New England Music Scrapbook Newsletter
Alan Lewis, Editor

Our Corner of the Rock 'n' Roll Life

January 3, 2009
Issue 2009:308
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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, January 3 - This has been another busy week. Well,
busy at least for this time of year, covering the December holidays
plus New Year's. Don't go looking for the same level of activity as
in, say, March or October. But otherwise, things have been
fast-paced, seasonally adjusted.

For us, 2009 was a totally jumping year most of the time; and we look
ahead to 2009 with great hopefulness, enthusiasm, and interest.

YAHOO NEWS HEADLINE
Thursday Afternoon

: : : Americans usher in 2009
: : : with cheer and optimism

Evidently we are not alone. Yet the times are complex, and the above
news headline ran only a few days after way low consumer confidence
numbers were announced.

Also in the complexity department is this: President Bush's approval,
last I saw, was still somewhere in a sub-basement; but in a recent
rating of most-admired Americans, he came in second behind
president-elect Obama. His approval rating could hardly be worse, but
all 300,000,000 Americans, except for Barack Obama, are less admired
than he is. Go figure.
.


MOST-ADMIRED HOLIDAY LISTENING
At the NEMS Compound

<> Probably like you all, I had company during the holday weeks; and
we listened to some great records. None of the music was selected by
myself, and I had already heard all of the records played. So at
present, I have nothing new to report on. The result of this
listening was surprising. Though I thought several of the records
chosen by visitors were really good, only one of them caused a b' b'
big sensation:

: : : "Nexterday" by Ric Ocasek.

Strange to say, we did not have general agreement on any of the others.

Ric Ocasek's "Nexterday" was our soundtrack, as we flipped the
calendar over from December 2008 to January 2009.

"Nexterday" is my personal favorite Ric Ocasek solo album.
.


RECORD RELEASES
For Recently-Issued Recordings,
This Is the Loneliest Time of the Year

<> "Sorry, there are no new release CDs this week. Please check back
next week for a list of CDs available on Tuesday, January 6.

SOURCE: Newbury Comics, "December 29 Newbury Comics: Happy New Year!
Coupons for Used CDs and Calendars," December 29, 2008.

ONE OF OUR REGULARS . . glanced ahead at the normally extensive
Amazon.com forthcoming record release list and advised that we should
not expect to see much in the way of new records anytime soon. - Ed.
.


WE HAVE VERY LITTLE MORE NEWS . . and time is fast running out. I
will just mention that our inbox has a fair amount of brand new news
e-mails in it. Put another way, 2009 looks to be getting off to a
very fast start. Happy New Year everyone ... let's make 2009 a good one!

= = =
= = =

ROSE POLENZANI AND COMPANY
: : : Laura Cortese
: : : Anne Heaton
: : : Jennifer Kimball
: : : Aoife O'Donovan
: : : Rose Polenzani
Atwood's Tavern
877 Cambridge Street
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Saturday, January 3, 2009

This is one really, REALLY terrific lineup.

Say, if you catch this show, do me a HUGE favor, would you? Please
tell Rose Polenzani that Mr. Lewis sent you. (She likes calling me
"Mr. Lewis" and wants no part of my given name.) If this does not
make her laugh, I would be VERY surprised.

<> "[Today] at Atwoods 'en famille' - amazing show!

"SATURDAY, January 3rd, 9:30pm at Atwoods Tavern:

"The 'famille' I speak of:

LAURA CORTESE
ANNE HEATON
JENNIFER KIMBALL
AOIFE O'DONOVAN
ROSE POLENZANI

877 Cambridge Street
Cambridge, Massachusetts
$15

SOURCE: Rose Polenzani, "Rose Polenzani Tomorrow at Atwoods, En
Famille, Plus Video Updates," January 2, 2009.

= = =
= = =

NAMELESS COFFEEHOUSE
: : : Kim Davidson
: : : Mr. Curt
: : : Lenny Solomon
: : : Chuck Williams
3 Church Street
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Saturday, January 3, 2009

We go WAY back with Mr. Curt. I bought some great singles he put out
in the 1970s and then moved on with him to his terrific band, Pastiche
(winner of an early WBCN Rock 'n' Roll Rumble). Mr. Curt gave us
permission to include those song lyrics at the top of every issue of
this newsletter. The best-known song on the EP it came out on was
probably "Talk Show," and lately "Terminal Barbershop" seems to have
gotten most attention. A lot of mileage has been gotten out of that
little vinyl three-song EP.

To get an idea as to why we have stuck with Mr. Curt lo! all these
many years, drift on over to The Nameless Coffeehouse in Cambridge,
Massachusetts this very evening.

