New England Music Scrapbook News
Our Corner of the Rock 'n' Roll Life
December 9, 2006
Issue 2006:199

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


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.


To
JAMES M. JEFFORDS
Retiring United States Senator
Ind-Vermont

Thanks, Jim!


This is Issue No. 199 ... Do you think we can make it to #200?


. . . . .


I'm out of time bad ... and that ain't good!

So, I'm going to have to hurry through some of what we know of the
week's local music news.

If you haven't picked it up already from the Valley Advocate and the
Greenfield Recorder, June Millington of the much-remembered band Fanny
is based these days in western Massachusetts. For a great Dave
Madeloni column about her, get hold of the Thursday Arts and
Entertainment section of our local daily newspaper, The Brattleboro
Reformer.

Erin McKeown got her start while studying as an undergraduate at Brown
University. So Bob Gulla has a certain inside track on her career
because Brown is in his Providence Phoenix beat - thus, he goes back
with McKeown to the beginning - and also because Gulla is terrific.
For his update on McKeown's career, get thee to the Providence Phoenix
Web site and don't be late.

One of my all-time favorite music writers, Ted Drozdowski, has a piece
about one of my current favorite bands, Fluttr Effect, in this week's
Boston Phoenix. To get the full Fluttr effect from a master music
journalist, visit www.thephoenix.com at your earliest convenience.

If you are interested in pieces about Amanda Palmer's "The Onion
Cellar" or about drumming Lynn Mass. native Stephen Serwacki, go to
the Boston Herald's Web site sooner rather than later.

I am very sorry to say that my Q&A with Sonya Kitchell did not go
well. I have very little idea why. Even using my own prior writings
about Kitchell, which received only limited circulation, a great
previous interview with her, and her current official biography plus
an older one, my article still wound up significantly shorter than
usual. It came together because I made an extra effort to cobble
something worthwhile out of what I had. And the interview was not the
only thing that went poorly. A splendid time was not exactly had by
all. Still, for someone who wants a sense of what the upcoming Ben
Taylor/Sonya Kitchell show at Higher Ground in South Burlington VT
will be like, I think this article will do it. And the finished
product actually does seem to be looking pretty good. You can see the
results and judge for yourself at

Sharing the Stage: Sonya Kitchell & Ben Taylor
By Alan Lewis | Special to the Vermont Guardian
Posted December 8, 2006

http://www.vermontguardian.com/culture/122006/Sonya.shtml


BOSTON CHRISTMAS CAVALCADE
Fourth Annual Event

We ran an item, in a previous issue, on this fast-approaching event.
But Merrie Amsterburg has sent an updated announcement, loaded with
additional details worth knowing, and here it is:

"Thursday, December 14th, 8:30 pm

"Merrie is one of many featured guests for The Chandler Travis
Philharmonic's 4th Annual Boston Christmas Cavalcade at Johnny D's
(17 Holland St., Davis Sq., Somerville - 617 776 2004.)

"Admittance is for a suggested fee of $15.00. All the proceeds go to
Bread and Jams of Cambridge, which provides food, shelter, and
assistance to the homeless. Featuring: the Chandler Travis
Philharmonic; the Incredible Casuals; Jennifer Kimball; Jon
Pousette-Dart; Robin Lane; Amy Fairchild; the Revolutionary Snake
Ensemble; Shaun Wortis; Andrea Gillis; The Shook Fambly Singers; Frank
Rowe (of the Classic Ruins); Alastair Moock; Dinty Child, Jim Fitting,
Kimon Kirk & Sean Staples of Session Americana; Merrie Amsterburg; the
Philharmonic Trombone Shout Band; and a cameo appearance by Ryan
Landry as Chanelvis (and more TBA!)"

-- MerrieFans at QDivision, "Merrie Amsterburg
Live in Concert," December 5, 2006

Between Maria McLaughlin, JoEllen, and myself, I think each of us has
at least one favorite on the bill. I first learned about Alastair
Moock from Maria, and I believe she is a fan. JoEllen has spoken
glowingly of Andrea Gillis. I go back with Robin Lane to before the
debut album with the Chartbusters. I am one of the great Jennifer
Kimball fans. And I have taken/will take once and future
opportunities to sing the praises of Merrie Amsterburg, including
elsewhere in this issue. So it seems fair to say that we at NEMS
think the 4th Annual Boston Christmas Cavalcade is shaping up to be an
amazing show.


