Music (85)
CD release party set for Friday, May 17th at Nocturnem
After more than a year spent thinking about the recording of their first full length album, popular acoustic jam-band Mellow Endeavor decided to keep things simple and true. The finished disc, “All Paths Lead Home” is an honest representation of how the band sounds in a live setting. Jason Howe (vocals and cajone) says that it was important for the band to capture the vibe of a live performance for their first album. “The cleanliness and multi-track sound wasn’t something that we were going for on this,” Howe told me in a recent phone interview. “We tried to get as close to our live sound as possible. Even the vocals were recorded live with the music,” he says.
Acclaimed pianist Igor Lovchinsky to perform final Piano Series concert of the season
by Wire Reports
LEWISTON - Concert artist Igor Lovchinsky presents the final program of the 2012-2013 Piano Series season at the Franco-American Heritage Center in Lewiston on Friday, May 24. The recital begins at 7:30 p.m. and will include works by Bach-Busoni, Chopin, Scriabin and Liszt.
Lovchinsky is one of the most popular pianists to have given recitals at the Franco Center, where he has also appeared as soloist with the Midcoast Symphony Orchestra. His electric interpretation of the Grieg A-minor piano concerto was the highlight of the Midcoast’s Gala Concert in October 2011.
First Maine visit set for Portland’s One Longfellow Square May 16
Pure pop bliss abounds on “Me”, the first full-length album from James McCartney, due May 21 from ECR Music Group. A rarity in a world where most new pop-rock releases smack the listener with deliberate earnestness, “Me” is a reminder that the most memorable songs are often the most organic and personal.
Rich in melody and sonics with hooks to spare, many of the songs on “Me” (including the ultra-catchy first single “Strong as You”) begin gently with acoustic guitar and then lead the listener into welcome and unexpected places. In a recent interview conducted via email, McCartney told me that the songs on “Me” were all newly written. “This album is much more of a snapshot of where I’m at, and who I am right now. It’s ‘Me,’” he said.
ELLSWORTH - The Grand presents the return of the great cosmic blues sound of Chris Smither on Friday, May 17 at 7:30 p.m.
Having distilled his own signature sound of blues and folk for over 40 years, Chris Smither is truly an American original. A profound songwriter, Smither continues to draw deeply from the blues, American folk music, modern poets and philosophers with this 14th record of his lengthy career. From his early days as the New Orleans transplant in the Boston folk scene, through his wilderness years to his reemergence in the 1990s as one of America’s most distinctive acoustic performers, Chris Smither continues to hone his distinctive sound. He has always traveled his own road, eschewing sophisticated studio tricks and staying true to his musical vision. He has developed and maintained loyal friendships over the years with kindred-spirited musicians like Bonnie Raitt and the late Stephen Bruton and inspires the next-generation of musicians.
Shallow Side - Living their rock dreams 200 nights a year
by Mike Dow
Band set to play in Bangor on Thursday, April 25 and Rockland on Friday, April 26
“This is the life I’ve chosen,” said Eric Boatright, lead singer of Shallow Side, a five-piece rock band from Cullman, Alabama that has been on the road playing one-nighters virtually non-stop since they formed in November 2010. The group has two Maine dates on their itinerary this week in support of the new CD, “Home Today,” and Boatright says he’s looking forward to some northern hospitality. “It will be great to be in Maine and we can’t wait to play in new places for new faces.”
LEWISTON – Most people probably think of Suzanne Nance as the voice of “Morning Classical Music,” a program that airs each weekday morning from 9:05 a.m. until noon on MPBN Radio.
But Nance is also a very talented soprano who has performed on stages all over the world, and on May 3 she will be performing a concert at the Franco-American Heritage Center in Lewiston composed of selections mostly in French with a few in English, featuring some of Maine’s most talented women backing her on piano, cello and violin.
Big crowd expected at Franco Center for Rustic Overtones
by Wire Reports
LEWISTON – The most popular band to ever come out of Maine, if one is using album sales as a yardstick, will perform at the Franco-American Heritage Center in Lewiston on Friday, April 26.
Rustic Overtones is a seven-piece group whose unique sound comes from vocalist, guitarist and songwriter Dave Gutter’s throaty, distinctive voice and the band’s three-piece horn section, a member of which has played as part of opening acts for Dave Matthews and Eric Clapton at Madison Square Garden.
Book signing with The Doors’ drummer at Bull Moose in Scarborough 4/20 at 2 p.m.
Somewhere today, a 15-year-old kid is buying his first Doors album and is listening to the beautifully dark and mysterious songs with the same sense of wonder felt by generations of kids before him. As he digs deeper into the band’s catalog and explores their history, he will attach a personal value to the band’s name. The songs will accompany him during pivotal moments in his life and memories will be made with The Doors providing the soundtrack.
As Doors drummer John Densmore sees it, part of his job today is to make sure that the value placed upon the band’s name, image and music by that 15 year old, and millions of other Doors fans like him, remains untarnished.
Guitarist Gary Rossington, founding member of Southern rock pioneers Lynyrd Skynyrd, feels like the last of a dying breed. “When you look at all of the bands - especially from the South - that were around when we started, there aren’t many of us left,” he told me in a recent phone conversation.
As the sole original member in the current Skynyrd lineup, Rossington may also have been referencing his own role in the band. The October 1977 plane crash that killed original Skynyrd lead vocalist and lyricist Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines and singer and vocalist Cassie Gaines, signaled the end of the Skynyrd name for a decade. Rossington spent years recovering from the crash that shattered both of his arms, legs, wrists, ankles and pelvis. A broken heart took longer to heal.
Paranoid Social Club and Spose to headline benefit
BANGOR – Husson students are bringing two major Maine talents, Paranoid Social Club and Spose, to headline at this year’s Music Saved Me Benefit Concert on April 12 at the Tantrum Night Club at 9 p.m. Opening for the bands are G-Fresh and Texas Dent, also based in Maine, and Paul Wolfe of Z107.3 will emcee the event.
The Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) is responsible for organizing this annual event which is in its third year.
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