Local Rhythms – Record Store Day

Music business news is giving me whiplash.

Take the RIAA lawsuits.  Last December, the industry organization announced plans to stop going after fans, focusing instead on Internet service providers.

But they’re milking all they can out of their ongoing cases.  A UNH student was initially sued for sharing 7 songs but, her attorney recently told the Union Leader, “the number keeps changing, and unfortunately, it’s going in the wrong direction.”

The growth of legal download services is an industry bright spot, right?  Fans are getting with the program.  That’s a good thing.

Here’s the industry’s idea for how best to capitalize on this success – raise prices.  That’s right, “Stairway to Heaven” used to cost a buck on iTunes – now it’s $1.29.

Head spin, neck snap – huh?

Here’s another puzzler.  Apple Corps responded to Beatles fans clamoring for MP3s of Fab Four songs by – wait for it – remastering and reissuing their entire catalog on CD.

Talk about partying like it’s 1999.

“Discussions regarding … digital distribution … will continue,” read a clueless press release.  “There is no further information available at this time.”

One glimmer of hope is Record Store Day, a worldwide celebration of indie retailers happening this Saturday.  Participating New Hampshire stores include Bull Moose, Turn It Up! and Newbury Comics.

Granted, a 28-store chain can’t exactly be called independent, but one Newbury Comics clerk typically knows more about what’s in the bins than the entire staff at Best Buy or Wal-Mart.  That’s still unique and worth preserving.

A lot of musicians agree, and are chipping in with store appearances and RSD-only releases.

Locally, Static-X takes a break from the Sno-Core tour to appear at Bull Moose in Portsmouth, while big names like Lamb of God, State Radio and Sarah Borges are among those listed for Newbury Comics (including a 4-band show in Nashua, roots rocker Michael Bernier in Salem, and an open microphone in West Lebanon) .

Special product includes Americana chanteuse Tift Merritt’s “Buckingham Solo” live collection, special 7” singles from the Stooges, Andrew Bird and Brandi Carlile, along with 12” platters from Talking Heads, Radiohead and Regina Spektor.

There’s also  “This Album Crashes Hard Drives,” an audiophile-grade vinyl indie sampler specially released for Record Store Day.

“In a rare act of collective goodwill,” says a blurb about the disc on recordstoreday.com, “[artists] have come together and made a high-quality LP at a price you can actually afford.”

If only the RIAA cared that much about fans.  What else is happening?

Thursday: Bluesberry Jam, Salt hill Newport – Arthur James holds forth in the weekly blues-tinged jam session, with amps and microphones provided.  James usually rocks it up with his band Northbound, but calls tonight’s ensemble “Unacoustic Mayhem”. This is a standard open mike affair, with a bluesier touch. It beats American Idol by a country mile.

Friday: Herman’s Hermits, Paramount Theater (Rutland) – Peter Noone is still at it, 45 years after topping the charts with the Carole King/Gerry Goffin-penned “I’m Into Something Good.”  These days, he’s as likely to cover David Bowie as dip into his catalog of smashes like “There’s a Kind of Hush,” “Silhouettes” or “Mrs. Brown, You’ve Got a Lovely Daughter.”

Saturday: Mary Gauthier, Lebanon Opera House – A benefit for COVER that also features Anais Mitchell.  Listening to Gauthier, who’s lived as hardscrabble a life as any musician around, you know her songs come from a very real place.  Tomorrow night in Bellows Falls, she plays an intimate show at Boccelli’s on the Canal, a great little restaurant which seats less than 100 people. As of Sunday, tickets were still available.

Sunday: Gavin DeGraw, SNHU Field House – The singer-songwriter came to prominence the way a lot of musicians are doing it these days, by way of a youth-oriented television show.  “One Tree Hill” featured his “I Don’t Want to Be” as its theme song.  The Berklee grad just released his 4th studio album.  “Free” is a deliciously soulful, yet rough around the edges affair that should please fans and newcomers alike.

Monday: Todd Rundgren, Iron Horse – It appears that Todd’s in the same boat as Leonard Cohen.  He made a few bad business decisions (like selling his share of Meat Loaf’s “Bat Out of Hell,” which he produced) and now he tours a lot.  Rundgren is directly or indirectly responsible for some of the best pop to come of out the 1970s, writing “I Saw The Light” and “Hello It’s Me” and producing Grand Funk’s “We’re An American Band.”  A night with him is a tuneful journey.

Tuesday: Nrityagram Dance Ensemble, Hopkins Center – This week’s eclectic pick blends the classical dance forms of India with contemporary concepts.  It’s colorful and kinetic, combining “magic and spirituality with the sensuous flow of Odissi, the oldest of India ‘s classical dance forms,” according to the troupe’s web site.