburn. The third member to come from If Hope Dies, Jackson was that band's "heart and soul," Mann said. He said that was apparent during the last years of If Hope Dies, after Jackson had left. In hindsight, Mann continued, the band stopped because it "got signed a couple years too late."
"By the time we started taking off and getting opportunities, we were already kind of burnt out," he said.
That's why Mann and the rest of Death Travelers are waiting to see how the band is received before deciding how much to commit to it. They're encouraged so far: The video for "The Book of Derrick" already has more than 6,000 views on Facebook, which Mann called "an awesome first response for a band that doesn't really exist yet." He believes many of those viewers are If Hope Dies fans, but he called Death Travelers' sound "more marketable." The band even chose "Derrick" as its first single after playing the EP to non-metal fans and asking which song they liked most.
Next, Mann will send a box full of "Death Travelers" CDs to record labels and old industry contacts. The band also has to figure out how to translate its theatrical metal sound to live settings.
But its members aren't thinking about recording contracts and tours yet. Mann full-time as program manager at the Auburn Rescue Mission, as program director at the Booker T. Washington Community Center, and Jackson as a tattoo artist in Syracuse. For them to leave those careers for another one in music, Mann said, "it would take something really undeniably crazy."
Maybe even something crazier than "a heaven and hell version of 'Star Wars.'"
WATCH: Death Travelers, "The Book of Derrick"
- David Wilcox
- Updated
It was at a Memorial Day weekend event a few years ago that Paul Porter was trying to find healthy food for his daughter.
He couldn't. And so it's at a Memorial Day weekend event this year that Porter will park the food truck he started last year with his wife, Kendra, as a result of that experience.
But the Porters didn't start the truck, which they named Potatoes and Molasses, solely to serve healthier items than the fried and greasy ones typically found on food truck menus. The truck also allows them to make more efficient use of what they grow at Black Brook Farm, the organic farm Kendra started with her parents 22 years ago. On 10 acres in Skaneateles and another 200 in Seneca Falls, the Porters grow potatoes, beans, tomatoes and much more that winds up on the rotating menu of Potatoes and Molasses at events like Majorpalooza Sunday in Auburn.
"We gear the menu toward what we're growing," Kendra said. "It's very empowering when you can take 80 giant bushes of kale and make dishes out of them, and have everyone eat them."
With people preparing their own food less and less often, Kendra said, the truck has helped her and Paul respond to that trend. Instead of struggling to sell their produce at their roadside stand in Seneca Falls or the Skaneateles Farmers Market, they turn it into value-added products through Potatoes and Molasses. Its business model also means they don't have to grow as much, Kendra said.
And it's because of that model that the food truck's menu changes often. Many Potatoes and Molasses items are inspired by cuisine in Paul's native England, such as fish and chips, cornish pasties, scotch eggs, curries and sausage rolls. However, with organic ingredients sourced from Black Brook or another local farm, those items are about as healthy as can be, Kendra said. For instance, the truck's fish and chips pairs wild-caught North Atlantic haddock with hand-cut organic fries and homemade tartar sauce with fresh tarragon. It'll be available at Majorpalooza Sunday, she added.
True to the truck's name — which was inspired by a song from the animated series "Over the Garden Wall" that made the Porters chuckle — they also serve many kinds of potatoes. One features inverted shepherd's pie filling with Black Brook's organic beef, another is filled with free-range eggs, cheese and bacon, and yet another is stuffed with portobello mushrooms pan-seared with rosemary, smothered in Kendra's compound wild ramp butter and topped with shaved Parmesan. And her molasses compound butter "happens to be excellent on baked potatoes," she added.
As a result of the way they're prepared, many items on the Potatoes and Molasses menu are also vegetarian and/or gluten-free, Kendra said.
"We try to accommodate as many dietary challenges as we can," she said. "Which I know is unusual for a food truck, but it's given us a nice following."
