December ‘05/January ‘06 Volume 1-2 Issue 12-1 Blues ● Classical ● Country ● Folk ● Hip Hop ● Jazz ● Rock

pronounced no-mah-so-nah

New England Betterman’s Rule

Goth, Punk, Skulltoboggan
& Metal Fest
Pics Ill-Conceived

Intricate Unit

Five Central

Saturn Effect

The Involution

Katrin Roush

Roundhouse

Brix

Open Mic Dos and Don'ts

The Recording Songwriter
RED MILL
GRAPHICS
AD
HERE
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 Table Of Contents
Editor’s Note .........................................................................................4
Ask Ronin ............................................................................................4
The Buzz .............................................................................................5
Roundhouse ........................................................................................9
Brix ....................................................................................................10
Betterman’s Rule................................................................................11 Publisher: Rig Painter Productions
Five Central .......................................................................................12
Ill-Conceived.......................................................................................13 Editor: Marc Friedman
Skulltoboggan ....................................................................................14
Intricate Unit .....................................................................................19 Copy Editors: Jillian Locke, Marc Friedman, Jennifer Mottram,
Saturn Effect.......................................................................................20 Stephanie Canelas, Amy Saunders, Meg Crotty, Brandon Lee
Katrin Roush ......................................................................................21
The Involution ...................................................................................22 Writers: Ronin, Carla Wheeler, Jillian Locke, James LeBoeuf,
The Recording Songwriter ................................................................23 Christina McCabe, Darcie-Nicole Wicknick, Edward Horton,
Open Mic Dos and Don't ...................................................................26 Matthew S. Robinson, Jessie A. Giuffrida, Michelle Kellaway,
Reviews .............................................................................................25 Steve Friedman, Keven Pearce, Adam Savage-Adalman,
Classifieds .........................................................................................28
James Maybrick, Persephone Powers
Upcoming Events ..............................................................................31
Photography: J. Reese, Bob Williams, Steven O'Keefe, Sabrina
Lavoie, Carrie Ciccone, Phillip Klimpton, Old Money Video,
Shawn Barratt, and David Kelly Artwork by Bob Nilson
Cover Art: Ward Morgan Logo: Tony C. Antinoro
AD RATES
(Subject To Change)
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Bands/musicians: $150, $100, and $65 (no 8th of page)
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NoMaSoNHa
To a cow, tanning has a whole c/o Continental Cobbler
6 W. Broadway
different meaning. Derry, NH 03038
978-258-2606 • friekman@hotmail.com
www.NoMaSoNHa.com

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 Editor’s Note

Welcome to the NoMaSoNHa Year End Issue

Wow. Can you believe it? We've been in print for a year and it's been an incredible experience.
Not only have I, as an editor, learned more than I could have ever imagined about how to run a
magazine, but I could not have done it without all of the incredible people I have met along the
way. If it weren't for these fantastic folks, NoMaSoNHa would have remained a dream. I would
like to thank them all personally, but the list would take up too many pages and I would still miss a
few. So, for those of you who helped to make this, NoMaSoNHa, the only music 'zine of the
greater Merrimack Area, a reality, please accept my heartfelt thank you.

We hope to be back next year (February will be our first issue of 2006). The good news is that we
are getting close to breaking even on each issue. The bad news is that we still are not breaking
even and if we can't do that in 2006 NoMaSoNHa's future will be in danger. It only takes 4 pages
of ads to cover the costs of production. Please patronize all of our advertisers (past and present)
and please consider taking out an ad for your band or business.

Happy Holidays!
Best wishes,
Marc Friedman
Editor

Ask Ronin - Volume XII

Hey Ronin, Hey Ronin,

What advice can you give to bands that are Why do band members wear earplugs on stage, forcing them-
green to the club scene and want to get selves to turn up their amps so they can hear it, only to make the
booked? What type of promo material should sound man's job next to impossible? - Submitted by SM
they have in their press kit?
- Submitted by BN via LowellRocks.com Because it’s wicked cool to watch the blood trickle from your audi-
ence’s ears!
Lots of nude pictures of hot groupies seem to work well. I know I The real reason: inexperience, plain and simple. How many
spend a lot more time looking at these press kits as opposed to times have you gone to see a young band in a club and they have
those without. Lacking those however, a press kit should include their Marshall stacks cranked up to eleven? They don’t under-
as a minimum a professional photo of the band (best in B&W, but stand the difference between clarity and loudness. I suspect it’s
that’s a matter of opinion.) For samples of what not to do in a pic- also done many times to try and mask the performer’s lack of
ture, go look at the “Hall of Douchebags” at rockandrollconfiden- playing experience or talent. The thought that “louder means bet-
tial.com. ter” is flawed in so many ways I can’t even begin to list them here.
You also need, most importantly, a professionally done demo. Now, there is a school of thought by some players that they’re
In the old days, a band would need to book studio time to do that rather “feel” the music than hear it so they turn it up and wear
but today with software like Cakewalk it makes it much easier to earplugs. I personally don’t buy it especially in a club setting.
get the recording part done. This is just Ronin’s opinion, but too You’re playing the music for your audience, not for you and most
many bands make the mistake of putting full length songs on their people come to listen to music, not feel the vibrations it gener-
demo. Most club owners/managers don’t have the time to sit ates. Let your soundman set the levels and you’ll be good to go.
through four or five complete songs. The best thing is to record
twenty to thirty seconds of a variety of songs covering all the dif- Have a question about life, the universe and everything? No?
ferent types of material your band does. In two minutes, anyone Okay, how about music? Email Ronin at AskRonin@yahoo.com
listening to the demo should know exactly what type of music you or go to LowellRocks.com and look for the “Ask Ronin” thread. If
do. This applies to both cover and original bands. he selects your question, you might get a smart ass answer in a
One other trick I’ve seen used is to make your CD a bright color future issue of Nomasonha. On occasion, you might even get a
that stands apart like orange or purple. That sounds silly but when straight response if Ronin isn’t sneaking up across the North
you have a stack of CDs sitting there, what stands apart? One County Line.
final note, make sure you have current contact numbers, email
addresses, etc.

