Hi,

This is The Deli New England's old homepage, which we are not using anymore. The Deli's website about the New England Music Scene can now be found here.

Thanks!

The Deli Staff.

Our Beloved Revolutionary Sweethearts in Bands,

As usual, The Deli's Year End Poll (for emerging artists) will assign the cover of our Spring Issue 2010. The polling process is as complex as rocket science (if you want to try and get your head around it be our guest and go here).

The submissions for the open contest that will select minimum 3 artists for the next phase is now closed. We are currently receiving the jurors' votes. The next phase will be the readers' vote, which will start on January 3.

All the bands that submitted to our open contest were also added to our chart system for indie artists - which will get them some exposure in the future.

Here we are taking a little bit of a holiday break - we'll still have some content up in the next few days, but not as much. We will see you back in early January - in the meantime Happy Holidays to you all!!

The Deli's Staff
www.thedelimagazine.com

Musical peoples from New England and beyond.

A few weeks are left before the end of 2009, and the time has come for our end of year musical "summary". Yes, you got that right: The Deli's "Best of (emerging) New England 2009 Poll" is upon us!

This year we'll have an overall chart including the votes from Jury, Writers and Readers, and a Readers' charts including only the readers' votes. There will be prizes in vouchers, software and studio time for all the top artists in both charts.

We have a lot to tell you about this, but as this poll couldn't happen without sponsors, we'll start by listing them all, and by thanking them for being part of this.

Instructions about the poll coming soon!

PREMIUM SPONSORS

OTHER SPONSORS

providing a total of 18 audio plug in for the pool of prizes(9 iZotope, 9 IK Multimedia)

On Saturday night, the [dog] and [pony] DVD Release Party was held at SPACE Gallery. [dog] and [pony] is a local filmmaker team that documents performances of local Portland bands and musicians and edits footage of them to capture the essence of their performances. [dog] and [pony] started in March of this year with an intimate performance by Dead End Armory, followed by one of Highway Jackson. If you know both of those bands, you'll understand that [dog] and [pony] is aiming to find the great diversity of Portland music, with Dead End Armory's alt-country/rock and Highway Jackson's southern rock style.

This release party celebrated [dog] and [pony]'s first DVD volume of 15 videos. Of the musicians and bands on the DVD, nine of them were there to perform—The Lobolly Boy, Samuel James, Dana Gross, Wes Hartley (of Dead End Armory), Chriss Sutherland, Jesse Pilgrim, Kris Rodgers (of Highway Jackson) and Jacob Augustine—along with Portland's hottest new rock band, Marie Stella.

One of the better moments of the show was when Samuel James performed his re-imagined Blues version of Michael Jackson's “Billy Jean.” As soon as people realized what song he was performing, a collective grin stretched across the audience. I find it alarming that there can be such a talented artist who still has to hold a regular job at Videoport to make a living. This is true for many of the musicians who performed tonight, but hopefully [dog] and [pony]'s exposure will help them reach the stardom and praise that they deserve.

Another exciting moment was Jesse Pilgrim's entire set. I had heard his voice had the likeness of Johnny Cash's smoky bass, but I didn't realize that he mixed his old country voice with punk-rock instrumentation. Jesse Pilgrim may have been the most exciting new voice I've heard in recent times.

Jacob Augustine was undoubtedly the crowd favorite of the night. His music was folk-based, infused with the incredible soul of his voice, all with a great backup band of piano, guitar, horns, and violin. Augustine was later joined by Aly Spaltro of Lady Lamb the Beekeeper for the final few songs of his set. Though the juxtaposition of the two figures was outlandish, the intensity and soulfulness of their voices were evenly matched. As a past enthusiast of Lady Lamb shows, it was exciting to see her perform with a full band behind her (she usually plays solo); I can only imagine how great her songs would sound with more instrumentation. You can pick up a copy of the [dog] and [pony] at all Bull Moose stores. A live CD recorded from the show will be released within the month. Follow the links below for video clips of [dog] and [pony]'s work:

Dead End Armory: http://vimeo.com/3553250

Samuel James/Chriss Sutherland: http://vimeo.com/4967713

Jacob Augustine video http://vimeo.com/5998694

--Dylan Martin

I caught my first punk show of the winter season this Saturday at the Middle East upstairs at one in the afternoon. Who knew you could do that? I couldn’t remember a show I’d ever been to that had started before 7 PM. Except for the time I saw Raffi, live (incidentally, one of the better performances I’ve ever seen. Even if it was only because I was a four-year-old with a funnel cake watching a Unibomber-lookalike play three chords).

The first act of the night was a Boston five-person folk-punk outfit The Swaggerin’ Growlers. The SGs came out with some real elephant-crushing energy that hardly relented during the course of their set and it wasn’t just one member of the group holding it all up. Whether it was lead vocalist Johnny Swagger contorting his body into some mean Hendrix-style lean-backs (which I’ve never, ever seen someone do at a punk show) or Fiddler/Tin Whistler/Accordionist Annie Growler getting mean on her tin whistle or even just the between-song banter, you could definitely tell that the SGs were there to have some goddamn fun up on that stage. Their fast folk-punk tunes in 4/4 time (with the exception of a 3/4 musical break where the lead singer shouted “WALTZ TIME!!!”), kept the crowd swinging and moshing through most of their set.

--Read the whole review by Dan Schneider HERE

The Jazz Guys are playing their final show this Friday at Muddy Waters on Main St, downtown Burlington. Part of the burgeoning indie rock scene, with a throwback style of with equal parts irony and smiles (a cover of Beyonce's "Single Girls" was floating around the interwebs earlier this year). They will also be joined by Burlington acts Missy Bly, Swale, and Kochalka.

Muddy Waters
184 Main St.
Burlington, VT 05401

--The Deli Staff

Photo by Graham Marley

Chris North Alspach, Regina Peterson and Dylan Clark make up Boston's The Points North. They just released  I Saw Across The Sound, which is self-described as "vocal harmonies, flute melodies, and bass drum thumps carry the listener through twelve New England ghost-country folk songs, and was released Oct 1st on vinyl, cassette and digital download from Grinding Tapes Recordings."

They have a few dates coming up. Jan 6th @ the Middle East Upstairs in Cambridge, MA, Jan 7th @ The Rabbit Hole in Fitchburg, MA and Jan 9th @ Mocha Maya's in Shelburne Falls, MA .

This is an interview with Chris North Alspach.

The Deli: You all were raised in central MA, and the austerity and tonality of your music seems to draw on more intimate, close-to-the-earth musical traditions. At times, one feels transported into a farmhouse living room in the winter, with a warm fire accompanying the singalong. How has New England played a role in shaping the music you make?

Chris North Alspach: I appreciate the way you've interpreted our music and I'm glad tosay we've played a few shows in quiet farmhouses with warm firesand friends singing along. They've been very special times as wereally connect with the space. We all grew up in Central Mass. in post-agricultural communities and, after moving away, found that theaesthetic of that place really dominated our creative output. After ending a previous folk music project two years ago Regina and I worked hard learning the Irish flute and octave mandolin and solidifying ourvocal styles. It was all part of an effort to create the peaceful,cold and beautiful sounds that would convey the landscapes weexperienced as children, and the feelings they triggered. We typicallyplay rock venues whether it's a basement or a bar, and part of whatmotivates us to write and perform this style is to be a bridge betweenlisteners in those environments and the world outside.

--Read the whole interview by Bill Braun HERE

Enjoy the sights of Boston from the eyes of The Hush Now as they offer you tidings of the season in this video featuring "Wishing you a Happy Christmas". You can download the song HERE for free.

-- The Deli Staff

There are some really great shows going on this weekend.

WERS 88.9FM Presents Will Dailey's Festival Holidad at the Paradise Rock Club in Boston MA tonight. Four bands will be celebrating the season with rock, pop and CD releases galore.

Here's the line up:

BRENDAN BOOGIE & THE BEST INTENTIONS (releasing their brand new CD!)

VIOLET NINE

THE LUXURY (2009 Rumble Winners, Nominated for Best Rock Act in the 2009 BMA's)

WILL DAILEY & THE RIVALS (Winner of Songwriter of the Year at the Boston Music Awards)

Also, Avi and Celia's new project Hey Mama will be celebrating their Boston CD release at the Lizard Lounge tonight and tomorrow. Tonight they will have Qwill (I like them a lot.) supporting and tomorrow it's Mia Dyson.

Session Americana's annual holiday extravaganza is at Club Passim with special guests (of course) Melissa Ferrick, Rose Polenzani, Sarah Borges, Merrie Amsterberg, and Peter Linton. Two shows for that 7 & 10.

As for Vermont tonight, country rockers Lowell Thompson and Crown Pilot at Red Square and The Day's Weight (who kicked ass at the launch party) play Manhattan's (man, I want some of that pizza and beer right now.)

So, you guys have no excuse not to do anything this weekend.

--The Deli Staff

New wave rockers, The New Collisions are playing The Pill next Friday at Great Scott. Dance party fun time in Allston, MA. The show is only five dollars. The show is only five dollars. The New Collisions have had probably the most successful and amazing year of any new Boston act. Touring with Blondie, getting nominated for a Boston Music Award and playing many great shows around town and the US. You have no excuse to miss this show. Plus it's after most of the colleges get out for winter break so less amateur night-riders on the B line. More about The New Collisions read this interview with the Deli HERE

The New Collisions| Great Scott 1222 Commonwealth Ave. Allston, MA| 10pm| $5

--The Deli Staff

Business for Pleasure released their new album White Collar Ryhmes at the Middle East Downstairs 12.3.

The members of Boston’s Business For Pleasure don’t feel obliged to hide their influences - in fact, a quick sleeve-check showed, during a live set at the Middle East Downstairs last Friday, a range of 90s rap inspirations from Snoop & Dre to A Tribe Called Quest to the Notorious BIG to the Beastie Boys. Though I’m not typically one to judge a music group by the sources that they cite (left that shit back in high school), I do feel inclined to point out how Business for Pleasure’s only real flaw is that they seem to be stuck in a time that can not be recovered. Unfortunately, for these fine music makers there’s no way to sample the nineties.

Short of that, BFP kept it pretty damn real. What appeared at first to be a funk/rock/rap outfit warranting a comparison to a certain band who wrote a song about a Yoruba religion (hint: it’s not Lucumi) became a fairly danceable piece of musicianship in front of my very eyes. Every member of the group was involved in the performance and appeared to be loving it - from MC Jed Lewis letting out his particular brand of complex lyricism to keyboardist Tim Tsang singing a beautiful falsetto harmony over a song about halfway through the set (I couldn’t catch the name...forgive me). Throughout the whole set guitarist Cory Kwan’s catchy hooks and riffs reverberated throughout the basement of the Cambridge venue. It made me wonder: might this kind of musician-centric hip-hop still have a place in the music world beyond the kids bumpin’ The Roots on their headphones?

In all likelihood, no. But a part of me, for the sake of a group as nice-soundin’ as Business For Pleasure, really hopes that I’m wrong.

--Daniel Schneider

Mark Kaye is the founder of Hear Now Live, a Boston based company that provides additional revenue sources for local bands. Hear Now Live promotes shows at several local Boston area clubs. According to their website, "[Hear Now Live is] a one stop shop for a local band or an up and coming national band. On top of offering Bands the opportunity to play a HNL concert that will be promoted correctly and be band friendly, our shows attract true music fans, and the vibe created by HNL is unmatched."

The Deli: Tell me about Hear Now Live. How long has it been going on?

Mark Kaye: I have been in and out of the music industry for 20 years but I started HNL 3 years ago. It started as a way to get local music out to people faster by recording the shows and burning them on the spot. It turned into a full service Promotions and booking agency shortly after that. We try to create a community of music fans and have them always want to come back for more. We ask the musicians to believe in the each show and to help us create a positive environment so that there friends and fans will be happy and want to see them again or come to another Hear Now Live event.

Read more...

Tony Lovell Photo by : David Owczarek

One could make a strong case that the Cambridge and Boston area is filled with a diversity of talented musicians and songwriters…and that there are too few venues in which that talent can find a home. Tony Lovell, a talented singer/songwriter himself, is waging active war against that notion. He has been organizing acoustic showcases featuring some of that talent in rooms that don’t usually see such fare. At first, the dance club Middlesex became a forum for Cambridge singer/songwriters to strut their stuff. Now, he has brought that vibe and vision to The Enormous Room in Central Square. This Sunday evening, beginning at 6PM, a group of local songwriters will perform free of charge in a space that is usually reserved for DJs and electronic music.

Sunday’s lineup will feature a diversity of acts such as the ever-hilarious Joe Kowan, the heartfelt duo of Jeremy Ross and Cilla Bonnie, and yours truly. David Owczarek and Tony Lovell himself will round out the bill. Come join us for an evening of original songs in an original space.

Sunday, December 6, 2009, 6-9PM| 569 Massachusetts Ave.| Central Square, Cambridge, MA

-- James Houlahan

It’s always sad to realize that a venue cares more about making loot than the music it is featuring. Such is the case of Pearl Street Nightclub in Northampton, MA. Sadly, Pearl Street is one of the largest venues in Western Massachusetts. It is part of the Iron Horse Entertainment Group which is a conglomeration of the Calivin Theater, Iron Horse, and Mountain Park all owned by Eric Suher who has already seen a fair share of legal trouble in his short 40 years.

I went to see Jesse Dee and Ryan Montbleau. Both are acts I have seen before. I’ve seen Jesse close to a billion times and Ryan once in Vermont. Both phenomenal acts and they put on a great show Friday night. Too bad it had to be at the Pearl Street Nightclub.

As soon as I walked into the venue I was greeted by many warnings. If I used a camera the venue had a right to confiscate my equipment. When you read further, I can understand why they wouldn’t want people using cameras. The place was riddled with fire code no-nos. I don’t think I’ve ever planned my escape route during a show before. If I bought drinks for a minor I would be hog-tied and executed. Understandable.

The venue was dark, cold and loud. The first band, who’s name I couldn’t find anywhere, sounded like they could have been a good band, although the audio was so fucked up all you could hear was the drums. There were NO lights on except for five crappy stage lights. I am not exaggerating. THERE WERE NO LIGHTS ON (are you reading this Northampton fire department?) You couldn’t see the floor let alone your hand in front of your face. I decided to get a beer and was surprised to find out a bottle of Harpoon is over 6 dollars. I can understand high prices in a higher class venue but this place didn’t even have locks in the girl’s bathroom. When we bought a beer we had to ask the bartender for our change back for two beers (we gave him a 20, do the math). He laughed in our faces and said he thought it was “gratuity”. The fucked up thing is that he was serious. In all my many, many years of going to bars around the world NEVER, EVER have I witnessed such rudeness from venue staff. He wouldn’t sell us three beers at a time. Even though my friend was treating me and another friend who were all present in front of this man. His name was Jack according to the other bartender. Ugh. The bartenders were wearing sport jackets, you know like the Starter kind, because I don’t think the heat was on. The only security I saw was a teenager sitting on the risers texting on his phone all night.

Let’s talk about the music. Jesse Dee is one of my favorite acts in New England. He starts off his shows with a Sam Cooke-esque musical announcement of what is going to happen and the crowd always nestles near and starts to dance immediately. His music is classic soul. I love it. If you haven’t seen him yet, and I don’t know why you wouldn’t, please do. He tours all over the place.

Ryan Montbleau is a larger act and has quite a national following. He sits down like Tim Gearan and has a different guitar for every song it seems. I like that Montbleau has such a variety of content in his shows. His songs vary from folk-rock, to blues, to jam band style, uh, jams. The crowd loves this kid. He’s a cutie patootie and is always smiling. I noticed that both bands seemed disconnected from the audience. It’s my guess that they couldn’t see them in the soul-engulfing darkness of the club.

I left half-way through Montbleau’s set, honestly because I couldn’t take how disgusting Pearl Street was anymore. A small bottle of water is 3.50 by the way. Does this place think its Woodstock 99 or something? (I went to the hell on Earth that was Woodstock 99 and it was a far better experience compared to this dump.) I asked for a glass of tap and he gave me a plastic cup and told me to fill it up in the bathroom. I asked him if he had a sink behind the bar and the bartender said it was full of water. I probably need a tetanus shot.

