The Nostradamus of modern times, The Amazing Kreskin brings his marvelous mentalist show to the Iron Horse on Saturday, September 17th

 With a showman’s flair, a comedian’s wit, and the capacities of a bona fide Mentalist or thought reader, The Amazing Kreskin has, for some six decades, dramatized the unique facets of the human mind…his own.  His very name has become an integral part of pop culture throughout the world, invoked in comedy clubs, comic strips, print stories, and TV shows from sitcoms on through national magazines.  
      
Born in Montclair, New Jersey, it was during the childhood game “hot and cold” that Kreskin’s remarkable ability to find hidden objects emerged. His ability to read thoughts expanded, and by his teens he also became nationally recognized in the United States as “The World’s Youngest Hypnotist”, resulting in his collaborating in psychological clinical studies extending into the realm of Parapsychology and the Power of Suggestion. By his late teens, this icon of thought transference developed a mental test that has become the highlight of his performances all over the world.  This signature piece has Kreskin requesting that his check be hidden somewhere within the venue he is appearing.  If he fails to find it, he will forfeit his fee.        

Through the decades, audiences of all ages have been drawn to this legendary figure.  How many other celebrities can boast their own television series, their own board game, over some sixteen books, their own theme song arranged by the renowned Skitch Henderson at Carnegie Hall, let alone hundreds of appearances on almost every talk/variety show to be had.  His performances have been seen all over the world, and he has flown over 3 million miles. 

The Amazing Kreskin has also become a training consultant to law enforcement and security personnel throughout the western world in the development in their own powers of observation and intuitive skills. Kreskin continues to offer “$50,000 to anybody that can prove that he employs paid secret assistants or confederates in any phase of his program”.  It is an offer that he has held for many, many years. 

Finally, through the years, Kreskin has received international recognition for extraordinary predictions often dealing with world affairs.  Regarding the US Presidential Election in 2008, he logged the results with a written statement made 11 months earlier, on December 6, 2007.  In the year 2008 on FOX Business News, he predicted the results of the Super Bowl three days before the game. 

A few years earlier in Canada, one month before a national election, he predicted the re-election of Prime Minister Martin, and named the exact amount of seats he would carry.  On the day after the election, on National Canadian Television, he reflected that the government could collapse in 14 months.  He was off by 5 days.  He has been called by many the Nostradamus of the twentieth century. 

Tickets are available at Northampton Box Office, 76 Main Street. 413-586-8686 and online at IHEG.com

Keb' Mo' plays the Calvin Theatre in Northampton at 8PM on Thursday, September 22nd and the Somerville Theatre in Boston at 8PM on Friday, Sept. 23rd.

Keb’ Mo's music is a purely post-modern expression of the artistic and cultural journey that has transformed the blues, and his own point of view, over time. His distinctive sound embraces multiple eras and genres, including pop, rock folk and jazz, in which he is well-versed. In total, it owes as much to contemporary music's singer-songwriter movement, encompassing his longtime friends and collaborators Bonnie Raitt and Jackson Browne, as to the spirit of blues godfather Robert Johnson that dwells in his work. For Keb' Mo', the common bond between these influences is the underlying storytelling ethic, the power of song to convey human experience and emotional weight. 

 The Reflection is the first new studio album by Keb Mo since Suitcase in 2006. These twelve songs are the product of an important period of personal and professional growth for the artist formerly known as Kevin Moore. In that time, he started a new family; moved from Los Angeles to Nashville; built a state–of–the–art home studio, and founded his own label, Yolabelle International, distributed by Ryko and the Warner Music Group.
Keb Mo is a three–time Grammy Award winner for Best Contemporary Blues Album; and a key figure in the acclaimed 2003 PBS series Martin Scorsese Presents The Blues. But The Reflection is not, in essence, a blues album. In sound and spirit, it’s closer to the work of African–American "folk soul" singer/songwriters like Bill Withers, Bobby Womack, and Terry Callier.

The Reflection brings together all of this singular artist's diverse influences – pre–disco R&B, American folk and gospel, rock, blues, and more – in a sound that is truly and uniquely his own.

Through all the changes of the past several years, Keb Mo found time to play a couple of hundred shows on several continents. He composed and recorded music for the acclaimed TNT series "Memphis Beat," starring Jason Lee and Alfre Woodward. And he wrote some of the best songs of his career for The Reflection – material strong enough to attract such notable guests as country music superstar Vince Gill, nouveau–soul chanteuse India.Arie, saxophonist Dave Koz, and veteran session guitarist David T. Walker.

