Art in Paradise: A Silver Tone

by | Sep 9, 2010 | Music

When I first arrived in the Valley back in 1995, I promptly started looking for new bandmates. In that search, I came across singer/songwriters, some full of an earnest generosity of spirit, others whose work was inscrutable or even odd. (One of them proudly...
Nightcrawler: Twilight Zone

Nightcrawler: Twilight Zone

by | Sep 9, 2010 | Music

They changed the face of local music, and provided a template for venues featuring original acts to imitate. They had art. They championed diversity. In fact, as far as then-scenester Bill Myers recalls, the only thing the former Zone Art Center on Dwight Street in...
Cinema Dope: Pictures at an Exhibition

Cinema Dope: Pictures at an Exhibition

by | Sep 9, 2010 | Film

One of the pleasant quirks about the film scene in the Pioneer Valley is that a great many movies are screening in unusual, unexpected, or out of the way places. Sometimes, as with Pleasant Street’s 40-odd seat Little Theater, that place is even in a proper...
Beer: Up to the Challenge

Beer: Up to the Challenge

by | Sep 9, 2010 | Food + Booze

Returning to the office a few weeks back, I found a battered brown paper bag sitting under my desk. Inside there were three beers from Peak Organic Brewing in Maine, and a note from their local sales representative. Earlier this summer, I reviewed the contents of a...