I went next door to Bishop’s Lounge which is probably my favorite venue in the area, and was pleasantly surprised to see that Avi and Celia’s new project, Hey Mama, was playing. Sweet. They were amazing. I was not disappointed, and didn’t think I was going to be. Bluesy rock at its best. They actually kind of reminded me of Led Zeppelin for some reason, which is a blessed and enlightening feeling I’ve never experienced before. Bishop’s is a cozy venue with a great porch for smoking and hanging out. And you can hear the music on the porch. They have a dancing area and the staff is nice. It was a great relief to experience Hey Mama at Bishop’s after getting my wallet raped at Pearl Street.

Don’t get me wrong. Jesse Dee and Ryan Montbleau are some of the greatest musicians out of the area right now. I just felt like I was watching them on TV. Let this be a warning to you touring musicians and fans. Stay far, far away from Pearl Street Nightclub. In all my years in music and journalism I can say honestly, it is the WORST venue I have ever been to in my life. I don’t care if God resurrects Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin and Kurt Cobain for some “Club 27 Revival Tour” and the only show they play is the Pearl Street Nightclub. I wouldn’t go back. Now excuse me, I have to take a shower and then get tested for Chlamydia.

On a lighter note, Hey Mama is playing Nectar's in Burlington tonight. Now that's an awesome venue. Get a Ridge Runner on tap for me.

-- Meghan Chiampa

WERS 88.9FM Presents Will Dailey's Festival Holidad at the Paradise Rock Club in Boston MA on 12.11. Four bands will be celebrating the season with rock, pop and CD releases galore.

Here's the line up:

BRENDAN BOOGIE & THE BEST INTENTIONS (releasing their brand new CD!)

VIOLET NINE

THE LUXURY (2009 Rumble Winners, Nominated for Best Rock Act in the 2009 BMA's)

WILL DAILEY & THE RIVALS (Winner of Songwriter of the Year at the Boston Music Awards)

Should be a kick-ass show! The best thing about it is that Will Dailey and pals have been posting funny little youtube videos to promote the show.The videos feature people getting punched in the face (gasp!) and Dailey in light-up musical novelty antlers (aw!). The video at the top was my favorite one. Check out their Festival Holidad channel HERE.

TICKETS HERE +18 $12 adv. - $15 day of show

--The Deli Staff

Perhaps Burlington's most well renknowed indie rock band, The Cush, are having an early CD release party for their upcoming album, Between the Leaves. The album won't be officially released until April of '10, but the group is giving their hometown fans an early look. Also joining the festivities are Tapis Bleu and Nose Bleed Island. Doors open at 9pm at the Monkey.

Monkey House
30 Main St.
Winooski, VT 05404

--The Deli Staff

The Deli got a last minute invite to the BMAs at the Liberty Hotel by the fantastic afro-beat group, Rubblebucket (above - Also winners of the Live Act of the Year award). Thanks Alex, hope you like the tie! It was an interesting evening. Kind of reminded me of high school. There were all these groups of people and you could tell what genre they were supporting by what they were wearing which always makes for great people watching. A lot of people thought it was the prom and other people thought it was the Oscars. And of course I spent a lot of time smoking, enjoying my twelve dollar 2oz snifter of Dewar's and chatting it up with 28 Degrees Taurus (should of been nominated). There were three floors of events so it felt like a video game sometimes, moving up levels and finding secret passageways in order to avoid the elevator. Most importantly the evening was a celebration of local Boston music, so they had the nominated acts performing. I only caught Rubblebucket and Jesse Dee who was playing in this makeshift Irish pub. He definitely needed more space. He's the man.

What was the hot topic of conversation? This place used to be a jail, you know.

Anyways, a lot of my nominee picks won including Will Dailey for Singer/Songwriter of the Year, The Everyday Visuals for Pop act of the Year and The Low Anthem won Album of the Year for Oh My God, Charlie Darwin. The Low Anthem is playing UVM in Burlington, VT on the 4th with Josh Ritter. You can view a full list of winners HERE.

Also there is a really great blog post on the night HERE at MikeCann.net.

- Meghan Chiampa

Miss Tess, the 2009 Boston Music Award-nominated singer/songwriter, guitarist and jazz chanteuse, brings the Bon Ton Parade back to the Lizard Lounge this Thursday and Friday, to celebrate the release of Darling, Oh Darling, her fifth studio album. While previous records include Tess’s take on jazz standards, Darling, offers a straight shot of her own compositions as described on her website: “an eclectic array of originals, all stemming from roots in jazz, blues, swing and folk.” The album’s title track, an audience favorite, is a haunting song of heartbreak with a Western lilt and an ethereal tune that will follow you around long after the show.

At the Lizard, Tess will be backed by the current lineup of Bon Tons: horn wizard Alec Spiegelman on sax and clarinet, Ben Davis on upright bass—whom you may recognize (along with Spiegelman) from experimental indie rock band, Cuddle Magic—and Matt Meyer on drums. Thursday’s show will also feature James Rohr on piano and on Friday, Charlie Rose will sit in on pedal steal and banjo. Both Rohr and Rose contributed to the new album.

“One of the things I’m really excited about is our guests,” said Tess. “Not only is it always great to get James Rohr and Charlie Rose on stage with us, we have Tim Gearan opening on Thursday and Melvern Taylor and his Fabulous Meltones are with us on Friday. We definitely plan to do some collaborations with Gearan and Taylor. It should be a great couple of nights.”

Lizard Lounge - 1667 Mass Ave - Cambridge, MA

-Jason Rabin

Brendan Hogan’s music is a transporting experience. The listener ends up as a witness to struggle, longing, and the need to seek a way out of despair in all its dark colors. Armed with an acoustic guitar, his live shows embody both a focus and a soulful quality that is deeply rooted in the blues. His debut CD Long Night Coming evokes all of these qualities and more. He will be celebrating the release of the record at the Lizard Lounge in Cambridge, MA on January 29, 2010. You can purchase a copy HERE.

The Deli: How would you describe your sound?

Brendan Hogan: It’s introspective, acoustic, post-blues roots music.

The Deli: What was it like making Long Night Coming? Did you have any expectations going in to the process and were they met?

BH: The only expectation that I had was to complete it…I went through so many phases of starting and stopping the process…it started out as something that I thought would just be a solo record and done in a few months to being an album where half the songs have a rhythm section. I surrendered to the idea early on that it wasn’t going to be exactly what I thought it was going to be in my head. I really didn’t know what the process was like, so I just let it take its course and let the songs become what they were going to become. I only had a few rules like I did not want a lot of guitars on it, and I did not want any obvious instrumentation like harmonicas, which is why we opted for the accordion and the ukulele. No heavy crunchy guitars. My goal was to keep the project moving and not get bogged down.

-Read the whole interview by James Houlahan HERE

Attention Avoid and Carl Simmons & The Human Orchids shared the stage on Tuesday, November 17th at AS220, a downtown Providence eatery and arts space. The Human Orchids kicked off the night with unique and avant-garde experimental folk. The band consists of vocalist/guitarist Carl Simmons, Thomas R on rhythm guitar, bassist Meyer Brown, drummer John Gray and Michael R on saxophone and horns.

The band’s sound is somewhat unpolished and the mix of the levels they adjust their amps to comes across as a little off which is exactly the sound that they are hoping to create. Fans of the band in the crowd were completely into the music, dancing and snapping photos, while some other crowd members weren’t totally into the style. This year, Carl Simmons & The Human Orchids are celebrating the ten year anniversary of their album, Honeysuckle Tendrils with a special re-issue.

Next up was Attention Avoid, a recently-formed punk duo consisting of Justin Ryan on guitar and vocals and Carlos Molina on the drums. Ryan and Molina met through mutual friends of their former band-mates and began jamming. Together they re-worked a few songs Ryan had written for a solo project and Attention Avoid was born. Though a very new band, they have already played a number of solid shows in the New England area. The sound of the band is stripped down, yet extremely full. They switch back and forth between different and interesting time signatures effortlessly, and the drumming is especially intense. In the near future, the band will be entering the studio to begin recording.

-Review by Kristin Cary

-Photo by Rosenny Taveras

*editors note: The Organ Beats will be playing Dec. 5 at Ashland Fish and Game in Ashland, MA and Dec. 18 at the revamped Radio Bean in Burlington, VT.

Six years ago the The Organ Beats had not been conceived, Damone hadn’t yet broken out or broken up, and the LeBlanc kids were still in high school (or supposed to be). However, it was way back then that the majority of the songs for their kick ass debut album Sleep When We Are Dead were born.

In the day’s since, Organ Beats’ muse, Noelle LeBlanc has been in and out of a whirlwind, seeing quick success fronting local breakout band Damone, signing deals with major labels, partying with TMZ types and touring overseas. And then, right as the door was opened and the red carpet began to roll out in front of her...she turned away from the bright lights, gave it the finger and walked away.

Crazy right? Maybe. Maybe not.

So, here’s what happened when I sat with Danny LeBlanc (Drums), Mike Colocouris (Bass) and Noelle (Guitars/Vocals) in their rehearsal space at New Alliance Productions (which may be the coolest place in on earth by the way) in Cambridge last week. A few tall boys, a few smokes and few up-close and personal performances made for easy conversation with a few genuinely cool people.

Deli: To get this out of the way and in the past, what was the story with you leaving Damone?

NL: Damone was a job but it became a chore. We had a lot of differences. I was young and naive and eventually had a breakdown because I felt unappreciated. I reached a crossroad and it was very clear what direction I had to go in.

I spent a summer in Vermont and it was life changing. I realized my heart was still in the music but I wanted to be in charge a little bit. I haven't talked to the guys in Damone but I wish them well. I doubt they wish anything but death upon me because I left at a bad time on a bad note. I'm a lot happier working with people that share a mutual respect. Damone was a great time and I learned a lot but it couldn't have lasted much longer anyways. Unless we all got our heads out of our asses.

- Read the whole interview by Michael Spencer -- HERE

*note: The Organ Beats will be playing Dec. 5 at Ashland Fish and Game in Ashland, MA and Dec. 18 at the revamped Radio Bean in Burlington, VT.

YAY! The Deli - New England will be officially launched into cyberspace this weekend with a party at the Middle East Upstairs. Local awesome bands, Muy Cansado (Think Pixies meet The Rentals) 28 Degrees Taurus (Psych-rock at its finest) Otis Grove (Funky jazzy trio with a killer organ player) The Day's Weight (Folk-rock from Vermont). It's gonna be a great show.

Our good pals at Narraganset Beer are sponsoring the show and first 60 people in the door get free beer. Couldn't be sweeter.

Get tickets HERE or you can buy them at the door- 10$ 18+

Middle East - 472 Mass Ave - Cambridge, MA - Take the red line to Central Sq.

- Meghan Chiampa

Burlington's Justin Levinson will be playing the Lizard Lounge tonight. Levinson's music is grounded singer/songwriter style with a pop/folk twist. He just released "Predetermined Fate" at Nectar's on the 13th. Check him out tonight. He will be playing with Tim Blane.

- The Deli Staff

The Deli had the chance to chat it up with Scott Guild of Boston's breakthrough new wave superstars The New Collisions, and keyboarist Greg Hawkes (of The Cars) at the Middle East last friday. The New Collisions were celebrating their EP release of Invisible Embraces which you can purchase on iTunes.

Deli: So, tell me how you feel about tonight, it being huge for you guys?

Scott Guild: Well, we’ve been working really hard this whole year just to try and build this thing to get it to be a national act from our base in Boston. So it’s really exciting to come back from a tour and to find all of these people out here to support us, our album.

Deli: How many months did you guys put into making this record?

SG:The album...took about two months, sitting down with the producer - Anthony Resta - and, of course, Mr. Hawkes (Greg Hawkes) was there the whole time. So it took a while...but it went by really fast. The whole process was fun and I wish I could go bak and do it again.

Deli: This was something that..I don’t mean to sound base, but I couldn’t quite wrap my head around the fact that you’re working with Greg Hawkes - it just doesn’t seem rational. How did you guys hook up?

SG: We wrote to him on Myspace.

Deli: Myspace?

SG (to Greg Hawkes): I think you’re one of the last people who checks your Myspace.

Deli: Him and fifteen year old rappers.

Greg Hawks: (laughs) Occasionally. I rarely answer my messages.

SG: (laughs) We sent him a picture (of a rabbit) that said ‘if you don’t write back we will kill this bunny’.

Deli: Apparently it worked.

GH: But they invited me to one of their early shows and I thought they were great! Then, it just worked out that I happened to end up playing keyboard on some of the tracks.

Deli: Haven’t you guys performed together before?

SG: Once before. And he didn’t make too many mistakes so we invited him back.

Deli: What’s the songwriting process like for the New Collisions?

SG: Nothing glamorous...just us sitting around a room, trying new things and doing it over and over again until it sounds right.

Deli: What about influences?

SG: Well, we love the music we’re influenced by...but more so we just love making music so it really just comes out of an experience of enjoying ourselves and trying to make something with a statement. And the fact that we don’t want day jobs.

Deli: What’s next for you guys? Any big moves for The New Collisions?

SG: We’re gonna keep recording, keep touring...I guess we’re looking to just stay on the road and to try and reach as many people as possible.

Deli: You’ve already gotten a sizable amount of touring under your belt...has any of that, including the attention you’ve received, surprised you? It’s not often that a group gains recognition before they release any material.

SG: Yeah, it was a little astonishing. We just went out to clubs early on, met people, and they really dug the music and...that was that. So the hype’s been nice, but now it’s just a matter of working as hard as possible to keep it all going.

Deli: Are you feelin’ giddy, Scott?

SG: Yes. Well, I had some Red Bull.

-Daniel Schneider

Boston singer/songwriter and guitarist Reed Waddle won the grand prize at New York Songwriters Circle's fourth annual Songwriting Contest finale at the Bitter End.

“I am so thrilled to have even be selected as a finalist,” said Reed Waddle. “To win such a prestigious contest is a dream come true and to be honest it really has not settled in yet, I am truly elated. I can’t say enough about the New York Songwriters Circle, it is rare that you meet so many amazing musicians.”

Please take a look at this video from the contest as Waddle woos the judges with his performance of "Piece by Piece".

-The Deli Staff

At his home in Allston, I sat down for a long talk with Rapper Steph about his label (Base Trip Records), his personal philosophy, Boston Hip-hop, gender and some other neat ol’ stuff.

Deli: It’s good to see you again. Last time I was here some authority figures interrupted the show.

Rapper Steph: Yeah, that was pretty annoying. Right in the middle of my set, too! I haven’t performed since then.

Deli : I hope those occurrences aren’t related. But, then again, you really don’t perform that often, do you?

RS: Last year, especially spring semester of 2009, I performed pretty much once a week and that ended up being way too much for me. But over the summer I didn’t perform, I went away and worked on a bunch of music for six weeks.

-Read the whole interview by Daniel Schneider HERE

Check out this sweet music video by Boston's The Main Drag made by artists Ben and Julia. The Main Drag is finishing up their next album, You Are Underwater which is expected to be released in January. The band will also be touring to promote it.

- The Deli Staff

Session Americana is coming home for the holidays. In an email dispatch from Ireland where he is currently on sabbatical, band member Ry Cavanaugh has announced that he will be here throughout December to take his place at the roots round-table with fellow singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalists, Dinty Childs, Jim Fitting, Billy Beard, Sean Staples and John Bistline.

The band, who have recently be nominated for Boston Music Awards for best Americana act and best new album (Digging For Gold), will be picking up where they left off—Tuesday nights at the Lizard Lounge, in Cambridge. They will also be playing their annual holiday show at Club Passim in Harvard Square. “We've figured out a way to have a good time with some holiday-type songs without being completely annoying - I think,” jokes Cavanaugh in an email to Session’s mailing list. “Passim is a great place to hear us - quieter and earlier than the Lounge. And they have beer now."

