Meet Picture Day: Syracuse’s New Band from Crossroads Collective

Article by Dexter Hargreaves, University Union Editorial Board

Staff Writer | Photo by Sandra Bae

On Sunday, October 5, student organization Crossroads Collective put on its first-ever food crawl. For $5, students were taken around downtown Syracuse and sampled food from hotspots like Jamaica Cuse, Funk’n Waffles and Salt City Market. The final stop on the tour was McCarthy Mercantile on South Salina Street, featuring a two-hour-long acoustic set by one of Syracuse’s newest bands, Picture Day. I sat down with the band to learn about the members, their atypical origins and what it was like preparing for their debut performance. 

Picture Day consists of Kyra Rubenstein (keyboard), Daniel Steinberg (lead guitar), Alyssa Pena (keyboard), Anthony Martinelli (rhythm guitar), and Ronnie Kabbash (bass). While the group had all known each other through Crossroads Collective and other communities in Syracuse, it wasn’t until Crossroads president Miles Scherer asked during a meeting if there were any musicians that the band began to form. With just two weeks to come together, practice, and arrange a two-hour set for the food crawl, the group immediately got to work.

They started ambitiously, bouncing ideas for covers of songs from a wide range of genres and slimmed down to a manageable 30-song set list. In just two official practices, they jammed in as much time together as they could. 

“It was a lot of trust,” said Daniel Steinberg. It was a less-than-convenient situation, but on the day of the show, it didn’t matter whether they were prepared or not—they were going to play. 

A lot of Picture Day’s identity is based on their spontaneous creation. Their name, for instance, came from a photoshoot for flyers for the event. The awkwardness of their quick formation harkened back to high school picture days, as pointed out by Alyssa Pena. The group had a collective “aha!” moment, quickly agreeing that it was the perfect name. 

Their setlist featured a wide range of covers: everything from 90s grunge to The Backseat Lovers to Billy Joel. It was a true melting pot of the tastes of every member, creating a uniquely Picture Day setlist. 

The performance was certainly not without its hurdles either. The group received some disappointing news just before the show: the tour bus was running late, and their set had to be cut in half from two hours to just one. They scrambled to pick which songs to axe and which to keep. Further, the venue, inside a mall, did not have professional sound systems or a sound engineer, leading Anthony Martinelli to take on double duties, fixing problems as they came up throughout the show. From mic failures to instruments detuning, if something could go wrong, it did. However, with quick action from the five of them, they were able to get past every hiccup.  

Throughout the show, they swapped on and off songs, taking turns singing and playing different instruments. They shared the spotlight equally, with no clear leading figure emerging among them. They each shone in their own way, be it through a ripping guitar solo from Daniel or an impressive vocal riff from Ronnie. 

By the end of their set, Picture Day had gone from a group of loosely-acquainted musicians to a fully-fledged band. Their debut was so successful that they were invited back for monthly shows at McCarthy Mercantile. Otherwise, their plans for the future are less certain. They are exploring the idea of adding more members, booking other bigger venues, or even writing original songs. The only certainty about Picture Day’s future is that there will be one. 

To follow along with their journey and stay up to date with future shows and events, follow @crossroadscollectiveorg on Instagram.