Local Rhythms – Thanks Again

“You feel all right when you hear that music ring” – Dire Straits
No one gets rich making music – not anymore.
Whether that’s a sad fact or a simple truth, it’s undeniable.  Strapping on a guitar, sitting down at the piano or stepping up to a microphone with dreams of wealth and fame is a near-certain [...]

Sophie & Zeke’s Plan December 6 Grand Opening

Everything’s bigger at Sophie & Zeke’s since their move to Opera House Square in downtown Claremont – even the music.  After a rehabilitation of the historic Brown Block building lasting years, the restaurant now has twice the kitchen space, room enough for double the customers, and an entertainment calendar that will soon extend to three [...]

Tracy Chapman – Our Bright Future

Tracy Chapman walks away from a fork in the road on the cover of her new album.  Whether she’s merging onto a main path, or simply fleeing a choice she’d rather not make is a good question.
It’s also a perfect metaphor for the many conflicts explored in this work. Though issues of faith, family and [...]

Local Rhythms – Whither Record Stores?

Where’s the government bailout for the music industry?  If taxpayers should rescue Ford and GM before they run out of gas, what about Warner Brothers?
Heck, what about Music Matters, the latest local record store to close shop?  For years, the West Lebanon business stood out from the big box operations, hosting live shows from local [...]

Digging the Folk in WRJ

How refreshing to enjoy folk music in a non-high stakes environment.  Stopping by the Tuckerbox Café on Friday night, I grabbed a tall latte, took a seat close to where Phil Singer and Laurianna Jordan were harmonizing, and relaxed.
The pair worked through a few of Phil’s songs, which recall the music of classic folkies like [...]

Local Rhythms – Folk Scene Gets A Nice Boost

Well-rounded though the area music scene may be, there’s a dearth of places hosting singer-songwriters.
A lot of local venues seem to exist between two extremes.
On the one hand, there’s quiet jazz, a perfect background soundtrack for dinner conversation; on the other, blues and rock, typically delivered after 9:00 PM to energetic crowds – designed to [...]

Greg Copeland Returns

The Desert Island Disc – every music fan, especially those who are critics, has one.  Usually revered for both sonic beauty and a sense of neglected genius (See: Lester Bangs on the Shaggs’ “History of the World”).
For me, that record is Greg Copeland’s “Revenge Will Come,” which arrived in 1982 like a Molotov cocktail lobbed [...]

Greg Copeland – In His Own Words

If the measure of a great record is how it reveals itself over time, then Greg Copeland’s “Diana and James” is a masterpiece.  It’s a blend of “Cold Mountain” musical textures and Cormac McCarthy literary elements like murder, regret and brooding historical reverie.
But its arrival, 26 years past Copeland’s incendiary debut album, still doesn’t unravel [...]

Mavis Staples – Hope At The Hideout

Along with her fellow family members in the Staples Singers, Mavis Staples provided a soundtrack for the American civil rights movement, something she refers to simply as “The Struggle”.  So it’s fitting that Staples would release the stunning live collection “Hope At The Hideout” on November 4, the day the United States elected its first [...]

Local Rhythms – Led Zeppelin “Idol”

The latest news for the Zeppelin-obsessed came last week, when Aerosmith’s Brad Whitford revealed that Steven Tyler recently jammed with Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones and Jason Bonham in a London studio.
Don’t read too much into it, though.
Tyler idolized bands like the Yardbirds, Cream and Zeppelin back in his Sunapee Barn days, so I’m sure [...]