According to the email, Session will also be gigging around New York and Vermont, starting with the Langdon Street Cafe in Montpelier on December 4. “Great beer. Awesome staff. Cool Town. Very laid back.”

This Christmas season, Session Americana: Coming to a beer town near you.

- Jason Rabin

- Photo by Erin Yunes/Abbot Imaging

This past summer, between restoring antique furniture and studying at Harvard, Nick Pastel wrote several songs for the pleasure of his closest friends. Two of these friends, Peter Allen and Zoe Goldfarb, are now playing with him under the moniker, Pastel Group. In Pastel's opinion, this is the most special group any person could have. Come share in the love tonight at 8 p.m. when the trio will perform live.

O'Briens Pub | 8 p.m.| 21+ | $5

-Melissa Jeltsen

After Liz Durrett cancelled her Wednesday night show at Space Gallery, local favorite , Lady Lamb the Beekeeper, (now the solo project of Aly Spaltro and former Deli Band of the Month nominee) stepped up from opener to headliner. Added to the bill were Brunswick/Bowdoin College based indie rockers, The Milkman's Union, and completing the evening were The Mumlers from San Jose, CA.

The Milkman's Union's part retro-, part alt-country, part Pavement sound worked with the crowd of about twenty-five that the evening started off with. The band was still celebrating their recently released first album titled, Roads In. Lead singer Henry Jamison's vocals were sparse and soft, with their last song almost entirely instrumental.

Jamison notes on their Myspace page that, "all art should serve the people and music is in need of redemption in that respect (a raising up from depravity and a "lowering" from stifiling intellectualism) but I don't think we're the ones to do it." He is correct that they are not the ones to accomplish that, but it will be interesting to see what comes about from the band.

The Mumlers had the crowd dancing with their lively set which included guitars, drums, upright bass, keyboard, french horn, and tambourine! The band is a favorite of local artists, The Pine Haven Collective, who discovered The Mumler's during their time in California and did some convincing to get them to make the trip East.

The crowd grew to about fifty for Lady Lamb's set, with the back half of the venue finally making their way up front. Only the red stage lights helped to illuminate the petite Spaltro, with the venue more dimly lit than normal.

Lyrics such as, ""Whether I have cucumbers on my eyes, or whether I'm on my way to the city. If there are coins over my eyes, or if I'm headed, headed home. You know I love you, oh, how I love you till I am bones," would make it easy to get swept up in all of Lady Lamb's sweetness. But her strong voice and storytelling lyrics remind you that this lady is more than another quirky Kimya Dawson. Combining acoustic and electric guitar, tambourine, harmonica, and banjo the set was emotive, endearing, and powerful, as exemplified in her new song, "Crane Your Neck". As one fan put it , "She's like a fuzzy rabbit covered thunder cloud."

- Jenna Quartararo

What a coincidence that not even a month after the release of Where the Wild Things Are, I stumble onto this Boston band which sings that "I’ve been dreaming about creatures/ coming from dunes on foggy beaches" (from their song ‘Creatures’). In fact, the Sendak comparison goes beyond lyrical content; musically, the three guys and a gal from You Can Be a Wesley arrange their songs in such an unflustered way (often with each instrument building succinctly upon one another as a track progresses) that I couldn’t help but be drawn to their particular brand of guitar-drum-bass-vocals pop.Especially because - and this is important - their lead vocalist, Saara Untracht-Oakner doesn’t sing like Regina Spektor. At all. And God/Yahweh/Allah/Vishnu bless her for it. I’m usually a bit picky when it comes to female vocalists, but Ms. Oakner’s got a certain something to her voice that really ties YCBaW’s music together (maybe it’s her ever-so-slight nasally singing...maybe I’ll never really know.) If your looking for some good starter tracks, I suggest ‘Creatures’ (the video posted above) and a track called ‘Feed the Moon Starve the Sun’ (which illustrates that idea of the instruments effortlessly building upon each other really well).

If you want to take in the fine troubadours from You Can Be a Wesley for your aural pleasure, come to Church tomorrow (Nov. 8, 8 PM) and see them play with Deer Tick.

-Dan Schneider

Jen Murdza’s Good Little Worker Bees blew my mind. A good album contains “versatile consistency”, a selection of songs have the same foundation but different structures. The tracks on Good Little Worker Bees range from a country homage to “life on the road” in “Roam” to bluesy affirmations of loneliness in the aptly titled, “Lonely” to funky get-up-and-dance joy sessions in “Top of the World”.

The tracks are arranged in the same way certain cheese and fruit is paired with wine. They complement each other. With the large differences in each song’s style they also bring out the intense flavors of each tune and will definitely stimulate your musical palate. Honestly, I was amazed by how put together the track arrangement was. A roller coaster of an album - ups and downs, highs and lows and at the end you want to ride it all over again.

Some fantastic musicians accompany Murdza on the album, Tom Bianchi on bass, a world-famous horn section: Scott Aruda, John Aruda and Paul Ahlstrand on trumpet and sax, Joe Feloni on lead guitar, and Dana Price on piano, violin. Chris Harris, Mark Purrington and Mike Casano switch it up on drums and Brandon Brooks on cello. This diverse group of musicians really highlights the colorful substance of this album.

It starts off with “All These Little Voices” a busy song with bristly Fiona Apple energy to get you going. “Top of the World” is one of my favorite tracks on the album. It’s funky and bouncy and has drum beats that make you want to tap your feet, the guitar and horns remind me of disco for some reason. “Sweet Savior” is a saccharine ballad with orchestral strings that make you wince with heart-ache. Murdza busts into a little “Amazing Grace” melody at the end. It’s a very beautiful song. “Roam” really took me by surprise with its southern twang and lyrics like, “There’s a moon over the highway – She follow wherever I go”. But at that point I was used to the variety of the album.

What really ties these songs together is an underlying theme in sadness, loss and loneliness but also there's a scent of perseverance and joy in the upbeat tunes. It’s kind of bipolar in a way. I love it. “Lonely” is a bluesy, soulful declaration of her loneliness (what else is blues about?) The guitar and horns are awesome on this track. And her vocal range and sound is incredible - like Aimee Mann meets Sam Cooke (if Sam Cooke was a woman, you know what I mean.)

“Thank You” is another one of my favorites on the album. All of a sudden it’s Mardi Gras. Scott Aruda is jubilantly awesome on trumpet. Usually you don’t hear vocals with this type of song. She does a great job.

This album was so much fun to listen to. It really brought out the manic depression in my soul (in a good way.) An artist sometimes has to tug a listener in different directions with their sound as if saying, “Hey, you have to hear this song to really appreciate that song!” A truly talented musician is interested in different styles and not afraid of experimentation. I can tell Murza is one of those musicians. Beautiful, brilliant album. Highly recommended.

Jen Murzda will be playing at TOAD in Cambridge, MA on Nov. 13th

- Meghan Chiampa

Radio Bean is celebrating their ninth year of existence tomorrow, all day long with a ton of Burlington acts. Around 40 bands will playing and the festivities will be rolling from open 'til close with fifteen minute sets. The complete band list is a bit of a mystery at the moment, but Burlington's finest will definately be there, so make sure to stop by at some point.

Radio Bean
8 N. Winooski Ave.
Burlington, VT 05401

--The Deli Staff

The Villanelles are one of the more unique indie outfits in Burlington. Easily wading through most of Burlington's generic jam and indie rock, they put some truly original sounds on a very well-worn stage. Middlebury's Power Owl will be joining them at the Monkey House tomorrow night at 9pm.

Monkey House
30 Main St.
Winooski, VT 05404

--The Deli Staff

The musicians featured in this darling promo video are Laura Cortese and Forest Fires who are doing a real creative job promoting their Novemeber tour. Laura Cortese has got captivatingly rich vocals and a rockin' fiddle with undertones of ol' Erie. Forest Fires is a new project by Christopher Pappas AKA Christoper Pappas from The Everyday Visuals. Forest Fires has a dreamy but deep sound that makes you think of stars in the summertime. Think Pink Mountaintops or The Low Anthem.

The Passim show on the 8th will include an opening set by The Party Favors (Neil Cleary and Dayva Savio). After the 7pm show stick around for Laura Cortese and Celtic rockers Boston Urban Ceilidh's EP release concert at 10pm. After 5 years Cortese has finally got the band to record and release all the BUC hits. Cortese is offering the BUC EP at 1/2 price for the release night only.

5 Thu - Montague Bookmill @ 8pm in Montague MA

6 Fri - The Skinny Pancake @ 9pm in Burlington, VT

7 Sat - The Dream Away Lodge @ 8pm in Beckett, MA

8 Sun - Passim Double Header at 7pm and 10pm in Cambridge, MA

-The Deli Staff

Cambridge's folk singer-songwriter, Brendan Hogan promotes the release of his recent debut album, Long Night Coming with a month residency at TOAD on Tuesday nights. Special guests are bound to show up and jam along. You can definitely pick up strong scents of Dylan influence in his sound. His lyrics are poetic and full of heart-ache and loneliness but still remain pretty and hopefully like a good John Keats poem. If you can't catch him tonight, make sure you get to one of the Tuesday nights at the TOAD in November.

You can purchase Long Night Coming HERE

- The Deli Staff

Burlington's psychdelic free-improve collective, the le duo, ended a night of mind-melter jams last Saturday with a smooth motoriik groove that German 70s rock forefothers would have been proud of.

--The Deli Staff

Ahhh, feels so good to post - it's been a while!

I'm psyched to tell you all to go out Friday Oct. 30th, to Cafe 939 at 8 p.m.( 939 Boylston, I think it's a new Berklee venue) to catch Jer Coons and co. They've been on an East Coast tour for three weeks, promoting Jer's new album "Speak." Jer represents Vermont's ability to produce more than jam-rock. The real deal, he's an up and coming pop-star competing with Miley Syrus and the like - Hey! That girl's tough...

Here's the single - don't be fooled, though his music seems made for wooing pre-teens, they're a great group of musicians who actually rock. And yeah, the songs get stuck in your head.

"If Sylvia Plath and Jimmy Page got into a fist fight and later had drinks with the Doors and Sleater-Kinney, Alchemilla would be playing in the background" is how the 5-piece rock band Alchemilla describes their sound on MySpace. I've been listening to them since I moved to Boston 8 years ago and I would beg to differ. I would argue that they sound like Sylvia Plath and Jimmy Page fist fighting - period. Some of Alchemilla's members have been playing together since high school and you can feel the years-in-the-making sound in the way their music builds and wraps around itself. Their solid rhythm section holds it down while Jon Sprague and Joe Bondi hypnotize with their intense guitar riffs and harmonies. All this musical goodness centers around the amazing vocal stylings of Kathleen Burke. Let me tell you, this girl can wail. I haven't heard vocal range like hers in years. Put all of these elements together and you get the bluesy solid rock sound of Alchemilla that will melt your face off.

Alchemilla will be playing an American Cancer Society Benefit show this Thursday, October 29th at Oliver's Nightclub, Cask n' Flagon's new local music hotspot. Come hang out in Fenway while supporting a great cause.Doors at 7pm.

Milquetoast & Co. – 8:15
Alchemilla – 9:15
Break the Dark – 10:15
Full Tilt – 11:15

- Erin Gallagher

What could be more fun than a basement full of adults in costumes dancing to songs from you favorite childhood television shows? Nothing. Brendan Boogie and friends, lots of friends(Larry Banilow, Dylan in the Movies, Apple Betty, Brendan Boogie & The Best Intentions, Schooltree (feat. members of Steamy Bohemians, Valhalla Kittens)Ashley and the Pussycats (Ashley from Boston Band Crush & friends))will be performing songs from Sesame Street, School House Rocks and all of your other favorites (you secretly still know the words to) Halloween Night at the Lizard Lounge in Cambridge. KIDZ ROCK is a part of The Cover Up series that has recently graced Boston with its awesomeness. Cover Up is what happens when a bunch of bands get together and cover well known bands for the night. So far we've seen killer shows covering Queen and The Black Crowes.

In anycase head on down to the Lizard Lounge on Halloween for KIDZ ROCK probably the most unique Halloween show in the city.

1667 Mass Ave

Cambridge, MA

8$ adv - 10$ at the door

-The Deli Staff

No longer just a duo, local bar rockin’ roots messengers, Avi and Celia, have, as their press release puts it, “found an outlet, literally, and have plugged into Hey Mama, a contemporary rock n’ roll band.” While Avi Salloway still tears it up on his slide electric, crouches, knee drops and mini-leaps included, he hangs back from the mic a bit more now, leaving the vocal heavy lifting in the capable hands of the wall-shaking gospel-styled “Mama,” Celia Woodsmith. No longer stripped down, their sound is filled out by hard-hitting drummer Jared Seabrook and bassist Ben Kogan.

You can catch roots rockers, Hey Mama, this Tuesday night at the Lizard Lounge in Cambridge. They’ll be at Club Metronome in Burlington, Vermont Thursday and then on Friday they’ll be throwing-down at Precinct in Somerville’s Union Square doing covers of Led Zepplin for Hear Now Live's Halloween Eve Bash.

-Jason Rabin

-Photo by Paul Janovitz

Halloween brings lots of fun events into our lives, Thriller reinactments, pumpkin carving contests and most importantly, kick-ass Halloween showcases. There are some real amazing shows going on this weekend and we will be updating you with all of them so you can take your pick when the big day comes.

The Boston music scene's little angels, Hear Now Live are presenting two showcases in Boston and Somerville Halloween Eve. Bands pretending to be other bands is a trend on Halloween and The Nice Dream Before Halloween at Precinct in Somerville features Love in Stockholm as Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band, Turkuaz preforming as the Talking Heads and the shiny, brand new Hey Mama preforming as Led Zeppelin.

In the Fenway at Copperfield's Halloween Hangover 4 takes place with Ayurveda, Through the Enemy, The Big Heavy and Aliens.

So, your Halloween eve is already looking scarily awesome. More to come, stay tuned...

- The Deli Staff

Radio Bean will be host to the sounds of space exploration and heavy psychedelia Saturday night (tomorrow) starting at 9pm and going until the lights are turned out. Boston-based Concord Ballet Orchestra Players and Psychedelic Family will be joining Burlington's Neon Magus and the le duo. The night is sure to run the whole spectrum of psychedelic sounds.

Radio Bean
8 N. Winooski Ave.
Burlington, VT

--The Deli Staff

Friday night in Burlington is shaping up to be a good one. After Ryan Power, head over to the Enchanted Forest at 9:30pm to see some of the more abrasive acts in the area including A Snake In The Garden, Lawrence Welks & Our Bear to Cross, Susan, and Boston's Zerfallt. Expect to leave with your brain oozing from your ears.

The Enchanted Forest
approx. 180 Flynn Ave
Burlington, VT

--The Deli Staff

Before you hit your premature Halloween Party this Friday go out and hear a local singer/songwriter, who’s scary good. Margaret Glasby takes the stage at Club Passim tomorrow, at 8PM with opener Karli Fairbanks.

I first heard Glaspy in dual round-robins at Passim’s Campfire Festival, and caught up with her again recently as an opener for Hey Mama, the roots powerhouse that recently formed around local blues and soul heroes, Avi and Celia. Glaspy had the perfect simmer to pre-heat the crowd. I have never heard a voice that sounds more naturally brassy, like a well-played horn restrained and tempered with a mute. But her songs are far from brash, they tend more toward soulful reverie.

Glaspy has a jazz sensibility, but her ax is the acoustic guitar. Her songs are witty and well-crafted with Randy Neumann wryness. I have only heard a handful of tunes from Glaspy and she has yet to produce an album, so I look forward to watching her develop. Do us all a favor and go out and support her this Friday night.

- Jason Rabin

Ryan Power will be debuting his new five-piece band this upcoming Friday at the 5th Element here in Burlington. Ryan's solo performances have definately caught Burlington's attention--should be interesting to see what the man will do with a quintet at his disposal. Ryan will also be in Kittery, Maine the next day at The Buoy.

