ImperiumWatch: Slick and Sleazy

by | May 27, 2010 | News

One of the sleazy things about oil spills like the current British Petroleum mess in the Gulf of Mexico is that they’re front-loaded and back-loaded with our money. It’s what we pay that makes oil a profitable business, and, until Congress changes the laws...
Nightcrawler: West Side Story

Nightcrawler: West Side Story

by | May 27, 2010 | Music

As less than subtly implied by its title, West Side’s Taste of The Valley was created to showcase West Springfield in all its culinary splendor. And, while the current incarnation of the annual event is certainly in keeping with that mission statement, Stella...
Behind the Beat: Dream Songs

Behind the Beat: Dream Songs

by | May 27, 2010 | Music

Valley band Oweihops—singer/songwriter and guitarist Michael Metivier, drummer and multi-instrumentalist Aric Bieganek and cellist Rebekah Dutkiewicz—know how to set a mood. Inspired by the likes of Neil Young, Will Oldham, and hometown heroes The Scud...

Art in Paradise: Are We Not Men?

by | May 27, 2010 | Music

Among the perilously drifting banks of emails that pile up in my inbox every day, a question recently struck me like a spotlight. It said, “Hertz: Music Industry’s New Star Maker?” The taste that hit my tongue upon reading those words was rather like...
Nightcrawler: Sonny Days Again

Nightcrawler: Sonny Days Again

by | May 27, 2010 | Music

As frontman Mike Bean explains, it was literally the arrival of sons—and daughters— that spurred a years-long live hiatus for his band Jacob’s Son. “Some of us in the band were adding to our families, and it just made shows a back burner item...