THE ATLANTICS
"The Best of The Atlantics"

The Atlantics
Atlantics | Something Hot
By: BRETT MILANO
12/7/2006 3:18:45 PM
in The Phoenix this week

http://www.thephoenix.com/article_ektid28866.aspx

To my mind, the rock era has produced three truly great periods here
in New England. Two of them are the 1960s and right now.

THE ATLANTICS

was a Boston band that was a very big part of the third great period:
the early 1980s. By that point, The Atlantics was already a real
veteran act around Boston, having been one of the bands featured in
that Bomp magazine Boston scene profile of 1976. But for many, many
of our readers, no more words about The Atlantics are needed from me.
A lot of folks are going to want to link to this record review by the
great Brett Milano in a major hurry. (Please find the link posted above.)

Happy reading!


MERRIE AMSTERBURG
"Clementine and Other Stories"

When I asked

MERRIE AMSTERBURG,

for an article in the Vermont Guardian, whether, back in her days
fronting the Boston rock band The Natives, she could have imagined
herself one day recording an album of old folk songs, she said
enthusiastically, yes, she had always been interested in American
history. Like a lot of the best answers, this was not one I was
expecting.

Folk song and American history. The great Frank Warner, on his
folk-song-collecting field trips through the South, picked up a few
Southern Civil War songs from the UNION army (as opposed to the
Confederate counterpart). He kindly once postal-mailed me this:

Old Abe was in the White House
Taking of a snooze.
General Grant was out busting his gut
With his booze.
While I'm out here marching
In the snow without no shoes
But I'll go marching on...

It is a Union army song from the mountains of the South. And it is a
curious example of the intersection between music and the history of
our country.

We don't know exactly what Merrie Amsterburg means when she connects
old folk songs with American history, though material posted at her
Web site could get us off to a strong start. But we can make our own
sense of what she said.

"Clementine and Other Stories" is a gorgeous album, and it is one of
the best recordings of traditional American folk songs I have ever heard.


THE HOLIDAYS
It Is Our Slowest Time of Year
But...

NEW ENGLAND LOCAL MUSIC NEWS is being slow to slow down this holiday
season. I have no idea why. Last week, I couldn't use everything we
received because I simply ran out of time for dealing with it all.
Everything left over from last issue, I believe, is included in this
one. And the phrase, "left over," is not intended to suggest any lack
of importance in the held-over items: for the most part, they just
happened to be the ones that arrived in our inbox last. Even though I
got off to an earlier start this week, I may still not be able to use
all the local music news we received by e-mail. [As it turns out, I
got this right.] Too much news is a nice problem to have.


LITTLE STEVEN
Charms Mentor, Label Exec

Little Steven starts own record label By LARRY McSHANE, Associated
Press Writer
Friday Associated Press article

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061208/ap_en_tv/music_little_steven_s_label

Many of our readers would not need to be told that

LITTLE STEVEN

has taken great interest in one of my personal favorite contemporary
New England rock bands,

THE CHARMS.

Hence, the prominence of this national music news article in this
issue of our local-music newsletter.


VERMONT WINTER-SEASON MUSIC PREVIEW

If you are a Vermont music act and anticipate a big event this winter,
I would like to hear about it. If you are a music act from anywhere
at all and you are looking ahead to a big winter-time event in
Vermont, I would like to hear about it. Please e-mail me by way of
the following Web page:

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

Several of these queries have run in this newsletter, but so far none
of them has drawn so much as a single reply. We are getting close to
"now or never" time. Next week I will be working on my winter-season
music preview for the statewide weekly newspaper, the Vermont
Guardian. So please, drop me a line.


JAMIE MASEFIELD AND THE
JAZZ MANDOLIN PROJECT
"How Much Land Does a Man Need"

The first engagements of "How Much Land Does A Man Need?"

Imagine being told one of the greatest stories on the planet in a
movie theater with JMP playing the magical soundtrack right in front
of you!

As many of you know JMP has been busy with it's new project, Tolstoy's
"How Much Land Does A Man Need?". Last winter Jamie created an
original multi media performance that was premiered at the Flynn
Theater in Burlington Vermont for two sold out nights in April. This
performance is a unique combination of literature, video and live
musical accompaniment and clearly represents the next innovative
evolution of this ground breaking group.

