New England Music Scrapbook Newsletter
Alan Lewis, Editor

Our Corner of the Rock 'n' Roll Life

August 4, 2007
Issue 2007:234

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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.


. . . . .


LAST MINUTE NOTE: There's lots more news, but sorry to say I'm
totally out of time. Here's hoping that some of the remaining
e-mailed news items will keep until next time.


BRATTLEBORO, VT, August 4 - I got my days crossed, didn't I, when
sending that special newsletter issue about the soon-to-be-revived
Weekly Band E-Mail. Oh, well... And it may be catching. We were
several hours into Saturday before Yahoo Mail stopped assigning Friday
dates to drafts of this newsletter.

We had a major thunderstorm late yesterday afternoon that lasted well
into the evening. It was the loudest thunderstorm I remember hearing
since the 1970s. I was losing a tremendous amount of worktime on this
newsletter because the storm just wouldn't stop, and I tried dealing
with this problem in my usual way by going to bed super early and
getting back up super early. But I couldn't get to sleep, that
approach backfired on me, and I lost another hour of worktime. So
there are perfectly good news items I am not going to be able to work
into this issue for no reason other than lack of time.

Since writing that last paragraph, I learned from the local news that
opened our great radio broadcast, "Saturday Morning With the Oldies,"
that one of our most important local venues,

THE CHURCH,

was struck by lightning yesterday, and the nearby part of
Brattleboro's Main Street is closed until further notice. I walk
right by The Church at least twice a day six days a week; and
recently, I have been running by there, too. THAT is local.

Part of the method to my madness in pulling together what I can of
this issue involves compiling items about artists/acts who seldom if
ever have appeared in these cyberpages. Examples include Dave
Crossland, Lez Zeppelin, The Racketeers, Shakers N' Bakers
(interesting band, by the way, and totally new to me), and Aaron Tapp.
At one time, Ray LaMontagne items appeared in our newsletter often;
but it has been a good long time since then, and so I also put
information about his "Trouble" being included on a Doctor Who
soundtrack on a high priority. Normally, I take e-mailed news items
more or less in the order received.

NO ONE RESPONDED TO OUR PLEA for ideas as to what this until-now
unnamed newsletter could be called, and I have been low on ideas
myself. Possibly something short could be carved out of "Our corner
of the rock 'n' roll life." But so far, nothing sensible has occurred
to me. (I have thought up plenty of nonsense.)

Some of our more 1960s-minded readers are amused by our
FredRemainsLost e-mail address, and I have given some thought to
calling this newsletter Wolf Remains Lost News. If you understand
that string of words, you will know that Wolf Remains Lost goes very,
very far toward definining the wellspring for the New England music we
have listened to in the years 1964 to 2007 inclusive.

Wolf Remains Lost is not exactly contemporary, but it does speak to
traditions behind what is going on today.

I keep hoping someone will come up with a better idea that, at the
same time, doesn't infringe on someone else's copyrights and
trademarks. But Wolf Remains Lost News is the best I have done so
far, myself, and I seriously doubt the name is already taken.

URIDFM News also seems like a possibility, though its meaning would be
totally obscure to nearly everyone.

If you have a different idea for a name for this newsletter, please
e-mail it to us by way of the following Web page:

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

YAHOO MUSIC NEWS has lots and lots of music news, to say the least.
We will not be linking to any of it this issue, I am afraid, strictly
for lack of time. If you are curious to check for yourself, the way
to go would be to go by way of the following direct Web address:

http://news.yahoo.com/i/689

Nothing at all in the look of the Yahoo Music News Web address makes
me think it is at all permanent, and it might be a good idea to follow
it, if you care to, sooner rather than later.

There is also a fair amount that might interest many of our readers in the

BOSTON GLOBE OBITUARIES.

The Boston Globe obituaries table of contents is at the following address:

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/obituaries/


FLUTTR EFFECT
All A-Fluttr Over Changes
in This Favorite Band

"It is with great emotion that we announce that Kara Trott will no
longer be part of Fluttr Effect. Due to creative differences we have
elected at this time to move forward and to allow her to pursue other
opportunities.

