Music
by Matthew Dube | Oct 13, 2011 | Music
Local musician Jordan Knecht believes so fervently in quiet during his performances that, most of the time, he eschews the use of a microphone. He views it as an invitation to the audience. “The invitation is one of three things: to be present and engaged, to...
by Advocate Staff | Oct 20, 2011 | Music
Ryan Montbleau BandLive at Life is Good(Blue’s Mountain) It’s a testament to the quality of its musicianship when a band sounds as good live as it does in studio. In this regard, the Ryan Montbleau Band does not disappoint. Stretching 14 songs over two...
by Matthew Dube | Oct 20, 2011 | Music
Northampton-based avant garde community ensemble Happy Valley Guitar Orchestra is the brainchild of Peter Blanchette, accomplished and acclaimed composer, musician and inventor of the beautiful-sounding arch guitar. He took some time out to explain the project and the...
by Advocate Staff | Oct 20, 2011 | Music
YardworkBrotherer(Lunchbox) The best rock often feels like it’s about to fall apart without actually collapsing. North Carolina’s Yardwork has captured this quality in spades on its debut. Surging and anthemic, woozy and ramshackle, it’s bursting...
by Gary Carra | Oct 27, 2011 | Music
It will take no fewer than two neighboring venues to house the smorgasbord of sounds, sights and savories the Kitchell family of Ashfield has planned for this Friday, Oct. 21. In an evening they call One Family, Four Artists, One Night, father/muralist Peter Kitchell...
by Advocate Staff | Oct 27, 2011 | Music
Kourosh YaghmaeiBack from the Brink: Pre-Revolution Psychedelic Rock from Iran: 1973-1979(Now-Again) The Now-Again label has made a name unearthing psychedelic gems from far-flung corners of the globe. Even by their standards, this set of psychedelia by Iranian...
by James Heflin | Oct 27, 2011 | Music
Some years ago, I attended a family reunion. Most of my grandmother’s 11 siblings were there, and they excitedly called me into the living room to see something remarkable: an old Super-8 film of my great-grandfather on his Lousiana farm, presiding over the...
by Gary Carra | Oct 27, 2011 | Music
Can a piece of the problem be incorporated into the solution? Maximum Capacity Owner/Manager Donald Robert thinks so. And based on the response of his recently created Facebook group, A Scene United: Western MA Local Music Network, his assumption is justified. You...
by Advocate Staff | Nov 3, 2011 | Music
Fleet FoxesHelplessness Blues(Sub Pop) Ah, the difficult second album. Helplessness Blues took a toll on the Fleet Foxes as they struggled to create a follow-up to their acclaimed debut. The result is a moody, spacious, and complex record that’s less...
by James Heflin | Nov 3, 2011 | Music
Losing power, and with it heat and the ability to cook, is a misery. The icy stillness of 3 a.m. becomes an oppression, almost frightening. Night is an enemy, and morning dramatically welcome. After just the first two nights of our recent post-freak snowstorm outage,...
by Gary Carra | Nov 3, 2011 | Music
In the mythical tale of Pandora’s box, opening the fabled vessel unleashes all the evils of the world. When it comes to Mystic, Connecticut’s Barefoot Truth and its experience with the online streaming audio server of same name, the resulting exposure has...
by Matthew Dube | Nov 3, 2011 | Music
Local musician Sam Gaskin—who creates music and visual art under the name Sam Gas Can—draws inspiration from all sorts of sources: a borrowed instrument, a phrase from a passerby that catches his ear, or the desire to create his own impressionistic version...
by Matthew Dube | Nov 10, 2011 | Music
In the liner notes of her new album, River, Florence singer/songwriter Lisa Palumbo thanks her mother Violet for passing on her highly musical genes. “My mom is an only child, which she says afforded her a lot of time to play the piano growing up in the 1930s...
by James Heflin | Nov 10, 2011 | Music
There’s little question that Northampton’s Iron Horse is a great space in which to hear music; it’s big enough to pack in a good crowd, small enough to earn that charming moniker “intimate.” It’s the sort of place where you can...
by Advocate Staff | Nov 10, 2011 | Music
Various ArtistsNigeria 70: Sweet Times: Afro-Funk, Highlife & Juju from 1970s Lagos(Strut) With all the excellent Nigerian compilations of recent years, you might assume that musical well has run dry. But Nigeria 70: Sweet Times continues the winning streak with...
