Perennial party band favorites Orange Crush continue to squeeze some high-profile exposure out of small-screen appearances. As reported in a previous installment of this column, the boys of the OC said goodbye to 2011 with a Happy Ending… or, more specifically, having a tune from their 80’s All Over disc featured on the ABC hit comedy.

Now, barely three months later, Orange Crush seems to have appealed to NBC brass as well. The peacock network’s Chevy Chase vehicle, Community, used nearly one minute’s worth of the band’s “All The Pretty Hotels” in its March 22 episode. And an NBC made-for-TV movie… aw, hell, we’ll just let lead singer Scott Lawson Pomeroy tell you about it.

“We had a song featured in NBC’s Game of Life, starring Lea Thompson,” Pomeroy explains. “And the network liked it so much they came back for more. Let the good times double down!”

Speaking of doubling down, local fans will have at least two chances to catch Pomeroy live in the area this month.

On lucky Friday, April 13, he’ll be fronting Orange Crush in Holyoke at the Summit View’s (summitviewbanquethouse.com) “indoor concert series.” Thursday, April 26 finds him at The Rendezvous (rendezvoustfma.com) in Turners Falls with bandmates David Goodrich, Jim Henry, Doug Plavin and Paul Kochanski in a project they call The Neighborhood. “It will be a brief glimpse into another side of my musical personality and it will be for a good cause,” he says.

The Neighborhood will play the Los Lobos album of same name in its entirety and door sales will benefit The Thrive Project—a local not-for-profit organization that provides young adults with “experiences, inspiration, support and role models.” For more info on the men and women involved in it and their mission, kindly point you browser to thethriveproject.org.

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In other news, Valley singer-songwriter John Brandoli (johnbrandoli.com) checked in to report that he is putting the finishing touches on his next studio album, tentatively titled Always A Road. Both a bi-coastal (with portions recorded and mixed in L.A. and and Springfield) and star-studded affair (Jimmy Paxson of Stevie Nicks fame plays drums, Melissa Etheridge’s Brett Simons drops bass and Fear Nuttin Band’s Chris Regan guests on some guitar tracks), the disc—and particularly the title track—has its creator amped to hit the asphalt.

“In that song I write ‘I know the bridge may take you far, far from the ones you love… but let it take you,'” Brandoli explains. “‘There’s always a road back.’ That’s exactly where I am in life—ready to take this amazing group of dudes that make up my band and go to the end of the world and back with this music.”

Not sure where the end of the world is? Just follow the sun. Mohegan Sun, that is. Brandoli holds court at the casino’s Wolf’s Den theater on April 17 for a free concert that will see renowned axe-men Chris Piquette and Chris Brayley, percussionist Ian Hogan, bassist Gary Hamelin and keyboardist Kevin Bias join him onstage.

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Meanwhile, promoter Mark Sheehan reveals that he has concocted a new weekly music series at The Basement (iheg.com) that he considers the audio equivalent of a mid-week booster shot.

“It’s medicinal music to get your tired bones through the end of the work week and refreshed for the weekend,” he declares of his Hump Day Wednesday night concerts.

Beantown’s Magic Magic and Ghost Box Orchestra team up with K Records’ The Curious Mystery to kick things off April 18. The Shape, Skybox and Big Rhythm Wine pump up the “Hump Day” proceedings April 25.

For more information or to have your band considered for a future Wednesday evening slot, e-mail Sheehan direct at carrotnoise@yahoo.com.

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One final program note—The Levon Helms/Sister Sparrow and The Dirty Birds show originally slated for March 2 at The Calvin has been rescheduled for Friday, April 20. All tickets for the original show will be honored.

Send correspondence to Nightcrawler, P.O. Box 427, Somers, CT 06071; fax to (860) 394-4262 or email garycarra@aol.com.