Music
by Gary Carra | Jul 16, 2013 | Music
Since its inception, Greenfield’s Green River Festival (taking place July 20-21 this year) has amassed music lineups with enough nationally known names to make sister celebrations, well, green with envy. While entertainment scheduler Jim Olsen believes that this...
by Advocate staff | Jul 16, 2013 | Music
Andy Kaufman Andy and his Grandmother (Drag City) It’s long been difficult for many people to relate to the bizarre antics of comedian/performance artist Andy Kaufman, a man who created major alternate identities for himself, including a professional...
by Advocate staff | Jul 16, 2013 | Music
Savages Silence Yourself (Matador) This ferocious debut may evoke both Siouxsie and the Banshees and Joy Division, but unlike many of today’s backward-looking bands, Savages aren’t remotely interested in nostalgia. There’s a feral urgency and...
by Gary Carra | Jul 23, 2013 | Music
Like many folks the region over, members of Northampton’s Business Improvement District (BID) knew that their city had a storied, robust music scene. Unlike many of its neighbors, however, Paradise City had somehow ceased to put forth a series of free outdoor...
by Advocate staff | Jul 23, 2013 | Music
Purson The Circle and the Blue Door (Metal Blade/ Rise Above) According to demonology, the creature “Purson” is a “Great King of Hell,” often accompanied by 22 legions of demons that do his bidding. On its debut album, the London band...
by Tom Sturm | Jul 23, 2013 | Music
Franklin County’s Green River Festival has grown over the years into an annual tradition of increasing distinction. While its family-friendly weekend schedule continues to feed, entertain, and even clothe visitors of all ages via local food and merchandise...
by Gary Carra | Jul 30, 2013 | Music
The Crawler caught up with axe master Eric Johnson just prior to the “Cliffs of Dover” creator’s impending tour with Mike Sterns of Miles Davis infamy. Here’s some of what went down. Crawler: With so much material for you to choose from,...
by Advocate staff | Jul 30, 2013 | Music
Robin Nolan Gypsy Blue (H.O.T.) Robin Nolan is an odd fit in the pantheon of Gypsy jazz guitarists—he’s British, not Gypsy or even French. Though the genre has now become an international phenomenon, Nolan is hardly a newcomer. He’s long...
by Tom Sturm | Jul 30, 2013 | Music
It’s been 17 years since the 1996 release of Massachusetts, the Scud Mountain Boys’ last studio album for SubPop—basically the entire lifespan of a medium-sized dog. Eerily in sync with (but much quieter than) the emergence of Brood II, the East...
by Gary Carra | Aug 6, 2013 | Music
It may be famous for its oxen draws, sheep shows and garden tractor pulls, but as evidenced by this year’s crop of musical talent, the 2013 Heath Fair (heathfair.org) has sown a healthy dose of high quality audio into the agricultural mix this year. Signature...
by Advocate staff | Aug 6, 2013 | Music
Hot Club of Cowtown Rendezvous in Rhythm (Gold Strike) Austin, Tex. trio Hot Club of Cowtown is renowned for both its deft instrumental virtuosity and the sheer energy level of its performers. Blending 1930s-era old-time song sensibility with bursts of Gypsy...
by Tom Sturm | Aug 6, 2013 | Music
Spouse’s Jose Ayerve has long been a wanderer, touring extensively and, even at his most rooted, bi-locating himself in two states. Though he’s a bit older and wiser now, he’s nonetheless formulated what most people might call an odd recipe for...
by Tom Sturm | Aug 13, 2013 | Music
Doug Ratner isn’t what you’d call a poet. His lyrics are often filled with somewhat clichéd, stereotypical tropes about girls, conformity and rebellion, and reside inside songs with less than thought-provoking titles like “If You Wanna,”...
by Gary Carra | Aug 13, 2013 | Music
On Wednesday, Aug. 14, “America’s Best Unknown Songwriter” hosts the “most well-attended, longest-running free concert in Northampton” when seasoned singer/songwriter Roger Salloom (rogersalloom.com) takes to the Pines Theater stage in...
by Tom Sturm | Aug 13, 2013 | Music
With members sporting stage names like Snaxx, V-Chip, Murder, Tal Vez and Shorty, Easthampton Savings Band sounds more like a loose association of neighborhood thugs than a musical group—the kind of folks who’d sucker you into a game of three-card Monte or...
