New England Music Scrapbook Newsletter
Alan Lewis, Editor

Our Corner of the Rock 'n' Roll Life

November 3, 2007
Issue 2007:247

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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, November 3 - The big news this week is that we have
news. The news that is e-mailed to us has been running average or
better through most of the past few weeks, this week included. The
local music news slowdown that ran through the summer and well into
the fall was eerily recession-like. I suspect those things that did
not go well - or that at least came hard - for New England's music
community reflected broader problems with the United States economy.
But whatever it was that went on, we seem to be back out of it for the
time being.

We have, I think, an interesting mix of topics, from various sources,
touched on this week. Some items involve subjects that have never
been covered in any way in these cyberpages, such as The Detours, the
Independent Music Conference presented by Big Heavy World, Michelle
Malone, My Own Worst Enemy, and The Stanley Brothers.

If you are a

DRESDEN DOLLS

fan, you may find the news item written by Brian Viglione to be more
than a little ominous.

[ ]


= = = = =


BOSTON MUSIC AWARDS

"We are celebrating the 20th Anniversary of the Boston Music Awards
this year and we can't be more excited. The ceremony will definitely
be a night to remember with performances by Augustana, JoJo, The Click
Five, Lori McKenna, Amanda Palmer of The Dresden Dolls, Matt
Nathanson, Martin Sexton, Peter Gammons, James Montgomery, Special
Teamz and more. There will also be appearances by special guests Joey
Kramer of Aerosmith, Bobby Brown and others."

-- NEMO, "2007 Boston Music Awards,"
November 2, 2007


BIGHEAVYWORLD
INDEPENDENT MUSIC CONFERENCE

Vermont singer-songwriter

REBECCA PADULA

has taken us back to our start, with her latest mailing. As you may
know, in the 1990s I really wanted to get some sort of New England
music writing project going. And the very day I tried shifting my
efforts into high gear, the Boston Globe ran a notice of the death of

MARK SANDMAN

of the band, Morphine. That news story had a profound affect on me,
though it is an affect I do not profess to totally understand.

One of the very first things I did after this was consult a 1990s
alt-press publication, Good Citizen. And Good Citizen was freely
available on the Web by virtue of hosting by a Vermont organization
known as

BIG HEAVY WORLD.

Not a lot later, we made the e-mail acquaintance of Vermont
singer-songwriter and organizer

RACHEL BISSEX;

and for a very long time after, she advised and informed us regarding
a good variety of matters.

Finally, Vermont singer and folksong collector

MARGARET MacARTHUR

was our court of last resort, on difficult and obscure questions
having to do with folk music and the folk community, going back at
least as far as the 1980s and possibly even to the 1970s.

So, Rebecca Padula's latest mailing takes us back practically to the
New England Music Scrapbook's Big Bang. Here is a Big Heavy part of
what she sent:

"Coming up Nov. 8-10, www.bigheavyworld.com Burlington's Indie music
authority will host a free independent music conference 'Indi-Con' in
Burlington [Vermont].

"As part of the conference kickoff, I'll be hosting "In Their Own
Words' a songwriter's round robin Nov. 8 at 7 p.m. at Club Metronome,
upstairs from Nectar's on Main Street with some of my favorite Vermont
songwriters: Carol Abair, Aaron Flinn, Rik Palieri, Antara, Lyn Hardy,
Joe Adler, and APR. This will be a cool show, hope you can make it.

"The next night, you can catch the free premiere screening of my first
feature-length documentary film, Margaret's Waltz. This film
documents two concert performances paying tribute to Vermont folksong
collector and performer Margaret MacAurthur with interviews from from
performers, family members and a few clips of Margaret herself. I'm
also excited to let you know that it just won an award for Best
Documentary from the Northeast Alliance For Community Media. The
screening of Margaret's Waltz will be Nov. 9 at 8 p.m. at the
Firehouse Center for the Visual Arts on Church Street in Burlington.
Music for the Sky, another music documentary starts the evening off at
6:15. Copies of this film will NOT be available for sale, so you'll
have to catch a screening to see it. There is no charge, so come on out.

"Here's a link to the indi-con site for further information

http://www.bigheavyworld.com/indiecon/index.htm

"I will not be at the screening. Instead I'll be showcasing and
schmoozing at the Northeast Regional Folk Alliance Conference in
Monticello, New York. Thanks in large part to a scholarship awarded
by the White Light Fund. This was lovingly set up by the family of
late great Burlington songstress Rachel Bissex. I'm really honored
and kind of speechless about that one."