<> "The Nameless Coffeehouse, at 3 Church St., (across from the
Harvard Sq. Theater) in Cambridge, presents a concert on Saturday,
January 3, 2009, featuring Lenny Solomon, Chuck Williams, Kim Davidson
and Mr. Curt (Curt Naihersey). The show begins at 8:00 p.m. (doors
open at 7:30 p.m.). There is a suggested donation of $8.00."

SOURCE: Marianne Cutter, "Join Us at The Nameless Coffeehouse on
Saturday, January 3rd," December 29, 2008.

:: curtis naihersey ::

= = =
= = =

JOSH BROOKS
Vermont Roots Singer-Songwriter
At the Skinny Pancake
Burlington, Vermont
Saturday, January 3, 2009

<> "Saturday, Jan 3rd - Band at the Skinny Pancake in Burlington,
Vermont. 9PM, $5 donation. This is the coolest new venue in
Burlington from all I've heard, and Kent and I will get to dig into
some original material for the first time in a while. Visit

http://www.skinnypancake.com/

for more info."

SOURCE: Josh Brooks, "Happy New Year," January 1, 2009.

= = =
= = =

PRESSURE COOKER
Another Saturday Night Under Pressure
Bill's Bar
5.5 Lansdowne Street [5.5?]
Boston, Massachusetts
Saturday, January 3, 2009

<> "Happy New Year from Pressure Cooker! Join us as we celebrate 2009
the only way we know how-stewin' and servin' up hot original reggae
with Destroy Babylon, Roots Down Below, Guns of Navarone and the
Macrotones!!!

Saturday, January 3, 2009

Bill's Bar
5.5 Lansdowne Street, Boston, MA
(617) 421-9678
Doors open at 8:30PM, 18+!!
Tickets: $10 advance/$12 door

SOURCE: Pressure Cooker Music, "Welcome in the New Year With Pressure
Cooker This Saturday," December 31, 2008.

= = =
= = =

NAOMI SOMMERS AND COMPANY
Club Passim
Harvard Square
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Sunday, January 4, 2009

Naomi Sommers is releasing "Gentle as the Sun" which, by all rights,
ought to be a career album for her. It's that good. And her
CD-release show ought to pack Club Passim on Sunday. Best of luck to
her on both counts.

Here is the concert announcement from her buddy, sometimes music duo
mate, and guitar pickist, Noam Weinstein:

<> "I wanted to let you know that my friend and frequent collaborator
Naomi Sommers will be celebrating the release of her terrific new
album, 'Gentle as the Sun,' Sunday at 7:30pm at Club Passim in
Cambridge. (I had the pleasure of playing on a few of the songs in the
studio, and she's invited me to do the same Sunday.)"

http://naomisommers.com/
http://clubpassim.org/

SOURCE: Noam Weinstein, "Naomi Sommers Sunday at Club Passim," January
1, 2009.

I HAVE NO WAY OF KNOWING . . how widely it has circulated, but Noam
Weinstein's latest release, "We're All Going There," also should be a
career album. He put some real classic cuts on there. The N.W. tune
running through my head these days has been "Sail On" off this very disc.

= = =
= = =

RHODE ISLAND SONGWRITERS ASSOCIATION
(RISA)
Songwriters in the Round
Fifth Anniversary Show
Friday, January 9, 2009

"5th Anniversary of RISA's Songwriters in the Round Show at AS220

<> "On Friday, January 9th at 8pm the Rhode Island Songwriters
Association (RISA) is presenting a big show to celebrate the fifth
anniversary of Songwriters in the Round shows at AS220 in Providence.
For the past five years Ryan Fitzsimmons has hosted the monthly
Songwriters In The Round Show. These shows are highly entertaining
and the audience members get to hear four different versions of songs
written for that evening's show that were based on a single theme that
was chosen by the prior months audience. This series has produced
hundreds of new, original songs and many of them were featured on the
tow CDs that have been released as a result of the series (RISA:
Songwiters in the Round - Round 3, Vols 1 & 2). The format for this
celebratory evening will be three rounds of four songwriters, two
songs each, followed by The Ryan Fitzsimmons Band at the end of the night.

PERFORMING ARE:
Dan Lilley of East Providence
Jacob Haller of Providence
Becky Chace of Barrington
Paul Pasch of Coventry
Ed McGuirl of Jamestown
Mark Cutler of Riverside
Frank Martyn of Providence
John Fuzek of Harmony
Allysen Callery of Bristol
Lisa Martin of Ludlow, MA
and the Ryan Fitzsimmons band
(www.ryanfitzsimmons.com)

"For more information please go to

http://www.risongwriters.com/

SOURCE: John Fuzek, "John's January Solo Shows," December 30, 2008.