4
Local Artist & Music News
To submit news items to be considered for print, please check spelling and grammar.
Poorly written summaries and press releases will be discarded or returned for revision.
The Leilani Brodowski Benefit at Reflections
On November 19th The Ultimate Tribute to Rod Stewart,
MOJO, M-80, and Rick Larrimore performed at a benefit for
Leilani Brodowski, former singer of Old School, Sybil, and
Rockslide, at Reflections Sports Bar in Chelmsford, MA. Leilani
was diagnosed with stage three aggressive breast cancer in July
2005. She and her husband Steve are the loving parents of 6 year
old daughter Faith. Money was raised for Leilani and her family to
help aid the financial hardship the family faces due to lost wages
and medical expenses during her illness, surgery, and treatment.
Organizers asked local merchants for donations and each mer-
chant was recognized on a sponsor board at the event.
Skope Fall Music Fest
Skope Magazine teamed up with Harper's Ferry in Allston, MA to
present The Skope Magazine Fall Music Festival. The event was
sponsored by Alpha Music Group & Onlinegigs.com. Perform-
ances took place on November 9. www.harpersferryboston.com
www.skopemagazine.com
Beta Records Launches New Website
Beta Records, an online community that showcases unsigned
music talent to the music industry and enthusiasts, announced the will accompany the group on piano and organ, and perform an
launch of version 2 of their website. You can browse the website
as a listener or upload content as an artist.
For a limited time they are offering all producers, songwriters,
and musicians the opportunity to join the Beta community for free "Ave Maria" and the 16th-century motet "Dixit Maria ad angelum"
by using promo code 1250 in the sign-up process.
Beta offers its artists a dedicated web space to upload pictures,
stream songs and video, create ring tones, email and blog with
fans, and more. Listeners too can visit Beta and create user pro-
files to customize their music preferences and download favorite
artists. In addition to exciting web tools, Beta provides all artists "Gaudete." This cantata of ten melodies is based on a 16th-
with 100 business cards, the chance to record in the Beta Bus
mobile recording studio, showcase nights at hot Hollywood ven-
ues, and Industry mixers to mingle among major label A&Rs and Spanish carol, an 'Ave Maria' by Brahms to be sung by the
producers. All services are offered for free. ww.betarecords.com. women, and carols for men's voices for a seasonal choral pro-
R&R Productions: Katrina Benefit,
Stone & Steel Fest, & Sayonara Summer Fest
R&R Productions put on a Katrina Benefit at Club 125 in Bradford,
MA. The Benefit raised roughly $1200 and got food and clothes
donations.
R&R Productions presented the Stone & Steel Fest and the Sa-
yonara Summer Fest also at Club 125, on November 19th and
20th respectively. Both nights were all ages and lasted from noon
to 1AM. About thirty bands performed each night on two stages.
Acts included The Art Of All, For What It’s Worth, The Squizzles,
Smite The Rightous, Suicide Dream, Death By Dreams, Kill To-
morrow, Seed, Coffin Birth, Blackout Frenzy, Forever's Fallen
Grace, The Green Evening Requiem, Shroud Of Bereavment, The
Accursed, and Hypersolid on the main stage while Volatile, Target
Remains, Hated, With No Rmorse, Closed Casket, A Cold Reality,
Backwoods, and more. and others played on the second stage.
www.stoneandsteelfest.com
To see what went down you can go to
www.sayonarasummerfest.com
the buzz
On Saturday November 19th Cocked and Loaded, part of Allston
Underground Music, took place in Milford, NH. It featured bands
including MindsetX, Mongrel, Fight the Nothing, Betterman's
Rule, and Whiskey Chapel.
The Laser Metronome ™ is a new and revolutionary device for
musicans to keep time with a human feel without the use of the
very much hated traditional click track. The laser beam is the
guide for the musician to keep solid time without loosing place in
the song.The Laser Metronome communicates with MIDI, and is
perfect for studios, life performances, or just jamming. We may
have heard our last click. www.LaserMetronome.com
Classical
Cantemus holiday concert celebrates "Mother & Child: Joyful
Music of the Season" a concert of sacred and seasonal carols,
motets, and mass settings that span the centuries and the conti-
nents. The 32-voice chamber chorus will perform "Mother & Child:
Joyful Music of the Seaason" on December 3rd in Hamilton and
December 4th in Newburyport, under the direction of newly ap-
pointed music director Gary Wood, who served as the group's
interim conductor last year.
Cantemus' newly appointed accompanist, Frances Burmeister,
organ solo, "Noel," by Louis-Claude d'Aquin. On several pieces,
they will be accompanied by bassoon and two flutes.
Cantemus' holiday program ranges from a very early plainchant
by Hans Leo Hassler, to William L. Dawson's familiar spiritual,
"Mary Had a Baby" and the vibrant rhythms and lush harmonies of
"Three Mystical Carols" by contemporary composer Conrad Susa.
For the centerpiece work of the concert, the singers will be joined
by bassoon and flutes for Swedish composer Anders Öhrwall's
century collection of Christmas melodies, many still familiar today.
Music Director Wood said, "Add to this two Hanukkah pieces, a
gram that will expand your artistic horizons and delight you with
entertaining music." www.cantemus.org.
The Nashua Symphony Orchestra will present Hidden Charms
on February 4, 2006 with NSO soloists in the spotlight. This con-
cert includes works by Brahms, Verdi, and Arutunian's Trumpet
Concerto in A-flat Major, featuring Principal Trumpet Richard
Watson, and Concertmaster Elliott Markow in Svensen's Ro-
mance in G Major for Violin and Orchestra.
www.NashuaSymphony.org.
If you would like to review CDs
Please send an email to
papa@hotdayatthezoo.com
Or call (978) 258-2606
(you get to keep them, too)
5
the buzz
Country
On Nov. 19, Fitchburg, MA's country music singer-songwriter Dar-
ren Bessette and his band, Destination Bound, kept their prom-
ise to the Milford, NH community. They took the stage at the
Amato Family Performing Arts Center to raise money to benefit
the new Boys & Girls Club of Souhegan Valley. www.svbgc.com
Dance
Bylli Crayone has put his entire music catalog exclusively at Mu-
sic Freedom. Featured are rare remixes and early demo re-
cordings as far back as 1992. His limited edition MegaMix CD has
officially sold out. If you didn't get a chance to get it there is some
good news. The CD is being re-released in the near future. The
new release will feature an updated track listing as well as a new
MegaMixx by New York City's DJ Dayer.
The latest single to make controversy, "Dizzy Boi" has been
added to rotation on various online radio stations and the UK gay
club scene. In the US, you can call and request Bylli Crayone's
“Dizzy Boi” on www.PartyRadioUSA.net and MiamiMixx.com. The
CD maxi-single for "Dizzy Boi" is set for release on Funusual Re-
cords on February 14th, 2006 (Valentine's Day).
Bylli is also working on his upcoming 2006 album, Sexual Freak.
www.BylliCrayone.com www.MusicFreedom.com/BylliCrayone
Experimental
On December 4th, Dan Hermes Fine Arts will be holding an open
studio from 12PM to 5PM. Digital paintings set to music created
by Dan Hermes will be on display. www.danhermes.com
Back by Popular Demand
Dec 3: Millys Tavern
Manchester, NH 9:30 p.m.
Dec 17th: Reflections
N. Chelmsford, MA 9:30 p.m.
www.BlueMoonHarem.com
6
Local Artist & Music News
Folk/Singer-Songwriter
Ian James's song "Getting In (My Way)" can be downloaded from
his website and he is considering it for his next album, which
should be released sometime in 2006.
Also, Silverscape, a Boston based marketing firm, has used his
song "Time (Keeps Slipping Away)" in their newest marketing CD-
ROM, which was distributed to over 250 of their clients. Silver-
scape, which The Boston Business Journal listed as one the top
25 firms in Boston for 2005, included his track along with eleven
other East Coast artists. www.ianjamesmusic.com
James O'Brien announced that he is working on a brand new
band with new songs, a name of its own, and not real ties to the
past. They're about a month in rehearsals and have a little clutch
of material that nobody's heard. The idea is to create something
collaborative, personal, new and different. He plans on revealing
the band in early 2006. James played his last solo acoustic show
on Sat Nov. 12 at the All Asia Cafe in Cambridge. Rich Adkins
played drums.
Pete Richard played a benefit at The All Asia Bar in Cambridge,
MA on November 14th to raise money for Peter Jenkins, a victim
of a car accident on Rt. 495. and left behind a wife and ten chil-
dren.
Writes Richard, "My boss is Peter's sister-in-law... I originally
booked the show as free but I then decided I wanted to suggest a
$5 donation."
"I figured the death of Peter is something that could happen to
anyone at anytime. I also consider the donation to be a way to
help a "neighbor", if you will."
"Peter was a person who gave a lot of time and energy to his
community and young people. Helping Peter's family just seemed
like the right thing to do. All together, we raised $257.00 I am very
happy with the way things turned out. www.myspace.com/peterichard
Mark Stepakoff is pleased that he's finally completed his long-
awaited 2nd CD, There Goes The Neighborhood. It will be offi-
cially released at an upcoming Club Passim show (probably in
January), but it's available now. www.markstepakoff.com
Christopher Williams reports that for many years he has wanted
to record a Christmas record and every holiday season, "when I
get the chance to play "Little Drummer Boy" live, that feeling
comes around again. So this summer it finally happened and he
recorded Unbroken Song, a collection of traditional Christmas
carols. It was recorded in Nashville with his friend Mitch Dane at
the helm and with new friends Steve Mason and Charlie Lowell
from Jars of Clay lending musical support. The CD available
online now at www.christopherw.com.
Brian Bergeron played a free show in support of his new release
The Closer EP and to help out NoMaSoNHa at Brew'd Awakening
on Market St. in Lowell at the end of November.
Dave Alpert's new release Peace of Mind has been getting top
picks and exceptional feedback from the likes of Metronome
Magazine.
Hip Hop
Digable Planets made their long-awaited return to Boston on
November 10th at The Middle East in Cambridge. Opening for
Digable were Boston acts Project Move, The Eclectic Collec-
tive, and the noteworthy DJ Special Blend.
Project Move is slated to release their next single this winter, and
the album, Love Gone Wrong/Butterfly Theory will follow soon
thereafter.
Local Artist & Music News the buzz
Rock The Glass Set could easily be described as an underground
"supergroup". It was formed when Leah Callahan decided to put
A Simple Complex is in the studio wrapping up a 10 track disc her Illegitimate Theatre Company's rock opera production on
due out in early 2006. It will be a follow up to the four track demo hold and recruit musicians to perform the rock opera songs live
released earlier this year. (and write some new ones). The band is made up of drummer
Erik Barzca lent his guitar playing to The Blue Monkey (a.k.a. Allen Esser (ex-Transmission, Drumming on Glass, Primitive
Andover Road) at the Avenue C in Malden, MA last month. Romance, Lady of Spain), guitarist Joel Cohen (x-Dusky Silo),
Jenn Dines (x- Anti-Love Project), Dave Dines (x-Ho Ag) and
Bottoms Up sent out a thank you to all those fans that attended Callahan (x-Turkish Delight, Betwixt). The Glass Set's sound
the Hefco Halloween Bash and their show with pals Decadence moves between Joy Division, My Bloody Valentine, and the Dis-
in October. They also played what could have been their last memberment Plan and they celebrated the release of their self-
show for the year at the newly dubbed Spider Room, formerly the titled CD in November with a month long residency at the Abby
Hog's Trough Saloon in Manchester. They plan to take some Lounge in Somverville, MA. www.myspace.com/theglassset
time off to write, rehearse, and record but plan to return next year
with plenty of new dates and venues. At press time, the band Inhale played a battle of the bands presented by Anthem Events
was looking for a drummer to fill the spot that Andre from Grave- at The Rack in Boston. There is an online voting poll to deter-
yard Shyft is currently sitting in on. mine which two bands will move onto the next round. You may
still vote even if you were unable to attend the show.
Betterman's Rule is playing shows in support of the newly re- www.anthemevents.com/bandspoll/index.php www.inhaleband.com
leased Paper Anniversary, which can be purchased on I or
downloaded on iTunes. They played at Chelmsfod's Reflections Lynn Julian (a.k.a. Cookie Cutter Girl) has just returned from a
and Milford's Shennanigans last month. music conference and photo shoot with Daisy Rock Guitars, her
newest sponsor, in LA. www.CookieCutterGirl.com
Moon from Damn Dirty Ape recently made a cameo in director Lynn was also commissioned by the Trouble With Turkey Coali-
Warren Lynch's Pony Trouble reportedly getting his throat tion to compose the theme song for their latest campaign. Their
ripped out in the scene. Despite all the excitement of being muti- spokesperson, Tommy, a ten year old turkey, is trying to educate
lated on-screen, DDA promises that new tunes are on the hori- us about alternatives to the typical holiday feast, which is him.
zon. The focal point of the campaign is ham. Tommy's new theme
song is "Ham For The Holidays." Dr. Demento played it on his
Involation will be at Characters Pub in Gardner, MA, on Thurs-
nationally syndicated radio show between Adam Sandler and
day December 8th and the Lucky Dog in Worcester on the 15th
Arlo Guthrie classics. Julian also made their theme song track
with their newest demo and they promise a full-length album later
#1 on her new holiday novelty CD Ham for the Holidays. You can
in December.
hear it at www.CookieCutterGirl.com/hamcd_text_iframe.htm.
Mongrel has several shows coming up in the new year as well
as an all ages afternoon show on December 3rd at Reflections
before taking the rest of the month off in order to regroup for
2006. They also plan to release their first full-length album in the
upcoming year. www.MongrelBand.com.
As a result of their appearance in the NoMaSoNHa Benefit Show
at Character's Pub in Gardner, MA earlier in October A'tris were
asked to play on 99.9 FM, The Eagle, on Halloween night and
Homegrown TV on Nov. 7th. A'tris is releasing their debut album
on Nov. 15th. www.atrishq.com.
The Ballou Brothers Band new CD, Circles is out now.
www.balloubrothersband.com
Hi-N-Dry Recordings is proud to announce the release of Boston-
based songwriter/singer/piano player Rick Berlin's Me & Van
Gogh on February 7, 2006. Berlin’s first release on the label, it
was recorded at the Hi-N-Dry loft in Cambridge, MA, on the late Bill`s Bar Dec 23rd
Mark Sandman’s (of Morphine) acoustic piano. Billy Conway
(Morphine, Twinemen) produced. Tom Dube (Richard Thomp-
son) engineered. The Spyder Room
Bleu is going to "officially" begin recording his new record Jan. 7th 21+ Doors Open at 7p.m.
(tentatively titled A Watched Pot) by year's end. He will once
again be working with uber-producer John Fields (Switchfoot,
TROLL starts at 8p.m.
Pink, Andrew W.K., Semisonic, etc.) and he's trying to get his 4 Bands! Headliner is "i" w/ Window Pain,
"best-bud", Ducky Carlisle, in the mix, too. It looks like at least TROLL, tba—all bands that sing!
some of the tracks he's been working on for the past many
months will end up on the new CD. He is still with Aware Records
(John Mayer, Train, Five For Fighting, Wheat, etc.).
TROLL: 3 guitars, killer bass,
double kick drums, screaming vocals!
The Buckners played a battle of the bands last month at The
Rack in Boston. They earned the highest score out of 6 bands. METAL!
They also played The International Pop Overthrow at The Para-
dise. www.thebuckners.com
www.trollrock.com
7
The Buzz Local Artist & Music News
JT And The Mighty Bad Habits are a new original act with a Sad Marvin's song "Taking Over" appears on the Think Different
unique rocking blues sound. www.jtandthemightybadhabits.com. Empowerment compilation. The song was specifically written for
and featured on the compilation. A pre-release party and annual
Mindset X asks that you request "Stand" from Atmosphere I via fundraiser was held on November 17th at The Embassy in Bos-
email (spinout@wcyy.com) to be played on WCYY's Spinout, on ton. Think Different is dedicated to using music and entertain-
WAAF's Bay State Rocks (baystaterocklistings@yahoo.com) and ment to empower and encourage change. www.sadmarvin.com
on WGIR's The Morning Buzz (greg@morningbuzz.com). They
go on to say, "Send us a copy of an email that you send to the On November 27th Saturn Effect played The Rack Battle Of The
stations at promotions@mind-set.net and have a chance to win Bands quarter finals. At press time we don't know how they
free stuff!" placed. They are also competing in The Emergenza Festival.
www.saturneffectmusic.com
From the ashes of Road To Nowhere comes a new band with Scars Like Ours will be playing the first round of The Emer-
some new faces called MindShot. Their first gig was November genza Festival on December 17th. www.emergenza.net
26th at the Baldwinsville Legion and their next is on December
30th at The Compound. Their new website is www.mindshotmusic.com Vocalist Mike "Storm" and guitarist Mike C. formerly of SoL
and on it you can hear clips of their cellar studio recordings. Full PropheT, have decided to start their own band called Sever.
versions of the songs can be heard at www.myspace.com/mindshot5. They will still be delivering the energy driven, rap/rock that you're
used to, but will also be delving into more stuff. Although they are
Red Fez Records reports that Bob Lord's (of Dreadnaught) new still auditioning for drums and bass they're confident they will
solo album was released on November 21st. The set features have found the right people by the time this hits press. Sever will
selected cuts from various visual media projects composed, per- have their first performance on December 16th at Characters
formed, and produced by the hyper-kinetic Italian-American Pub in Gardner, MA with Full Tilt and again on January 16th at
bassist. Lord, who over the last decade has kept a busy re- The Middle East for Emergenza. Tickets ($10) are available in
cording and performing schedule with the award-winning experi- advance through the band. Their new website site will be up
mental trio Dreadnaught, has worked as a composer, music su- shortly, thanks to Brandi (www.brandiniemi.com) but in the
pervisor, producer, and performer on more than two dozen visual meantime you can check them out at www.myspace.com/severmusic.
media projects in 2005 alone; Bob's work has been featured on On Friday morning, December 2nd, Six Day Slide will be ap-
releases from Universal, Comet Records, Empire MusicWerks, pearing live on the Fox 25 Morning News performing "New Day"
and he has composed music for Scripps TV, DiY Network, at 8:15AM. The band will also be playing the third annual Rock
HGTV, and New Hampshire Public Radio, among others. for a Cause charity concert at Merrimack College's Sakowich
www.redfezrecords.com Center in North Andover, MA on Saturday, December 3rd. It is an
all-ages show and the line-up includes Todd Martin, Pete
Kilpatrick, and local favorites Waltham. The show is a benefit
Wanna give your record big sound? for the VH1 Save the Music Foundation. www.sixdayslide.com
Voodoo Screw Machine welcomed the honorable Rupert
FILTHY NORTH ENTERTAINMENT Loudbottom for his first gig as the new drummer guy last month.
The band also sent an email to fans that said, "Thanks to those
RECORDING STUDIO NOW OFFERING of you who came out to the Gotharama thing, and too bad you
had all left when the venue owner lady got all raging/weepy. That
STUDIO BOOKINGS 4 HOURS ONLY $125 altercation rivaled the performance itself..."
The band also played live in the studio on WAAF's Bay State
8 HOUR BLOCK JUST $225 Rocks. www.voodooscrewmachine.com
($25 EACH ADDITIONAL HR, 2 HR MINIMUM) The Weisstronauts have set out on a small tour to support their
MASTERING AND EDITING new instrumental CD Featuring Perky (the third installment of
their instrumental series, and yes, there is a man in a monkey
PRODUCTION TOOLS: suit on the cover). Lineup-wise, they're happy to have ace utility
bassist Mercy James (www.mercyjames.com) along for the tour.
PRO TOOLS 7 WITH MASSIVE PLUG INS 'Nauts touring veteran Nate Logus will be "hitting the skins,"
TASCAM US 2400 AUTOMATED FADERS CONTROL SURFACE George Hall & Kenny Lafler will be playing "electric twangers,"
along with Pete Weiss. This is the first time they've attempted a
AKAI, TRITON PRO, ENSONIQ EMU ASR 10 EPS 16 PLUS five-person lineup on the road. www.weissy.com
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8
 Turning The Train Around: Roundhouse blues
An interview by James LeBoeuf Photo by J. Reese Artwork by Bob Nilson
dig it, it is all the better. I mean that’s why you play music, to have
people dig it but it also gives us the freedom to explore the things
that we want to do and not have to worry about any commercial
viability.
MR: Joe grew up around music, but it was folk music because I
always played folk blues. He was interested in the drums, so our
music didn’t always come together too often, so this is really a
nice chance to do something that we both like.
Mike, you said you were into folk music. Joe, what kind of
music were you into?
JR: I played in a lot of rock and roll cover bands. I played for a
year and a half in a Motown based band, then I did the Boston
original band scene dragging my drums down to TT the Bears to
play for ten people on a Tuesday night….
Yeah for no money either!
JR: Exactly. I did that for a couple of years and that burned out.
After that I decided to go back to college and not do the music
thing anymore because it wasn’t any fun.
It gets to be a job.
JR: Yeah, but now it’s going to be fun.

R oundhouse is a band that defies the idea that blues is always It seems that the two of you, Joe and Mike, have musically
a preset notion of song structure. Their music runs the gamut met in the middle. Folk and rock share the common thread
from slinky grooves to outright jazz swinging without ever getting of the blues. To me, the blues is folk and rock music at the
bogged down in the sedentary I-IV-V same time. Buddy, how about you? Where do you come from
pattern. They also buck the “lets make musically?
money” idea. Roundhouse is five guys BS: I grew up in Memphis and the
playing together to have fun. They blues was all around me. I didn’t pay
have won the Maine Blues Society’s attention to it but I must have picked
Road to Memphis contest giving them up something. I played with a band for
a chance to compete in the Interna- a while before I moved to New Or-
tional Blues Competition in Memphis, leans. I lived there for ten years. It’s
TN. like the “University of Music” down
I met with drummer Joe Rogers, Mike there. I played in just about every kind
Rogers (harmonica and vocals), and of band you can imagine and some
Buddy Shute (guitar) of the Berwick you can’t imagine. Most music is
Maine band Roundhouse during a based on the blues concept anyway.
freak October snowstorm. Do you agree that the blues is the
first real American music?
How long has the band been to- JR: At its true root it has a big African
gether? influence. It was down in New Orleans
Buddy Shute [BS]: February of ‘03 where the blues kind of took its mod-
Mike Rogers [MR]: Buddy and I have
“No goal. We just put some tunes together
ern shape. Musicians that were trained
been working together since around and had - some fun.” - Joe Rogers classically brought in a level of musi-
2000. cianship that you wouldn’t associate
BS: We met at an open mic one night. I remembered him and with earlier rural blues. They started to mix it in and jazz came out
called him about six months later. I called and asked him if he of that and some of the more modern jazz stylings that you hear
wanted to do something….. in blues came through that. It’s definitely an American thing.
MR: …and we been doing something ever since. MR: It really just came out of that African flatted scale I think.
In my research I found that you, Mike, and Joe are father and Also, the call and response congregational thing that really came
son. How is it working together? from a tribal thing, but the music itself is American. I think.
MR: It’s great, I think. Joe and I really wanted to start a band for a where did you record your CD, Roundhouse (see Nomasonha
long time. We always talked about it. Joe was always playing with review)?
local bands and he got out of it. He started to get back into his JR: In my basement.
drums and I was looking to get back into music and we said, What kind of recorder did you use?
“Well, let’s do it together.” We had Buddy in the mix and we found JR: A sixteen track digital Fostex. A desktop unit. We had a mid
ourselves a bass player and went from there. ‘90s effects unit, a Yamaha multi-effects unit. Not that advanced. I
I think it would be great to work with my family. bought a decent ART 2-channel pre-amp. I bought a decent con-
BS: Part of the reason that we are still having fun is that the band denser mic, a Sennhieser, some SM-57’s… basic stuff. Nothing
was never looked at as a business venture. It was for fun. really fancy at all, just a lot of time spent.
MR: Yes, let’s do some music. That’s surprising. When I looked at the cover I expected
Yeah! That is the bottom line. some thing very amateur but upon listening I was amazed at
Joe Rogers [JR]: The nice thing about it is we are not focusing the complexity of the sound. It has a sparse, but rich sound.
on making money. We are doing what we want to do. If people (Continued on page 27)

