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Best Mann’s Debut Album is a Layered Tower of Sound
Best Mann is the art rock and indie folk alter-ego of Nate Mondschein, who produced, composed, and performed all the instruments on his debut album, …And the Sky, released Oct. 25. …And the Sky by Best Mann There are so many musical layers on this 12-song...
Stagestruck: Eye of the Storm
Nilaja Sun is, quite simply, the most exciting solo performer I’ve ever seen. She’s a small, wiry woman whose expansive presence fills a stage. Drawing on an astonishing talent for physical and vocal mimicry, her pieces are fully formed plays that bring to life a...
Podcast: Javier Luengo-Garrido of ACLU Massachusetts on Greenfield’s Safe City vote
Javier Luengo-Garrido, coordinator of the Immigrant Protection Project for ACLU Massachusetts speaks about Greenfield’s recent city-wide vote to pass a Safe City Ordinance to uphold immigrant rights in the community of Greenfield. He also talks about what is...
The V-Spot: Am I Only Bisexual When I’m Drunk?
Good Morning, I’m a straight 30-year-old man with six kids. My wife and I only drink when my mother-in-law is watching the kids for the night. However there’s something we noticed when we’re drunk. I absolutely love everything about sex — it’s almost a passion of...
Free Will Astrology: Are you ready to be transformed by love, Leo?
ARIES (March 21-April 19): “Beware of what disturbs the heart,” said Ibn Mas’ud, a companion of the prophet Mohammed. “If something unsettles your heart, then abandon it.” My wise Aries friend Artemisia has a different perspective. She advises, “Pay close attention to...
Sam Crocker on the Valley Advocate Sessions Stage
Sam Crocker is a teen songwriter from Bernardston who plays introspective acoustic indie folk rock. Check out his Advocate Sessions performance in the video below. Interview with Sam Crocker:
Bizarro Brief Podcast: Turkey attacks in New Jersey, a mac-and-cheese turkey recipe, a gender reveal gone wrong
Valley Advocate editor Dave Eisenstadter and Hits 94.3 host Trumpy talk about the week’s weird news in a podcast version of the Valley Advocate’s Bizarro Briefs section. Hear about New Jersey turkey attacks, a mac-and-cheese dry rub turkey recipe, and a gender reveal...
Letters to the Editor: What you can do about the climate crisis
What you can do about the climate crisis I just called Congress about the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act. energyinnovationact.org. I think it is the best hope for getting us to stop putting carbon in the air! You might also night check out Citizens Climate...
Podcast: Bassist Avery Sharpe talks about his piece ‘400’
Avery Sharpe, a jazz musician and historian, has produced an album called “400: An African American Musical Portrait,” which he and his band will perform at UMass later this month. He speaks with editor Dave Eisenstadter about his music and interest in...
Staff Picks: Ona Canoa, Zoë Darrow, Mandolin Orange, (Sandy) Alex G
Ona Canoa EP Release Show at the Shea Theater // SATURDAY Advocate Sessions alumni and folk trio Ona Canoa will be releasing their first record this Saturday, a debut extended play (EP) titled “Good Dream.” With that milestone in the bag, they’ll be celebrating the...
Valley Show Girl: Connecting the Living with the Dead
A couple months ago, I was going through the Fall/Winter Fine Arts Center booklet, checking out the upcoming events at UMass. When I started reading the description to the Jen Shyu: Nine Doors performance, I was highly intrigued. I soon after acquired tickets for the...
Greenfield is now a ‘safe city’: What’s next for the sanctuary movement?
After last week’s election, Greenfield joins Amherst, Easthampton, Holyoke, Northampton, and Springfield as communities in Western Mass that have rules that limit cooperation of city employees with federal immigration enforcement. A ballot question in favor of...
Editorial: Battling ALS, David Kaynor continues to inspire
One of the first ways I got connected to Western Mass was through the vibrant contra dance community that continues to exist here. When I first stumbled on contra dance in 2002 in southwestern New Hampshire where I grew up, most agreed that some of the best dancing to...
Bizarro Briefs: Thanksgiving revolt
Thanksgiving revolt Just as Americans get ready to tuck into their annual Thanksgiving meal, wild turkeys in a New Jersey town are counterattacking. Residents in the aptly named Toms River (a male turkey is called a tom) are reportedly being terrorized by the large...