Tickets for the Calvin Theatre show are available at Northampton Box Office,76 Main Street. 413-586-8686 and online at IHEG.com.

Tickets for the Somerville Theatre show are available at SomervilleTheatreOnline.com

The new vanguard of subtle, intelligent, nuanced, and virtuoso Jazz piano IS 32 year old Robert Glasper. The Blue Note artist's trio plays the Iron Horse on Sunday, October 9th.

One artist, two distinct but interwoven concepts: this is the captivating logic behind Double-Booked, pianist Robert Glasper’s third album for Blue Note, following up Canvas (2005) and In My Element (2007). An artist who “unfailingly gets the feeling right” (New York Magazine), Glasper has made waves throughout the music world as leader of both the acoustic Robert Glasper Trio and the electric, hi...p-hop-oriented Robert Glasper Experiment. With Double-Booked the 32-year-old Houston native puts his enviable versatility front and center, emphasizing these different hemispheres of his musical brain at the same time.

Career-wise, this creates a constant balancing act, and on occasion literally being double-booked, appearing with the Trio and the Experiment on the same night. Such is the storyline that emerges on Double-Booked, with conflicting voicemail messages from Terence Blanchard and Roots drummer Ahmir ?uestlove Thompson, each pulling for a different Glasper band.

“Most people, if they have different bands, they do separate albums,” says Glasper. “But I felt I’d be making more of a statement if I put it all on one joint.” The result, in essence, is a snapshot of Glasper’s life. “This is what I’m dealing with,” he continues. “It’s not like I play jazz but I also play hip-hop now and then. I’m in it, for real, both sides of the spectrum. That’s my life. A lot of people go in stages—they might focus on trio for a long time, then they change or whatever. My thing is both, all the time.”

The first six tracks on Double-Booked feature Glasper in Trio setting with longtime bassist Vicente Archer as well as drummer Chris Dave, who plays in Glasper’s Experiment band but recently came on board the Trio as well. “It’s hard to find that common thread in one cat,” Glasper enthuses. “Very few cats out there are extremely convincing in all genres of music. There’s always a wink-wink somewhere, like they play jazz really good but the hip-hop’s a little strange, or vice versa. Chris has both sides down on an even level, and he keeps on creating. He and Vicente used to play together with Kenny Garrett, so they have a history that made the linkup a lot easier. He knows the Chris-isms and Chris knows the Vicente-isms.”

As on In My Element, Glasper underlines the Trio’s hip-hop leanings with short fade-in interludes (“little Pete Rock-isms,” Glasper says) that function as short codas to some of the tunes. From the outset, with the lyrical flow and supple interaction of “No Worries,” one hears what Nate Chinen of The New York Times describes as “spongey, changeable adaptations of hip-hop rhythm tracks…Glasper himself plays as if he’s a living sample…in a kind of real-time loop.” “This is a little ditty I came up with when I was in London at a soundcheck,” Glasper recalls. “We played it that night at the show. I kept hearing people in London say ‘no worries,’ and that seemed like the title. It has a real positive, bright, ‘It’s ok’ vibe.”

“Downtime,” set mainly in 7/4, evokes a memory of Glasper looking out the window at the rain—“kind of like the ‘F.T.B.’ of this record, if you will,” Glasper says, referencing a standout track from In My Element. Both “Yes I’m Country (And That’s OK)” and “59 South,” meanwhile, touch upon Glasper’s hometown environment in Texas. The latter references a heavily trafficked highway in Houston, a cultural reference not unlike the Brooklyn Bridge in Glasper’s current home base, New York. “Yes I’m Country” prompts Glasper to explain: “I have a country swing when I play sometimes, and I like playing that way.” The vamp of the tune, an intriguing five-bar phrase, exemplifies the sort of off-kilter rapport that sets the Glasper Trio apart. “I love odd phrases that vamp,” he adds. “It brings a whole different feeling than a regular vamp.”

