Music
Nightcrawler: Wylde World
He’s slung axe for Ozzy, talks sports on Sirius, and recently released a signature Guitar Apprentice instructional collection on DVD. Seated at his “Black Vatican” home studios in L.A., Zakk Wylde (zakkwylde.com) was willing to discuss all of this...
Behind the Beat: Modern Americana
Take one part former Grand Band Slam winner, one part classical and jazz trained tuba player, one part Warped Tour veteran, one part Berklee- educated cellist, and one part local rocker—throw everyone together, and what do you get? Well, if you live in Western...
Behind the Beat: Polished Garage Rock
Despite joining forces in 2008, the rockers of West Springfield band Scrap Iron Sun possess a history that goes back further than just five years. Featuring members Scott Cleveland (guitar, keyboards, harmonica, lead vocals), George Condon (guitar, vocals), Ryan Bell...
The Persistence of Melody
When one thinks of places where a creative soul might seek out inspiration, Florida doesn’t usually top the list. Known for its aesthetic involving flamingos, velvety black light posters and breast implants, the Sunshine State is often seen by New Englanders as...Art in Paradise: Getting Frosty
I turned on the stereo. Its 1979 bulbs yellowed into feeble life, the VU meters twitching. I put a hand to the perfectly weighted wheel that edges out of the front, and gouts of static rolled into the speakers, broken by babbling here, bad country music there....
CD Shorts
The xxCoexist(Young Turks/ XL) As the follow-up to the band’s Mercury Prize-winning debut, this sophomore effort retains many of the same characteristics that made the xx’s first record so successful. Pulsing beats, hushed vocals, and understated...
Launching Guilford Sound
These days, plenty of albums get made in basements and bedrooms. Very good albums, even. The expense of a recording studio can be overwhelming, and investing the same amount of money in your own equipment can prove an irresistible temptation. Thing is, having the...
Traveling Light
“I am on a sojourn in the desert, children, and God has given me the power to speak”: So sings the title character in Truth, a folk opera about the hard but inspiring life of the woman known as Sojourner Truth. Slave-born and illiterate, she became one of...
CD Shorts
Cat Power Sun (Matador) On her first disc of all-original material since 2006’s The Greatest, Cat Power (aka Chan Marshall) returns with a record that dabbles in several different genres. Discarding the more soul-influenced sound of her last album, Marshall...
Nightcrawler: Fat Chances
Just as their Green River Festival runs through the heart of summer, Signature Sounds’ Jim Olsen, artist manager Carol Young and Elmer’s Store owner Nan Parati are looking to stake a claim on winter once again with their second annual WinklePicker,...
Behind the Beat: Playful Nature
“No Intention has existed as an entity since 1995,” says band guitarist and vocalist Jed Dion. Despite the longevity of its name, the Western Mass. punk group—which also features Craig Rivest (drums), Josh Thomson (bass, vocals) and Wayne Versace...
Behind the Beat: Food For the Soul
With an origin dating all the way back to 2002, and its first-ever appearance on a Valley stage coming in 2009, the Western Mass rock group Zamia has worked for years to be recognized for more than just its musical efforts. In fact, the band—featuring members...
David Wax Museum
Fusing traditional Mexican folk with American roots and indie rock, David Wax Museum has become one of the hottest new indie bands around. David Wax and Suz Slezak form the core of the band. Jan. 4, 8 p.m., $18, Colonial Theatre, 111 South St., Pittsfield, (413)...
Behind the Beat: Gothic Americana
Having finalized its current lineup and started its career as a live unit in the fall of 2011, the Americana-inspired Paper Hill Casket Company is also one of many New England-based bands whose members claim residency in multiple states across the region. Evolving...
Bourbon Street in the Berkshires
On a humid night in New Orleans, there’s little finer than sitting on a worn curb in the greasy Vieux Carre, sipping a drink and listening to the sounds that leak out of nearby windows. Bourbon Street has its own soundtrack. It’s easy to bring it to mind:...
Nightcrawler: Pledge of Allegiance
AC/DC may do do dirty deeds dirt cheap, but to accurately capture the sonic sugarplums that had been dancing in the heads of Bloomington, Indiana’s Murder By Death—and press the debut studio effort on vinyl—cost a small fortune, as the band quickly...
At the Flywheel
This week the folks at Flywheel bring in a treat for lovers of the avant garde. Mixing experimental, minimalist instumentals with punk-influenced vocals, female-fronted No Wave band Priests brings a righteous fiery anger up from Washington, D.C, with support from...
Nightcrawler: No Fair-Weather Band
Maybe Bon Jovi did it—as the title of their new single/current tour suggests—“Because We Can.” Perhaps there was also a dash of “because we were there anyway” sprinkled into the mix. But according to an official statement from the...
Nightcrawler: Pick of the Week
Scratching your head wondering how what is arguably the most enduring icon in American history is without a museum of its own? Don’t fret. According to its founder and developer, HP Newquist, the National Guitar Museum will open in a yet-to-be-determined...
Nightcrawler: Tru to Form
Tru Entertainment founder/namesake John Tru said he was going to have an all-ages rock show on Sunday, March 10. And that’s just what he’s doing, despite, as he recently revealed to the Crawler, a fairly major logistical hurdle to overcome. “I had it...