9
Hip Hop Brix Holds It Down
At The Boston Hip-Hop Festival 2005
By Darcie-Nicole Wicknick

B oston’s own hip-hop mainstay Brix held her own at the 2005
Boston Hip-Hop Festival on Boston’s City Hall Plaza on Au-
gust 7, 2005. The festival, organized by Mayor Tom Menino’s
boxes upon boxes of CDs so they’d be retail ready for the after-
noon event the next day. Dedication. And Brix was right there – in
the midst. No divas here.
office and several corporate sponsors, did not only bring in the Concert day arrives and Brix definitely had a presence that day.
heavyweights like MC Lyte (who hosted), Supernatural, Special Her energy and passion like no other artist on the roster. A cen-
Ed, Medusa, Big Daddy Kane, and Edo G. (who hails from Rox- tralized location on the City Hall Plaza housed a hub where her
bury), they wanted to be sure to give shine to those on the Boston staff set up shop. Dozens of team members adorned in Hood Cer-
scene; Lyrical, Byg Sev, DJ Kon, The Floor Lords, Kiki Breev- tified tee shirts, Big Hu$tLe tanks, and camouflage fatigues,
elife, Project Move, and our girl Brix (to name a few.) roamed the event bringing Brix to the masses. And this was all
Brix is known about town as a mover and shaker. Whether or before her feet hit the stage.
not her brand of hip-hop is your brand of choice, you cannot, I Let’s face it, all of the Boston acts did their thing up on that stage
repeat – CANNOT – knock her hustle. Aptly, her company is – despite some technical snafus (and what we learned later were
called Big Hu$tLe and she means it. It took a lot of grind to get her some serious monitor issues for the DJs). Brix represented.
to the stage this August day. Backed by an entourage of dancers from GLOC 9 and sur-
Years of community involvement, building with the city and with rounded by her actual (rap and non-rap) peoples and fam, The
her hip-hop counterparts, in organizations like U.M.M.F., Boston- INFILTRY, Brix brought it to the next level by introducing her in
Rap, The Boston hip-hop Alliance, and others; hundreds of live the stash comrade Gen. Steel: a seasoned but up and coming
performances and the support of venues, promoters and vendors hard hitter from Brix’s Dorchester neighborhood at Wainwright
(yes folks: Boston does have a very active hip-hop scene) gave Park (also home of Team 220’s Frankie Wainwright.) Gen. Steel
her a solid background in the business side of the game to secure added undeniable skill and rapport to Brix’s set lending explana-
a strong foothold and fanbase. Not to mention, the girl is a genius tion to this female soldier’s career long dedication to her street
– especially at marketing, production, business development, and militant style. This day we got insight on the Brix that cannot be
networking. We didn’t communicated by music
even touch on all the busi- alone. We got a glimpse at
ness ventures the lady’s Brix the unspoken person.
got going on. And, of It was live, it was a produc-
course, she rocks the mic. tion, and for those who like
Noteworthy about Brix is hardcore Rap, it was a
her willingness to delegate damn good show. MC Lyte
work, and her willingness gave her props, too; a nice
to do it all herself. A para- nod from one of the origi-
dox, perhaps, but she’s nal femcees.
not above hand selling her Brix’s street team
own CD’s, stuffing her did their thing ‘til the close
press kits, and handing out of business that day – and
fliers for her shows (and Brix stayed the whole time
those of others). You meet – snapping photos, meet-
the woman and she is a ing new fans (some as
very definite leader type young as six), etc. She
and she is dead straight worked that day – she was
on about what she wants the first to arrive and the
to see from a project. No last to leave. That’s typical
surprise coming from an artist who is also direct, in your face, and of her. Because, unlike many others, Brix understands that no
ready to go (usually a few steps ahead of you). matter how many fans as you have and who’s supporting you, at
This ambition to get it done has led to much success. She’s the end of the day it’s on the artist to make their career. Hers is
seen fruits of her labors in response to her recordings, press promising.
nods, and even sponsorships. At the fest, eager new fans rushed
her to get autographs, which she signed for over an hour on pho-
tos, fliers, tee-shirts and even other rappers’ CDs! She even was
autographing people’s bodies. She recently placed second on DJ
Kurupt’s The Streetz iz Talkin’ mixtape contest. Without a doubt
she has an effect on people. Expose Yourself to
Brix enlisted a team to help her sell her latest compilation CD
Lay It To Rest at the hip-hop festival. On deck were Lara Lembo
(VP of Big Hu$tLe,) Vanna of Vanna Carey Marketing, Shay
4000 People A Month
Muse and various members of W.O.L.V.E.S. Entertainment, and
James Auburn of The Boston Hip-Hop Alliance, to name a few.
Businesses:
The night before the festival, Brix gave a chill little pre-show gath-
ering at Hoffa’s Swiss Alps at Harvard Square, with resident
You can have this 1/8 page
weekend DJ Frank White on the wheels.
But first, Brix, Lara, Vanna and others spent the entire day sur-
ad space for only $65
rounded by mountains of unpackaged CDs, tray cards, jewel
cases, fliers, and mounds of tee shirts for sale. They assembled

10
 Doing It Right The First Time: Betterman’s Rule rock
An interview by by Adam Savage-Adalman Photo by Bob Williams
Where did you record your new CD, The Paper Anniversary?
What did you take away from the experience?
The CD got it's name from the fact that it took us over a year from
the first day of recording until the last day of mastering. The tradi-
tional name for the first wedding anniversary is the "paper anni-
versary" and while chatting with Byron I happened to mention that
it was our paper anniversary and he immediately grabbed it and
said, "That would be a great album name." So, I designed a quick
mock up of the cover (which invariably was the one we kept) and
the other guys loved it too.
The album was recorded at BobCat Studios in Seabrook, NH.
Bob did some producing too, giving us feedback to songs and
sounds. We've all worked with Bob for years and are very com-
fortable with him. We started in April of 2004 and finished in July
of 2005. By the time we were done, we had continued to write and
had tripled our song catalog and we are dying to get right back in

T hrough my travels and experiences throughout the local mu-

sic scene I’ve been lucky enough to encounter some very
down to earth, easy to talk to, hard working, scene supporting,
there to record the new songs.
Personally, I don't much like recording. The energy isn't there,
you don't have people enjoying your show and there is honestly
cool people. Some of them are even in really good bands, to boot, more pressure. I suffer from "red light fever", meaning when the
which makes it all the better when you encounter those people. A record light comes on, I play worse. Luckily, bass only takes one
few months back I had the pleasure of meeting and seeing a per- track so the drums and my bass were done in April of 2004. I
formance by the NH based band, Betterman’s Rule. Certainly not blame the length of time on those damn guitars! (laughs)
your average nu-metal radio rock band, I was particularly blown The rest of the band, on the other hand, loves to record… the
away by the band’s cover of the Black Crowes’ classic “Remedy”. whole process. I envy them for their patience to listen to a song
With the recent release of Betterman’s Rule’s full length CD The 30 times to tweak one part and get it right, but it's a testament to
Paper Anniversary it seemed like a good time to introduce the them that our CD came out as well as it did. All the credit goes to
NoMaSoNHa readers to this great band of good people. the others for the quality of the CD. Pat, Danny, and Byron are the
Bobby Whitworth, bassist, webmaster, designer, and man- men behind the mixes.
ager/booking agent for the band took time to talk to me. With re- We had the mixes mastered at M-Works in Boston. Mastering
gard to his cyber activities, he said, “The other guys couldn't fit at brought out sounds and life in our songs we'd never heard before.
the keyboard with me. Just a little too intimate.” It was like night and day between the two and we'll never skimp
You can find out more about Betterman’s Rule at: on mastering again. The product speaks for itself. We had the
www.bettermansrule.com and www.myspace.com/bettermansrule discs printed up locally by Transit Music Group. Dave Roberge
How did you come up with the name Betterman's Rule and has been a big help to us.
how would you describe your sound? How's the response been to the new CD so far?
I take the blame for that one. When we The response has been great. We've sold
“We had the mixes mastered at quite a few, our internet sales have
first got together, our goal was to record a
CD first, then start playing. So, with this in M-Works in Boston. Mastering brought started up, too, including downloads on
mind, the name wasn't the first thing on out sounds and life in our songs we'd iTunes. We've ripped through a ton of t-
our list. It gave me time to start pulling never heard before. It was like night shirts and stickers and it shows no sign of
anything out of mine and my friend's letting up. We've gotten numerous com-
heads, plus I went through my entire CD
and day between the two and we'll pliments on the quality of the recording
collection and wrote down any song title never skimp on mastering again.” and the songs themselves. We are ex-
that caught my fancy. On the Beastie - Bobby Whitworth tremely happy with the product.
Boy's album, Ill Communication, there is How long has Betterman's Rule been
an instrumental called "Futterman's Rule". I loved that name, but I around and what's been the highlight of the past year?
didn't think that Futter was a very... marketable word. I started Betterman’s Rule formed in December of 2003. We didn't play our
brainstorming for other two syllable words and remembered an first show until July 30th, 2004. We've all known each other for
old Clint Black song I grew up on called, "Better Man". It was a many years. I'm the baby of the circle though; I didn't go to Lon-
perfect fit. Of course, everyone else thinks it's the Pearl Jam song, donderry High School with the rest of them, so I've only known
"Betterman" that gave me the inspiration, but no. these guys for like 7 or 8 years. (laughs)
I ended up with about sixty names on a list and read them off As for the highlight of the past year, I think the cliché, but true
one at a time to the guys. "Betterman's Rule" was the only name answer, is the release of our CD. It was our primary focus for so
that none of us went "nahhh" and Pat Page, our singer, said, long, that when it was finally in our hands, it was so satisfying. It
"That's the one!" It was settled. was like we could die right then and we'd be fine with it (laughs).
Our sound is rock with pop overtones, mostly medium speed Well, maybe not quite that good, but close. Getting sticker, t-
radio style tunes with some bluesy flavor added in. We often de- shirts, and finally a CD have just helped us as a band. To know
scribe ourselves as The Black Crowes giving Matchbox 20 a there are people running around out there with our name on their
piggy-back ride. Of course, it's during the fat Rob Thomas days car or chest is awesome. Knowing some of the stickers are in the
‘cause we do lean more towards the pop/rock side more than the trash isn't so great, but we ignore that aspect of it (laughs).
Crowes. I don't think Chris Robinson could have carried big ole
Rob very far!
(Continued on page 27)

11
 rock When All Else Fails: Five Central
An interview by Michelle Kellaway Photo by Steven O'Keefe

T hough fairly new to the Boston music scene, indie rockers

Five Central have experienced tremendous success. Their
appeal lies in strong songwriting and catchy hooks. Vocalist Adam
AJ: Promote, promote, promote until you basically force people to
listen. The music should take care of the rest from there. I mean, I
even bring a stack of CDs to parties and just pass them out. Peo-
Jensen mixes angst-ridden lyrics with a lighter acoustic touch, ple like free sh*t and they like to feel like they have a connection
reaching out to fans across the board. Along with a strong live with a band and their music, [but] don’t be an ass and answer all
show and unerring commitment to promoting their debut EP, e-mails. Just get your music in the hands of as many people as
Someone Save The Hero, they’re on their way to making a real you can. Our fans connect with our music because they have our
name for themselves. screen names, our [phone] number, our e-mail--anything they
I had the pleasure of interviewing Jensen and Five Central’s want, we give to them. We want them to feel like they can talk to
other founding member, drummer Jeff Cannon. With their charac- us and tell us what they like and don’t like. I think the biggest thing
teristically offbeat humor and ever-present modesty, they gave me I’ve learned from this band is that no venue is too small, no inter-
a glimpse into the world of Five Central: the girls, the packed con- net site not cool enough, and to just put your music out there any
certs, the shameless self-promoting, and, above all, the music. way you can.
A lot of your success can be attributed to your live shows.
You're actually giving your new EP Someone Save The Hero What can fans expect to see? JC: Hardcore nudity. I think that’s
away for free at concerts? Adam Jensen [AJ]: We just wanna the most important part of any show (laughs).
get our music out to as many people as possible whatever way
AJ: They can expect us to play our balls off and just an overall
we can, so we just hand them out at shows and hope people will
good time. We really love playing our music for people and I hope
come back. Usually we just harass them until they take our CD.
that’s conveyed in our live shows. However, they can’t expect to
How have things changed since you've released a recording? see all that production digital sh*t I see going around now. We
Jeff Cannon [JC]: Well first, and most importantly, with the re- play our instruments and that’s it, no layering and no sugar on top,
lease came the opportunity to get our music out there, not only on just good raw live rock. Also, we have great fans in Boston that
the internet, but also by giving away the CD at our shows. And support us no matter what.
second, we’ve been able to get more You've also been played on sev-
gigs with this demo, which we still “... the biggest thing I’ve learned from this band is that no eral radio stations in the Boston
consider a work in progress, but it venue is too small, no internet site not cool enough, and to area. What's it like hearing your-
seems to be doing the job so far. just put your music out there any way you can.” - Adam
self on the radio?
AJ: We've gotten a lot bigger fan- JC: It’s the next best feeling in the
base from the recording because not world to hearing people you don’t
only can we pass out CDs, but we even know singing your songs at
can post it on the web, which helps shows.
us reach a lot more people than
AJ: Well, for me it’s a little different
usual. We've also gotten a lot more
because some of these songs I wrote
fans and mail from farther away, from
when I was like fifteen, so it’s crazy to
California to England to Germany. So
hear something I wrote five years ago
it’s definitely helped us broaden our
being played on the radio. It’s kind of
fan base and it really helps us with
trite, but it’s like, “whoa, this song
picking up chicks [because] they
[that] I wrote in my underwear on a
can’t say we aren’t in a band. It works
piano from the Salvation Army is be-
- just ask my girlfriend.
ing played on the radio.” It’s a pretty cool feeling.
You guys haven't been playing together all that long - maybe
You’ve been compared to musicians like Dave Matthews and
a year or so, right, and already you've had great success.
John Mayer. What do you have to offer beyond their sounds?
How'd you do it?
AJ: It’s really awesome to be compared to those guys. However, I
AJ: Yeah, our current line-up has only been together for less than think one of my buddies put it best when he said that we sound
a year, but me and Jeff have been playing together as Five Cen-
like John Mayer if he was really angry and did a lot of drugs.
tral for about two years. So basically we [two] have been playing
for so long that we just flow together and build a foundation for the No, I mean I think we sound like them in the acoustic guitar
song immediately after I write it, then bring in different musicians singer/songwriter sense, but as far as song substance, we’re very
from different styles, which has helped add different elements to different. Our music is a lot more raw and angst-ridden than
the music. We do a lot of promotion and just try to get as many theirs. I've been told our music is more danceable, too, which is
people as we can to listen to our stuff. I also have awesome funny because I’m usually singing about stuff you wouldn’t want to
friends who push our music on everyone they know and I guess it dance to. The best part about Five Central is that you'll see our
doesn’t hurt to beg people to come to our shows and then hope fans dancing to a song like “Shadows and Pillows” where the lyr-
they like it when they do. ics are "your words sear my skin and rip through my veins like the
scars I would leave on your one-night stands face” That’s the kind
JC: We’ve definitely had some success, but I think this is just the of sh*t that hits home with everyone.
beginning and we’re certainly all eager for more. The possibilities
are endless, we just have to keep at it and I’m certain the right JC: Just in hearing our songs you can answer that question, I’d
doors will so open up to us. I think the rapid song-writing really say. There’s more of a raw appeal to our music and harder
played a key role in any success for us though. We learned fast grooves. And for anyone who’s been screwed over by a boyfriend
what songs just weren’t gonna work out and were able to replace or girlfriend, you can really identify with our music.
them in no time at all with new, catchier songs. Speaking of radio stations, you were recently in the Mix 98.5
What advice do you have for other bands who're trying to Battle of the Bands. Can you tell me a bit about that experi-
gain a following like yours? ence?
JC: Best advice I can give is to just be relentless. Don’t rest until AJ: That was a really cool gig. Anthem Events put on the battle of
you’ve exhausted all means of getting your music heard. about 60 bands from around New England and we were all com-

12
 A Good Idea: Ill-Conceived rock
An interview by Jessie Giuffrida Photo taken from band’s website

You have plans to record a CD soon. Any idea on the release

date?
We are heading into the studio with multi-Grammy Award winning
producer Jay Frigoletto in December. Hopefully an early spring
release is in the works. Right now we are more concerned with
developing a great debut album than when it's coming out. NoMa-
SoNHa will be the first to know when we decide to have a release
party.
How did it feel to take the stage at Locabazooka, one of the
biggest local festivals around MA?
We try to put on the same energetic show with ten people or ten-
thousand out there. It's hard to be modest when you're invited to
play a show others beg to play. We learned a lot: what to do and
what not to do in front of an audience that size. Even though it's
one of the biggest shows in Mass., it felt like a sort of homecom-
ing. We have friends in Seamless and The Dropkick Murphy's
“We try to put on the same energetic show with that have roots in Fitchburg so a lot of the show felt like a glorified
ten people or ten-thousand out there. “ 490 gig.
What is the best advice you have gotten so far?
Don't eat the popcorn at Characters (hysterical laughter).
I ll-Conceived recently played a benefit for NoMaSoNHa at Char-
acter’s Pub in Gardner, MA. Their involvement, along with all of
the other bands, helped to keep the ‘zine in print (ad revenue is
Lastly,
Thong,
boxers or briefs?
boxers, commando, merkin, brazilian wax? Only the true
still not covering costs and we are always looking for sales peo- Ill-Conceived fans will know which underwear goes with who.
ple). They put on a great show and caught a lot of listeners’ atten- Any final words?
tion. Jessie was kind enough to interview them for NoMaSoNHa. We would also like to thank NoMaSoNHa, The Compound, Stu-
dio Metronome, Character's Pub, and all the bands that we've
How’d Ill-Conceived get together? played with. Without you and the fans that come out to all of our
Ill-Conceived actually started as a side project. Derek, John and gigs to show support for local music, it wouldn't be as rewarding.
Charlie were in a project-band called Rodimus and Chris was in Yes Drew, we mean you too. www.ill-conceived.com
Now Fragile Being; yet we all found time to begin working to-
gether. Some of us had been in Scrye and it was only a matter of
time before the need to write music together again took hold.
Chris went to college with Eric and though the two had played
with the idea of forming a band, it wasn't until last year that we
found the right people to work with. In mid-fall of '04 we began
writing material we enjoyed rather than concerning ourselves with
what was on the radio. Although we only had ten or so songs, we
agreed to play our first show at the Compound (in Fitchburg, MA)
which helped solidify the direction we're headed in.
Who are your influences?
As a band we try to take all types of style and such to incorporate
into our sound. Derek and Charlie both played in a jazz band to-
gether in high school. John and Eric are devout classic rock listen-
ers and Chris is just out there. From Messhuggah to Primus, it is
hard to determine what will blast through his car stereo at any
moment. As far as stage presence; we just try to have a good
time. Although our music is aesthetically pleasing, we don't be-
lieve it sounds like any other local or national band.
Who are your musical heroes?
Charlie - Lane, Axl, Weiland, Patton and definitely Christina Aguil-
era (laughs), she’s so hot.
John - Slash, Dimebag, Page, Clapton, Frampton, JVC (inside
joke).
Eric - Hendrix, Mike Bordin
Chris - Wooten, Stanley Clark, Claypool, Geddy Lee, Peter Steele
Derek - Peart, Criss, Buddy Rich
How about the local scene? Are you being received well by
the public?
We try to take it as it comes. Our first show was huge. There were
more people than we could have ever expected. Our second, we
over packed a bus by almost twenty people. We never thought it
would happen this quick, but we really appreciate the support
we've had.