The Trio portion of Double-Booked culminates with an astonishing treatment of Thelonious Monk’s “Think of One.” In an ingenious and totally natural overlay, Glasper seizes an opportunity in last A section to quote Ahmad Jamal’s “Swahililand,” the chord progression that formed the basis of De La Soul’s 1996 hip-hop classic “Stakes Is High,” co-written by Glasper’s hero and friend, the late beatmaster J Dilla. “Monk and Dilla are both passed away, so when I play live I sometimes say they’re both probably in heaven, chillin’. Maybe they’re talking about this arrangement! I always wanted to mix a jazz joint with a hip-hop joint but make it dope, not contrived. Chris’s drumbeat is so crazy at the end, the hi-hat with the placement of the bass drum—you don’t get this on a jazz record, ever. That’s why I made it the last Trio tune, because it’s a perfect segue.”

From that point forward, we are firmly in Experiment-land, with Chris Dave remaining on drums—although the drum sound on this half of the album can be markedly different from the first. “4Eva,” a live excerpt featuring rap icon Mos Def, leads us straight into another world. “Butterfly” is originally from Thrust, Herbie Hancock’s 1974 landmark album. Hancock, as both a pianist and a genre-crossing innovator, is of course a huge influence on Glasper. “It just happens that every one of my records has a Herbie tune—it seems like I’m doing it on purpose,” Glasper says. “I’m not. But I had to put this on the record because it’s dope.” Casey Benjamin’s vocoder effects heighten the mystery of the melody, and a J Dilla beat called “F--- the Police” serves as a rhythmic foundation.

   

Benjamin’s arsenal of sonic effects is at the fore of “Festival,” colored by Glasper’s Fender Rhodes, taking wild, digressive turns over the course of 10 minutes—the Experiment sound at its most representative and expansive. “Casey has so many pedals, it’s a whole thing when he sets up, he has to go to the gig before us,” says Glasper with a laugh, noting that Benjamin is playing only alto saxophone and “nothing’s overdubbed.” A short transitional piece, “For You” by Benjamin and drummer Sameer Gupta, leads into “All Matter,” a striking, unclassifiable original by vocalist Bilal Oliver. Glasper offers: “You can really do this song in any situation, and it does stick with you. So pretty.” Derrick Hodge, the Experiment’s bassist, an accomplished composer as well as a top-shelf jazz and hip-hop sideman, contributes the final track, “Open Mind,” also featuring Bilal. It’s “a spiritual tune” in Glasper’s words, with additional textures and voice elements from turntablist Jahi Sundance, the son of alto saxophone great Oliver Lake.

Hailed by listeners and critics, Glasper has also garnered the respect of the toughest audience of all: musicians from across the jazz spectrum. In a May 2008 Blindfold Test for Down Beat magazine, a fellow pianist instantly identified Glasper and praised him as “a fantastic musician,” pinpointing characteristics of his unique style: “a harmonic maze, but also an insistent rhythm, certain turns and filigrees and ornaments, some of them sort of gospelish.” With Double-Booked, Glasper further develops all these elements and pulls them together in a new synthesis, continuing his ascent to the top ranks of modern jazz artistry.

Tickets for the Robert Glasper Trio at the Iron Horse on Sunday, October 9th are available at Northampton Box Office, 413-586-8686 and at IHEG.com

Perfect-pop trio Ivy plays the Iron Horse on Tuesday, September 13th featuring Dominique Durand, Adam Schlesinger of Fountains of Wayne and Andy Chase. Local sensations the Sometimes open.

After tossing off so many near-perfect pop songs during the ‘90s (and a few last decade), Chelsea-based trio Ivy is finally back. Side projects have kept members Adam Schlesinger, Dominique Durand, and Andy Chase busy, but their album All Hours, set for a September release, represents the band’s first new material in five years. Said Durand earlier this month from Los Angeles, “We’ve all been very busy.” 

Schlesinger is in Fountains of Wayne, while her husband, Chase, is co-owner of a busy Chelsea studio where acts like Depeche Mode recently recorded music. A few years ago, Ivy actually did record a full album, but the band decided to scrap it. “We decided to start all over again,” said Durand. “We were like, Fuck it, it’s not good enough for us.” 

But last year, Ivy got serious about exploring an original sound and began the recording process all over again. “We started from scratch and got very inspired,” she said. “These new songs we are very excited about.” So what does the new Ivy sound like? A lot like old Ivy, but mostly without their trademark jangly guitars. “We wanted it to be a more upbeat and happier-sounding record,” Durand said. “There’s more energy and light to it. It’s more dance-y, for Ivy,” she said, before quickly adding that All Hours is “not a dance record.” 

