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  Home arrow Music

 
Music
Brooke Sofferman; David Thorne Scott and Mark Shilansky; Larry Braggs; Nuttree Quartet; Eliane Elias

It’s time for a roundup of recent CDs that have crossed my desk over the past few months, starting with a couple of discs from Boston-area artists who play locally with some frequency.

Brooke Sofferman’s “Fine Whines,” on Summit Records (www.summitrecords.com), is a very good outing that showcases Sofferman’s solid approach to drumming in a variety of settings, from solo to trio to full quintet. The drummer is ably assisted by Norm Zocher on guitar, Phil Grenadier on trumpet, Bruno Raberg on bass and Jerry Bergonzi on saxophone. Sofferman arranged or composed all the music on the disc, and, as one would expect from a drummer’s recording, the album is full of provocative and intricate rhythms and meters. The music primarily has an open modal sound that can start to seem redundant after a while, especially with 13 tunes on the disc. But Sofferman keeps things interesting with his propulsive drum work and his fine sense of interaction with the other musicians, especially Bergonzi’s inside/outside playing, which is a highlight throughout. There is an underlying sense of humor in the music that gives the recording an upbeat vibe, most notably on an outrageous version of “The Imperial March” from “Star Wars,” and an inventive arrangement titled “All Kashmir,” which combines elements of Miles Davis’ “All Blues” and Led Zep’s “Kashmir.”
 
hillbilly rock

The Molenes pack bluegrass and twang into new disc

The album begins with an instrumental bluegrass jam titled “Redemption.” The introductory track weaves strains of banjo and mandolin into a driving, rockabilly drumbeat, knitting together a timeless sound that follows the roots of American music. As the tune begins to fade, amplified feedback drowns out the jam, making way for the country-rock guitar riff of “There’s a Sufferin’.”

It’s a striking transition, and one that might surprise fans of The Molenes’ first album, “This Car Is Big.” Emerging more than 18 months after the debut disc, “Songs of Sin and Redemption” wraps together all the rootsy elements that define The Molenes’ style, from blues to bluegrass, rock to rockabilly. The band will unveil its new effort with a CD release show at The Press Room on Saturday, May 3.

“We feel like this is kind of more representative of what we’re like as a band now,” said front man Dave Hunter. “It really kind of says who we are more and it speaks to the kind of music we want to play.”
 
a homecoming hideout

Film School joins Tiny Whales and Mosfet at Bourbon’s

When The Wire first caught up with Film School guitarist Dave Dupuis last week, he was in Baton Rouge, where he had been snacking on alligator meat prior to a show at a club called Spanish Moon. The next day, he and his four band mates were packed into their E350 Ford Super Duty van, on their way to New Orleans for another gig at a place called One Eyed Jacks. It was business as usual for Dupuis, who has been gigging and touring with various bands since the late 1990s. But this tour has a special twist: it will allow Dupuis to play a live show in his native New Hampshire for the first time in about 12 years. Film School will be at Bourbon’s in Portsmouth on Tuesday, April 29, along with local bands Mosfet and Tiny Whales.  

Dupuis grew up in Dover and attended the University of New Hampshire, graduating in 1996. Toward the end of his college years, he formed a band called Blackout Fighter Pilots, which gigged regularly at venues like The Elvis Room and The Muddy River. He moved to Boston in ’97 but managed to keep the band together until the West Coast unexpectedly beckoned.
 
RPM Jukebox Planet

The RPM Jukebox is home to more than 16,000 songs from independent musicians all around the world. The music spans every genre and style imaginable, and anyone can log on, browse, and listen at www.rpmchallenge.com/jukebox. To give you a head start in your exploration of this new world of music, here are a handful of tracks that have caught our ear!

“Don’t make fun of Marty Mcfly, Rush Limbaugh” by ieatpants, Astoria, NY—A man and his guitar going on an incredibly funny rant about when Limbaugh accused Michael J. Fox of faking his Parkinson’s tremors. Gets funnier with repeated listen or when drunk.

“Salazar” by The Licks, New York City, NY—Great punk tune with a driving bass line … and an organ. Lead singer complements the song with his Modest Mouse vocal styling.

“Grey Goose” by Squeaky, Portsmouth, NH—While accordion and ukulele may sound like an odd combination, this plinky instrumental piece ends up sounding like a beautiful outtake from “Amelie.” 
 
Sunlight in Architecture; Meantone; Doug Wynne; Gregg Porter

a roundup of the most recent local releases

‘Sunlight in Architecture’
by Sunlight in Architecture

The project hatched in 2005, when singer-songwriter Garrett Soucy began filtering his minimal indie folk tunes through the practiced ear of producer Andrew Luckless. For over a decade, Soucy has served as front man for Maine-based band Tree by Leaf, and he brings a similar style to Sunlight in Architecture’s self-titled debut. Luckless, himself a singer-songwriter best known for his 1999 album, “Laundryfish,” fine-tunes the sound, and the two combine for a refreshingly original and stimulating disc.

Released earlier this year under Tree by Leaf’s host label, Long Ago Light, “Sunlight in Architecture” is an album worthy of repeated listens. Soucy’s songwriting blends equal shares of thoughtful lyrics and creative instrumentation that make each track equally delightful. No two songs sound exactly alike, and yet there is a cohesive feeling that runs through all 10 chapters of the album. Although the words are not always bright and cheery, a line from the second track, “Overstate the Obvious,” essentially sums up the overarching mood: “I’m not stoned, I swear to God, I’m just high on life,” Soucy moans in a voice vaguely reminiscent of Bright Eyes’ front man Conor Oberst.
 
classical protest music

Roger Rudenstein unveils his latest chamber work

The composition “Hail to the Chief” was first used to announce the entrance of a president during James K. Polk’s inauguration in 1845. More than a century later, it had become the official anthem of the president, playing at high volumes whenever the commander in chief arrived at a public event. But the composition itself is nearly two centuries old. Local classical composer Roger Rudenstein decided it was time to create an anthem appropriate to our current president.

Far from the sounds of glory and triumph that normally herald the president’s approach, Rudenstein’s “Cello and Piano Sonata No. 2” reflects his wholehearted disgust with George W. Bush.

“This piece was composed as a substitute for the ‘Hail to the Chief’ that’s normally played,” Rudenstein said in a recent interview. “I was thinking pretty much of circus music when I composed that.”

The world premiere of Rudenstein’s new work will be performed by the Essex Chamber Music Players on Sunday, April 13, at Northern Essex Community College in Haverhill, Mass. The piece is divided into three movements that sonically illustrate the tragic aftermath of the U.S. invasion of Iraq.
 
psychedelic prog-metal for all ages

MJ-XII bombards the Seacoast

MJ-XII’s synth player, Jonathan Truman, has all the necessary qualifications to play heavy music. He’s got a big amp, a beard and long, flowing hair that is perfectly suitable for all-night head-banging. His band mates have many of the same qualities, including even bigger amps. Truman also has a Rachmaninoff songbook resting on his Oberheim synthesizer, just in case the mood strikes him.

Truman’s collection of classical songbooks reflects the surprisingly diverse musical palette of MJ-XII, Dover’s fiercely interesting neo-classical stoner metal band. The group consists of Truman, who previously played synth and sang in Birth Rites, along with drummer Kyle George and guitarist Tim Lang-Grannan, who played together or separately in bands like Pray for a Plague, Grrrls Out of Hell and, most recently, Khartoum. The trio began playing as the mysteriously named MJ-XII at the end of 2006, when some of those other bands dissolved. The formation was not entirely haphazard.