Behind the Beat: Hill People
“We wanted a name that referenced music that comes from the hills, something that represented the old-time and bluegrass elements that are at the core of our music,” says Appalachian Still member Andrew Woodland (clawhammer banjo). “‘From the...
Behind the Beat: Two of a Kind
Formed in 2011, the Western Massachusetts folk/ rock duo Indian Oven has never been a group to take itself too seriously. In fact, according to members Sam Carpenter (vocals, guitar, bass) and Griffin Bazzeghin (drums, percussion, harmonica, backup vocals), the...
Nightcrawler: Cinderella Story
In November of 1988, hair-band heroes Cinderella charted the highest ranking single of their career with “Don’t Know What You Got ’Til It’s Gone.” Less than three years later, a major catalyst for the band’s success—lead...
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Lady Lamb the Beekeeper Ripley Pine (Ba Da Bing) On her first album recorded in a professional studio, singer and songwriter Aly Spaltro (aka Lady Lamb the Beekeeper) cashes in on the potential of her bedroom recordings and demos. It’s a fully realized disc...
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Le Vent du NordTromper le Temps(Borealis) This is my top acoustic release of 2012. Le Vent du Nord offer everything Québeçois music should have: history, new tunes that sound old, seasonal songs, kitchen-style dance music, a soupcon of folklore, inspired...
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Richard Thompson Electric (New West) Richard Thompson’s new album, despite his nearly 50-year career and 40 albums, lives up to its title,Electric. Though there’s little he’s produced that I don’t admire, it hasn’t been since...
Behind the Beat: Totally Random
In the fifth season of the popular cartoon series Family Guy, there is an episode in which several members of the Griffin family are forced to take on extra jobs in order to pay for son Chris Griffin’s tuition at a private school. To do his part, family...
CD Shorts
Scott WalkerBish Bosch(4AD) Scott Walker’s transformation from popular teen idol to uncompromising avant gardist is one of the most remarkable journeys in rock music. He’s recently been the subject of the documentary 30th Century Man and essay collection...
Behind the Beat: Good With a Brew
In Ken Kesey’s 1962 novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, the lives of patients at an Oregon state mental hospital are turned upside down by the presence of a rebellious new admission who seeks to overturn the tyrannical reign of the facility’s head...
Art in Paradise: Sounds of the High Arctic
Forget for a moment words like “good” and “bad” in relation to music, and cue up the sounds of Tanya Tagaq. Words that have to do with liking or not liking are inadequate to describe what she does. A Tagaq performance is hair-raising....
Heather Maloney
Soul-jazz-folk diva Heather Maloney (pictured) celebrates the release of her new CD this week in Turners Falls, with special guests Poor Old Shine. March 16, 8 p.m., $12, The Shea Theater, 71 Ave. A, Turners Falls, (413) 665-4036, www.signaturesounds.com.
?61 Ramblers
Retro-country quartet ’61 Ramblers, fronted by longtime Valley bassist JimJoe Greedy , plays Springfield this week. March 15, 8 p.m., $7.50, Bing Arts Center, 716 Sumner Ave., Springfield, (413) 731-9730, www.bingartscenter.org.
Nightcrawler: Tattoo You
Northampton-based singer/songwriter Heather Maloney says that if she didn’t write songs, she’d be covered in tattoos, because everything she writes is something “she truly wants to remember forever.” To the detriment of tattoo parlors the area...
Nightcrawler: Good For What Ales Ya
Not surprisingly, Valley Classics Concert Series founder Dr. Rebecca Hartka takes her charge seriously. According to the mission statement, her annual concerts at Greenfield’s Arts Block should “make classical music—old and new—accessible to...
CD Shorts
Various Artists The Rising Cost of Livin’ High and Lovin’ Hard: A Tribute to Kris Kristofferson (PIAPTK) Though perhaps not as celebrated as his fellow “Highwaymen” Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, and Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson has led the...
Behind the Beat: Cosmic Improvisation
Sometimes, when a member of a band is asked to describe his group’s sound, he answers by citing a specific genre like rock, pop, folk or jazz. Other times, if the band member is like percussionist Andy Mathey of the Greenfield group Something Else, the answer...
CD Shorts
The Raft Carousel (independent) Fusing jazz and funk with reggae, ska and island influences, The Raft presents a pretty eclectic and original blend of musical ingredients. Were it somewhere between 1975 and 1985, you could file them somewhere in the progressive...
Nightcrawler: In the Know
Pittsfield-based troubadour Tony Lee Thomas has just put the wraps on his latest EP, Temet Nosce. The title is Latin for “know yourself,” and while Thomas is no slouch in that regard, he knows a lot of other people, too. With Temet, the man who has shared...
Behind the Beat: Fun For All
“We never really planned to be a ‘band,’” say the members of the Amherst collective Kids On A Hill. “We were just a group of kids who enjoyed each other’s musical company and wanted to have fun playing likeable, danceable music for...