--The Deli Staff

Deli favorite, Jesse Dee, returns to Nectar's in Burlington this Friday after a successful European tour. He also recently supported the ledgenary Al Green at Boston's House of Blues. Jesse packs the house at Nectar's so get there early and catch Seth Yacavoni and New York's Clinton Curtis.

Nectar's

188 Main St.

Burlington, VT 05401

- The Deli Staff

Audrey Ryan celebrates her CD relase of I Know, I Know tonight in Somerville!
The Sanctuary @ the Clarendon Hill Presbyterian Church (Nave Gallery attached)
155 Powderhouse Blvd, Somerville
(near Tufts, public transportation from Davis Square, or bus to Teele Square)
$5 general admission;
$10 admission and copy of new CD I Know, I Know
Schedule:
7:30pm- opener Gretel
8:30pm- Audrey Ryan
9:45pm- screening of documentary “Loft Show Upstairs” (45 minutes)
They will also supply free snack and drinks!

-The Deli Staff

The Fifth Business is Deane Calcani (guitar/vocals), Ted Calcani (guitar/vocals), John Wallis (Bass), Mike Healy (drums). The group was The Deli's artist of the month in August and just released their debut EP, which is available for free download on their website.

How would you explain your sound to people who have never heard The Fifth Business?

Ted: That’s always a really tough question to answer, but we like to think of ourselves as having a “classic indie rock” sound. Many of our influences could definitely be lumped into that group of bands most people think of when you say "indie rock."

How and when did you guys start as a band? Is everyone from Burlington? What are your backgrounds?

Deane: John, Ted and I have known each other for years, but none of us imagined we would end up in a band together. Ted has been been playing music with me and John separately for a couple of years, but when we were introduced to Mike through a mutual friend we just kind of thought why not give it a try? We didn't know what to expect, but after we played in Mike's basement the first time we knew we had a band. That was around October of 2008, but it wasn't really until last January that we started writing consistently and recorded the material for "Fiction Pilot." Once the EP was finished we became much more focused and serious and began refining our sound and live show.

Read the whole interview by Will Ryan HERE

If you visit Endway’s Myspace page, you will find a rotating set of credible quotations from various media sources. One from Boston Magazine states simply “Endway… a hot commodity.” These few words seem a pithy encapsulation of Running Man, Endway’s most recent release. Endway is just that – a hot commodity. They have slid into a comfortable and familiar niche – a “dynamic brand of live soul-infused rock & roll,” as their website describes. This statement and the content of their most recent release are synonymous in that both appear an aggregate of descriptions (or, in the case of the album, sounds) that are “in.” Dynamic? That’s questionable. Brand?

Read the review by Bill Braun HERE

Photo by Michael Spencer

Master string manipulators Hot Day at the Zoo, brought their home grown brand of "Zoo Grass" back to Somerville last Friday night. I arrived to find that the scheduled opening band had bailed, and while I admittedly know nothing about them or what happened, I can only thank them for allowing us more time to enjoy a really special group of musicians.

A four-man, string only group, HDATZ is made up of Jon Cumming (banjo, dobro, vocals), Michael Dion (guitar, harmonica, vocals,) Jed Rosen (upright bass, vocals), and JT Lawrence (mandolin, vocals). And on this night, the band welcomed percussionist Yahuba "El Pollo" Garcia (recently touring with Ryan Montbleau Band & Jen Kearny & The Lost Onion), on the Cajon (Peruvian Box Drum) which added a whole new texture to an already exquisite sound.

Read the review by Michael Spencer HERE

Boston's Reverse celebrates the release of thier new album Monkey Mind with Old Jack, Populace and Gaslight Revival at Church!

- The Deli Staff

The Inbetweens force the guitar trio format to walk the plank and make it jump anyway. All graduates of the New England Conservatory in Boston, guitarist Mike Gamble, bassist Noah Jarrett, and drummer Conor Elmes collectively weave melodies and vamps into intricate spiderwebs of rhthym. The trio circles eachother like predators seeking the same prey, exploring uncharted territories while they are at it. The now Brooklyn based trio is releasing their third album, "Quantum Cowboy" on Madison based, record label Layered.

Welcome back the trio to New England by checking out their shows. You can catch them this Saturday at Radio Bean in Burlington, VT and Sunday the 18th at the Lilypad in Cambridge, MA.

- The Deli Staff

"Still clearing rooms after all these years," said lead singer of Portland-based Gully, Oscar Romero, as the crowd at Space Gallery dwindled down to only a handful of people Tuesday night. If the fans that had come to support visiting Boston-based bands, The Everyday Visuals and Mean Creek, had stuck around for the last set, they would have had a lot to enjoy.

Despite a typically slow start, (Gully gets their equipment on stage quickly, but sometimes it's unclear whether the set has begun or they're still tinkering with their instruments) it was only a few songs in before the band fell into form. That is once Romero was finally satisfied with the amount of guitar he could hear in the monitor. "I hate to bitch," he noted after halting the show a second time to make his request.

Newer songs that previewed at recent Gully shows appeared to be much cleaner, helped in part by newest addition, Stu Gurley. Romero also seems to be figuring out how to make his distinctive (and at times abrasive) voice work in his, and the band's favor, though the night was not without his signature screeching near the set's end. Let's hope next time Gully plays second, and Boston is forced to wait until midnight to make the drive home.

The sizable audience had reached it's peak during Mean Creek's set, with most of the venue filled. It was clear why both bands had such a strong following. Visuals lead singer/guitarist Eli Scheer's voice was raw and emotive, and their already stripped down set became even more so as they jumped off stage to sing an acoustic cover of the Beach Boys, "Sloop John B" in a circle at the back of the room. Mean Creek had a seventies-southern-rock sound, which was especially apparent as lead vocalist Chris Keene and guitarist/vocalist Aurore Ounjian howled the lyrics, "I'm begging him to take me down," near the end of the commanding set.

Gully offered a nice counterpart to the first two bands with their predominantly upbeat set, as was showcased by the two dancing girls to the right of the audience. It was a great set, for those that managed to stay attentive by the merch table.

- Jenna Quartararo

Video tribute of Tim Gearan's final Monday night of an epic 15 year residency. This is what live music does for a community and it is a beautiful thing.

- The Deli Staff

Last night I met Lowell Thompson, ruggedly good-looking with shaggy-hair topped off with a John Deer mesh baseball cap. He seemed laid-back and humble, his set was amazing although he told me he forgot his electric guitar. Thompson had just finished an epic set at Club Metronome in Burlington, VT with his band Crown Pilot. I had been listening to his debut self-titled album which was released in July. A sweet, but rich collection of ballads and hard-hitting country-rock tunes. Lowell Thompson and Crown Pilot sound like early Tom Petty, Ryan Adams or Everclear (without the angst). I feel more of the rock and roll side of this album which teeters on the fringe of being country or rock or pop. It’s more of a combination of all three genres, which makes it unique and a real listening treat. Thompson also has managed to get Phish’s Page McConnell and Vermont superstar Grace Potter on the album.

Well Bostonians, today’s your lucky day because Lowell Thompson and Crown Pilot are playing the Middle East Upstairs tonight with Or, the Whale an amazing group of harmony perfectionists from San Francisco who know how to have a good time and rock out. Also supported by Brown Bird; Spitzer Space Telescope - Check him out while you can.

Middle East Upstairs 18+ $10

-Meghan Chiampa

Burlington electronic music hasn't seemed to take hold outside of its individual performers, but it remains one of the most uniquely spirited types of music in town. Nuda Veritas and tooth ache have been two of my favorite Burlington performers for quite some time, and their brand of electronica doesn't seem rely on any previously laid foundations. Both seem to have developed sound with an underlying theme of personality and experimentalism that drives any expectations of structure and sound off the road--albeit in a subtle gentle manner.

This type of dynamic extends to last Saturday night at Radio Bean where Burlington based electronic duo, MAUI, basically turned the cramped coffee shop into a dance club for 45 minutes. It'd be dangerous to say MAUI is only just jumping into this type of gig, but their contribution to electronic music is certainly in line with Burlington's experimental tendencies. In fact, MAUI wouldn't be out of place beside some of Burlington's basement dwellers.

The set started out with melody absolutely forgotten. Within the first few minutes its clear that MAUI's weapon of choice is ambient noise. Not to throw out any overused terms out lightly, but the group could have let the first sounds of feedback and reverb drenched ambience go on without any beat at all. The sound is constructed out of a wash of distant samples and pervasive vocals lost in a mass of shining echos. And its beautiful. The crackling bass and drum made its appearance only a few moments in and stuck around for the rest of the night, turning the waves of shimmery communication into dance oriented soundscapes. Melody did become more apparent as the set went on, giving the songs even more of a danceable edge, but it only peaked its head out slightly from under the layers of noise.

MAUI isn't a trip-hop or house duo hiding under a vat of distortion though. All the crackles and polished drones are meant to be acknowledged. Everything on the sonic pallet seems to be there to get enjoyably lost in. The smaller spaces of MAUI's sound stays rooted to the thumping bass and drum, but there seems to be an interesting connection between letting your imagination run wild while your body does its thing. A form of communication perhaps. That quality seemed to vary throughout the night, but MAUI did absolutely kill it, as they say.

--Will Ryan

-Photo by Michael Spencer

The Wild Sea is Ruth Peterson(Vocals), Todd Russell (Guitars, Vocals), Frank Marotta Jr (Guitars, Vocals), Matt Tahaney (Bass, Vocals), Matt Russell(Drums), and Phil Aiken (Keyboards, Organ). Look for dates at Toad and The Lizard Lounge in the coming months.

The Deli: Why "The Wild Sea"?

Ruth Peterson: Well, first we were Amusia, a name not many quite understood and hard to say and get across in a loud bar. Next we were Ruth, which made sense, but there's a signed band out there with that name and no one likes to get sued. We decided on The Wild Sea because we liked how it sounded and it feels to us that it describes our sound.

Read the whole feature by Nicole Soriano HERE

Boston's harmony masters, The Everyday Visuals are on tour this week making stops in your hometown! A favorite and a unique act, The Everyday Visuals will grab the attention of everyone in a room with thier Brian Eno influenced indie-rock and beautiful, peppery lyrics. They are also touring with Mean Creek who have been featured in The Deli. Not a show to miss, especially the Boston show with Magic Magic.

OCT. 6
PORTLAND ME
THE SPACE
9PM / ALL AGES / $7


OCT. 9
NYC
PIANOS
9PM / 21+ / $7

OCT. 10
BOSTON MA
THE PARADISE
8PM / 18+ / $12
[with MEAN CREEK, MAGIC MAGIC]
BUY TICKETS HERE!!!!!

-The Deli Staff

-Photo by Phil Hammel

"I don't ever want to be 25 again, because 25 is when I was dead," sang front-lady Sydney Bourke of Portland based Marie Stella Tuesday night at the Space Gallery while opening for visiting New Yorkers, Screaming Females. Alongside Bourke, (outfitted in a slightly less festive than normal outfit, but still worthy of my best- dressed-lady-in-town vote) bopped petite and spirited sidekick/ "guest vocalist" Katherine Hulit. The sentiment embodied by Portland's most recognizable dancer, (a combination of stomach-tapping, shoulder twisting, and full torso lean ins) and echoed in the rest of the crowd, was that Marie Stella makes you want to dance, any which way you can. It's not always an easy feat in Portland, rousing a crowd, which amounted to about 40 that evening, to movement in just a few songs, but they did just that. The infectious and dance-inducing set was one of the band's most solid to date.

Begun in the winter of 2008, Marie Stella has recently seen some changes, losing drummer Ethan Boardman to that other Portland and adding in Jon Donnell, as well as replacing former back-up vocalist/tambourine Ahna the Lady Beast with Hulit. While the addition of "guest vocalist" Katherine still seems a bit clumsy, (she appeared more at home as she jumped off stage mid-set than in the small space she occupied between guitarist Matt Erickson and Bourke) the rest of Marie Stella seems to be hitting their stride. While Donnell doesn't take his shirt off like Boardman loved to, his new mustache did seem to inspire a new confidence in his playing.And despite the intention being for Hulit to complement Bourke, it was more guitarist/back-up vocalist Bryan Bruchman who really brought out Bourke's strengths on stage, as was evident in the final and climactic song, Never, which ended with full force screaming from both.

Marie Stella is certainly one to watch from Portland, and if you have the opportunity to get out of town in October the band will be playing the CMJ Festival in NYC with a set at the Delancey on the 24th, as well as a show at the Brighton Bar in Long Branch, New Jersey on the 25th.

-Jenna Quartararo

-Photo Aubin Thomas

Boston's Dopapod will be performing this Friday night at the Precinct in Somerville, right in Union Square. They will be playing with Richard James, dancey funk and People with Instruments, a jam rock throw down. Dopapod will have copies of their debut album "Radar" for sale. Should be a fun show.

-The Deli Staff

Jazzy funk trio, Otis Grove plays Johnny D's in Somerville tonight at 9PM. If you really want your socks knocked off by some hard-hitting, vivacious organ beats I highly recommend this show and Johnny D's is an awesome venue for this kind of music. Also, the Hammond B-3 they use originally belonged to Kansas, but that isn't the coolest thing about them. If you can't make it check out their album "Crank it Up". You can buy it HERE

- The Deli Staff

-Photo by Caitlin Rodgers

After being on tour for what seemed like a bajillion years, Miss Tess and the Bon Ton Parade (Alec Spiegelman, Ben Davis, Matt Meyer), Miss Tess, Boston's little ray of retro-style songwriter sunshine (also one of Beantown's best dressed) comes home to Cambridge to play Club Passim in Harvard Square and to promote her new album, "Darling, Oh Darling" on the 2nd of October. Tickets are $12 advance - you can get them HERE. MIss Tess and the Bon Ton Parade will be supported by Knoxville's Christabel & The Jons.

- The Deli Staff

Michael Spencer, a Deli correspondent, too some stellar photos of the once-in-a-lifetime show at TOAD this Monday! Take a look HERE!

So, Monday night something happened that will never happen again. It was Tim Gearan’s last Monday night show at TOAD in Cambridge. Tim has been playing every Monday night for 15 years. In the music “business” that is unheard of. Someone would think that people would get tired of the same thing over and over again.

Tim Gearan is my favorite live musician. He inspired me to get into promoting and writing about, and most importantly experiencing, live music. Last night I was trying to tell a friend what made his music so special and tripped over a quote that explains the Monday night at TOAD experience best.

The quote was this: “A verbal art like poetry is reflective it stops to think. Music is immediate, it goes on to become.” – W. H. Auden

To read the whole tribute by Meghan Chiampa click HERE

Mission Hill is playing Harper's Ferry in Allston,MA on the first and Tammany Hall in Worchester, MA on the second. Mission Hill has signed with indie label, Toucan Cove (which is distributed via Universal Republic) and is readying its first full-length record to be released November 3. To support the regional radio success of "Save Me from Me," Mission Hill released a self-titled EP in August with some old favorites and a few that will make it onto the album.

- Deli Staff

Tonight is local blues legend Tim Gearan's last night at his epic, EPIC fifteen year residency at TOAD, in Porter Square in Cambridge. Here is a little slideshow his wife made for the music fans. I personally, have to say Tim's shows are probably what made me fall in love with live music. I don't remember the first time I went to a Monday night show at TOAD, but can't wait to tell the Deli Readers all of my blissfully wonderful memories of Tim's Monday nights.We are also making a video "rock-u-mentry" to memorialize the evening and Micheal Spencer will take a bunch of photos!

In the meantime, please enjoy this slideshow featuring some of the coolest cats in town. Made by Paula Gearan.

- Meghan Chiampa

I love traditional music done simply and done right—with the spirit preserved, but with an injection of modern sensibility and a healthy dash of authentic personality.

Equally, I love brave, experimental mixtures of disparate genres and non-traditional sounds. I got helpings of both over the 4 days of the Campfire Festival at Club Passim last Labor Day Weekend, even if I did have sit through a lot of saccharine-lady-chord-strummers, pat-angst-purveyors from Western Mass. and young Dylan-impersonators, to get to them.