Songs like “Fascinated,” the new single set to drop next week, sparkle with a catchy confidence that’s filtered through an ‘80s pop prism, and seem to draw danceable inspiration from acts like Cut Copy or MGMT. But it’s lead single “Distant Lights” that sets the tone for the new record with repetitive, siren-like synths and pulsating drums, eventually giving way to sweet melodies. It’s a radical departure for the band, but a welcome one. –Charlie Amter/Blackbook

Tickets for Ivy plus The Sometimes at the Iron Horse at 7PM on Tuesday, September 13th are $12.50 at Northampton Box Office, 413-586-8686, and online at IHEG.com

Warren Haynes of Gov’t Mule, Allman Brothers, The Dead plays Thursday, September 8th at 8PM at the Calvin Theatre in Northampton

 Warren Haynes is a generation-spanning guitar hero; he wasn't out of grade school when some of his best-known collaborators were at the peak of their fame, but he's earned a powerful reputation for his fiery guitar work, steeped in blues and Southern rock traditions, and has distinguished himself as a songwriter, bandleader, and solo artist as well as a gifted sideman. As rock’s foremost MVP singer-guitarist, the burly native of Asheville, North Carolina has been constantly on the move and in the spotlight for the past two decades.  

During that time Haynes has maintained his tenure in Gov’t Mule, the Allman Brothers Band and the Dead, and while barely catching his breath between their tours and studio sessions, he’s also performed or cut tunes with a diverse array of musicians including Phil Lesh & Friends, James Hetfield, Bob Dylan, John Lee Hooker, Eric Clapton, Bonnie Raitt, Dave Matthews, Kid Rock and most recently with his longtime hero BB King.

Warren Haynes’ long-anticipated solo album, Man In Motion (Concord Records), is a timeless collection of songs that crackle with modern vitality yet draw on his deepest roots as an artist. He cut the album at Willie Nelson’s studio in Austin, Texas. Haynes is known for his work in jam bands, but on the new disc he focuses on soul music – with help from Faces keyboardist Ian McLagan along with Meters members George Porter, Jr. on bass and Ivan Neville on keyboards. In the nearly two decades since his last solo outing, Gov't Mule has commanded most of his attention. "That's kind of my laboratory to do whatever I want to do," he says. "I feel like Gov't Mule is going to be recording and touring for years to come, when The Allman Brothers decide to stop, and when The Dead decide to stop. So solo records are kind of on the back burner."

The disc pumps fresh blood into the heart of soul and blues, stoked by Haynes’s Herculean prowess as both a powerhouse singer and guitarist — a reputation he’s earned as a member of three of the greatest live groups in rock history: The Allman Brothers Band, The Dead and his own Gov’t Mule.

All tickets are $28 at Northampton Box Office, 76 Main Street, 413-586-8686 and online at IHEG.com.

Challenge your musical boundaries with the Iron Horse Breakout! Emerging Artist Series: Five hand-picked shows for September.

Reading Rainbow, Eternal Summers at the Iron Horse Thursday, September 15^th at 10PM

Philadelphia's Reading Rainbow (above) is a two-piece boy and girl couple, utilizing a metronomic drum beat underneath an irresistible guitar crunch; nothing short of beautiful bashing beats, mesmerizing melodies, and an overall crushing display of songwriting simplicity done right. They are one of a handful of new bands with an instantly unique and penetrating sound all their own, driving a deep groove down the center of each well-beaten track on the Prism Eyes LP, creating the addicting and awe-inspiring hum of fuzz-laden pop noise that will have your heart palpitating in seconds.  WATCH

In Roanoke, VA the scene is mostly cover bands but both members of the duo Eternal Summers (above) are a part of the Magic Twig Community, a collective of like-minded musicians that cherish boundless creativity and weirdo indie pop. When Yun hooked up with Cundiff, they immediately knew they had the right musical chemistry, and what resulted was something very, very punk. When they call it dream punk, they’re only partially joking. Taut, hooky and often wide-open, their sound is simple but it takes up room. They employ the quietest quiets and the loudest louds—from hazy, clanging reveries to rapid No Wave squalls calling to mind early indie legends like the Raincoats, Galaxie 500, Beat Happening, and Unrest. Eternal Summers spent the fall and winter of 2010 touring the east coast and midwest, playing with the likes of Harlem, Dum Dum Girls, Best Coast, Dan Deacon, Beach Fossils, Jenny and Johnny,and Wild Nothing to name a few. WATCH

