Dr. Harp – Blues for food

In the latest example of the music scene giving back to those in need, a blues show benefiting Friends of Forgotten Children will be held on November 22 at their headquarters in Concord.  The family-friendly event begins at 3 in the afternoon, and features two of the area’s most venerable bands, [...]

Donna Jean – No time like now

During the Sixties, she was present at the creation of many legendary R&B records at the Muscle Shoals Sound Studio, and spent most of the next decade singing in rock’s most successful touring band, the Grateful Dead.
But for Donna Jean Godchaux, there is no time better than now.
“I have a [...]

Local Rhythms – Tricks of the trade

I have the greatest job in the world.
For someone who considers “have you heard this?” the perfect conversation starter, being tasked with finding and exposing talented musicians is as good as it gets.
Radio, MTV, and cheap multiple band concerts used to guide my personal quest for great music. These days, the gurus have changed.
I have [...]

This Week’s Hippo

Trans-Siberian Orchestra comes to town this weekend, and I spoke with founding member and musical director Bob Kinkel, who told me:
“We never want to do the same thing twice, we always want to do better,” says founding member Bob Kinkel. “We keep raising the bar and then we go ‘Oh no, we gotta jump over [...]

Local Rhythms – Still a small town

This week’s column begins a bit off-topic, but stick with me.  It gets back to music eventually.
Though I try to steer clear of politics in this space, a meme circulating after last week’s resounding win by pro-growth forces in local elections forces me to weigh in.  The results, say the losers, prove that Claremont isn’t [...]

Local Rhythms – How not to run a business

This is a story about two industries, one fat and complacent, the other hungry and scrappy.
The first is record labels and the second is music.  Believe me, they’re not the same business.
Remember the fanfare last September, when the remastered Beatles catalog finally came out? Turns out EMI didn’t make enough of the most coveted item [...]