"She will continue to perform with the Fluttr Effect Trio on occasion,
which from now on will be called "Fluttr Effect Acoustic" and will
feature different guest musicians and singers for each show.

"We have a great deal of respect for Kara and who she is on and off
stage and are grateful to her for everything she has done for the
band. We've shared good times and hard times and now it's time to
move on.

"We wish her nothing but the best.

"Kara will be singing at our next acoustic show...."

-- Vessela Stoyanova, "Big News!" August 3, 2007


THE RACKETEERS
Reunion

"And then later ... is the mother of all shows for this year. THE
RACKETEERS are reuniting for one show and one show only [at T.T. the
Bear's Place, Saturday, August 4]. Unless you've been living under a
rock for the past ten years ... you have no idea who the Racketeers
were. So if you have been living under that rock ... then go to

http://www.rockabillyhall.com/Racketeers.html

to find out who these guys were. [I definitely did not follow that. -
Ed.] THIS SHOW IS GOING TO BLOW YOUR MIND! The line-up is so heavy
that Johnny Carlevale and His Band of All-Stars are just the opening
act going on at 9:15! Following us will be The Raging Teens at 10:15,
The Bourbonaires at 11:15, and then The Racketeers at 12:15! The
doors open at 8:30 so I suggest you get there early because this show
WILL sell out!"

-- Johnny Carlevale Mailing, July 31, 2007


WEEKLY BAND E-MAIL

We will be repeating this announcement for a while because we think it
will be important to many of our readers. It may seem to make sense
that posting this once is enough. But this newsletter circulates
several different ways, and even some of our more regular readers do
not necessarily see every single issue.

Over the course of our first several years of publication, our
subscription list, as far as I can tell, overlapped tremendously with
the subscription list of my e-friend

MARIA McLAUGHLIN's

WEEKLY BAND E-MAIL.

I would not be at all surprised if a majority of our subscribers were
also her subscribers.

Some time ago, Maria needed to suspend publication of her
show-listings newsletter. It seems to me the reason was that life got
too busy. Since that time, the Weekly Band E-Mail has been very much
missed.

Some of you already know the name of

BRIAN ANISTASI

of western Massachusetts. Lately we received an announcement from
Brian that he will be reviving the Weekly Band E-Mail. Here is the
main part of his announcement:

WEEKLY BAND E-MAIL TO BE REVIVED

Maria McLaughlin's labor of love, the Weekly Band E-Mail, will be
revived! A "test copy" of the e-mail will go out to people's in boxes
on Monday morning, [August] 27th, and people's feedback will be
greatly appreciated. Then it will begin in earnest on Monday,
September 3rd.

Taking over for Maria will be Brian Anastasi of Amherst, Mass. Brian
did a radio show of all Massachusetts music for about a year on WMUA,
the radio station at UMass/Amherst.

Brian plans to keep the same format, a day-by-day listing for who is
playing at all the clubs in the area and will still keep the Monday
morning schedule. He also plans to expand the club listings to
include clubs in the other five New England states, such as Toad's
Place in New Haven CT; Ralph's Diner, the Palladium, and the Lucky Dog
Saloon in Worcester, Mass.; Black Eyed Sally's and the Webster in
Hartford, CT; the Middle Earth in Bradford, VT; and the Flynn Theatre
in Burlington, VT. He also plans to begin listing Massachusetts
bands' upcoming gigs.

To receive the weekly band e-mail once again, please send your e-mail
address to bananastasi@... Clubs and bands may also send their
listings to the same address.

[ ]

I HAVE SUBSCRIBED to Brian's newsletter, and I imagine a very large
percentage of our own READERS will want to do the same.