It was all worth it though for acts like Alistair Moock and Miss Tess. Moock, is a broad-shouldered, short-haired, clean-cut-looking white dude, with a voice like a barrel full of burrs—a voice like an itinerant black sharecropper who lives on whiskey and cigarettes, the kind of voice that gets pressed into wax. Moock is a Guthrie/Leadbelly-inspired blues-poet and he has the kind of mastery of the acoustic guitar which makes it alternately a lyre and djembe. As he growls his lyrics, he rocks his knee like a metronome, conducting the energy of the crowd, and like his early folk-heroes, he has the patience and the guts to make sure the audience gets into on the act by singing along—every time.

Read the whole review by Jason Rabin HERE

Tonight at the Wedge on Pomeroy St. in Burlington will be a kind of who's who of Burlington noise as well as a couple new comers to the city. The lineup includes Lawrence Welks & Our Bear to Cross, Rats Cops, Alpha Centaur, Psychic Vagina (of Nosebleed Island), Derealize, Roman Wolfe, and Larry Wish. There's definately a sense of tension in the air. Get down to Pomeroy tonight.

The Wedge
6 Pomeroy St.
Burlington, VT 05401

--The Deli Staff

Myra Flynn will be making an appearance at the Chandler Center for the Arts in Randolf, VT for a "hometown" CD release party Saturday September 26th. The bash for her new album, Crooked Measures, is set to go down at 7:30pm with special guests Anais Mitchell and Colin McCaffrey. Following the show will be a free reception with the artists.

--The Deli Staff

Come check out the release party for You Need New Glasses’s new EP, “FPEP,” at the Middle East Upstairs, this Friday, with Big Bear, Tinsel Teeth, and Dead Cats Dead Rats. Not only do you get a healthy dose of Boston’s (and Rhode Island’s) most cacophonous and sonically-stimulating bands, you also have the opportunity to grab YNNG’s EP, which features four tracks of the band’s unique, spazzy-yet-melodic brand of post-punk/noise-rock. The EP opens with the delay-soaked guitar and drum interplay of “Jefferson Wheelchair,” which builds into a dynamic back-and-forth tug between the guitar, bass, and drums, and ends with some of the tightest drumming you’ll ever hear. Other stand outs include “Honey, I Fucked the Kids,” which is replete with manic, dissonant riffage and an infectious mid-song break-down; and “Hippie Road Movie” which pulls you in immediately with danceable guitar and bass lines, a fist-pumping chorus, and more technical skill than NASA. Don’t miss this show, and don’t forget to grab the EP!

Thursday the 24th at the Club Bohemia AKA Cantab Downstairs also has a fantastic line up. Four great acts, one of which, The Wild Sea is up for Band of the Month on the Deli's poll. Camberville rock and roll superstar, Dave Alpert, The Organ Beats (phenomenal) and Stephan Konrads and Karie Von Slicher will be the featured acts tomorrow evening. Here's the line up:

11pm - The Organ Beats (feat. Noelle LeBlanc of Damone)
10pm - Dave Alpert
9pm - The Wild Sea (feat. Ruth Peterson)
8pm - Stephen Konrads & Katie Von Slicher
Doors @7:45. Tickets $8. 21+

Or go here to get more info.

Club Bohemia
738 Mass Ave
Cambridge, MA

- The Deli Staff

Boston rockers, The Lights Out, are throwing a CD release party for thier debut album, "Color Machine" at TT and the Bears (Cheap PBR, Great Venue) this Friday night. This show awesomely includes special guests Township, Reverse, and Roman Traffic. Tickets are 10 dollars. You can pick them up here, or if you want more information about the show click here.

You can follow the news about the show and album release by tagging #colormachine on Twitter. Also, look forward to the Deli's review of the much buzzed about album.

TT the Bears Place
10 Brookline Ave.
Central Square
Cambridge, MA

- The Deli Staff

The ubiquity of the singer-songwriter outfit has worn itself out. It's an immense role to fill by performing with just guitar and voice--so much so that the gig has lost it's impact simply by its pervasive nature. Who knows what's good beyond the singular aspects of voice and guitar when that's all it has been for the past...forever. The solo-performer image is a hard thing to revive into being interesting, let alone moving. But maybe that's just me growing up around Burlington.

Audrey Ryan's presence at the Monkey House last Saturday to promote the release of her new album, I Know, I Know, proves that there's still room for something new as a singer-songwriter. The label might not even apply beyond proximity. There's no large pretention of innovation or evolution with any single type of music in Audrey's solo performance. Her sound is graceful and natural in its genuine honesty. The music is fitting within its seemlngly autobiographical contexts of social observation and life experience. Chord changes and twelve-bars-to-chorus structure don't muddle up a unique personal voice and there's no illusion to that type of sensibility.

Audrey's manipulation of sound borders on a sense of contemporary experimentalism, varied enough that it gives her the ability to paint her thoughts across its canvas. It's not grand though. It's appropriately small. There's a type of music that evokes familiarity while remaining completely new. Those little moments of nostalgic epiphany that grab at the edges of the listener's mind. It's that small beauty Audrey Ryan is able to capture with an electric guitar, a bass drum, and a couple effects pedals. As well as the occasional accordion

There's an element of minimalism that creates a very strong presence in the composition. The lack of instrumentation is more interesting when examining Audrey's sound. The addition of the stomping bass drum or flickering tambourine to looping guitar melodies certainly packs unexpected life into the songs, but it's the sparing use of such elements that give them their punch. The vocals always seem to carry everything else within their wake. Its a surprising dynamic that emphasizes the idea of there being an actual person on stage. And it makes sense as the performer genuinely seems eager to share her thoughts and feelings.

Audrey is continuing her small tour around the Northeast to promote the new album. Check below for more dates.

--Will Ryan

Local rockers, The New Collisions (read the Deli interview HERE) The Luxury, Hot Protestants, Muy Cansado, and Oranjuly will be playing together at the Middle East Downstairs this Thursday the 24th to wish the students back to school. These bands are some of the most buzzed about rock and/or pop bands in Boston. What’s even more incredible about this show is that the cover is only $7 with a student ID ($10 w/o). It’s also 18+. So for you out-of-town students who want to get caught-up on the music you’ve missed this summer or newbies who haven’t yet experienced the unique awesomeness of Boston’s scene, this is your chance for a one night crash course in local music. For you in-towners, you should know this is going to be an explosive event. See you there.

Last week was a big one for the Somerville music scene. Really big. In addition to the countless performances that take place daily in our town's numerous venues, we had the pleasure of being visited by, not one, but two world famous bands on consecutive nights, in neighboring venues. On Wednesday, Sudbury native and bass extraordinaire Mike Gordon, of jam band legends Phish, brought his solo band to the recently renovated Somerville Theater in Davis Sq.

Kicking off a 20-date fall tour a day earlier in Brooklyn, Gordon and crew took the stage with the same 5-member lineup he toured with in 2008 including incendiary guitarist Scott Murawski, percussionist Craig Myers, Tom Cleary on the keys and drummer Todd Isler. The familiarity gained during during their multiple runs last year was obvious, as they came out confident and comfortable looking like it was the 20th, and not the second show of a tour. Adding to the special energy of the intimate performance was the presence of Mike's family and friends, who were not let down by their favorite son (Note to Mike's brother...nothing personal).

There were 3 things that really made this night great (besides the fact that I live a few blocks away). First, was Gordon's ability to keep his band touring amidst what has been a ridiculously busy year after releasing and touring around The Green Sparrow (released 2008) and then reuniting with Phish earlier this year.

Second was being able to catch a performance by Break Science, the newest project of electronic beat maverick Adam Dietsch of Royal Family Records. Break Science "blends live trip-hop, broken-beat, dub, drum & bass and hip-hop" through traditional drum & electric guitar sharing the stage with a record scratching DJ and keyboards and a Mac Book. You should do yourself a favor and check out Break Science and their friends at Royal Family Records.

The third "night maker" was the Somerville Theater itself. I cannot emphasize strongly enough how grateful we should all be to have this legendary building as one of the anchors of our community. A recent renovation of the balcony has reinvigorated the 1,100 seat venue that attracts a regular schedule of performers from around the world. While the seats may not qualify as business class on any major airlines, you cannot beat the comfort-to-viewing ratio...and besides, are we all too old now to stand during a good rock show? Good, I hope not.

- Michael Spencer

Maine native and Multi-talented Audrey Ryan kicks off a series shows around New England promoting the release of her new album, "I Know, I Know". If you haven't heard of her and are craving for "something different and something new" I highly reccomend getting a dose of the lovely indie rocker, Audrey Ryan.

Sept - 18th - 8pm - PACE Theater - Easthampton, MA

Sept - 19th - 8pm - Monkey Bar (CD release with Alice Austin and Big Tree) - Winooski, VT

Sept - 24th - 8pm- TT and the Bears (w/ Elizabeth and the Catapult) - Cambridge, MA

Oct - 2nd - 8pm- Strand Theater - Rockland, ME

Oct - 17th - 7pm- The Sancuary @the Nave Gallery - Somerville, MA

- Deli Staff

Seemingly overnight sensations, The New Collisions, had time to answer a few questions for the Deli. Dirving there sound from The Big Bang era of New Wave, The New Collisions have given Boston a musical treat which probably hasn't been heard since The Cars went national. Formed only six months ago, The New Collisions are already touring...with the B-52s and Blondie. The release of their debut EP, Invisible Embraces, is November 17.

DELI: So, how do you feel about your sudden soaring recognition in the Boston music scene?

Sarah: It's been awesome. We're just over six months old, so something new and exciting has happened for the band just about every week since it started.

Scott: We knew we were on to something with the sound, the songs, the visuals, and all of that--but I don't think any of us expected it to connect with so many people so quickly. We brought a ton of excitement to the project and that really came back to us tenfold. Getting to tour with The B-52s this summer, then open for Blondie--those were literally dreams come true.

Read the whole interview with Meghan Chiampa HERE

Greg Davis has been keeping busy as usual. Putting on a couple of fantastic shows over the past couple months in the northern part of Burlington. And his most recent colaboration with Oak's Toby Aronson, Harmonizer, has also been painting scapes of skitzophrenic ambience across town. Greg's place in Burlington is and has been long term, and we can definately hope for more greatness from him.

The face of Burlington's experimentalism will be jet setting for the next couple months, and we can only wish him the best of luck on his travels. Greg will be solo in Japan during the next month and then over to the West Coast with Zach Wallace under the Sun Circle monker in November.

Announced tour dates here.

--Will Ryan

Lawrence Walks & Our Bear to Cross resemble some sort of ragged mockery of pop music rung out through enough cycnicism and adolescent "who-gives-a-shit" attitude to alienate or flat out terrify most from their sound. They're lo-fi at best and a jungle of bopping compressed noise at worst (or best...). They're fresh off the assault of their debut album, Bacchalia. In short, the disc consists of falsettos ripped from broken vocal cords and choked keyboards dying in a fire. Or that's what it sounds like, and they sure as hell don't expect any acceptance amongst the greater Burlington area.

LW&OB2X's primalistic avoidence of most Burlington clubs seems part of the package that falls right in line with their gratuitous attitude toward being a band. The self-deprecating visual of their flashing neon leopard-pattern Myspace page speaks loudly enough. And their needless obsession with kittens doesn't hurt. If there was a consistent basement party scene in Burlington, Lawrence Welks would be dictator of that dank space. And rightly so.

Noise rock/pop might be a new theme recently reigning its head publicly in Burlington, but something needs to compete with an insurmountable lack of carefree dissonance. Or a lack of experimentation with dissonence in general. Yet it's hard to call Lawrence Welks experimental when their goals and motivations seem pretty straight-forward and consistant. In this case, not a bad thing.

Tomorrow, in time for the South End Art Hop, Lawrence Welks will be making a rare appearance at 5th Element around 8pm along with some other lo-fi junkies. Expect plastic keyboards and eraserhead tapes at full sonic force.

--Will Ryan

Costume design: Penney Pinette ~ Choreography: Carey Foster ~ Lighting: Todd Sargent ~ Video: Charles Daniels

This is a video from Project MUM an "arts project" brought to you by none-other than ARTSomerville. Project MUM occurred a few weekends ago under the McGrath Highway in Somerville. The theme was "outer-space".

Local DJs Axel Foley, Flack, Pace and Wayne & Wax took turns spinnin' the intergalactic beats that kept the planetary participants dancing until 1am.

- The Deli Staff

*Note: Our New England editor is in this video briefly.

Luke and Jean Sullivan AKA Left Hand Does, are a quirky, talented and rockin' brother and sister duo from the Boston area. The band was my winning pick a few Monday nights back at the Lizard Lounge Open Mic Challenge in Cambridge. You can catch them this Saturday at the Lizard Lounge while they participate in the battle of open mic battles at the Lizard Lounge Open Mic Challenge Main Event with Tom Bianchi (phew!). In the meantime enjoy this interview with Left Hand Does.

*Note: The Deli will be at the finals this Saturday! 1167 Mass Ave Cambridge, MA

DELI: How long have you been playing music? What was your music background growing up?

LUKE: When I was 9 and Jean was 12, we both started taking guitar lessons. After a while I was taking guitar and drums and Jean was taking piano too, and she eventually dropped guitar altogether for bass. I was in a lot of bands during middle school and high school, playing whatever instrument nobody else wanted to play, and trying to record things. Also, I used to make a lot of cassettes by myself playing all the instruments. I ended up going to Berklee as a production/engineering major.

JEAN: I took a more roundabout route than Luke. I used to dance, and was very devoted to it; I would bring my favorite albums to class every day and choreograph and improvise to them. Eventually, with Luke's influence, I realized that playing music was a more direct way of taking pleasure in it than dancing to it.

Read the whole interview by Meghan Chiampa HERE

At a sold-out, one-off, Session Americana show August 27th the audience witnessed the announcement that founder Ry Cavanaugh is about pack it up, and head on out across the pond to the Emerald Isle for the coming year. “Well, I just quit my job this morning and had a tequila lunch,” he proclaimed at the top of the show. What this will mean for Session going forward has not been spelled-out, apart from Ry’s assurances that he’ll be back to get his “Session fix” once every few months. The schedule on Session’s homepage lists shows around New England through October including one “tentative” appearance at the Brattle Theatre in Harvard Square. Catch ‘em while you can.

- Jason Rabin

Ryan Power should be a household name in Burlington by now. The man fills a void in Burlington's music scene striving for indie pop sensibility mixed with current electro-singer-songwriter aesthetics without a lack of ambitious and progressive composition. The music doesn't lack much of anything, in fact. Ryan's sound encapsulates emotional dalliances in a soft falsetto, lilting over sharply crafted beats. There's shear consistency to the sounds not many others can match. I've heard whispers, noting Ryan may possibly be the most talented guy in Burlington crafting and performing music. They're not far off.

Last month Ryan announced the formation of a four-piece band with new material on the way. Their first show is at the 5th Element here in Burlington on October 23rd. My advice is to do whatever you can to be there. Power was also featured on the fifth episode of Burly Song (clip shown above)--put together by local musician, Nuda Veritas. The show features some heavy hitters from Burlington every few months--Ryan was August's pick.

--Will Ryan

Throughout Labor Day Weekend, venerable Cambridge folk haven Club Passim hosts its annual Campfire Festival. The iconic, subterranean Harvard Square café, normally Veggie Planet by day, will host over 80 folk and indy acts, keeping the hootenanny rolling from Friday evening through Monday night. Important plus: they serve booze now. Finally. Folk aficionados will not longer have to slug down shots at The Border Café between sets. $25 buys a pass for the weekend and $10 buys a pass for a day.