“Yeah, we kind of had a vision,” said Lang-Grannan. “Kyle and I had this plan to steal all of our favorite musicians from other bands. We just wanted to combine all the shit that we like to listen to without doing it as a joke.”
 
Rhys Chatham & His Guitar Trio All-Stars, Beach House, Religious Knives & Oren Ambarchi/Z’ev

‘Guitar Trio Is My Life’
by Rhys Chatham & His Guitar Trio All-Stars, Radium Records

Written amid the punk breakout of 1977, Rhys Chatham’s “Guitar Trio” is what happened when a band geek (Chatham) somewhat reluctantly went to a seminal but probably rather smelly club (CBGB) to see an incredible, enormously influential band that was probably a bit beneath him musically (The Ramones). The band geek’s mind was blown, and, shortly thereafter, he composed “Guitar Trio,” a seven-plus minute exploration of punk fury fused with minimal composition that could not be more relevant 30 years later.

Proving the point is this three-CD set recently released by Radium Records. In celebration of the song’s anniversary, a silver-haired, axe-wielding Chatham took to the road last year, assembling a new band of Guitar Trio all-stars at just about every stop, and repeatedly playing the hell out of a lengthier “Guitar Trio” manifestation. This release captures 10 live performances from that tour, with a number of guest guitarists, including Chatham contemporaries Alan Licht and Tony Conrad, both members of the Canadian Silver Mt. Zion collective, as well as Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore and Lee Ranaldo. I can’t think of any band more indebted to Chatham’s punk rock guitar experiments than Sonic Youth, and their performances with Chatham are among the most spirited.
 
RPM 2008

750-plus new CDs and a brand new jukebox unveiled to the world

Holding a CD release party for more than 750 new albums is a serious undertaking. When the RPM Global Listening Party kicked off on March 28, 10 cities around the world united to unleash the prolific results of the 2008 RPM Challenge. Whether attending at The Illicit Still in Edinburgh, Scotland, The Ship Pub in St. John’s, Newfoundland, Bella Dubby in Lakewood, Ohio, or the Lowrider Room in Brooklyn, N.Y., listeners were exposed to fresh tracks laid down during a creative frenzy in February.

Participants all over the globe were able to tap into the festivities last Friday through the online virtual world of Second Life. Some 2,400 artists from more than 40 countries on six continents signed up for the challenge this year, all striving to write and record at least 10 songs or 35 minutes of original music in February. Close to 800 of those participants completed albums by March 1, and their music can now be heard on the RPM Jukebox at www.rpmchallenge.com. The jukebox also includes the results from 2007, when the RPM Challenge went global for the first time.  
 
the Penny Lane of Eliot, Maine

Andrews Lane Recording Company taps into the Seacoast music scene

"Hit it with some balls, dude,” requests Ryan Stack, the young man behind the mixing board. It’s Saturday afternoon and the boyish proprietor of Andrews Lane Recording Company in Eliot, Maine, is working out levels inside his control room. He is about to record a drum track for Massachusetts straight-edge hardcore band The Effort. On a couch behind Stack, the rest of the band members sit relaxed, as if lounging in a friend’s basement. They’re discussing music, playing songs unplugged and waiting for their turn to lay it down while drummer Alex Carmona continues hitting his bass drum—this time with balls.

Now on to the snare drum. “Hit that with some balls, as well,” Stack says. The LED display on Stack’s mixing board peaks higher as Carmona, who is cordoned off in an isolated room nearby, smacks his drum harder. Though the snare is louder now, Stack knows damn well that the volume will go up even more once he actually starts playing the song, because that’s the way it is with every drummer in history, he explains. Drummers always claim they are playing as loud as possible when levels are being adjusted, but somehow, without fail, their playing gets a whole lot louder when the real recording begins.
 
a chorus of (boy) angels, plus you

The renowned American Boychoir will fill St. John’s Church in Portsmouth on Wednesday, April 2, and the group is encouraging local boys in grades 3-7 to stick around for an audition after the concert. No preparation or experience is necessary for the audition, but auditioners should love to sing.

The American Boychoir’s performance will celebrate with music from each of the choir’s seven decades, works highlighting contemporary American composers, and selections from its new CD. 

Children age 16 and under are admitted free. For adults, the suggested donation is $15 per person, and for students and seniors it’s $10. Tickets are available at the door. The concert begins at 7pm.
 
'Gallowsbird’s Bark'

by The Fiery Furnaces
2003, Rough Trade Records

the sound: You never get a second chance to make a first impression, and with its debut album, “Gallowsbird’s Bark,”  The Fiery Furnaces hit the ground running, injecting its unique sound into the indie rock scene. On the album’s first track, “South is Only a Home,” singer Eleanor Friedberger talks/sings/chants the lyrics over her brother Matthew’s driving guitar and drum beat, while in the background it sounds like someone’s kitten is running across the piano. Eleanor actually sing-speaks the lyrics over many of the songs, her smoky voice narrating the cacophony of sounds that her brother supplies. Matthew’s guitar riffs and piano are often accompanied by static, zips and whistles. “I woulda had a asthma attack / If I seen the shark bite back,” Eleanor states in “Asthma Attack,” a catchy number with bluesy guitar and a bass line that sounds like someone is randomly grabbing the strings. “Tropical Ice-Land” would make for the coolest Bacardi commercial ever, and “Bow Wow” has the Quaaludy-feel of a theme to a ’70s sitcom. “Crystal Clear” includes a thump to rival The White Stripes’ “Seven Nation Army,” plus the added bonus of the chant, “Filthy, dirty, cloudy, muddy, messy, mucky, crystal clear.”
 
Chris Humphrey; The Fringe

Two upcoming shows at The Press Room in Portsmouth are the focus for this edition of The Jazz Universe. On Sunday, March 30, vocalist Chris Humphrey will host a release event for his excellent debut recording, “Nothing but Blue Sky,” accompanied by The Press Room Trio led by Ryan Parker. The following Sunday, April 6, one of Boston’s legendary jazz groups, The Fringe, will make its Press Room debut. Both shows begin at 6 p.m. and cost $10.

Chris Humphrey has long been one of the hidden gems of the greater Seacoast music scene. A talented musician who could have gone in a variety of directions, he chose to focus on being a jazz vocalist. But he’s not the kind of vocalist who is content to sit back, sing the lyrics and let the other musicians do all the work. Instead, Humphrey strives to be an integral part of the ensemble, interacting with his fellow players. It was this approach that led him to go with the quartet format for his debut album.

“I finally decided on the quartet because I wanted to be the ‘horn,’” Humphrey said in a recent interview. The choice allowed him the freedom to interact with the other players on the session, which, in turn, allowed the whole session to have a freer atmosphere, “with more room to roam around in the music,” as he describes.
 
geek chorus
This weekend, New Hampshire will again be blessed with the presence of They Might Be Giants, founding members of the geek rock movement. (Geek rock being code for “people who are brainier than us and play music.”) Saturday, March 29, TMBG will play two shows at the Music Hall in Portsmouth. The first concert is geared toward little geeks, as TMBG will be performing their original children’s material, and then later in the evening, they’ll rock the older crowd with favorites, plus songs from their latest release, “The Else.” In preparation for the show, we’ve compiled a list of information you may not know, to saturate your brain, compiled from the countries mentioned in TMBG’s song “The Alphabet of Nations” from “Here Come the ABCs,” an album of original songs about the alphabet.
 
closing the open mike

Biddy Mulligan’s Wednesday night series ends after 11-year run

The evening’s lineup began shortly before 8 p.m. on Wednesday, March 12, with vocalist Kathleen Soldati and guitarist Curt Bessette executing a lusty performance of a Nina Simone classic.

“Do I move you, are you willin’ / Do I groove you, is it thrillin,’” Soldati crooned.

