The Calvin Theatre in Northampton presents An Evening with Lily Tomlin Friday, May 4th at 8PM.

Twenty-somethings might know Lily Tomlin only for her television roles on "The West Wing," "Will & Grace" and "Desperate Housewives." Gen Xers grew up watching her in the film comedies "9 to 5" (with Dolly Parton and Jane Fonda), "All of Me" and "The Incredible Shrinking Woman." And for Baby Boomers, she has been a part of their lives ever since she became an overnight sensation on "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In."

Tomlin was not quite 30 when she joined the cast of the popular NBC sketch-comedy show in 1969. She was an instant fan favorite, thanks to unforgettably funny sketches featuring Edith Ann, the precocious 5-year-old, and Ernestine, the snarky telephone operator with the trademark greeting, "Have I reached the party to whom I am speaking?"

Tomlin's stage act draws mostly on her comedy career, but it wasn't long after her big break on "Laugh-In" that she proved she was much more than another stand-up. She made her film debut in 1975 in Robert Altman's "Nashville," playing against type as a timid Southern housewife. And in 1986, she won a Tony Award for her one-woman show "The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe," written by her life partner, Jane Wagner.

Throughout her extraordinary entertainment career, Lily Tomlin has received numerous awards, including: six Emmys, two Tonys and two Peabody Awards. Her film credits also include Robert Altman's "The Player" and "Short Cuts"; Woody Allen's "Shadows and Fog"; "Orange County." "Flirting With Disaster," and "I Heart Huckabees." She has also had memorable roles on television, including appearances on Murphy Brown, Will and Grace and The West Wing.

Tickets for An Evening with Lily Tomlin at the Calvin Theatre on Friday May 4th at 8PM are available at Northampton Box Office, 413-586-8686, and online at IHEG.com.

Pegi Young's music stands on its own, regardless of association with husband Neil. She plays the Iron Horse on Tuesday, April 10th

Pegi Young (click for high res)

Pegi Young began writing songs and playing guitar while still in high school, but eventually put her creative instincts on hold to attend to the demands of family life. Pegi and Neil's experiences caring for their son Ben, who was born with cerebral palsy, led Pegi to co-found the non-profit Bridge School, whose innovative methods of aiding children with severe speech and physical impairments have established the school as a leader in its field over the past 25 years. Pegi and Neil have also been the forces behind the annual all-star Bridge School Benefit concerts, and Pegi continues to serve as president of the school's Board of Directors. 

 

Pegi found herself drawn towards music again after she began touring as backup singer with her husband's band beginning in 2000. With her kids grown and the confidence gained from performing numerous live shows, she finally had the time and focus to begin recording her own songs. 

"When I was younger, I was way, way too shy to do anything but very amateur performing," Young states. "But it eventually became a matter of having these opportunities and building some confidence and thinking, do I really want to be on my deathbed going 'Damn, I wish I'd made some records'? So I did it, and I loved it. And then I had more songs, so I did it again." 

Having gained further experience from making her first album and touring extensively to support it, she took a more hands-on role in her latest album Foul Deeds' recording process.

Neil and Pegi Young perform at the Bridge School Benefit in 2008.

With a pair of personally charged, deeply felt albums under her belt, Pegi Young is embracing music-making with passion and pragmatism. 

"I'm 57, so I'm never gonna be the next big thing, but I'm cool with that," she concludes. "If I was younger, I might be more focused on the commerce part of it. But I'm not a 20-year-old trying to make a living, so I don't have to conform to some record company's idea of whatever they're looking for that week. In that way, I guess I can be truly independent and focus on the creative part. I have no idea where it will go from here, but I'm having fun and I feel really, really good about what I've done so far."

Rocky Roberts, long-time guitar technician for Neil Young (and many other fine musicians)  opens the show. His debut album, Rocky Roberts & Friends features performances by Nils Lofgren, Bill Kirchen, Sarah Harmer and many more friends.

This evenings show at the Iron Horse is sure to have a great famiy vibe and plenty of amazing songs and performances.

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

Coming Soon to the Iron Horse:

Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul, and Mary- Sunday, April 15th
Jonathan Edwards- Friday, April 20th
Tom Rush- Saturday, April 28th
Loudon Wainwright III- Friday, May 11th
David Lindley- Tuesday, May 15th
Jon Cleary- Wednesday, May 16th
Kinky Friedman- Wednesday, June 6th

Win Tickets to Lucero at Pearl Street in Northampton on Wednesday, April 18th and a copy of their new album on vinyl and CD

To spice up your spring with some Southern twang, IHEG is giving away tickets to the upcoming Lucero show. The countrified punk band’s tour—with J Roddy Walston and the Business makes a Northampton stop at Pearl Street Ballroom on Wednesday, April 18th. 