13
 rock Skulltoboggan
by Carla Wheeler Photo by Sabrina Lavoie
the people of the Northeast. We are averaging 7-10 shows per
month, and as soon as the new CD and DVD are released we will
launch a tour outside of this region. As for exactly when that will
take place, it is uncertain at this time as we are currently working
on the logistics of the scheduling.
John, who gave you the nickname "Johnny Walker Black"?
A long-time friend of mine, who was also a fan of my former band,
Shades of Black.
Who are your musical influences?
Well, first off, I'm a big fan of KISS. So, it is no surprise that Ace
Frehley is one of my guitar heroes. “Dimebag” Darrell Abbott
sealed the deal for me as a guitar player. “Dime” was the
motherf*cking man! I also recognize both Robert Cray and Peter
Frampton as guitar influences. Both incredible in their own rights.
How does it feel to be named “Best Local Performer” for the
“As many artists know, the business end of 5th Annual People’s Pick Awards?
Umm...obviously honored, but most of all surprised (laughs)! You
things can be very difficult to deal with.” - Craig know, it's funny because any one of the members of Skulltobog-
gan could have won this award. I look at it as an extension of the
A nother great band to grace the stage in support of NoMa-
SoNHa at Characters Pub in Gardner, MA, Skulltoboggan hits
hard and heavy… and they do it gracefully. They have donated
fact that Skulltoboggan won the “Best Local Band” award as well.
I guess the Susan Lucci tag has been lifted from us. (Sorry
G*Spawt, I just had to.)
much of their time to playing benefits and had placed very highly
in the Reflections Lounge/LowellRocks.com Battle of the Bands. Skullbob, how do you feel Skulltoboggan's sound has
changed with the various line ups? Do you feel that you, as a
Craig, I read that you were influenced by Jim Morrison, both founding member of the band, are growing?
performance-wise and lyrically. Do you feel your own music Our former band members left a big mark on Skulltoboggan. Andy
could influence other people that way? and Rolo wrote some great songs with us. They helped shape the
Well, I think our music influences people in a certain way. Not music from the beginning, and even now, some of their influence
quite the way a legendary band such as The Doors or in a way still remains. John and Eric have added a whole new dimension to
that Jim Morrison did. The times are very different now than they our sound. The older songs remain mostly intact, but are now
were back in that era. My approach is to create something that played with a different flair. Musically, we all connect with each
people can relate to. I think when you can reach someone in that other, and everyone is just more relaxed, and the new songs just
way, you have accomplished a great deal in your message. I can seem to flow out of us. The actual sound is different, not only from
say that we are known to influence a drink or two from our audi- style, but also from the equipment we play through. John and I
ences (laughs). now both play Line 6, and we're happy with the tone. Eric now
You also cite Madonna as a musician that has moved you. I plays the drums, and the beats have never been tighter. And now
have to admit, I was shocked to see that in a bio from a with the addition of Heath Thayer on bass guitar, he seems to be
metalhead such as yourself. Could you elaborate? the missing link. He fits in so well musically and sound-wise. He
Yes, indeed. What I've always admired about her is that she has rounds out the bottom end nicely.
always accomplished whatever she has set out to under her I feel that we have all grown in many ways. Each of us has
terms. No compromise, no bullshit. She is a remarkable talent, something new to teach one another and, personally, I feel that
businesswoman and quite pleasing to the eye as well. we all click together. We're quite a good collection of open minds.
When will Sexxxiest Bitch on the Planet be released? Where And that, more than anything, makes this whole thing worth it.
can we get our hands on it, as well as your other discs? Eric, “E-Dawg”, how did you handle the transition from being
The upcoming release should be out before year’s end. It will be a bassist to a drummer?
available at all music stores, as well as on our website merchan- Being a drummer in previous projects, and having 15 years ex-
dise page and at all of our live performances. All past releases are perience behind me, you would think that it would have been
available at all Newbury Comics locations, Jelly's (Worcester, easy. Not the case. Skulltoboggan was the first band that I actu-
MA), The Record Shop (Southbridge, MA), and through our web- ally played bass full time in. I settled into that position comfortably.
site and also at our live performances. When we parted ways with Rolo in June and held auditions to
Through your business you give back to the musical commu- replace him, I was filling in on drums and JWB was handling the
nity. Tell us more and how local musicians can contact you? bass playing duties so that we wouldn't have to cancel our entire
I created Dirtnap Entertainment in 1999. My scope was, and re- schedule. As time progressed, we realized that we weren't finding
mains to this day, to aid as many local, unsigned artists as possi- a drummer that clicked with us. At this point, I was learning the
ble in the business areas where so many fail. As many artists songs and feeling more comfortable with them, but my heart was
know, the business end of things can be very difficult to deal with. really into playing bass. I guess you could say I took one for the
Through the many services that we offer, we can ease the work- team. However, as I became more comfortable playing the songs
load of the artist by taking on booking, management, promotions, and we brought in a permanent bass player that fit well into the
web design, etc. We have a wonderful staff with years of experi- mix, it sealed the deal and here I am behind the kit again. I guess
ence. Our new website (www.dirtnapentertainment.com) is cur- it's my calling.
rently under construction. It should be fully functional by Decem-
ber '05. Our business line is 508-756-2485.
What do you see as the future of Skulltoboggan?
(Continued on page 27)
At the moment, we are focusing on the continuation of taking it to

14
The Automatons Broken Crash Midnight

New England
Goth Punk & Metal Fest
photos by
Carrie Ciccone
digitaldoppleganger@yahoo.com

Dissention Downright Creepies

Eye of the Sun First Gate Eye of the Sun

Forevers Fallen Grace

15
Intricate Unit Leaving Eden Leaving Eden

New England
Goth Punk & Metal Fest
photos by
Carrie Ciccone
digitaldoppleganger@yahoo.com

Marazine Marazine

One Flesh Twisted Animation Troll

Mongrel
16
New England
Goth, Punk
& Metal Fest
photos by
Phil Kimpton
http://pkimpton.net
The Assbags The Automatons Blackhand

Broken Crash Midnight Dark Minions Dead Wait

Demuirge Dissension Dominatus Dour

Downright Creepies Eye Of The Sun Face First False Trust

17
New England
Goth, Punk
& Metal Fest
photos by
Phil Kimpton
http://pkimpton.net
Fiend Angelic Firstgate Forever Fallen Greace

From The Shadows Intricate Unit Leaving Eden Marazine

Mongrel
Melt Midnight Screaming and Friends One Flesh

Romaniacs Scars Like Ours Stillwell Angel The Henchmen

18
 Catching up with Intricate Unit rock
by Christina McCabe Photo courtesy of Old Money Video (www.oldmoneyvideo.com)

I ntricate Unit, a Connecticut based band, has been rocking New

England hard. A few of their influences include White Zombie,
Nine inch Nails, and Skinny Puppy. They played The Worcester
Absolutely amazing. It was by far the biggest stage I've performed
on and I really felt at home. Lucky for us the band right before us
never showed up so we had the equivalent of two sets. We had
Palladium on October 2nd at The New England Goth Punk and longer to set up and longer to play. It was probably the best IU
Metal Fest, the concert too controversial for LeLacheur Park in show to date and we look forward to performing there again
Lowell. It was relocated to Club 125 in Haverhill, MA for the fist sometime soon.
day, October 1st. Tell me a bit about your CDs.
Intricate Unit gave an amazing, crowd pleasing, performance It depends on if you are talking about the hard industrial rock side
that left me wanting more. I caught up with Ben Kopec, the man of IU or the film, TV, and game music side... For the hard indus-
behind Intricate Unit, and here is what he had to say. trial rock side, I've released five CDs since 1999, two of which
were the same songs from previous albums but re-mastered and
How and when did Intricate Unit come to be? remixed because I got better at what I was doing. The only one of
The idea of Intricate Unit those five CDs, entitled Thru
came to me in steps. The Hole, is available on-line
word "Intricate" was one of and at shows only. I've also
many titles I gave myself been featured on over five
growing up, it just happen to compilation CDs, at least
be the one that I felt de- two with national distribu-
scribed myself most. I tion. For the film, TV, and
wanted to spread that view game music, I've released
of myself but I thought just four CDs, all of different
the word intricate wasn't genres. The goal of these is
enough. That is when I to get placements in film or
added on the word "unit". I TV productions.
think it is suitable since I
Your stage fashion is
primarily work by myself
unique. What clothes do
and since the word "uni"
you like and look for?
appears in unit. I felt "unit"
I like to portray a rough,
also gave the name closure.
new, cutting edge on stage,
What crowds do you think but not that shit from Hot
IU would appeal to and Topic. I try to only buy my
why? clothes from NY shops. I
Not easily answered, but I also like to mix clothes so
would say someone who is what I wear isn't generic off
bi-polar with a considerable the shelf either. The other live guys in the band follow a similar
amount of confusion with a need to be freed. It's hard to say if my philosophy.
music translates, but I try to write as pure as possible and I think
Do you have any shows coming up? When and where?
my music can be a release for someone who might be going thru
Intricate Unit is scheduled for one show right now, which is an
a tough time or who needs someone or something I might be
singing about to relate to. I write a lot about pain and ways to re- international battle of the bands. It is for Emergenza
cover and become stronger. (www.Emergenza.net) and we are performing at Arlene's Grocery
on December 2 in NYC. For more information, people can check
How long does it take for you to write a song and what's the
out the live section at: www.IntricateUnit.com.
process like?
The creation of a song could manifest in five minutes. Sometimes

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it is more difficult to extract and could take a couple hours, that's
just to get the raw idea out. After that, it could take years before
the song is in a place that I feel comfortable. The process is what I

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will call miraculous. I think it is analogous to giving birth.
What are your inspirations?
My inspirations have always been my own experiences. I feed a
lot off of what I go thru in life, so I would have to say inspirations
include past and present girlfriends, the challenge of presenting a
song in what I think is the right way, and life experiences in gen-
eral. Musically, I look up to people like John Lennon, solo musi-
cians like Trent Reznor and Gary Numan, and bands like Pantera
and White Zombie.
What’s it like being a hard, industrial influenced band in New
England?
The scene right now is very tough. There aren't that many acts in
the area and when they do pop up, they don't last that long for
one reason or another. I also think it gives IU the chance to stand
out more because I've proven longevity and IU is one of the few
hard industrial rock bands from the New England area.
How was playing at New England Goth Punk Metal Fest in
Massachusetts?

19
 rock Music To Think About: Saturn Effect
By Michelle Kellaway Photo by Shawn Barratt
"We try [to] expose the listener to a whole world of musical ex- Unsurprisingly enough, their “middle-ground” sound has a hard
perience," says Saturn Effect lead singer/guitarist Josh Smith, time being definitively placed with a musical genre. Ask them and
talking about the band's first full-length release, Oceans. The al- they’re bound to speak circles about the various styles and move-
bum is filled with the lush soundscapes and moody atmosphere ments that have influenced them. They might tell you they’re
that has come to define their New Hampshire-based band. some brand of alternative/progressive rock or that they’re a mix of
However, the songs were written long before the band ever late ’70s post-punk and contemporary rock-pop, but more often
came into existence. Looking back on his teenage life in a small they’ll revert to generalizing their sound as “art-rock.” “[That defini-
town, Josh set down all the deeply personal and complex emo- tion] gives us the latitude to basically write whatever we want,”
tions he felt in song. After forming and disbanding several differ- says Chris, though he generally avoids giving any sort of standard
ent groups, Josh finally founded Saturn Effect - and his songs classification. Josh agrees, saying, “I love Jimmy Eat World,
finally found their rightful expression in a unique blend of emo and Death Cab For Cutie, Nine Inch Nails, The Cure, Pink Floyd, and
progressive metal. Led Zeppelin... I love Beethoven! I don’t love thinking I have to
Lead guitarist Chris Wilson, bassist J.D. Killoran, and drummer choose [just] one to play.”
Alan Maclean could easily identify with Josh’s emotion and added “The raw power the early punks brought to the table is what
their own experiences to create a deeply-affecting ten-song disc. makes a lot of modern rock worth listening to,” says Josh. He and
The time spent in the studio was not an easy one for the group. the rest of the band’s members grew up surrounded by punk mu-
“When we were recording it a lot of rough stuff was happening to sic, so were first inspired to pick up their instruments by bands
the band,” says Josh. “We had such as The Sex Pistols, The Clash,
[recently] lost half our members -one “We don’t have any “throw-away” songs... Each and The Ramones. However, the
in a near-tragic way - and a lot of that one tries to make an emotional statement.” brash attitude of their musical for-
seeped in.” For some time the band - Josh bearers doesn’t often find its way into
was not sure they would be able to Saturn Effect’s evolved sound. “Some
complete their endeavor. But sixteen moments in our songs are definitely
long months later Oceans had pro- “punk”, like in “The Captain. But we
gressed beyond the singular efforts of don’t like to be obvious about it,” ac-
a small town songwriter into a mature, knowledges Chris.
cohesive group effort. More often than not, what listeners
“[Josh’s] songs weren’t written with will take away from their music is not
overreaching themes in mind,” relates the raw rage of punk, but the raw
Chris, the first of the group to ever emotion of emo. The band is wary to
listen to their songwriter’s work. But associate themselves with such an
after serious re-tooling, the band infamous musical style but admit that
reached an unexpected level of crea- they have a few common ties. “For all
tivity and continuity. Now the CD feels it’s bad press, the emo phenom did
“more like a complete thought than a remind us that a little bit of melo-
collection of songs,” says Chris. drama can elicit [an] emotional reac-
Viewed as a whole, it is an abstract tion, so I try to use that to my advan-
concept album that covers a variety of tage,” says Josh. Chris agrees that
musical genres - from rock to folk to emotional intensity is key to the
electronica. band’s effect: “We don’t have any
But Oceans does not merely reflect “throw-away” songs... Each one tries
Saturn Effect’s growth as a band - it to make an emotional statement.”
also defines what the group has Each of their songs is carefully
dubbed its own brand of “intelligent crafted to create an enduring effect or
rock.” Their greatest goal is to make teach a valuable lesson. They at-
listeners think beyond the music. tempt to face the difficulties of life
Much of what they write is story- head-on by writing about war, broken
structured and focused on themes families, small-town life, and touching
such as destiny, family, and insanity. on the role of escapism and guilt in
“I like to describe it as an attempt to make music that doesn’t in- human existence. As a songwriter, Josh creates songs that “strike
sult your intelligence,” says Josh. In an industry filled with dime-a- people as cautionary tales and amplify emotions they are already
dozen rock-pop clichés, Saturn Effect strives for a more meaning- having [to help them] approach [those emotions] with different
ful, lasting impact. views.”
At the same time, the band recognizes that some music, such In the end, every song paints a separate “complex emotional
as a lot of contemporary progressive rock, can be a “bit too cere- picture,” according to Chris. When taken in as a whole album, he
bral” for most listeners. To that end, the band seeks out a “middle- hopes that the listener feels “tired and emotionally drained” having
ground,” following in the footsteps of bands such as The Smash- just been through an experience they won’t soon forget. He wants
ing Pumpkins, Radiohead, Pink Floyd, Rush, and Tool. Josh cites to know that their music was able to “grab that [listener] and really
them as some of his greatest influences, saying, “they have a have them feel all the different things [the band was] trying to
great knack for being experimental, intelligent, and accessible at say.” The result is an intricate mix of intellect and emotion.
the same time, and write music that makes you think about “Complex music is more reflective of real life,” says Chris. He and
higher-level things.” Oceans fits all these adjectives and more. It the rest of the band are hard at work now on their next recording,
grabs the listener's attention with involved arrangements and en- a concept album following the trials and tribulations of one central
gaging hooks, and invites one to listen closer to the deep thoughts
and emotions that lie at the heart of each individual piece. (Continued on page 24)