-- Jazz Mandolin Project, "Imagine,"
December 6, 2006


GREAT 2006 RECORD RELEASES

A Fine Year for Local Tunes
By Alan Lewis

The Commons
December 2006

http://www.commonsnews.org/pdf/COMMONS-Dec2006pp10-13.pdf

It was my pleasure to contribute a piece to a local Brattleboro,
Vermont newspaper, The Commons, about some terrific 2006 record
releases, all but one of which had strong ties to Brattleboro. I
sneaked in a quick item about the Ellis Paul career retrospective,
which is a humdinger that sort of fit (but mostly didn't) with my theme.

I do believe that the artists I noted, and their latest records, will
be of interest to music fans far beyond the Brattleboro community.

ANTJE DUVEKOT

has had a lot going for her, not least of which is serious songwriting
talent. Her cause has been championed by one of the best bands out
there, Solas. As a matter of fact, two or three years ago, our
e-phone rang off the hook because of a reference in these cyber-pages
to an Antje D. song on a Solas album. But for some reason, it took
the championing of her cause by singer-songwriter Ellis Paul to really
jumpstart her career. Her latest album, "Big Dream Boulevard," is so
hot that, since I loaned it out, I'm having a little trouble getting
it back.

I can't over-emphasize what a fine job

PETE WEISS

and his

WEISSTRONAUTS

did on their latest album, "Featuring 'Perky.'" It is traditional
surf-rock with a difference, and it is an album that a great many of
our readers would not want to miss. Though "Perky" has many
strengths, it may be most remarkable for its amazing consistency.
There is not a weak track.

CROOKED STILL

comes with a bassist who lives in this very town. This string band
has what it takes to appeal to a heck of a lot of music fans who
ordinarily do not listen to string band music. To me it seems
entirely possible that Crooked Still's popularity could grow huge.
Just buy the darned record, and catch a live show while you can still
get good seats at a Crooked Still concert.

I went into these recordings a good deal more in The Commons, which
you can check out by way of the direct Web address that is posted above.


MIDDLE EARTH MUSIC HALL
Bradford, Vermont

One of the most important news stories this week is by no means a
happy one.

Maria and I have both noticed references at the official Web site of the

MIDDLE EARTH MUSIC HALL

in Bradford, Vermont to concerts to benefit that enterprise's legal
defense fund. I finally decided to look into what it was about and
found the following news story:

"Middle Earth Music Hall and Shiloh's Head To Court <<
AlgoRhythms"

http://localrhythms.wordpress.com/2006/10/30/middle-earth-music-hall-and-shilohs\
-head-to-court/

Accessed December 3, 2006.

As you may notice from the URL, I am coming to this rather late.

Outside the Burlington area, Vermont's live music community has had a
few real problems lately. The closing of Fort Apache's The Windham in
Bellows Falls was a serious blow. A lively series of concerts at The
Church in Brattleboro came to an end. And though it has been
replaced, so far the frequency of shows is nowhere near equal to that
of the prior series. The number of live music events in Brattleboro
is substantially down, which is a big problem since, AFTER Burlington,
this has been the hottest hotspot in the state.

Now it seems that the Middle Earth in Bradford is in a dispute with
another tenant in its building. It is entirely possible for parties
to a dispute to have all due respect for one another. This does not
seem to be such a case. On the contrary, my impression is that this
episode has gotten quite nasty.

When looking ahead to Vermont's winter-season music calendar, I saw no
bookings whatsoever for the Middle Earth after late January. While it
is true that, this time of year, in the past the Middle Earth has not
booked far ahead, entirely blank events calendars is a new thing to my
experience and it looks really ominous.

The loss of the Middle Earth, should such a thing occur, would be a
truly MAJOR problem for live entertainment in Vermont.


JOHN COSTER AND COMPANY
at the Leverett Town Hall
Leverett, Massachusetts

We do not do much with show listings. We make exceptions for
exceptional reasons.

JOHN COSTER

is among a handful of the best songwriters out there, but his recent
shows have not been numerous. These things are reason enough to tell
you about

John Coster and Katherine First at the
Echo Lake Coffee House
Saturday December 16 at The Leverett Town Hall
Leverett, Mass 7:30pm
(in the center of Leverett center)
[toward the middle of town]

Modern Songs and Wild Old Tunes

John Coster: vocals, six and 12 string guitars,
chromatic and diatonic harmonicas

Katherine First: Celtic fiddle

with special guest Mary Serreze on keyboards

and surprise visitors.

"Coster's songs blended with some extraordinary tunes from the Celtic
and North American tradition uniquely performed with harmonica,
violin, guitar and keyboards."