Those who can't catch Potatoes and Molasses Sunday at Majorpalooza can find the truck from noon to 6 p.m. Fridays at 1410 E. Genesee St., Skaneateles, as well as The Sinclair of Skaneateles when there's live music at the event hall most Thursdays this summer. The truck also caters plenty of private events in the greater Syracuse area, Kendra said.
Next to the truck, the Porters set up a tent where they sell produce and other items, like their raw juices. And they even provide the recipes for those who'd like to continue their healthy kick.
"I don't think there's any competition to people eating healthy food," Kendra said. "We think that's our main mission in life, so it's important that we help people do that."
More like this...
- David Wilcox
What began as a humble pumpkin patch has become a 50-acre Halloween party in Union Springs.
Open weekends through Oct. 28, Penny's Country Farm offers a corn maze, a haunted trail and a western town complete with a saloon, sheriff's office and blacksmith shop, among other attractions.
The farm is owned and operated by Tom and Penny Minnoe, who also own Auburn Medical Transport Co. They've lived on the 53-acre Union Springs property for 25 years, and built their home there.
But since opening a U-pick pumpkin patch there 11 years ago, the Minnoes haven't stopped building. They now spend most of their weekends maintaining the Halloween attractions on their property, or adding new ones. And for the six weekends leading up to the holiday, the farm is "out-of-control crowded" with families and a staff of 12 the Minnoes hire to cook, direct cars and more, Tom said.
"We had no idea it would morph into this thing that's going on now," he said. "Every year it seems like we've gotten bigger and more diversified."
Tom said many of the Halloween attractions at Penny's Country Farm were suggested by visitors. That includes the 5-acre corn maze, which the Minnoes opened about eight years ago. Tom said they devise the maze to be as challenging as possible, so they have staffers who've memorized it ready to "fish out" the people who inevitably get lost inside. There's also a smaller children's maze that takes the shape of a square or oval. And, in a bit of a gag, there's a "grandpa's corn maze" next to the large one — but it simply consists of a bench where families can take pictures, Tom said.
All of the farm's Halloween attractions are family-friendly, Tom said. Even the Spook Woods, a haunted trail, is toned down for younger eyes. The five-minute daytime walk through the woods features skeletons hung on the trees and other mildly frightful sights, but "no one's going to jump out at you," Tom said.
Children who still want to avoid the trail have plenty of other options at Penny's. There's a pirate's cove playground with ships, as well as bounce houses. There's a live animal area, Billy Goat Mountain, with mini donkeys and horses, chickens, alpacas and turkeys, plus baby goats in another barn. One of the horses, Sparkles, is dressed as a unicorn, Tom said. There's also the Boo Train, a children's barrel ride, as well as wagon rides, which last about 10 minutes. And most ages can fire the pumpkin cannon, which "just rocks" gourds about a quarter of a mile, Tom said.
But the most popular attraction at Penny's Country Farm — and the subject of Tom's most enthusiastic talk — is its western town. Titled Tombstone, it has a saloon, sheriff's office, church, general store, water tower and new blacksmith's shop. The decorated wooden structures can fit more than a dozen people each, Tom said, and the saloon, which sells snacks, is two stories.
It's the Minnoes and their staff, however, who make Tombstone come alive. Cowboys have gunfights at the O.K. Corral, and Grandpa Gus performs music shows in the saloon from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. every weekend. He encourages children to grab a guitar, fiddle or bass and play along in what Tom called "a petting zoo for instruments." There's also a cowboy show where Billy Bob comes to town and robs Miss Kitty. Children can then help Grandpa Gus catch the bandit by saying "one-two-achoo" to stop him from sneezing. And once Billy Bob goes in the slammer at the sheriff's office, children can tease him as he pleads for them to give him the key, Tom said. Even those aboard the farm's wagon rides might find themselves being "robbed" and becoming part of the story, he added.