Stagestruck: Campus Cornucopia
This weekend and next, Valley colleges present a fall cornucopia of performances – a culture clash at Amherst, a gamer fantasy at Mount Holyoke, and the Valley premiere of a national dance piece at Smith. First up is Peace in the Home, this Thursday to Saturday...
Beerhunter: A conversation with the ‘bros’ keeping tabs on all of Massachusetts’ 200 breweries
You never see the best things coming. In 1998, economist Paul Krugman predicted that by 2005, it would “become clear that the Internet’s impact on the economy has been no greater than the fax machine’s.” Today I am happy to report, from the supercomputer in my pocket,...
Cinemadope: The Twilight Zone turns 60
The Twilight Zone was always a show that got better after it ended. At its best, the science fiction/fantasy/horror of the series did its strongest work in the minds of viewers left dumbstruck by a twist ending or unexpected detail that upended everything that had...
The V-Spot: How To Have an Erectionless Sex Life
Hi Yana, I’m a 32-year-old straight cis man and I was recently involved in a nasty bike accident resulting in injury and permanent erectile dysfunction. I can no longer get or maintain an erection even with the aid of injections, Viagra, pumps, etc. I enjoy giving...
Free Will Astrology: You’re fermenting, Sagittarius
ARIES (March 21-April 19): If there are any potential Aries heroes or leaders or saviors out there, the coming weeks will be a favorable time for you to fully bloom and assert your practical magnificence. The lessons you have learned while improvising workable...
Tommy Filiault Trio on the Valley Advocate Sessions Stage
The Tommy Filiault Trio plays bluesy party rock ‘n’ roll. Check out the band’s performance in the video below. Interview with Tommy Filiault Trio:
Letters to the Editor: How do we get to Medicare for All?
How do we get to Medicare for All? Medicare for all is certainly the best plan which is why other developed nations have it. There are four sizable expenses that private insurance has to pay that Medicare does not. 1.) Lobbying Congress and making contributions to...
Staff picks: Lilith of the Valley, ‘Resonate Sessions’, the THE BAND Band, June Millington
Lilith of the Valley: Sea of Change // SATURDAY “Lilith of the Valley,” a music series celebrating female artists, musicians, and business owners in the Pioneer Valley (presented by PRIA Music Marketing), returns for its sixth series this Saturday at Bishop’s Lounge...
Monte Belmonte Wines: West Franklin County, Our Own Local Bordeaux for Cider
I don’t know much about the real Johnny Appleseed but his mythology precedes him. I know he was born in Leominster, Mass., near the time of the American Revolution. And I know he was less interested in planting Macintosh to give to teachers as gifts as he was in...
400 Years of slavery and inequality, set to music: Bassist Avery Sharpe’s African American Musical Portrait
Bassist Avery Sharpe has been playing and composing music for years, touring and recording with jazz greats like McCoy Tyner, Dizzy Gillespie, Wynton Marsalis, Yusef Lateef, and Billy Taylor. As a composer, he’s written music not just for his own ensemble but for a...
Editorial: Addressing a fading news industry
Usually, we the journalists don’t like being the story. It’s much more comfortable reporting the news of events with which we’re not directly involved, but there are times it has been unavoidable. Over the past couple of years, the Advocate has been the subject of...
Bizarro Briefs: Fake Cop of the Week
Fake Cop of the Week An eager North Carolina man was arrested for impersonating a cop during a police chase. In October, police pulled over a car in Wilson, N.C., searching for a possible murder suspect, but as police approached the vehicle it took off. A chase ensued...
‘A more calming experience’: Holyoke Children’s Museum holds monthly ‘Sensory Sundays’ for sensory-sensitive kids
On a typical day at the Holyoke Children’s Museum, there is a hustle and bustle as small children run around role-playing as police officers and firefighters, flashing lights from a replica ambulance and occasional dings coming from a small room with percussive...
Cinemadope: When sequels outshine the original
The sequel is a strange and fickle beast. For people on both sides of the box office, there is a great desire to see them do well; those studio bigwigs in their top hats and monocles love the allure of a built-in audience, and all the dollars they carry; we mere...
Stagestruck: Assassination Rituals
Sometimes, in your darkest fantasies, when you’re struggling to process the latest outrage from this trumped-up president — you might just entertain visions of the regicides that feature in two Valley productions. One of them is about presidential assassins, the other...