These Unites States, Southeast Engine at the Iron Horse on Thursday, September 22^nd at 10PM

These United States (above) , from Washington DC and Lexington KY, surrender themselves to unbridled rock and roll exuberance: ringing guitars, thundering drums, desperate yearning bordering on hope. By turns larger-than-life and disarmingly intimate, this is folk in the truest sense - a sound of the moment, of the cultural and emotional forces that animate everyday existence somewhere down below the headlines. And These United States play it the way folk was meant to be played: hard, fast, big, slow, long, loud, loose, at last unburdened. They play like they mean it. Like there's never been a better time to be alive. WATCH

Southeast Engine’s (above) folk-rock aesthetic emerged from the Ohio underground in 1999. The Wrens discovered them in 2006 and led Misra Records to the band later that year. The esteemed A Wheel Within a Wheel was released in 2007 and followed with 2009’s From the Forest to the Sea.  While preserving the signature sound that garnered Forest/Sea critical acclaim, the new Canary marks a dramatic step forward in regards to both songwriting and arrangement. In 2010 the band toured extensively with Deerhoof.  WATCH

Dark Dark Dark, A Hawk and a Hacksaw, Pillars and Tongues at the Iron Horse, Saturday, September 24^th 10PM

If you visit Dark Dark Dark's (above) website, brightbrightbright.com, you will first be greeted with the three naked asses that panel the cover of the Minneapolis sextet's newest album, Wild Go. Don't worry — these aren't anonymous asses; they belong to band members. Scroll down, though, and click the play button on their media streamer to hear "Daydreaming," and let the beautiful melancholy transport you. Dark Dark Dark revel in the world around us. On Wild Go, the chamber-folk sextet creates a stirring reminder to seek out the wonder and magic to be found in the everyday. Their sound sets Nona Marie Invie's soaring, haunting voice against an array of acoustic instruments, all the while leaving room for the listener to nestle themselves inside and take part. WATCH

A Hawk and a Hacksaw, (above) from Albuquerque, are accordionist Jeremy Barnes, who was previously the drummer for Neutral Milk Hotel and Bablicon, and violinist Heather Trost. Their music is inspired by Eastern European, Turkish and Balkan traditions, and is mostly instrumental. The band's self-titled first album (released in 2002) provided the soundtrack for the documentary Zizek!, directed by Astra Taylor, which features Slovenian cultural theorist Slavoj Žižek. Darkness at Noon (released in 2004), was the band's second release, and was recorded in England, the Czech Republic and New Mexico. WATCH

Chicago trio Pillars and Tongues focus on the abstraction of form and language in musical form. On Protection  they present a portrait of how the trio's musical history executing both prepared and improvised work, responding to a wildly varied panoply of environments, performing in basements, in temples, and in state parks - has grown as a language. It is a language peppered with considerable representations of visceral forms of distinctly American art and musics: there is gospel and there is blues, there is folk, and there are even hints of Tonalism. WATCH

Elephant Revival at the Iron Horse on Tuesday, September 27^th at 7PM

Elephant Revival,(above) a neo-acoustic transcendental folk quintet from Nederland, Colorado, reveals hidden treasures deep within a vast repertoire of original material. In one show, the quintet can be seen delving into original folk pieces fused with traditional style ballads, Scottish/Celtic fiddle tunes, psychedelic country, indie rock, powerful reggae grooves, 40s/50s jazz standards and an occasional hip-hop beat amongst other styles. Elephant Revival tours in a vegetable oil powered 1989 International School Bus which was converted in 08' by the great mechanical mind of Sage Cook. The group is continually inspired to spread the message of sustainable community and eco-consciousness in this constantly changing world. WATCH

Joy Kills Sorrow at the Iron Horse on Friday, September 3oth at 7PM

Joy Kills Sorrow’s (above) new album This Unknown Science , out 9/13 on Signature Sounds is so good you could fill a bathtub with the tears of recognition it evokes. With its bold new brand of acoustic music, the Boston-based string band brings a decidedly modern sensibility to an old-world sound, channeling the prodigious talents of its individual members into elegant arrangements and well-crafted songs. While the group pays due homage to its Bluegrass roots—its name refers to one of the first radio stations to broadcast the music of Bill Monroe, the result is a radical new strain of indie “folk” music, one that bravely breaks with tradition even as it salutes the past. They have a walk-in closet full of simply stunning original songs with hauntingly profound lyrics. The songs that emerge are dark and often funny, ruminating on modern life and love with eloquence and wit. WATCH

Tickets for all these shows cost less than a large pizza and are available at Northampton Box Office, 76 Main Street, 413-586-8686 and online at IHEG.com.