We have had mixed results as to whether Brian's e-mail address works
as a link from our Yahoo Groups home page version of this newsletter.
It most definitely did not work for me. Visitors to the Yahoo Groups
home page may need to copy and paste the address or even retype it. - Alan


JENNIFER TEFFT
Stealing Back to the Lizard Lounge
With "Time Is a Thief"

By Alan Lewis
New England Music Scrapbook Newsletter
August 4, 2007
Issue 234

A few years ago, Steve Morse had an intriguing notice in the
Boston Globe about a Boston-area rock singer-songwriter, Jennifer
Tefft. Never heard of her. Curious, I lined up a copy of her
then-new album, "Shift." Emotionally intense from start to finish, it
was a challenging record. Strong on melodies, "Shift" was easy on the
ears without being anything at all like easy listening. I was
impressed. After getting this newsletter started, we wasted no time
checking in with Tefft. Our first news item about her was posted way
back in our third issue.

This newsletter, since Issue 3, has had less music news about
Jennifer Tefft than we would have liked. From here to maternity has
been more her theme, we're thinking. But now Tefft is back in the
record bins with an easy winner, "Time Is a Thief."

To the question of what she was trying to accomplish with the new
CD, Tefft said, "I just wanted to make some more music. I had a bunch
of songs in various states of completion and it had been a while since
I had really done anything. It was more self-indulgence than
anything! I love playing with my band members, and recording is
always a blast. And on a more practical note, I had to get some new
music to my agent in New York who licenses my work to TV shows.
(That's how I pay the bills.)

"I make music that moves me when I play it, music that I like to
hear. In the pre-production stage, if I get goose bumps or start
giggling, it means the song is going where it should."

"Time Is a Thief," though equally powerful, is more emotionally
varied than "Shift." Asked whether changes in her own life might
account for this, Tefft said, "Well, I think it's impossible to go
through a change as big as becoming a mom (twice) without it changing
you inside and out.

"My life is very different than it was five years ago. The songs
on this album were written over the last five or so years and a lot
has happened in my life, as well as in the world, that influenced
those songs. Some of them like 'No Trial Runs' and 'Quiet Sky' were
written in the weeks after September 11th. 'Cry' was written a few
months after my first child was born and came out of my utter
astonishment at this strange creature and the power he now had over my
life! Others were written about relationships with various people in
my life. I have a lot more confidence in myself as a person than I
did a few years ago."

"Time Is a Thief" has subtle touches of diverse, unexpected
rock-era music styles, ranging anywhere from early heavy metal to the
pop side of grunge. There is even one brief, grimy moment of Nine
Inch Nails-style industrial rock on the opening cut, as the Jennifer
Tefft Band throws this rock 'n' roll vehicle into gear.

"I really came of age, musically speaking, to the music of the
mid-90s grunge era," said Tefft. "I still go back to those artists
again and again for inspiration. I love the angst, passion, and raw
emotion. And before that I was, in fact, a metal-head tart. (eek) As
for the band members, they all have such a wide variety of influences.
They are very talented and intuitive players and it always amazes me
how they are able to feel or hear how I need something to be played,
usually without me having to tell them.

"It would be hard to be a musician in the early 90s without
taking something from Kurt Cobain. I was just starting to write and
play music at that point but I think more than musically, I was
influenced by his passion and energy. I loved Nirvana, still do, and
don't want to sound anything like them."

Tefft may be speaking for a very large number of artists. It is
surprising the tremendous diversity of musicians who have told me they
were influenced by grunge in general and Nirvana in particular but who
sound not a thing like the popular Kurt Cobain group nor like other
grunge bands.

"I really had no plan and had no clue how this album was going to
sound," said Tefft, shifting direction. "In general, I'm a big fan of
dynamics within a song. I love a sparse, or quietly intense verse
that explodes into a huge chorus or vice versa. So maybe that
tendency unintentionally carried over to the album as a whole. I also
think that the songwriting is a lot more introspective than it has
been in the past and there was much more of a focus on serving the
song as an individual as opposed to worrying about the overall tone of
the album."

A career in music that is at all long-lasting is bound to come
with a few surprises.

"I think one of my favorite moments was in pre-production for my
last album, 'Shift,'" recalled Tefft. "I hadn't really worked out the
arrangement for a song called 'My Own,' and we were just running it
down in the rehearsal space. The air conditioning was broken and it
was a zillion degrees in there. When we got to the chorus, I had no
idea what was going to happen, when Jeff, my bass player starts
playing this sick groove. I was so happy I almost peed myself. It
was one of those magic musical moments where everything just falls
into place. When we stopped playing, everyone was psyched. To this
day, that is one of my favorite songs to listen to or play live."

