Like many of their contemporaries, Greenfield's Stone Coyotes have been cranking out CDs and hitting the live circuit for years in hopes of securing a national recording contract and perhaps even a little taste of international fame. In a somewhat ironic twist, however, this particular family-based trio is currently inching ever closer to its big dreams courtesy of a new small-screen association with a certain Hawaiian-based bounty hunting company.
"Our song, 'Hammer On The Nail,' was used for the season premiere of Dog the Bounty Hunter," explains Coyote crooner/guitarist Barbara Keith. "Apparently, the production company—and we hear even Dog [Duane Chapman] and his wife Beth—are Coyote fans and would like to use four more tracks in upcoming episodes."
While the Coy-Dog collaboration has undoubtedly upped the band's exposure level exponentially, Keith reports that yet another high-profile development—the recently approved merger of Sirius and XM—has all but de-fanged the Coyotes' once ferocious satellite-driven attack.
"XCountry 12, a channel that has championed us from the beginning, is now called Outlaw Country and has a completely different format," she says. "Another channel that has carried us in the past, Deep Tracks, survived the merger, but, really, we need fans to call and email both and request more than ever."
For the contact info to do that—or check up on the band's forthcoming CD and other news—kindly point your browser to stonecoyotes.com.
Similarly sinking their teeth into recent small screen success are Signature Sounds recording artists Crooked Still. The alt-bluegrass/folk outfit recently contributed one of their now-signature tunes—"Ain't No Grave"—to the Nov. 23 installment of HBO's vampire-ish new series, True Blood. This Friday, Nov. 28, they'll perform live at the Narrows Center for the Arts in Fall River.
Last up& many are the motivators behind a rock 'n' roll reunion. Sometimes they're spurred by some sort of lifetime achievement award. Other times, all parties involved finally come to the realization that there's so much money to be made that who slept with whose wife and who took whose drugs back in the day doesn't seem nearly as troubling as it once did.
In the case of The Sighs and their triumphant return to the stage this Friday, Nov. 28 at Pearl Street, though, bassist/vocalist Tommy Pluta revealed that the auspicious occasion has literally been in the cards for years.
"I don't think we've played in public for at least a decade," Pluta, now director of sales for Clear Channel Springfield, reports. "But the truth is, we're all still great friends and we get together all the time to play cards."
Not surprisingly, Pluta adds that the prospect of reuniting the former Charisma Records recording artists has popped up and floated around almost as frequently as the I.O.U. slips during such "dealer's choice" sessions through the years& but there's always been a wild card to contend with: singer Bobby LaRoche officially resides in Texas.
"The last time we played, Bobby said that he was coming home for a stretch in Thanksgiving, and we finally decided to go for it," he says. "We've since had a couple of practices, too, and it's amazing to me how everyone's been able to pick up right where we left off."
A Western Mass-produced product from the get-go, The Sighs were discovered at NYC's famous China Club and saw their power-pop studio debut, What Goes On, enjoy both national distribution and critical acclaim in 1991. Rounded out by guitarist Matt Cullen and drummer Tom Borawski, the band eventually toured with the likes of the Gin Blossoms, Dada and the Spin Doctors before its members broke off to seed other notable Valley endeavors, including Mary's First, Ware River Club, Angry Johnny and The Killbillies and Patricia Vonne.
Local acoustic rocker Frank Manzi has been given the opening nod for this Friday's exclusive hometown performance. For show times, ticket prices and the like, visit iheg.com."
Send correspondence to Nightcrawler, P.O. Box 427, Somers, CT 06071; fax to (860) 698-9373 or email Garycarra@aol.com.
