Singer Doron Monk Flake wishes there was a simple trick he could share with his fellow musicians for landing such treats as an opening slot for Living Colour/Saul Williams Halloween night—as he and his merry band of Nutmeg State funk rockers The Smyrk will do this Oct. 31 at Pearl Street in Northampton.
But alas, the true tale behind The Smyrk's coveted slot procurement is one both often told yet somehow nearly impossible to replicate, as is so often the case in the music industry: just be good, work hard… then get lucky.
"That show is actually part of the Afropunk tour, which we've been associated with for years and even played their South by Southwest showcase in March," Flake explains. "So we knew we had this spot opening for Saul, then were ecstatic to learn Living Colour was added to two of our dates. I would probably not be in this band were it not for seeing them rock for brothas when I was a kid."
Flake went on to reveal that he and bandmates Alex Marans, Ari Sadowitz and Chris Barone are actually no strangers to good fortune.
In fact, as far as they are concerned, the proverbial "fickle finger of fate" must belong to Incubus bassist Ben Kenney—who in turned used the distinguished digit to click his mouse on their Myspace a couple years back.
"I guess he liked what he heard, and offered to fly us to his house in California to produce a record for us for free," the soulful singer says.
The result of those sessions yielded 2007's New Fiction, and that disc, as well as 2005's self-produced Monsters On Maple Street (which was also picked up by Kenney for distribution), quickly became best sellers on Kenney's Ghetto Crush imprint.
(Full disclosure: Although the Crawler was only familiar with his music at the time of this interview, Flake is also a writer for the New Haven Advocate. That publication is no longer affiliated with the Valley Advocate.)
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Meanwhile, on Tuesday, Nov. 3 at the Iron Horse, local singer-songwriter Dennis Crommett will have his opportunity to share the stage with the offspring of an icon that he says greatly influenced his career.
"I am opening for Paul Simon's son, Harper Simon, and I'd imagine I got the gig because it seems a good match. There are frequent comparisons made between my music and Simon and Garfunkel," the solo artist/Winterpills six-stringer says. "I'm excited because I so admire his father, but I'm also looking forward to hearing Harper do his own thing. I'm sure it's a challenge to live in the shadow of such an influential parent."
For his part, Crommett adds that he is both well rested and armed with a slew of new material—courtesy of a recent four-day songwriting retreat in northern Maine.
While he would not commit to saying just how many of the freshly penned compositions would make it onto his Nov. 3 set list, he does note that anyone who purchases Iron Horse tickets through his website—denniscrommett.com—will receive a free, unreleased 6-song EP.
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Lest area jam fans think they are up the creek this All Hallow's Eve, one of the genre's favored sons, Max Creek, will hold court upstairs at Pearl Street Oct. 31.
The same evening, Amherst's The Alchemystics (myspace.com/thealchemystics) lend their patented amalgam of hip-hop/reggae sounds to The Elevens and its Halloween Bash, replete with the Goosepimp Orchestra. The evening before, Oct. 30, they also up the audio ante at The Reverend Tor Band's 15th annual Halloweekend, occurring this year at Bucksteep Manor in Washington, Mass.
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A final housekeeping item: Those still planning on shuffling off to the Donna The Buffalo show slated for Nov. 6 at Pearl Street should know that that show has been cancelled. A makeup date for 2010 has been promised, however. For updates on exactly when it might be, monitor the Pearl Street tab at iheg.com.
Send correspondence to Nightcrawler, P.O. Box 427, Somers, CT 06071; fax to (860) 698-9373 or e-mail garycarra@aol.com.
