All these years, the conventional wisdom seemed to be that the nebulous, chiseled alien emblazoned on Joe Satriani’s iconic 1987 album was surfing on some otherworldly, ice-like track he could create at his feet on an as-needed basis.
The way local performance artist Seth Lepore sees it, however, the extraterrestrial being in question definitely travels via boogie board.
In what’s being described as an “improvised, interpretive dance freak-out to Joe Satriani’s Surfing With The Alien,” Lepore presents his Dancing With The Alien at Dynamite Space (basement of Thornes) this Saturday, April 23.
“I was obsessed with this album as an adolescent,” the current Westhampton resident explains of the event’s origins. “Ten years ago, in the midst of my 20s, I heard the album being played in its entirety on a local radio station and I realized how ridiculous, beautiful and insane a full guitar-shredding instrumental can be. I am happy to pay tribute to it in the most hysterical way.”
Tickets are available at brownpapertickets.com on a sliding scale basis of $5-$5,000, with all proceeds earmarked for Lepore’s upcoming summer opus Losing My Religion: Confessions of a New Age Refugee.
*
In other news, the recently reunited Thirty Stones (thirty-stones.com) resurface locally for the first time since Turkey Day for an April 23 Maximum Capacity engagement. While such a gap is admittedly lengthy, singer Keith Hopkinson is quick to note that he and his Stones have remained far from sedentary in the space between.
“Let’s see—we went to the NAMM convention in California, and played a few shows in L.A. and Hollywood,” Hopkinson recalls. “We’re also in the midst of writing and recording the follow-up to our record Canvas, and shot a video for our endorsement with Crafter guitars.”
Festival appearances in Chicago and Dallas are also in the works for the band this summer.
*
If local party-band faves Killshot (killshotband.com) sound extra beefy the following night, April 24, when they open for AC/DC imitators Back in Black at Geraldine’s, it could very well be the mere fact that they got Ball(s).
“We are proud to announce Tim Ball, formerly of Aquanett and Doom Nation, as our new drummer,” guitarist Eric Franco declares.
Ball officially dropped into the Killshot fold April 8, replacing Brian Nicholls, who recently relocated out of the region.
*
Last up, speedy recovery wishes to scene stalwart Mark Sheehan, who suffered a horrific accident on March 30 that left him with a bleeding spleen, broken ribs and sternum, staples in his head and a partially collapsed lung.
“I was run off the road across from the Oxbow going about 65 miles per hour,” Sheehan recalls of the incident, “and had to be cut out from the guard rail by the jaws of life.”
On Saturday, April 9, no fewer than a dozen of the Valley’s better-known outfits, including Fancy Trash, Paper Piano, Ribboncandy, Spouse, The Fawns and Claudia Malibu, performed at a benefit for the man roundly recognized for giving virtual unknowns the chance to perform at the likes of The Elevens or the Sierra Grille.
“He’s always booked music that he loves and has not been necessarily concerned with what’s a guaranteed draw,” remarks Jason Bourgeois (Bourgeois Heroes). “What we have is a man with an enormous heart and one of the few people I’ve met in my life who possesses a bottomless supply of enthusiasm.”
“I’ve always put on benefit shows whenever I could help and never thought, even after the accident, that I’d be the recipient of such a show,” Sheehan confesses. “I had no collision [coverage], so the car’s a total loss. It’s going to be a long road to recovery for me, too, of course, and I thank Northampton for their love and support.”
Send correspondence to: Nightcrawler, P.O. Box 427, Somers, CT 06071; fax to (860) 394-4262 or e-mail Garycarra@aol.com.
