This exclusive club welcomes 10 new members.
BUFFALO, N.Y. — The Buffalo Music Hall of Fame houses a group of musicians and individuals whose talent and performance influenced Western New York and beyond.
The Class of 2024 was recently announced and includes Phil Aglia, Anthony Casuccio, Hank D’Amico, Crew Brothers Band, Rishon O’Dell, Donna Rose, Tom Russo, Christopher Swist, Jim Yeomans, and Joe Zappo. Their names were chosen.
Phil Agria, director of the Kenmore East Band and inventor of the innovative PaGu baton, said it was important to take the time to work on the technique.
“It’s an 80-hour week or 100-hour week lifestyle, but I’m lucky every day to have the opportunity to walk through the door here and get a job," he said.
2 On Your Side sat down with Hall of Famer RiShon Odel and asked him how his music career began.
“So I started sneaking into my father’s studio. My grandmother introduced me to Liberace. My father introduced me to everything else that I like. Playing the violin, drums. “My dad took me there and I started playing drums at a professional level,” he said.
A Grammy-nominated jazz bassist and composer, O’Dell is a multi-award-winning and versatile musician.
“When you pick up a bass, it’s completely different from anything else. You don’t have to think about anything, it just happens. So whatever I think, whatever I feel, it comes directly through the instrument. ” he said. “Whatever energy you give me, I can spit it out.” Phil Perry told me that he once said, “Don’t think about it too hard, it’s just music.” . ”
For some, success in the music world requires hard work to perfect their craft, but for people like Odell, music is second nature.
“I know a lot of people who were exposed to music, and they had to work for it. Sometimes it’s just a natural thing. For me, it was a natural thing,” he said. “I still have to practice… Sometimes you look at your hands and think, ‘This is what I want you to do, but they haven’t touched me in a while.'”
His message to the audience was, “Please support local music… we need it, you need it too.”