To enter the contest for a pair of tickets and a sweet vinyl AND CD copy of the new Lucero album Women and Work on ATO Records, e-mail jneill@iheg.com with “Lucero” in the subject line and tell us who else you'd like to see play live in Northampton. That's better than answering some trivia question because it might actually make something happen! We'll notify winners by Friday, April 13th.

A product of Memphis, Tennessee, Lucero learned to embrace the classics of Southern sound from its early days, with Ben Nichols’ voice drawling over the melancholy plucks of acoustic guitars. At the same time, much of the band’s catalog highlights the unguarded energy of late-’90s punk. Really, the combination was a natural match made in heaven—the stereotypes of country and punk melding to vent riled-up aggression about lost loves and loneliness. 

Women & Work is the band’s first release for ATO Records, home to kindred spirits like My Morning Jacket, Drive-By Truckers, and Alabama Shakes, following a one-album stint with the majors for 2009’s excellent 1372 Overton Park. That was the first Lucero album to incorporate horns, and they reappear on Women & Work, the most conspicuous homage to the Memphis sound pioneered by the city’s Stax label. The press materials call Women & Work a love letter to Memphis, and the cliché fits; the album’s synthesis of soul, rock, and country is distinctly Memphisian. (excerpted from a review by Kyle Ryan of AV Club)

Peter Yarrow of the legendary folk music trio Peter, Paul and Mary, brings his words and music to the Iron Horse in Northampton on Sunday, April 15th.

Peter Yarrow of the legendary folk music trio Peter, Paul and Mary, brings his words and music to the Iron Horse in Northampton on Sunday, April 15th  at 7:00 p.m. In this intimate show, Yarrow will perform iconic songs such as “Puff the Magic Dragon,” “Blowin’ in the Wind” and “Leaving on a Jet Plane.” Guests will also be treated to hearing many of Yarrow’s personal stories from being a musician in the 1960s, living in Greenwich Village, rubbing shoulders with the likes of Bob Dylan, Pete Seger and, of course, his career as part of Peter, Paul and Mary. Yarrow will be joined in this one night only concert by his son, Christopher Yarrow, and special guest Mustard’s Retreat, the folk music duo featuring David Tamulevich and Michael Hough.

Today, a Peter Yarrow performance does more than guarantee a memorable evening of music. Yarrow attracts audiences from near and far who have heard him sing and speak at more than 500 solo and pro-bono benefit appearances made over the last decade. Through his unique music and songs, a Yarrow performance speaks to a time in history when he and his musical compatriots, Mary and Paul, changed and inspired millions to continue to keep on keepin’ on, hold firm to principle, and not be deterred in the face of adversity. 

In addition to Peter Yarrow’s distinguished career as a folk musician, he is an internationally renowned published author. After selling millions of copies of his debut children’s book and CD of “Puff, The Magic Dragon” Yarrow went on to successfully publish four other children’s books including his self-penned late-60’s hit, “Day Is Done” which, like “Puff” reached the #1 spot in Publisher’s Weekly. Yarrow has also released three children’s songbook collections, each accompanied with 12 illustrated songs and a CD. At Yarrow’s direction, all 40-plus songs from these books have been made available for free to all educators, teachers, school counselors, administrators and others. 

Tickets for Peter Yarrow at the Iron Horse in Northampton on Sunday, April 15th are available in person, by phone, or online at Northampton Box Office, 76 Main Street, 413-586-8686, IHEG.com

American songwriting legend Don McLean plays the Calvin Theatre in Northampton Saturday, April 14th at 8PM

What can one expeect from a Don McLean concert in 2012? Can a song as iconic as American Pie ever lose it's relevance or luster? Other than American Pie, Starry Night, and And I Love Her So, what does Don play in concert? When we booked Don McLean we anticipated such questions. And everyone we spoke to had wonderful things to say. Our presenting partners WGBY public television in Springfield aired a special on Don three times this month to great response. And we found this review of a Don McLean concert in Australia last year that answers the question about the evening's repertoire. We are truly excited and delighted to host Don McLean at the Calvin Theatre on a lovely Spring night in downtown Northampton, Saturday, April 14th at 8PM. Here's the Aussie review:

 Live Music Review: Don McLean by Ray Purvis

Burswood Theatre, Perth, Australia

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Backed by a tight four-piece band, the legendary singer-songwriter began with a short history lesson in American music: a medley of songs by Buddy Holly, followed by his depression-era hobo ballad Homeless Brother and then a rousing singalong version of the gospel-flavoured This Little Light of Mine.