Another surprise came quite recently in a review of the new
album, "Time Is a Thief." Tefft explained, "[T]he interviewer went on
at length about a song called 'Sexy.' I don't have a song by that title.

"Hmmm."

Maybe there'll be a track called "Sexy" on the next disc.

If there could be a perfect double bill involving the Jennifer
Tefft Band, what would be the other act? "My all-time favorite Boston
band, TRIBE."

"Time Is a Thief" is geared for close listening. Tribe fans with
good ears may hear little echoes of that revered outfit in the music
of Tefft's new disc. This Tribe fan sure did.

On another front, Tefft said, "I get compared to every female
artist out there, so in the ten years I've been doing this I guess you
could say that people usually hear something current or relevant in my
music."

Promotion to radio of "Time Is a Thief" is not quite underway,
but Tefft is thinking the most likely tracks for Triple-A airplay may
be "Soliloquy," "Undone," or "Cry."

"Right now we are in the middle of a national press campaign and
will probably start radio in the fall," she said. "A lot of Internet
promo. We are playing locally every month or so and if the right
situation comes along, I wouldn't rule out a tour if I could bring my
kids with me."

As for the Lizard Lounge, Tefft declared, "I love that room. It
is intimate and laid back. It is a cool hang for the Boston music
crowd, so there are always friends and fellow musicians in the crowd.
The people who book it and run it are all musicians so they do their
best to make sure you have a successful show."

When asked for a Lizard Lounge anecdote, Tefft replied, "The
details are fuzzy as it was several years ago now. But I was looking
for someone who worked there to ask them a question. I was directed
to a door downstairs in the club. I walked through it and ended up
out back in the parking lot - locked out.

"So I trekked back around to the front of the club and tried
asking a different person and was directed to another door, this time
upstairs in the club. I walked through it and found myself again in
the parking lot - locked out. I figured maybe they were trying to
tell me something. LOL!

"So this time I went to my van to get something, ended up on my
cell phone, and about a half-hour had passed.

"I again trekked around to the front and now there was a line to
get in. (Yay!) I went to the front of the line to enter the club and
was immediately accosted by a woman who accused me of cutting the
line! Luckily the door man rescued me and settled the issue.

"I never did find the person I was looking for."

We wondered aloud whether Tefft has anything out of the ordinary
planned for her return to the Lizard Lounge.

"Cage dancers, jugglers ... oh no, that's a different show! I
think we have a long set or maybe even two sets, so we are actually
going to be dusting off some of my older tunes that haven't seen the
light of day in a loooong time!"

Unless you had your heart set on those cage dancers and jugglers,
for great new tunes and old, the Lizard is the place to lounge.

Who: Jennifer Tefft Band
Where: Lizard Lounge, Cambridge, Massachusetts
When: Thursday, August 9
For more information: http://www.jennifertefft.com/

I HAD HOPED TO GIVE "Time Is a Thief" a couple more spins while
finishing up this article and compiling this newsletter issue. But
yesterday's lengthy thunderstorm washed that plan away. Jennifer
Tefft makes albums that I like a lot. With luck, I will be able to
comment on "Time Is a Thief" more later.


= = = = =


BRIEF ITEMS :


AARON TAPP NEWS

Laurie Geltman, speaking at first of her band Layne, wrote, "[O]ur
guitarist, Aaron Tap, leaves soon to go on tour with Matt Nathanson...."

-- Laurie Geltman, "In Case You're Not on Layne
List," August 1, 2007


"We just returned from an incredible voyage to Japan where we
performed at the legendary Fuji Rock festival with a wide collection
of pretty heavy acts. We played hard the whole weekend and did our
best to win over the musically minded Japanese audience. We also got
to watch Iggy Pop and the Stooges up close and personal. Speaking of
up close and personal, Grace was granted the memory of a lifetime when
she was able to hug, kiss, and essentially lick the sweat off of Sir
Iggy."

