Valley Show Girl: The Valley’s Own Supergroup
A little bit country, a little bit psychedelic rock and a lot of heart and soul. Valley supergroup Opal Canyon debut their album Beauty and Loss this month. Valley veteran musicians Debra DeMuth, Dave Houghton, Ray Mason, Bob Hennessy, and Jason Smith joined forces to produce this new musical project. “Beauty and Loss” by Opal Canyon I was lucky enough to catch up with DeMuth for an interview. She talked about Opal Canyon,...
Valley Show Girl: Soulful Euphoria
Eu·pho·ri·a – noun; a feeling or state of intense excitement and happiness. Westfield’s soulful rock quartet, The Screaming Hearts, are in the process of uniquely releasing a collection of songs that will eventually be compiled into an album. Conducting, recording, and then releasing each song one-at-a-time is mainly due to the band’s low budget, but I think it’s an amazing idea to showcase each song as a stand-alone piece of...
Valley Show Girl: Adam Kozak and Music To Die To
Adam Michael Kozak grew up in the ‘80s listening to DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince and Aerosmith. When he was a child, his mother played the digital organ they had set up in their living room, which she mainly played Barbara Streisand and Andrew Lloyd Weber show tunes on. Adam had begged for piano lessons, simply to learn to play Motley Crue’s “Home Sweet Home.” After only two months of lessons, he grew bored and didn’t touch an...
Valley Show Girl: A queer punk drag show double rainbow
I’ve been hibernating the past couple of months. I just bought a house and have been focused mainly on that. The closest I’ve been to live music is listening to my vinyl — live — in my living room. I broke out of my hibernation recently, however, and attended my first show of the year. I tell ya, it was quite the experience to pop my 2019 show cherry with, too. This column is about a show organized by Tanya Pearson. (I know you know...
Valley Show Girl: And The Kids’ Whimsical Indie Rock
Signature Sounds recording artists And The Kids from Northampton have made a name for themselves throughout their active musician years in the Valley. They’ve been locally and nationally covered and very recently had a live set at Paste Magazine that was streamed through social media. They are about to release their latest masterpiece on Feb. 22. Guitarist and vocalist Hannah Mohan and drummer Rebecca Lasaponaro first met in junior...
Valley Show Girl: Mystical Musical Man
While exploring the rainforest and meeting up with friends in beach towns in Puerto Rico, Matthew King sipped on mojitos while chatting with me via email about his latest musical conquest, TapRoots. Since 2009, Matthew has been playing percussion with both The Alchemystics and local super group, Dave Noonan’s Green Island. About two years ago, Matthew, along with good friend and Alchemystics’ drummer Demse Zullo, discussed some new...
Valley Show Girl: The Gift of Music – A 2018 Local Music Retrospective
The gift that keeps on giving is always the gift of music. You can go all out and get someone you love a new record player with a handful of vinyl for them to christen the needle with. You can pick up a CD or even a cassette, and you can purchase the album online to receive the download code to upload to your electronic device. So many options! Here are some of my recommendations with the newer albums I’ve been listening to nonstop,...
Valley Show Girl: Neon Fauna’s Bootleg Debut
On January 13, 2017, Neon Fauna played a gig at 13th Floor Music Lounge in Florence in the midst of recording sessions for the full-length album “Drag Beach.” Like all of their shows, the band felt it was a burst of energy and thought of bootlegging it. Sound engineer guru, Rob Ives “Robo Sound” usually records the multi-tracks for shows at the venue, so the band later asked him for some of the tracks. They brought the selected six...
Valley Show Girl: Behind the scenes of booking shows
Since this past March/April time-frame, I’ve been booking some shows at 13th Floor Music Lounge in Florence. The shows started in July, but it took months to get to the actual show part of it. I wanted to curate these shows a little differently, and put a somewhat mixed genre set into play. However, I didn’t want to go crazy, especially for the first couple. So there was a lot of cultivating involved just to come up with a list of...
Patty Schemel — drummer of Hole — is coming to the Valley, thanks to Women Of Rock Oral History Project and Amherst Cinema
On a stormy Wednesday afternoon, I huddled in my car, pushed the driver’s seat back to get comfy and opened up my Wonder Woman notebook, clicked my pen and put my phone on ‘do not disturb.’ After a failed attempt to reach her, she called me back two minutes later and the name “Patty Schemel” popped up on my phone. Her pleasant, friendly voice on the other side — all the way from California to my Massachusetts — calmed my nerves as I...
Valley Show Girl: Reliving childhood punk nostalgia with Blondie at MassMoCA
I’d just devoured a bowlful of multi-colored Chicklet gum, then jumped up and down on the couch with my blonde pigtails smacking up against my cheeks. Blondie’s “Rapture” blared from the 80’s radio/boombox in the kitchen while my mother was either cooking or cleaning. I sang along to the lyrics, through my gum-infused sugar high. That is one of the first happy memories I can remember. Blondie has always been one of those bands...