Podcast: Gena Mangiaratti talks about ghost investigation with Agawam Paranormal
Gena Mangiaratti accompanied a team of paranormal investigators to find ghosts in the Josiah Day House in West Springfield and wrote about it for our Halloween edition. Hear her thoughts on the paranormal and the individuals who seek out life beyond. Listen here: You...
Free Will Astrology: How do you want to smell, Libra?
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Aries psychologist James Hillman said we keep “our images and fantasies at arm’s length because they are so full of love.” They’re also quite flammable, he added. They are always on the verge of catching fire, metaphorically speaking. That’s...
The V-Spot: Keeping The Oven Hot When There’s a Bun In it
Hi Yana, Do you have any advice for still having awesome sex while pregnant? I’m currently in my sixth month of my pregnancy so I’m not carrying super huge yet but I know that could change so I’d like to be prepared. —Sexy at Six Months Dear Sexy at Six Months, Around...
Snackbeard on the Valley Advocate Sessions Stage
Snackbeard is a musical folk rock pirate for all ages with a beard made of snack foods. Check out Snackbeard the Pirate’s Advocate Sessions performance in the video below. Interview with Snackbeard:
Letters to the Editor: The state isn’t listening on the Route 9 bridge
The state isn’t listening on the Route 9 bridge Are you aware the state is starting work on a two lane roundabout to replace the traffic lights at the bridge? While none of us like sitting at traffic lights, they do serve a purpose. Years ago there were public...
Bizarro Briefs: So You Want to be Scared?
So You Want to be Scared? Visiting so-called “haunted houses” for Halloween is very popular, but if you want to get chills in two of them in particular, you’ll need to be medically cleared by a doctor and sign a 40-page waiver before you can go in. The McKamey Manor...
Staff picks: Scary Jane Jones, ‘Embodied Landscape,’ the art of dyeing, Whiskey Treaty Roadshow
The Scary Jane Jones at Progression Brewing // THURSDAY On Halloween night, be prepared to lose your soul to The Scary Jane Jones, the All Hallows Eve alter ego of local vintage soul band The Mary Jane Jones, which is putting on a special spooky show of two sets at...
No Bones to Pick: Philip B. Price’s forthcoming solo record will haunt and soothe you
Winterpills frontman Philip B. Price is set to release his next solo album on Nov. 8 titled “Bone Almanac,” which fuses haunting psychedelic-tinged folk rock and pop with lyrics that punch you in the gut when they’re not soothing what ails you across 14 songs. Drawing...
Ghosts in the Attic: Agawam Paranormal society seeks — and finds — evidence of life beyond
Paranormal investigator Liette Casey speaks politely when she thinks she may be in the company of a spiritual presence, as she would if she were meeting a living person for the first time. Standing in the attic of the historical Josiah Day House in West Springfield,...
Editorial: The Horrors of Unfair Prison Visitation Practices
As we come upon Halloween, that night of frights, there’s a bill going through the Statehouse now that addresses real horrors with our prison system. As reported in Tuesday’s Daily Hampshire Gazette by writer Noor Adatia, Nia Reid-Patterson explained through tears...
Bizarro Briefs Podcast: A really scary house, a cautionary tale for hit men, Elf on a Shelf cereal
The Halloween edition of weird news with Dave and Trumpy. Valley Advocate editor Dave Eisenstadter and Hits 94.3 host Trumpy talk about the week’s weird news in a podcast version of the Valley Advocate’s Bizarro Briefs section. Hear about a scary house you don’t...
Podcast: Chris Goudreau on young activists in the Valley
Advocate Associate Editor Chris Goudreau talks about his recent story speaking with young activists in the Valley dedicated to causes including gun control, homeless rights advocacy, and climate change. Listen here: You can hear more of the Valley Advocate’s podcasts...
Valley Show Girl: Queer Punk Drag Night Take 5
The 5th Queer Punk Drag night is just a week-ish away and it’s the biggest one yet says Tanya Pearson, the curator of these unique shows. I went to the first show back in February and it was one of the most satisfying shows I’ve been to in a while. “For me,” Pearson...
Cinemadope: Trick and Treat – The strange horrors of House
As this issue of the Advocate hits the streets, October will just be starting to fold up its skeletons and plastic spiders to make way for the inflatable Santas. (Thanksgiving fan? Sorry, enjoy your single Thursday afternoon.) For many horror fans, it’s the end of...