-- Rebecca Padula Mailing, October 29, 2007


LARRY WEINSTEIN
"Nero's Favorites"

My Alleghanians research has turned in a theatrical direction,
starting with Robert Stoepel who directed many a theater orchestra.

NYC/Boston rock singer-songwriter

NOAM WEINSTEIN

also has a theater event on his horizon.

LARRY WEINSTEIN

is responsible for this particular production.

"It's called 'Nero's Favorites,' named after the fiddler who
supposedly played while Rome burned (until his fiddle caught fire, at
which point he started scat-singing). So if you like the destruction
of civilizations ... you'll love the evocative set-design of
Dorchester's Cristina Todesco.

"Directed by Diego Arciniegas, the play features Veronica Barron,
Christian Kiley, Jackie Davis, Theresa Chiasson, Ed Hoopman, and
Foster Johns, supported by a band consisting of Andy Eggers, Sonny
Barbato, Gian Pangaro, and me. It takes place November 13th, 14th and
15th at 7:30pm on the campus of Bentley College in Waltham,
Massachusetts. Admission is free. Directions to Bentley can be
enjoyed here:

http://www.bentley.edu/directions

(Once on campus, you can park in lots #7, 8 or 9 at the top of the
hill, and then ask for The Lindsay Hall Auditorium.)"

-- Noam Weinstein, "Larry Weinstein,"
November 2, 2007

WEINSTEIN - Noam, that is - also has a full-band show coming up at The
Living Room in New York City on Thursday, November 29. His bandmates
will include the great Tyler Wood, Derek Nievergelt, and Dave Berger.
It ought to be a terrific evening.


BRIEF ITEMS :


MY OWN WORST ENEMY

This item comes from a Temper mailing sent by

CARLENE BAROUS:

"My Own Worst Enemy (MOWE) is a rockin' band you have to see. They
just put it down so good live and on record, and they're celebrating
the release of their new CD, 'Total Action'..."

-- Carlene Barous Mailing, November 1, 2007


KRIS DELMHORST, TIM GEARON, ALASTAIR MOOCK,
AND ROSE POLENZANI
To Celtic Connections Festival
in Scotland

"Rose is going to Scotland in January!

"Rose Polenzani, Kris Delmhorst, Alastair Moock, and Tim Gearon are on
their way to Scotland this January to represent for Boston
singer-songwriters at the Celtic Connections festival. Amazing. That
means that some UK shows are in the works for Rose and Sharon Lewis...
Stay tuned for January tour dates."

-- Rose Polenzani Mailing, October 29, 2007


AD FRANK
When Not Playing It
Fast and Easy

"I have been playing some shows on keyboard with fabulous noise-pop
crooners, The Bon Savants. This may or may not continue.

"Lifestyle, the band in which I play guitar, will be playing out again
in 2008. I will surely keep you posted."

-- Ad Frank in Stop, Pop, and Roll Mailing,
October 29, 2007


PETER MULVEY
"Notes From Elsewhere"

" ... I've released a new record - it's called 'Notes
from Elsewhere' and it's a collection of solo recordings of songs that
have appeared on my records over the last fifteen years. People have
asked for years if I have a version of such-and-such song, just me and
the guitar: now I do. It was a lot of fun to make, and I hope you
like it. It'll be in stores November 6, but you can order it online
right now:

http://www.petermulvey.com"

-- Peter Mulvey, "New Solo Acoustic Record,"
October 31, 2007


MICHELLE MALONE
Grammy Nominee

"BEST CONTEMPORARY BLUES GRAMMY

"It's Grammy voting time! That's right folks - after 20 years of
touring and recording, I finally made it on the Grammy ballot with my
9th CD, 'Sugarfoot' - WAHOOOO!!!!!"

-- "Michelle Malone ... Grammy Contender,"
October 30, 2007


THE XYLOPHONE

Do we have any xylophonists out there?

Before the instrument started being commonly called a xylophone, do
you know what it was called?

I searched two HUGE databases that allow users to sort results by
date. The earliest reference to the xylophone, by that name, which I
could find was "dated" in the RANGE of the 1870s. The first with an
exact date, as I recall, was 1874.

A number of historic Boston city directories are available online,
thanks to the wonderful folks at Tufts University. The earliest
hitlist hit I could get, searching these Boston city directories on
either xylophone or xylophonist, was from 1925!

So I am wondering what the instrument was commonly called, other than
xylophone, back in the mid-nineteenth century.


