Considering that Drew Hickum claims to have listened to Live At Folsom Prison until the grooves wore out, your friendly neighborhood Nightcrawler was expecting to hear some parallels to the late, great man in black and the line he so famously walked. As the West Virginia-born Valley transplant details his foray into folk music, it seems a more appropriate backdrop for his life could be Forrest Gump. After all, this is a guy who says at the age of 12 he carried a "beater guitar" around as his family moved from state to state, yet never played it. Then one day in March of 2006, for no particular reason, he started strumming.
"Well, there was a small reason, but it certainly wasn't monumental—even a little embarrassing," he says. "I was listening to Natalie Portman, and it occurred to me that here was a person my age becoming part of the cultural discourse& maybe it's time I enter the discussion?"
And—much like Gump's post-epiphany trek across the country—it turns out that Hickum (www.drewhickum.com) had a lot to say. In fact, the prolific six-stringer says he has inked one tune a week since that fateful career decision. While he balks at the mere notion of chronicling his personal life in his lyrics ("Goodness, how dull would that be?" he asks), he adds that he finds ample fodder in the tales of others—which he gets from magazines, television and his day-to-day. And luckily, the current city planner at the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission says his workplace seems supportive of his tune quota.
"By that, I mean that no one seems to mind me walking around West Springfield singing to myself," he explains. "But I do think I look like a weirdo sometimes."
The Drew Hickum Band pulls double duty this Saturday, July 14, performing at Bishop's Lounge at 6 p.m., then high-tailing it over to The Elevens for a 9 p.m. nightcap. In addition to Hickum on guitar and vocals, the band includes fellow six-stringer/singer Lisa Marie, Adam Sweeney on banjo, and bassist Matt Silberstein.
In contrast, Longmeadow-based singer/songwriter Sean McMahon (www.seanmcmahon.com) says he's been kicking around the Valley for more than five years, performing both solo and with the band Counterpoint. In recent weeks, however, a Youtube posting of a song he performed at the Iron Horse seems to have upped his exposure exponentially.
"The song ["The Ballad of Mighty Jim and His Mother"] comes from childhood memories surrounding the suicide of my 16-year-old neighbor," says McMahon, who studies improvisation at the New England Conservatory of Music. "I play the song every chance I get, because you never know who needs it. Even at that Iron Horse show, a woman came up to me after and broke down because she had just lost someone."
McMahon is scheduled to perform at Geraldine's Lounge in West Springfield on Monday, July 16 with the band Tidwill's Treasure.
Rounding out our singer-songwriter series this installment is one Bob Pepek, who performs at Chicopee's Maximum Capacity Thursday, July 12. (Full disclosure: he's the Nightcrawler's cousin.) The show is 18-plus and will also feature openers The Glisten Effect and Shattersphere.
All that remains is that hometown heroes All That Remains (www.allthatremains.com) return to the Valley for a one-night engagement at Holyoke's Waterfront Tavern Sunday, July 15. Then Phil Labonte and the boys head down to Mexico, then across the pond for a European excursion. Rounding out the bill are 100 Demons, Our Darkest Day, Well Enough Alone and Jerine, the last of which features former members of Flatlined."
Send correspondence to Nightcrawler, P.O. Box 427, Somers, CT 06071; fax to (860) 698-9373 or email Garycarra@aol.com.