20
 An Interview with Katrin Roush singer-songwriter
by Carla Wheeler Photo by David Kelly

I had a chance to sit down

with Katrin Roush, a pas-
sionate songbird whose vo-
have heard me. I also think that it's helped get my name around
locally. I get lots of emails from people who
have seen me in Faneuil Hall. Some folks come to see me play at
cal range and mesmerizing other venues as well.
natural beauty keeps you You also tour all over the country. Do you feel your gaining a
captivated throughout her wider audience?
performance. Katrin’s set I feel like I have made some good impressions through touring. I
included songs from her self think that it's going to take a lot more touring to really build a
titled CD and her second strong fan base in distant states. It's all about the repeat visits and
release Nature Spirit, along hopefully some radio and press exposure.
with a few covers by Sting, What is your most memorable moment on the road?
Joni Mitchell, and Led Zep- One of the best memories I have is winning the NewSong contest
pelin. Katrin performed her in West Virginia after a long tour and a night of getting lost in the
set at the Harvest Café (a dark mountain roads and getting stuck in the mud.
fabulous little café that sup- People sometimes compare you to Bonnie Raitt. How do you
ports local artists any way feel about that?
they can) on 31 Main Street I think that Bonnie Raitt is great. If people compare me to her,
in Hudson, MA. that's fine with me. She is a strong woman with quite a long ca-
reer. I don't play slide or have red hair, but both of us sing from
Tell me about your start in the music industry. our hearts and with feeling. I think that's where people find a simi-
I have been singing since the age of three. I was lucky to have
larity.
been brought up in a musical family where my ear could be
I would love to see you as part of a local, “Women in Rock,”
trained at an early age. I always knew that singing was my favor-
festival I think it would be remarkable to bring together the
ite thing to do. I was frequently involved in some kind of music
forces of great music that we have here in New England
growing up. I guess it was after high school that I became aware
come together. Any thoughts on that possibility?
that I wanted to pursue a career in the music industry. In my sen-
I think that's a great idea, especially if we were all to work toward
ior year I started a group and competed in the battle of the bands.
a cause. I have participated in women's music events before and
I remember how nervous and exhilarated I felt being
it's been a blast.
the lead singer in a rock band. At that point I had written only a
Do you think that your music will make it to “mainstream”
couple of songs with friends. I learned how to play the guitar after
listeners someday?
graduating and determined to find my own voice [and] started to
I would like more people to hear the music I create. Getting my
write my own songs. The band that I was in became a great sup-
music to "mainstream" listeners is not some thing I usually think
port for me in this experimental phase. We started cutting demos
about when I am writing. My music is "radio friendly" but not in a
and playing at places in Boston like Local 186, the Kendall Café,
candy pop kind of way.
Club III and Mama Kin's.
You never know what the next sound will be. Big wigs at record
What do you classify your musical style as? companies decide what to push. I think it'd be quite difficult to get
I never know exactly how to answer this question. I tend to use a
“mainstream” if you are an independent artist. I am more inter-
mish-mash of descriptions like singer/songwriter with a folk-rock
ested in making music that I love and letting that find the people
edge, soulful and bluesy vocalist with dynamic and melodic guitar
who are searching for more than what's on the surface. Hopefully,
lines.
in being true to myself, I will build a lasting career and music that
Who is your biggest musical influence? endures.
I have had lots of phases as far as influences go. I was never one
Lastly Katrin, is there anything you'd like to say to the read-
to try to emulate the sound of a particular influence. I think most of
ers of NoMaSoNHa?
my influences come from listening to the radio as a kid. That could
I just want to say good luck and best wishes to all who choose a
have been anything from pop to heavy metal to folk. I do admire
creative path in life. It may seem difficult at times to keep going,
the songwriting of artists like Sting, Joni Mitchell, CSN. And the
but in the long run, you will feel better about yourself than if you
band Led Zeppelin inspired me a great deal.
had never tried to take the road less traveled.
Is there a personal inspiration that keeps the music flowing?
I get a lot of inspiration from my surroundings, particularly nature. www.katrinrocks.com
The changing of the seasons affects me dramatically and I feel
like my music reflects those feelings. I usually write to release
feelings or process an experience that I have had. Traveling and
exposure to new people and places helps to inspire me as well.
You have two CDs out. Any info on the new CD?
I am going to start a new project in December 2005. The first
three songs will be recorded at Thomas Eaton Studios in New-
buryport. My friend, Scott Tarulli, will play electric guitar, and
helping to produce the CD. It will have a full band on some tracks
and other tracks will be more acoustic sounding. I have an array
of songs to play with, so I am looking forward to fleshing out some
of the arrangements in a great sounding studio.
Has playing at Fanueil Hall helped to give you a bigger fan
base in your hometown/Boston area?
Street performing has brought my music to a much broader audi-
ence. I have performed in front of people from every where and
have sold hundreds of CDs to people who otherwise might not

21
 rock The Involution: A Little Q & A
by Carla Wheeler
past few days, I’ve heard a bunch of influences. Who would
you say you resemble in your musical style the most?
We draw most of our influence from such bands as Sevendust,
Staind, Tool, Cold and Deftones. While these bands have influ-
enced us, we really try to offer something that doesn't directly
resemble any other band out there. We hope we've been able to
do this.
What would you say to people who may think you are just a
“knock-off” band, one that sounds much like stuff that’s al-
ready on the market?
“We recorded our whole demo, including four songs, in We'd ask them to have a closer listen to our music. We feel that
just two days. It was an amazing, creative and fun experi- we've been able to create a sound and energy that is unique to
Involution. We also feel that our music does appeal to a mass
ence.” market, and that could be why someone would quickly jump to
I did a little background on you guys, and I didn’t see any the conclusion that we're just a “knock-off”.
press yet, at least not on your website. Does that make me How do you think you've been received by the musical com-
the first one to pop your interview cherry? munity?
We're still a really young band. We officially formed in July of We've had nothing but great responses so far. To date, we have-
2005, and haven't had much of an opportunity to really get our n't had the opportunity to play many shows, and the ones we
name out in the press. You have popped our interview cherry, have played have catered to a heavier style of rock than what we
and we can't thank you enough. play. Nonetheless, we've gained new fans and impressed the
My pleasure. Now, can you tell me about the evolution of other bands we've played with. We've also been able to book
Involution? Who came up with future shows with some of these bands. We definitely want hon-
the concept for the band and how did you guys meet and est feedback. If you think we suck, we want to know. Luckily, we
form the band? just haven't had people tell us this.
It all started with Jeremy Rae (vocals) and Shaun Glassman How about the reception from crowds at local shows?
(guitars). The two of them had some song concepts that they The reception has been amazing. We have people singing our
were dabbling with while working with a drummer. They realized songs in the audience, which is such an incredible feeling. Every
that their musical vision didn't match up with that of their current show we play, we meet new fans. It's a really exciting time for all
drummer, so they decided they needed a change. Jamey Cormier of us, and we enjoy nothing more than putting on a great show for
had an ad in www.MassMusician.com, and his description the people who've grown to love our music.
matched exactly what Jeremy and Shaun were looking for. Upon www.theInvolution.com
auditioning, the three of them had great chemistry. The only thing
they lacked was a bass player. Shaun decided to contact his (Recording Songwriter continued from page 23)
good friend Sean Brown, with the concept of him playing bass in
his newly formed band (up to this point, Sean was purely a guitar mind, from inner stillness.”
player). Sean loved the idea, and thus, Involution was born. We
started writing songs instantly. What's great about our writing We’ve all been there. We just have to remember to find our way back.
style is that each of us contributes something, and not just on our This morning I woke up with no clue as to what I was going to write about
own instruments. We all help each other out so that we can get this month. Armed with only a strange dream that made no sense and the
caffeine from a single cup of tea, I sat down knowing that this was going to
the most out of every song we write.
turn into something meaningful if I allowed it to do so. I didn’t know what it
I know that you have an upcoming CD. Did you learn a lot was going to be, but I knew I could discover it.
from the recording process and how do you feel you com- Similarly, I recently had to call a woman I hardly knew and tell her that I
pare live vs. in the studio? knew something that I couldn’t know, that we had a connection that I could
Jeremy had previously recorded with Alex Hatziyannis (Old not explain or justify other than by pointing to coincidences and saying “I
Folks Home Recording), so we contacted him about recording our just know.” While I knew that we could find our way to whatever it was that
demo, as well as a full length CD. We recorded our whole demo, we were supposed to find, I knew at the same time that I was probably
including four songs, in just two days. It was an amazing, creative going to come across like a crazy man. Remember Richard Dreyfuss
building that mountain in his living room in “Close Encounters of the Third
and fun experience. We couldn't be happier with the results. Kind”? Remember him trying to explain it to his wife? Well, that was me
We're planning on having our self-titled EP ready for an early talking to this woman. I had not asked for that connection, but it was given
December release. We feel our live sound definitely rivals that of to me. So I had no choice but to do with it what I must. And so it is with our
our studio sound. We perform very tight live, and with each show creative powers in general. Creative artists often know more than we
we play, we're constantly improving. We've also been extremely know. As we learn to trust this gift it becomes stronger. Not only must we
fortunate so far to have played with such bands as Adema, strive to trust it, we must have the courage to use it, and use it wisely.
Brides of Destruction, Triggerpoint, and Allele, not to mention Whatever we write or play or sing has an influence on our community, so
we have the power to make our world better if we choose.
great local and regional bands like Drinkfist and Apathetiq.
Like the deer in the driver’s seat, we can often find our way out of our
What ideally do you see as the future of Involution? own creative limitations, if we only allow ourselves a little time and pa-
We would love to continue to build our fan base in the New Eng- tience.
land area, and hopefully spread throughout the country. We feel
we bring a lot of unique, creative ideas to the table with our mu- “…beside the garden wall when stars are bright, you are in
my arms… the nightingale tells his fairy tale of paradise
sic, while still having a sound that can appeal to a mass market.
where roses grew… though I dream in vain, in my heart it will
We just hope that a record label agrees with us. To this point we remain, my stardust melody, the memory of love’s refrain.”
haven't had any luck, but will be aggressively pursuing labels
once we release our EP. It’s been a while since I shared in an inspirational kiss, but I’m wholly
open to one. Still, I’m not thinking about it much. But when that kiss does
After throwing your CD into my player and listening for the

22
 The Recording Songwriter
Kissing Mystified: The Advanced Course
by Keven Pearce
A strange event just revealed itself to me. I don’t know what it means
exactly, or what I am supposed to learn from it, but by the end of this
column I will know, and so will you. Trust me.
I had stopped to get gas at a rural gas station. My car was at a pump in
the back and it was pointed directly toward a thick wood that closely
crowded the pump island. Even with most of the leaves gone the Novem-
ber tangle of rusty brown and yellow-gray seemed so vibrantly alive and
beautiful that it had my attention, so I sat for a long while in the driver’s
seat just looking. I was completely captivated by the scene. In a world
where some may search for the perfect tune on their iPod to go with what-
ever they’re watching on TV, “completely captivated” may call for some
explanation. To be clear, I wasn’t thinking about how beautiful the scene
was, I was simply seeing it, not thinking at all. For those not yet expert in
seeing beauty, there’s an important distinction between thinking about
how beautiful something is and actually seeing beauty. I was noticing,
without a thought, every detail of the light as it filtered from the blue-gray
sky through the brush, bark, branches and spider webs and made its way
to my eyes.
Eventually, I got out of my car, absent-mindedly leaving the driver’s side
door open. I went around to the right rear of my car and began filling the
tank. It was then that I noticed a deer, a still-gangly young doe, meander-
ing her way through the thicket toward me. After wandering aimlessly –
she looked as if she truly didn’t know where she might like to go next –
she gracefully slithered between a trash bin and my open door and
climbed gingerly into my driver’s seat. She tried to continue to the right
front seat, but she didn’t like the gearshift or the rearview mirror that was
poking at her left ear. She appeared to be considering climbing through
the space between the front seats when I decided to intervene.
I should tell you that I simply love deer. Having spent many hours in quiet
observation of them, I have some insight into their temperament. To watch
a spindly-legged half-grown fawn wander casually up to a fence a foot
taller than she is and spring effortlessly over it – hovering at the apex with
a grace that would make Michael Jordan cry – and land so silently on the
other side that it makes you question whether the event actually happened
is, to me, one of the most moving events in all of nature.
I could see that if the deer, a deceptively powerful creature who can jump
thirty feet in a bound if she desires, got into my back seat and panicked, it
would be a disaster for the deer and my nice leather seats that were al-
ready getting some serious hoof stress. So I made a slight noise to let her
know that moving toward me and into the back seat was not a good idea.
Other than that I tried to totally ignore her. I looked around at the pump to
let her know I was paying her no mind. If I had tried to herd her out by
waving my hands or shouting, her ability to make a wise decision here
would decrease substantially. My best hope was to let her figure it out for
herself. In a few moments she managed to turn herself around and exited
just the way she entered.
At this point I suddenly awakened and realized this was a dream. I was
as surprised as perhaps you are now, because the dream had been so
vivid that I wanted to check my car’s upholstery for deer tracks. The last
thing I had done the night before was check my email. My last email was
from NoMaSoNHa editor Marc Friedman. It was the night before the dead-
line for this issue, and he was inquiring as to how my column was coming.
But what he was actually doing was subtly reminding me that my column
was due tomorrow (which is now today) without actually suggesting that I
might forget. I truly appreciated the reminder, and was even more appre-
ciative of his deft handling of it. Because not no, but hell no, I hadn’t writ-
ten one word of it. I kept putting it off waiting for a great idea. I went
through a whole list of ideas, but nothing grabbed me and said: Write
About This!
Any of you who have read my column know that I can think. And any
reader who can follow me through a detailed explanation of imperfect
rhymes or how to EQ a mix can definitely think pretty well, too. But today’s
column is about not thinking. Stay with me and we’ll get to that.
I had thought I might write a column that started like this: So you think
you’re a singer? Learn to sing “Stardust” and we’ll talk. You know, Hoagy
Carmichael’s 1929 masterpiece that starts like this:
“Sometimes I wonder why I spend the lonely night dreaming of a song…”
Talents as diverse as Willie Nelson, Nat Cole and Harry Connick, Jr.
have sung it, and so should you, the column would say. And it is decep-
tively difficult to sing. The song would serve as a springboard to suggest
23
that all singers should develop their voices as the musical instruments
they are. If your style is singing in a nasal mumble that was inspired by
any of a generation singers who learned to sing in a nasal mumble from
listening to Bob Dylan records – and that’s the only way you can sing –
then your style is not so much a style as a limitation. Learn as much vocal
technique as you can, learn to sing “Stardust” so it sounds effortless, and
then you can choose to sing in a nasal mumble that will be a better nasal
mumble than you have now. And then it will be your style because you
chose it, not because it’s all you can do with your voice. The song contin-
ues:
“The melody haunts my reverie and I am once again with you…”
And, the column would continue: Along the way you’ll be learning an
approach to melody and harmony that is so unusual today that it would
serve as…
“when our love was new and each kiss an inspiration…”
…an inspiration. There’s the word. As great as it would have been, this
column isn’t about singing “Stardust,” even though you should learn it. It
is, as I said, about not thinking, which is closely related to inspiration.
Once again:
“…each kiss an inspiration…”
Who writes like that today? The more provocative question is this: Who
kisses like that? Stop now and take a deep breath. This is going get inter-
esting as you ask yourself this question: If I were lucky enough to get a
kiss that was inspirational, what would it be like? And more importantly,
when that kiss comes, are you going to be up to the task of allowing your-
self to be inspired? It will take some hard work to be prepared for inspira-
tion, but that preparation is necessary work for any artist. And as far as the
kiss goes, I have in fact shared in an inspiring kiss or two in my lifetime,
and let me tell you, the years of preparation were well worth the effort.
My first kiss found me thinking about whether I was doing it right. After a
few seconds I decided I was, then I started to think about all the places my
hands should be – and a few places I figured they shouldn’t – but I thought
about them anyway. As my adolescent love life progressed, I got proficient
at thinking ahead to what I wanted to happen next, even as I was kissing
and being kissed. My equally inexperienced partner was probably thinking
about her own next move based on what she thought I was going to do
next. Since we were learning as we went along, not over-thinking the
whole thing would have been difficult. However, it is important to note that
none of these kisses were inspirational.
I recently read Eckhart Tolle’s The Power of Now. How this book came to
me is one of those stories that borders on spooky. Let’s just say that it was
intended that I read it. I found it to be one of the most profoundly practical
books on the nature of spiritual practice that I have ever read. I would
distill its message into this phrase: The mind is a wonderful tool, but if we
do not turn off the mind when we are not using it we will never have true
inner peace.
I never experienced an inspirational kiss until I stopped thinking. Only
when we stop thinking are we fully able to participate, to feel, hear and
taste every breath and nuance of life. And only then are we fully open and
receptive to a kiss of inspiration. To receive inspiration we simply must
stop thinking. This is the true message of all religions and the ultimate
goal of all spiritual practices, and it pertains in a special way to creative
artists. This is where our creative spirit lies.
Have you ever wondered why the phrase, “stop and take a deep breath,”
is such a powerful elixir in so many situations? It’s because we momentar-
ily stop thinking as we focus on a life-giving process that usually goes
unnoticed by most. It is no accident that “inspiration” means both
“supernatural or divine influence” and “to breathe in.”
As artists we must use our minds – we sometimes think incessantly
about melody, lyric, bass line, compression, equalization, vocal mics,
piano voicings, preamps, limiters, countermelody, phrasing – and then you
get more to think about when you read my column. So this month I’m here
to remind you that stopping to take that deep breath is a necessary part of
the process. Tolle himself states it best:
“All true artists, whether they know it or not, create from a place of no-
(Continued on page 22)
 Dos & Don'ts for Open Mic-ers
by Steve Friedman of Melville Park Studio, Boston (pictured) (617) 361-6107 melpk@tiac.net