His own classic songs were strategically positioned throughout the show. The first of them was the gorgeous romantic ballad And I Love You So that was once covered by Elvis Presley, with McLean's smooth delivery proving that his voice today is as strong and as versatile as back in the 70s.
If there were any doubts about his ability to sustain the long notes, these were dispelled with a powerful rendition of Roy Orbison's classic Crying, a hit for McLean in 1980.

Alongside the hard-hitters was a selection of songs that illustrated his well-wrought reflections on life and love, including Winterwood, Crossroads, Magdalene Lane and Jerusalem, all lesser-known tracks from his considerable back catalogue.

Towards the end he unveiled the show-stopping Vincent (Starry, Starry Night), the compassionate tale of Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh, which vividly brings to life the painter's landscapes and portraits and highlights his tragic struggle for recognition.

Another audience favourite followed in Castles in the Air, a track from his first album, 1970's Tapestry. The song, which was re-recorded in the early 80s, was about quitting the rat race and adopting a country lifestyle. It was simply presented in solo mode with just a hint of keyboard and electric guitar.

Then, to top off the evening, it was time to drive a Chevy to the levee. Even though McLean has long refused to unravel the symbolism of American Pie, it has become one of the greatest pop songs of all time. From the opening notes the crowd were on their feet singing and clapping along to the lyrics that were inspired partly by the death of Buddy Holly in a plane crash in 1959 - "the day the music died".

During those eight minutes and 36 seconds, in the capable hands of the author, the audience really did believe in rock'n'roll and that music would save their mortal soul.

The Unapologetic Hipster's Guide to Cool New Music Coming to Northampton in IHEG's BREAKOUT! Emerging Artist Series

 Polica

Zulu Winter
Saturday, March 31st 10PM
Iron Horse
________

Last summer, Ryan Olson and Channy Casselle – whose previous collaboration, Gayngs' 2010 LP Relayted, was a mesmerizing slab of cheesed-out neo-soul that featured Bon Iver – wrote Give You The Ghost in only a month's time. Quickly, a band was assembled and sent into the studio, fully fleshing out the forlorn, ruminative R&B experiment, and Give You the Ghost was born. The songs are of a piece with Olson and Casselle's previous work, yet slower, more tender – less sharp tongue and more soft cheek. Casselle's focused, tender voice cascades over dense fields of minor-key electronics, backed by with funked-up bass and a swarm of percussion. It’s sound of heartbreak and celebration happening simultaneously. (Pronounced POE-LISA)

honeyhoney
Monday, April 2nd 7PM
Iron Horse
____

In a brave new world where vintage American has helped the likes of Mumford & Sons and the Avett Brothers achieve headliner status, Los Angeles duo honeyhoney (Suzanne Santo and Ben Jaffe)  provide the common pop thread between alt. country, spaghetti western soundtracks and swampy blues. They deftly mix elements of folk, soul, country, pop, and rock, evoking California’s hippie Dust Bowl fringe. There is a strong pull of Woody Guthrie-esque folk, vintage Buffalo Springfield, glints of Gram Parsons and bits of Bonnie Raitt’s early blues.

 Madi Diaz
Jessica Freeman
Tuesday, April 3rd 7PM
Iron Horse
_________

Madi Diaz is based in Nashville, but her sound is anchored in pop music. This bright young star on the rise has a new album full of catchy melodies, Plastic Moon.  Diaz grew up in Lancaster, PA, where she was home schooled by her Peruvian mother, Nancy, a proponent of early childhood development and the visual arts, and her Danish father, Eric, a woodworker and musician. Madi began piano lessons at age five, as her father was a keyboard player in the Frank Zappa tribute band, Project Object. In her early teens, Diaz switched from piano to guitar and attended Paul Green School of Rock in Philadelphia, where she was featured in director Don Argott’s 2005 documentary about the program, Rock School. 

