They’ve been the darlings of the cover circuit for nearly a decade, played college campuses the country over, and opened for more national acts than there were teenagers dressed as Snookie this past Halloween.
So just what is the next frontier for Maxxtone—and their nearly 500-tune master setlist—to tackle? Karaoke, according to crooner Aaron Faye.
“But there ain’t no video screen or bouncing ball to follow,” the affable frontman adds. Rather, as the old Nickelback song goes, “We all just wanna be big rockstars.”
And with Faye and fellow Maxxtone-ian Pete Maserati backing you up with live instruments at Headquarters in Agawam every Thursday night, it’s now possible for anyone to live out the dream—for a few moments, anyway.
“It’s like an American Idol meets open mic for singers,” Faye says of the series he has dubbed Rockstar Karaoke. “You are Mick Jagger, you are Britney Spears. We play, and read the music printed out on the music stand before you.”
At present, Rockstar Karaoke remains a two-man acoustic affair with Faye and Maserati on six-strings. Should the series continue to expand its popularity and fan base as it has since its inception just last month, Faye notes that it could easily expand to a full electric backing band format.
“Obviously, having a real band behind you adds so much more to the experience,” the master of ceremonies concludes. “But we all know, good rock ‘n’ roll don’t come cheap.”
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Good point, but not entirely true—especially when considering the case of Valley roots rockers Merrick Section. In fact, those seeking the local notables’ contribution to the latest Wilco tribute CD—I’m The Fan That Loves You, Part III—need only point a browser to http://thevctributes.com/?p=tribute3 to download it (and the entire disc and artwork, for that matter) completely gratis.
As Merrick’s personable percussionist Jim Walsh explains, the project was spearheaded by Via Chicago—a Wilco fan site that, while not officially run by the band or management, certainly has ties to it, not to mention global followers.
“We’ve made no secret of our love of Wilco, so we jumped at the opportunity to get involved,” Walsh recalls. “Problem was, this was right when our bassist quit. So it ended up being Tom Doherty playing guitar, bass and singing on the cut while I played drums and kind of ran the session along with Zing Studio’s Engineer Eric Arena.”
Quite simply, the resulting product—”Misunderstood”—is one of the most stunning efforts to ever come out of the Merrick Section camp. The guitars blister and grind along with a ferocity and intensity not unlike Smashing Pumpkins (back when the Smashing Pumpkins were good—think “Cherub Rock”), only to effervesce into ethereal verses before reorganizing for a triumphant return. No wonder the project organizers selected it for the disc opener.
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Last but not least, local folk fave Meg Hutchinson—fresh off the recently revived Lilith Fair—stops by the Iron Horse Music Hall this Sunday, Dec. 5 with her Billboard-charting album The Living Side in tow.
“I think of this album as a conversation,” Hutchinson says of the body of work that tackles everything from billion dollar bailouts to global warming and being overwhelmed with technology. “These songs are full of questions, and I’ve tried to leave space for the listener to answer.”
Hutchinson’s bill will be rounded out with fellow Beantown-based singer/songwriters Antje Duvekot, Anne Heaton and Natalia Zukerman. Tix are $12.50 in advance, $15 at the door and as always, available at iheg.com. Doors open at 7 p.m.
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.