by Matthew Dube | Nov 10, 2011 | Music
A few years back, Hampshire College student and drummer Tyler Gorman was working on a soundtrack for a horror film project. The film never materialized, but he continued working on the music for his own enjoyment. In the summer of 2010 he met up with synth...
by Advocate Staff | Nov 17, 2011 | Music
Cass McCombsHumor Risk(Domino) Humor Risk is an album that plays with a vintage “low-fi,” DIY pop-rock feel, in the tradition of Liz Phair’s Exile in Guyville or Matthew Sweet’s Girlfriend. As for McCombs’ (a dude, not a lady) own effort,...
by Matt Dube | Nov 17, 2011 | Music
Jeremy Dubs’ timing was impeccable. He’d just finished recording a bunch of songs, and Pixies founder, college rock legend and now Northampton resident Charles Thompson (aka Frank Black, aka Black Francis) was just launching his own imprint and looking for...
by Gary Carra | Nov 17, 2011 | Music
One fateful morning last March, Aaron Lewis strode in to the WRNX studio armed with his trusty acoustic to perform his latest solo hit. The tune was called “Country Boy,” and as the Staind frontman crescendoed into the lyrics “and as a country boy,...
by Gary Carra | Nov 17, 2011 | Music
On Saturday, Aug. 27 at around 2 p.m., Brattleboro teen Marble Arvidson left a note that he would be going out for about a half hour. It was the day before Hurricane Irene ravaged the region. He never came back, and his family and friends have never stopped their...
by Advocate Staff | Nov 24, 2011 | Music
Laura WetzlerFlying(independent) Valley singer/songwriter Laura Wetzler hired a stable of local ringers to add texture to this recording, from Joe Boyle (guitars) and Jim Armenti (mandolin) to Keith Leverault (percussion), with especially moody instrumental...
by Michael Cimaomo | Nov 24, 2011 | Music
Sometimes Internet dating can have unexpected consequences. While most everyone has a story about finding instant chemistry with a stranger online or meeting someone they’d rather forget, not every couple decides to forego a relationship and start a band...
by James Heflin | Nov 24, 2011 | Music
Blues is an oft-mangled genre. Like the Mississippi Delta that spawned it, it’s clearly an obstinate survivor: it’s carried on through long decades of onslaughts from outsiders. The blues is music of poor African-Americans, the emotion-fuelled outpouring...
by Advocate Staff | Dec 1, 2011 | Music
Geoffrey O’ConnorVanity is Forever(Chapter Music) With his first album released under his own name, Geoffrey O’ Connor, frontman for lo-fi popsters the Crayon Fields, recasts himself as a synth-happy romantic. Whether that’s a successful...
by Gary Carra | Dec 1, 2011 | Music
Drummer Dave Keating certainly appreciated the chocolates, CDs and even the iFeast gag gift (brought to you by the fine folks from The Onion) bestowed upon him during the recent celebration of his 40th birthday. But during an interview with your friendly neighborhood...
by Gary Carra | Dec 1, 2011 | Music
As the founding member of the nearly two-decade-old Trailer Park band and a sometimes saxophonist for one of the area’s biggest claims to fame—the Young@Heart Chorus—Tom Mahnken is firmly entrenched in the Valley music scene. What many, save his...
by Advocate Staff | Dec 8, 2011 | Music
Comet GainHowl of the Lonely Crowd(What’s Your Rupture?) Partially produced by fellow British cult favorites Edwyn Collins (Orange Juice) and Ryan Jarman (The Cribs), the latest by these underrated indie rock veterans is a pleasant return to the distorted guitar...
by Matthew Dube | Dec 8, 2011 | Music
Not many bands’ first gig is at the Iron Horse opening for indie rock royalty—Sleater-Kinney founder Corin Tucker, in this case. It’s even rarer for a young group—its oldest member is 18—to be the subject of a feature in Interview...
by Matthew Dube | Dec 8, 2011 | Music
It takes guts to start a record label, given the current state of the music industry. It takes even more to start one up that specializes in vinyl and aims to operate as a nonprofit. None of the above daunted Bunny’s A Swine’s Candace Clement, who boldly...