Valley Show Girl: A show/album review for Body/Head
I have been to a handful of noise shows at The Root Cellar in downtown Greenfield and I just love the vibe. So, I gave up my usual lazy Sunday night and made my way over to check out the happenings. I sat at the bar and finally had the pleasure of ordering a Coconut Ginger Libation (so good, and I’m NOT a coconut fan). My sparkly leggings illuminated a blue tint under the neon lights at the bar. I moved over to a table set up...
Valley Show Girl: Family Fun Day at Green River Festival
For the past 32 years, the Green River Festival has taken over a weekend in July, spreading out over the fields at Greenfield Community College — three days filled to the brim with music, food, drinks, art, crafts, vendors, hot air balloons, and community. This year, I brought my 7-year-old son on Saturday for his first festival. In the six hours that we were there, it was a nonstop colorful ride. We parked down the street and were...
Valley Show Girl: Rock Like It’s 1794
For my last column, I wrote about The Stone Church in Vermont, a church renovated into a performance venue. What are the chances I happen to find another one of those without knowing it until I show up? Well, I did. Enter the 1794 Meetinghouse in the center of the quaint historic district of New Salem. And on the night I went, it was the season opener for their summer concert series. I had heard about this venue before, but never had...
Valley Show Girl: Stoned to Death III – A day full of doom, sludge, stoner metal, and the memory of Joe Magrone
Churches are the most beautiful architectural buildings, in my opinion. I’m not a religious person, so when I do get a chance to enter these beauties, it’s because of a wedding or a funeral and I just look forward to leaving — the religion part of it just makes me uncomfortable. But on this marvelous day, I got to enjoy the beauty in the environment that makes me the most comfortable — at a show. The Stone Church in downtown...
Valley Show Girl: Snacktime! Musical story time with a pirate from the Valley
Valley Advocate writer alum Tom Sturm has a new gig these days. Dressing like a pirate and singing the songs of pirate life for kids — but pleasantly appealing for adults as well. With the album glued in my CD player in my car for weeks, my 7-year-old son and I knew each song by heart. And when the music on my phone synced up to the car, he’d request Snackbeard instead of his normal faves, The Talking Heads or Bowie. I sadly missed...
Valley Show Girl: Friday the 23rd!!
Friday the 13th has become a horror franchise with 12 (and I’m sure there will be many more in the future) slasher films, television shows, comics, novels, video games and, of course, merchandise; take a look at the number of Jason’s masks roaming around on Halloween. When the first movie came out in 1980, the boy named Jason Vorhees emerged from Crystal Lake and has been a vicious killer for almost 40 years. The very first “Jason”...
Valley Showgirl: Say Darling took me to Patsy-ville at Back Porch Festival
For over 25 years The Back Porch Radio Show has been airing Sunday mornings on The River 93.9 FM. Curated by radio host Jim Olsen, the selected sounds are a variation of American roots music including bluegrass, folk, classic country, blues, and more. Olsen is also the president of the record label and live music presenter Signature Sounds which produces about 200 shows in the Valley every year, including The Back Porch Festival. Now...
Valley Show Girl: The Brian and Vicky Show at 7B’s in Westfield
With that typical New England ice storm still fresh in the air, I had Vanilla Ice’s Ice Ice Baby in my head all day. Walking into 7B’s Bar and Grill in Westfield to hear the classic Johnny Cash tune The Ballad of Jesse James was all it took … poof! be gone Ice Ice Baby! Set up in the corner, performing classic and new country tunes are Vicky St. Pierre and Brian Chicoine. If you’re a Johnny Cash and/or June Carter Cash fan,...
Valley Show Girl: A Night of Funky R&B for Jane Doe Inc.
I love it when music collides with a charitable fundraiser event, especially when that event involves human rights. The happenings at The O’s Music Bar in Sunderland last week were just that. Rise Up Productions, a liberal activist group of musicians and actors based here in the Valley, put on music shows and theater events for various local charities. Each event, so far, has been focused on a different beneficiary for each show. “We...
Valley Show Girl: Guitars and Coffee
The smell of strong coffee warms me from the cold as I open the door to Iconica Social Club for the first time. From the outside, it looks like an odd brick building in the middle of a parking lot behind Haymarket in Northampton. But upon entering, you’re engulfed within an interior designer’s dream. There were a handful of people crowded near the coffee bar, ordering some yummy-smelling concoctions that were served in science lab...
Valley Show Girl: Party Time! Excellent!
I don’t know about any of you, but 2017 kicked my ass. But, as always, one of the things that keeps me sane, is music. So let’s bid a farewell to this year with some kick ass shows that are sprinkled throughout the Valley. There is literally something for everyone, and this list isn’t even all of it! Bring the Kids! Perfect for the family day, just dress the kids warm. Since 1985, First Night Northampton has been filling...
VALLEY SHOW GIRL: ‘Short Stay’ Here For Long Haul
About a month ago, Valley musician Nate Martel came into the Advocate office to drop off his debut solo album “Short Stay.” Being a fan of his role in rock group, Outer Stylie, I was pumped to get the CD into my car as soon as I left work. And that I did. Recorded at Barnhouse Recording in Chicopee and engineered and mixed at Sonelab in Easthampton, all 11 songs are written and performed by Martel. Additional musical contributions...
