New England Music Scrapbook Newsletter
Alan Lewis, Editor

Our Corner of the Rock 'n' Roll Life

November 1, 2008
Issue 2008:299
.

To SUBSCRIBE to this newsletter:
http://www.geocities.com/uridfm/subscribe.htm

E-MAIL us via:
http://www.geocities.com/nemsbook/fred.htm
(Please do NOT click the Reply button.)

NEWSLETTER's Yahoo Groups Home Page:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/uridfm/

General CONTACT Information:
http://www.geocities.com/uridfm/contact.htm
.

We've got Thrills, chills, Dirty Water
. . . What more do you need?
When the big beat hits ya
Comin' from your transistor
. . . Like the T at full speed
When the big beat hits ya...

"Boston Lullaby," Dudick/Naihersey.
. . . Copyright c. 1980 by Camaraderie Music, BMI.
. . . All rights reserved. Used with permission.

:

:

BRATTLEBORO, VT, November 1 - Congratulations to the World Series
Champion Philadelphia Phillies and to all their fans, including one
who is involved in this very operation. Unless I am very much
mistaken, one of the radio networks we get, over our local airwaves,
said that this is the first championship by a Philadelphia major
sports franchise in 25 years. If this is so, there seems to be plenty
of reason to celebrate.
.

Probably putting out a newsletter of greater length than a few
paragraphs is a dumb thing to try the day after Halloween, but we will
do what we can.

We also ran into the same problem as last week: too many of the most
apropos news e-mails arrived too late for us to deal with. Time will
tell, but it seems likely lots of musicians and their people are
running late because they are involved in political campaigning. If
this is right, things around here could go back to what we like to
call normal quite soon.
.


THE BEATLES
On Harmonix

<> One of the big music news items this week started with rumors about
music by The Beatles being made available by way of the gaming
company, Harmonix. Evidently some speculated that there might be
coming a "Rock Band: The Beatles" game. But as we understand it, the
Beatles music is to go along with a new, free-standing game. The
official word which finally came out was intended "to announce the
deal rather than to provide specific information on what the finished
product will be like." So, we don't know anything much - anything at
all, I guess - as to the details; but at least this deal is no longer
just a rumor.
.


<> I have always been one of this town's most dependable voters. This
year I took advantage of the early voting option and voted on Thursday.
.


Yahoo News headline, Friday evening:

: : : Voter turnout expected to be
: : : highest in decades (AP)

So, be a part of history.

Vote.
.


STUDS TURKEL
Rest in Peace

Yahoo News headline, Friday evening:

: : : Pulitzer Prize-winning author, activist
: : : Studs Terkel dies at 96
.


RECORD RELEASES THIS WEEK
Excerpted From the Weekly Newbury Comics List

ADAMS, RYAN-Cardinology-$9.99
(Eileen Rose speaks very well of Ryan Adams. It counts for a lot with me.)
ALVIN, DAVE-Best Of Hightone Years-$11.88
(It is surprising 1960s rocker Dave Alvin is not more widely remembered.)
BEE GEES-Number Ones (Reissue)-$16.99
(Hello to Number One Bee Gees fan, Paula Kelley!)
COODER, RY-UFO Has Landed: Anthology-$21.99
DION, CELINE-My Love: Ultimate Essential Edition (2 CD)-$16.99
(The ... Ultimate ... Essential ... Edition. ... Can you dig this title?)
(And there is more than one way to interpret the following band name.)
EAGLES OF DEATH METAL-Heart On-$9.99
EARTH, WIND & FIRE-Playlist: Very Best Of Earth, Wind & Fire-$8.99
LEGEND, JOHN-Evolver-$12.88
LEGEND, JOHN-Evolver (CD/DVD)-$17.99
LEWIS, JERRY LEE-Original Greatest Hits-$14.99
MARLEY, BOB-Bob Marley (3 CD)-$9.99
MCENTIRE, REBA-50 Greatest Hits-$37.99
MCKENNITT, LOREENA-A Midwinter Night's Dream (CD/DVD)-$37.99
MCKENNITT, LOREENA-A Midwinter Night's Dream-$15.99
MILLER, BUDDY-Best Of The Hightone Year-$14.99
QUEEN/PAUL RODGERS-Cosmos Rocks-$11.88
ROLLINS, SONNY-Road Shows Vol.1-$14.99
SCAGGS, BOZ-Speak Low-$11.88
SOUNDTRACK-BEST OF BOND...007 (CD/DVD)-$22.99
SOUNDTRACK- [B]EST OF BOND...007-$16.99
TEDESCHI, SUSAN-Back To The River-$9.99
VARIOUS ARTISTS-BEST OF THE 80S (3 CD)-$9.99
(I have no idea whether this is an exceptional set. I just loved the
music of the 1980s - the early '80s in particular - during the 1980s,
and I have loved the music ever since.)
WILLIAMS, HANK-Unreleased Recordings-$34.99
(Hank Williams made a tremendous number of great recordings,
particularly when one considers that he lived a very short life; and a
lot of his best cuts were not released until many years later. So,
this title is promising by its very nature. Scroll down for more
information.)

