Music
by Michael Cimaomo | Mar 25, 2013 | Music
“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...
by Michael Cimaomo | Apr 1, 2013 | Music
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...
by Gary Carra | Apr 1, 2013 | Music
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...
by Michael Cimaomo | Apr 1, 2013 | Music
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...
by Advocate Staff | Apr 2, 2013 | Music
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...
by Tom Sturm | Apr 8, 2013 | Music
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...
by Gary Carra | Apr 8, 2013 | Music
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...
by Michael Cimaomo | Apr 8, 2013 | Music
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...
by Valley Advocate Staff | Apr 8, 2013 | Music
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
by Tom Sturm | Apr 8, 2013 | Music
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...
by Gary Carra | Apr 15, 2013 | Music
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,...
by Valley Advocate Staff | Apr 15, 2013 | Music
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...
by James Heflin | Apr 15, 2013 | Music
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...
by Chris Rohmann | Apr 15, 2013 | Music
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...
by Advocate Staff | Apr 15, 2013 | Music
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...
by Advocate Staff | Apr 23, 2013 | Music
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,...
by Chris Rohmann | Apr 23, 2013 | Music
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...
by Michael Cimaomo | Apr 23, 2013 | Music
“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...
by Gary Carra | Apr 23, 2013 | Music
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...
by James Heflin | Apr 23, 2013 | Music
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...
by Advocate staff | May 3, 2013 | Music
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...
by James Heflin | May 3, 2013 | Music
If you think of Northampton record label Signature Sounds as strictly a folk label, well, you may not have delved far into the catalogue. And the latest effort from Valley-based Jeffrey Foucault’s side project Cold Satellite, Cavalcade, will singlehandedly go...
by Tom Sturm | May 3, 2013 | Music
Longtime DJ, record store owner and general social facilitator Ronnie Kwon passed away unexpectedly of a brain aneurysm on the night of April 11 in New York City. He was 38 years old. A New York native, Kwon had recently moved back to the city after many years in the...
by REPORTER Valley Advocate | May 3, 2013 | Music
All-female band Antigone Rising recently got a boost of national visibility when bassist Kristen Ellis-Henderson appeared on the cover of Time magazine for a story about gay marriage. This week, the band brings its rocking brand of revelry to Northampton’s Pride...
by Michael Cimaomo | May 3, 2013 | Music
“We’re not a quiet band,” says Bryan Forbes, bassist and backup vocalist for Palmer band The Blue Veins. Instead, together with fellow members Jacob Watson (guitar, lead vocals), Jamieson Goodwin (lead guitar, backup vocals) and Matt Skowyra (drums,...
by Gary Carra | May 7, 2013 | Music
Let’s see… they are known as one of the biggest party bands on the circuit, their biggest hit is called “BEER!”, and they are playing Southbridge’s Mill Street Brews this Friday, May 10. Don’t think we need a crystal ball to guess...
by Michael Cimaomo | May 7, 2013 | Music
One of the defining characteristics of the Western Massachusetts music scene is its status as a melting pot. Bands that spring up in the Valley often share members. And frequently, when one group forms, many others will be created as members split their time between...
by Michael Cimaomo | May 7, 2013 | Music
“Like a lot of bands, we were initially a pack of friends before even playing one note together,” says Dennis Crommett, guitarist and vocalist for Spanish For Hitchhiking. “Max Germer [bass], Dave Hower [drums] and I started playing my songs under...
by Advocate staff | May 7, 2013 | Music
Brown Bird Fits of Reason (Supply & Demand Music) Connecting the dots between folk, blues and Eastern music, the latest record from this Rhode Island duo is a refreshing update of old sounds. Trading in his trusty acoustic guitar for an electric,...
by Advocate staff | May 14, 2013 | Music
Paula Cole Raven (675 Records/United For Opportunity) I love Paula Cole’s voice, but not her latest record. It’s an independent, Kickstarter-funded project billed as a return to her Americana roots, but it really shows how far she’s strayed. Take the...
by Michael Cimaomo | May 14, 2013 | Music
Formed in 2008 by a quartet of Hartt School of Music students, the New England band Brotherhood of Thieves, featuring members Jacob Wardwell (guitar, keyboards, vocals), Nicholas Cole (guitar), Jack Reynolds (bass) and Tim Jangl (drums), is a group whose moniker...