T he large number of open mics in the Boston area provides un-

precedented opportunity for performers at all levels of skill and
experience. (For an exhaustive list of local open mikes, check
out singer/songwriter Sam Bayer's website sambayer.com.)
One of my studio's services is making multi-track recordings of
open mikes, so that those who want can get a high quality copy of
their performance.* As a result, I've seen over 10,000 open mike
performances! That, plus having performed myself back in the
1980s, at both open mikes and concerts, qualifies me to have some
possibly worthwhile opinions, and, well, here they are:
An open mike performance consists of 3 parts; the setup, the intro,
and the song. All 3 are important, and should be planned and prac-
ticed with equal diligence.
Learn to set up quickly, or else you'll lose the audience before you've even started. Practice at home with anything you can rig up to
simulate a couple of microphones on stands. If you use a direct, bring your own cord and have it ready. Check your cord and bat-
teries before you leave home. You'll get started faster if you play guitar standing up. (Classical style guitarists are excused). Don't
bring effects boxes, amps, or other outboard gear. Learn to tune quickly, and once you've started a song, never stop to retune no
matter what.
Rehearse your intros. Keep them short and interesting. Don't say "This is a song I wrote last month about..." First of all, we know it's
a song, you needn't tell us. Second, we don't care when you wrote it. Third, if your song needs to be explained, re-write it. Good
songs explain themselves.
Keep your songs short. Time your songs. Except for a few classics, any song longer than four minutes would be a better song if it
were shortened.
If you have a cheap pickup, use the mike instead. You'll sound much better.
Learn how to use microphones. Stay close and don't move around. Practice this at home.
Pay close attention the other open mikers. Analyze what the good ones do and what the bad ones do. Compare yourself to them.
Learn. Grow. Improve.
It's mostly a matter of attitude. Don't come to open mikes to show off or dump your stuff on others. Come to entertain, share and
learn. You'll have a good time, and become a better performer.
*Steve Friedman of Melville Park Studio records the open mike at Club Passim every Tuesday night. He also recorded for years at the
famous Old Vienna and Colonial Inn open mikes. Two CDs of these recordings have been released (one on Fast Folk) and his live
recordings have been used on albums by Vance Gilbert, Lori McKenna, Kevin So, Scott Alarik, Jess Klein, Kerri Powers, Rob Siegel,
Chris & Meredith Thompson, Tim Mason and others. www.melvillepark.com
(Saturn Effect continued from page 20) anyone. At least, it is most definitely accessible to anyone looking
for melodic rock with real meaning behind it. “For me, “intelligent
character, Lennon. His problems are ones that Chris, in particular, rock” is music that escapes the rampant materialism, superficial-
can relate to and ones he hopes can connect to all of Saturn Ef- ity, and adolescent nature of modern popular culture,” says Chris.
fect’s listeners. “We try to write songs on different levels,” he says. That’s quite a mouthful, and quite a task to take on, but Josh,
“Each song can certainly stand on its own but we try to weave Chris, J.D., and Alan are able to handle it with their unique phi-
[them] all together so that they all have meaning in context with losophy and sense of style. It is a constant struggle to maintain
one another.” He encourages fans to attentively listen to the CD their balance between popular hackneyed cop-outs and heady
more than once. That way they may discover new themes, ideas, introspection - to meet their fans halfway. But it is within that
and meanings that will enhance their understanding and insight. struggle that the band finds their greatest joy as musicians and
Not only is it complexly conceived, but complexly structured as their greatest success as artists of a new generation of intelligent
well. “Musical complexity is directly correlated with coolness,” rock. www.saturneffectmusic.com
says Chris, a great admirer of the intricate music writing of pro-
gressive bands. “It’s a thrill for me to listen to a song and go “what
the hell just happened?”” Josh agrees, saying, “I like to trip people
up, so unorthodox time and song structures work well with me.”
The band is constantly working to add progressive elements such
as odd time signature, key changes, and unusual band unison
NOMASONHA NEEDS YOU!
into their songs. We are looking for:
To further enhance the Saturn Effect experience, the band
strives to turn themselves into a multimedia force. Right now they • CD Reviewers
are not only writing the music for their next album but planning the
artwork and possible video for it. “We hit as many senses as we • Hip-hop writers
can and get right into your head,” says Josh. “[We want to create]
something that stimulates your eyes as well as your ears and get • Classical writers
people to approach us on kind of an allegorical level.” Through
music, art, and videos, the group hopes that every listener can • Sales Reps
understand the stories their songs tell.
Though by no means an “easy” band to grasp in full, the mem- friekman@hotmail.com
bers of Saturn Effect maintain that their music is accessible to
24
CDs Rated 1 to 5 reviews
Dave Howard and the High Rollers Sure Bet drums are all fantastic musicians and work well together. I can’t seem to find any tour
10 song CD dates, so you’ll just have to pick up this CD as his website www.ddacd.com you won’t
Produced by Tom Ferraro and Joe Moody be disappointed. - James Maybrick
Engineered by Joe Moody
Vartan Krikorian Select Works: 2002-05
Danger Multitrack Recording Providence Rhode Island
Red-Blooded Records 2005
Performance: 3 Production: 3 Songwriting: 3 Recommend: YES
12 Song CD www.djvartan.com
Dave Howard and the High Rollers is a Rhode Island based band lead by seasoned
Performance: 4 Production: 5 Songwriting: 5 Recommended: YES
musician, Dave Howard. This CD is a blues, but it’s as solid rock in the vein of the
With seven years of producing and nine years of DJ-ing under his belt, Vartan
50’s, like Jerry Lee Lewis and Little Richard. The CD rocks out perfectly for a dancing
Krikorian recently unleashed a scrap book of sound waves that encompasses three
crowd.
years of musical mayhem. In his Select Works, Vartan explores emotionally-charged
The first cut “Lower on Your List of Priorities” boogies on the floor with a Jerry Lee
electronic landscapes through aquatic effects and hard hitting beats. “Trippy Snow”,
Lewis swagger. For the most part special guest keyboardist, Steve Burke drives the
the CD’s first track, gently eases into a very ambient beat, accentuated by the soft
song. It may just be how the piano sits in the mix. The second song, “So What” is
use of chimes, creating a soft and airy atmosphere. The beat picks up from there,
steady rock I can’t get away from the fact of how much this CD reminds me of 50’s
reverberating as if traveling through a never-ending tunnel, which spits the listener
Rock-n-Roll. The tempo’s and Dave Howard’s laid back vocal delivery is all so
right into a catchy hip-hop beat. And this is just the beginning. Each track has its own
smooth and pure. “Old But I Ain’t Dead,” comes out of the station with a “Mystery
original feel, as if morphing from one plain of space to another. There is a heavy
Train” drum and stand up bass beat courtesy of Bob Christiana’s drums and John
aquatic theme throughout the CD, which is especially noticeable in “Water Walker”
Packer’s bass. Guitarist Tom Ferraro, lays out great Scotty Moore guitar throughout
and “In the Dark”. But these slower, more ambient tracks are accentuated by
the CD with slapback echo and chordal soloing. Here you get the great lyrics this
straight-up hard-house and penetrating beats, like tracks “Move Over” and, whereas
band is capable of. The couplet, “You might think I got no scruples when you look
“F.U. New England” has a more robotic, calculated sound. “How the Morning Is”,
into my pupils” is genius. “Cold Switch” has a kind of Tex / Mex feel. I kept waiting
which seems to guide you through the fuzzy and groggy morning hours, illustrating a
for the Mariachi’s to come around the corner. More great lyrics like “Do you still love
sense of bored human repetition, which is aptly followed by “Warm Winter”, creating
me baby, I just had to ask her. Well she gave me a look that was cold as Alaska.”
a sense of comfort and warmth; the soundtrack of someone having an epiphany, like
Now that is poetry. The disc continues to please with a sureness that makes you
Kevin Spacey in American Beauty. This CD travels through various emotional planes
want to get up and move. www.davehowardandthehighrollers.net - Jim LeBoeuf
with the mere use of knobs and buttons, offering up a little something for everyone.
PennyRed The City-state Falls This CD makes me want to listen to techno again.- Persephone Powers.
Independent Released: 2005
Live
11 Song CD
Performance: 2.5 Production: 4 Songwriting: 2.5 Recommend: YES Howie Howie live at the Rack, Boston – November 13, 2005
I have been listening to this album non-stop for 2 days. I just don't feel any certain It is said that the true greats always reach back to help those behind them. And that
way about it. It's just kind of "blah". There's is just what happened when local leg-
no part that stands out making it memorable
other than it leaves me feeling very unful- If you would like to end Howie Altholtz assembled his latest
musical incarnation for the Anthem
filled. It's almost repetitive. Contains a cer- Entertainment (anthemevents.com)
tain quality that reminds me of Goo Goo
Dolls meet Collective Soul. In my opinion I
review CDs Battle of the Bands. Opening with his
old original “The System,” Altholtz
found it rather disappointing. If they worked
on adding some "build" to the songs, I'd be
Please send an looked every part the rocker in his
leather and denim. As the band
more than happy to rethink my opinion.
Honestly, it needs some drive and character. email to me at (drummer Angelo Caputo, bassist Fer-
nando Belotiti, and guitarist Ryan Fardy)
A change of pace at some points could launched into a rawk-ous rendition of
benefit the feel to the music. PennyRed is papa@hotdayatthezoo.com The Monkees’ “Steppin’ Stone,” Altholtz
well produced as far as sound quality and
their unique "saga-esque" inlay card pos- or call Marc at lost the leather to reveal some home-
made tattoos and even more rock ‘tude,
sesses a decent attempt of fusing a prowling the small stage like a caged
"Shakespearian drama" with modern indie-
pop. However, it ultimately fails due to an
(978) 258-2606 Jagger while his support team offered
pocket-y rhythms and blistering solos.
inability to captivate the listener. I will never
refuse recommendation of a CD. A review is
(you get to keep them, too) During such hot originals as the ripping
“Scars of Love” and the more flowing
only one opinion. Please review the CD “Beauty Up the River,” Fardy left the
yourself. - Edward Horton main stage to take his band’s case to
the voters, using everything from a well-
Steal the City The Rise & Fall of Everything After exercised whammy bar to his teeth to a strippers pole(!) to grind his axe. By the time
6 song CD release 2005 the band reconvened for a tempo-changing take on “Ruby Tueday,” Altholtz had
Performance: 2 Production: 2 Songwriting: 3 Recommend: Yes, if free changed outfits, but not attitude - going so far as to dedicate the old chestnut to a few
The emo genre has yet another name to add to their list, Steal the City. The first ladies in the audience. And as he and the boys reached for every last note, the
track, “Radars” had a great sound, with just a hit of Social Distortion. There are a few friendly crowd showed their appreciation with whoops and whistles, sending the elder
great spots where a guitar lead could work towards the songs favor. I’m not the into statesman of the Boston music scene off on his latest adventure with plenty of wind
the same riff over and over. This leaves the listener to think “okay, let’s get on with in his sails. - Matthew S. Robinson
it.” Over all the music is well put together, but there are a few timing errors. The
hardest part of listening to this CD is the vocals of John Cappucci. He has that typical Julie Silver at Temple Beth Avodah, Newton, MA – October 30, 2005
whine that makes emo famous. In my opinion, there just isn’t much range to his As part of their continuing Celebration of Life series to benefit the AIDS support
singing. It also seems like they didn’t put a lot of effort into the recording. It’s too bad programs of the Peter Daniel Clark Fund (www.peterdanielclark.org), local girl Julie
because anyone can see that this band has potential, but they just haven’t gotten Silver came back to Boston to bring her West Coast warmth and homegrown sensi-
there yet. I don’t see any tour dates lined up for them, so if you would like to check bility to her friends and neighbors. Accompanied by a rhythm section made up of the
them out live that might be a better idea. - James Maybrick daughter and grandson of the late singer/songwriter Aline Shader (whose songs
have recently been covered by Silver on her latest CD, For Love to Grow), Silver
Don Mousseau Don of the Digital Age presented the overstuffed sanctuary with a casual and comfortable set of original
13 song CD Released: 2003 favorites and her new covers. Paying tribute to the important women in her life with
“Mountainside,” Silver also promoted her motto of continued striving with the locally-
Performance: 5 Production: 5 Songwriting: 4 Recommend: YES
inspired “Give My Best to You.” Silver’s songs were pieces of personal poetry laced
This is one of the coolest CDs I have had a chance to check out in a long time. Be-
with gentle guitar work and universal themes, and her intermezzo recollections of life
sides the unbelievable talent and music the CD has to offer, it also gives something
in Newton and the differences between East and West (weather notwithstanding)
extra when you put the disk in your computer. You will find it is filled with great inter-
were fun and charming. Drawing from Shader’s notable catalog, Silver presented a
active menus. Such as player bios, desktop images, a MP3 player and some others
few numbers meant more for der kinder, including the treyf-ified counting song “A
you will have to check out for yourself. Plus a very well done movie “digitized” where
Nice Little Piggy” and the touching audience participation number “Grandma’s Song.”
we see Mousseau as he is pulled in the computer, Tron style where we get a quick
Among the guests who joined Julie were her childhood piano teacher and a local
glimpse of Mousseau playing his guitar.
youngster getting her big break on a stage (or, at least, a bimah). Before allowing her
Being the age I am I can remember when great guitarists like Joe Satriani and Greg hometown fans to erupt in applause, Silver looked back to the folk tradition of railway
Howe where shredding up the scene back in the late 80s. Well this CD brings me songs while looking forward with the hopeful finale “This Train,” proving that, even
back to those days. While the music is up dated to the times of today not only by the though she may have left the old neighborhood, she is still firmly on the right track.
awesome talent of Mousseau brings but the other musicians as well. Randy Gray, 5-
- Matthew S. Robinson
string bass, Marc Soucy, Keyboards, and Paul Trepanier and Mike Gillespie on