SOURCE: Newbury Comics, "October 27 Newbury Comics Coupons and New
Releases," October 27, 2008.

= = =
= = =

THE BELL HOUSE
Brooklyn, New York New Venue

Make no mistake about it, these days music halls, clubs, and
coffeehouses face serious and possibly fatal challenges, first from
gas prices which, at the time, seemed to be rocketing out of sight and
now from a sputtering economy. So it is great, along with notes
implying that many existing nightspots are still getting by, to post
information about new music rooms.

New York City's Greta Gertler sent this.

<> "I'd like to invite you to a show at a new venue in Brooklyn called
THE BELL HOUSE

: : : http://www.thebellhouseny.com/

this SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 1. The Bell House is a huge ballroom with
golden chandeliers, high, wooden ceilings, buffalo paintings and
fantastic sound. I will be playing at 8pm with THE FONDLES: Adam D.
Gold (drums), Pete Galub (guitar) and Jonathan Maron (bass)."

SOURCE: Greta Gertler, "Hear Ye! The Bell House Is Here," October 28,
2008.

= = =
= = =

DROPKICK MURPHYS/McGREEVEY'S NEWS
McGreevey's: Boston's Best Sports Bar

<> "[W]e hear McGreevey's has been nominated for 'Boston's Best Sports
Bar' on Citysearch. Please click here to vote for your favorite bar
AND more information:

http://boston.citysearch.com/bestof/winners/sports_bar

SOURCE: Dropkick Murphys, "DKM Tour Update - Support Band Changes,"
October 27, 2008.

= = =
= = =

THE LONESOME BROTHERS
"The Last CD"

WINTERPILLS
"Central Chambers"

<> There have not been a lot of great opportunities here for months to
play records, but I did get first-time listens to the latest CDs by
two western Massachusetts bands, The Lonesome Brothers and
Winterpills. These are two very different acts, but the new CDs have
at least two things in common. Both outfits are based in the Pioneer
Valley of Massachusetts and both outfits make new music that shows
knowledge of and inspiration from earlier acts.

"Central Chambers" is going to take more playing before I can say much
about it. No problem, since Winterpills is my favorite recent band.
But Philip Price has spoken of wanting the group's career to build
slowly, and it sounds as though he and his bandmates are similarly
inclined to make changes to the music at a gradual pace. If you liked
the earlier Winterpills albums, chances are you are going to like
"Central Chambers."

Winterpills art has a lot to do with lyrics, and much of the
literature I have seen about the band emphasizes this area. But
Winterpills also does a great deal with moods and textures, often with
unsettling results. No doubt this music is not intended to be light,
easy pop. Winterpills also has a terrific knack for suggesting
psychedelia without ever sounding much at all like a classic
psychedelic band. This is a thing Brian Wilson and Simon and
Garfunkel did to perfection, but each quite differently from the
other. In one spot, the new Winterpills disc actually sounds like a
passage to be found in my own favorite Beach Boys track, "Heroes and
Villains."