by Advocate Staff | May 14, 2013 | Music
1) Pink Sharpie Express 2) The Silver Jews 3) Goldwater 4) Long Green Hair 5) Hot Black 6) Gray Skull 7) Orange Television 8) Red Door Exchange 9) The Bluestockings 10) Colorway
by Gary Carra | May 14, 2013 | Music
Local folk-rock trio Rusty Belle rang in the New Year writing and recording tunes for a new record they hope to release this fall. “We spared no expense, but spent everything we had in the studio,” reports drummer/guitarist Zak Trojano of the impending...
by Gary Carra | May 21, 2013 | Music
King Crimson fretboarder Robert Fripp is officially credited with creating and overseeing The Orchestra of Crafty Guitarists (OCG). As the 100-member plus collective makes its way through the Bay State with a May 24 Beantown engagement at the First Church of Cambridge...
by Jason Victor Serinus | May 21, 2013 | Music
Plenty of folks remember the early days of the Hampshire Choral Society. Marietta Pritchard was too young to sing at its first concert in 1952, but spent a year with the group in 1958-9 under its first director, Henry Mishkin. She still recalls the dinginess of the...
by Advocate staff | May 29, 2013 | Music
I.B. Sometimes Out On the Prairie (Rancid Coyote Music) In a foul-smelling puddle somewhere behind San Francisco’s Filmore theater where the bitter, politically charged tobacco spit of Country Joe McDonald mingled with the hallucinogenic urine of the...
by Gary Carra | May 29, 2013 | Music
Shape & Nature Press’ (shapeandnature.com) anniversary gathering at Bishop’s Lounge June 2 is shaping up to be an impressive collection of area authors and fine audio. Founded in 2011 with the mission of printing the best contemporary literature, the...
by Tom Sturm | May 29, 2013 | Music
A neo-psychedelic funk/rock band that recalls Parliament Funkadelic and the Mothers of Invention, the Sunderland-based freakazoids of Outer Stylie are on the move this summer. Outer Stylie is the resident act at Snowzee’s, and its members also host regular open...
by Tom Sturm | May 29, 2013 | Music
Jim Matus’ Hadley studio is as impressive in its technological advancement as his musical engagement is the opposite—which is to say, his music is organic and often improvisational-sounding, and performed on a custom instrument he’s been perfecting...
by Tom Sturm | May 29, 2013 | Music
It’s ironic in a town with such an estro-centric reputation as Northampton that it’s actually pretty rare to find a band like Avedis—a five-piece, all-female rock unit. The band sounds pretty awesome for only having existed (in its current form) for...
by Michael Cimaomo | Jun 4, 2013 | Music
According to the popular ’90s science fiction series The X-Files, “the truth is out there.” The only stumbling block, as that show’s Special Agent Mulder might say, is an individual’s ability to believe. Fortunately for music fans in the...
by Gary Carra | Jun 4, 2013 | Music
Like her fellow Rotarians the globe over, West Springfield Rotary Club member Stella Kalamarkis exemplifies the organization’s motto, “service over self.” In fact, in her other role as entertainment chair for the upcoming West Side’s Taste of...
by Advocate staff | Jun 4, 2013 | Music
Iceage You’re Nothing (Matador) Denmark’s Iceage burst onto the scene two years ago with the full-throttle assault of New Brigade. The quartet of 19-year-olds offered a fresh take on hardcore, injected shards of New Wave synths, springy rhythms, and...
by Michael Cimaomo | Jun 4, 2013 | Music
“I started The Prozacs in September, 2001,” says band vocalist and guitarist Jay Gauvin (aka J Prozac). “I was playing in The GrandPrixx, my first band, and things were on a steady decline. I initially wanted to just have some fun, write some...
by Gary Carra | Jun 11, 2013 | Music
He may very well, as the lyrics to his hit song say, “carry contraband across state lines.” When it comes to the annual benefit concert for his It Takes A Community(ITAC) Foundation, however, hometown hero Aaron Lewis will not have to leave the confines of...
