They’ve whetted their fans’ collective appetite with countless live performances, titillated them with an EP in 2006. Now, after more than half a decade of existence, the melodic alt-rockers of Pridefalls deliver the goods in Heat, a stunning studio effort that effectively serves as a debut disc.
“Yeah, it’s taken a while,” admits bassist Paul Dionne, “but really, we were able to book a lot of shows on the success of the EP and build up the bank account. Then we went into songwriting mode. Once the tracks were ready and the money level sufficient, we finally got ourselves into the studio, and now we are 100 percent focused and getting this music out there.”
Recorded with Warren Ahmerman at Rotary Records in West Springfield, the 10-tune offering is awash in acoustic-fueled foot tappers (“Falling Away”), stadium-ready fist pumpers (“World On Fire”) and soul-stirring ballads (“Too Soon. Too Late. Never Again.”).
The band—which also consists of the guitar/vocal battery of John Veit and Tim Cullinan and drummer Sean Croteau—officially celebrated the highly anticipated audio endeavor at Maximum Capacity recently, and are slated to play East Longmeadow’s Club Meadows Feb. 18 and Hartford’s Up or On the Rocks March 5.
“We’ll obviously be focusing on the disc,” Dionne adds, “but I must say that no Pridefalls show is ever a repeat in terms of the set list, so you can definitely keep coming back.” In support of his claim, Dionne cites B.O.B.’s “Airplanes” and a “Sweet Home Alabama” medley, both of which have crept into recent Pridefalls performances totally spontaneously.
In the meantime, Heat-seekers can buy all the new tracks at iTunes or catch a couple streaming samples at the band’s online home, pridefalls.com.
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In other news: The venue may be called The Yellow Sofa, but as evidenced by its ever-evolving entertainment calendar, those who own and run the popular Northampton cafe are far from couch potatoes. In fact, beginning Jan. 12, Yellow Sofa Music and Events programmer Leah Thompson says she is kicking off a new monthly series aimed at capitalizing on the wild success of the cafe’s existing open mic nights.
“It’s really open mic on steroids, but we’re officially calling it The Yellow Sofa Royal Variety show,” she explains.
Those slated to perform at the inaugural, invitational event included Michael Silverstone (of Mr. Silverstone and the Silvertone Horns), Julia Alpern, Frank Cable, Laura Titrud and Shaughn Flynn.
“As proponents of local arts, we are very excited about the opportunity to raise the visibility of these musicians,” Thompson concludes. “This new Royal Variety series will do that by giving them a platform to share their music in a slightly more formal and extended setting than the open mics they regularly play here.”
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Speaking of open mics, local promoter Donal Rooke says the Sunday night series he launched at the “Pacific Theater” —aka Northampton’s World War II Club—will celebrate its first birthday next month. The tentative lineup for the weeks leading up to the anniversary includes guest hosts Scott Hall of the Drunk Stuntmen (Jan. 16), Jason Bourgeois (Jan. 23), Paul Rocha and John Lebhar (Jan. 30) and Steve Bilodeau of the Longview Gunslingers (Feb. 6).
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Last but not least, seasoned six-stringer Pete Polis—formerly of the acoustic-driven/harmony-laden Off The Clock and seminal ’80s rockers Redhurs—checked in to report that his current project, Johnny Six Gun, intends to storm September’s (http://septemberslounge.com) in Chicopee on Saturday, Jan. 22 with guns and guitars a-blazin.’
“Anyone who forgot or never knew what two Gibson Les Pauls sound like through Marshall stacks needs to be there for starters, because it’s bone-crushing!” Polis pontificates. “And you throw in our sound, smoke, lasers and other surprises, and it’s as close to a Civic Center-sized show as you’ll find in any club.”
Catch the Nightcrawler every Wednesday at 8:50 a.m. on the Steve Cantara Radio Show, WRNX 100.9 FM. Send correspondence to Nightcrawler, PO Box 427, Somers, CT 06071; fax to (860) 394-4262 or email garycarra@aol.com.