25
reviews CDs Rated 1 to 5

Ramones’ “Blitzkrieg Bop,” delivering their usual mixture of hard-hitting punk and
comic relief.
Kevin So & Midnight Snack live at Brookline Rocks! – November 6, 2005 “Banana one to banana two! Banana one to banana two!” Julian messaged to Dan,
As part of their continuing tri-centennial festivities, the Brookline Music School (www. grabbing the attention the other half of this explosive project’s attention, while Dan
bmsmusic.org) brought native neighbor (So is from nearby Brighton) back to the area was trying desperately to keep his banana tip erect. “I’m limp-I swear this never
for a special musical celebration. So, in turn, brought his latest musical creation, a happens!” Julian yelled. “I’m gonna be a convertible banana,” as he pushed his
pocket-filled rhythm section made up of local students from Berklee College of Music. banana tip back, allowing his head to breathe.
Together they presented a career-spanning collection of So’s spiritual, and sharp- The duet continued into a cover of Electric Donkey’s “Big Hairy Asses,” to the
witted songs to a multi-generational audience of appreciative listeners. From the surprise and delight of Electric Donkey and the crowd. Julian and Dan joined forces
beautiful and provocative high school not-so-confidential “Abacus” to a rule-breaking in an unexpected medley of “Big Hairy Asses”/”Baby Got Back”/”I Ain’t No Holla Back
encore, So showed a propensity to do things his way and to make others think about Girl”, raising the energy of the eager crowd on the dance floor. Then came one of the
how they did theirs. In the process, he demonstrated a command of a variety of Twisted Animation’s staples, “99 Red Balloons,” which Julian introduced with “You
musical genres, all laced together with his thoughtful lyrics, nimble key work, expert like my socks? They’re hot!” The stage shook as the duet bounced off the walls,
mic sense and timing, and engaging and entertaining presentation. “Wake Up Son” dominating their instruments as Dan pounded the life out of his set only to watch
revealed paternally-supportive soul while “New York City” offered a late-night R&B Julian soaring across the stage, led by his guitar, sending him into a blurry frenzy as
dream with an appropriately dirty underbelly. While “Still Got a Crush” was washed he launched into “Eye of the Tiger.” The crowd burst out in approval, singing along as
with Anita Baker-y grooves, the new “Caroline” was a simple devotional that inspired Julian grinded out the chords and Dan nearly destroyed his set.
an impromptu squeal along with some younger members of the audience. As time Next up, one of the area’s most well known party bands, Electric Donkey, took
ran down, the crowd clapped for more and, ever mindful of his audience, So deliv- the stage. The bands crooner, Lee, was fitted in his usual Slim Jim costume, while
ered, leading them in a final participatory rendition of “Brighter Day” that sent every- bongo master Soop was encased in a life-size bottle of beer. Jay, the party guitarist,
one looking forward to the next 300 years. - Matthew S. Robinson was sporting a sleek, blood spattered chef’s jacket, wearing what seemed to be a
Phantom of the Opera mask. And last but certainly not least, Jeff, effects extraordi-
A Night at The Pound with the Dawgs of Rock with naire, was dressed in a retro-powder blue suit, complete with black-rimmed glasses
The Involution, Ill-Conceived, Mongrel, and Skulltoboggan with tape around the bridge (he definitely bore a startling resemblance to the crazy
When I entered the doors of The Compound, I really didn’t know what to expect. I old-dancing guy on the Six Flags commercials). Electric Donkey broke out with “Dark
had seen Mongrel play their last two songs, at Characters a few weeks before, but Moon Forest of the Northern Fjords”, a surprisingly metal song for this synth/effects-
that was the extent of my experience with them. Our brief interaction didn’t have powered band, which fit the Halloween mood perfectly. “Personal Space,” one of
much impact upon me that night. I walked in during the last song of the Mindset X their heavier, grinding tracks (because we are talking about the Donkey here, right?),
set. So, I will have to make it a point to catch their show sometime. where Jay really gets to bring out the hardcore guitar riffs. And no Electric Donkey
Next on the stage was, The Involution. They put on a decent set. Their style is performance would be complete without the legendary “Big Hairy Asses”, for which
reminiscent of Trapt, mixed with a little Bush, but also if you listen to their demo disc, the crowd always goes wild-“I like girls with big hairy asses!” Lee sings in his best
and their soon to be released full length CD, they have a sense of originality as well. David Byrne voice, followed directly by his Stevie B* impersonation, “Nights are
Their sound is marketable to the current trend in radio today. lonely, days are so sad, and I keep thinking about that big hairy ass…and nobody
Ill-Conceived was next on the bill. It was their vocalist, Charlie’s birthday and he knows it but me.”
was thoroughly enjoying himself at the pound. Their set was good as well. They have Electric Donkey delivered their usual captivating performance, all completely
a heavy Locabazooka feel (not surprising since they played the festival this year). enraptured in their instruments, grooving along to their eclectic party music. But the
Charlie’s vocals triggered memories of the late Dave Williams of Drowning Pool. Ill- best was yet to come…a surprise that the bands had up their sleeves…just when the
Conceived is sure to gain a larger audience in the near future, I am sure. set seemed to be done, Twisted Animation joined Electric Donkey onstage for the
Mongrel took the stage, and the crowd grew excited. Drew, Adam, John, and best cover of “The Monster Mash” this side of the Merrimack! Both Julian and Jay
Andre immediately got the crowd rocking. They performed songs from their EP, dominated the front of the stage as they faced each other and played their guitars
“Open Your Eyes,” along with unreleased material, and a cover of G‘nR’s “Used to like rock stars. Dan brought his drum kit onstage as well, while Soop left the bongos
Love Her.” Their final song of the night, and every night, as I have learned, is “No and took up the bass. The two bands mixed together like coffee and cigarettes,
Gods, No Masters.” This song gets the entire crowd involved and they go into a carrying and projecting the same off-the-wall music and antics, with the same
frenzy like a pack of wild animals. For this night, their Halloween bash, Drew was whacked-out energy that always keeps the crowd coming back for more. The song
accompanied by G*Spawt from Skulltoboggan, and Charlie from Ill-Conceived was finally wrapped up on a metal note, when Jay dove off the stage, spitting blood
which brought the crowd involvement up a notch. Mongrel usually has a following of (fake, come one people!) into the crowd upon his decent, nearly missing a crowd
regular fans, and this night was no exception. Even though they recently lost their member clad in an actual donkey costume while he galloped around the dance floor.
drummer, Pete Adams they have done well with the fill-in performances by Andre RAWK!
Dumont, of the band, Graveyard Shyft. He had only two practices under his belt Finally, after half the place cleared out, The Jelley Fund took the stage, troopers
and he pulled it off spectacularly. Kudos to Dre. that they are (hey, it was a Thursday night), and belted out a solid set of pure rock,
Last, but certainly not least, Skulltoboggan took the late night spot, and rocked which actually sounded heavier than their usual sets, which resonate a more mellow
the socks off of everyone. Craig “G-spawt” Gaumond’s powerful vocals command a jam- band feel. As for costumes, drummer Mark was the only one sporting not one,
great respect. He is accompanied by fellow founding member Robert ‘Skullbob’ but two masks-he switched off between monkey and zebra masks. Bob, originally
Eurenius on lead guitar, as well as John, ‘ Johnny Walker Black’ Lamonda (winner in arriving in a wolf man (or was it Chewbacca) mask, decided that it was too hot to
the best performers’ category, People’s Pick Awards, Worcester), newcomer Heath wear while he plucked at his bass. When asked where his mask was, Dave Jelley
Thayer, to the bass guitarist position, and Eric “E-dawg” Corbett on drums. You can simply said, “Jill, I wear a mask every day.” DOH!
tell when they take the stage that they have a true love for performing. The raging When they first started jamming (back in the days of Dracut High School), Bob
emotion that comes out during a show can’t be lip-synched. There is no faking this played guitar while Dave worked the bass. Then, they switched. While motives were
bottom heavy groove that makes your ass move. - Carla Wheeler questioned, no one was disappointed, because every member of this band seems to
be a jack-of-all-trades when it comes to music, and it shows through in every per-
The Jelley Fund, Electric Donkey, Twisted Animation 10/27/05 formance. Mark masters his instrument, incorporating a more technical, jazz-type
Halloween/Evos Reunion Show at the Gaelic Club beat, which adds a lot of depth to the band, not to mention his piano work in their
Arriving just after local band Serious Face finished their set, the scene seemed cover of “Easy Like Sunday Morning.”
slightly displaced. Familiar faces appeared around every turn. But these were not the A faithful few were left in the crowd and danced it up while a guy in a spandex
usual faces the typical patronages of the Gaelic Club were accustomed to seeing. bodysuit and wig roller-skated around the less crowded dance floor. The Jelley Fund
No, these were the faces of the displaced crowd that once flooded the hallways of always carries an unmatchable groove in their performances, leading to much bump-
another local bar. These were the ghosts of Evos Arts, the recently closed establish- ing and grinding from the fans… I half expect to see Ron Jeremy bust out of nowhere
ment on Middle Street that once nurtured and played host to the local music and arts one of these days, doing a greasy little porn dance for all the ladies.
scene. But the show had to end, and instruments had to be packed up and carried back
The crowd tonight adjusted to their new surroundings, as well as their new free- to their respective vehicles, a routine these bands know so well. But this time, they
dom to smoke inside (downstairs only, but still…). Excitement filled the air as the were lugging their equipment up the back stairwell of the Gaelic Club, rather than the
group once again grasped their bearings, making any place that they are home. familiar front doors of Evos Arts; the closed doors. The displaced crowd mills around,
Costumes and masks disguised some familiar faces, while a duo in priest and preg- trying to find that one spot that feels like home again. But the sad truth is that no
nant-nun costumes ushered in some tones of home. The Evos crowd welcomed other bar will ever replace the comfort and familiarity with which Evos so regularly
each other with warm salutations, reminiscing about the end of an era and the begin- cushioned its patronage. The reunion show brought us all back together for one final
ning of a new one. hoorah, one final look at the ghosts of Evos, and a hopeful glimpse into the future of
So for one night, the Gaelic Club became the playing ground for some of the the local music scene. - Jillian Locke
Lowell area’s most standout bands. Twisted Animation, a punk/comedy two-piece
hailing from Dracut, took the stage dressed in matching banana costumes. Julian, N M S NH Needs a Sales Rep
O A O A
singer/guitarist, sported some sexy black tights under his costume, topped with
yellow-striped tube socks and a pair of yellow converse sneakers to complete the
outfit. Dan, drummer/vocals, matched his saucy counterpart (minus the tights and 20% Commission
socks), as they offered up their first song of the night, a cover of the White Stripes’
“The Hardest Button to Button.” They flowed seamlessly into a cover of the friekman@hotmail.com
26
(Skulltoboggan continued from page 14)
Do you still write and/or have input on the bass lines used in
Skulltoboggan material?
I might make a suggestion here and there, but it's pretty much in
Heath's hands now.
Heath, how does it feel being a member of a band with a rap-
idly growing fanbase?
When I noticed they were holding auditions for bass players, I
immediately contacted them. This is a band that has left quite an
impression here in New England, and I have always admired them
as musicians [and] people, and their work ethic is unparalleled.
The support from the fan base is great! Of course, with me being
the new guy, I feel I'm being judged at each show, but the overall
response up to this point has been favorable. In short, I like it
here.
And how did you come to be part of Skulltoboggan?
I answered the ad that was posted on the Wormtown.org bulletin
board. An audition was scheduled, and I performed my first show
with Skulltoboggan in that first week. www.skulltoboggan.com
(Betterman’s Rule continued from page 11)
What is your impression of the local music scene and what
can be done to make it better?
There are a lot of good bands and a few incredible bands that we
have had the honor to share a stage with. I don't have a problem
with any of the bands but I think the limited number of clubs that
support bands in the area are an issue, but from what I've seen in
my years in Manchester, the people are the biggest problem.
Fans tend to like cover songs more than originals so many of the
clubs cater to that. It's a smart move for the clubs if that's what the
people want, so I can't really begrudge them that. But I will! I want
support too (laughs)!
Perhaps what we need is one band from Manchester or the
area to explode, become huge. If that happened, people might
notice the other guys and say, "Hey, these guys might blow up,
too. Maybe I should pay attention." If someone has to jump the
grenade for the rest of the local scene, we'll do it. We'll gladly take
that record deal and large sum of money to help the rest of you
guys out (laughs).
But seriously, getting the people to the club is the most impor-
tant thing. Your friends just aren't enough, unless you got a lot of
friends. Using online tools like MySpace.com, hanging fliers in
music stores, getting write ups in magazines, these are the things
we need, but go even further. Hang fliers in hardware stores,
pizza places, any where they'll let you. When was the last time
you went into a record store? I personally have gone once in the
past 3 months. The new, hot band isn't gonna catch my attention
there. The more people you bring to the club, the more the club
will support local music. It's really up to us.
What does 2006 have in store for Betterman's Rule?
More playing, more recording, more merchandise and more mar-
keting. We've only been playing out for a little over a year. We
have to be patient. A band like Averi, who will be playing the Ava-
lon soon, has been together since 1998 and they are just to that
point. It isn't gonna happen in 6 months, or even two years unless
a band is lucky.
The biggest thing on our mind right now though is stage show.
People want a visual to go with the music. A banner, backdrop
and other stage props are in order. A light show shouldn’t be far
behind. Those little things make such a huge difference to people
watching you. We all play instruments and can't interact with the
crowd like a certain singer from a certain band that wears a
"police line do not cross" necktie (laughs). [Editor’s note: a playful
reference to Drew Barker, singer for Mongrel and the inter-
viewer’s band mate] www.bettermansrule.com
27
(Roundhouse Continued from page 9)
What were you aiming to do with this recording?
MR: We were thinking, you know, less is more!
JR: We were trying to grab our parts. The creative process is
pretty loose with this band. Somebody brings in a tune, which for
the most part is Buddy or Mike, and they basically say, “This is
what I had in mind”, and they lay it out and leave it up to the rest
of the players. The song “Close That Window” was kind of like a
swingy blues tune until we started recording it. We must have
recorded it about a dozen times and never got a take that felt right
so the bass player who was in the band at the time, Joe Harding,
and Buddy and I were in the basement and Joe said, “What about
more of a bass line like this?” I heard it and added those “jungle’
sounding drums and it took maybe two takes after that to get the
version that is on the CD. Buddy was saying that is exactly what
he had in mind when he wrote the tune.
That song drew me in. The CD has a wide range of sounds on
it. For instance, “High Class Man” starts of with that Tommy
Dorsey drum beat. Mike your harmonica playing is subdued.
You just play without going overboard.
BS: I think that is one of the things we have going for us. We are
not your typical blues band.
MR: Yeah, yeah we are not trying to copy anybody. We’re trying
to make it a new thing.
What was your goal when you put the band together?
BS : Get together and have a good time!
MR: That was the basic thing. To have fun. We all like to play.
Let’s just get together and play what we like to play. If people like
it, fine.
Were you shooting for a certain sound?
JR: There was no goal. No intent. Buddy has a huge library of not
just cover tunes but his own [songs] as well. We all knew all these
old songs. When we do a live show we are just as libel to throw in
an old swing standard like “My Blue Heaven”, as our own tunes. It
was, and is, just whatever. The original bass player lived, like, a
mile from my house. I asked him if he wanted to come over and
jam. After that we started talking about making it a band. I was
worried that I was misleading him. So I called him and told him
that we were thinking about making a band out of it. He stayed for
about a year. It was great. No goal. We just put some tunes to-
gether and had some fun.
MR: I would like to mention the rest of the band. We do have a
new bass player, his name is Doug Green; and Dave Graf on
second guitar.
BS: We have no boundaries. We will try anything once. (laughs)
MR: There is no real leader to the band. We try to keep every-
thing as democratic as possible. Everyone has input and we want
us all, as a whole, to be happy.
JR: There is still no goal sound wise. We are just five guys with
different sounds getting together to have fun and in the end we
hope that people have fun with us. www.roundhouseblues.com
(Recording Songwriter continued from page 22)
come, and it will come, I’m not going to think at all.
Those wishing to learn more about seeing beauty may go to Keven’s
“WhitewaterUniversity.net” web site and click on “The West River Ghost.”
In addition to his writing and recording work, Keven works as a coach and
consultant to songwriters and developing recording engineers. You may
find him at TheSingerSongwriterStudio.com.
Get Press
Send your music news to NoMaSoNHa
friekman@hotmail.com