by Michael Cimaomo | Jun 11, 2013 | Music
Hometown pride has always been an inspirational force for Sakara. Featuring members Joe Rogers (bass), Cody Bryden (electric guitar), Dan O’Brien (vocals, acoustic guitar) and Mike Bilodeau (drums), the band grew up watching Valley acts like Staind, Shadows...
by Advocate staff | Jun 11, 2013 | Music
In a region as abundant in cultural events as the Pioneer Valley, it would take far more pages than we have available to highlight all of this summer’s offerings. That said, the writers and editors at the Valley Advocate have sifted through the crowded events...
by Tom Sturm | Jun 18, 2013 | Music
You can always count on Northampton’s Thane Thomsen to put the brakes on your thought process, no matter how scatterbrained or over-committed you might be in your daily reality. The material on the singer/songwriter’s latest project, Goldwater The Second,...
by Advocate staff | Jun 18, 2013 | Music
Supervision Telekinetic (Pretty Lights Music) There’s a weird, futuristic exuberance in the wild sampling and squidgy electronic sounds of Texan producer/musicmaker Supervision. Supervision says he’s after “futuristic electronic hip-hop beats. The...
by Gary Carra | Jun 18, 2013 | Music
“I scream my heart out just to make a dime,” Tom Keifer famously sang in Cinderella’s 1986 breakthrough hit “Nobody’s Fool.” Considering that the house was filled to the rafters on a recent rain-soaked Friday night at the Palace...
by Advocate Staff | Jun 18, 2013 | Music
The Source Family The Source Family (Drag City) The Source Family is the soundtrack of the same-titled documentary about the followers of Father Yod, a spiritual leader of the early 1970s. Father Yod describes himself as “the father you always wanted but never...
by James Heflin | Jun 25, 2013 | Music
Since 2003, Northampton has hosted an event that is, by the standards of the musical subculture involved, major. It’s become major outside that world, too. Andrew Lawrence, who heads up Community Guitar, started Django in June back in ‘03, when a concert...
by Gary Carra | Jun 26, 2013 | Music
Prince Spaghetti may have a lock on the country’s proverbial work week “hump day.” But West Whately’s Paul Newlin is once again banking on area residents to favor his watermelons and outdoor music offerings over hot pasta for at least a few...
by Advocate staff | Jul 2, 2013 | Music
Bambi Lee Savage Darkness Overshadowed (Bambi Lee Savage Music) Bambi Lee Savage has an interesting musical pedigree—as a recording engineer, she has credits with the likes of Nick Cave and U2. As a musician, she’s been championed by, among others,...
by Gary Carra | Jul 2, 2013 | Music
They may put the squeeze on you at the pump again this summer, but here are at least three cents-less acts of audio, on tap this month to please the most ardent of penny pinchers. In addition to boasting one of the largest fireworks displays in the region (on Sunday,...
by Advocate staff | Jul 2, 2013 | Music
Ten KensNamesake(Fat Cat Records)Brett Paulin and Dan Workman (Ten Kens) may have minted their most profound and poignant record to date in Namesake. Over the course of a year, the Toronto-based songwriting duo produced the album in complete isolation—as is...
by Gary Carra | Jul 9, 2013 | Music
Drunk Stuntmen frontman Steve Sanderson still remembers the phone call that gave birth to band’s now-annual performance at Bourne Scenic Park. “It was 13 years ago, the band was on the road, and my dad calls,” he explains. “So he says he wants...
by Tom Sturm | Jul 9, 2013 | Music
Most Valley-ites and at least a healthy chunk of New Yorkers probably remember Peyton Pinkerton as one of the principal members of the Hampshire College-spawned New Radiant Storm King, and much of that band’s 1990s indie rock feel is carried over onto the...
by Tom Sturm | Jul 9, 2013 | Music
I couldn’t help but smile when I received the latest Lonesome Brothers CD with a handwritten note from Ray Mason and enclosed in an envelope that had been sent to my old address—from six years ago. Perhaps a good metaphor for the Lonesome Brothers...
by Tom Sturm | Jul 16, 2013 | Music
Local duo The Demographic have rocked the Valley for more than a few years now, slinging energetic beats and sludge-laden guitar riffage in a passionate and fitful but still rather nerdy way, the musical equivalent of trashing a hotel room with a light saber. The...