-- John Coster, "Echo Lake Coffee House,"
December 7, 2006


= = = = =


BRIEF ITEMS :


WINTERPILLS
"The Light Divides" CD
Two quick items

" ... we [members of WINTERPILLS] are booking for our cd-release
tour now. for those in far-off lands who want us to come play in your
town and have been writing: we are planning big tours far and wide for
2007, so look for us, we are coming."

"the new cd, 'the Light Divides,' will be released Feb. 27th, 2007."

-- Winterpills Mailing, December 9, 2006

I have no idea what WILL happen, but I have my own thoughts as to what
MIGHT happen. And the Northampton band, Winterpills, very well could
become big national stars. Front-cat Phillip Price has a solid
reputation as a writer of songs with wide appeal, from his days in the
beloved western Mass. band, The Maggies. Flora Reed is a noted artist
in her own right, and she contributes the second vocals to the mix
which give Winterpills its trademark sound. Band members have a real
gift for producing an enticing pop-rock instrumental sound.
Winterpills is recording for a respected label, Signature Sounds. And
as if all this were not enough, Flora, as the long-time Signature
Sounds tour publicist, is VERY well known and respected nationally and
probably internationally. It is a powerful combination; and now that
Winterpills is hitting the road in support of its forthcoming second
CD, big things could be happening for this group.


NANCY BEAVEN,
THE RAMRODS, and
GRANNY

Lately we have received e-mails about several New England "acts" that
were quite legendary in their own areas. The earliest of these
messages had to do with Burlington, Vermont circa 1980 and mentioned
several of the stars of that community, one of them being

NANCY BEAVEN (rhymes with "heaven").

Just a very few days later, we learned that the heavenly Nancy Beaven
will be playing this year's First Night Burlington. I wrote our
correspondent back, and she has since told everyone she knows. Expect
Beaven's sets to be crowded.

The next of these messages (I think it was the one that arrived next)
came from a founding member of

THE RAMRODS.

Another founding member once assured me that, for most of the band's
existence, it was known simply as The Ramrods. Nonetheless, the more
short-lived name, The Rockin' Ramrods, seems to be the one that stuck.
We, though, have adopted the shorter moniker, The Ramrods, as what we
call this outfit.

The Ramrods was a very popular band and was around Boston for a year
or two before The Remains. The group also backed Freddy Cannon live,
and I even have a vinyl LP on which they back The Boom-Boom Man on a
couple cuts. This was a very important outfit.

"Act" may not be the best word for the subject of the remaining
message. But anyway, we got an e-mail about The Rat (the old
Rathskeller in Boston's Kenmore Square) from a connection of

GRANNY.

THAT guy is about as legendary as it gets. He specialized in
producing loud, VERY loud sound at The Rat. We understand Granny is
going to have it suggested to him that he should visit our Rat Web page.

I'm sure we have readers who will be totally delighted just to learn
that Granny is still around and about.


A
JON NOLAN
News Update

"So here's some good news - I [JON NOLAN] started recording my new
album. Yay!"

-- Jon Nolan Mailing, December 4, 2006


MISSION OF BURMA
The Internet Blackout

We received a query about the iTunes-only

MISSION OF BURMA

EP, "Snap Shot," and it occurred to me that we have not received a
Mission of Burma mailing in months.

Have you?

If you have received an MoB e-mailing lately, would you drop us an
e-line via

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

If we should get the idea that somehow we have turned up missing on
the MoB mailing list, we can write them about it. I'm just trying to
get a sense as to whether there is a need and, if so, what I should say.

Do you know about "Snap Shot"? Our inquirer was wondering if it is a
digital reissue of early tracks or, perhaps, a live set. Evidently
the MoB site does not say, and I found nothing on the question when
searching our computer files.


MY MUSIC-WRITER COLLEAGUE at the Vermont Guardian has too much going
on to allow him to take part in the official selection of Vermont's
top record releases of 2006, which means I get to make all the picks
myself. This could result in one eccentric list...


THE COMMON GROUND RESTAURANT
Brattleboro, Vermont

"Known throughout the region and internationally, as a symbol of the
counterculture, The Common Ground Restaurant, a worker-owned
cooperative and a Brattleboro landmark for several decades, closed its
doors a few years ago. Under new management and a renewed vision, The
Common Ground quietly opened its doors on November 3. The response
has been overwhelming."