Tom, whose father performed country music as Tim Minnoe and the Silver Spur Band, said a hotel is the next addition to the town.
"The kids just love it," he said. "It's a pumpkin patch with a little western twinge."Â
- David Wilcox
All Joe Gallow wants is to become part of "Friday the 13th" history. Fittingly, he'll do so on Friday, April 13.
The Scipio man has organized a screening of a fan film inspired by the horror series, that night at Track Cinema in Fingerlakes Mall. The fan film will be followed by "Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives." The event will also include Jason Voorhees-themed cookies by the mall's , raffles for autographed posters and other items, a costume contest with a bloody "Part VI" Jason mask painted by a friend of Gallow's as the prize, and a display of Jason masks from each "Friday the 13th" movie from Gallow's collection.
But Gallow doesn't just collect Jason masks — he wears them. He posts photos of himself as the character on Gallow Goes to Hell, a cosplay (costume play) Facebook page.
Gallow began dressing as Jason after years of watching "Friday the 13th" movies with his father. He then began piecing together Jason costumes from the Army jackets of his father, a Vietnam veteran, and his grandfather, a World War II veteran. In 2007, after years of making do with flimsy plastic Jason masks, Gallow got his first real one, red chevron designs and all.
Gallow said he prefers Jason to horror counterparts like Freddy Krueger and Michael Myers because he looks cooler — but also because of his character.
"Jason's kind of a victim," he said. "I felt bad for him, in a way."
Though Gallow has done a few Jason photo shoots since 2008, it wasn't until October, when he started working with friend and Auburn Emily Lane, that his cosplay took off. She shoots most of the pictures of Gallow as Jason, and recruits friends like Megan Davison to portray his victims. Gallow does much of the editing, he said, such as swapping backgrounds and adding blood and gore. They shoot several times a year — including a recent winter shoot, because "you never see Jason in winter" — and Gallow posts about three photos a day to his page, he said.
The same month he started working with Lane, Gallow took a chance on "Never Hike Alone." Though he's wary of fan films, the "Friday the 13th" enthusiast fell in love with it. About 53 minutes long, the film depicts a man going hiking alone, only to encounter Jason in Camp Crystal Lake. Director Vincente DiSanti "put a lot of money and love into it," Gallow said, so "you can't tell it's a fan film."
Gallow started communicating with DiSanti with an internet comment about the design of Jason's mask in the film. Later, Gallow asked the director about the possibility of a Blu-Ray release of "Never Hike Alone" due to the difficulty of watching it on YouTube in Scipio, where Gallow doesn't have good internet. He was surprised when DiSanti gave him permission to premiere the film in New York.
Gallow chose Track Cinema, as his wife, Sherri Gallow, is a manager there. And he chose "Part VI" to follow the fan film because that's where it fits best in "Friday the 13th" continuity, he said. He also hopes Friday's event not only spotlights the work of Lane and Davison, but the local popularity of the horror icon who brought them together — and sent them to hell.
- David Wilcox
Connor Cuthbert is trading the haunted attraction he started, Nightmare on Anna Street, for something even scarier: college.
The attraction will open for its 12th year the next two Fridays and Saturdays. Then — because Connor is graduating from Auburn High School in the spring and going to study civil engineering at a college he has yet to select — Nightmare on Anna Street will be over.Â
The last year of the haunted attraction is a bittersweet one for Connor, who started it with his sister, Ailish. Hosted at the home of their aunt, Cheryl Foster, it requires two weeks of setup by about a dozen friends and family members. From raising its three tents and planting its fake tombstones to timing its projection effects and advertising, preparing the attraction is "such a big commitment for everyone," Connor said. So is performing it: The Nightmare on Ann Street cast numbers 35, he added.
It's all been for a good cause. The attraction has supported several organizations over its 12 years, including the Finger Lakes SPCA of CNY, Operation Enduring Gratitude and, this year, Warm the Children. Connor estimates Nightmare on Anna Street has raised more than $20,000 total for those and other causes. And that doesn't include the food the attraction has collected for St. Alphonsus Food Pantry every year, which Connor estimates to be 12,000 to 15,000 cans.
