Northampton-based singer/songwriter Heather Maloney says that if she didn’t write songs, she’d be covered in tattoos, because everything she writes is something “she truly wants to remember forever.”
To the detriment of tattoo parlors the area over, however, Maloney was fortunate enough to ink a deal with regional record label powerhouse Signature Sounds instead. And this Saturday, March 16, she’ll celebrate the recent release of her third full-length album at the Shea Theater in Shelburne Falls.
“I prefer to start writing like I’m writing about somebody else, and maybe it turns out to be autobiographical,” says Heather Maloney of her new, eponymously titled 11-tuned effort. “Sometimes it even happens long after I’ve written the song. I suddenly feel naked, like, ‘Whoa, this is really about me, isn’t it?’”
Unlike her previous songs, Maloney revealed that these new tunes were actually road-tested with Ken Maiuri on bass and veteran percussionist J.J. O’Connell on drums. The experience, she says, “became more multidimensional.”
Tickets for Saturday’s performance are $12 and available at signaturesounds.com.
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In other news, Springfield’s MassMutual Center has been selected as an official stop for a classic rock package tour known as Midwest Rock ’n’ Roll Express. Featuring ’80s icons Ted Nugent, Styx and REO Speedwagon and hailed as one of the “10 hottest summer tours” during its inaugural run in 2012, the 2013 installment calls for an April 23 Springfield play.
“Yo, wake up everybody!” declares Speedwagon’s Kevin Cronin. “Winter is over, the snow is melting and the sun is coming out—it’s time for our annual springtime extravaganza.”
Never one to be outquoted—even at the risk of ceasing to make sense—the irrepressible Nugent countered with the following: “When you live the ultimate American guitar player’s dream, with the ultimate grinding band, performing the most intense, fun songs in the world to the most enthusiastic audiences alive, every concert is an indescribable celebration,” Nuge notes. “Styx and REO deserve me. Here we come again, baby, like dogs in heat!”
Yeah… what he said.
Admission to the Rock ’n’ Roll Express ranges from $35 to $75. To purchase tix or obtain more info, kindly point your browser to massmutuacenter.com.
Since we’ve inadvertently sprung into spring, why not provide a little preview of the perennial boys of summer?
Fresh off an extended stint with Kiss and a lengthy Canadian leg, Sunset Strip sleaze kings Motley Crue return Stateside in May with a headlining run proper.
The U.S. jaunt will kick off Thursday, May 16 in Bangor, Maine and pass through Connecticut’s Mohegan Sun May 18. Tix for the casino show are $59 and $79, depending on your proximity to the barbarity, and available at ticketmaster.com.
Freshly reunited Soundgarden will also deliver the decibels this May. The Seattle scene staples have secured a May 15 engagement at Worcester’s Palladium and a May 17 play at Wallingford, Conn.’s Toyota Presents Oakdale Theater. Tix are available at massconcerts.com for the former and oakdale.com for the latter.
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Speaking of Woostah… American Idol champ Phillip Phillips has been tapped to perform at Assumption College’s annual spring concert April 29. The 22-year-old bested the competition in the popular television series’ 11th season and immediately went to work on his debut full length, The World from the Side of the Moon.
That album would spawn what is arguably considered the best-selling “Idol coronation” song—“Home”—and also garnered him a 2012 Teen Choice Award nomination.
Country duo Love and Theft, best known for their number one hit “Angel Eyes,” gets the opening nod on this one.
While this concert is open to the public, said seats were sold out as of press time. That said, a limited number of student and staff tickets were still available—so perhaps it’s time to hit up some long-lost friends and family if you have any connections.
It’s also rumored that a handful of additional tickets may open up closer to day of show. To monitor this situation yourself, visit cowc.org frequently!
Send correspondence to Nightcrawler, P.O. Box 427, Somers, CT 06071; fax to (860) 394-4262 or email garycarra@aol.com.
