I got some interesting responses to my invitation of last week to write in
about some of your more memorable musical experiences. But I wasn't bowled over
in terms of the numbers. A lot of you complain about the lack of enthusiasm on
the part of folks in town, that not enough people take the time to come out and
see your band or your friend's band play. And you're right; there should be
more support, more participation, more enthusiasm. It creates a larger, more
cohesive scene and fosters confidence, encouragement, and adventure on behalf
of the bands who benefit.
But it isn't just the lazy farts who are the culprits, those who you all feel
are sitting at home at the giving end of a remote control. OK, so most of you
who play in bands make it out on a frequent basis. But that's what you do.
That's your business. You go and see bands and play in bands and support venues
for a living. Others, though, aren't lucky enough to be in the music business.
Many work tough, boring, mundane jobs that require early rising and sap all
their energy for the night to follow. It ain't easy to muster the energy to
make the scene when the days are that long. I'm not defending the fact that
folks don't make it out often enough. They're the ones who are missing out on
great music. And I'm certainly not defending the college kids in and around
town who'd rather go on the prowl at those dance nights. But I do understand it
all too well when the rigors of daily life interfere with the pleasures of
nightly life.
That said, the support and participation I spoke about above isn't simply a
one-way street. Just because you play in a band and you go out at night to see
your buddies' bands doesn't mean you're a participant. That's fun. That's the
easy part. Participation and support have to do with working to make yourself
and your band heard. It has to do with signing up at the Rattlehead Records
Website, where Sean and his staff are working furiously to make things happen
in town. It has to do with making phone calls to label reps and get them out to
your show. It has to do with writing me in response to my call for stories, so
we can band together and relive some great times with the hope of generating
more in the future.
These are the hard things. These are the things that take you out of your
daily bliss of being in a band and foist you into doing things you may not want
to do. It's not all fun and games. It's not all about doing what you want to do
all the time. It's about looking outside your small realm and finding out what
else there is to be done to support the local scene. Like I said, it's easy for
band members to support our scene. Try doing something that's not so easy. If
you can't do that, then you're as guilty as everyone else of not pulling your
weight.
BRT CELEBRATES ONE YEAR. In less vindictive news, the fabulous
Blackstone River Theater celebrate its one-year anniversary this
weekend. The theater reopened in September 2000 after more than four years of
renovation work spearheaded by members of the Celtic folk group Pendragon. The
space, definitely one of the best and most elegant in Rhode Island, is a
nonprofit cultural arts center where the music, dance, and folk arts traditions
of the Blackstone River Valley are presented in high-quality Technicolor.
BRT presents weekly acoustic-based music concerts with an emphasis on the
ethnic groups that settled in the Blackstone River Valley, monthly folk dances
and children's events, as well as special events on a year-round basis. The
theatre has quickly become a favorite destination for music lovers and has seen
close to 7000 customers attend its shows since reopening. BRT has also
maintained a rotating art gallery showcasing works by local visual artists and
begun to offer classes as part of their Heritage Arts Studio initiative.
Enthusiastic support by the Town of Cumberland is evidenced by a 15-year lease
from the burg, and by ongoing programming support from The John H. Chafee
Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor Commission as well as by the
Rhode Island State Council on the Arts.
In celebration of this excellent success, the BRT will present two evenings of
traditional Irish music with Pendragon and step dancers Kevin Doyle &
Kieran Jordan on Saturday (the 22nd) and Sunday(the 23rd). Both shows are at 8
p.m.
Pendragon, whose new album is due soon, seamlessly blends lively jigs and
reels with Mary Lee Partington's original songs depicting the experiences of
the immigrants who settled here and their role in the mill and textile
traditions of New England. Whether drawing on the ethnic music of the
Blackstone River Valley or songs that tell the story of the coming of age of
traditional music, Pendragon is worth a good long look, if not a tapped toe or
two.
Dervish, a seven-member band from Sligo, is one of Ireland's finest
tradition-rooted bands with a new album soon to be released on the fine Compass
label. With its combination of virtuosic instrumentation, high-energy
arrangements, and ultra-sweet singing, Dervish, together 10 years, continues to
create its own path in Ireland's awesome musical heritage. Also worth a
look.For reservations/information call the BRT at (401) 725-9272. You can find
it at 549 Broad St. in Cumberland. Reservations are strongly recommended for
both shows.
WANDERING EYE. I got an insightful note from Satyr of Slugworth
regarding last week's disaster. I'll spare you the details -- haven't we all
had enough details? But they do play the Living Room Friday night in an
excellent bill with Jesus Candy headlining. Slugworth plays at midnight,
while Auditory Dysfunction, Forget the Past, and BND all
hit the stage the same night.
This Saturday, Planet Groove plays the Light the Night Walk at Roger
Williams National Park, which is in the valley between the train station and
College Hill. Set times are 5:30 to 6:45 p.m. and 8 to 9 p.m. The Walk itself
is the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's nationwide event in which participants
carry illuminated balloons to celebrate and commemorate lives touched by
cancer. Funds raised will support the org's mission to cure related diseases
and to improve the quality of life of patients and their families.
Participation helps save lives; more than 2000 people attended last year. For
more info, go to www.lightthenight.org.
The Cautions are Top 10 finalists in the CMJ/Coca-Cola New Music Awards
sponsored by the American Music Awards. The band writes in to tell us that they
were supposed to fly to NYC this week to compete, but in light of events, it
was postponed to sometime in mid-October during the rescheduled CMJ Marathon.
The winner gets to perform live on the AMA's on ABC-TV in January 2002. The
next time you can catch the band is at the Green Room on Friday, October 5 with
Bleu and the Marlowes. Good stuff.
If you haven't heard yet, Frontline is no more. Tommy has started a new
band called L.O.D. with members of Dredworks, Frontline and Forget the
Past.
E-mail me with music news at b_gulla@yahoo.com.
Issue Date: September 21 - 27, 2001