 Emily Wells

Live Footage
Wednesday, April 4th 7PM
Iron Horse 

Emily Wells has long been turning heads with her unique songcraft. The performer, producer and songwriter trades in a striking mix of classical instrumentation, folk rawness and hip-hop production anchored by her haunting combination of voice and violin. Her burgeoning reputation owes as much to her hypnotic live show where, working a looping pedal, Wells becomes a one-woman orchestra, playing live drums, guitars, analog synthesizers and beat machines as well. It's that same blend of deft composition and hand-wrought quality that deeply colors each of Wells' albums, and which also caught the attention of Partisan Records, who ultimately signed her to the label. Wells' latest album, Mama, is set for an April 10th release date on Partisan, and the striking first single "Passenger" is available now for a free download. 

 Perfume Genius

Parenthetical Girls
Friday, April 6th 10PM
Iron Horse

_____________

Even though he is only in his 20's, the story to date of one Mike Hadreas, aka Perfume Genius, has the peculiar twists and turns of a person who has lived through at least several lifetimes, and has seen rather more darkness than most. "I spent my whole life hiding from the things that happened to me, to my family and friends", Hadreas explains now. "The entirety of all these experiences: abuse, addiction, suicide...all that cool stuff. I couldn't bear to look at it". Now, as Perfume Genius, Hadreas is not only turning an unforgiving mirror on those demons that have beset him, but somehow managing to make breathtaking, utterly heartbreaking music out of them. Opening the evening are Portland's Parenthetical Girls, the project of singer Zac Pennington and a revolving cast of friends, are true musical alchemists - despite all their  experimental elements, everything always transmutes into smart, baroque pop gold that, at its best moments, sounds almost like a decidedly dark, even more self-conscious Belle and Sebastian.

 Quilt

Monday, April 9th 8:30PM
Iron Horse
________

Quilt's founding members, Shane Butler and Anna Fox Rochinski, were visual art students at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, but bonded over their mutual love of weird, experimental jams and classic pop harmonies. Drummer John Andrews joined later. Like their namesake, Quilt's music feels handmade and stitched-together, as though its creators were sifting through a collection of musical hand-me-downs and collating the bits that spoke to them into something new. Quilt  recalls a time when artists like Devendra Banhart and Six Organs of Admittance prompted indie music fans to snap up reissues of outsider folk records by Vashti Bunyan, Jandek, and Alexander "Skip" Spence.

 White Rabbits

Gull
Friday, April 13th 9PM
Pearl Street Clubroom
_____________

White Rabbits is a six-piece indie rock band based in Brooklyn, NY. They have a playfulness and charm that thematically evoke more decadent and bygone eras. In concert, the members of White Rabbits click well together. They've been lauded by ESQUIRE as one of “9 Shows a Man Should See” and by NPR as “winning over fans with its energetic live shows–thanks in part to its unusual two-drummer lineup… intense rhythms and sweeping, melodic choruses… catchy and often sinister.  The band’s follow-up to 2009’s critically acclaimed It’s Frightening is called Milk Safe, recorded in Austin.

Coming Soon:

Buxton Thu. 3/29 10PM Iron Horse
Jonny Corndawg, Shovels & Rope, Robert Ellis Fri. 3/30 10PM Iron Horse
Sun Parade "Yossis" album release show Sat. 4/7 10PM Iron Horse
Neutral Uke Hotel, Michael J. Epstein Memorial Library, Golden Bloom - Wed. 4/11 8:30 Iron Horse
Mike + Ruthy - Thu. 4/12 7PM Iron Horse
Shabazz Palaces- (Sub-Pop Hip-Hop) Thu. 4/12 10PM Iron Horse
Passion Pit- Mon. 4/16 8PM Pearl Street
Lucero - Wed. 4/18 8PM Pearl Street
The Lumineers, Kopecky Family Band - Wed. 4/18 7PM Iron Horse
Jason Anderson - Sat, 4/21 10PM Iron Horse
Good Old War, Belle Brigade, Family of the Year- Tuesday 4/24 8PM Pearl Street
Rhett Miller of Old 97s Tue. 4/24 7PM Iron Horse
Cults- Sun. 4/29 8PM Pearl Street
Shpongle, Phutureprimitive Tue. 5/1 Pearl Street
Xiu Xiu, Dirty Beaches, Father Murphy - Mon. 5/7 8:30 Iron Horse
The Feelies Fri. 5/11 8PM Pearl Steeet
Fountians of Wayne, Winterpills Sun. 5/13 (Mother's Day)
David Mayfield Parade, Adam Faucett Sun. 5/20 7PM Iron Horse

Tickets for all Iron Horse Entertainment shows are available online 24 hours at IHEG.com by phone at 413. 586.8686 and in person at Northampton Box Office (NBO) located at 76 Main Street in Northampton - Monday through Saturday from 9:00 am - 6:00 pm and Sunday Noon to 5:00 pm.