-- Lynn Barrett, "Media Alert,"
November 29, 2006

IN THE 1970S, Brattleboro, Vermont was definitely a counterculture
stronghold, and the Common Ground Restaurant was a big part of it. It
was also a very popular place to just eat. And "Pass the Hat
Productions" was a significant presenter of live music in this town.
There were a lot of reasons to go to the Common Ground. One of the
most important people to our music liked to eat at the Common Ground:
Barry Tashian of Barry and the Remains. When most of us dig really
far back to the early days of the Boston-Cambridge folk scene, we come
up with Joan Baez and The Charles River Valley Boys. But the area's
folk community was already well established years earlier with such
performers as Peggy Seeger and Tony Saletan. And Saletan, too, used
to visit the Common Ground when he could. This restaurant was
actually a pretty important place. The reopening on November 3 and
The Grand Reopening on Friday of last week are events absolutely worth
noting here.


HAVE A MERRY AIMEE MANN CHRISTMAS
and a Happy New Year!

Who could have ever imagined that one day we would be able to send you
this seasonal greeting and not be totally joking. But the times have
changed, and

AIMEE MANN

has transformed into a jolly female elf who has released a Christmas
album and who is to embark on a tour in support thereof.

Tickets On Sale Now for the
First Annual Aimee Mann Christmas Show
John C. Reilly, Grant Lee Phillips and
Nellie McKay to be Special Guests

"'One More Drifter in the Snow' is Aimee Mann singing classic holiday
songs as well as the bittersweet Aimee original holiday song, 'Calling
on Mary.'"

-- "Aimee Mann Newsletter," November 30, 2006

Except for that one easy-to-overlook use of the word, "bittersweet,"
Aimee Mann has gotten wholeheartedly into the HoHoHo spirit, and she
will soon be among us bringing cheer and goodwill to man and woman
from Mann.


"LIVE AT THE VANILLA BEAN CAFE"
Fundraising CD

PETER MULVEY included this interesting item in his latest newsletter:

"Now available in the [PETER MULVEY] web-store is the CD, 'Live at
the Vanilla Bean Cafe.'

"A collection of 18 songs recorded at a great little room in
Connecticut, featuring Peter, Jeffrey Foucault, Mark Erelli and
others. $5 from each CD will be donated to Hospice of Northeastern
Connecticut, and you can purchase it at www.younghunter.com"

-- "Peter Mulvey Newsletter," December 1,
December 1, 2006

IT SEEMS TO ME LAST I KNEW singer-songwriter Maria Sangiolo was
booking The Vanilla Bean and that it is a family enterprise. Either
way, it is a listening room that often features acts we like to cover,
and it seems likely this CD compilation of live performances will
interest many of our readers.


MUSIC FROM THE "LITTLE HOUSE"
SERIES OF CHILDRENS' BOOKS
On National Public Radio

Did any of you, on Monday evening, catch "The Arkansas Traveler: Music
and Tales from Little House on the Prairie"? The main person behind
it is musicologist, Hutchinson Family scholar, and occasional Vermonter

DALE COCKRELL

of that quintessential Vermont institution, Vanderbilt University in
Nashville.

Whether it is official or not, "Little House on the Prairie" seems to
have become something like the running title for a series of books by
Laura Ingalls Wilder. Evidently the books skillfully and knowingly
reference a great deal of 19th-century American popular and folk music
and are of real cultural importance.

Here is the show's accouncement from the Vermont Public Radio Web site:

Monday, December 4
9 P.M.

Noah Adams - The Arkansas Traveler: Music and Tales from Little House
on the Prairie

There may be no works in all of American literature that better
document the musical life of pioneer America so thoroughly as the
Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder. NPR's Noah Adams hosts
this special hour of songs and stories taken from the Little House
series. Performers include A Prairie Home Companion regulars Riders in
the Sky and other Nashville artists, and readings by actress Cherry
Jones."

http://www.vpr.net/music/holiday_vpr.shtml

I am speculating that this show will be repeated, and it is a
broadcast that I can and do heartily recommend. Also, there are
records: evidently two of them. Before sending this issue, I will try
to round up some information or a link of some sort. [Sorry: I don't
actually recall at the moment what this was about, and I am way out of
time.]


TEMPER DEBUT CD
"Hang by Your Own Tail

According to an interesting, if tardy, e-mail from Pete Sutton of the
Boston band,

TEMPER,

that outfit's debut CD, "Hang by Your Own Tail," was released last
evening at the Lizard Lounge in Lizard, Massachusetts.

