Like the old Baystate Hotel music venue—eventually reborn as Sierra Grille—Northampton’s Auto Climax Control shut it down for awhile.
“ACC played at the original Baystate,” says guitarist and singer Chris Croteau. “The band had a different lineup back then. The last show we played before they closed the doors was in 2001 with Probates and Model Rocket.”
Soon after that night—one that ended with a visit from the Northampton Police Department—the band went silent. When Croteau picked things back up recently, he thought it natural that the old name be reintroduced despite that fact that he was the only founder remaining.
When it came time to draft new players, Croteau didn’t mess around. He recruited three of the area’s finest.
“Kurt Fedora has been kicked out of more bands in the Valley than any other musician around,” says Croteau. “That’s why we had to have him play bass for us. Ironically, Kurt has actually had more musical success than most people I have met, Lollapalooza tours and movie soundtracks to name a few.”
The band also features Nick Parsons, spawned from “a family of great drummers,” and guitar slinger Joe Boyle, whose “super human guitar licks have graced hundreds of recordings and countless shows,” Croteau says. “He has recently been touring with Peter Tork. We are very lucky to have him with us.”
Auto Climax Control is currently recording a new CD, a process that Croteau says has been a real reawakening and testament to the enduring need to rock.
“I’d really like to point out… that there are no age limits in being an artist,” he says. “When I lived in New York City, turning 30 was the kiss of death to a musical career. In actuality, turning 30 or 40 and so on simply means you have more to say from your heart and your soul. Most musicians I know around this area play because of passion, no other reason. Does playing music still feel good? You bet your ass it does!”
Croteau has played and witnessed a lot of music over the last decade, and has seen the local scene wax and wane.
“It does not have the edge it once did,” he says. “But it still continues to offer diverse flavors of awesome original music… and mind blowing visual masterpieces. I suppose Easthampton is now the Brooklyn to NYC, meaning it’s close by, more affordable to live [in], and the grand opening of the new Flywheel shows that support and interest in performing arts does still matter. We are still relevant.”
In addition to the new album, which Croteau is producing, ACC is filming a video with producer and director Nino Del Padre for their song “Cabin Fever,” and is scheduled to play a few tunes at—you guessed it—Sierra Grille on May 20.”
For more songs and info on their upcoming CD and release party, visit www.myspace.com/autoclimaxcontrol.