New shows on sale this Friday 8/26: Australian Pink Floyd on Halloween, Brandi Carlile on Wednesday 11/2 both at the Calvin Theatre in Northampton

Halloween with the Australian Pink Floyd Show, Monday, October 31 at 8PM at the Calvin Theatre in Northampton

Having sold over three million tickets in concerts that have taken place in 36 countries, The Australian Pink Floyd Show is rightfully hailed as one of the most in demand touring entities currently operating. This act is so good they were even engaged by David Gilmour to perform at his 50th birthday celebration! Continuing to wow the crowds globally, TAPFS turn in  jaw-dropping performances to reconnect people with the music that they love. After 23 years the shows keep rolling and the band keep doing what they love.  It is still all about the music - Pink Floyd - and delivering the absolute best performance each and every night.

Brandi Carlile plays Wednesday, November 2^nd at 8PM the Calvin Theatre in Northampton

 Brandi Carlile's new album "Live at Benaroya Hall" with the Seattle Symphony marks the realization of two dreams for the acclaimed singer/songwriter: "We got to work with a world class symphony and record in this legendary venue in our hometown."As Brandi's fans well know, her concerts are near legendary in their perfect communion between performer and audience. Whether she is rocking or standing quietly, tantalizingly close to the edge of the stage singing a capella, Carlile brings a riveting intensity to her shows.

Tickets for The Australian Pink Floyd Show in 3D on Monday, October 31^st at 8PM and Brandi Carlile on Wednesday, November 2^nd at 8PM at the Calvin Theatre in Northampton are  on sale THIS Friday, August 26th at Northampton Box Office, 76 Main Street, 413-586-8686 and online at IHEG.com.

Rave On: A Tribute to Buddy Holly at the Iron Horse in Northampton, on his 75th Birthday, Wednesday, September 7th at 7PM

A selection of the area's best musicians and performers pay musical tribute to Buddy Holly (September 7, 1936 – February 3, 1959) on his 75th birthday, Holly rose and fell in the era after rock'n'roll had become a distinct art form, between Elvis and the Beatles. His best songs are spare, nervy miniatures about puppy love riddled by anxiety made manifest in itchy percussive tracks and an inability to sing more than two lines without breaking into hiccups, the musical equivalent of sweaty palms.

Performer Lineup: Fancy Trash, Salvation Alley String Band, Rocky Roberts and Friends, Stewart James & The Juke Joint Allstars, Philip Price, Jason Bourgeois, the Original Cowards, Jeff Potter, Betsy-Dawn Williams, The Lonesome Brothers

Tickets are $10 at Northampton Box Office, 76 Main Street, 413-586-8686 and online at IHEG.com.

The Frank Zappa/Alice Cooper connection; a bizarre history whose paths intersect this August at the Calvin Theatre in Northampton with Dweezil Zappa Plays Zappa on Sunday, August 14th and Alice Cooper on Thursday, August 25th.

There’s little that needs to be told by way of the straight biography typical of press releases for two artists of this stature so we thought we’d connect the dots between a shared chapter of their history. 

In 1966 Vince Furnier (later Alice Cooper) and his Detroit band The Spiders graduated from high school. The band scored a local #1 radio hit and by 1967  had begun to make regular road trips to Los Angeles to play shows. They soon renamed themselves The Nazz and by the end of the year had relocated to Los Angeles permanently.

In 1968 upon learning that Todd Rundgren also had a band called Nazz, Furnier chose the gimmicky "Alice Cooper" as the band's name and adopted this stage name as his own. Cooper later stated that the name change was one of his most important and successful career moves. His look was inspired in part by one of the band's all time favorite movies; What Ever Happened to Baby Jane starring Bette Davis. "In the movie, Bette wears disgusting caked makeup smeared on her face and underneath her eyes, with deep , dark, black eyeliner." Another movie watched over and over was Barbarella. "When I saw Anita Pallenberg playing the Great Tyrant in that movie in 1968, wearing long black leather gloves with switchblades coming out of them, I thought, 'That's what Alice should look like'. That, and a little bit of Emma Peel from The Avengers".