Valley Show Girl: Leave it to the Women
A couple weeks ago I wrote my column based on the fiasco that is Wikipedia Vs. Women, where locally and nationally non-male musicians are getting edited out of the popular DIY online encyclopedia due to male editors not accepting articles from certain publications (with some being discounted just for having the word “feminist” in the title). Part one of a local event series on the topic was a roundtable discussion put on by Tanya...
Valley Show Girl: The Case of the Missing Wiki Edits
Tanya Pearson has been accumulating a continuous list of female musicians for her Women in Rock Oral History Project which she started at Smith College in December 2014. Accompanied by 29 video interviews (so far!) with some of them available on http://www.womenofrock.org, she has set the bar for having underrepresented female musicians speak their truth and tell their story behind what it’s like to be a female musician in a “Man’s...
Valley Show Girl: A Bloody Good Time
Later this month, Chicopee’s Maximum Capacity will close and open at some point in the future with new ownership. Will there still be shows? If so, will they include metal/rock shows? Only time will tell. But in the meantime, you still have a chance to get to “one last show.” Over the years of going to certain clubs/venues, you develop memories that either bring a smile to your face, or a head shake, like “wow, yeah, that totally...
Reverend Dan and the Dirty Catechism on Advocate Sessions Stage
Reverend Dan and the Dirty Catechism, Springfield-based preacher rock n’ roll with a side of post punk. BONUS: Reverend Dan and the Dirty Catechism interview: Check out our past Sessions performers, including Seth Newton, Old Flame, Shokazoba, and Tang...
Valley Show Girl: Luthier’s Unplugged: Metal, Grunge, and Singer/Songwriter Action
After having a so-long get together at Galaxy in Easthampton with my coworkers to send off Kristin Palpini on her next adventure, I dragged my sad ass down the street to Luthier’s Coop. And I tell ya, there’s nothing like seeing Pee Wee Herman’s inviting goofiness to bring a smile to my face. Kudos to whoever put that delight at the entrance. The small venue is illuminated with white string lights, the walls are lined with all...
Valley Show Girl: The Neon Oxen
On the first fall evening that actually felt like fall I walk into the 13th Floor Music Lounge in Florence just in time to catch soundcheck for the first band, Holyoke’s stoner psych-rock, Oxen. Let’s take a trip down memory lane. Oxen’s first EP The Glass Coffin was my first music review, almost 4 years ago. That was when I realized, not only do I love music, I love writing about it, experiencing it. The now 3-piece are...
Pixies at Smith College
The Pixies rocked out a 31-song set, which was close to 2 hours of non-stop jams last night at the John M. Greene Hall, at Smith College in Northampton. Here’s a sample of some pictures and video from their show. — Jennifer Levesque, jlevesque@valleyadvocate.com ...
Valley Show Girl: Millpond.live Hosts Music Under the Stars
For the last six weekends of summer, Millpond.Live puts on a free grassroots festival at Millside Park in Easthampton for all ages to enjoy. Produced by Laudable Productions, a creative agency in Easthampton that has a plethora of services including community engagement to concert production. The concert is powered by volunteers in the community and sponsored and supported by local businesses, including us at the Valley Advocate....
Valley Show Girl: Watching Punk Docs at Home
Sometimes you wanna make it out to a show, but let’s face it life happens. Maybe you’re sick, or you can’t find a babysitter, or that snowstorm that’s fast approaching cancels everything and you are stuck inside. Have no fear! Documentaries galore are here! If you’re a fan of punk history as much as myself, there are a plethora of gems that are always there for your viewing. I could hibernate for a month straight and still not get...
Valley Show Girl: Music That Got Me Through White Supremacy News
The white supremacy horror show that happened earlier this month in Charlottesville really got to me. That Sunday, I barely left my bed. I mainly watched stupid chick flicks to occupy my mind with less meaningful things. After dinner however, I took my 6-year old son to the all ages show at The Tank in Feeding Hills where The Prozacs were putting on a punk show for the release of their album, Exist, which I reviewed last week. Music...
Album Review: Pop and Punk Collide In The Prozacs’ Sci-Fi Influenced “Exist”
Back in January of this past year, the members of Westfield-based pop punkers, The Prozacs, parted ways. Formed in 2001 by Jay Gauvin (or better known as J Prozac), the band had seen many different line-ups of members throughout their time performing. Gauvin was going to end the band following this year’s breakup, but realized that it made no sense after all the hard work that had been put into making their latest album, Exist. “Also...
Valley Show Girl: A Jam Session in the Forest With Staind Singer Aaron Lewis
Staind. Remember them? I think at one point in our late-’90s lives we were all blasting “Tormented” or “Dysfunction” and relating to the ultra-sensitive alternative rock that was birthed right here in the Valley. Well, times have changed, and people change. Aaron Lewis, singer of the now-retired Staind has gone on to other things, including switching up musical genres to country. Lewis also puts on an amazing benefit concert once a...