Love 'em or hate 'em, the melodic rockers of The Room have a special Valentine's Day present guaranteed to warm the most tepid of cockles this Saturday.
In what must be the first such billing of its kind, the band's Feb. 14 Max Cap engagement is being touted as a "Farewell/Reunion." And the blatant dichotomy—not to mention the Crawler's suggestion that a raucous cover of the Beatles' "Hello/Goodbye" seems mandatory in such an instance—is certainly not lost on the evening's chief architect, Eric Arena, or his Room mates.
"I realize it's all unusual," says the affable frontman/fretman. "But the more I thought of it, it's an unusual night in that we will be retiring all of the old material and reuniting with our original drummer. So why not celebrate that?"
While there certainly isn't sufficient space for The Room's complete rock resum?, here's the Cliff's Notes version: The band was founded in late 2004 and took the stage for the first time in February of '05, supporting friends The Fear Nuttin' Band. From there, things literally picked up—and the band packed up—for a mini-tour of Montreal in support of their critical acclaimed debut disc that dropped that summer. Another studio effort, the purchase and rockified renovation of an ambulance-cum-tour bus and a passing of the percussive duties to one Chris Fortin came in the years that followed. As did a distinction that, while not clearly defined, still passes as a career highlight in Arena's estimation.
"Yeah, we did win the Lazer 99.3 House Band contest in 2007," he explains. "I don't think, to this day, anyone in the band or at Lazer could tell you what that was supposed to mean. But it was good exposure, and we love hanging with Haze and Courtney."
Between lingering moniker squabbles with a band of the same name from the '80s and Fortin's impending marriage and migration to New Hampshire, Arena says he has finally decided to close the door on The Room's past this weekend (when original drummer Jay Cole will man the throne) and will release all future material with a new project: "Of course, I have no idea what the name of that project will be or what direction our reformed band will go in. But those brokenhearted by The Room's farewell show this Valentine's Day can rest assured we will be back in one form or another."
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In stark contrast, fans of the Bay State's own Melissa Ferrick or the venue where she performs this Friday (the Iron Horse) appear to have their affections rooted in some decidedly dependable—and time-tested—partners.
As of the recent release of her ninth CD, Goodbye Youth, Ferrick has peddled her unique amalgam of indie folk-rock for nearly two decades. And this Friday, she'll help the Horse celebrate its 30th year of bringing music to the masses.
"It [the Iron Horse] and Noho have always been special to me," the Ipswich native reveals. "With the large woman's community and all the colleges, they really embraced me, right from the beginning."
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Last up, one of the Valley's most talented and prolific songwriters, Jesse Sterling Harrison, checked in to leak a track off Jackhammer Soul, his 17th release in almost as many years.
Harrison has always had an uncanny knack for quirky/complex composition—and always proves he knows all the rules before he systematically dismantles them. "Keep It Red" proves no exception, with Sterling Harrison striking indie-alt gold in the vein of higher-order songcrafters Radiohead or Trent Reznor on a good day.
It all starts out simply enough, in a warbling, Spaghetti Western/balladeer fashion. But it's a relative calm before the sonic storm, as it all decays into a beautiful cacophony of dissonance and menacing drum marches. Just when the ears adjust to that, he pulls the tempo rug out from under your feet. Rhythmically and harmonically, the composition hangs by a thread as Harrison howls, "I'm keeping it so real."
Yeah—real interesting.
Visit jessesterlingharrison.com to learn more about the man and his music.
Send correspondence to Nightcrawler, P.O. Box 427, Somers, CT 06071; fax to (860) 698-9373 or email Garycarra@aol.com.