In a 2010 interview he stated, "Why do we always have rock heroes? Why not a rock villain? I was more than happy to be rock's Darth Vader. I was more than happy to be Captain Hook.

One night after an unsuccessful gig at the Cheetah Club in Venice, California in 1968 where the Alice Cooper band emptied the entire room of patrons after playing just ten minutes, they were approached and enlisted by music manager Shep Gordon, who ironically saw the band's negative impact that night as a force that could be turned in a more productive direction. Shep arranged an audition for the band with composer and renowned record producer, Frank Zappa, who was looking to sign bizarre music acts to his new record label, Straight Records. For the audition Zappa told them to come to his house "at 7 o'clock." The band mistakenly assumed he meant 7 o'clock in the morning. Being woken up by a band willing to play that particular brand of psychedelic rock at seven in the morning impressed Zappa enough to sign them to a three-album deal. Another Zappa-signed act, the all-female GTOs, (Girl’s Together Outrageously, which included Frank Zappa’s future wife Gail) who liked to "dress the Cooper boys up like full size barbie dolls," played a major role in developing the band's early onstage look.

Alice Cooper's "shock rock" reputation apparently developed almost by accident at first. An unrehearsed stage routine involving Cooper and a live chicken garnered attention from the press, and the band decided to capitalize on the tabloid sensationalism, creating in the process a new subgenre, shock rock. Cooper claims that the infamous "Chicken Incident" at the Toronto Rock and Roll Revival concert in September 1969 was an accident. A chicken somehow made its way onto the stage during Cooper's performance, and not having any experience around farm animals, Cooper presumed that, because the chicken had wings, it would be able to fly. He picked it up and threw it out over the crowd, expecting it to fly away. The chicken instead plummeted into the first few rows occupied by disabled people in wheelchairs, who reportedly proceeded to tear the bird to pieces.

The next day the incident made the front page of national newspapers, and Zappa phoned Cooper and asked if the story, which reported that he had bitten off the chicken's head and drunk its blood on stage, was true. Cooper denied the rumor, whereupon Zappa told him, "Well, whatever you do, don't tell anyone you didn't do it.” 

Dweezil Zappa Plays Zappa- Sunday, August 14^th 8PM Calvin Theatre

Led by his eldest son on guitar, Dweezil Zappa Plays Zappa is devoted to performing the music of the late American composer and musician Frank Zappa. The band features Scheila Gonzalez on Saxophone, Flute, Keyboards & Vocals. Billy Hulting on Marimba, Mallets & Percussion. Pete Griffin on Bass. Jamie Kime on Guitar. Ben Thomas on Vocals, Joe Travers on Drums & Vocals and Chris Norton on Keyboards & Vocals.  "As tribute tours go, 'Zappa Plays Zappa' is a cut above the rest." - Chicago Sun Times

Alice Cooper- No More Mr. Nice Guy Tour- Thursday, August 25^th 8PM- Calvin Theatre

Without Alice Cooper, there might never have been the NY Dolls, KISS, Marilyn Manson, Nine Inch Nails, Motley Crue, Slipknot or Rob Zombie ... maybe not even David Bowie, or at least not Ziggy Stardust. It's been a long and illustrious career which began in 1969 with the release of Pretties for You on Frank Zappa's Straight label. The iconic hard rocker, who literally invented the concept of the rock concert as theater, returns to what he does best on the No More Mr. Nice Guy Tour performing songs from throughout the years with a full stage show bound to horrify and delight.

Tickets for Dweezil Zappa Plays Zappa at 8PM on Sunday, August 14^th and Alice Cooper at 8PM on Thursday, August 25th at the Calvin Theatre are available at Northampton Box Office, 76 Main Street, 413-586-8686 and online at IHEG.com.

“Buckner’s Bolero” and “Chin Music?” It’s The Baseball Project: Steve Wynn (Dream Syndicate), Peter Buck (R.E.M.), Scott McCaughey (Young Fresh Fellows), and Linda Pitmon (Steve Wynn’s Miracle 3). They step up to the plate at the Iron Horse on Friday, August 26th at 7PM. Boston Red Sox feature prominently.