This year's Nightmare on Anna Street will serve as a "greatest hits" of sorts. In addition to new scenes — singing jack-o'-lanterns, an alien abduction, a mummification — the 15-minute attraction will feature retired scenes from past years. Connor has fond memories of the more ambitions ones he's added, including a fake pipe organ made from a keyboard, wooden casing and PVC pipes spray-painted gold, as well as a Pepper's ghost illusion. Using angled mirrors and Plexiglas, it projects the image of a see-through person.
As Connor pointed out, though, he and Ailish started Nightmare on Anna Street when they were young children. So the haunted attraction has never been too scary, he said, and the cast tones it down when it knows younger audiences are coming through.
However, it's possible that one day Nightmare on Anna Street will take a page from the scariest of horror characters and return from the dead, Connor said.
"It's always a lot of fun," he said. "In addition to raising money for these great causes, we all just have so much fun doing it."
- David Wilcox
New band Death Travelers is doing things "a little backwards," guitarist Gary Mann said. But that may be appropriate for a band about going from the afterlife back to earth.
The metal five-piece, which won't play its first live show until Feb. 16 in Syracuse, released a self-titled and a for song "The Book of Derrick" earlier this month. The members of Death Travelers aren't new to the business, though: Three were part of If Hope Dies, an Auburn metal band that built a in the 2000s through three albums and nationwide tours.
Aside from a few shows, If Hope Dies has been done for almost 10 years, said Mann, of Auburn. About two years ago, he was hired to write some music for a friend's project. So Mann worked on it with his songwriting partner in If Hope Dies, drummer and fellow Auburnian Brandon Wakeham. The friend's project never materialized, however, leaving Mann and Wakeham with six songs that had no home. Mann called the songs "more structured" than If Hope Dies, though certainly influenced by his and Wakeham's time in the band during their late teens and early 20s.
Both proud of their work, Mann and Wakeham decided to hold tryouts for a new band. In , of Syracuse, they found not only their singer, but much of the band's creative direction.
First, the vocals Magee laid down were more melodic than what Mann and Wakeham expected. But they liked them, so the two reworked their songs, adding keyboards and orchestral touches.Â
"We made the music more theatrical now that we knew we had more versatility than a guy screaming," Mann said.
Next, Magee pitched a lyrical direction that, for Mann and Wakeham, made him the person to front their new band. He described "a heaven and hell version of 'Star Wars,'" Mann said, about a reluctant hero and his mentor who can travel between the two destinations and earth. When they discover a plot by hell to conquer heaven, the mentor guides the hero to take action.
Mann and Wakeham had moved past songs about girls and don't want to wade into politics, Mann said, so they were sold on the supernatural concept. The EP takes place in the middle of the story.
Next, the band needed a name. The singer suggested the name for the two main characters of his story: Death Travelers.
"When he first pitched the name, I didn't want it. I was already in a band that has 'Dies' in it. Do I need 'Death'?" Mann joked. "But when he explained the meaning, I was like, 'Yeah, I want this.'"
Rounding out the band is guitarist Shaun Secaur, of Port Byron, and bassist Thad Jackson, of Auburn. The third member to come from If Hope Dies, Jackson was that band's "heart and soul," Mann said. He said that was apparent during the last years of If Hope Dies, after Jackson had left. In hindsight, Mann continued, the band stopped because it "got signed a couple years too late."
"By the time we started taking off and getting opportunities, we were already kind of burnt out," he said.
That's why Mann and the rest of Death Travelers are waiting to see how the band is received before deciding how much to commit to it. They're encouraged so far: The video for "The Book of Derrick" already has more than 6,000 views on Facebook, which Mann called "an awesome first response for a band that doesn't really exist yet." He believes many of those viewers are If Hope Dies fans, but he called Death Travelers' sound "more marketable." The band even chose "Derrick" as its first single after playing the EP to non-metal fans and asking which song they liked most.