The Campfire festival is a great introduction to the local scene, a great place to discover bands you can continue to find around town. Local notables on this year’s bill include the acoustic MexiMericana quartet known as David Wax Museum, (Friday, 8:45pm) whose new disc drops September 18, honey-voiced singer/songwriter Rose Polenzani (Saturday, 9:45PM), dobro player Lloyd Thayer (Monday, 1200PM), gravelly voiced, singer/songwriter and folk purist Alistair Moock, Folk-rocker David Champagne, and the fabulous jazz chantreuse, guitarist and songwriter, Miss Tess (all in a round-robin, Monday at 8:00PM).

It must be noted too, that the Campfire Festival is far from being a local showcase alone. On this weekend, folkies and roots acts come form far and wide to be heard at the venue that served in the 60’s (as Club 47) as a central front in the folk revival movement that brought us Dylan, Biez and the rest. This year, some more experimental bands are in the mix as well. At 9:30PM on Labor Day, you can see Saratoga, NY’s Railbird. These raucous, distortion-heavy, indy rockers are fronted by Sarah Pendonnotti on vocals, keys and blues-harp—a mercurial rock-ingénue, with a curly-beehive, delicate vocals and a sinister echo-mic. Railbird rocked the Lizard Lounge last Saturday at the CD release party for the Rex Complex and it will be a treat to see how they adapt to Passim. Afterwards, at 11:00PM Campfire’s final blaze will be ignited by the jazzy experimental, Cuddle Magic, whom Boston has recently lost to the burgeoning Philly scene.

With 4 days of the people’s music, you’re guaranteed to find something you like and might well find something of which you want more.

Full schedule and ticking info HERE

- Jason Rabin

I recently sat down with Dan Blakeslee to talk about his upcoming record “Tatnic Tales”, and generally shoot the breeze with one of New England’s best songwriters. With a voice reminiscent of Jeff Buckley, Blakeslee’s songs spin a web of mad tales, fascinating characters, and sweet melodies into a musical universe all his own. We got to talking about many things including the recent recording project, some of the inspiration for the album, and playing on the subway. Blakeslee also performs sometimes as an alter-ego known as “Doctor Gasp.” I definitely wanted to ask him about that too.

Deli: Can you tell me about the new record? Where did you record it?

Dan Blakeslee: I recorded it in a barn in North Berwick, Maine…my friend Dean Ludington’s barn, actually, and it was the first album where I wanted a kind of theme. It’s a country-folk record and a barn made so much sense. The sound was unbelievable. It’s a barn from the 1800s, a rustic beauty…lots of chicken sparrows, lots of rusty metal, hanging bales…

Read the whole interview by James Houlahan HERE

Fresh off a national tour with The B-52s and Blondie, Boston's The New Collisions are gearing up for the release of their debut EP, “Invisible Embraces,” on November 17. Greg Hawkes, keyboard player from The Cars, worked with the band and with platinum-selling producer Anthony Resta (Duran Duran, Missing Persons) on the record.

Dear readers,

The Deli is currently looking for a talented Burlington based writer into indie rock who can take over the position of Burlington Associate Editor. If you would like to have more information please send your resume` and some samples of your music writing to Paolo here.

The Deli Staff

Maybe you miss that endless-feeling Tuesday residency that brought together hippies and hipsters alike—or maybe you have not yet discovered the soulful, freewheelin’ roots roundtable know as Session Americana. Either way, you’ve got to catch them Thursday the 27th at the Lizard Lounge, the scene of the crime.

The group is comprised of Jim Fitting (primarily blues harp and soul vocals), Jon Bistline (bass and cello) Sean Staples (primarily mandolin, guitar and banjo) Billy Beard (drums), Dinty Child (guitar, mandocello, banjo, organ, accordion, etc) and Ry Cavanaugh (primarily guitar). All multi-instrumentalists and songwriters, all longtime denizens of the Boston/Cambridge scene and all in other bands, together, they have an encyclopedic knowledge of American folk, blues, country, rock and soul.

Their shows are patterned after Irish music sessions—after hour pub jams where all the customers locked in after last call are treated to interpretations of whatever traditional songs pour out of drunken mouths, with any musician on hand joining in. In this vain, Session Americana gathers around a small table with a microphone in its center, ringed with shots and beers, and play a mixture of roots standards, originals songs and whatever else they can think of, without a set list. There is plenty of soloing, but no leader, no ego (or at least equaled-out egos) and all bad members shine, nightly

If you stay for the later, drunker, sloppier second set, you’re in for a real treat; Session will briefly feature any local musician they recognize in the crowd. There is no instrument, no vocal style, no sound, that doesn’t end up mixing well with these guys. It’s the best kind of show to see in a small club, the kind that feeds off the energy of the crowd and can only really be appreciated live.
-Jason Rabin

-Photo by Erin Yunes

Brontosaur, a trio of fine young gentlemen from the South Shore of Massachusetts who’ve played together since sophomore year in high school, are playing O’Brien’s tonight in Allston with Rusty, World Map, De Osos and The Red Royal.

Brontosaur just released their debut EP – The Dusk is Red and Everything Else which is heavy with legendary rock influences such as the Pixies, Modest Mouse and Led Zepplein. They also have tiny, sharp spices of late mainstream punk sprinkled about the songs, think Blink 182 and early Green Day.

Ted Maguire (guitarist/bassist/vocals) has a voice that is elastic and able to reach the back of the room without a mic. Reminiscent of the Pixies’ Frank Black and Modest Mouse’s Issac Brock, Maguire’s pitch is unique and powerful and he knows how to use it. Guitarist and sometimes bassist, Jacob Gfroerer seems to be the glue behind the scenes, and holds the rhythm together with concentrated and emotional sound that compliments the complexity and variety of Maguire’s tastefully off-the-wall melodies. Gfroerer gives tribute to the band with an elegant tattoo of a Brontosaurus skeleton circling around his arm. Tyler Davis (drums) is a self-proclaimed John Bonham fan and seems too nice of a guy to play so fiercely.

One of the most phenomenal things about the new EP is that each disc is fitted into its own original painted canvas holster created by Maguire’s sister, Pam Maguire. The art features collage involving cut-outs from vintage magazines and animals you don’t think about on a regular basis. My copy has an ant-eater on it. This band is going to be huge if they set their mind to it. Grab an EP if there are still some around tonight. You never know, one day they might be collector’s items.

O'Brien's Pub - 3 Harvard Avenue, Allston MA 02134 - Phone (617) 782-6245

- The Deli Staff

Old Jack and pals from various Boston and New Enlgand bands bring the house down with the Black Crowes hit, Sometimes Salvation.

from Old Jack: Dan Nicklin (vocals, aux percussion) Ryan Peters (bass) Derek Feeney (rhythm guitar) from The Chicken Slacks: Justin Berthiaume (drums) from One Hand Free: Andrew Blowen (keys) from The Lights Out: Adam Ritchie (lead guitar) from Will Dailey: Will Dailey (lead vocals) from The Brendan Boogie Band: Brendan Boogie (vocals) from The Luxury: Jason Dunn (aux percussion)


- Video by Deanna Beirne

Tonight the New England Deli editor will be the celebrity judge for Tom Bianchi's Open Mic Challenge at the Lizard Lounge! Doors are at 7:30 please stop by!

Rundown

Every Monday night about 20 acts (local and touring) have 2 songs or 10 minutes to perform their original music in front of an audience of peers, music lovers and our weekly celebrity judge. When all acts have performed there will be a short break. At the end of our break.... the big announcement... THE THREE FINALISTS! The 3 finalists will gear up to perform one more song. From the 3 finalists our judge will pick a winner.
Weekly contest winner will receive: Cold hard cash and an invitation to perform in the grand finalists' show @ The Lizard Lounge (Date to be announced.)
Guidelines for signing up: Doors open every Monday night at 7:30. If the current evening's list is full (which it often is) you may sign up for a future open mic. If there is room on the list you may sign up. You may sign up for another Monday after you have performed. No performer may be on the list twice at any time. Out-of-towners and touring musicians may sign up by emailing; tom@24hourtom.com
Please confirm you spot via email the day of the show. If you CAN NOT make you scheduled slot, please let them know asap! Email Tom at:  tom@24hourtom.com

The Rules
There is a $3 cover per performer at the door. Up to 18 acts per night. Each performance must be limited to three players per act. No effects (i.e., amps, pedals, effects, effects, or effects, dogs, cats, flaming bags of anything) are allowed. The Lizard Lounge and Tom provide direct input boxes for guitars and have mics on hand for instruments without pickups. No drum kits - only scaled down or hand-held percussion is allowed. Performers must check in for their slot, 40 minutes prior to their scheduled playing time. Because "playing ability" is a judging criteria, CD Accompaniment Tracks are not allowed. Have a great time and enjoy the show! (yes... that's a rule!)
Lizard Lounge Open Mic Challenge Myspace Page
Lizard Lounge - 1667 Mass Ave - Cambridge, MA
- Deli Staff

Even with chronic ear issues, I could not resist taking out my earplugs during Mean Creek’s Saturday night show at the Middle East Downstairs. Celebrating the completion of their new album “The Sky (or the Underground)” which you can purchase here. The band’s somewhat dark, almost twisted energy instantly captivated the audience’s attention with their near flawless performance. The four members, self-proclaimed best friends, each exhibited the same caliber of relentless enthusiasm and contagious conviction for their music. Easily escaping the loophole of typical boy/girl tonal combinations, vocalists Chris Keene and Aurore Ounjian harmonized seamlessly, almost as if they had merged to form one unique, dynamic voice. Although, humbly thankful, the band spoke few words in-between songs, and instead instantly gratified their listeners’ need for more rock. Overall the set was exquisitely picked- loud guitars lead into softer tunes, folk verses and alt-country undertones. The group didn’t miss a beat, nor a note, or a strum, and there was never a dull moment. If you missed it, check out this band. Now.

-Sheena Dorci

The Rex Complex features Jeremy Gustin on percussion and Rex Hussman on gyil (a type of balaphone from Ghana) and accordion. They have described their sound as “roots ruckus,” a gumbo of Americana, reggae, punk, Africana and other influences. You may know them from their by-gone epic residency at Precinct on Wednesday nights, where they were known for whipping the bar into ecstatic dance frenzy. Their new album, “A Delicious Victory” will be released August 29th with a party at the Lizard Lounge.

Catch this band before they move to New York in September.

DELI: The first thing I want to ask you guys is how you met and got started.

REX: We met in the music scene in Boston. We went to school together…

DELI: Where’ d you guys go to school?

(Rex and Justin look at each other anxiously and smirk)

REX: We went to Berklee.

DELI: Oh, right on.

REX: Yup…that’s where I met Jeremy and…

(laughs)

JEREMY: We ahh, we had a class together…

REX: (laughing) We had, a really kind of a shitty arranging class…

JEREMY: And the teacher really liked me for no reason…

Read the entire interview by Jason Rabin HERE

Concerts - Trucker Mouth - Johnny D's, Somerville, MA - 8.7.09 - Images by Michael Spencer

The ""Thing" about Trucker Mouth, in this landmark local venue, on this night was that they may have been the most excited people in the room to be at Johnny D's. Hear me out...

I don't mean that the crowd wasn't into it, in fact quite the opposite, what I mean is that playing the legendary Johnny D's, for a group of (mostly) North Shore boys who've been possessed by southern rock demons, that unapologetically tore a hole in the Mason Dixon Line and deliver refined yet appropriately ear splitting music…Johnny D’s is a big deal. And let’s be honest, even in the presence of all of the incredible music that bleeds from every tiny vein of this community, not to mention the history of performers that have played on this stage, a recipe calling for a smattering of southern rock tossed with a healthy dose of Trucker Mouth’s original “New England Rub” massaged into some thick cut musical chops is less common around here then an out of the closet Yankees fan.

The band’s influences are unmistakable with clear homage to the Black Crowes, Drive-By-Truckers and others pervading the overall feel, but not so much as to define or pigeon hole them...just enough to take the good parts and run with it. And if you don’t like southern rock then you’re obviously lost anyway, so I’ll excuse you.

Read the rest of the review by Michael Spencer here

Recently, perusing the calendar of events for AS220, I stumbled across the Myspace page for local prog/pop/indie/experimental foursome Something Red . The band formed in October 2008 when the four founding members jammed together on some tunes courtesy of guitarist Mike Leone. Leone and drummer Ryan Langlois were attempting to form a new project after their previous outfit, The Singletary Trio, had disbanded. Accomplished cellist, choral director and school music teacher Piera Caruso was brought into the Something Red fold along with another music teacher, Eric Flynn, on keyboards.

Debut EP Inside gives the listener a four-song snapshot of what this band is all about. For purposes of this review I listened to the sound file version from the band’s above linked Myspace page. The title track is a bouncy little number featuring some processed guitar and fine soloing from Leone, along with some riffy cello underscores from Caruso. Some trailing amplifier hum gets in on the act at the song’s end and this may irritate some, but it serves as a sonic postscript of the band’s work ethic.

“The Real Me” is an introspective piece reflecting on the songwriter’s character, and offers an uptempo backbeat from Langlois and plaintive keyboarding from Flynn. On “The Notebook”, guitar, bass and cello all combine to form three-pronged stabs of sound, complimented by some retro sounding backing vocals. “Asleep at Last” is a slower, moodier track featuring male and female vocals, some jazzy intersections and a trail of Caruso’s cello appending the end.

Recently the band scored and recorded music for Ringo, a short film which is part of the 48-Hour Film Project and which shows the band’s creativity even under short notice and deadline constraints. A full-length from the band is in the pipeline, along with continued gigging around southeastern New England.

- Jim Corcoran

Providence has something every city needs and deserves, an open arts and music project. Chock full of imagination and talent, Creation:Tuesday at The Spot on Thayer is a unique open mic event -not only featuring live jams but painters, dancers, film makers and artists of all kinds. Josh Willis (Artistic Director), Josh Fulford (Technical Director), Spogga (Musical Director), Keven Blanchette (Director of Operations) and Nick Cardi (Gallery Director)are the masterminds behind Creation:Tuesday.

The idea for the evening started a little over a year ago when two mutual friends went on their honeymoon. “We had all been talking about the concept for some time. A night for [artists] to come together, perform, create, brainstorm, network and enjoy themselves. I thought it would be wonderful for the Fulfords to come home to this active project. I made a flyer and sent out Facebook, Myspace and email invites. Some very talented musicians came by to jam. Even more came the next week. Within a month or two we had a dedicated following. By 6 months we were reaching capacity, often,” writes Willis. “I could not be happier with the way Creation:Tuesday has grown, nor more ‘non-condescendingly’ proud of every single person who has given a piece of themselves to build the foundation of this event, this project and this family.”

Fulford records the jams every week and then gives the musicians copies of the recording the following week and posts some tracks on the Creation:Tuesday myspace page. How dreamy is that? “Every week something new and beautiful happens completely unrehearsed, this is why is so magical,” writes Fulford.

“Most of the time you'll see a makeshift band of players that come around often some playing together for the first time some band members developing their skills by playing with others. The jams get hot,” writes Cardi. “We generally show over twenty artists at a time and over one-hundred pieces. We have quite the collection of varied talents. Some just starting, so they come to take lessons. Some are looking to develop, some simply extremely naturally talented many have been doing it all their life. But with all the different disciplines we offer here it is easy to find something new to learn…You'll never see it done the same way or with the same group of musicians twice. Sometimes there are 8 people on stage, half of whom have never played together, but the music is always seamless.”

Rundown: Creation Tuesdays is not your run-of-the-mill open mic. It’s more of an open jam or an “invented” mic. I thought this idea would appeal to many musicians because of its originality and of course, super awesomeness. It is advised prospective performers contact the Creation team ahead of time. Any questions or RSVP's can be addressed to JoshWillis@thespotonthayer.com

Tuesdays @ 9-1a - $5/$10w.byob -286 Thayer St, Second Floor - Providence, RI

- Meghan Chiampa

Lucky, lucky Cambridge. They get Jesse Dee once a week on Tuesdays at the Lizard Lounge for an August Residency.

Jesse Dee, a local soul superstar has opened for Al Green and played at the Montreal Jazz Festival, but it’s something about the underground sound of the Lizard Lounge that really captures his incredible voice which is saturated with Sam Cooke and Otis Redding influences.