by Michael Cimaomo | Dec 15, 2011 | Music
Busking, the art of performing on the street and in other public places, has long been practiced by artists and entertainers. However, for Northampton’s The Coyote Choir, busking means much more than just an opportunity to play music for a bunch of pedestrians....
by Gary Carra | Dec 15, 2011 | Music
Many is the artist who gains a deep understanding of any given issue or culture and is ultimately inspired to share and/or celebrate said knowledge in song. But an artist who dives headlong into a people’s faith without the faintest inkling of its origins or...
by Gary Carra | Dec 15, 2011 | Music
Local music enthusiast Crystal “Kissy” Willard won’t quite cop to which birthday she’s celebrating during her birthday bash in the banquet hall of Club Meadows this Saturday, Dec. 10. But the seasoned scenester will admit that at least two of...
by Advocate Staff | Dec 22, 2011 | Music
Wild FlagWild Flag(Merge) Where most so-called supergroups only sound good on paper, Wild Flag succeeds as an actual band. From the opening notes of this remarkable debut, there’s an electric chemistry between Sleater-Kinney’s Carrie Brownstein and Janet...
by Matthew Dube | Dec 22, 2011 | Music
Some of what you read below may or may not be true. Happy Jawbone Family Band started out as a fake band. Now it’s a real band. Its members fell in love a very long time ago on a blind date during rush hour. All the major rock and roll instruments are...
by Gary Carra | Dec 22, 2011 | Music
It’s shameless, really, the way media regurgitates news from throughout the previous annum under the guise of a Top 10 list or meaningless award package. As one who not only attends many of the same holiday bashes as my fellow members of the fourth estate but...
by Advocate Staff | Dec 22, 2011 | Music
Man ManLife Fantastic(Anti-) Man Man continues its sometimes frantic, sometimes psychedelic adventures into experimental rock on this sophomore album for Anti/Epitaph. The band’s familiar circus of instruments remains, from strings and flutes to xylophones and...
by Matthew Dube | Dec 29, 2011 | Music
Local noisemakers Doug Ratner and The Watchmen are convinced they were born in the wrong decade. “We happen to be living in a time where that down and dirty style of rock ‘n’ roll is just not prominent in mainstream music, especially in the...
by Gary Carra | Dec 29, 2011 | Music
It seems the only star Valley singer/songwriter Michael Silverstone (michaelsilverstone.net) may not be connected to is Kevin Bacon. In the past few years, the Amherst second grade teacher has appeared on the Today Show and Ellen and performed with everyone from John...
by James Heflin | Dec 29, 2011 | Music
No pantheon of guitarists is complete without Robert Johnson and Jimi Hendrix, the first as a seminal bluesman, the second as the player who took blues into sonic territory few guitarists had even glimpsed before. Both players’ ouevres have been mined for all...
by Matthew Dube | Jan 5, 2012 | Music
From the very first performance together, Stephanie Marshall, Jenny Goodspeed and Katie Clarke—who now perform and record as The Boxcar Lilies—knew it was kismet. They met a few years back through the Franklin County musicians’ cooperative, at a time...
by Gary Carra | Jan 5, 2012 | Music
While no one involved with quirk-rock kings Pallet will officially sign the band’s death certificate, the dust certainly seems to have settled on the “news” and “gigs” buttons that adorn the band’s Myspace. According to...
by Advocate Staff | Jan 5, 2012 | Music
M83Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming(Mute) In an age of diminishing attention spans, it’s refreshing to hear an old-fashioned double album. Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming wears its ambitions smartly, splitting 22 songs into two carefully sequenced discs totalling...
by Gary Carra | Jan 12, 2012 | Music
Once signed to the legendary Sub Pop Record label and silent for nearly a decade and half, seminal Valley alt-country rockers Scud Mountain Boys have signed for a handful of reunion shows, including a Jan. 15 engagement at the Pearl Street Clubroom. The Crawler caught...
by Tom Sturm | Jan 12, 2012 | Music
Before Son Volt, before Wilco, before Calexico, before The Bottle Rockets, Whiskeytown and the Drive-By Truckers, there were the Scud Mountain Boys. At the forefront of an emerging alternative country scene, The Scuds fell roughly into the early 1990s orbit of acts...
by Advocate Staff | Jan 12, 2012 | Music
Seth MacFarlaneMusic Is Better Than Words(Universal Republic) Who knew? The omnivore of Gen X pop culture behind Family Guy turns out to have a parallel obsession with the details of mid-’50s classic pop. Rather than the later hard swing of Bobby Darin or the...