The red-headed singer, who later offered renditions of The Beatles’ “When I’m 64” and Janis Joplin’s “Turtle Blues,” had never sung publicly until she stepped up to the mike at Biddy Mulligan’s two years ago, according to Bessette. Since then, she has become a regular fixture of the Wednesday night open mikes in Dover. Judging from the way she belted out the lyrics, it seems her confidence has grown.

On this particular Wednesday, the open mike sign-up sheet was totally booked. Following the opening tune, Bessette and bassist Alan Fraser collaborated on Bob Dylan’s “You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere.” Other acts throughout the night would cover songs by Tim McGraw, The Allman Brothers Band, Doobie Brothers, Neil Young, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimi Hendrix and others. But there was also plenty of original material. A four-piece punk band, which included a drummer and bassist with hot pink hair, tore through a pair of fast-paced rock songs. Others played softer acoustic tunes.
 
the speed of sound

a more experienced  As Fast As unveils its second album

When Portland, Maine-based rock band As Fast As signed with Octone Records to release its first album, front man Spencer Albee saw it as a tremendous opportunity. The label was already home to Maroon 5, and Albee thought the contract would help him market his unique artistic vision. But the resulting release, “Open Letter to the Damned,” fell short of Albee’s high expectations.

“I was under the impression … that the artist made the records and decided the direction of the band, and the record label would then decide the best way to market that. But what Octone likes to do instead was to be a little too active in the shaping of the sound, which never works,” Albee said. “Executives have no business shaping music.”

The singer, guitarist and keyboardist has since learned that if you want something done right, you’re best off doing it yourself. The band’s second album, “Destroy the Plastique Man,” was released independently on March 11. Albee and his bandmates—guitarist Zach Jones, bassist Hache Hodgkins and drummer Andrew Hodgkins—were able to branch out and embrace a whole new galaxy of sounds. With synth-heavy tracks, wildly diverse instrumentation and imaginative and playful songwriting, the album takes a sharp left turn from the straighter rock edge of the group’s debut. The result is a deliciously fresh and innovative disc.
 
books and hooks

music comes to York library and Portsmouth bookstore

Is there anything better than curling up with a good book and listening to a live rock band? Now you can do both at once. York Public Library, in York, Maine, and RiverRun Bookstore, in Portsmouth, are each hosting separate live music series. Both venues will hold their next shows on Sunday, March 16, with performances from multiple acts. (You might be best off picking up a book before the show and waiting to read it when the music’s over.)

‘Live at the Library’ at
York Public Library

York Library hosts the third and final installment of its winter concert series from 3 to 5 p.m. on Sunday, March 16. A Concert for a Winter’s Afternoon will feature performances from Clayton Willoughby, Kathleen Soldati with Curt Bessette and The Nerve. The show is part of the Live at the Library series, which brings drama, poetry, music and other art forms to York.
 
‘Stanley Stole My Shoelace and Rubbed It In His Armpit and Other Songs My Parents Won’t Let Me Sing’

by Barry Louis Polisar
1982 Rainbow Morning Music

the sound: When was the last time you dug out a Raffi album from your childhood, not because you were feeling nostalgic, but because it genuinely still rocked? We’re going to assume probably never, because “Baby Beluga” is for babies, and Raffi sounds like a cartoon dog’s sneeze. But Barry Louis Polisar is a man with a name like a truck driver and an attitude to match, and “Stanley Stole My Shoelace” is an album of catchy children’s songs you can still get behind. Think of it as “Anarchy in the Pre-K.” The only instrument featured on this album is an acoustic guitar. But, because it’s a children’s album, it’s really more about the words than the music. Polisar has a strong voice with a slightly nerdy timbre, and he uses it not only for lead vocals, but also to provide “backup singers,” who sound like a chorus of crazy housecats. He also changes his voice, à la “Peanuts,” to sound severe or admonishing when singing the part of grownups. It makes them sound dopey, which works, because, as all kids know, grownups are stoopid.
 
February is over

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let the RPM celebration begin!

The auspicious date of Feb. 29, 2008, was more than Ja Rule’s 32nd birthday. As if that weren’t enough reason to celebrate, Leap Day also marked the final 24 hours of the 2008 RPM Challenge. Luckily, it fell on a Friday, enabling musicians to work all night putting finishing touches on their RPM albums.

CDs had been trickling into RPM headquarters in Portsmouth’s Vaughan Mall throughout much of the month. But the floodgates opened on Friday afternoon and spilled over into Saturday morning, March 1, when hand-delivered CDs were accepted until noon. By that time, close to 200 new albums had arrived.

On Monday, March 3, the mailman delivered eight cardboard crates to the office, each brimming with variously sized packages. The exact number of albums contained in the crates was difficult to estimate by press time, but our loyal postal worker Buddy concluded that it was “way too many packages for an old guy to be taking up to the second floor.”

As RPM organizers tally the final numbers, the 2,433 artists who registered for this year’s challenge can finally exhale. After a dizzying 29 days of music creation, they can finally listen to their finished projects—and maybe even get a few winks of sleep. 

 
300 years of music in his strings

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classical violin phenom Joshua Bell plays The Music Hall

The shower of accolades bestowed upon Joshua Bell over the course of his still young career could flood Royal Albert Hall. The Grammy Award-winning classical violinist, now 40, received the $75,000 Avery Fisher Prize last year, and he was the only American musician to be recognized by the World Economic Forum as one of the 250 Young Global Leaders. Billboard Magazine named Bell “Classical Artist of the Year” in 2004, and he was inducted into the Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame in 2005. He has also been named one of People Magazine’s 50 Most Beautiful People. The Indiana native began drawing national attention when he was only 14 and made his first recording when he was 18. He has now toured the world repeatedly and has recorded more than 30 CDs. His most recent recording, 2007’s “The Red Violin Concerto,” paired him with Pulitzer Prize-winning composer John Corigliano, who wrote the Oscar-winning score to the 1999 film, “The Red Violin.”
 
RPM '08

You can feel it getting down to the wire. With only days remaining in February, musicians around the world have been scrambling to put together the best 10 songs or 35 minutes of original music they can muster in a single month, thereby fulfilling the sole criteria of the RPM Challenge. The chatter on the RPM discussion board at www.rpmchallenge.com has approached a feverish climax. What follows is The Wire’s fourth and final round of unedited RPM blog entries. Feel the pressure mounting.

Ahhhhh!!!!! its awesome when another piece goes your way. granted, murphy’s law is always ready to f*** things up....it will make the satisfaction of a well made song all worth the hell to make it happen. now only 6 remain! Time to get the metal out!!! <raises slege hammer> —Audio Assault, Phoenixville, PA
 
I have just discovered that I am another song down as a friend of mine who was going to send me some final guitar parts has suddenly been struck down by something vicious in the intestine... so I’m a bit stuck. Can’t use the demo as it was recorded before Feb... Looks like I really WILL be reciting poetry over a disco beat! The last week is always the best. As you were. —sister savage, Bristol, UK
 
celebrating jazz history

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Monterey Jazz Fest heads to The Music Hall

California’s Monterey Peninsula is considered one of the most beautiful locations in the United States, offering spectacular views of the California coast in a lush and tranquil setting. Each fall since 1958, this stunning location has hosted one of the nation’s longest running annual jazz events, the Monterey Jazz Festival. On Thursday, Feb. 28, the festival’s 50th anniversary tour comes to The Music Hall in Portsmouth. Featured performers include recent Grammy Award-winning trumpeter Terence Blanchard, saxophone legend James Moody, pianist and group music director Benny Green and guest vocalist Nnenna Freelon. Rounding out the band will be bassist Derrick Hodge and drummer Kendrick Scott, both longtime members of Blanchard’s working quintet.