Next, Mann will send a box full of "Death Travelers" CDs to record labels and old industry contacts. The band also has to figure out how to translate its theatrical metal sound to live settings.
But its members aren't thinking about recording contracts and tours yet. Mann full-time as program manager at the Auburn Rescue Mission, as program director at the Booker T. Washington Community Center, and Jackson as a tattoo artist in Syracuse. For them to leave those careers for another one in music, Mann said, "it would take something really undeniably crazy."
Maybe even something crazier than "a heaven and hell version of 'Star Wars.'"
WATCH: Death Travelers, "The Book of Derrick"
- David Wilcox
It was at a Memorial Day weekend event a few years ago that Paul Porter was trying to find healthy food for his daughter.
He couldn't. And so it's at a Memorial Day weekend event this year that Porter will park the food truck he started last year with his wife, Kendra, as a result of that experience.
But the Porters didn't start the truck, which they named Potatoes and Molasses, solely to serve healthier items than the fried and greasy ones typically found on food truck menus. The truck also allows them to make more efficient use of what they grow at Black Brook Farm, the organic farm Kendra started with her parents 22 years ago. On 10 acres in Skaneateles and another 200 in Seneca Falls, the Porters grow potatoes, beans, tomatoes and much more that winds up on the rotating menu of Potatoes and Molasses at events like Majorpalooza Sunday in Auburn.
"We gear the menu toward what we're growing," Kendra said. "It's very empowering when you can take 80 giant bushes of kale and make dishes out of them, and have everyone eat them."
With people preparing their own food less and less often, Kendra said, the truck has helped her and Paul respond to that trend. Instead of struggling to sell their produce at their roadside stand in Seneca Falls or the Skaneateles Farmers Market, they turn it into value-added products through Potatoes and Molasses. Its business model also means they don't have to grow as much, Kendra said.
And it's because of that model that the food truck's menu changes often. Many Potatoes and Molasses items are inspired by cuisine in Paul's native England, such as fish and chips, cornish pasties, scotch eggs, curries and sausage rolls. However, with organic ingredients sourced from Black Brook or another local farm, those items are about as healthy as can be, Kendra said. For instance, the truck's fish and chips pairs wild-caught North Atlantic haddock with hand-cut organic fries and homemade tartar sauce with fresh tarragon. It'll be available at Majorpalooza Sunday, she added.
True to the truck's name — which was inspired by a song from the animated series "Over the Garden Wall" that made the Porters chuckle — they also serve many kinds of potatoes. One features inverted shepherd's pie filling with Black Brook's organic beef, another is filled with free-range eggs, cheese and bacon, and yet another is stuffed with portobello mushrooms pan-seared with rosemary, smothered in Kendra's compound wild ramp butter and topped with shaved Parmesan. And her molasses compound butter "happens to be excellent on baked potatoes," she added.
As a result of the way they're prepared, many items on the Potatoes and Molasses menu are also vegetarian and/or gluten-free, Kendra said.
"We try to accommodate as many dietary challenges as we can," she said. "Which I know is unusual for a food truck, but it's given us a nice following."
Those who can't catch Potatoes and Molasses Sunday at Majorpalooza can find the truck from noon to 6 p.m. Fridays at 1410 E. Genesee St., Skaneateles, as well as The Sinclair of Skaneateles when there's live music at the event hall most Thursdays this summer. The truck also caters plenty of private events in the greater Syracuse area, Kendra said.
Next to the truck, the Porters set up a tent where they sell produce and other items, like their raw juices. And they even provide the recipes for those who'd like to continue their healthy kick.
"I don't think there's any competition to people eating healthy food," Kendra said. "We think that's our main mission in life, so it's important that we help people do that."