by Gary Carra | Aug 20, 2013 | Music
Luckily for any who have shared a Battle of the Bands stage with them, Springfield’s Humble Patients are also gracious winners. In just under two years of existence, the funky foursome that features three lefties (band member AJ Del Negro has his bass strung...
by Advocate staff | Aug 20, 2013 | Music
The Dodos Carrier (Polyvinyl) Carrier is an odd sort of album in that its skeleton is straightforward songwriting, melody-centered, quiet and a touch wistful, but its vibe is thoroughly contemporary, mixing that deliberate, closely examined songwriting with...
by Advocate Staff | Aug 20, 2013 | Music
Steph Casey Whisper and Holler (independent) Steph Casey, a New Zealand-based singer/songwriter, sure has a lot of American muses. Among those whose influences you’ll hear are Gillian Welch, Lucinda Williams, and Joy Williams of The Civil Wars, whose...
by Advocate staff | Aug 28, 2013 | Music
A Severe Joy cinematesque part 1 (Nine Mile Recordings) A Severe Joy is the latest musical incarnation of the muy prolifica Jose Ayerve (Spouse, Nuclear Watse Management Club), who’s basically played, sang and produced everything on the disc. The grooves,...
by Gary Carra | Aug 28, 2013 | Music
The recent passing of literary legend Elmore Leonard has very local implications. The famed author of such gritty crime novels cum silver screen features as Get Shorty and Be Cool had actually worked with—and befriended—the Valley’s own Stone Coyotes...
by Tom Sturm | Aug 28, 2013 | Music
Few people have had their fingers in as many musical pies in the Valley as Rob Ives, aka Robo and/or Robert American, a multi-instrumentalist who’s proven a highly energetic, hardworking journeyman. He’s also gained a reputation as a creative force in both...
by Tom Sturm | Aug 28, 2013 | Music
It’s the end of August, the crickets and cicadas are reminding you that, yes, the summer is coming to an end, and for many in the Valley school is just around the corner. For the last two decades and then some, however, there has always been one last...
by James Heflin | Sep 3, 2013 | Music
For Northampton’s Cow Island Music record label owner Bill Hunt, creating a roster is a labor of love. “I do things that are interesting to me, where my talents and resources can be beneficial to people I’m working with,” Hunt says. Because Cow...
by Advocate Staff | Oct 22, 2013 | Music
Quasi Mole City (Kill Rock Stars) This ninth album from indie rockers Sam Coomes (vocals, guitar, keyboards) and Janet Weiss (vocals, drums) is an ambitious project. Featuring 24 tracks, the record bounces from upbeat pop to more eclectic stylings at a rapid...
by Advocate staff | Sep 3, 2013 | Music
Shuggie Otis Inspiration Information & Wings of Love (Legacy) Over the years, Shuggie Otis’s Inspiration Information has achieved classic status for its visionary mix of electronic funk, California soul, and psychedelic blues. In some ways,...
by Gary Carra | Oct 22, 2013 | Music
Valley boys Gone By Daylight have rocked stages with Brett Michaels and Ed Kowalcyzk and The Misfits in recent months. Now they’ve finally put together an intimate, acoustic set, and they decide to have the performance all the way over in some vineyard in Napa,...
by Tom Sturm | Sep 3, 2013 | Music
Unbuckled Records, brainchild of Longmeadow’s David Smith, is up ‘n’ moving to Boston. To say farewell, Northampton’s The Elevens nightclub is hosting Dog Day Festival, an all-day musical event featuring some 25 bands. Smith, a longtime local...
by James Heflin | Oct 22, 2013 | Music
This week, guest conductor/composer Michael Shapiro and 15 members of the The Springfield Symphony Orchestra offer a live soundtrack to the 1931 Halloween classic Frankenstein. Halloween-ready visitors can show up early for a pre-show costume contest. A few nights...
by Advocate staff | Sep 10, 2013 | Music
Wire Change Becomes Us (Pink Flag) Over the course of its long career—including two reunions—Wire has steadfastly refused to trade on nostalgia. Change Becomes Us tweaks its forward-looking aesthetic by revisiting songs written but never properly recorded...
by Chris Rohmann | Oct 22, 2013 | Music
The best-loved stories of P.G. Wodehouse feature that imperturbable valet Jeeves and his young aristocratic employer, Bertie Wooster, an affable fellow, but unmusical. In the English TV series of the early ‘90s starring Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie, that...
