This Week’s Compass

Players
Local Music Spotlight
Who: Mark & Debbie Bond
What: Easy and classic rock, in a small package
Sounds like: Peter Gabriel, Vertical Horizon, Bon Jovi
A married couple playing a tasty blend of up-tempo rock and adult contemporary, they’re summer regulars at the Anchorage in Sunapee.   Recently, they began a residency at Ramunto’s in Claremont. “We want to be [...]

Local Rhythms – All Hail All Hallows

It falls on a Saturday; at the end of daylight savings time no less. So this column is all Hallows, all the time.
In my neighborhood, I have a reputation for serenading the trick or treat crowd. Here are a few tunes you’re likely to hear – thanks to my Facebook pals for their suggestions.
Let’s start [...]

This week’s Hippo

In this week’s Music Roundup, I talk about my new favorite female singer-songwriter, Amy Petty.  There’s also news about a multi-band metal show at Rocko’s, country music from Branded: No Rules at Circle 9 Ranch, and a show from Bulletproof Messenger at Milly’s
Robert Earl Keen, Todd Snider and Bruce Robison are performing at Tupelo Music [...]

This Week’s Compass

Beyond
Worth driving out of town
Rickie Lee Jones
Iron Horse Music Hall
Northampton, Mass.
Distance: 86 miles
When: Monday, October 26, 7PM
Tickets: $50/$55 door
www.iheg.com
30 years ago, Rickie Lee Jones arrived on the music scene with a flawless, eponymous debut album. She dated Tom Waits, Lowell George covered her songs, Rolling Stone put her on the cover, and a Saturday Night [...]

Local Rhythms – No static at all

Two years ago, Newport native Steve Smith came home to start a radio station. After several years running a Clear Channel affiliate (with no regrets, he’s quick to point out), he was looking for a new direction.
Steve’s goal was simple – serve the community. “That’s what every radio station should do,” he told me the [...]

Ground Zero – Youth haven fights for survival

Like a lot of businesses, it’s been tough year for Ground Zero.
Attendance at the all-ages Allenstown teen music center dropped precipitously over the summer. This was due partly to a down economy, but also because the club relocated to a bigger space as the school year was ending.
To bolster revenue, the club recently introduced a [...]

Acoustic for Autism plays for a cure

When Louis Gendron learned his daughter had been diagnosed with autism, he reacted instinctively. First he tried to learn as much as he could about tending to her physical needs. “It’s a marathon, there’s different challenges every day for parents,” said the Claremont native from his Wilton, NH home.
Then Gendron began looking for ways to [...]

Local Rhythms – Going the distance

The greatest book ever written is nine sentences long – and I can’t wait for the movie.
I discovered Maurice Sendak’s magical Where The Wild Things Are when I had children of my own. For a time, reading it to each of them was a nightly ritual.
Every child understands the story. Rowdy Max is sent to [...]

Compass Preview

Beyond
Worth driving out of town
Keene Pumpkin Festival
Distance: 39 miles
When: Saturday, October 17, 10AM – 9PM
Tickets: FREE
www.pumpkinfestival.org
There’s something fundamentally wrong with Boston, a city of over 600,000 people, stealing Keene’s crown for the most lit jack-o-lanterns in one place a few years ago. But the humble city of 22,000 took it in stride, continuing to host [...]

Local Rhythms – Back to the living room for me

Since my computer’s hard drive started filling up with MP3s, music has been about convenience, not fidelity. Oh, I’d occasionally dig out old vinyl records and wallow nostalgically in the warmth of analog sound, and rant to the annoyance of anyone born after 1980.
Most of the time, though, the number of songs that fit on [...]