Author

Sal Cataldi 165 posts 0 comments

Bio: Sal Cataldi is a musician, writer and former entertainment publicist living in the Hudson Valley and NYC. He is leader of the band Spaghetti Eastern Music (first gig was at the CBGB gallery in 2004) and member of the ensembles Guitars A Go Go, Vapor Vespers and spaceheater. He is also the host of “Reading In Funktamental” on WGXC 90.7 FM/Wave Farm, a monthly show/podcasts where he speaks to the authors of the books on music, many that he reviews here at NYSMusic.com

Book Reviews

Brian Cullman’s Memoir of a Rock ‘n Roll Zelig

Sal Cataldi Apr 6, 2026

New Yorker Brian Cullman is a true rock ‘n roll Zelig. Like the character from the Woody Allen film of the same name, Cullman has built friendships with a remarkable array of figures central to the past six decades of popular music, from…

Interviews

The Bob Cats: Woodstock’s Dylan Tribute with A Difference

Sal Cataldi Mar 27, 2026

When it comes to music, no one is more closely linked to the town of Woodstock than Bob Dylan. As his fame and the religious fervor of fans chasing him through Greenwich Village grew, he headed straight for this quiet hamlet under the…

News Desk

Doc ‘N Roll Festival Presents World Premiere of Brooklyn Beat Documentary May 5th at Nighthawk…

Sal Cataldi Mar 20, 2026

After years in the making, a new documentary about the D.I.Y. Brooklyn rock scene of the ‘80s and early ‘90s, and the dive bar that birthed it, will have its world premiere in partnership with the Doc ‘N Roll Festival on Tuesday, May…

Features

New York Series: Prestige Records, New York’s Acclaimed Jazz Independent

Sal Cataldi Mar 15, 2026

For Kingston-based author Tad Richards, the great New York jazz label, Prestige, has been an obsession. Years ago, he started a blog in which he analyzed all the recordings from this label from 1949 – 1972. These include some of the…

Interviews

Exclusive Interview: Country Rock Pioneer Jim Messina On His Return to Bethel Woods

Sal Cataldi Mar 5, 2026

An undisputed expert in the fine art of making hit music, Jim Messina’s legacy of musical genius spans five decades, including three supergroups, a vibrant solo career, and scores of producing and engineering credits. On March 14 at 8 pm,…

Artist Profile

Prog Guitar Monster Jan Akkerman Returns with New Live Disc

Sal Cataldi Feb 24, 2026

He is the Dutch master best known for the rock anthem that might have unknowingly ignited the guitar shred Olympics, “Hocus Pocus,” recorded with his early ‘70’s band, Focus. But Jan Akkerman is a master of many styles of guitar displayed…

Book Reviews

Music’s Big Idea, the Concept Album, Chronicled in New Book by Bill Kopp

Sal Cataldi Dec 31, 2025

Music has always been a vehicle for telling stories – of love and heartbreak, of history and fantasy, and much more. Sometimes the stories can be related in a tuneful single lasting under three minutes. In other cases, beginning in…

Book Reviews

Ric Ocasek, The Cars’ Driving Force, Profiled in New Biography

Sal Cataldi Nov 24, 2025

While his work with The Cars produced some of the best-known music of the New Wave ‘80s, many facets of the life of the band’s resident genius, Ric Ocasek, remain a mystery – one as tall as the man himself. With his unexpected death in…

Upcoming Shows

John Sebastian Returns to Bethel Woods, New Documentary Premiere

Sal Cataldi Nov 15, 2025

John Sebastian, the frontman of the legendary Lovin’ Spoonful, a man who made history with his unplanned performance at Woodstock ’69, will return to the famous site for a duo set at the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts on December 12 at 8…

Book Reviews

Hole & Smashing Pumpkins’ Melissa Auf der Maur Pens A Memoir

Sal Cataldi Oct 31, 2025

Melissa Auf der Maur, the bassist who powered Hole and the Smashing Pumpkins to the top of the indie charts, is slated to release a memoir of her alternatively joyful and harrowing experiences in the ‘90s rock scene. The book,…

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