 "It's weird that a Yankee fan like me would end up writing more about the Red Sox, but tragedy just makes for better songs and stories than a litany of successes." Steve Wynn

What happens when your band's debut album is a run-scoring hit with both music and baseball fans? If you're The Baseball Project, you grab some friends to fill out your bench, take batting practice by writing songs for ESPN and deliver a strikeout pitch with Volume Two: High and Inside. The new album from  the Baseball Project (l-r above: Peter Buck, Scott McCaughey, Linda Pitmon, Steve Wynn. Click photo for high res) is another winning collection of songs about the game's greats that will be pleasing to those who love America's pastime -- and fans of intelligent, melodic and fun rock.  The Baseball Project makes their Northampton debut on Friday, August 26^th at 7pm at the Iron Horse Music Hall.

High and Inside is a collection that sees the quartet deftly mix witty lyrics about baseball players past and present with a sharp melodic sensibility and engaging choruses. "Fair Weather Fans" describes the band's widespread allegiances to the Giants, A's and Mariners for McCaughey, the Dodgers and Yankees for Wynn, and the Twins and Yankees for Pitmon. Yet the team most represented on High and Inside is none of those -- it's the Yankees' rivals the Boston Red Sox. McCaughey imagines a world where Bill Buckner's legacy wasn't tarnished by a groundball in "Buckner's Bolero." Wynn sings of a different tarnished legacy in "Twilight of My Career," which explores the glorious but sordid post-Sox career of Cy Young Award-winning pitcher Roger Clemens. And "Tony (Boston's Chosen Son)" is a violin-driven piece that recalls Bob Dylan's Desire as it honors late beloved Boston player and announcer Tony Conigliaro. Wynn admits, "It's weird that a Yankee fan like me would end up writing more about the Red Sox, but tragedy just makes for better songs and stories than a litany of successes."

 
The new album features contributions from Death Cab for Cutie's Ben Gibbard, Los Lobos' Steve Berlin, The Decemberists' Chris Funk and John Moen, Yo La Tengo's Ira Kaplan and The Hold Steady's Craig Finn.

The Baseball Project was born out of McCaughey and Wynn discussing their love of the game over dinner and drinks a few years ago. "It finally took flight at the R.E.M. pre-Hall of Fame induction party in New York," Wynn remembers. "Everyone was happy. The wine was flowing, the food was incredible and spring training had just started. Scott and I talked baseball until most of the party guests had cleared out. And we actually remembered it the next day." 

Listen to and watch The Baseball Project

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And here is a special message from The Baseball Project's Steve Wynn:

"If our first tour of the year last March was dubbed the "Spring Training Tour" and then was followed in May and June by the "Regular Season Tour," it only makes sense that the end of the Summer would have to bring -- drum roll, please -- the "Pennant Race Tour." Yes, The Baseball Project is hitting the road once again and this time our endless barnstorming will take way up to the tippy-top of the Northeast and then down the Atlantic Coast. Peter will be back at First Bass (sorry, couldn't resist) and we'll be hitting new cities this time around and a few old favorites as well.

Come out and see us mix and match from our three albums (a veritable dynasty!) and be dazzled and surprised as we toss in some odd choices from our mutual back catalogues as well as some oddities from our various record collections. Anything can (and will) happen when the four of us get together. After all, we're kicking into high gear to make sure that we make it to the post-season." - Steve Wynn

Tickets for the Baseball Project with support from Winterpills at the Iron Horse in Northampton on Friday, August 26th at 7:00 PM are  available at Northampton Box Office, 76 Main Street, 413-586-8686 and online at IHEG.com.

Hacienda to support City and Colour on December 3rd at Pearl Street

Los Angeles, CA – August 1, 2011.  Hacienda has been announced as support on the City and Colour Fall US headline tour in support of City and Colour’s acclaimed new release, LITTLE HELL (Vagrant/Dine Alone Records). 

Hacienda recently finished tracking songs for their next album with producer Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys.  Hacienda’s album will be released in early 2012 by Collective Sounds in North America and overseas, following their album BIG RED & BARBACOA, which was released in 2010 on Alive Records.

The band has previously toured with The Greenhornes, The Black Keys, Dr. Dog, Grace Potter & The Nocturnals, Alberta Cross and My Morning Jacket.  Hacienda also toured as Dan Auerbach’s backing band, The Fast Five, on his 2009 solo project and will be performing on several of the Daytrotter Barnstormer 5 dates later this month and in early September, alongside White Rabbits, Doug Paisley, Princeton, and Wildlife.

Tickets for City and Colour plus Hacienda in the Pearl Street Ballroom on Saturday, December 3rd are available at Northampton Box Office, 413-586-8686 and online at IHEG.com.