DRESDEN DOLLS
Catch 'Em While You Can

"We, The Dresden Dolls, are hitting the road this winter and we want
to see your face out there. We want you to bring as much ruckus and
muster as much eye-bulging, white-knuckled enthusiasm as you can
possible squeeze from every fiber of your shivering fists and
chap-lined lips this December and January.

"Simply put, this is going to be the last jaunt around the ol' tour
track for us for quite some time and we want to dedicate these shows
to you. Bring it and bring it good, people.

"We'll see you there..."

-- Dresden Dolls, "We're Seven and Winter Dolls
Tour," November 1, 2007


end BRIEF ITEMS


= = = = =


JOSH BROOKS
To Visit NEMS Spiritual Home

Much-admired Vermont singer-songwriter

JOSH BROOKS

recently has opened a Caffe Lena show for Stacey Earle and Mark
Stuart. Later this month, his feet will be mere feet from the
scrapbook that gave name to this very organization, the New England
Music Scrapbook. Brooks gives an Acoustic Cafe show at Wadleigh
Memorial Library in Milford, New Hampshire on Saturday, November 17.

Ludlow Patton was a wonderful man. Though he died in 1906, a number
of us - over 100 years later - are still on a first-name basis with
him. Ludlow assembled the most amazing Hutchinson Family Scrapbook,
which somehow came into the possession of the Milford NH public
library after his death. Our own clipping file - and really a lot of
our efforts - first sprang to life with the thought of creating a
scrapbook about contemporary New England music similar to Ludlow's
Hutchinson Family collection.

The old Milford library is right across the street from the current
location. The word, "Library," is written in brick on the outside
wall of the old building. Ludlow - an avid music fan and, himself, a
banjo player - was a regular patron of the Milford library, and
perhaps he will be at the Josh Brooks concert in spirit. I wouldn't
mind being at that show, myself.


ELLIS PAUL
CD-Release Event

"As you ... know, Ellis' new CD, 'The Dragonfly Races,' is now on sale
and can currently be ordered exclusively through CDfreedom.

www.cdfreedom.com/artists/ellispaulsthedragonflyraces

Ellis and everyone involved in this project are really proud and
excited about the quality and great artistry of his first jaunt into
the Family/Children's Genre. Ellis will have his CD release show at
8:00 pm on Saturday, November 17th at the Somerville Theatre in
Somerville, MA (just outside of Boston). Order tickets here
www.planetarygroove.com. Ellis will be joined by Don Conoscenti,
Radaslov Lorkavic, and Flynn."

-- Mailing From Ellis Paul Headquarters,
October 29, 2007


STANLEY BROTHERS
"The Definitive Collection" Box Set

Gayle of the Brookes Company sent us this. On the face of it, this
looks like an amazing collection.

"* Stanley Brothers: The Definitive Collection (1947-1966) / April 3

"On the 60th Anniversary of their first studio recording, bluegrass
legends the Stanley Brothers are commemorated with 'The Stanley
Brothers: The Definitive Collection (1947-1966).' Released to stores
on April 3rd, just weeks after Ralph's 80th birthday, it is the first
comprehensive box set to chronicle their entire career. 'The
Definitive Collection' comes at a time when bluegrass is in the midst
of a surge in popularity, started by the hit film and soundtrack 'O
Brother, Where Are Thou?' and continuing on with artists such as Dolly
Parton, Alison Krauss and Nickel Creek releasing critically acclaimed
and commercially successful albums dedicated to the genre. Released
40 years after their last performance together, the box set includes
songs from every record label they recorded for and rare live
performances. The package is highlighted by three previously
unreleased tracks and two additional songs that have never been
available on CD before, as well as rare photos, many of which were
culled from vintage `song and picture books' that were sold by radio
stations in the 1940s and 50s and from the King Records photo
archives. It also includes a biographical essay by bluegrass
historian Gary Reid and a special introduction by Ricky Skaggs."

Ed.: - If you already have this set and would care to comment on it,
please e-mail us by way of the following Web page:

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


THE DETOURS
On YouTube

Mike James sent this October 30, 2007 press release:

Press Release

Rare Video Footage of Boston's The Detours Appears on You Tube

October, 2007—Video footage shot in 1983 of Boston band The Detours
has resurfaced on You Tube
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLyhZekreSo). Carefully extracted from
the archives of Las Vegas based Marc Horowitz, brother of co-founding
guitarist Matthew Horowitz (both of Lexington, MA), the footage also
features Joseph Fusco on lead vocals Micah Sheveloff on piano,
formerly a band member of Gary Cherone [in The Dream/Extreme - Ed.]
and currently with Connecticut's The Voodoo Jets
(www.thevoodoojets.com). Richie Stamm is the bassist and Ken Mello was
on drums, both from Winchester, Massachusetts. Sheveloff also appears
in Gil Markle's autobiography (www.studiowner.com) as part of the
"local band" playing Stones songs "from a nearby field" for the
Rolling Stones when they were guests at Markle's Longview Farm in
western Mass.