by James Heflin | Sep 10, 2013 | Music
Boston band Guillermo Sexto visits the Sierra Grille this week in support of the Sept. 24 release of the new album Dark Spring. True to its name, Dark Spring often offers counterintuitive combinations of sound—airy male/female harmonies sometimes sit atop grungy...
by Gary Carra | Oct 22, 2013 | Music
The Bay State’s own Killswitch Engage received a rather large honor in the Big Apple last weekend. The Westfield-based metalmeisters were tapped to headline the 2013 CBGB Santos Party House in Manhattan Oct. 12. “Killswitch is one of my favorite...
by Jason Victor Serinus | Sep 10, 2013 | Music
Once upon a time in the not too distant past, Northampton was anything but a bastion of liberalism. A century before Calvin Coolidge was mayor–two centuries before the town’s lesbians outnumbered its Republicans–Northampton was the site of a public...
by Advocate staff | Oct 30, 2013 | Music
Cave Threace (Drag City) On its latest album, this Chicago-based instrumental quartet brings a free jazz-like approach to five songs of varying natures. Opening number “Sweaty Fingers” is a nearly 12-minute exercise in repetition. Featuring a stop-start...
by Gary Carra | Sep 10, 2013 | Music
Like many an agricultural fair, Franklin County’s fair (fcas.com)—occurring Sept. 5-8—will include judging of livestock. What makes the Greenfield-based event different than others is that in this, its 165th installment, live musical acts will also...
by Pete Redington | Oct 30, 2013 | Music
It can be hard to kick the Sunday habit of watching NFL football. Just ask Valley singer/songwriter/activist Erin McKeown. “I’m really having a crisis of conscience with the NFL,” McKeown tells the Advocate, “about what they knew or...
by Advocate staff | Sep 17, 2013 | Music
Fiesta Brava This Is Us Tomorrow (Lost Bridges) Valley band Fiesta Brava offers a blend of big guitar chords, vocal harmonies and emotion-fueled playing. The band’s brand of rock is decidedly pop-oriented, with layers of triumphant guitar sounds and...
by by Michael Cimaomo | Nov 5, 2013 | Music
Big Wheel and Others (Domino) In press materials accompanying this latest release from solo musician McCombs, the tag “double album” is shrugged off with a line that says such labeling implies “bloat, prog, and concept.” Instead, listeners are...
by James Heflin | Sep 17, 2013 | Music
In the late ’80s and early ’90s, one version of The Waterboys—a moniker which has mostly meant Mike Scott and Anthony Thistlethwaite plus various supporting casts—became widely known, thanks to two albums paying homage to traditional Irish...
by Gary Carra | Nov 5, 2013 | Music
Ah! It’s that wonderful time of the year again when everyone masquerades as people they are not in hopes of securing treats and goodies. But enough about Election Day. It’s All Hallow’s Eve! And not surprisingly, a couple of the Valley’s more...
by Gary Carra | Sep 17, 2013 | Music
After more than three decades of performing and recording with his Asbury Jukes, Jersey’s own “Southside” Johnny Lyon released a CD, Songs From the Barn, with a backing band dubbed The Poor Fools earlier this year. This Friday, Sept. 13, said tunes...
by Michael Cimaomo | Nov 12, 2013 | Music
Culled from a list that reportedly included hundreds of possible names, the moniker of the new Northampton band Mother Elk is more than just a tribute to a maternal mammal. Said to represent “fertility, pacing and growth,” the name is also fitting for a...
by Advocate staff | Sep 24, 2013 | Music
Weird Owl Healing (A Recordings) Though it consists of only five tracks, this third album from a quartet of Brooklyn-based psychedelic rockers is an expansive journey into far-off musical territories. Opening cut “Change Your Mind” features singer Trevor...
by James Heflin | Nov 12, 2013 | Music
Costa Blanca (Trouble in Mind) French duo The Limiñanas swim in groovy waters. Maybe it’s the baritone spoken French vocals that lead off the album, or maybe it’s the floppy ’60s bass tone, the 12-string guitars and sitar sounds, but this...
by Gary Carra | Sep 24, 2013 | Music
In 2005, singer-songwriter Declan O’Rourke was approached by someone who identified himself as both a fan and a musician in a little band of his own. “He said it was called Snow Patrol, and I genuinely replied, ‘I think I might have heard that...