Dee plays with a talent-riddled full band each Tuesday and each show features a different opener and special guests such as Lyle Brewer, Mathew Stubbs Band, Sax Gordon and Rebecca Muir . Burlingtonians will remember his swinging Friday night shows at Nectar’s. Hop on down to the Lizard on Tuesdays. It’s a fantastic show and he’s got great hair.

You can buy tickets online at an advance purchase price on Jesse’s and the Lizard Lounge’s websites.

Lizard Lounge - 1667 Mass Ave - Cambridge, Ma

- Deli Staff

- Photo by Paul Janovitz

Wrong Reasons is the rock and roll baby of Joseph Fletcher, a songwriter out of Providence , RI, who’s no newcomer to the scene. Previously a member of such acts as The Deterrents, Sinner’s Club and The Applause, Fletcher, lead singer and songwriter, is the main force behind the band, performing with a variety of revolving musicians to back him up. Simply put, Wrong Reasons is country-tinged rock and roll at its best.

Recently, the band released “Bury Your Problems,” a collection of eleven songs about the rougher side of life. “Bury Your Problems” opens with “Port of Seven Vices” which showcases Fletcher’s gravelly pipes and features rockabilly and bluegrass-inspired guitar riffs. The rest of the album picks up where “Port” leaves off, combining elements of Americana, country, the blues and rockabilly to create a unique and intense sound. “Piggy Bank,” “On Your Street” and “Not Tonight” contain melodic violin solos which compliment the grittiness of the album well. The album ends with “I Never,” which starts slowly and builds up quickly. Over all, “Bury Your Problems” conjures up the feeling of the morning after a night of whiskey and cigarettes. Wrong Reasons is currently touring across the USA and will be back for a string of shows in New England in August.

You can pick up "Bury Your Problems" here

-review by Kristin Cary

Dave Alpert opened up for The Everyday Visuals (review of thier set to follow) and Kevin Hearn and the Thin Buckle.

The "Thing" about Dave Alpert, on this Tuesday night in this venerable Cambridge venue, is that he surprised the shit out of me. Let me put some perspective around that...I knew Alpert could write songs. I knew Mariana Iranzi and Rob Sistare could lay it down. And I found out that Mark Purrington could sit with anyone and hold his own. What I didn't know, was that they absolutely killed it live. The MP3s on myspace and the "Peace of Mind" EP (which I recommend picking up) will more then satisfy the power pop, catchy hook fan in you, but live...it's different.

There's something different about the songs that explode when Alpert and crew step on the stage. They seemed sibling-like, often exchanging face-wrinkling intensity, for proud, nearly awe-struck smiles when watching each other get off on their respective forays. The real kicker for me though, was seeing the vocal power that Alpert fearlessly displayed for the room.

Whether Alpert and his music are your thing or not, I have no doubt you'll enjoy seeing someone take something they created from pencil to stage, backed by three kick-ass musicians, just lean back and let it all out.

You'll have three chances in August to catch them, and I strongly suggest you do:

August, 2nd & 23rd, @ Toad (7:30 early show)

August 11 @ Tommy Doyle's (10 PM)

View more photos of the show here

-Photos and Review by Michael Spencer

Dudes and she dudes,

We have joined Twitter and you should start to follow us to get updates on new posts as well as kickin' shows around Boston, Burlington and the rest of New England!

Follow us here

-The Deli Staff

Kimon Kirk,beloved ex-bassist of local band Session Americana, celebrated the release of his new ep, Eye On You, with a killer show in Cambridge on Tuesday night. Kirk confidently rocked the Lizard Lounge, accompanied by his surprising frontman persona and by his band; Russell Chudnofsky on guitar, Ben Keyes on piano, Joe Klompus on bass, and Lorne Entress on drums. Guest vocals were performed by Amy Fairchild and David Champagne. Songwriting champ, Champagne, wrote the title track.

Kirk's singing voice romanticizes any line or subject, and with a face to go along, he gave his supportive audience of musicians, fans, and friends every bit of what they love and had been missing from him since moved to L.A. six months ago.

The night was kicked off by Merrie Amsterburg, followed by PaperScissors, a new collaboration of Champagne, Dave Godowsky, and Session Americana members Dinty Child and Jon Bistline.

Eye On You was produced by Kirk, engineered by Dan Hallas and recorded at Hallas Palace in Rosindale, MA.

Veiw more photos of the show here

-Review and Photos by Nicole Soriano

The Deli had the pleasure of sitting down with Chris Keene, Aurore Ounjian, Mikey Holland and Eric Wormwood, the styin' indie rockers of Mean Creek to discuss their thoughts on SXSW, the future of Mean Creek and fedora hats.

Deli: Can you tell me a little about what influenced you to form a band and how you all got together?

Chris Keene: Well, Aurore and I played together for a long time and then we decided wanted to play in a band, with a rhythm section. There’s a lot of history, but the important part is when these guys joined the band. We had been searching for a long time for the right rhythm section and then we found Eric and Mikey about a year ago. Then we got together, made this new record, and we all work really well together.

Deli: So this upcoming record is the first one with all of you playing on it?

Chris: Yes. Before it was just Aurore and I with a revolving rhythm section

Aurore Ounjian: These guys [Eric and Mikey] are what make Mean Creek complete. All four of us are best friends and we’ve all played in different bands. Finally we’ve come together and it just works out really well. -Read Sheena Dorci's interview with the band here

Lupo’s Heartbreak Hotel and Providence’s popular radio station WBRU teamed up last night to bring together eight of Rhode Island’s most talented bands. Dubbed “Lupo’s Summer Block Party,” the multiple-stage event began at five p.m. and rocked all the way til’ one in the morning. Great local music combined with a dunk tank and street barricades made the block party the place to be in Providence on Friday night.

Headlining the show was the Sublime tribute band Badfish, a rock-reggae group that covers hit songs from various Sublime records. Vocalist and guitarist Pat Downes possessed the spirit of the late Bradley Nowell, sounding eerily similar to the voice that Sublime fans hold so dear. Bassist Joel Hanks played excellently as well, providing a full-toned sound. The band performed for well over an hour, seamlessly flowing into each song while keeping the crowd dancing. After a roaring request for more, Badfish returned and played a phenomenal encore, complete with a horn section. The Providence based band has a cross-country tour planned for the summer and fall, so be sure to check out at least one of their shows for a guaranteed good time.

Also keeping the crowd moving was the three-piece group called Someday Providence. Tom Gardner, Eddy Maher, and Tom “Fuzzy” Moran make up the trio, who excited the entire crowd when they played “I Want You Back” in honor of Michael Jackson, along with other original tunes from their most-recent CD, Thanks for Listening. Known throughout New England for their high-energy stage presence, Someday Providence did not disappoint the crowded amphitheatre. Maher’s quirky faces balanced out his precise style on the bass, Moran’s mohawk thrashed with the sound of the bass drum, and Gardner’s unique voice articulated affirmative and positive emotions that seemed to uplift the mood of everyone listening. It comes as no surprise, then, that this local act has gained recognition by popular magazines, television shows, and radio stations due to their strong performances and quality music.

Other bands like Hope Anchor, The Agents, Scotty Don’t, Senior Discount and Baylock played as well, helping to make Lupo’s Summer Block Party a great time for all local music enthusiasts. This event kick-starts many more festivals to hit Providence and surrounding cities in the next few months, as the Providence Cutting Sessions is set to begin July 19th, and George Wein’s Jazz Festival is scheduled for August. Rhode Island might be small, but it packs a lot of talent!

-Raychel Franckowiak

Sodafrog and Dan Blakeslee charmed the Middle East Upstairs last night with their talented guitar playing and top of the line rock-folk vocal awesomness. I couldn’t stick around for the last two bands (the fabled Castanets and rockers M.A. Turner) but had to tell you at least about the two stunning local acts.

Sodafrog played first, solo, sitting down. He seemed more comfortable playing and singing than making chit chat with the audience which was respectful and attentive aside from the fact it was Free Rolling Rock Tall Boy Day at the Middle East. It was the first time I’ve caught Sodafrog AKA Thomas Janovitz, who is also a seasoned sound-engineer. The lyrics were and blossomy and told stories about love and other heart-wrenching life adventures, although he didn’t lay on the sap so thick you could use it on your pancakes, it was the perfect amount of sap, enough to make you sigh and say, That was real nice. His guitar playing was phenomenal and I felt that many people kept their eyes on his fingers which were very much alive and moved about hopingly as a piano player’s would. His sound was classic folk and very rich.

Dan Blakeslee followed Sodafrog and played with a trio (drums, bass). Blakeslee, also a seasoned artist (see the flyer for the show), had a lot of soul and bounce to his guitar playing style and rhythm (also really hot shoes). His voice was deep and thick but knew where to stop and go. I could hear bits of a Jeff Buckley and Tom Waits influence in his crooning. The drummer completely rocked out with brushes, but also knew when to take it slow and when to take it fast. Soul and folk influences laced through the Blakeslee set and the timing was right on. There was a great vibe in the club that evening and you could tell by the huge grin that Blakeslee was wearing the whole time. Look forward to the interview with Blakeslee later in the month!

- Meghan Chiampa

The Deli New England is pleased to announce the winner of the Band of the Month poll is: Alice Austin!!!

Alice Austin, native Vermonter and Boston rocker (The Lavas, Queen Tangerine and Zola Turn) recently released her debut solo album, To a Star in the Yard. You can catch her playing solo or playing with her band, The Stark Raving Mad. Alice was kind enough to join me in a Laundromat next to Plough and Stars in Cambridge, MA last night before her show and after her dinner to talk about her new record, her roots, and playing solo.

Deli - Congratulations on your win. How long have you been playing music?

Alice Austin – Well I’ve been in a band for the last ten years. But I’ve been playing for almost twenty.

Deli – How did you start up?

AA – My parents were both musicians, my mom sang in bands growing up, that was her way of raising us. That was our bread and butter. My dad had a little recording studio and he played guitar too. There were always [musicians] going in and out of the house. Band practices going on. People leaving instruments around. I always liked pretending I knew how to play things.

Read more...

Allston’s psychedelic wonders, 28 Degrees Taurus recently released their latest EP, Post Midnight Thrills. They are the sparkling star of space rock in the indie scene. I had the pleasure to sit down with Jinsen Liu and Karina DaCosta at Charlie’s Kitchen not that long ago.

Deli - What is the story behind your song, “Jagershots”?

Karina DaCosta- What a masterpiece that is. There’s a very long back story to that.

Jinsen Liu – It’s played on the radio a lot. Official drink of our band. We drink a lot of Jagermeister.

KD – Jinsen likes Jager, he wrote a song about Jager, we sing about Jager.

JL– We drink a bottle of Jager on our tour.

KD – I have seven bottles of it at my house from my birthday party.

JL – Our aspiration is to become sponsored by Jagermeister. That is the height of our envisions. I just want to be a Jager band and have a Jager bus on the Jager tour. It’s a party anthem.

KD – [to waitress] – Can we have three Jagershots please?

JL – Oh god.

KD– I mean, we might as well...

Read the whole interview - here

Vermont's one and only supah pop sensation, Jer Coons, has just released this video for the single, "Legs." Braving the ice of Lake Champlain, half this video was recorded in the depths of winter with the band The Grift.

Jer has been playing showcases in New York this Spring and Summer, and the release of this video couldn't have come at a better time.

- Video by Nicole Soriano

The starry psychedelic, Jager-touting trio, 28 Degrees Taurus takes over Great Scott in Allston tonight to release their new EP. Supported by The Wandas, Where the Land Meets the Sea and Static of the Gods, this is definitely going to be an awesome show. See you there!

Set Times:

Where the Land Meets the Sea 900-940

Static of the Gods 955-1035

28 Degrees Taurus 1050-1130

The Wandas 1145-123

Stay tuned for the interview with the band...coming next week.

-Meghan Chiampa

Born on Flag Day,is Deer Tick's sophomore album and follow up to their 2007 debut War Elephant. was originally released in September '07 on FEOW! Records and sold out within half a year, leaving the band to burn their own copies to sell at shows. Luckily for fans desperate for a copy, in 2008 Partisan Records caught wind of Deer Tick's growing success and re-released War Elephant.Partisan also released Born on Flag Day

Frequently described as indie alt-country or folk, Born on Flag Day, is an exceptional example of this genre. The band names Hank Williams, Dylan, Nirvana and Springsteen as influences, as well as many others, and the influence of all these talented musicians is present on their follow-up album. Born on Flag Dayfollows in the country-inspired, alt-rock footsteps of War Elephant, and takes it a step or two further. The album opens with “Easy,” which builds up slowly with a thumping drum beat that is joined by crashing electric guitar work and McCauley's signature gravelly snarl. Following “Easy” is the much more subdued “Little White Lies,” a sweet and slow country song about trying to move on from a failing relationship, with lyrics pleading- Please let me be lonely tonight.“Smith Hill” combines the use of string instruments and female vocals to create a folky tune that showcases McCauley's gift for brutally honest and melancholy lyrics. Other notable tracks off Born on Flag Dayare “Friday XIII,” a duet about love gone sour, the rockabilly-inspired “Straight Into The Storm,” and “The Ghost,” a country track memorable for its harmonica solos and poignant lyrics -You're as lonely as a ghost on Halloween.The album ends with a live recording of a cover of “Goodnight Irene,” with McCauley's friends chatting and singing along in the background. “Born on Flag Day” showcases McCauley's unusual gritty voice and impressive vocal range and, with the addition of three new musicians, is much more musically ambitious than War Elephant.Born on Flag Dayand Deer Tick definitely deserve your attention. Deer Tick is slated to release their third album in late 2009.

- Kristin Cary

**We will be starting a new episodic quest of the best open mics in New England. Stay tuned to hear about new open mics you've never heard of or ones you'd love to conquer or explore in your musical journey.**

Rundown:
The sets are 16 minutes
Sign up is at 6:30pm. Show begins at 8:00pm.
It's 21 plus after 9:45. Younger kids can come if they play early.
The age gap for performers at the Burren Open Mic has gone from 7 years old to 68!
Odd tuesdays we pick the order out of a hat.
Even tuesdays we pick the order on a first come first served basis. Whomever gets to the pub first that day, picks first.
No cover, no prizes, great cameradery.
"Jamming is encouraged I love it when people join each other and rock out. We are in our 12th year
running. It has been a place where many performers have taken
the stage for thier very first time. As well it is a place where successful performers
still pop into when they are not on tour." - Hugh McGowan

The Burren
247 Elm St.
Somerville, MA
6:30 sign-up - 8:00 showtime

- Erin Yunes

In an old, sleepy town nestled deep in the woods of Maine, Loki (headliner) and Sinfist came together to offer the town of South Paris a night of passionate, heartfelt acoustic, metal music. Sinfist is well known on the local music scene in Maine. Energized by their newly recorded EP “House of Hides” they’ve been ravenously tearing up the local scene but on June 19th at Crazy 8's, Sinfist toned down and unplugged for the night.

Travis Everett, singer for Sinfist, let it all out: rage, pain, distrust, abuse, a life lived in hell.Chris “Willy” Weston, lead guitarist, took guitar playing to new levels. A master of his craft, a widely respected musician left his amp at home and came armed only with a very well seasoned acoustic guitar covered in stickers that tell the instrument's history. His guitar seemed to wail in pain at times, feeling the sorrow and anger each song contained.

Jesse Merrill on rhythm guitar played deep, bluesy tones that perfectly accompanied his fellow guitarist Weston. These two harmonized well; a partnership in music that can’t be stopped.

James Hides on drums, put the sticks down and picked up brushes for that night. Hides played with a little less intensity than a plugged in show but all the normal energy. Hides delivered a beautiful array of beats and rhythmic fuel that blended seamlessly into the acoustic dream that Sinfist’s set was that evening.

Mike Scarpo (5th Freedom) played bass so funky you could smell it, tones so thunderous you'd think the sky was falling and notes so deep and dark the audience quivered at every thump.