An Acoustic Evening with Ben Harper Sunday, October 7th 8PM Calvin Theatre, Northampton

An Acoustic Evening with Ben Harper. Rare solo acoustic performance with songs spanning his entire career. Tickets are $45 and $35. Pre-sale tickets will be available to IHEG mailing list subscribers on Wednesday, March 21st. Public on sale starts Friday, March 23rd at 10am at Northampton Box Office (NBO) 76 Main Street 413.586.8686 and online at IHEG.com

BREAKOUT! Emerging Artist Series

COMING TO THE IRON HORSE 

Buxton, Pale Cowboy Thursday, March 29^th 10pm

Jonny Corndawg, Shovels and Rope, Robert Ellis Friday, March 30^th 10PM

Polica, Zulu Winter Saturday, March 31^st 10PM

honeyhoney  Monday, April 2^nd 7PM

Madi Diaz, Jessica Freeman  Tuesday, April 3^rd 7PM

Emily Wells, Live Footage  Wednesday, April 4^th 7PM

Perfume Genius, Parenthetical Girls  Friday, April 6^th 10PM

The Sun Parade Saturday, April 7^th 10PM

Quilt Monday April 9^th 8:30PM

Neutral Uke Hotel, Michael J. Epstein Memorial Library, Golden Bloom Wed 4/11 8:30

Shabazz Palaces, Lushlife Thursday, April 12^th 10PM

The Lumineers, Kopecky Family Band Wednesday, April 18^th 7PM

Jason Anderson, Salvation Alley String Band  Saturday, April 21^st 10PM

Hanni El Khatib, Sundelles Thursday, April 26^th 10PM

Horse Feathers, Brown Bird  Friday, May 4^th 10PM

Xiu Xiu, Dirty Beaches, Father Murphy Monday, May 7^th 8:30

David Mayfield Parade, Adam Faucett  Sunday, May 20^th 7PM

COMING TO PEARL STREET

White Rabbits, Gull Friday, April 13^th 9PM

Passion Pit Monday, April 16^th 8PM

Lucero, J Roddy Walston and the Business  Wednesday, April 18^th 8PM

Good Old War, Belle Brigade, Family of the Year  Tuesday, April 24^th 8PM

Cults, Spectrals, Mrs. Magician  Sunday, April 29^th 8:30pm

tUnE-yArDs Thursday, June 14^th 9pm

 

Yellow Dubmarine's Beatles Reggae Tribute comes to the Iron Horse on Wednesday, March 28th

The melody is instantly familiar but the other sounds are not — horns boldly announce their arrival, the patient tempo crawls along and the voice is more Maryland than Liverpool.

When the plea to stay kicks in — "Believe me when I beg you, don't ever leave me alone," he sings — the song's identity becomes clear. It's "Oh! Darling," the Lennon/McCartney classic, but this bouncing version comes courtesy of Yellow Dubmarine, a Rockville eight-piece that plays reggae versions of Beatles songs.

It's a risky concept — does the world need another Beatles cover band, especially one infusing the tracks with reggae and dub influences? Bassist and singer Aaron Glaser says he's aware of the skeptics and purists, but that his band only wants to celebrate the songs so many people enjoy.

"We do all of our arrangements out of a love for the original Beatles songs," Glaser says. "We like to wake them up with a fun, danceable groove and a different sort of musicianship than what the Beatles offered."

Glaser, 24, and his band — which ranges in age from 23 to 28 and includes Robbie Cooper (drums, vocals), Danny Davis (trumpet), Jonathan Drye (percussion), Mario D'Ambrosio (saxophone), Matt Hotez (trombone), Luke Schuster (keys, vocals) and Jonathan Sloane (guitar) — will bring that groove to the Iron Horse in Northampton on Wednesday, March 28th at 8:30.

The set list will include many songs from "Abbey Dub," the band's debut album and tribute to the 1969 landmark record, "Abbey Road." "Dub's" track listing remains faithful to the Beatles'. Glaser, a self-described "diehard fan," can't remember his first time hearing the Fab Four. He says he's jealous of people that can recall their first Beatles experience.