-- Pete Sutton, "Temper CD Release Party,"
December 4, 2006

Temper band member

CARLENE BAROUS

noted a few omissions in the CD-release announcement and followed with
her own humorous supplemental announcement.


THE RESOPHONICS
Forthcoming CD

"We [members of the RESOPHONICS] are fresh from recording the new
CD. ... [L]ook for CD-release shows at Passim in March and April."

-- Resophonics Mailing, December 6, 2006


MIEKA PAULEY

Publicity for

MIEKA PAULEY

has been very hard to grasp. It shows all kinds of milestones that
have not appeared to be matched by career advances. But my 2006
interview of her offered one major insight: clearly she is quite
simply not a self-promoter.

A few demos are polished up a bit, or not, and released officially.
It would be tough to beat the Remains Capitol demos or "Nebraska" by
Bruce Springsteen. But of those demos that we have received strictly
AS demos, the best I have ever gotten is one by Mieka Pauley. So as
hard as it has been to get a grasp on her past publicity, I have
definitely been interested in seeing what happens next. The 2006
airplay that Pauley's latest EP received added some flesh to the bare
bones of her prior career highlights, and it would certainly seem that
her career is really headed up as has long been hinted.

An item we received this week from Pauley's management has far more
formatting problems than I have time to deal with before sending this
issue. I'll try to reorganize it - which is to say, organize it -
before next time. But it does seem worth saying now that it is
coming. Mieka Pauley is an artist to watch, and her list of
milestones may be a little more interesting today than when we were
first sent them. The set of Mieka Pauley highlights should be along
next issue.


DIANE ZEIGLER
Award-Winning
"December in Vermont" CD

"I [DIANE ZEIGLER] thought I'd take this opportunity to let you know
that my Christmas collection 'December in Vermont' won the 2006 Best
Holiday Album award at the Just Plain Folks Music Awards in Hollywood,
CA a few weeks ago."

-- "Greetings From Diane Zeigler," December 1,
2006

Zeigler also had some personal news that was expressed perhaps a
little too personally for us to be justified in copying it here. It's
one thing in her own fan newsletter and another going out to someone
else's mailing list: in this case, ours. But the most important part
of it is that, at the time of her mailing, she was just days away from
giving birth to her third child.


GUSTER
Paying Tribute to
THE BAND

"We [members of GUSTER] are honored to have a track on the upcoming
tribute record to The Band. And we're happy to announce that this
time our song is actually the lead-off track, after landing deep in
the batting order on the Randy Newman tribute record (9th out of 12)
and even deeper in the batting order on the Daniel Johnston tribute
record (17th out of 18). The song we covered is called 'This Wheel's
on Fire,' written by Rick Danko and Bob Dylan in 1967 and available on
The Band's 'Music From Big Pink' album. The other artists on the
compilation are all over the map. The Allman Bros. cover 'The Night
They Drove Old Dixie Down,' Jack Johnson covers 'I Shall Be Released,'
Death Cab for Cutie does 'Rocking Chair,' etc. It comes out January
30th, 2007."

-- Guster, "This Wheel's on Fire," December 1,
2006


In the 19th century and into the 20th century, the

NEW YORK TIMES

ran some very strange news stories. The one I have seen most recently
- in this instance, it is a piece from the 1890s - involved a man's
death. All of the newspapers in his old home city ran, in some
detail, the story of the man's demise. Memorial services were held.
The entire grieving process was going well, until the deceased wrote a
letter to the editor, disputing that he had died...

Another odd article I need to find again has to do with a woman who
was willed five dollars by her mother. Someone subsequently went to
court to try to block her from actually collecting the five dollars
from her own mother's estate.


We have it on good authority that

SANTA CLAUS

is coming to town. We are not totally clear on Santa coming
specifically your town or to this town, but we understand things are
looking good for Northampton, Massachusetts.


end BRIEF ITEMS


= = = = =


THE BEATLORDS, THE HI-TIDES, AND
I'M NOT REALLY SURE WHO ALL ELSE
Live at Genos, Portland, Maine
Friday, Dec. 15

I really have very little idea who sent us this show listing, though
the "From:" address could suggest that some member of The Beatlords is
behind it. Nonetheless, for its utter strangeness, it is right up our
line and here it is:

Hey you Ho-Dads & Snow Bunnies! Time to get off the slopes and hang
ten for some awesome garage-surf mayhem that will surely horrify the
masses at Geno's on Friday, December 15th!

