WEEKLY BAND E-MAIL #141.0 August 19th, 2010
By BRIAN ANASTASI bananastasi@comcast.net

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Shelburne Falls resident and MPress Recording Artist Seth Glier is once again participating in The Fringe Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland.

The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (The Fringe) is the world’s largest arts festival. Established in 1947 as an alternative to the Edinburgh International Festival, it takes place in Scotland's capital during three weeks every August alongside several other arts and cultural festivals, collectively known as the Edinburgh Festival, of which the Fringe is by far the largest.

Fringe 2009 sold 1,859,235 tickets for 34,265 performances of 2,098 shows in 265 venues, over 25 days, for an average of over 74,000 admissions and 1,300 performances per day. There were an estimated 18,901 performers, from 60 countries.

This year Seth will be performing twice as many shows as he did last year, supporting Rachel Sage at the Carlton Hotel. For more info on the Fringe, go to http://www.edfringe.com/

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The Westford Rotary presents the fifth annual Blues 'N' Brews Festival at the Nashoba Valley Ski Area in Westford this Saturday, August 21st, 12noon-7pm. Performing will be Ken Macy, Smokehouse Lightning, Tokyo Tramps, Danny Banks and his All-Star Band featuring "Monster" Mike Welch, Bellevue Cadillac, and Sugar Blue.

Tickets are $35 at the gate. Children under 12 are free. The festival will be held rain or shine. It will be hosted by Carter Alan, host of "Sunday Morning Blues" on WZLX 100.9FM HD-1 in Boston, and the person who programs Radio Mojo for WZLX HD-2. Carter Alan is the Dean of the "College of Musical Knowledge" and someone I very much respect.

Beneficiaries of the funds raised from this year's festival include the Multiple Sclerosis Society (Blister Buddies), Merrimack Valley Food Bank, Domestic Violence Services Network, Massachusetts National Guard Family Support Fund, Friends Forever International Peace Program, and various scholarships and projects supported by the Westford Rotary Club

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Boston Band Crush, a daily blog that chronicles the Boston music scene (and which I get much of my information from), presents the second annual One Night Band show at the Middle East down in Cambridge on Saturday, August 21st, starting at 8pm.

BBC selected 40 musicians, whom they have interviewed in their blog over the past 40 days. These 40 musicians will be gathering early Saturday morning and broken up into random groups of five. Then these eight new groups will have all day to work out a set of four songs, which they will perform at the ME on Saturday night.The fun begins at 8pm. Tickets are $10 in advance or $12 on the day of the show. This is an 18+ show, and advance tickets are available at http://www.mideastclub.com

All proceeds benefit the Zumix arts space in East Boston. For ihfo on Zumix, go to http://www.zumix.org

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The Massachusetts Blues Society will be presenting the Massachusetts Blues Challenge on Sunday, August 22nd at the C-Note on Nantasket Beach in Hull. Competing will be the Andy James Band, Catfish Howl, The Throwdown Blues Band, Sturdy Moss, Diane Blue and the Beantown Boys, Juke Joint Devils, and Dan Sevush. The first set begins at 5pm. The MBS says it is dedicated to "promoting awareness and appreciation for the blues." For more info on the MBS, including a link to the Blues live music calendar, go to http://massblues.org/

A seminar titled "Less Rock More Talk" will be held at the Middle East down in Cambridge on Monday, August 23rd at 7pm. Participating will be Dave Duncan of "Boston Accents" on WFNX in Lynn, Anngelle Wood of "Boston Emissions" on WZLX in Boston, Carmelita of "Bay State Rock" on WAAF/WKAF, and Tim Kelly of "The Hidden Capital" on WMBR in Cambridge. The seminar is free and open to the public of all ages.

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Among the new releases at Newbury Comics this past Tuesday, August 17th, were CDs by Duke Robillard and Ray LaMontagne and the Pariah Dogs. Duke Robillard's new CD is "Passport to the Blues" and is available for $11.88, and Ray LaMontagne's new CD "The Lord's Willing and the Creek Don't Rise" is available for $12.88 at all Newbury Comics locations.

Of course, the title of the new Ray LaMontagne CD was the line that Charles Laquidara used to end his "Big Mattress" show with every morning on WBCN, and the "Creek Don't Rise" portion refers to the Creek Indians, not a creek that holds water. I'm wondering if Ray was able to get WBCN up in Maine while he was growing up. It's possible. When I was living in Beverly on the North Shore of Boston, I used to listen to The Blimp back when it was at 107.9FM in Lewiston-Auburn, although I would have to turn my radio around to negate WXKS out of Medford. Of course those were the good old days. Now that The Blimp is at 102.9FM out of Portland, and is 100,000 watts, you can get it practically everywhere. But now The Blimp is owned by Clear Channel, so nobody really cares any more, especially with WCLZ at 98.9 in North Yarmouth.

