Back in the day, he literally had a spinning drumkit that would extend above the crowd and rotate as he jammed.
Nowadays, rocker/TV personality Tommy Lee is equally likely to be found spinning records as he is pounding skins with his Motley Crue.
“I started deejaying and realized you could [do] all these things, musically,” Lee says of his leap from the drum throne to the turntables. “It got to the point where we were playing all these Methods of Mayhem shows, and after those, we’d go DJ an entire party without stopping. We ended up having so much fun that we knew we had to take it further and bring the DJ act on the road.”
The result of that epiphany has come to be known as Electro Mayhem, a dance-inducing duo featuring Lee and DJ Aero that has turned up at parties from New York to Reykjavik in recent years, and is slated to rock Springfield’s newly re-opened Paramount Theater this Saturday, May 22.
“When we’re on stage deejaying, we totally know what each other is thinking without having to say a word,” Lee says of his collaborator in creating “dirty, filthy electro-house.” “It also just happens that he’s a really cool guy and a complete gear freak, too.”
To get your freak on with Lee and his Electro Mayhem this weekend, visit hdrome.com and/or tickets.com. Tickets are $25.
*
In other news: this one time, at a music camp in New Hampshire… the area’s own Connie Boyle said she struck up a friendship with national flat-picking champion Mark Cosgrove and the fiddle/banjo/clogging combo of John Kirk and Trish Miller.
“They are just such amazing performers, I decided I would try and organize a concert for them here in the Berkshires,” she explains.
Not one to let a little thing like never before promoting a show deter her, Boyle says she promptly enlisted the services of her partner, Renee Burke, and immediately dove headlong into scheduling and negotiations.
The results of her efforts will be realized this Saturday, May 22, when Cosgrove, Kirk and Miller travel from their respective homes in Pennsylvania and New York to perform at the Barrington Stage Company’s Main Theater in Pittsfield.
“The hall seemed appropriate and the price was right,” Boyle says. “I’m sure it will be a great night of entertainment. Now we just need people to buy tickets!”
To obtain yours, call (413) 236-8888 or visit barringtonstageco.org. Seating/price options include $25 for main floor or $20 for balcony.
*
Speaking of migrating musicians, Henning Ohlenbusch and his Rub Wrongways Records Caravan of Stars have booked a May 22 show at the Montague Bookmill (montaguebookmill.com) this weekend.
“The Caravan of Stars promotes literacy,” Ohlenbusch says. “Last winter we played the Forbes Library, and now the Bookmill… but, hey, books dig music, and our songs sometimes read like books.”
In addition to what has become another popular staple of the series—crowd-fueled Mad Libs—this particular Caravan excursion features Dennis Crommett (Winterpills, Spanish For Hitchhiking) with Matthew Latkiewicz (McSweeney’s) and the Rub Wrongways supergroup in tow.
*
Last up, Brotherman‘s Eric Brandoli checked in to report that not only does absinthe apparently make the heart grow fonder, it can also land you new bandmates.
“Myself, John Currier of Organism and Ed Balon of The Kings vacationed in Amsterdam last month,” he explains. “We ended up bonding over a run in absinthe and playing an open mic that went over well, and the next thing you know, we’re bandmates considering a European tour. Of course, at the time, I was sure my bandmates were really muppets with mullets, but that’s a whole other story.”
This Saturday, May 22, Brandoli and one of his muppets… er, musicians, John Currier, serve up their patented amalgam of funk/reggae/soul at Sam’s Pizza in Northampton. The show starts at 8 p.m.
Catch the Nightcrawler Wednesday mornings at 8:50 a.m. on WRNX 109.9 FM on the Steve Cantara Morning Show. Send correspondence to Nightcrawler, P.O. Box 427, Somers, CT 06071; fax to (860) 698-9373 or email Garycarra@aol.com.