by Matthew Dube | Jan 12, 2012 | Music
Western Mass songwriter Abe Loomis credits a family car trip to Wyoming when he was 14 years old for kickstarting his life in music. While traveling along in the backseat, he had his first encounter with classic country radio: Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline, Willie Nelson...
by Advocate Staff | Jan 12, 2012 | Music
PterodactylSpills Out(Brah) Described as a “bittersweet look at endings and conclusions,” the third album by this Brooklyn-based trio is a surprising foray into ’60s-inspired pop. While previous releases featured an abrasive take on noise-punk and...
by Michael Cimaomo | Jan 12, 2012 | Music
For the past six years, a strange sound has been heard emanating from various venues in the Pioneer Valley. At times both jazzy and funky, the noise defies definitive description. Many listeners, upon their first encounter with such an unusual beat, become entranced...
by Advocate Staff | Jan 19, 2012 | Music
Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers Gift Horse (Vanguard) Though almost delayed by an accident—the majority of the band was involved in a serious car wreck on the eve of recording—the latest from these New England natives is a gem from start to finish....
by Michael Cimaomo | Jan 19, 2012 | Music
For many bands, hard truth dictates that members have to hold down day jobs in order to pursue dreams of music stardom. Not every act can be signed by a major label, of course. And often the thrill of playing in front of a crowd of admiring fans in some small club can...
by James Heflin | Jan 19, 2012 | Music
It’s often said that the Valley is home to plenty of top-shelf musical talent. Seems like one of those generally true feel-good statements that’s always safe to fall back on, but now and then, news arrives to remind us that it’s really the case....
by Gary Carra | Jan 26, 2012 | Music
Western Mass Performs… and the Monson Arts Council pays. For this, the fourth installment of the popular talent show, council member Peter Barnett says that some $1,500 in prize money is up for grabs. “We’ve had everything from dancers, singers and...
by Advocate Staff | Jan 26, 2012 | Music
Miles Davis QuintetLive in Europe 1967: The Bootleg Series Vol. 1(Columbia/Legacy) In an old interview, Herbie Hancock said he didn’t approve of bootlegs. Then he corrected himself—he’d make an exception for the Miles Davis Quintet since that group...
by Gary Carra | Jan 26, 2012 | Music
Not only does local musician Tom Terry believe in miracles: he’s related to one. At the tender age of nine, Terry’s niece, Mya Terry, is a three-time cancer survivor. “She’s living proof that perseverance and believing can make the impossible a...
by Advocate Staff | Feb 2, 2012 | Music
Hot FunzzleHot Funzzle(Ghost Dog) A respectable assembly of pop-punk anthem writers in the vein of Green Day or the Dropkick Murphys, Hot Funzzle includes members of other Valley acts Andyhasaband and the Creepin’ Cadavers. Though most of the songs use pretty...
by Michael Cimaomo | Feb 2, 2012 | Music
“Consider this,” says Nicolas Gingras, organ and synthesizer player for local “power reggae” artists Wolfman Conspiracy. “You’re playing your music for hundreds of people, on the most exciting night of the year, at one of the best...
by Michael Cimaomo | Feb 9, 2012 | Music
While most of the members of Westfield funk-rockers The Raft cite long-term instrument lessons or school programs as the beginning of their interest in music, the start of vocalist Patrick Hoynoski’s development is slightly more unorthodox. “Once, when I...
by Advocate Staff | Feb 9, 2012 | Music
Pat and Tex LaMountainSweet Chabango(Garden Gate) I haven’t the foggiest idea what “chabango” means, but if local heroes Pat and Tex LaMountain want to use it to describe their homespun mix of cowboy jazz, swing, Americana, country, and pop...
by Gary Carra | Feb 9, 2012 | Music
On the evening of May 29, 2009, there was a 95 percent chance Roger Salloom’s heart would not continue beating through the day. The man commonly referred to as “America’s Best Unknown Songwriter” beat the odds, though—not only making a...
by Gary Carra | Feb 9, 2012 | Music
It had been a long time since they rocked ‘n’ rolled around these parts—almost a year to the day, to be exact. And for a moment, it looked like Mother Nature was going to smite Northampton on the night of the return of our Hammer of the Gods. But she...
