On any given sunny afternoon on Orchard Street in Northampton, passersby might see a young couple and their toddler out for a stroll, an elderly couple gently rocking on their porch swing, or perhaps a grad student taking his daily dusk bike ride. Orchard Street is home to everyone from hipsters and lawyers to retirees and musicians. In one apartment complex on the street, musicians from four bands reside.
That close proximity of musicians was the impetus for Orchardfest, a night of music at the Elevens featuring performances by progressive pop band Abeja, hip-hop band Don't, rock band The Epic and power pop band The Brass. Orchardfest is the brain child of Iron Horse manager, bassist for the Brass and Orchard Street resident Neil Robinson.
On a beautiful sunny day last week, Robinson sat down with the Valley Advocate and discussed the upcoming festival, the music scene in Northampton and how his job at the Iron Horse has influenced his taste in music.
Valley Advocate: How did you come up with the idea for Orchardfest?
Robinson: Orchard Street is a very vibrant place, especially with all these bands living here& Because of the way the building is arranged, you can always tell if somebody plays a show—there's usually some sort of party after. Plus, I wanted to play with people I like. I think everyone should get a chance to play out at venues for their fans and friends. The amount of effort that goes into playing in a band is huge, and if you're crazy enough to do that, you should get a chance to play out at venues for fans and friends. You could be working another job, contributing to your IRA or paying off your mortgage, but instead you're arguing about phrasing in somebody's basement. It's a labor of love.
Is organizing shows something you would like to do more of?
I wouldn't rule it out—maybe. With Orchardfest, I wanted to try and put on a show with a theme featuring a bunch of different bands. But I needed something to hold it all together, so there could be synergy. So I thought, with different bands living in close proximity, even if they're not collaborating with each other, it still feels like you're playing a show with people that you know. The whole thing just hangs together as a concept. The whole becomes greater than the sum of its parts.
You've been in the Valley since the early '90s. How has the music scene changed since then?
There's definitely more music in the Valley now than back then. There are less migrant musicians who moved here for the scene, but there are plenty of homegrown bands. Little kids that grew up here in the '90s, saw other bands like Sebadoh, the Fawns, King Radio and Dinosaur Jr. so they knew it wasn't some weird foreign thing that they couldn't do.
It seems as if you're all for promoting local, up-and-coming bands. And you manage the Iron Horse, a venue that has received criticism for not supporting local music.
Well, I think that particular criticism comes from an older generation. Years ago, [former Iron Horse owner] Jordi Herold got that reputation. He'd tell people flat-out that he didn't think they were good enough or if he didn't like their band& He wouldn't book Sebadoh when they were coming up.
However, the Iron Horse is a showcase for regional and national acts. It does a disservice to not have some kind of standard. I feel like bands should be at a certain level when they play that room.
Has working at the Iron Horse made you better at putting on shows like Orchardfest?
Having worked in the business for this long—10 years—I know what needs to happen to make a show run smoothly from a production point of view. It's helped me just be able to organize, although, truth be told, it's not really that difficult.
Has seeing so many shows changed how you appreciate music?
I've seen probably 5,000 shows. Sometimes my experience of the night will color my experience of a band or a genre. If your fans are annoying, I'm probably not going to like your band. But I've gotten past that after having more experience. Mostly, I enjoy shows where the band breaks up the style of what they're playing. Some bands, after about 20 minutes, I've heard what they have to say musically. Then I'm just watching the clock&
Artists are people who take a form and lend their character and their emotion to it. Something about that kind of music engages me. You can't just learn the songs and play the notes. You could give a monkey an arm operation and train it to play Stevie Ray Vaughan Texas blues licks… But why should Texas blues be a prisoner to his ghost? Why should reggae be a prisoner to Bob Marley's ghost?
Hold on a second—an arm operation?
Yeah, you know, make its arm bigger so it could hold the guitar. Or I guess you could just use chimps.
Why did you decide to have the show at The Elevens, rather than the Iron Horse?
Well, Don [Rooke, manager and talent buyer for The Elevens] was very receptive to the idea and it just seems like a good home for us at this point. Plus The Elevens is a rock club, and I really like that.
So what's Orchard Street going to look like after this show?
Well, it's on a Sunday night, so probably nothing too crazy. But some people might want to think about calling in sick on Monday."
Orchardfest takes place on May 18 at 9 p.m. at The Elevens, 140 Pleasant St., Northampton, (413) 586-9155, www.elevensmusic.com.