Actually, The Blimp is most likely one of the three most powerful radio stations in New England. I can get it in three or four times a summer by skip way out here in Amherst and Northampton. And I can also get quite clearly WGBH, 89.7FM, which has its transmitter on top of Great Blue Hill (hence the call letters) in Milton. But probably the most powerful station in New England is a country music station called "The Peak," WPKQ, 103.7FM in North Conway, NH, which has its transmitter on top of Mount Washington. Imagine being the person who has to scrape ice off that antenna in the winter!

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Club Passim in Harvard Square in Cambridge will once again be having its Campfire Weekend over the Labor Day weekend. The four day indoor folk and Americana music festival begins at 6pm on Friday, September 3rd, and at 12noon on Saturday, September 4th, Sunday, September 5th, and Monday, September 6th. All shows end around midnight and are ALL AGES. Day-long passes are $10, and weekend passes are available for $30 on Friday and Saturday night. Passes may be bought at the box office or online at http://www.clubpassim.org/

Among those participating are:
Ryan Fitzsimmons
Miss Tess and the Bon Ton Parade
Rebecca Correia
Sarah Rabdau
Lydia Warren
Rose Polenzani
Jenee Halstead
John Shade and the Neave String Quartet
Dinty Child
Mieka Pauley
Jason Myles Goss
Matt Heaton and the Electric Heaters
Audrey Ryan

Here is a video of Miss Tess and the Bon Ton Parade performing at the Charleston Pour House:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0sKHjv0NLQ

Here is a video of Sarah Rabdau with Vassela Stoyanova of Goli on MIDI marimba and Valerie Thompson of Goli on cello, performing at Cafe 939 in Boston back on July 17th:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lojcHcgocvo

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This comes from Mal Thursday:

There will be a 30th anniversary show of the ZONE Art Center at the Canal Gallery, 380 Dwight Street in Holyoke, on Saturday, September 11th at 7pm. Performing will be 8th Route Army, The Malarians, Bamboo Steamers, Art Kritics, Donut Kings, and Thrill Pillow.

The Malarians re-formed and played at Church of Boston, The Sierra Grill in Northampton, and the Lucky Dog Music Hall in Worcester back in mid-June. Now Mal says:

Yeah, I'm re-returning to the Valley for two shows next month. After the success of the Tour of Route 9, it's The Mini-Tour of Route 5!

The ZONE was the epicenter of the western Mass. punk scene in the '80s, a non-profit arts space in downtown Springfield that put on semi-monthly all-ages shows featuring an eclectic mix of local bands, as well as providing gallery exhibitions for all manner of area artists. The city let the ZONE die rather than ensuring its future with a little funding, and instead of a funky arts space where kids could go see music in an alcohol- and drug-free environment, they got more strip clubs and lame discos.

The Malarians' 1990 live album, the aptly titled "Finished In This Town," was recorded there. The Malarians' "In the Cool Room" and the 2-for-1 deluxe reissue of "Know" and "Finished In This Town" are available as mp3 albums on amazon.com and iTunes.

Here is a video of the Bamboo Steamers performing "Stuart Little" at the Sierra Grill in Northampton on November 20th, 2008:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZUtVZqexPg

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The Stompers will be celebrating their 33rd anniversary as a Boston rock 'n roll institution at the Bull Run Restaurant in Shirley on Saturday, November 6th, beginning at 8pm. According to the band, last year's show sold out months before the show, so if you are planning to go, you would be advised to get your tickets immediately. Tickets are $25, and may be ordered online (will call only) at http://tickets.bullrunrestaurant.com/

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The Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland will devote its 15th annual American Music Masters series to Fats Domino, Dave Bartholomew and New Orleans’ role in the birth of rock 'n roll.

“Walking to New Orleans: The Music of Fats Domino and Dave Bartholomew,” scheduled for Nov. 8-13, consists of evening lectures, interviews and film screenings at the museum; a day-long conference at Case Western Reserve University; and a culminating tribute concert at Cleveland’s Palace Theater in PlayhouseSquare. Confirmed performers include Bartholomew, Lloyd Price, Dr. John, Irma Thomas, Robert Parker and the Rebirth Brass Band.

The American Music Masters program, the Hall of Fame’s signature series, spotlights key figures in the evolution of popular music whose stories and contributions warrant wider recognition. Past honorees include Woody Guthrie, Robert Johnson, Lead Belly, Hank Williams, Louis Jordan, Buddy Holly, Sam Cooke, Jerry Lee Lewis, Les Paul and Janis Joplin.

