Around these parts, local blues-pop-rock practitioners Group Deville have built a reputation for being almost as classic—and certainly as classy—as the iconic Cadillac that inspired their moniker.
The veteran Valley band celebrates a decade of delivering instantly accessible ditties this Sunday, Oct. 4 at the Iron Horse. And, in listening to frontman Rick Murnane reminisce about years gone by, it's easy to ascertain how he and his bandmates reached the elusive musical milestone. They have the "group" mentality.
"We've made a lot of friends along the way, and at the same time, become good friends to ourselves," Murnane muses. "We may just be part-time, but we've also become a part of the local landscape, and we're thankful for being able to be involved in so many great events in various communities."
On the studio side, Murnane notes that each member of the Group troop has improved with each CD. And their latest effort—an as-yet-untitled project that will mark the first time they have ever outsourced packaging ("we were always DIY, burning discs on home computers and slapping on sticker labels in our homes," he says, laughing)— proves no exception.
"It's a major step forward for us all musically, and we're very happy with the mixes thus far," he reports. "We will release it next year, and plan on spending 2010 playing out as much as possible. Aside from this special anniversary show this Sunday, you won't see us out much more between now and then."
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Meanwhile, over at the Mullins Center… the circus, or more accurately, Cirque Du Soleil, has left town, making room for the "Jigga Man," Jay-Z, to roll into the Amherst venue on Sunday, Oct. 25—fresh off his The Blueprint 3 release last month. For tix, visit livenation.com.
In other news, your friendly neighborhood Crawler is certainly familiar with Richard Thompson. The British-born six-stringer has had his works covered by no less than Elvis Costello and Los Lobos and been named one of the Top 20 Guitar Greats by Rolling Stone in recent years.
When it comes to Thompson's opening act at the Calvin Theater this Tuesday, Oct. 6, it took a lovable cast of stoners and a certain unplanned pregnancy of note to bring Loudon Wainwright III onto his radar.
As the final credits roll to the 2007 Seth Rogen blockbuster Knocked Up, it is Wainwright's "Daughter" that meanders beautifully into the soundscape for all those lingering in the theater. The tune itself pulls at the heartstrings of fathers in ways perhaps not realized since Harry Chapin's "Cat's In The Cradle," and a healthy perusal of Wainwright's extensive catalogue proves that he has been peddling this patented amalgam of thoughtful imagery and well-crafted folk pop for some time now. Tickets for Tuesday's show are available at iheg.com and range from $25-$45.
Since we're Iron Horsin' around… you may not necessarily have had to be in a state of prolonged unconsciousness not to have heard of San Antonio rockers Girl In A Coma. But considering that the band has recently performed with Morrissey and Tegan and Sara, and that its latest release, Trio B.C., was selected as one of Dave Navarro's "favorite releases of the summer," attendees of its impending Oct. 5 Iron Horse gig certainly appear to have their fingers on the pulse of the modern music scene. To obtain vital info on the band, the show or the disc that has the former Jane's axe-man so amped up, kindly point your browser to girlinacoma.com.
Send correspondence to Nightcrawler, P.O. Box 427, Somers, CT 06071; fax to (860) 698-9373 or email: garycarra@aol.com.