MJF’s marketing associate Tim Orr said the idea for the anniversary tour emerged last year.

“The idea was to broaden the identity of the festival across the country, and to bring the message of what the Monterey Jazz Festival is about to people everywhere,” Orr said.
 
an island community of music

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a glimpse into the fertile music scene of St. John’s, Newfoundland

editor’s note: St. John’s, Newfoundland, is home to The Scope, a biweekly publication that stepped up this year to help host the RPM Challenge from its neck of the woods in the North Atlantic. The Wire decided to take a look into the music scene in St. John’s and see how it compares to that of the Seacoast. The Scope will run a parallel article about Portsmouth’s music scene in its next issue.

Taking a stroll down George Street in St. John’s, Newfoundland, just about any music fan is likely to find something worth checking out. The street is purported to have the most bars per square inch of any road in the world, and live music is a regular feature at most of those establishments. According to local musicians, George Street includes venues geared toward folk, blues, jazz, hard rock, reggae and beyond.

“People here are really musical,” said Elling Lein, editor of St. John’s weekly publication The Scope. “They live it, they breath it and, of course, there’s no chance they’re ever gonna make any money at it.”

St. John’s is the provincial capitol of Newfoundland and Labrador in northeastern Canada. Located at the eastern tip of Newfoundland, it is supposedly the oldest English-founded settlement in North America. St. John’s and Portsmouth are separated by nearly 1,500 miles, which constitutes a drive of close to 30 hours, plus a slow ferry ride to the island. With a population of more than 100,000 people, St. John’s is about five times the size of Portsmouth. Newfoundland is in a time zone 90 minutes ahead of Eastern Standard Time.  
 
Roman(US)

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at The Press Room on Feb. 23

“We were very nervous,” said Roman(US)’s laptop wielding singer, Felix Duque, after the band’s inaugural gig in front of a packed house at The Press Room on Saturday. Duque’s apprehension was attributed to the fact that the performance marked the first time that all three members had ever played in the same room together. Based in Barcelona, Spain, Felix and his cousin, local drummer/synth player/yoga aficionado José Duque, began collaborating as Roman(US) via the Internet for the 2006 RPM Challenge. Two years later, they continue their musical collaboration with the addition of multi-instrumentalist Nick Phaneuf. Phaneuf, a former Dover resident who recently moved to Hamburg, Germany, returned to the Seacoast to play a series of shows with the Duque cousins and work with them on their submission to this year’s RPM Challenge. The vast geographic distances that separate these musicians were not evident during the solid night of music they presented in Portsmouth.
 
Frisell freak out

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guitar whiz Bill Frisell on his way to The Stone Church

Bill Frisell isn’t just a top jazz guitarist. He’s often regarded as one of the top axemen in American music writ large. While he got his start improvising in New York City’s noise-skronk scene, he broke through thanks to his explorations of American music and pop culture, including covers of John Hiatt and Madonna; scores for Buster Keaton films; and “Nashville,” the 1997 bluegrass/improv fusion record for which he borrowed Alison Krauss’ band. Frisell has a gift for running the nation’s culture through the blender of his unique and instantly recognizable guitar sound, which veers from a gorgeous, sustained tone to a piercing, distorted squall.

On his latest tour, Frisell has presented “The Disfarmer Project,” a musical suite inspired by the portrait photography of Mike Disfarmer. (His March 6 show at The Stone Church in Newmarket will not feature the suite or its A/V presentation, but you can expect to hear some of the album’s tunes during the set.)
 
‘Weather Report’

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by Weather Report
1971, Columbia

the sound: Weather Report was a classic early jazz fusion band that featured the super-charged Rhodes electric piano of Joe Zawinul surrounded by the driving grooves of drummer Alphonse Mouzon and percussionist Airto Moreia, as well as the incisive bass work of Miroslav Vitous and the probing soprano sax work of Wayne Shorter. The group’s debut album is a rich palette of musical colors and textures, beginning with “Milky Way,” a Zawinul-Shorter duet that utilizes soprano sax, acoustic piano and subtle recording manipulation to create an eerie, spatial sound. Later comes the pulsating samba groove of “Seventh Arrow,” followed by the lovely rock influenced ballad “Orange Lady.” The record closes with the straight ahead swing of “Eurydice.” Due to the open mindedness of the musicians and their spontaneous, collective approach, the overall sound is cohesive without sounding sterile.
 
singing from the heart

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Grace Potter and the Nocturnals head to The Music Hall

Grace Potter has been singing since before she knew how to talk. It should come as no surprise, then, that the 24-year-old Vermont native is able to channel emotional extremes through her vocal cords. In today’s political climate, an emotion that commonly grips her spirit is anger.

“I think you have to get a little angry to say what you mean sometimes,” she said. “A lot of the songs that I’ve written have points of almost terror in them, and I would rather sing it like I’m actually experiencing those words, instead of just putting on a happy face and trying to deliver it gently, because that’s never worked for anybody.”

Singing and playing with emotion has worked out well for Grace Potter and the Nocturnals. Based in Waitsfield, Vt., a town of less than 2,000 people in the heart of Mad River Valley, the band has swollen from a smalltime regional act to a major national attraction. The group enjoyed an especially bright year in 2007, which was highlighted by the release of its third studio recording, “This Is Somewhere,” and included TV performances on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” “Good Morning America” and “The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson.” In addition, Nocturnals songs were prominently featured on the season finale of “Grey’s Anatomy” and an episode of “American Idol.” The group played at the Fuji Rock Festival in Japan and toured the United States extensively, including a lengthy fall stint in support of Gov’t Mule.
 
RPM '08
That dim, flickering light on the horizon? It’s not the Star of Bethlehem, a hovering UFO or a phantasmal freight train barreling toward you. It’s the light at the end of the RPM tunnel—and it draws nigh. Three weeks into the challenge, many participants are suffering from a multitude of classic RPM symptoms: severe fits of depression, nausea and anxiety. Such is the nature of trying to write and record 10 songs or 35 minutes of original music in one month. But others have found the creative sparks they need to get on the path to completion. And, best of all, everyone seems determined to see this thing through to the very end, no matter how stressful it becomes. Here is round three of our unedited blog snippets, pulled from the RPM Web site, www.rpmchallenge.com. Why finish your album? Because you can.
 
Steve Grover Quintet brings bebop to The Press Room

Steve Grover is one of Maine’s best kept jazz secrets. A remarkable drummer and prolific composer, Grover has been omnipresent on Maine’s music scene—both as a sideman and as a leader—for several years. Grover will assume the role of leader when he brings his quintet to The Press Room in Portsmouth on Sunday, Feb. 24, in support of his latest CD, “Between Now and After.”

Joining Grover will be saxophonist David Wells and guitarist Tony Gaboury, both of whom play on the disc, along with trumpeter Trent Austin and bassist Tim Webb.Grover describes the quintet’s music as “straight-ahead modern jazz, mostly originals in a kind of melodic style, with a heavy dose of harmony. But we also plan to play some bebop tunes, as well as a few surprises,” he said.

 
they’re mammals, not fish

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Tiny Whales go big with upcoming CD and tour

While it’s easier than ever before to record songs and post them on the Internet, it’s still as difficult as ever—if not more difficult—to get people to care. The old model of bands writing, recording in the studio and touring, frankly, seems outdated when running up against computer-based music and the DJ culture of today. But, with a new CD just about finished and a small tour planned this spring, Tiny Whales are giving it a serious shot.