by Gary Carra | Nov 19, 2013 | Music
As its name implies, Agawam’s Crestview Country Club (crestviewcc.com) has always boasted visual appeal. Perched on a panoramic seat overlooking the Pioneer Valley, the 400-acre estate has offered breathtaking views to its golfers and diners at its restaurant...
by Gary Carra | Sep 24, 2013 | Music
Comedian Dave Chappelle resurfaced at a Chicago nightclub earlier this month and shed some light on his recent Hartford, Conn. walk-off the week prior. Some had initially suspected the episode was either a publicity stunt or another meltdown for the funnyman who once...
by Gary Carra | Nov 19, 2013 | Music
As a former member of the CBS Records band 8084 who has shared stages with Celine Dion, Jon Bon Jovi and Cyndi Lauper (to name a choice few), singer/songwriter Randy Smith certainly exemplifies the oft-recited idiom of “being in the right place at the right...
by James Heflin | Oct 1, 2013 | Music
Things get off to an interesting start on Mammal Dap’s new EP, 5lbsHigh5. The band’s members may look a bit young and scruffy in that indie kind of way, but the sounds that regale you from the first note have a lot more to do with 1973 than 2013....
by Advocate staff | Oct 1, 2013 | Music
Çigdem Aslan Mortissa (Asphalt Tango) Stick around long enough and dive music becomes hip. Think honky-tonk, tango, the blues, fado, and Greek rebetiko. A superb practitioner of the latter is Turkish-born, London-based Çi?dem...
by by James Heflin | Nov 27, 2013 | Music
The Wiyos one more for the road (independent) The Wiyos make a mighty big noise for three guys playing old-fashioned acoustic instruments. The trio’s list of instruments includes foot percussion, washboard, harmonicas, and “sundries.” In the...
by Rob Weir | Nov 27, 2013 | Music
Over the Bridge of Time (Sony Legacy) Love him or hate him, there’s simply no point to a conversation about the past six decades of songwriting that doesn’t include Paul Simon’s name. This 47-year retrospective offers 20 tracks that take us from...
by Pete Redington | Oct 1, 2013 | Music
Jim Peternik recalls the day some 20 years ago when he came home to find a message from Sylvester Stallone waiting for him on his answering machine. “Answering machines were still something of a novelty back then,” the singer/guitarist told Songcrafts.com....
by Gary Carra | Dec 4, 2013 | Music
As recently as a month ago, local scenester Crystal “Kissy” Willard wasn’t sure of the exact date, lineup or even venue for her 30th birthday bash. But she knew there would be cupcakes. Oh, yes. There would be cupcakes. “I have girlfriends...
by Gary Carra | Oct 8, 2013 | Music
Good golly! UMass has cancelled two more electronic dance shows due to concerns about “Molly”—a high-powered, powdered form of Ecstasy. And not surprisingly, the man behind the music—UMass grad/NV Concepts founder Tim Bonito—is none too...
by Michael Cimaomo | Dec 4, 2013 | Music
Family bands aren’t a new concept. The Osmonds, the Bee Gees, even the current indie darlings of Haim—these groups and many others have formed from sibling bonds and a shared love of music. In the Pioneer Valley, one group that has followed suit is Show of...
by Gary Carra | Oct 8, 2013 | Music
Valley veterans Danny Pease & The Regulators have added a dash of special guests and new songwriters to the sonic stew they’ve been brewing at AQ Creative Production Studios in Chicopee. This Friday, Oct. 4, they’ll be ready to release their...
by Gary Carra | Dec 4, 2013 | Music
Like any self-respecting moonshiner, Susie Hanna says she is tweaking the multi-act musical mash she named The Whiskey Treaty and loosed on the masses in 2012. “Last year was kind of a test run,” she says of the second annual event that will see five...
by Advocate staff | Oct 15, 2013 | Music
Lucy Wainwright Roche There’s a Last Time for Everything (1-2-3-4-GO!) When you’re descended from as much folk royalty as Lucy Wainwright Roche, you’d better be able to deliver. With this, her second full-length, Roche obliterates all doubt...
by by James Heflin | Dec 10, 2013 | Music
Shanta Paloma (independent) The songs on local singer and songwriter Shanta Paloma’s debut disc can be heard pretty often in the Valley these days—Paloma holds down an every-Tuesday gig at Elizur’s Pub in Holyoke. She can also be heard on...