"The Beatles' songs are a part of my earliest memories," he says. "A lot of 'Rubber Soul' songs evoke memories of my parents' living room." Reggae came later. In high school, Glaser discovered his love for Bob Marley and the Wailers and Sublime, thus beginning his love for reggae and its more relaxed, rhythm-based sounds. "It turned me on to a lot of the performance-side of music," Glaser says.

In 2007, Cooper, Schuster and Glaser agreed to play a memorial concert for a mutual friend who had died. They knew they wanted to celebrate their friend's life, so the band played a set of originals and covers, which included Beatles songs.

"A lot of the [Beatles'] songs apply to life in a very meaningful way," he says. Everything about Yellow Dubmarine grew — more band members, including a strong horns section, and more shows. Glaser says the group knew it was on to something, and the time had come to plan a record.

While many Marylanders were holed up in their houses during last year's record-setting blizzards, the members of Yellow Dubmarine were composing arrangements for "Abbey Dub." With the rhythm section living together in Rockville, the band unanimously agreed to tackle one of the Beatles' most famous recordings.

"It's got a great flow to it," Glaser says. "It really translates to the live setting and it's an exciting Beatles album that everyone knows."

Produced by the Bridge's Kenny Liner, "Abbey Dub" is a smooth listen, with enough imagination and musicianship to make the odd pairing of Jamaican aesthetics and the original's timeless songwriting seem sensible. Lyrics such as "In the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make," sound at home on "Abbey Dub."

Glaser says the group is kicking around ideas for its next Beatles tribute, but that touring in support of "Abbey Dub" is the main priority. Yellow Dubmarine will spend most of November on the road, playing the east coast and a few Midwest dates. Glaser says next year's plan is to book tours out west and other cities they've yet to play. Texas and St. Louis are already on the itinerary.

"We think that [the band] can take us far," he says. "There are Beatles and reggae fans everywhere." The typical tribute band conundrum — will they ever find success with original songs or are they content playing another band's material — doesn't bother Glaser, because Yellow Dubmarine celebrates songs "people know and love" with a twist.

"We are offering our own artistic vision and having that ownership of the music makes it much more satisfying than being a cover band," he says. "It's the best of both worlds."

Tickets for Yellow Dubmarine at the Iron Horse at 8:30 on Wednesday, March 28th are available at Northampton Box Office, 413-586-8686, online at IHEG.com.

Peter Mulvey and band - making the music breathe at the Iron Horse this Friday

by KEN MAIURI Gazette Contributing Writer

Thursday, March 15, 2012

"The Good Stuff" referred to in the title of Peter Mulvey's new album of standards might be the high-quality songs he and his band have chosen to cover (tunes by Duke Ellington, Willie Nelson, Tom Waits and others).

But it's also another way of describing what the musicians brought to the project: top-notch live chemistry.

That's become a little more rare in this age of digital recording, when it's possible (and in some ways easier) to painstakingly create highly edited perfection from separate elements instead of going for uniquely organic, in-the-moment performances from a full band.

So it takes guts to throw musicians in a room with a time limit, minimal preparation and maximum openness and see what happens.

In the case of Mulvey's album, which was recorded in a mere three days, the music breathes.

The singer-songwriter chose local pros (his longtime writing partner and producer David Goodrich on guitars; Paul Kochanski on upright bass; Jason Smith on drums; and Randy Sabien on violin, piano and organ) and dubbed them the Crumbling Beauties. They didn't rehearse before the recording session - couldn't, really, since Mulvey hadn't even decided what songs to try yet.

Instead, in the studio, Mulvey would suggest a song that some or most of the musicians didn't know. They'd figure out an arrangement together and record it a few times. They did this for 20 songs and chose the most cohesive 14.

The on-the-fly creations contain some fantastic moments, captured in their one-time-only glory, like the way the band keeps an ominous storm rumbling from deep within their slinking version of Joe Henry's "Richard Pryor Addresses a Tearful Nation." The acoustic guitar sounds like a tense clock ticking, drumsticks rattle across metal, mallets pound thunder out of a big drum, the violin moans, picks scrape against guitar strings, and Mulvey's dusty baritone cracks with anxiety and then dips down deep in his vocal range for a foghorn croak.

"When everything isn't planned ahead of time, it can be magical how each musician finds a way into the song," Mulvey said. "When the performance comes alive, it's such a charge."