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There will be a very special show at the Iron Horse in Northampton on Friday, September 10th, beginning at 7pm. It will be a celebration of the Lonesome Brothers' 25th anniversary as a band and Ray Mason's 60th birthday. Tickets are $10 in advance or $13 at the door, and may be purchased online at http://www.iheg.com/

I asked Ray Mason to reflect on his life as a musician, and this is what he came up with.

RAY MASON: IN HIS OWN WORDS

I was born in Holyoke, MA in 1950 and grew up there for the first 20 or so years and then moved all the way up the road to Northampton! We always had some 45 record playing and I remember starting to buy singles of my own in 1959 at W. T. Grants on High St. in Holyoke. Those singles were definitely my earliest influences: Everly Brothers, Sam Cooke, Duane Eddy....the list goes on.

I started playing guitar around 1964 when I received my 1st Silvertone (with the amp in the case) as a gift for my 8th grade graduation. I took lessons right near where we lived in the housing project at George Crete's Music Center on Dwight St. in Holyoke. At that time I wanted to learn Beatles' tunes but ended up being taught "Down In The Valley".

I was never too good at copying records or what other guitarists were doing so that's how I ended up starting to write my own songs. Watching The beatles on Ed Sullivan I was amazed at how long George Harrison's fingers were and the chords he played just boggled my mind! I loved it!!

My band started in one form or another around 1980-81 and the Lonesomes in 1985. At that point (80-81) I figured I had been stockpiling tunes and wanted to see how they might sound with a band. I was also playing solo gigs with just myself and the Silvertone. Meanwhile Jim Armenti & I had been playing in a local country band and decided to start the Lonesomes in 85' as a side project. Now here we are 25 years later!

I started writing tunes in the 1960's because (as I said above) I didn't know how to copy records. The first song I wrote was called "Never" and I had my first song copywritten in 1967 called "Nothing Seems To Happen". Very appropriate title! Some tunes I write are true and autobiographical while others are totally fabricated but still tell a story or make a comment on everyday life's little things. The last so many years or so I've been filling up notebooks with song titles and then going back and writing the song. Something about that that makes sense to me.

I started playing in my first band in 1966 (The Gladiators out of Holyoke) and yes, there really have been over 6,000 gigs since. Some of my all time favorites were opening many shows (since 1972) for NRBQ. What a treat to play and then kick back and watch your favorite band all in one night. They've been such an influence and inspiration. So many other gigs like the Newport Folk Festival and Prairie Home Companion with the Lonesome Brothers. Getting to play bass with Steve Forbert and Willie Nile at the Iron Horse. Getting to sit in on guitar with Alejandro Escovedo and James McMurtry. Having Jimmie Dale Gilmore sit in with the Lonesome Brothers at The Basement in Northampton. All the gigs with my band (Frank Marsh, Stephen Desaulniers & Tom Shea) and the Lonesome Brothers (Jim Armenti & Tom Shea). Working in the studio with Jim Weeks on many recordings. Many great opening slots for The Band, Warren Zevon, Chris Whitley, Marshall Crenshaw, Graham Parker, Nils Lofgren, The Bottle Rockets, Yo La Tengo......the list goes on. There's way too many to even begin mentioning! As far as tough gigs go I remember playing in Rock Island, IL around 1969 or 70'. Six nights a week, six sets a night from 9 p.m. - 3 a.m. Now that was work! I also remember playing two sets solo outside in a gazebo up near Albany where it was so cold I had to play while wearing my winter jacket. All the people sat in their cars watching me from a distance. That's one I wouldn't want to play again!

I don't want to harp on that music was better back when because everyone seems to be majorly influenced by the music that they grew up listening to. There's always great music to seek out and listen to but the records I always go back to are the ones that have been part of my life for a long time. Don't know much about ProTools and technology!

We're hoping that the Iron Horse show on September 10th will be a party for everyone who has shown us any kind of support over all these years. It is much appreciated. We're just trying to play and write the best songs we can. It's always been that way. We don't talk about it. I suppose approaching 60 is a big one but what I'm really looking forward to is the prospect of some senior citizen discounts!

[ed. note: AARP sends out application forms when you are 49-1/2 years old, and Wendy's Restaurants give you a 5% discount if you are 55 or older.]

Here is a video of the Lonesome Brothers performing "Liza" at the Middle Earth Music Hall in Bradford, VT back in 2007:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mdm7xPfCzTQ

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Information for the Weekly Band E-Mail is taken directly from venue,
band, and musician web sites, Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace pages,
as well as blogs, posters, flyers, and e-mails..
Brian Anastasi assumes no responsibility for errors on these sources.