SEE party-goers do the cretin hop to the deep blue sounds of The Hi-Tides!

SEE wild pulsating rhythms performed with near precision by The Beatlords!

SEE scary Nebula skeleton men surfin' to the moon on a sea of
reverberation!

All this and MORE!!

Presented by Bottom Of The East Productions - a trademark of quality!!

Be there! GENOS - 625 Congress Street - FRIDAY - DECEMBER 15th @ 9 PM!

-- "Must See Show! Genos Friday Dec. 15,"
December 6, 2006

Let's go surfin' now
Everybody's learnin' how
And the cow jumped over the moon.


DROPKICK MURPHYS
We Will, We Will Punk You

"We are proud to announce the preliminary details for our 7th
consecutive St Patrick's Day bash and assure you we are more excited
than ever before about this year's festivities.

"Right off the bat our first show in Boston will be Friday March 16th
at our old stomping ground the Avalon Ballroom.

"Saturday March 17th we will be playing a special holiday show at the
Agganis Arena at Boston University. This show will start at 2.00pm.
That's right it's our first headline arena show in Boston, hey we want
to say at least we got to do it once, so come down and support the big
'rock show.'"

-- Dropkick Murphys, "St. Patrick's Day 2007,"
December 5, 2006


ELLIS PAUL
His Own Personal Year in Review

"The highlights of my year included a first run tour through Paris,
Germany, and England. The BBC has been playing my music in Britain
and I am thrilled and would like to thank all of you who called
stations on my behalf both here and abroad.

"Putting out 'Essentials' has been a career-long journey, and I am
more proud of this project than any other I have done to date. The
process was rewarding, talking to people about what songs this CD
deserved, and listening back to nearly twenty years of music. Another
year of non-stop touring was again, as always, like visiting old friends.

"I am presently writing new songs! I've been working on one about Abe
Lincoln! Who knew!?

"Working with Antje Duvekot this year has been amazing as well,
helping her release her project and introducing her to my audiences
has been a cool way to remember what starting out was like, and
witnessing the impact of first time listeners on a great new talent,
priceless."

-- Ellis Paul Mailing, December 1, 2006


THREE MEMBERS OF MISSING FAMILY FOUND ALIVE
Friends of Susie Ghahremani (Snoozer)

It makes most sense to tell this story backwards.

Late Monday afternoon when signing into Yahoo Mail, I noticed a link
to an Associated Press news story that I recognized instantly. Here
is the header and the first paragraph:

3 members of missing family found alive

By JEFF BARNARD, Associated Press Writer 14 minutes
ago

GRANTS PASS, Ore. - Three members of a San Francisco
family missing for more than a week were found alive
Monday in a remote area or southern Oregon, police
said. A search continued for the father.

Not more than three or four hours earlier, we received the following
from ex-Rhode Island artist/musician

SUSIE GHAHREMANI
(gair-uh-mah-nee)

who is better known to rockers as the one-woman band,

SNOOZER:

"some of you may know the shop doe, one of my wonderful retailers in
san francisco. kati kim, the owner of the store, and her family
(husband and two young daughters) have been missing in oregon since
friday, november 27th. there is a search ongoing - if you or anyone
you know is in the douglas county area, please keep your eyes open for
a silver saab station wagon with the license plate 'DOE SF.' more
information about the missing kim family can be found here:
http://www.jamesand kati.com/ and let's all hope for a safe return of
the kim family."

-- Susie Ghahremani, "Shop, Art, Craft, Hope,"
December 3, 2006

Why we received a Sunday e-mail Monday afternoon is anyone's guess,
but it made for interesting timing.

So far, this news story has ended miraculously, and it draws our
attention back to the word, "Hope," in Susie's subject line.

Sadly, since including this news item here, the husband/father of this
family was found dead.