The Whales will release their second EP on Boston-based label Endless Recordings this month, and synth player and singer Ryan Kirchner promises that this one is even more synth-oriented than their first self-titled EP. If you’ve heard the debut record, or seen Tiny Whales live, you may find this hard to believe. The three band members have always been big-time believers in the synthesizer, a stylistic point that gives their catchy pop tunes a leg up on other songs out there. And now there’s going to be more synth?
 
Bon Iver; Robedoor; Kevin Drumm/Prurient; Meneguar

‘For Emma, Forever Ago’
by Bon Iver, Jagjaguwar

Self-released last year, this terrific debut will get a wider release come Tuesday, Feb. 19 on Jagjaguwar. Bon Iver—French for “good winter,” though I hear it’s not spelled right—is the moniker of songwriter Justin Vernon (www.myspace.com/boniver). Legend has it that he retreated to a lonely cabin in northwestern Wisconsin to write and record the songs on “For Emma, Forever Ago.” According to the Jagjaguwar Web site, Vernon spent his downtime “wood splitting” and doing “other chores around the land.” If those hours of man-work were meant to increase his brawn, it didn’t work, because this is some sensitive music for sensitive dudes (and ladies).

There’s nothing wrong with that, though. “For Emma, Forever Ago” reminds me of Iron and Wine’s debut, “The Creek Drank the Cradle,” not so much in style—Vernon’s music is more like minimal soul than folk, and his mostly falsetto vocals are far more inventive—but in substance. Neither album blazes new ground, but somehow they both sound refreshing in their simplicity. There are literally billions of young men who play acoustic guitar and sing (if you listen close, there’s probably one practicing somewhere in your apartment building right now), so it’s truly special when that old formula produces something exciting. Vernon is playing the Middle East in Cambridge on Sunday, Feb. 24 with label mates Black Mountain.

 
RPM '08
As we enter week three of RPM ’08, hundreds of intrepid musicians are forging ahead with their laborious mission. That mission, of course, is to write and record 10 songs or 35 minutes of original music in the month of February—which is now almost half over. Based on discussion posted on the RPM Web site, www.rpmchallenge.com, many artists are experiencing one of two extremes: creative elation or stymied frustration. Others are somewhere in between. But most have at least begun laying down the groundwork for their RPM albums, jotting down lyrics for one or two songs, recording a couple of tracks, etc. Some participants have already skipped work and taken to drink. Their determination is commendable. Here, once again, is a sampling of unedited thoughts pulled from posts at www.rpmchallenge.com.
 
‘Son of Schmilsson’

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by Harry Nilsson
1972, RCA Victor

the sound: Not a single song on “Son of Schmilsson” is similar to another. Nilsson had a most impressive set of vocal chops, which he used to wail one minute and purr the next, and the album utilized almost every instrument in existence, plus a few that were improvised. The album opens with “Take 54,” a jazzy, sax-laden number that starts with Nilsson bemoaning the loss of a girl he was trying to impress (“I sang my balls off for you, baby”) and ends with a bizarre bit involving a creepy voice spooking a snoozing sound technician. Following that is the lovely tune “Remember (Christmas),” in which Nilsson waxes poetic about the past to the tune of violins and piano. Later on in the album, he spoofs the saccharine sweetness of “Remember” by again playing the intro and then belching loudly as he bursts into “At My Front Door,” a guitar-riddled rock song.
 
sweetly singing on the Seacoast

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folk duo launches new CD and concert series

Susie Burke and David Surette started playing music together 20 years ago, in 1988. At the time, the Seacoast folk scene was stirring with activity on a near nightly basis, revolving mainly around The Press Room in Portsmouth. A tightly knit group of regulars celebrated folk music with frequent hoots and collaborative jams, inviting participation from anyone with an instrument or a pair of vocal cords.

The local folk scene is still vibrant today, but it has changed. There is no central location for regular hootenannies, and skyrocketing rents have driven many musicians out of Portsmouth and into York County, Maine. Although Burke and Surette still perform regularly, they are not as plugged into the folk community as they once were. And, as parents of two daughters, they don’t make it into downtown Portsmouth as often as they used to.
 
less is more

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Benevento-Russo Duo prepares to make big noise in Newmarket

When Marco Benevento and Joe Russo linked up in 2002 for a month-long residency at New York’s Knitting Factory, they had no idea that their quirky collaboration would eventually attract a national audience. But, in the five-plus years since the project began, the Benevento-Russo Duo has shocked crowds all over the country with its dynamic sound. The Duo has played at major festivals like Lollapalooza and Bonnaroo, and they will perform alongside the Beastie Boys, R.E.M. and dozens of others at the Langerado Music Festival in South Florida next month. They have also toured and performed with former Phish members Mike Gordon and Trey Anastasio, and have appeared in opening slots for Phil Lesh & Friends and others. The Duo’s third studio CD is currently in the works, and the two-man-band has a pair of gigs at The Stone Church in Newmarket, on Thursday and Friday, Feb. 7 and 8.
 
let the creation begin

more than 2,000 bands accept the RPM Challenge

It’s February, and the RPM Challenge is officially underway. Musicians from at least 45 countries across the globe have been revving their artistic engines for weeks, making frantic preparations as the first of the month approached, and they finally took off roaring last Friday. Seacoast participants celebrated the eve of the challenge with a kick-off party on the second floor of The Press Room in Portsmouth on Jan. 31, and simultaneous celebrations were held in Minneapolis and St. John’s, Newfoundland. The RPM Challenge Web site, www.rpmchallenge.com, has generated a great deal of discussion from participants, some of whom are eager and excited, and others who seem filled with nervous anticipation, dread and desperation. What follows is a sampling of unedited statements recently posted on the RPM discussion board. And remember: It’s not too late to sign up. You can register for the challenge on the Web site as late as Feb. 29, as long as you have an album with at least 10 songs or 35 minutes of original music completed by the following day. For those about to rock, we at The Wire salute you.

 
A New Year with Jazz Universe

So, here we are, almost one month into a new year with an inherent expectation of things to come. Some things are known, such as the election of a new president, the Patriots in the Super Bowl and the fact that winter’s cold weather will give way to the warm temperatures of spring and summer. This time of year, some folks ponder life issues with the goal of making their lives richer and more meaningful. Others contemplate pressing issues like the state of the economy or the environment. Sometimes it takes a single isolated incident to help crystallize one’s thinking.

Such was the case for me recently. Late last month, I was mulling over the state of jazz when news hit the street that pianist Oscar Peterson had passed away at the age of 82. It was another in a series of deaths that hit the jazz world in late December, but Peterson’s passing was particularly shocking because there was no prior notice that he had been ill. After getting over my initial sadness at the loss of this great musician, I soon came to the conclusion that Peterson’s death represented the end of an era in jazz—that of the jam session oriented recordings and performances that were a hallmark of the music from the early 1940s to the late 1970s. The era was exemplified by Jazz at the Philharmonic concerts in the ’50s and Pablo Records jazz recordings in the ’70s, both of which included Peterson as an active participant. Concluding that the jam era was over led me back to pondering the things that bother me about jazz today.
 
King Memphis

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at The Press Room, Jan. 26

Even for music fans, leaving the house on an icebound January night to catch a live show takes a certain amount of grit and determination. That and simple faith—the hope that after making your way through streets so cold that the sidewalks ring under your heels, you’ll hear something hot enough to justify the trip. A band that can turn up the heat acts as a steam valve, releasing the explosive pressure of a month or so of built-up cabin fever. Saturday night at the Press Room, King Memphis provided abundant BTUs with three solid sets of rockabilly rhythm.