Behind the Beat: Musical Curators
Hear the term “free range” and most of us think of farming. Both free range poultry and free range livestock are common on farms in Western Massachusetts. But one has to travel to Florence to learn more about a much rarer subject: Free Range Cats. The new...
Nightcrawler: Sound Tracks
True to its name, the Pioneer Valley Jewish Film Festival (JFF) focuses on the arts of moviemaking and storytelling. But as Festival Director Dyan Wiley is quick to point out, this year’s field of film offerings also appears to be laced with as much sound as...
Behind the Beat: Sludge Life
Every member of the Springfield band Crowrider is a music lifer. Whether by virtue of having played in previous groups, having written songs, or having recorded previous material, Chris Gaudreau (drums), David Buscemi (vocals), Nicole St. James (bass) and Dino Bambino...
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My Bloody Valentinembv(MBV) Rumored for decades, My Bloody Valentine’s follow-up to their classic Loveless has become nearly as mythical as The Beach Boys’ Smile. Twenty-two years later, it’s finally been completede_SEmDself-released by the band and...
SXNE
If you’re a musician or music lover and you’ve never been to Austin, Texas’ South by Southwest (SXSW) music festival, you should without question add it to your bucket list. Touted as the biggest music festival in the country, the now...
Nightcrawler: Blame It on Brio
On April 4, Steve Marion’s music was featured in Paper Mirrors, a documentary produced by UMass’ The Brio Life Arts collective that attempts to illustrate the common thread between sight and sound. On April 15, Marion leaps from the silver screen to the...
Behind the Beat: From Soul to Sound
Since 1931, when the passage of a new law eased the process of acquiring a marriage license in Nevada, many couples have chosen Las Vegas as their go-to wedding destination. However, the search for a place to have a quick and easy ceremony isn’t the only reason...
Top 10 Valley Band Names
1) Chicken McHead 2) Giraffes? Giraffes! 3) Bunny’s A Swine 4) Tumblecat Poof Poofy Poof 5) Primate Fiasco 6) Chupacabra Jr. 7) Deflator Mouse 8) Fear of Ducks 9) Problem with Dragons 10) Klamstar
Here, There and Everywhere…
Spring brings a resurgence by bugs of all sorts; ants start poking their heads out of the soil and bees begin buzzing, and just last week Advocate editor-in-chief Tom Vannah reported finding ticks on his family’s new puppy. Much as we adore or despise such...
Nightcrawler: Soul Sister
Vocal siren Janet Ryan likens the collection of tunes on her newest release, Mama Soul, to an “interesting marriage.” Longtime fans of the singer with strong Valley roots would probably find the marital metaphor equal parts interesting and apropos. For,...
CD Shorts
Carolyn Walker Resolution (independent) Carolyn Walker’s songs express intense thoughts and emotions, but promote strength and discipline as alternatives to more manic or self-destructive forms of spiritual cleansing. There are a few electric tracks that channel...
The Doctor Sells Out?
Recently, we received disturbing news. Dr. Westchesterson, the professorial rapper/outlaw of the “413” video craze, announced that his latest video was produced for the Greater Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau. We had questions. Does this mean...
Re-Generation
The Performance Project began in the Hampshire County jail, inspiring inmates to create original theater and motivating them to change their lives. Now the group, led by activist artist Julie Lichtenberg, is creating multilingual performances with young people from a...
CD Shorts
Annie and the BeekeepersMy Bonneville(independent) Inspired from an early age by classic female folk singers and her love of string music, singer/songwriter Annie Lynch joins with musicians The Beekeepers to form a multi-talented band whose music is atmospheric and...
CD Shorts
Heather MaloneyHeather Maloney(Signature Sounds) It’s hard to imagine 2013 will bring a better album than Heather Maloney’s Signature Sounds debut, a work of maturity, deep emotion, and knock-you-to-your-knees beauty. Unlike a lot of young singers,...Circling Back
Sandy Chapin, widow of songwriter Harry Chapin, grew up in the Valley. She was near West Springfield’s Majestic, where Lies & Legends, a musical built around Chapin’s songs, is playing, and stopped in. Gobsmacked director Danny Eaton described the...
Behind the Beat: Working Class Punk
“I started listening to punk rock when I was 13 and never looked back,” says vocalist Colin Moran of the Berkshire County punk band The Damaged. Together with his brother Kevin Moran (guitar) and fellow group members Mark Jagiello (drums) and Jay Williams...
Nightcrawler: Color His World
Life. Love. Loss. Each one is responsible for prompting countless musicians to put pen to paper since time immemorial. Stir the three together as Valley veteran F. Alex Johnson has done with his latest project, Colorway, however, and that’s one potent sonic...Old/New Hip-hop
In the video “Kham Kham,” Senegalese musicians Bideew Bou Bess (say biday-oo boo bess) offer something startling: an African brand of hip-hop that’s not quite like anything else. That’s true of most of their music, which possesses equal parts...
CD Shorts
Koby Israelite Blues from Elsewhere (Asphalt-Tango) Koby Israelite is equal parts Jimmy Page, Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, and John Zorn—except he plays the accordion, not guitar or saxophone. I’m not exaggerating; the title track of the aptly named Blues from...E-Edition
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