The featured song, Stuck In My Car, reached a high degree of localized
popularity in 1983 and won accolades from Boston station WBCN, where
the song was voted #1 on a local spotlight for several weeks running.
Fusco was a voice student of Boston legend Rick Berlin, and the video
was shot on the infamous warehouse soundstage constructed in a Waltham
, Mass. by Aerosmith in their early days. "I really thought these guys
had something special," commented Marc Horowitz by phone from Las
Vegas . Sheveloff concurs—"I was far to naïve to realize it or do
anything constructive about it at the time, but this band had an
incredible connection with club audiences. It was a priceless moment
in my performing career."

Fusco, who co-founded The Detours with Horowitz in 1981, recalls some
of the memorable performances such as live radio broadcasts from The
Channel nightclub, opening for Jon Butcher , The Neighborhoods, and
other icons of the day. "I was a fledgling songwriter at this point,"
said Fusco. "Stuck In My Car was a pretty solid first effort. It was
a lot more meaningful to be in a band during that era. We always had a
venue to play and audiences were energized and supportive night in and
night out. It was all about the music."


THE GUITAR HERO AND ROCK BAND GAMES

I have never actually played one of these games, so this is a thing I
know little about. But I do know that my

DIN

T-shirt is of interest to lots of young folks, Din having had a cut on
the "Guitar Hero" soundtrack. Older folks may not have a clue who Din
was and probably only notice that I am dressed in yellow instead of my
usual black. To me, then, this says a great deal about how computer
game soundtracks acquaint young people with music acts.

One of our regular e-mail correspondents wrote,

"IGN has tested the compatibility of the Rock Band Stratocaster and
the Guitar Hero 3 Les Paul controllers and found that the Guitar Hero
controller will indeed work with the previous Guitar Hero content (1+2
for the Playstation 2 and 2 for the 360). However, the Rock Band
controller, as of the article, is not compatible with the Guitar Hero
titles. This is especially curious since Harmonix (who developed Rock
Band, but were the developers on the previous two Guitar Hero titles)
has been pretty vocal about the concept of open standards.

"IGN concludes that it's possible that things will have changed by the
time of the final versions (Guitar Hero 3 has officially hit stores,
Rock Band will in about a month), but I certainly wouldn't count on it.

"Further, this Holiday season, Rock Band instruments will not be
available separately. That means you have to buy the pack (which
comes with a wired guitar on the XBox 360) or wait until January to
get the items piecemeal (barring the guitar, since you can use the
model that comes with your version of Guitar Hero). This may not be
the best of moves for Harmonix, as the only thing that the Guitar Hero
franchise has going over Rock Band right now is price (Guitar Hero 3
clocks in at only 50 or 60 dollars US if you have a previous guitar
controller, and even with the new wireless Les Paul, is 80 dollars
less than Rock Band) and availability. If you just want the drums, or
the mic (though I've been told any USB mic will work), or you have no
need for the wired guitar, you're out of luck.

"On the plus side, the new Les Paul Guitar Controller looks a lot
better, and is reported to be heavier and less toy-like. The Rock
Band Strat is also a better quality instrument than previous guitar
controllers."

The same writer said he has heard talk that the Guitar Hero game is
too easy up to Tier 7. I take this as a reference to the new Guitar
Hero 3. He added, "Then the Tier 7 tracks are eating them alive."

At the time, he was not able to test this out for himself.

He also wrote that "One of the major advantages of the XBox 360 is
that it is supposed to function as a media center. This includes
being able to set up custom soundtracks for video games, which may
either further the fears of driving people away from music or (more
likely, in my opinion) allow them to set up playlists of songs they
truly are interested in."

[ ]


WHEN THE MUSIC'S OVER
TURN OUT THE LIGHTS...

-- James Morrison

We actually have a couple more news items; but they are not especially
time-sensitive, and both will keep until next newsletter. I lost some
time on this issue on account of an unanticipated power outage, and
now I am running late. Dishes and laundry need to get done, and I
need to run.

See you next time!


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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(Please do NOT click the Reply button.)

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Issue 2007:247

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.

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