"Everybody Knows," the legendary late-'80s Leonard Cohen song, had a robotic assembly line pulse in its original version, but the Beauties give it a funky groove and Mulvey swaggers along sniffing and spitting the bleak lyrics. It's sparse and percolating, until Goodrich's unruly and very electric guitar solo suddenly and awesomely overtakes the song like a howling hurricane.

Kochanski and Smith thunk and thump out a hip-kinking rhythm for Jolie Holland's "Old Fashioned Morphine," with Mulvey and pianist Sabien having jazzy fun over the top while Goodrich's rattling and bluesy acoustic slide guitar buzzes around. "Sister don't get worried / because this world is almost done," Mulvey sings playfully. "It was good enough for old William Burroughs / now it's good enough for me."

Anita Suhanin's "Sugar" is a clacking rhumba with Mulvey hanging out in his deepest voice, making you an offer you can't refuse.

Throw in a few highly melodic instrumentals (including a guitar duet on Thelonious Monk's "Ruby, My Dear" and selections by Goodrich and Bill Frisell), plus Mulvey's informative and friendly liner notes and you have the aptly named "The Good Stuff," which hits stores March 27.

Mulvey and company will have a CD release show at the Iron Horse this Friday March 23 at 7 p.m. Rusty Belle will open the show.

Marshall Crenshaw pays tribute to NRBQ drummer Tom Ardolino this Saturday night March 10th at 10PM on WFUV-FM (also streaming online) with music from NRBQ, Tom's "Song Poem" albums and more

 

Singer-songwriter  pop icon Marshall Crenshaw hosts a new weekly radio show on Fordham University's radio station WFUV in NYC. Called "The Bottomless Pit," the hour-long show airs Saturday nights at 10PM EST and features music from Marshall's own insane record collection and tales about his 30 years as a recording artist, actor, and fan.

This Saturday night, March 10th at 10PM on WFUV Public Radio (which you can stream online) Marshall Crenshaw will pay tribute to the recently late but eternally great Tom Ardolino; NRBQ's drummer and a consummate record collector and music buff, scholar, and fan. 

We contacted Marshall to get some idea of what he has planned for the radio show this Saturday night and he replied: 

"I play as much NRBQ music as I can (there's something called the Digital Millenium Copyright Act that restricts how many songs you can play by a single artist during an hour; WFUV follows it), lots of Song Poem Archive** (see below)  stuff, lots of me running my mouth about Tom and the significance of NRBQ in my life.  I think it's a good memorial/appreciation. - MC"

  

Marshall Crenshaw will play the Iron Horse in Northampton with the Bottle Rockets on Thursday, May 10th at 7PM. The Bottle Rockets play first and then they'll back Marshall for the second half of the evening. Crenshaw's know for his lilting pop but if you've seen him enough times you know he also has a rock and roll heart and occasionally busts out an MC5 son and the Bottle Rockets are the best band for the job.

 

The new Bottle Rockets album "Lean Forward" is a flat out, smoking rock record and continues the Rockets’ creative resurgence.  With producer and former Del Lord, Eric “Roscoe” Ambel , the Bottle Rockets craft populist anthems with the sympathetic eye of Woody Guthrie and sonic stomp of Crazy Horse.

Tickets for his Iron Horse show are available at Northampton Box Office, 413-586-8686 and online at IHEG.com. 

_____________________________

**Marshall is referring to a delightfully bizarre and unbelievably entertaining (if you're of a certain mindset...i.e. you get the humor of, say, the films "Waiting For Guffman" or "Best In Show") project that Tom Ardolino spearheaded that spawned several compilation albums. The first was called Beat of the Traps.

Here are Tom Ardolino's original liner notes for Beat of the Traps:

Wild music; crazy lyrics. Beautiful music; perfect lyrics. You get all this and more with these kinds of records. Strange sounding cheap early electronic keyboards like the Mellotron; out of control drum machines. Normal-sounding budget session musicians; drunk -- or something -- sounding session musicians. And singers who usually sound like they never saw the words to the song until the recording light was on. They probably recorded 50 of these "songs" in one day, sometimes using the same track more than once. It is this kind of set-up that can produce innocently beautiful works of art.