CD REVIEW
Killswitch is vital on 'Daylight Dies'
By James Parker, Globe Correspondent | December 5, 2006
in Tuesday's Boston Globe

http://www.boston.com/ae/music/cd_reviews/articles/2006/12/05/killswitch_is_vita\
l_on_daylight_dies/


Lynn drummer hits it off with `Stomp'
By Terry Byrne/ Theater
Tuesday, December 5, 2006
in Tuesday's Boston Herald

http://theedge.bostonherald.com/artsNews/view.bg?articleid=170484


BEN TAYLOR AND SONYA KITCHELL
Backed by the Ben Taylor Band

Taylored twosome: Rising Mass. stars join forces
By Christopher John Treacy
Wednesday, December 6, 2006
in Wednesday's Boston Herald

http://theedge.bostonherald.com/musicNews/view.bg?articleid=170636


THE TOUGHCATS

Don't call it clawhammer
The Tough cats hit the mainland with Piñata
By Sam Pfeifle
11/29/2006 6:46:24 PM
in last week's Portland Phoenix

http://www.thephoenix.com/article_ektid28486.aspx


THE SLIP

Smooth sailing
The Slip broaden their horizon on Eisenhower
By Bob Gulla
11/28/2006 11:33:34 AM
in last week's Providence Phoenix

http://www.thephoenix.com/article_ektid28075.aspx


THE BEATLES:
UNRELEASED MUSIC AND FILM
By Richie Unterberger

"'The Beatles: Unreleased Music and Film,' written by Richie
Unterberger, has just been published by Backbeat Books. This
400-page, 300,000-word, illustrated coffeetable-sized book ($34.95)
details the incredible wealth of music the Beatles recorded that they
did not release, as well as musical footage of the group that hasn't
been made commercially available. The volume examines all the
unreleased studio outtakes, BBC radio recordings from 1962-65, live
concert performances, home demos, private tapes, fan club Christmas
recordings, and other informal recordings done outside of EMI studios
that have escaped into circulation. Chronologically sequenced entries
for all the Beatles' unreleased recordings of note from 1957 to 1970
are here, as well as all the unreleased Beatles musical video footage
of note from 1961 to 1970.

"Also included are overviews of songs composed by the Beatles that
were never recorded by the group, but given away to other artists;
recordings known or rumored to have been made by the group that
haven't yet circulated; Beatles compositions never recorded by anyone;
coverage of music the group didn't release while active, but later put
out on releases such as 'The Beatles at the Hollywood Bowl,' 'Live! At
the Star-Club,' 'Live at the BBC,' 'Let It Be ... Naked,' and the
'Anthology' volumes; and a history of Beatles bootlegs.

"Written with lively critical, descriptive analysis emphasizing the
music and its most human, artistic qualities-and not just where and
when the recordings were made - 'The Unreleased Beatles: Music and
Film' is a history for both the general fan and the specialized
Beatlemaniac."

-- Richie Unterberger, "The Beatles: Unreleased
Music and Film," December 5, 2006


AMANDA PALMER
"The Onion Cellar"

Crying game
The Dresden Dolls and the ART grapple in The Onion Cellar
By Jim Sullivan
12/1/2006 8:19:42 PM
in The Phoenix last week

http://www.thephoenix.com/article_ektid28733.aspx


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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!


I MAKE ADDITIONS AND OTHER CHANGES to this newsletter, to varying
degrees, after sending the e-mail version. For updates, you may want
to periodically check the Web-page version, which may be found by way
of the following address:

http://www.geocities.com/nemsnewz/news.htm

Clicking the Previous Issue link toward the bottoms of pages is one
way to access our BACK ISSUES. There's also a navigation bar at or
near the bottoms of pages which, among other things, can get you to
our latest posted newsletter.


As a rule, we do not post SHOW LISTINGS. The reason is quite
simple. Our readers are spread out all over the map. Though our name
is the NEW ENGLAND Music Scrapbook, we have readers all across the
southern tier of states - with a large number in Florida and another
large number in the Atlanta area. Even within the Northeast, we have
readers in each of the six New England states and many in New York and
New Jersey. The great majority of show listings would be of no
interest at all to most 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.

We also make a few exceptions for shows in the immediate Boston
area. Our single biggest concentration of readers, as far as we know,
is in and around Boston. We understand from e-mails we receive that
we are able to help turn out an audience to many entertainments in the
Boston area. But even in the case of Boston shows, we make few
exceptions. Maria's Weekly Band E-Mail is loaded with show listings,
and most of them have to do with events in Boston, Cambridge, and
Somerville. We don't want to make a habit of duplicating her efforts.

So, the general rule of thumb is that we don't post show
listings. In the very few, truly exceptional instances where we do...


... 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.


Exceptionally long addresses may need to be pasted into the
address field, which is probably toward the top of your browser
screen. Some addresses are so extremely long that they may have to be
pasted in two or more pieces.


New England Music Scrapbook :

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Issue 2006:199

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

Copyright © 2006 by the New England Music Scrapbook. All rights reserved.

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