Winterpill Flora Reed's voice has been out there a lot, here and
there, for years, producing harmonies for various singer-songwriters,
adding her voice to the outstanding Signature Sounds tenth anniversary
DVD, and recording albums for release under her own name. As
wonderful as many of these efforts have been - her "Settle Down" CD
deserves special note - Reed has never performed to better advantage
than with Winterpills. Her voice transforms this outfit into the band
that a lot of new music fans have come to love.

We will get back to "Central Chambers" once I have had a chance to
hear it more. The main thing to say for now is that I definitely like
this record a lot.

The latest Lonesome Brothers' release titularly tells us that this is
"The Last CD." I haven't read the literature yet, so I don't know
whether this is just another album title, a plan, or a threat. But I
hope there will be more discs like this one.

Ray Mason has said that he doesn't make CDs, he makes albums; and "The
Last CD" is a good example. Without ever lapsing into sameness -
here's betting The Lonesome Brothers are incapable of producing
sameness - this record holds together quite nicely. It is not an easy
thing to accomplish, since Jim Armenti and Ray Mason are two very
different singers and two very different writers. Part of what makes
this work is displayed graphically in the songwriter credits that
accompany the track list. A song by one is followed by a song by the
other almost all the way down the line. Armenti and Mason each have
contributed songs that are sure to be fan favorites.

Whether it is the producer, the engineer, or the singer himself,
someone in recent years has done better at capturing Mason's voice.
Armenti's picking also comes through quite nicely. The booklet does
not report technical data, but "The Last CD" has virtues similar to
those of analog recording. The emphasis here seems clearly to be on
making music rather than on eliminating flaws. These Lonesome
Brothers MAY be old-school; but if they are, they know what good can
come from that approach.

Today we may call the Lonesomes' music alternative country, but there
was a time when these musicians would have been called country's new
traditionalists. The word, "new," was often understood in those days
to mean, among other things, that the music did not ignore, or
otherwise fail to take in, rock 'n' roll influences.

= = =
= = =

THREE DAY THRESHOLD
Press Release

With the possible exception of late, later, really, really late
arrivals, I believe the only press release we received this week,
which we would post as such, is one from the new breed stringband,
Three Day Threshold. It includes information about doings last
(Friday) evening. But I am posting the release in whole because I
just don't have time left for editing. So, unless you want to
reminisce about the goings-on that you likely missed last night,
scroll right on past Part 1 to Part 2, which is about a new 3DT CD.

Nearly all of the Three Day Threshold press release appears below.

= = =
= = =

FLORIAN MONDAY AND THE MONDOS
Woonsocket, Rhode Island Band

We received an inquiry about a 1960s band out of Woonsocket, Rhode
Island, Florian Monday and The Mondos. Evidently the music fell
somewhere in the range of garage rock and rockabilly, and the Mondos
put out a couple circa-1964 records on the Realm label.

If you have other information about Florian Monday and the Mondos,
please e-mail us by way of the following Web page

http://www.geocities.com/nemsbook/fred.htm

or cobble together an all-lower-case e-mail address from

: : : FredRemainsLost At Yahoo Dot Com

= = =
= = =

DROPKICK MURPHYS
Tour News

"For the first time ever we have had both our support bands pull out
of a tour at the last minute. Luckily we were able to grab two other
great bands who jumped at the chance to come out and play for you
guys. Main support now is the Angel City Outcasts

http://www.myspace.com/aco

from Los Angeles & the opening band is Everybody Out

http://www.myspace.com/everybodyoutband

from good old Boston Massachusetts."

SOURCE: Dropkick Murphys, "DKM Tour Update - Support Band Changes,"
October 27, 2008.

:

:


THREE DAY THRESHOLD
"Lost in Belgium" CD

"I'm sorry we haven’t written in a while we’ve been very busy. We
have already done over 60 shows this year! But I know you are busy
too, so I’ll get to the point.

