Many is the local promoter who would consider assembling a multi-band bill of national notables at a large, outdoor venue the pinnacle of a career.
Springfield's Dave Mech is certainly proud of having done that just shy of a year ago, when he lured Jefferson Starship, Big Brother and The Holding Company, Quicksilver Messenger Service and others to the Three County Fairgrounds for a performance he dubbed "First Aid." But he maintains that, just like the cause he was trying to promote that fateful evening, even a concert of that magnitude amounts to one relatively small skirmish in an ongoing war.
"The goal is to raise awareness of the plight of our soldiers and basically expose the fact that our system isn't set up to handle the amount and types of injuries coming in," says the former producer of the Farmer Rick television show. "We accomplished that, and raised funds that evening. But the problem hasn't gone away& and neither will I!"
Mech's latest battle plan for the country's servicemen and women is to translate the local concert and some of its breathtaking performances, behind-the-scenes action and overall vibe of support and peace to the silver screen. It's a feat he was able to accomplish in large part to his association with Valley-based photographer Doug Potosky, whose American Heart portrait served as the backdrop for the Northampton show and was later adopted as the film's working title.
The team of Potosky and Mech also travelled to New York on two occasions in 2007 to film additional footage for the project—first to the site of the World Trade Center on Sept. 11 and later to Woodstock for the War on War Concert.
Despite the hours of tape, however, Mech says he ultimately decided that his American Heart still lacked a certain human quality& but he knew just how to create it.
"I had met a couple of soldiers at Walter Reed, and they let us set up shop in their room and interview soldiers one weekend," he says. "We got some great stuff, but on the last interview, the Walter Reed police came and we had to scramble, stuff tapes in our pants and all that. We ended up giving them a blank and they let us go."
For more info on the movie (and a June 28 event at the Bosquet Ski Area aimed at raising funds for homeless shelters exclusively for soldiers), visit myspace.com/americanheartthemovie.
In other news, certified movie stars The Young@Heart Chorus return to their hometown of Northampton for an Academy of Music performance June 24. Three days earlier, the timeless troubadours will tackle the national anthem at friendly Fenway Park before the hometown team takes on the St. Louis Cardinals.
In a similar fashion, Sweet Daddy Cool Breeze frontman Wally Greaney also blew back into town earlier this month. The veteran bluesman had spent the better part of his May overseas.
"I've been going over for about 15 years now, this time for few weeks throughout Germany and France," he explains. "Some of our guys used to travel with me, but these days, I travel by myself and pick up a Euro-band. It's fun, and I've built a small little following."
But not nearly as much fun—or with as big a following—as when Greaney and his regular bandmates play a hometown show. His next, he is happy to report, will occur at Theodores' in Springfield on June 28.
Last up, fans of Katie Clark and Green River Band (myspace.com/katieclarkandthegreenriverband) will have no fewer than two occasions to check out their favorite Americana/folk/bluegrass band this Saturday, June 14. Katie and Co. perform at the Shelburne Falls Riverfest near the bridge between noon and 2 p.m., then hightail it to Elmer's in Ashfield for a 7 p.m. engagement.
Send correspondence to Nightcrawler, P.O. Box 427, Somers, CT 06071; fax to (860) 698-9373 or email Garycarra@aol.com.