King Memphis front man Matt Robbins took command of the stage with cool authority, a laid-back balance to the sparks thrown by bassist Kris Day (also of the Jerks of Grass) and drummer Dave Ragsdale. The backing musicians’ fast and fiery styles suit the material just right. Strong originals like the fuzzy “Flat Black Cadillac” and the Commander-Cody-esque “Thinking about Drinking” settle firmly in the rockabilly tradition of songs about various kinds of engines, women and dangerous behavior.
 
‘The Best of Spirit’

by Spirit
1973, Epic Records

the sound: In the sleeve of Spirit’s self-titled debut album, the playing time for “Mechanical World” is listed simply as “very long.” Actually, it’s five minutes and 19 seconds, which, by modern standards, isn’t that long at all. But, when it was released as a single in 1968, songs that lasted more than five minutes were exceptionally rare. “Mechanical World,” which appears as the second track on “The Best of Spirit,” has a bizarre stop-and-go sound, with distant lyrics that seem to drift surreally in the background. “Death falls so heavy on my soul,” Randy California sings. Later, the song builds to a climactic guitar solo that echoes the peak years of psychedelia. The greatest hits disc also includes some peppier rock songs that reflect the band members’ California roots, but all the songs are lyrically loaded with literary references and social messages. Both are exemplified in “1984,” the ominous homage to George Orwell’s masterpiece that warns of a bleak future. Songs like “Morning Will Come” and “Aminal Zoo” have a more light-hearted hippie sound, while “Nature’s Way” is striking in its soft, almost mournful eloquence. Throughout, the disc showcases a tripped-out, experimental sound that, at first listen, might now sound like standard ’60s psychedelic rock.
 
‘Late Nights on Washington’; ‘The Year of the Dog’

‘Late Nights on Washington’
by Tim McCoy

The interior album art on Tim McCoy’s new CD shows the musician seated in front of a graffiti-covered wall, tying the laces of his Converse sneakers while sporting a black pork pie hat and leather jacket. After spending years as a worthy figurehead in the Seacoast music scene—playing bass and guitar with a plethora of bands that includes Heavens to Murgatroid, Lemon Fresh Kids and Tim McCoy and the Papercuts—the photo seems to reassure everyone that McCoy is still rocking local, just like he’s always done.

The album, “Late Nights on Washington,” includes 10 original rock songs with a good-natured punk edge. With fast-paced tunes that somehow manage to simultaneously sound fierce and celebratory, “Late Nights” is a fun listen, perfect for a drive around the Seacoast.
 
29 days of music creation

RPM Challenge 2008 is right around the corner

When The Music Hall screened “Before the Music Dies” in October, guests saw a parade of popular musicians and critics gripe about the current state of the music industry. Major labels have crushed the creative spirit, they said, manufacturing squeaky-clean boy bands and no-talent Barbie dolls to rack in millions with their powder puff rip-offs. Meanwhile, talented and spirited songwriters dangle in the void of obscurity, deprived of an outlet for their diverse musical wares. The audience was left to ponder a grim question: Is there anything pure left in music?

For the last three years, the RPM Challenge has striven to prove that there is. Not in the corporate world of mainstream radio and record deals, perhaps, but certainly in the hearts and minds of passionate musicians. The Challenge has shown that those who really care about their art don’t have to make millions at it. They’ll wash dishes or wait tables for 40 hours a week just to keep a roof over their heads and put food on their tables, and use any leftover pocket change to save up for new amps and guitar strings. They’ll sacrifice sleep on weeknights to devote time to music, and they’ll be satisfied with creating something genuine. 
 
Mac Tough

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at The Barley Pub, January 9

Members of jazz-funk sextet Mac Tough seem very much at home within the familiar confines of The Barley Pub in Dover. Most of the musicians have played here regularly, in various contexts, over the past several years. The band’s comfort level and casual approach translate into a perfect fit for the pub’s Wednesday night funk series. Pub patrons can catch Mac Tough on three more nights, Jan. 16, 23 and 30, during the band’s month-long residency in January.

Led by guitarist Jim Dozet, Mac Tough plays a blend of originals and covers, blurring the lines between jazz and funk in the tradition of pioneers like Horace Silver, Herbie Hancock, Jimmy Smith and latter-day Miles Davis. Dozet, drummer Jay Trikakis, bassist Roland Nicol and trumpeter Chris Klaxton are also members of The Press Project, a jazzified Seacoast hip-hop band that has developed a substantial following over the last couple of years. Mac Tough is rounded out by organist Eric Donnelly and saxophonist Sean Barry.
 
RPM '08

sign-ups are open!

The RPM Challenge is simple: record an album in 29 days, just because you can. That’s 10 songs or 35 minutes of original material, written and recorded during the month of February.

RPM is not a contest; it’s a creative challenge. What if every musician you knew put their music first for 29 days? What if every living being who could pick up an instrument spent February exploring their music? What if you recorded the best song of your life? What if you put aside the traditional expectations - that your record has to be a product that can be sold, that it has to be recorded in a studio with all the bells and whistles? What if you could do whatever you wanted? What if you recorded a solo record for the first time? What if you tried a new genre? What if you collaborated with someone you’d never met?
 
once a bluesman, always a bluesman

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Johnny Winter heads to The Stone Church

Johnny Winter is a man of few words. After about a half century playing the blues, he lets his music do most of the talking. In that sense, he is currently speaking as loudly as ever. At the age of 63, Winter’s touring schedule has never really slowed down, and he will head to the studio this spring to record a new album. Now free of the drugs that addled his career and hampered his playing for years, Winter feels like a new man, and he believes his guitar work shows it.

A notoriously late sleeper, Winter conducts all his interviews at night—9 p.m. eastern time. He gave The Wire a buzz late last week, in advance of his upcoming gig at The Stone Church in Newmarket. The show on Friday, Jan. 18, will not be Winter’s first appearance at The Church. Although he has shared stages with Jimi Hendrix, B.B. King, Janis Joplin and countless other legends, and has played a number of massive concerts (including a certain 1969 festival held in a little town called Woodstock), Winter enjoys the intimacy of smaller venues.

“I do like the small places better, actually. I mean, it’s exciting to play for a whole lot of people, but it’s more fun to play for a small place,” he said.
 
‘Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd.’

by The Monkees
1967, RCA Records

the background: In 1965, NBC brought together musicians Davy Jones, Mike Nesmith, Mickey Dolenz and Peter Tork to act and perform on its new nightly sitcom, “The Monkees.” The show was a comic take on a hip, funny, struggling band with a look and sound somewhat similar to The Beatles. Based on the popularity of the first season in 1966 and the obvious talent of the actors, The Monkees began actually recording music, releasing albums and touring—and almost immediately butting heads with NBC. The band released three albums in 1967, and by the time “Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd.” was released in November of that year, it was obvious that the television producers had lost their control over the band. Trying hard to break free of its “pre-fab four” description, The Monkees injected the album with a more California-hippie influence, reflective of the band members’ surroundings and lifestyles. (Unlike The Beatles, The Monkees never hid the fact that they did drugs and loved to rock the paisley hard.)

the sound: Nesmith, who the producers had chosen to be the mature leader-type of the show, embraced the role and became a more prominent presence on “Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd.” A fan of Frank Zappa and Tim Buckley and a seriously talented guitarist, Nesmith sings on a few tracks, a job usually reserved for Dolenz or Jones. He lets loose with his twangy country-blues style in “Salesman,” the album’s catchy first track, and “What Am I Doing Hangin’ Round,” a sweet banjo-infused love song. “Star Collector” proves ahead of its time, with Jones singing about a girl who fits the description of a star whore way before the label of “stalker” was given to obsessed fans. “Goin’ Down” showcases Dolenz’s talent for jazz scat singing, which he went on to display more of on later albums, and “Peter Percival Patterson’s Pet Pig Porky” gives Tork a chance to show … well, that he’s just plain weird. Sure, there are still some poppy songs about girls, but on “Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd.,” they have a trippier sound and the lyrics seem a bit naughtier. While “She Hangs Out” has a chorus sounding much like a Beach Boys tune, Jones sings of someone’s Lolita-esque sister, and “Cuddly Toy” is about a girl being used and discarded, all while a piano plinks prettily in the background. It’s fun and sinister.
 
