Not sure about the hills, but the Valley will certainly be alive with the sound of music this weekend. Since there hasn't been so much to report in recent history, Nightcrawler forgoes the usual introductory pleasantries and dives right in this week.
Wiggle room in Greenfield: Max Creek, Melvin Sparks and Gongzilla are among 40 acts slated to help the Wormtown Trading Company "ring" in its eighth annual fall music festival this weekend, Sept. 14-16, at Greenfield's Camp Kee-Wanee. "I really think we've outdone ourselves this time," affirms head Worm Gabrielle Blanchette. "Anytime you get Tony Vacca heading up your drum workshop, you know it's going to be a great time, too."
And one that will benefit at least three good causes, with weekend-long collections planned for the Camp, the Greenfield Fire Department and the Franklin County Food Bank. For more info on the bands, benevolence and more, kindly point your browser to: www.wormtown.com.
A shoe-in for a good time: What's better than two days of music with hosts the Drunk Stuntmen and guests The Lonesome Brothers, The Bum Steers and Rob Skelton's Pitchfork, along with food and drinks? All of the above, plus a bonafide horseshoe tournament with an awards ceremony, will be happening Sept. 15-16 at the Rt. 63 Roadhouse in Millers Falls (see www.drunkstuntmen.com).
Watcher becomes doer: When Rudy Renaud learned that a Gay/Straight Alliance was being formed in South Hadley, the Watcher drummer says she had no choice but to spring into action. "These groups [GSAs] are so important for kids who, at times it seems, have no where else to turn," she explains. Jersey girl Stephanie Marshall, Beantown's The Milling Gowns and local faves Spouse will join Renaud and Watcher for a GSA benefit this Friday, Sept. 14 at the VFW in Florence. Doors open at 7 p.m.; recommended donation is $5.
Dolby sound experience: He blinded us with science. Now electro-pop pioneer Thomas Dolby heats up his new sound with horns—San Francisco's celebrated Jazz Mafia Horns, to be exact. Dolby hooked up with the brass-y boys this past March for an appearance at South By Southwest and apparently liked what he heard so much he released five of the tunes on his own Lost Toy People imprint as a live EP. While a reworking of George Clinton's "Hot Sauce" easily percolates to the top of the crop with its head-bopping synths and wah-popping guitar lines, another track—"Your Karma Hit My Dogma"— has garnered the most attention, albeit for the backstory that inspired it. According to Dolby, "Karma" concerns his recent legal fracas with Kevin Federline, who he claims illegally sampled one of his works. Dolby and The Jazz Mafia Horns will perform at Noho's Iron Horse Sept. 16.
And then there were eight? Fellow sax-man Tom Mahnken reports that after his band, Unit 7, performs its patented amalgam of funk, soul and jazz at the Iron Horse this Friday, Sept. 14, its membership will dip from nine to eight as singer Kim Zombik says goodbye and heads to her new home in Montreal. Now that Unit 7 is so close to achieving numerical consistency with the number of its members, any chance of booting someone else, Tom?
"No, I don't think so," he chortles. "We're just focusing on songs that are not as Kim-centric."
For the record: A record fair benefiting Flywheel takes place at Eastworks in Easthamp Saturday, Sept. 15 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. That same evening, indie singer/songwriter Adam Sweeney celebrates his new disc, Technicolor Halo, with a release party at Noho's Basement.
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