V-Spot: Working on your strap-on skills
Hi Yana! Long time listener, first time caller! I’ve been following your advice column and Instagram (@the_vspot) for a looooong time and I super appreciate everything you write about regarding communication, mindfulness, exploration, and everything in-between —...
Free Will Astrology: What the stars say you should be for Halloween
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Do you have any skill in fulfilling the wishes and answering the prayers of your allies? Have you developed a capacity to tune in to what people want even when they themselves aren’t sure of what they want? Do you sometimes have a knack for...
Hivebane on the Valley Advocate Sessions Stage
Hivebane is an acoustic hard rock trio from Springfield, MA, with soaring vocal harmonies. Check out the band’s Advocate Sessions performance in the video below. Interview with Hivebane:
Poetry: Once When We Were Crippled
Once When We Were Crippled Once when we were crippled by too many options, we just weren’t ourselves, but were too frazzled to see it. Hobbled by the array of possibilities available, we staggered in circles regretting our surfeit of privilege. After torturous...
Sessions Podcast: Anders Warringer
Anders Warringer performs eclectic acoustic originals with a side of absurdity. For the video recording of this session, as well as over 100 other sessions performances, go to sessions.valleyadvocate.com. Listen here: You can hear more of the Valley Advocate’s...
Staff picks: LuxDeluxe, Crowdsourced Cinema, Elizabeth Cook, and Climate Change Theatre Action
LuxDeluxe at Abandoned Building Brewery // SATURDAY Some debate who was greater, the Stones or the Beatles? But for those who want a little taste of both, you can check out LuxDeluxe at their Halloween show at Abandoned Building. They’ve got the harmonies, bright but...
Bizarro Briefs Podcast: What’s your dying wish?
Valley Advocate editor Dave Eisenstadter and Hits 94.3 host Trumpy talk about the week’s weird news in a podcast version of the Valley Advocate’s Bizarro Briefs section. Learn this week about a dead practical jokester, the global organization controlling yellow...
Youth activists in the Valley make their voices heard
With Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg testifying before the United States Congress in September and teenagers from Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, becoming leaders advocating for more rigid gun control laws following the 2018 shooting in...
Editorial: Two-year immigrant sanctuary milestone is our shame
Two years. That’s how long it’s been that Springfield resident Lucio Perez has been forced to live in sanctuary at the First Congregational Church in Amherst. Before taking the extraordinary step to escape an immoral deportation order — based on a minor charge that...
Bizarro Briefs: A joke from beyond the grave … or in it
A joke from beyond the grave … or in it An Irish man raised the spirits of those attending his funeral by requesting a recording be played of him pretending to be alive in his coffin as it was lowered into the ground. “Hello? Hello. Hello? Let me out!” the recording...
Clueless Parent: Feeling like a humbug on Halloween
There’s no getting around it. Halloween is a strange holiday, and it gets stranger the older you get. As a kid, it’s all about heaping an enormous haul of candy any way you can, and hopefully not getting stuck with a dorky costume. Getting slightly older, the prospect...
Cinemadope: Making the Scene
People in the Valley are a creative bunch. At my day job, one woman I work with is a talented seamstress who creates wonderful clothes and stuffed toys; another works with local potters to decorate clay vessels and cups. My old Advocate editor — a published poet —...
Stagestruck: Women in the Lead
Three productions by women-led theaters are playing in the Valley this weekend, and another opens in the Berkshires. They echo themes around gender – from activities women aren’t “supposed” to engage in, to a trans transition, to young men of color in the...
Podcast: Julia Clark on her post-transition return to music
Musician Julia Clark underwent a transition from male to female and gave up music for a long time because she believed no one would take her seriously, as reported by a recent story by Jennifer Levesque. After a period of homelessness and other difficult life...
V-Spot: He’s Having an Affair With Me
Dear Yana, I had an affair and I feel like the worst person ever and I don’t know what to do. The guy is married with kids and says he’s basically living as roommates with his wife. I think she’s catching on and I want to end it because I feel like the worst person in...
Free Will Astrology: Your own demons are enough, Virgo
ARIES (March 21-April 19): “We can’t change anything until we get some fresh ideas, until we begin to see things differently,” wrote Aries psychologist James Hillman. I agree. And that’s very good news for you Aries people. In my view, you are more attracted to and...E-Edition
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