Jack Broderick played piano and was brought on for the acoustic show. Broderick’s musical prowess truly brought out the finest in Sinfist. A gorgeous composition, rivaling that of the classical masters.

I have to say the performance was unparalleled on the local scene. Many hard rock/metal acts have gone the acoustic route, but just couldn't bring out the raw, unbridled passion Sinfist did. At times the connection with band was so great, it was as though the audience was in a trance. Normally, a six man band would be muddled and overdone acoustically. These guys brought together the perfect mixture of chemistry and musicianship that enabled them to deliver a show that, to all who attended, felt privileged to have been a part of. If you haven't checked out Sinfist yet, you should. These guys continuously deliver performances that leave you craving more.

- Jason Sanborn

Dudes,

We just launched The Deli's Portland branch!

Another awesome community of musicians is now covered by The Deli - hurrah!

Check it out here.

The Deli Staff

Hallelujah the Hills offered up an eclectic musical experience opening up for The Fiery Furnaces at the Middle East Downstairs last Saturday night. Faced with a diverse audience, the Boston based sextuplet successfully generated head bops and toe taps all around with a relentlessly energetic performance. The bands enthusiasm was undisputedly contagious, but the evening wasn’t just all poppy beats and bubbly lyrics. On occasion, HTH got quiet and sentimental with tunes that even provoked some fans to slow dance- think awkward 7th grade dance flashback (yes, it was awesome).

The group seemed to fall victim to faulty sound mixing as many of the horn parts and other auxiliary instruments were nearly inaudible at times. As a result the set became flat and repetitious a few times throughout the night, but the audience for the most part appeared unaffected by this setback and remained engaged with the band’s performance. HTH finished up with an older tune with a grand finale complete with a cacophony of instrumental improvisation (all of which could finally be heard). Be sure to check out their new album Colonial Drones, which is set to be released on September 22nd

- Sheena Dorci

Hallelujah the Hills’ Ryan Walsh talks about their new album, POTUSA, and the end of the world. Please check out their show Friday the 12th at the Middle East Downstairs in Cambridge, MA with The Fiery Furnaces and Bodega Girls.

Deli: I love your sound and the amazing variety that you incorporate into each song. I would consider it a mesh of Arcade Fire, Postal Service (their less techno-y stuff) and The Kinks, And cryptic, bouncy Elliot Smith-esque lyrics, but you definitely have your own sound - Where do you gather your influences?

Ryan Walsh: I was obsessed with the imagination-enhancement ability of music starting at about age 7. We didn't have MTV in our house. Every song suggested a series of images for me. The more music I heard the more movies ran in my head. Who doesn't love movies? So, I just kept collecting and listening to more and more music. I made a mix tape every week for a couple of years. If our albums are sequenced in a pleasing manner I'd credit the mix tapes for that skill. You can't help but be influenced by the history of music in your head when you write a song but, for me, I try not to think about other bands or other songs when I write something new. I've heard that someone said that we can't evolve into a world we cannot describe. I think all art is an effort to describe new worlds that we might transform into. The more art, the more options we have. Pop music is a beautiful Trojan horse though. It can take on that hoity-toity notion while also making you want to dance, raise up lighters into the air, and flirt with other humans.

Deli: What in New England (musically or not) has inspired you musically the most?

RW: I might be unqualified to answer this because it's all I know. Like interviewing a fish about water. Just those words make me drift off into imagination. New. England. We're a copy of some original England but we're distorted, the dimensions aren't right, and we've had this fun-house mirror thing going from the moment that name was chosen. Our new album is called Colonial Drones, which has about a half dozen interesting meanings/connotations for me, but one image it summons up for me is a pilgrim, on the beach, just coaxing awful feedback waves out of a guitar and amplifier.

Deli: You guys have really made a name for yourselves since your debut a few years ago. When was the last time you played Boston? I've been out of town for a while. Do you have any plans for future shows other than the P-town show? Also, how do you feel playing with the genius POTUSA ?

RW: We played Boston 2 weeks ago. We play there again tomorrow. Then probably not again for awhile. We need a little nap before the album is released. I remember enjoying POTUSA's 1st album when it came out (I was in high school). It was silly music but they were being taken fairly seriously. I enjoyed that. Provincetown. I get dizzy thinking about being on the tip of that little Cape Cod arm, you know? It's so slim! Think about what you look like on a map in the place you stand when you stand in Provincetown. Someone sneezes across town and everyone hears it. This self-contained aspect of Provincetown, and places like it, seem to be highlight connectivity (which gives me a mental boner).

Deli: I noticed on the bio on your site your band is planning on making 33 albums, how's that going for you?

RW: It's going good. This is album #2 but release #3 (if you count our EP last year). I haven't decided if we'll count EPs yet. I just outlined album #14 which is sort of a spoken word country album. This promise may be void, however, if the world does indeed end, restart, or drastically redraft itself on December 22 2012 as some believe it will.

Deli: Anything else you want to share with the folks with home? What does the summer hold for HTH?

RW: The album is in the label's hands now. We need to make some music videos. I used to be a film maker. I went to school for it. Now that I need to make movies again I feel all nostalgic. Like when they coax the safe-cracker out of retirement at the beginning of a heist movie. We also will probably get to reveal where the phrase "Colonial Drones" comes from if I can clean up the old tape and digitize it. There will also be trips to Dairy Queen and a radical rethinking of how we might get out of this world alive.

- Interview by Meghan Chiampa

Rock n' Roll in the Queen City was the Deli's Burlington mantra, and this Saturday the Queen is back.

Alice Austin is coming to The Monkey House to release her newest album To a Star in the Yard. For all of you pining for Burlington's early-90's heyday, let's go back and look at Alice's history within this city. Now based in Boston, Austin was once a tour de force in Burlington, as one of the founders of the all female powerhouse rock band Zola Turn.

But, back to the future. To a Star in the Yard was completely created and recorded by Alice herself. She played every instrument and wrote each knife-edge lyric.

On Saturday, she brings a full band with her - The Stark Raving Mad. Alice on guitar and vocals, Julia (her sister) on bass, Franklin Butkus on drums, and former Red Telephone/Venus Envy axman Sean Toohey on lead guitar and lap steel

Tapis Bleu sets the stage at 9:15, and Lendway will close down the house. This will be an epic night of local music.

Ana Pardenik & Co. hit the road with other local musicians in their veggie fueled bus to launch the Vermont Joy Parade.

farm from Enosburg, Vermont is an experimental folk/rock/pop/jazz band with a sound drenched in creativity and starry, surprising melodies. Members, Joshua Givens, Ben Maddox, Jedd Kettler, and Bryan Dondero are known for instrument swapping, genre-bending and using household items to create music. The Deli is proud to announce farm as New England’s Band of the Month winner.

farm: We're anxious to get into recording a new album. Over the winter, after releasing The Cave, we stopped playing those songs and began writing and working on new songs. We've been bringing songs in as individuals and writing even more as a group. We have nothing against The Cave songs, we're just excited to play new stuff. And even more excited to record it. Playing live can be fun, but writing and recording is really what we like to do and we don't want to lose momentum.
That said, we're not forsaking live shows altogether. We'll be playing on the green in Fairfield on July 25th at the Jig in the Valley and perhaps other dates will appear as autumn sets in.

farm: We eliminated all other words. We prefer 'farm' as a verb. And an insistent one.

farm: This is a hard call. Monsterbuck. How To Stay Alive In The Woods. The Breaking In. Lendway. The Cush. Others. All very fun shows, good bands and good people. If you offer us beer in a parking lot, or bacon and eggs in the morning, or just make us laugh uncontrollably at how great your music sounds and we'll love your band forever.

farm: On the contrary, we're about to start working harder than ever on a new record. We'll be in the Cave of Legends through the summer and winter. We've also got tentative deal going that would allow us to record in the Enosburg Opera House. Go to our website where you can listen to both of our albums. There's also some live stuff on our myspace.

- Meghan Chiampa

Dear New England Music Peoples,

I am writing to introduce myself, (Hello, I’m Meghan Chiampa, nice to meet you, the pleasure is mine.) as the new editor and let you know what is happening with the Deli. I’m stationing myself in Cambridge, MA to get the ball rolling. I travel a lot and will not leave Burlington, VT’s kickin’ music scene behind.

The Deli will cover major hubs and happenings around New England. Music stuffs and bands in Boston, Providence, West Mass and even Portland, Maine will be interviewed, reviewed, shouted out and noticed, along with Vermont.

I am a long-time supporter and lover of independent and local music, start-ups and the little guys. I understand that the best friend a new musician can have in the biz and the buzz is someone talking about them. This is where the Deli comes in. I have gathered a team of writers and photographers together to present you with the choicest quality of music coverage of New England. Also I will be covering independent “house” shows in lofts, warehouses and studios.

The rest is up to you. Read. Vote. Let me know what is going on. If you are a musician and have a show coming up, CD release, or want an interview send me an email at – MeghanMChiampa@gmail.com.

If you are a writer and/or photographer and lover of music also send me an email if you want to contribute. I love to meet new people so don’t be afraid of introducing yourself or “friending” us on MySpace or becoming a fan of our page on Facebook.

The transition will probably take a few weeks. So, please excuse our appearance during construction. It’s going to be awesome and welcome.

Love, Meghan

You may have wondered where we've been lately - well, big changes are on the way!

Burlington music lovers and makers - Thank all of you for your support of The Deli, Burlington in its first year of life. I have met so many great people while working on this project.

Over the next month, we will be transforming the Deli Burlington blog into the Deli New England blog. Though I realize this will diffuse the Burlington focus, it will also more easily connect bands and writers from Vermont, Mass and even Maine. The Deli has also recently started an Austin branch.

I will continue to write, but I am not longer able to manage the branch between my other two jobs, sadly. This is where I welcome, Meghan Chiampa, the new associate editor for the New England branch!

Meghan can make the Deli her priority right now, which is what it deserves! She'll be helping me make the transition - I do not want Burlington to lose this valuable outlet for sharing its music.

If you would like more info, contact Meghan at meghanmchiampa [at]gmail[dot]com. Again, thank you so much for the support, I'll talk with you all again soon!

Adena @ The Deli

The Deli Austin is up!

Delicious Ladies and Gents,

It was right about time that we opened a branch in the southern US capital of indie rock. The Deli Austin is up, check it out here!

** The layout is shiny, new and clean - the other Deli's will look like this soon!

That Toga Band, one of Burlington's jazzy gems is playing two shows in the next two days. I know it's short notice, but tonight, May 14th, they are headlining at Manhattan's Pizza.

On Friday May 15th, That Toga Band plays Parima for the first time. Take my word for it, they are worth your while. If you're looking for something different, come dance crazily or simply listen and contemplate this fantastic music.

- Meghan Chiampa

NUDA VERITAS DEBUT

The music is Beautiful and the soundscapes are wonderfully intriguing. Nuda Veritas oscillates very smoothly between a more conventional style of vocal-centric song writing and abstract sound manipulation that create a wavy, transcending experience. Rebecca, the voice and musician of Nuda Veritas, is noted as being a minimalist interested in conveying emotions through sound, softly and clearly, and she does just that. The layered looping instrumentation and vocal harmonies coalesce into a gentle hum reflecting the attention and complexity of Nuda Veritas. The album is artful and well laid out with two disks that complement each-other and are not overbearing. “Still Lives” and “Songs for Doing Dishes” lay out, through swirling sounds and grasping vocals, the intimately engineered work of an artist and musician who has found a significant tone and style that can only be Nuda Veritas.

Peter Spartos

Steve Hauschildt is a prolific solo artist out of Cleveland, Ohio. His analog synthesizer based compositions combine dense analog synth drones with progressive and new age inspired riffs.

Raglani is up from Saint Louis, MO. His dark, ambient electronica travels through "mysterious or tumultuous landscapes" of inner feeling.

Greg Davis, a Burlington native you may know and love, will also take the stage. He's always striving to create and explore new sounds. It will be a night of inner exploration through electronic music.

Join them at North End Studio on Monday, May 18th at 9 p.m. The show is all ages and $7.

The Lonestar Chain is the side-project of Burette Douglas of The Cush. Rather than being simply a side project, The Lonestar Chain proves his range of talent and passion for music. On this self-title debut album (yes, no EP bull$*! here) Burette exposes his Texas roots, while still holding onto the indie bedrock.

While The Cush comes from dark spaces and winter hearts, The Lonestar Chain reminds me (sometimes literally) of warm fields and dusty personalities. In this project we really get to hear Burette - his voice lies somewhere amongst Neil Young, Matt Pryor (The Get Up Kids) or Bob Dylan - not a bad combo. And finally, we get to hear his soft twang. The now famous Ryan Power recorded and mixed the album, as well as played saloon-style piano on a couple of tracks.

Burette is a talented lyricist, in a simple and effective way. Maybe it's fate that this album fell into my hands during the perfect season - In the third track, "Abilene," Burette sings "I'll take you to Decatur to the Dairy Queen..." this non-traditional Vermont reference made me smile, and, since we're coming upon summer it got me deep down.

The Lonestar Chain will be playing on May 28th at The Monkey in Winooski at 9 p.m.

- Adena Harford

"...a crash course in the state of the New York City rock scene." - The New Yorker

Wednesday 05.06 - Southpaw, 125 Fifth Ave. in Park Slope, Brooklyn. Door $10
sponsored by

11.10 Lowry (Deli Best of NYC #12)
10.30 Elizabeth + Catapult (Deli Best of NYC #17)
9.40 The King Left (Deli Best of NYC #8)
8.50 April Smith (Deli Best of NYC #5)
8.10 KaiserCartel (Deli Best of NYC #29)
7.30 Mia Riddle (Deli Best of NYC #20)

See you there!

The Deli Staff
www.thedelimagazine.com

Tonight at 9 p.m. at The Bakery (now known as the Gazeilig Theater):

Pedestrian Deposit, Work/Death, Earn, Wapstan, A S I T G (A Snake in the Garden).

ASITG is from Burlington, but this unique group of musicians hail from as far west as Los Angeles, south to Tennesee and North to Montreal.

One of our current artists of the month, Tapis Bleu, are celebrating the release of their self-titled debut EP on Friday night, May 1st, at The Monkey in Winooski. The show starts at 9, and it's $5 at the door.

They'll be joined by The Cush, Texas natives who have become a staple in the Burlington scene. Audrey Ryan will also perform on Friday. She's got a unique style, reminiscent of Neko Case and Laura Gibson. These ambient indie-rock teams are truly shifting the core of Burlington sounds.

Tapis Bleu is Caroline O'Connor and Sean Altrui. Caroline is a classically trained saxophonist who branches out into new terrain with this project - experimenting with mood-altering sounds for the first time, she pushes their sound into the jazz genre. Sean experiments with the percussion side of things, most notably the Djembe, though he often uses less known instruments like the Moog.

Live and on the album, Sean really utilizes a synthesizer - sometimes the looping tends ot dominate the tracks, leaving me dangerously close to skipping forward.. To fully enjoy this EP, one has to treat it as a different animal - it's somewhere in between a movie soundtrack, meditation music, and jazz with a world music aroma. Driving while listening could be dangerous as the ambience could take you to another planet.

Thought there are only three tracks, it's the kind of recording that one can listen on repeat over and over again and gain something every time.

See the past interview with Tapis Bleu here. Hope to see you Friday!

- Adena Harford

Albums flyin' off the presses this week. On Friday, April 24th, Husbands AKA will throw their CD release party. The first 20 people in the door get a free CD and tickets to the Bouncing Souls show at Higher Ground on Sunday May 3rd - SKA LOVE!

Good review of the new album, Swift Street, in Seven Days...

Can't wait for the show - can't wait to feel fifteen again - this is not to say I believe ska to be immature music. What I mean is, I can't wait to enjoy a show like I enjoyed those I saw at fifteen - raw energy, sweating, dancing, and f*&!ing fun.

Husbands will be joined by In Memory of Pluto, Lord Silky and Drive the Hour.

Show at 8 p.m. - $5, 18 +.

- Adena Harford