= = =
= = =

MASS. FAMILIES IN NEED BENEFIT
Johnny D's
Somerville, Massachusetts
January 14, 2009

Mark Erelli sent word of a benefit show that sounds to be important.

"Wed Jan 14th - Johnny D's, Somerville, Massachusetts - 7:30 pm

<> "Entitled 'Winter Warmer: A Benefit Concert for Mass Families in
Need,' this will be a great night of music for a great cause,
sponsored by the United Way. I'll be doing a couple of my own songs,
and also joining the house band to back up some of the other
performers, including Alastair Moock, Merrie Amsterburg, Meg
Hutchinson, Jennifer Kimball and others. Visit

http://www.johnnyds.com/

to learn how you can reserve your seat today."

SOURCE: Mark Erelli, "Mark Erelli January 2009 Newsletter," December
30, 2008.

= = =
= = =

ROY ORBISON
In the Twenty-First Century

You may have seen this announcement or heard the rumor before the
announcement was made. But even if you did, it is still a marvel and
most exciting that Roy Orbison recordings, including a couple of his
best, are coming out as Rock Band downloadable content.

<> "Happy New Year! It is my distinct pleasure (being a huge fan and
all) to announce that next week's DLC will be six tracks by the
legendary Roy Orbison. What a way to kick off 2009! [Indeed! - Ed.]

: : : Claudette
: : : In Dreams
: : : Mean Woman Blues
: : : Oh, Pretty Woman
: : : Ooby Dooby
: : : You Got It

"All tracks are masters. Tracks will be available each for $1.99 (160
Microsoft Points) or $9.99 (800 Microsoft Points for Xbox 360) for the
full pack. The Roy Orbison pack will release on Tuesday, January 6th
on Xbox 360 and Thursday, January 15, 2009 for PS3 (due to the holiday
break)."

I take "You Got It" to be the song Linda Ronstadt covered and not the
Little Richard number Sleepy LaBeef nailed.

"Guitar Hero: Sleepy LaBeef" ... now THERE's an idea.

:: sleepy la beef ::


:

:

BRIEF ITEMS :
: : : : :
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JOSH BROOKS
Rumors of a New Album Persist

<> "I wish I could say the new album is going to be out anytime soon,
but money being the way it is... At this point, I may put the album
out in MP3 format, there are few options on the table but this seems
the most likely for now. I am excited to get El Dorado out in any
format, as it represents a shift in direction towards the kind of
music I cut my teeth on: meaning Neil Young's Ragged Glory, Led
Zeppelin's House of the Holy...."

SOURCE: Josh Brooks, "Happy New Year," January 1, 2009.
.


V 6 6
Boston 1980s Video Channel

<> There are folks out there with a Web presence on the topic of V66,
Boston's 1980s video television channel. I have not been able to
visit the site just yet; but JoEllen, who is very interested in the
music and the bands of V66, has checked it out. She did not find a
form for subscribing to mailings from these folks, otherwise we would
have signed up right away.

Do you have an e-mail address, that you would be willing to share, for
anyone involved in the V66 site? If you do, please send it by way of

: : FredRemainsLost At Yahoo Dot Com

of course after converting this into a conventional, all-lowercase
e-mail address.

We would like to know about the doings of the "Life on the V" crew.

:: nems query, nemsquery, v66, v-66 ::
.


THE PANDORAS
Request for Contact Information

<> If you have an e-mail address for one or more members of the 1960s
Boston rock band,

: : : THE PANDORAS,

and you would be willing to share your information, please e-mail us
by way of the following Web page:

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

or convert this next thing into a conventional all-lower-case e-mail
address and use it for writing us.

: : FredRemainsLost At Yahoo Dot Com

Possibly it would work better for members of The Pandoras to e-mail us.

Either is fine from our point of view.

Also, as far as I know, telephone numbers for members of the Pandoras
would be fine.

A Pandoras anniversary date is coming up - soon, I think - and one of
our e-mail friends would like to mark it; but I had e-mail addresses
for a couple band members, and neither address is currently working.
It would be great to oblige our e-friend, and any help you could
provide would be much appreciated.

:: nems query, nemsquery ::
.


YAHOO NEWS HEADLINE
Wednesday Evening

: : : Chief justice: Inflation outpacing pay
: : : for judges (AP)

The Supreme Court Chief Justice has an amazing sense of timing as to
when best to bring this up, doesn't he?
.


end BRIEF ITEMS

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NEMSnews

New England Music Scrapbook
Brattleboro, Vermont

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

NEWSLETTER's Yahoo Groups Home Page:
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General CONTACT Information:
http://www.geocities.com/uridfm/contact.htm

:

:

Issue 2009:308

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

Copyright © 2009 by the New England Music Scrapbook. All rights reserved.

: : :