Trium in Exeter; Oscar Peterson dies at 82

Trium to perform free show in Exeter

Looking to relax and enjoy some sophisticated music after a long day of voting? A free vocal performance by a trio of sopranos at Phillips Exeter Academy might be just the thing. Trium will perform a show titled “Brief Is Life, but Love Is Long” inside Phillips Church at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 8—beginning an hour before the primary polls close down in Exeter.

Sopranos Gail Abbey, Margaret Johnson and Susan Trout sing compositions written by artists from a variety of eras, including Dunstable, Dufay, Rossi, Luzzaschi, Mendelsohn, Holst, Schumann and Bernstein. The singers will pull from 600 years worth of classical love songs, delving into both the torment and glory that love has evoked throughout the history of humankind.

Abbey, Johnson and Trout began singing together as members of Emmanuel Music’s soprano section and formed their own trio in 1997. Since then, they have premiered in Martin Boykan’s “Three Songs from Shakespeare” and, in 2006, performed a program of Schumann trios in Emmanuel Music’s Chamber Music Series. Trium has released one CD, called “Songs of Three.”
Phillips Church is located at the corner of Tan Lane and Front Street near downtown Exeter. The performance on Tuesday is part of the Academy’s concert series, which will feature faculty recitals on Jan. 29 and Feb. 5, and a student concert on Feb. 12. For a full schedule of music events, visit www.exeter.edu/news_and_events/news_events_2990.aspx. Trium’s show is free and open to the public.

 
Elsa Cross

at The Press Room, Dec. 28

Elsa Cross sipped from a shot glass before stepping onto the stage on the second floor of The Press Room in Portsmouth. Wearing a red dress that contrasted vividly with the all-black outfits of her band mates, her blond hair pulled back into a long ponytail, Cross picked up her guitar and played her first song of the evening alone. The rest of the band joined her on the second song, “Because of You,” and Cross’ elegant but authoritative voice quickly drowned out the noisy chatter in the packed bar. Within moments, everyone was paying attention.

Having released her debut album, “Unavailable,” in October, Cross came equipped with an arsenal of original rockabilly folk songs and country-western covers. A few songs deep into her set, she played “The Burden,” which she introduced as one of the first songs she ever wrote. Cross began playing guitar when she was 16 years old, she said, but she did not establish her preferred style until she was 19, when she discovered rockabilly music. Attracted to the outlaw style, the greasy hairdos and the 1950s fashions, she soon began writing her own rockabilly tunes.
 
Skamasutra; Jenn Adams; John Balger

‘Let Come What May’
by Skamasutra

The title track of Skamasutra’s new disc sounds very much like a Mighty Mighty Bosstones tune, except with more polished vocals replacing Dicky Barrett’s raucous growl. The Exeter indie band accurately replicates all the hyper reggae guitar riffs, New Orleans brass accompaniment and bouncing beats and rhythms of quintessential ska, rapidly shimmying through eight original songs and one cover.

The latest disc follows the band’s 2005 debut, “You and What Army?” The six band members have honed their skills and fine-tuned their tight sound over the last two years to produce an exceptional follow-up. Having formed the band as teenagers in the late fall of 2003, Skamasutra has matured with each performance, and its revolving door of members seems to have established a solid core, with Nick Gilbert on trombone and vocals, Steve Duhamel on alto sax and vocals, Dan Boisvert on guitar and vocals, Tristan Nowak on baritone sax, Jon Campbell on bass and Evan Lerch on drums.
The album’s opening lyrics establish Skamasutra as a band that has grown since its inception four years ago. “It just seems like yesterday when I was 17. / How could I have known then what my future would bring?” Gilbert sings, already reflecting on a still nascent musical career with plenty of promise. Gilbert’s singing truly helps to carry the music throughout the album, surfing over the tightly manipulated instruments with a clean voice that sounds somewhere between Sublime’s late singer Brad Nowell and Green Day’s front man Billie Joe Armstrong.
 
‘Live From The Middle East’

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by the Mighty Mighty Bosstones
1998, Mercury

the sound: Formed in 1985 in Boston, the Bosstones heavily reflect the influence of earlier 2-tone ska bands, such as The Specials, Madness and Bad Manners. Comprised of all the usual band elements, plus horns, the Bosstones turn out songs that large, tattooed men are unashamed to dance around to. On its own, a Bosstones album is lots of fun, but you can’t beat a live performance. Singer Dicky Barrett has a voice like a rock tumbler, and he knows how to whip the crowd into a frenzy. Boston fans are the most voracious in the country. They love their city, and they love to hear it mentioned over and over again. Simple, fierce drumbeats accompany thick bass lines while Barrett snarls poetic.
 
‘Quadraphonic’

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by One Hand Free

It has been almost four years since Portsmouth rock ’n’ rollers One Hand Free released a new album. The group’s self-titled 2004 release established the band as an assemblage of classic rock purists, determined to deliver the type of 1960s and ’70s style rock that inspired them to take up their instruments. The latest disc, released on the record label ThunderTrauzer, cranks up the volume of the band’s musical mission.

Officially due out in January, “Quadraphonic” features eight original tunes that amount to “a hot slab of unrepentant Rock and Roll right between the ears,” according to the band’s promotional material. Apparently dissatisfied with the state of modern music, but holding dear to the bygone spirit of rock’s past pioneers, One Hand Free set out to restore the heart and soul of rock ’n’ roll. 

The album begins with the blues-based “King By Now,” which quickly introduces gritty instrumental attitude, as well as the bluesy and soulful vocal attack of singer and keyboardist Andrew Blowen. A couple of minutes later, Geoff Taylor’s bass line shifts gears and guitarist Josh DiJoseph asserts his authority with a gripping electric solo. Meanwhile, drummer Kelly Bower anchors everything with tight, punctuating drumbeats. The next song, “Majesty,” begins with a guitar melody that sounds like something out of Steely Dan’s playbook. At six minutes and 14 seconds, it is the longest track on the disc.
 
point-counterpoint, with MC Foodcourt and Dr. Bunsen Honeyjones

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Museum of Science members review 2007 and preview their upcoming gig with Dreadnaught at The Stone Church

On Saturday, Dec. 29, two local power trios, both with equal parts talent, creativity and inanity, will join forces for an end-of-the-year rockathon at The Stone Church in Newmarket. Museum of Science and Dreadnaught have risen to the top of the Seacoast music food chain, devouring their rivals like plankton. Fortunately, they are friendly and have no rivals, so everyone can swim together happily.

It was a big year for both bands. Dreadnaught released a comprehensive, double-disc greatest hits album, called “High Heat & Chin Music,” and MOS completed its latest full-length studio disc, “CTRL+ALT+DLT.” The Stone Church gig will enable fans to catch both acts in their 2007 prime.

In advance of the upcoming show, The Wire caught up with two members of Museum of Science—drummer Dr. Bunsen Honeyjones (a.k.a. Jamie Perkins) and guitarist M.C. Foodcourt (a.k.a. Jon McCormack). The two mad scientists of rhythm each responded to the same set of questions, but their answers were starkly different.  
 
