Who says you never use what you learn in college?
According to Valley-based bluesman Mark Nomad, he delved deep into his institutional experience when it came to “All One,” the disc closer for his recently released Torch Tones.
“The words ‘all one’ are where the word ‘alone’ was derived, and that’s a fact I had filed away some 30 years ago from a Ph.D. in linguistics,” he revealed.
The singer/six-stringer went on to explain that he felt the solo acoustic tune was the perfect swan song for Torch, a 12-tune collection that he says lyrically runs the relationship gamut from the “good to bad to ugly side of relationships.”
“It was a both a personal record and a healing one for me,” he notes of his seventh studio effort, “and, while there is not as much as jamming on it as my last disc, Soul Proprietor [recorded live at an outdoor concert in July, 2009], it’s very bluesy—lots of slide—and, overall, very song-oriented.”
Nomad will carry his Torch to the Route 63 Roadhouse in Millers Falls this Friday, June 15.
For more info on the noted guitarist or his gig, kindly point your browser to marknomad.com.
*
Meanwhile, Kid Millions (best known for his work with the Brooklyn-based band Oneida) checked in to give his two cents on his June 19 Flywheel (flywheelarts.org) engagement.
“[This project is called] Man Forever, and it was created after I saw an orchestrated version of Lou Reed’s Metal Machine Music at the Miller Theater,” the personable percussionist explains.
A multi-drummer rhythm collective, Man Forever begins each performance with a drum roll that is slowly built upon with bass, organ and guitar. The resulting effort often yields sonic soundscapes that meander off into 30-minute-plus terrain.
“It is at once meditative and aggressive,” Millions concludes.
Man Forever’s sophomore studio effort, Pansophical Cataract, arrived in stores mid-May via Thrill Jockey records.
Tix for this show are $8. Doors open at 8 p.m.
*
In other news, after ceremoniously snubbing Guns N’ Roses’ induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, founding frontman Axl Rose continues to make waves—and catch bad karma?—while touring overseas with a band of same name (sans any other original members).
During a May 31 stop at London’s O2 Arena, any fan wearing a T-shirt featuring former lead guitarist Slash was threatened with an early exit.
“We were told by the management not to allow anyone into the O2 Arena who is wearing a Slash T-shirt, and we are asking anyone who is to remove it, and if they refuse, they will be turned away,” O2 Arena security told British music magazine NME.
Five days later, Rose was reportedly relieved of some $200,000 in jewelry (specifically, three of his gold and diamond necklaces) during a stop in Paris, France.
The GNR European trek runs through July 22 at the Iberostar Stadium in Spain. No future U.S. stops have been confirmed.
*
Last but not least, a Sweet gig up in Noho.
On Sunday, June 17, ’90s notable Matthew Sweet takes his album Girlfriend out of mothballs—and up to the Iron Horse—for a special show in which he will perform the seminal album of same name in its entirety some 20 years after its creation.
Girlfriend originally peaked at 100 on the Billboard Top 200. Riding the buzz of its anime-themed video, the title track proper went on to hit number 4 on the Modern Rock chart and 10 on the Mainstream Rock chart while the followup, “Divine Intervention,” topped out at Modern Rock number 23.
Tickets for this 7 p.m. show are $30 in advance, $35 at the door.
Send correspondence to Nightcrawler, P.O. Box 427, Somers, CT 06071; fax to (860) 394-4262 or email garycarra@aol.com.