FREE Musicians’ Classifieds
Nomasonha
c/o Continental Cobbler
6 W. Broadway
Derry, NH 03038
friekman@hotmail.com
Your ad here. Don’t forget area codes with phone #s.
Bassist Available
Bass player looking for band in Salem, MA area.
rmarchetti@stonecircletech.com
Bassist Wanted
Can you actually fit in this band? Coven of 13 is looking
for a bass player. We are an original well- known hard
core dark band with multiple flavors including metal,
gothic, trance, melodic, shock and more. Professional
web site, good reputation, free practice space, shows,
contacts, marketing, etc. Needs: Practice 2 week-
nights+ (northern MA area), Transportation, Good Gear,
21+, Think outside the box, Dedicated/Honest, Dress
up on stage (required), Contributing team player, Busi-
ness minded-goal orientated (desire to make it na-
tional), Accept sacrifices of a being in a band (please,
no debilitating addictions and only dedication), Debra.
angeld417@aol.com http://covenof13.com
www.myspace.com/covenof13band
Mongrel, an aggressive punk/rock/metal band, is look-
ing for a new bassist. Must be able to play with a pick
and fingers. We're NOT looking for a Les Claypool/Flea
style bassist, probably more on the lines of a Duff
McKagen/Nikki Sixx/Rex from Pantera blend. Must
have your own gear, transportation, and be able to play
on average 6 shows a month, and practice once a week
in Nashua, NH. please be 21+, no drug problems, and
no shoe-gazers on stage. You can check out some
songs at http://www.myspace.com/mongrel and our
website at http://www.mongrelband.com Please get in
touch via our myspace page or at mongrel-
band@yahoo.com
Drummer Available
Solid, tasteful, drummer with over 20 years experience
for hire: recording sessions, original bands/gigs, work-
ing cover bands/gigs, fill-ins, etc. I want to make money
(and have fun) doing what I love – playing drums! I am
open to almost any style of music, but I do prefer
Rock/Pop/Funk. My drumming influences are: Terry
Bozzio, John Bonham, Tommy Lee, Adrian Young,
Stewart Copeland, Sean Kinney, Scott Rockenfield,
Ashwin Sood, and Jimmy Chamberlain.
I have pro equipment, click-track & recording experi-
ence, transportation, a day job, and a serious, profes-
sional working “team player” attitude. I am dedicated to
the music/ band that I play, create, and believe in. If you
or your band does not have the same beliefs, then DO
NOT WASTE MY TIME OR YOURS. Everything you
need to know about me is on my website, including
mp3s. crash@crashrocks.com www.crashrocks.com
Drummer Wanted
Are you a drummer that can keep time better than a
metronome? Have you been wanting to get involved
with something big but have not found the right group of
people yet? If you answered yes to both of these ques-
tions, calling the number in this ad could be the most
important phone call you ever make!
We are The Inside of Out. Origanally from Baltimore,
we moved up to New England to make this band hap-
pen in a big way. We play original and creative music
that has been compared to the likes of Pink Floyd, The
Doors, Coldplay and Oasis. We are looking for a drum-
mer that can play whats right for the music. If this is
something that sounds exciting to you than call this
number, 443-880-2086 (Adam), to get alot more infor-
mation about what were all about. You can also contact
us at theinsideofout@yahoo.com
Musician classifieds
are FREE!
(subject to editing for space)
Eternal Embrace, a unique sounding Dark Metal band
with original music,is looking for a Drummer.We’re from
Southern, NH and have a practice space conveniently
located from all major highways. We have put together
a demo and are looking to start performing and seek a
record label. We are looking for a drummer who has a
good sense of rhythm and dynamics, play double bass
and can groove at slower time signatures and be crea-
tive in his/her approach. You must have your own
equipment, transportation and be able to pitch in toward
the cost of the rehearsal space. Anyone interested in
coming out to meet us can contact us at eter-
nal_embrace2004@yahoo.com or call 603-233-3217.
Eternal Embrace, an established metal band with an
ecclectic sound, based in southern NH, seeks a drum-
mer. Drummer must have a good sense of rhythm and
dynamics, be able to play double bass, groove at
slower time signatures and be creative. For more infor-
mation or to schedule a jam session, call Eleanor 603-
463-7314 or Randy 603-598-0491 or email eter-
nal_embrace2004@yahoo.com.
Some influences include: My Dying Bride, Katatonia,
Agalloch, In the Woods, Unholy, Dimmu Borgir, Em-
peror, Entomed, Opeth, Dead Can Dance, Cirque De
Soliel, Lisa Gerard, The Gathering, Lacuna Coil.
28
Guitarist Wanted
We need a guitarist in jan from the seacoast area call
me (603) 474-5124 we play death metal nothing else
the singer has a gutral voice and will not change and
we will not either you must play death metal or dont
respnd to this ad thank you rick merci-
ful_fate@comcast.net
Whiskey Thursday (www.whiskeythursday.com) is
currently looking for a guitarist with strong vocals. WT is
located in Central, MA. We are a rock band with influ-
ences from Led Zeppelin, The Who, Jethro Tull,
Phish..you get the idea.
We love to experiment with music and have come up
with some cool jams lately.
We would like to get "back on track" ASAP so we can
start playing out again.
We currently practice on Monday and Thursday eve-
nings from 7:00PM to 10:00PM.
If you are interested, please make sure you can prac-
tice twice a week and be available for weekend gigs.
We are looking for a kick-ass guitarist / vocalist / cool-
dude / ball-bustin / rocker. If this is you, please respond
with contact info to theband@whiskeythursday.com or
phone Brian: (978) 973-1543
PRODUCT OR SERVICES
Honor System: List your products and services for free,
just send us $10 for any money you get v and under
and 10% of any sales over $100. Send checks to Marc
Friedman d.b.a. NoMaSoNHa. Address on p. 3 of this
issue.
Booking Manager Wanted
Must be active, likes to talk, and have people/ phone
skills. Money based on job performance. If interested
call 978-815-4401 or email Sswytch@gmail.com
R&B/Hip-Hop/Soul
Singer-Songwriter-Producer
Available for booking & available to write & sing hooks.
www.myspace.com/shaymuse Shay Muse: shay-
muse@solitaryrecords.com
Custom Guitars
Choose the body, color, neck style and all the hardware
to make it run, and we hand assemble it to your specs.
Starting from $700. sales@waveguitars.com
Need a replacement musician?
.. or someone to record some parts? Advice? Stunt
Music has performers & consultants that can help. We
are building a database of musicians with experience &
chops for one night fill-ins. No worries, we have
screened them. info@stuntmusic.com Go to
www.stuntmusic.com & apply to become a "stunt musi-
cian."
Equipment For Sale
Brand new Yamaha YDP-113 digital piano. It's full size
and with weighted keys, all sorts of digital options and
everything. It's in absolutely mint, flawless condition. I
bought it like 6 months ago for $1,000 and have played
it maybe ten times at most. I'm selling it for $650 or best
offer. Email me if you have any questions: grate-
fuldave@comcast.net
Merrimack Valley Musicians
#300 AFM * PO Box 2134 * Lowell, MA 01851 * 978-43-2900 * afm300@comcast.net * www.boneman.org * Nov. 29, 2005
Regional News: Back in May, Boston #9-535 hosted a regional meeting
that was very successful and we are currently planning another meeting in
early December. President Barbara Owens, #9-535, is contacting sur-
rounding locals and AFM Officers to invite them to come and share any
concerns they may have.
Fred Lospennato has been recovering from Guillain-Barre Syndrome. It
is a disease of the nervous system due to damage to the myelin sheath
around nerves, which immobilizes you. Fred played, without the help of a
wheelchair, for the first time in a long time. The call came through our
referral system on the internet. It was for the Raytheon Company in Ando-
ver, MA. There were 2200 people in attendance. The gig was 2 hours
strolling.
Fred says, “It was wonderful and it felt so good to be in harness (Midi
Accordion) for so long to include those wonderful sweats. Praise the Lord,
he has been so good to me.”
It was a very long process to regenerate the nerves. We’re all pleased that
Fred is back gigging again.
Dino Monoxelos has a new day gig which caused him to resign as Treas-
urer for the remainder of his term. Dick Sawyer and Cheryl Fournier have
been filling in and we will vote at the up coming meeting to replace Dino.
He is still a Touring musician in a different way. He works for Ampeg Bass
Amps and travels around the US to train in- store personnel on the entire
line of Amps. Dino conducts Master Classes and Clinics in public on be-
half of Ampeg and talks about his books( Mel Bay books), making a living
playing Bass and how important it is to be a union member in the AFM. “I
stress that fact every chance I get.” He has attended the Grand Openings
of the Guitar Centers that now number 155 nationwide. The newest book
for Mel Bay, Scale Studies, is out now and they are planning a Children’s
Bass Book for next year. Now you can understand why he had to resign
as Treasurer but stays in contact with us via email. He sees Rachel and
his 3 kids on weekends. She has been very supportive of his new gig.
Demetrius Spaneas has just come back from LA where he recorded his
solo CD, and pieces for upcoming CDs from some L.A. composers - all
contemporary electronic stuff These recordings will be released in 2006
and will be on Capstone Records (the label that he has a deal with).
Jeanne Wilson aka BJ Snowden performed on "ABC" Night Show
JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE" at 12:30a:m on 9/2/05
Members Lauren Wool and Dave Newsam
Lauren (Vocals) and Dave (Guitar) are performing with the Gleason-Brown
Quartet on November 19th - 8PM at the Dana Center – St. Anselm College
in Manchester,NH. www.anselm.edu/dana/events/gleason.htm
Dues for 2006
Dues 2006 are payable by Jan. 31, 2006
Inactive $86.00
Life $94.00
Student-Youth $92.00
Regular $132.00
You will receive your bill in December for
payment in January 2006.
As per our bylaws, a Fine of $2.00 per
month will be added to dues:
Starting February 1, 2005 thru June.
If dues are not paid by June 30, 2006,
Expulsion is automatic as of July 1, 2006
Budget your money now so you will
not have to pay fines later.
29
Greetings from the Boston Bluegrass Union
Saturday, December 3rd - The Gibson Brothers plus Buddy Merriam and Back
Roads at the National Heritage Museum, 60 Marrett Road, Lexington, MA. The
kickoff show for the BBU's 30th concert season and it should be a great evening of
music. The Gibson Brothers are arguably one of the finest bands in bluegrass,
featuring wonderful brother duet singing, great original material that touches the
heart, backed up by top notch picking. 2005 marks the 25th anniversary for Buddy
Merriam and Back Roads, and they continue as one of the top bands in the North-
east.
On the Gibson Brothers - In 1998 the Gibson Brothers were honored by the IBMA
as the Emerging Artist of the Year. Both their 2003 album "Bona Fide" and their
2004 CD "Long Way Back Home" have been #1 on the Bluegrass Unlimited music
charts, and their song "That Bluegrass Music" was nominated as 2004 IBMA Song
of the Year. In January they will be releasing their newest CD entitled “Red Letter
Day.” Come see them perform in December and get an early glimpse of their next
hit album. www.gibsonbrothers.com
"A sound that is as powerful and unique as anything that has come along in a
very long time ... [Long Way Back Home] is easy to recommend: vocal power,
creative arrangements, fine material, inspired performances, excellent instrumental
support; all are here. This is an exceptional musical project." - Allen Walton, Blue-
grass Unlimited
On Buddy Merriam and Back Roads - "...a wonderful Bluegrass Band, that stands
for respect for their friends and fans all over the world. I want to thank them for
what they've done to help bluegrass music, and I'll always be their friend." ~Bill
Monroe, Father of Bluegrass Music www.backroadsbluegrass.com
Saturday, January 7th - Laurie Lewis, Tom Rozum and the Bluegrass Pals plus
The Chapmans at the National Heritage Museum, 60 Marrett Road, Lexington,
MA. Two Boston area favorites make for a great double bill.
On Laurie Lewis and company - You can't measure Laurie Lewis's 30-year career
with the usual commercial yardsticks. She has won a Grammy ("True Life Blues:
The Songs of Bill Monroe," 1997), and twice been named Female Vocalist of the
Year by the IBMA (International Bluegrass Music Association). "Judging by the
respect she has among fans and peers in the industry," says IBMA executive
director Dan Hays, "Laurie is one of the pre-eminent bluegrass and Americana
artists of our time. She spreads her talent over several genres - bluegrass, folk,
country - and with the recognition she has within all those fields, I would certainly
say she's one of the top five female artists of the last 30 years. And she continues
to make great music."
Lewis's performing companion is ace mandolinist-singer Tom Rozum. Their 1996
CD, "The Oak and the Laurel," was nominated for a Grammy. "I love to have a
partner to sing with, crave it deep down inside," Lewis says. "And Tom's the same
way. He's a very conversational mandolin player, always responding to what's
going on at the moment." Lewis's stage shows are renowned for their musical
virtuosity and front-porch friendliness. Coming of age in such a convivial music
scene, she has a keen gift for inviting audiences into her music. As with everything
she plays, the point is sharing, not strutting. www.laurielewis.com
On the Chapmans - "This band has a lot to offer: I like John Chapman's soulful
singing, the clear and punchy picking, and that harmony blend that comes from
years of singing together. Put the Chapmans high up on the list of bluegrass bands
to watch." Pete Wernick www.thechapmansonline.com
February 17 - 19 - The 21st Joe Val Bluegrass Festival, Sheraton Framingham,
Framingham, MA The premier indoor festival in the Northeast returns. Top notch
bands including Mountain Heart, The Claire Lynch Band, The Grascals, Dale Ann
Bradley, Dan Paisley & The Southern Grass, The James King Band. The Blue-
grass Gospel Project, The Stringdusters, Pete and Joan Wernick. We've just
added The Spinney Brothers and Freewheelin’ with more to follow shortly. Be sure
to check out the website for all the details on the Master Classes and Pete Wer-
nick's Jam Camp that precede the festival. We'll post the final lineup, schedule and
workshop schedule shortly.
Tickets and hotel reservations are selling fast and I suggest making your plans
now or you might miss out. BBU members have an exclusive on hotel reservations
until Nov. 21st. More information on www.bbu.org or in the current issue of the
"Bluegrass Breakdown".
Regarding the Bluegrass Breakdown - - our sincere apologies for the delay in
getting the newsletter along to our membership. We mailed the current issue this
week and it should be in your hands by the weekend. If you'd like to receive a
copy, become a member at www.bbu.org/joining.html
If you would like to review CDs
Please send an email to
papa@hotdayatthezoo.com
or call (978) 258-2606
(you get to keep them, too)
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30
 Upcoming Events
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Name of Venue Sincerely,
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web address H:(978)632-1255
contact info goddessmoonchant@yahoo.com goddessmoonchant@yahoo.com

TIM LAROCHE (Country/Rock) TIM LAROCHE(Country/Rock) TIM LAROCHE(Country/Rock) www.VykkiVox.com

12/01/05 12/04/05 12/10/05 vvb@vykkivox.com
Breakaway Billiards Moutain Barn Herrick's Tavern (202 Club) (508)357-8883
272 High St. 174 Worcester Rd. 207 Daniel Shays Hwy
Clinton, MA Princeton, MA Orange, MA VYKKI VOX (Soul Rock)
9:30PM, 21+ 7pm, 21+ 9PM, 21+ with ERIK RINGSTAD & PARKER
www.timlaroch.com WHEELER
TIM LAROCHE(Country/Rock TIM LAROCHE(Country/Rock) Sunday, January 22nd
TIM LAROCHE(Country/Rock) The Grog
12/08/05 12/11/05
12/02/06 13 Middle St.
Breakaway Billiards 1140 Club (Rendezvous)
Herrick's Tavern (202 Club) Newburyport, MA
272 High St. 344 Redemption Rock Trail
207 Daniel Shays Hwy. 6PM-10PM, 21+
Clinton, MA Sterling, MA
Orange, MA http://www.VykkiVox.com
9:30PM, 21+ 4PM, 21+
9PM, 21+ vvb@vykkivox.com
TIM LAROCHE(Country/Rock) TIM LAROCHE(Country/Rock) VYKKI VOX BAND (Soul/Rock)
12/03/05 12/09/05 Saturday December 3rd
Traverse St. Pub
73 Travers St.
Traverse St. Pub
73 Travers St.
Dante's
Firefly's BBQ
Get Press
Athol, MA Athol, Ma 350 East Main St. Send your music news
8:30PM, 21+ 8:30PM, 21+ Marlboro, MA to NoMaSoNHa
9PM-12:30AM, 21+ friekman@hotmail.com

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dec 1: bands-asystole and transgressions
dec 2: skulltoboggan, epitome of dog forevers fallen grace and burn out
dec 8 ssa backwards, cell block one
dec 9: kisstory
dec 15: bands to be announced
dec 16: full tilt, sever and haydocy
dec 22: toys for tots benefit with
gain 211, preciphist shot around the world, fading silence, & ssa backwards
dec 23: inhale and mindset x sat areas hottest djs sun karaoke
Tuesdays: acoustic open mic with bernie fredette. all are welcome to come in and play or
just relax
Saturdays: The areas hottest DJ
Sundays: The best karaoke show where everyone is a rock star.

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