End of the Year Jazz Universe

Well, it’s the end of another year in The Jazz Universe. Please pardon the cliché but, with a snap of the fingers, the year seems to have come and gone. The rush of time can make your memory hazy when it comes to recalling significant events, both locally and nationally, in a specialized music like jazz. With that in mind, this column is devoted to CDs and DVDs that hit the market and caught my attention this year. The next column will be more of a reflective piece on trends, both positive and negative, that are taking place in jazz.

Before I get to the lists, though, I’d like to offer some thoughts on one of the few recordings released this year that I feel shows the promise of what jazz can become when placed in the hands of a truly creative individual. Best of all, the album comes from a local musician.

“Nothing but Blue Sky” is the debut recording from vocalist Chris Humphrey, of Kennebunk, Maine, and it is a gem of a CD. With backing from the trio of Mark Shilansky on piano, Martin Wind on bass and the always inventive Matt Wilson on drums, Humphrey offers a program of fresh arrangements of standards with a sprinkling of superb originals. Humphrey’s approach is more like that of a horn player than a singer in terms of how he phrases the lyrics, interacts with the trio and improvises. This should come as no surprise, as Humphrey is a superb pianist, as well as a fine trombonist and bassist.
 
‘Sound Helmet’

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by Organism

Over the past several years, the organ combo has made a remarkable resurgence, as young musicians find the pared down format of keyboards, drums, sax and/or guitar conducive to exploring a variety of sonic grooves and textures. Groups such as Soulive; Medeski, Martin & Wood; Joshua Redman’s Elastic Band; and Chris Potter’s Underground all offer a contemporary spin on an approach originally popularized by such notables as Big John Patton, Brother Jack McDuff, Babyface Willette, Larry Young and the legendary Jimmy Smith.

Organism, a Boston-based quartet comprised of Steve Giannaros on tenor sax, Brian Leccese on guitar, Pete McLean on drums and John Corda on keyboards and left-hand bass, offers its take on this group sound with “Sound Helmet,” a remarkable self-produced and self-released debut recording that exudes a variety of pulsating grooves. Rendered by a group that is comfortably tight as an ensemble, the disc highlights some fine individual playing by each instrumentalist. The music, mostly originals written by Corda and Leccese, is in a jazz-funk-Latin vein that both offers a variety of tonal colors without sacrificing the core grooves and serves as a starting point for exceptional solos from all the group members.
 
The Swaggerin’ Growlers

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at Dover Brick House, Dec. 12

“We’re a bunch of drunk assholes. It’s good to be back in Dover.”

With these warm words of introduction, Jonny Swagger launched his band into a frenetic set of Celtic punk rock at the Dover Brick House. Sandwiched between power punk trio Bugo and Boston rockabilly stars Dave Smith & The Country Rebels, The Swaggerin’ Growlers returned to their lead singer’s hometown to participate in the Brick House’s Wicked Wednesday festivities on the late evening of Dec. 12.

Swagger, the band’s lead singer and guitarist, was obviously amped up for the occasion. With a devilishly giddy grin on his sweat-caked face, little flecks of spittle occasionally cartwheeling off his lip, he crooned his first line of the set: “I sold my soul for a bottle of Bushmills.” Meanwhile, Swagger rapidly strummed an acoustic guitar, like an Irish folk musician in fast-forward.

Joining Swagger were Matt Cost on bass and backing vocals, Corey Nolan on drums and Seth Moore on tin whistle. The Growlers had to make do without fiddle player Annie Libertini, who could not make it to the show. The group was also without mandolin player Matthew Lister, who, according to other band members, wandered off the stage in Portland some weeks back and never returned.
 
winter listening

how Seacoast music fans kick the winter blues

For some, winter is a time of joy and cheer, a time for putting on a goofy sweater and sitting by the fire with a cup of eggnog, watching snowflakes collect on the evergreen branches just outside the window. You can hear Tony Bennett, Mariah Carey or Kenny G play rosy versions of your favorite holiday classics. Carolers may even arrive at your doorstep to serenade you with live renditions of standard Christmas tunes (although I don’t think that really happens anymore).

For others, winter is a time of darkness, depression and loneliness. The lack of sunlight and frigid temperatures induce chemical imbalances that manifest themselves as a perennial pout that lasts until the first spring thaw. While blizzards once held the alluring promise of a day off from school filled with snow forts and snowball fights, they now just mean a rough morning commute and a backache from shoveling.

Regardless of which camp you belong to, thank heavens for music. A proper mood album can either validate your feelings of desperation or bolster your giddy holiday spirit. Or, you can try reverse musicology: listening to The Beach Boys during the heart of winter’s icy oppression or blasting the Pointer Sisters’ “I’m So Excited” while you’re snowed into the claustrophobic confines of your apartment can have a remedial effect on your psyche. The Wire asked a number of Seacoast musicians, fans and critics to share what they’ve been listening to as the winter of 2007-’08 sets in for the season.

 
‘King’

by Belly
1995, Warner Bros

the sound: Belly’s first album, “Star,” was pop with a twinkly, fairy tale spin. The CD made Belly a huge hit on college radio and MTV and earned the band two Grammy nominations in 1993. “King,” released in 1995, has a more mature, thicker sound. Where “Star” sounds haunting and plinky, “King” grinds and kicks out catchy, jangly tunes. Gone are lyrics about dolls and squirrels and demanding frogs—replaced with a feeling of raw sexuality. “Where should I not touch? / What should I not kiss?” purrs lead singer Tanya Donnelly. You get the sense that Donnelly has outgrown her baby doll dresses and now uses combat boots to pin her love to the floor by the throat while she sings to him.
 
rock ’n’ roll’s unsung hero

Leon Russell heads to Newmarket

Leon Russell’s reclusive nature belies the fact that he has contributed, in one way or another, to many of the most important songs and records of the last five decades. Even if you are not familiar with any of his own rock or country albums, you will surely recognize some of the innumerable songs and records he has written, arranged, produced or played on as a pianist, organist or guitarist.

As a solo artist, Russell has released numerous gold records and top 40 singles. The singer and multi-instrumentalist has backed rock legends like Jerry Lee Lewis and Ronnie Hawkins, worked in studio sessions for Bob Dylan and Frank Sinatra, played piano on hit singles by The Beach Boys and Bobby Boris, and helped launch the careers of fellow stars like Elton John and Joe Cocker. 

Although Russell has not done a public interview in about 20 years, he continues to put out records and tour the nation, playing venues large and small. Now 65 years old, Russell will play The Stone Church in Newmarket on Thursday, Dec. 13, following two nights at Foxwoods Casino in Connecticut.
 
Ryan Montbleau Band; Brian Parnham; Paul Dykstra; D. Gross

Ryan Montbleau Band: ‘Patience on Friday’

Now a familiar face in the Boston area music scene, Ryan Montbleau has definitively established his voice with his second official full-band release, “Patience on Friday.” The 14-track album is an explosion of musical output, spouting forth with a seemingly inexhaustible fountain of rapid, rhyming lyrics and instrumental zest.

Unlike Montbleau’s earlier solo acoustic albums, “Patience” brings in a formidable cast of hired guns to heighten the instrumental craftsmanship surrounding the songwriter’s original compositions. At the heart of it all is Montbleau’s voice, a fresh confluence of urban and rural heritage, combining Stevie Wonder’s funky and soulful range with Ray LaMontagne’s folky, earthy tone.

The band includes Montbleau on guitar and vocals, James Cohen on drums, Jason Cohen on keys, Matt Giannaros on bass and Laurence Scudder on viola. The disc also features an eclectic entourage of guest musicians on a variety of instruments, including pedal steel guitar, saxophone, accordion, trumpet, violin, cello, trombone, synth and backup vocals. Particularly striking are two guitar solos from Stephane Wremb