The ads in the back of magazines would say "Send us your poems or song lyrics and we'll get them recorded. Big money could be yours!," or some such come-on. What it turns out to be is that you pay them to put music to your words, then they send you a couple of copies of it on their label. And that's all they do. There are many of these companies, but the king of them all would have to be the MSR label of Hollywood, California -- now, sadly, defunct. Sometimes the song would be pressed on a 45, sometimes on an album collection, maybe with a picture of the house composer to help convince the customer that they're legit.

One day in 1971 I was looking at some albums in a surplus hardware store that had bought out a radio station's record library when I saw an album on MSR Records called Variety Songs For '69. It had a cheap stock cover with a big musical staff and song titles like "Richard Nixon," "More On Ode To Billy Jo," and "Beat Of The Traps," and the back cover was blank. It looked like something I'd better get.

I went home and played it, and by the time I got to the song called "Beat Of The Traps" I knew there was something wild going on here. Not every song was great (they can't all be gems), but the ones that were sounded like they'd reached outer space. Listen to the song "Beat Of The Traps" and you'll see what I mean. These guys must have been recording these songs all day and by the time they got to this cut all hell had broken loose. Everyone involved gives an amazing performance -- these lyrics really inspired them.

From then on, I would look out for these kinds of records and found that there are a lot of them out there. Rod Rogers also turns up on other labels, sometimes under the name Rodd Keith. I'd like to see a picture of him. Once while in Hollywood I called the MSR number, hoping to find out about Rod. A guy answered the phone and I asked him if he knew where Rod Rogers could be reached. He said, "You wouldn't want to go where he is." "What do you mean?," I asked. "He's pushin' up daisies, that's where he is." "Oh no, you mean he died?" "Yep. He was a keyboard genius," was his reply. And I agree. Listen to his perfect track for "Little Rug Bug." The words about a baby are great, too.

I love all the songs on this collection. "Our Hearts Were Meant To Beat As One" is one of my top choices for the "if you could have been at any recording session, what would it be" category. And check the punchline to see what "Lost In Space" is about. From great lyrics, indescribable music. These selections have them all. Apollo Up,
 

-- Tom Ardolino (the man who beats the traps for NRBQ) (Click here for more)

  

Remembering NRBQ drummer Tommy Ardolino by Donnie Moorhouse

"The Bottomless Pit" hosted by Marshall Crenshaw airs SATURDAY NIGHTS from 10-11p, right after VIN SCELSA's long running "Idiot's Delight." 

San Franscisco's multi-instrumentalist Hanni El Khatib, the son of Palestinian and Filipino immigrants, brings his early rock and R&B inspired sound to the Iron Horse on Thurdsday, April 26th

Hanni El Khatib is a budding artist and avid skateboarder from the San Francisco area whose debut album, Will the Guns Come Out, came out last fall. If El Khatib's name sounds familiar, it's probably because his song "I Got a Thing" is being used in one of Nike's global ad campaigns as kind of a modern surf, skate and all-around shredding anthem.

Though El Khatib writes his own songs, "I Got a Thing" is a re-imagining of an old Funkadelic tune. Will The Guns Come Out features a handful of covers, including "You Rascal You," a song most famously performed by Louis Armstrong. El Khatib tells Guy Raz, host of weekends on NPR's All Things Considered, that he wanted to be cautious in interpreting old classics. "Some songs seem kind of untouchable in a weird way," El Khatib says. "And so my approach was, 'Why don't I just take the lyrics and kind stay in the family of the same key, and then just turn it into a new song completely?' 

A recent review in the Los Angeles Times described El Khatib's sound as "the sort of music you'd expect to have soundtracked West Side Story, had the songs been written by the Sharks and the Jets instead of Sondheim and Bernstein." A first-generation American of Palestinian and Filipino descent, El Khatib was raised in San Francisco during the emergence of skateboard culture. Despite his international background, he says he grew up listening to classic Americana music, '60s soul, surf, doo-wop and British Invasion rock.
 

"My mom actually was a huge fan of The Beatles and The Zombies, and that's kind of what was playing in the house. And my dad is kind of one of those people where, if it sounds good, he likes it," El Khatib says. "I grew up with this weird culture-clash kind of thing: My mother speaks Tagalog, my father speaks Arabic, but to speak together they have to speak English. So I grew up speaking English, basically being raised as an American, in order to assimilate to the surroundings. And I think that kind of stuck with me."

Tickets for for Hanni El Khatib with guests The Sundelles at the Iron Horse on Thursday, April 26th at 1oPM are available at Northampton Box Office, 413-586-8686, online at IHEG.com.