PART 1: Happy Halloween!
We wanted to dressing up and pretend we were someone else, but we were
told we were freaky enough. In the spirit of Halloween, come on by to
all open community concert 5pm-8pm At Northeastern University!
Details:
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2008
Northeastern University - All ages, no cover
Three Day Threshold plays from 5-8pm; HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
Outdoors on the Stetson East Quad
(right behind Marino Center on the corner of Huntington and Forsyth, by
the Northeastern T-Stop)

PART 2: Info Regarding The NEW CD & LISTENING PARTY Nov 24th
In the spirit of Velvet Underground’s “Live at Max’s Kansas
City” and The Who’s “Live at Leeds”, Three Day Threshold has
decided
to opt out of their “what happens on the road, stays on the road”
policy and is releasing a live album featuring 2 sets from their most
recent European tour. The songs are dirty and raw; there were no
overdubs or second takes here. Instead, there are some forgotten lyrics,
wrong notes and of course, a tractor full of hoots and hollerin’. The
album was recorded with a simple, yet practical set up; each night
we’d set up 2 stereo mics set in some corner of the club and as a
result,
you get a true feel for the night, complete with inebriated audience
members chiming in during the songs, so it’s as close to an actual
Three Day Threshold show as you can get without having beer spilled
on you.
Appropriately enough, the CD is called “Lost in Belgium”.

Plans to release Three Day Threshold’s newest release, “Lost in
Belgium” include a listening party NOVEMBER 24th at Boston’s only
Belgium Ale House, THE MONK’S CELL in The Publick House on 1648 Beacon
St., Brookline, MA. Afterwards, this winter the band heads out to do
another tour promoting the CD on the other side of the Atlantic this
winter. So far 11 shows have been booked, including an
“inmates-only”
show at the Mechelen Prison in Belgium. When (and if) they return, they
will be at The Paradise main room Saturday, January 31, 2009.

Details:
MONDAY NOVEMBER 24th, 2008
THE MONK’S CELL in The Publick House on 1648 Beacon St., Brookline,
MA.
The night starts at 6pm where we take over the bar and the stereo
system in the Monks Cell with some fine ale and possibly a DUVEL
toast. At
7pm, we will press “play” on “Lost in Belgium” for the first
time.
Everyone who shows up gets a special limited edition copy of our new
“Lost in Belgium” album to take home. 21+, donations appreciated but
not necessary.

PEACE & WHISKEY,
Three Day Threshold

Want to buy an advance copy of the cd (while supplies last)?
http://cdbaby.com/cd/3day4

ADD US AS A FRIEND ON FACEBOOK:
First name: THREEDAY
Last Name THRESHOLD

http://www.threedaythreshold.com/

MYSPACE:
www.myspace.com/threedaythreshold

SOURCE: Kier Byrnes, "Show at NU, 'Lost in Belgium' CD Listening
Party," October 29, 2008.


:

:

NEMSnews

New England Music Scrapbook
Brattleboro, Vermont

E-MAIL us via:
http://www.geocities.com/nemsbook/fred.htm

Please do NOT click the Reply button. Clicking Reply sends your
message to several different addresses but NOT to our main address.
It's Yahoo Groups' system, not ours.

:

:

<> If you have friends who would be interested in any of the items in
this issue, please forward this newsletter to them. Thanks! We
believe this is one of the main ways we pick up readers.
.


<> As a rule, we do not post SHOW LISTINGS. The reason is quite
simple. Though our name is the NEW ENGLAND Music Scrapbook, probably
an easy majority of our readers are based outside the six New England
states. The great majority of show listings would be of no interest
at all to the great majority of our readers.

We make exceptions when show listings are part of an item of more
general interest. CD-release events are great examples. For us, the
main point of an item of this sort is that an act has a new record.
The show being announced is of secondary interest to us - if that - as
far as the contents of our newsletter goes.

In the very few, truly exceptional instances where we post show
listings...
.

... Shows can be canceled, sold out, or even moved to another date or
location. We recommend checking the Web, calling ahead or otherwise
confirming details.
.


To SUBSCRIBE to this newsletter:
http://www.geocities.com/nemsnewz/subscribe.htm

E-MAIL us via:
http://www.geocities.com/nemsbook/fred.htm
(Please do NOT click the Reply button.)

NEWSLETTER's Yahoo Groups Home Page:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/uridfm/

General CONTACT Information:
http://www.geocities.com/uridfm/contact.htm

:

:

Issue 2008:299

Published no less often than monthly.
We're guessing eventually we'll settle
into an every-other-week schedule.

Copyright � 2008 by the New England Music Scrapbook. All rights reserved.

: : :