-- "Grace Potter and the Nocturnals August
Newsletter," August 2, 2007


LATE SEPTEMBER SUBJECT
Needed for Article To Run
in Southeastern Vermont Newspaper.

I AM LOOKING FOR A SUBJECT for a music article to run in the
September issue of the

WINDHAM COUNTY, VERMONT

monthly community newspaper, The Commons. It would need to be on a
timeless subject - a venue profile could be an example - or, say, a
preview of a concert which is set for the second half of the month or
possibly very, very early October. If you have a suggestion, please
e-mail me by way of the following direct Web address:

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


Our e-friend

SHERYL HUNTER

has been on vacation perfecting her sunburn, so there is no "Sounds
Local" column in this week's Greenfield Recorder Arts & Entertainment
section. Sheryl is back home already, though, and we have great hopes
for next issue of her column.


end BRIEF ITEMS


= = = = =


Shakers N' Bakers Find Divine Inspiration
Dave Madeloni
Brattleboro Reformer
Thursday, August 2, 2007
Pullout Ovation Section
Page 3

If all goes well, Dave's column should appear at the following address
maybe as soon as late today:

http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.ListAll&friendID=45781020

The issue of The Commons that I would have written up this group for
was already on the stands when I got the new album and heard about the
upcoming show. But this group definitely has an intriguing mix of
sounds, and maybe I'll get an opportunity to write up the band at a
later date.


DAVE CROSSLAND

"About a week or so ago, I went into the studio with the band I took
down Texas for the Kerrville Festival back in June. Remember that
one? We had an awesome spot on the mainstage, right before the
headliner, but the powers of the universe had other things in mind,
like dust, wind, lightning and rain. Major bummer, but we did have an
awesome sound check (which apparently grows more famous by the minute)
and an ensuing invitation from our good friend and relentless
supporter, Neale Eckstein, to record 'the set that never happened' at
Fox Run studios.

"Well, good people, about a week ago we set it up and laid it down
live - no overdubbing allowed - and it came out beautiful and real and
we may have something to share with you in the not-so-distant future,
so stay tuned. And give a huge thanks to Neale and the guys in the
band, Jimmy Ryan, Rich Feridun, Marc Hickox, and Mike Piehl, for
making it happen!"

-- Dave Crossland Mailing, August 2, 2007


RAY LaMONTAGNE
On a Doctor Who-Related
Soundtrack

A member of the Lewis clan wrote in to say that "Trouble" by Maine and
New Hampshire guy,

RAY LaMONTAGNE,

is on the soundtrack of the Doctor Who spinoff, "Torchwood." (Episode 10)

"Torchwood" is coming to the United States in September. Evidently
tracks by American artists are not at all common on the "Torchwood"
soundtracks.

The e-mail we received said, among much else, "Torchwood (an anagram
of Doctor Who) is a top secret program designed to arm mankind so they
can defend themselves against alien invasion. The series follows
Torchwood 3, a team headed up by Captain Jack Harkness, an alien and
former traveling companion of the Doctor himself. Unlike the Doctor,
Harkness relies on violence a fair bit."


ALLEGHANIANS
Biographical Booklet

My booklet-length

ALLEGHANIANS

biography is about as finished as it is going to be for the next
several years. We don't know anywhere near as much as we would like
about the group at the moment, and this first edition is intended to
be an important stepping stone toward a revised and greatly expanded
second edition sometime off in the future.

This is highly specialized reading and is by no means for everyone.
But anyone who wants to take a glance would probably do best to start
with the home page / table of contents, which is at

http://www.geocities.com/hfsbook/tahome.htm

To the very best of my knowledge, nothing even remotely close to this
has ever been published in any form before this. People who see this
material now are the first ever to see it.


LEZ ZEPPELIN
In "Rock Notes" (Hoorah!)

Rock notes
Livin', lovin' -- and they're women
By Jonathan Perry, Globe Correspondent | August 3,
2007

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/living/articles/2007/08/03/livin_lovin____and_t\
heyre_women/?page=full


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 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 2007:234

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

Copyright © 2007 by the New England Music Scrapbook. All rights reserved.

: : :