Cape Ann Rocks for the Rockaways

You heard it first on GMG: This just in from our friend Will Hunt:
Cape Ann musicians will perform at The Hive at 11 Pleasant Street in Gloucester from 4 p.m to midnight this Sunday, November 18, in a benefit for the Rockaways, the New York coastal community devastated by hurricane Sandy. Admission is free, but cash donations will be gratefully accepted. All proceeds will be donated to effective relief organizations already on the ground in the Rockaways.
Musicians scheduled to play as of today include Bradley Royds, the BFs, the Honky Tonk Women, Just Like Newman, the Buckners, Ron Schrank, Inge Berge and Guy Zacardi. Many more will appear.  A complete listing will be posted on gimmesound as Sunday approaches.
Superstorm Sandy brings devastation to Far Rockaway  (Mark Lennihan/AP)

Our girls representing Gloucester’s great music all across the country . . .

Last night, Chelsea Berry played the The Bitter End, New York City’s oldest and most iconic club.  Boy that place brings back memories — I wish I had been there!

Look at her in this picture.  Even without her excellent band she still rocks!

I can hear it now.

And while Chelsea was in NYC, Marina Evans is out west.  Check out this excerpt from her latest  tour report.

The cross country tour is just about drawing to a close as we make our final journey across the southwestern desert. Since the last update from Nashville, we’ve hit Asheville, NC; Atlanta, GA; New Orleans, LA; Dallas, TX; and Socorro, NM. Whew!

So far, the longest stretch has been from west Texas to New Mexico. But not to fear: we brought a ukulele, and were therefore musically productive on the road. Here’s a little diddy from the west Texas brushlands.

Back on the home front, you can get a double dose of John Rockwell tonight.  He’s at Alchemy at 7pm and then he’s Fly Amero‘s guest at Rhumb Line at 9pm.

An excellent weekend of live music is shaping up.  See the schedule here.  But check back tomorrow because I’m sure we’ll have new stuff to post.  I really thought Vickie’s post 3 weeks ago would inspire people keep their info up to date, but they don’t, so  you’ll just have to wait.

“Songs are these great recipes of inspiration and torture.”

Megan Burtt on Local Music Seen

That’s what award-winning, Denver-based singer / songwriter Megan Burtt, says on Local Music Seen with Allen Estes, which premieres tomorrow night at 6:30pm on Cape Ann TV Channel 12.

Megan was kind enough to stop in and tape a show last week after having played to a sold out crowd at the Old Sloop Coffeehouse.  Her writing is straight from her heart and gut. Her songs take you away and when you return you’re a different person. You don’t want to miss this show!

Those of you familiar with Local Music Seen know that Allen starts every show with a song, and for this one, he premiered a brand new song that doesn’t even have a title.  (Megan told me her idea for a name, but we won’t reveal that until after the show airs.)  Here’s a video of that song.  Leave a comment using the link below to share any ideas you have for a name (See more videos by Allen Estes here)

You can see Allen at Jalapenos tonight sitting in with KBMG for Dan King, who’s in Seattle.

More excellent music all week long.  See the complete live music Schedule here.

Good music pretty much all day and night for the next two days

It’s a beautiful day to be at Camp Spindrift for their Fall Into Winter Festival and music is still going on — if you hurry, you can catch John Jerome at 2pm (see schedule).

After that you can catch 3 more live shows today and dance into the wee hours.

Get up for brunch tomorrow at Alchemy with Flynn Cohen & Friends.  Then catch the Cape Ann Big Band benefit at Gloucester House — a great way to celebrate Veterans Day — and still have time for two more shows before the night is over!  WOW!

See the complete local live music schedule here.

Klezmer in Gloucester with Attitude this Saturday

Natalia Carollo of Temple Ahavat Achim sent this info on a performance by Klezwoods with Fozzie Hill at Cafe Shalom this Saturday Nov 10th at 7pm.  Refreshments will be served.  Suggested donation – $10/per person.  Check them out!

Klezwoods is a Boston-based amalgam of strings, horns, and percussion that melds the spirit of traditional klezmer and balkan music with modern grooves, improvisation and east coast attitude.

Every player comes from a different background, which creates the band’s unique sound and style. They originally got their start some years back when local Cambridge, MA haunt, Atwood’s Tavern, asked soon-to-be-bandleader Joseph Kessler to put together a group of klezmer musicians during Christmas time for a “klezmer Christmas” event. Thus, Klezwoods was born, and continues to captivate audiences all over the world.

But don’t wait for Saturday.  Weather is clearing already making a great night to go out.

See the full weekend live music lineup for Gloucester here.

You want REAL tickets? OK, we heard you. Get them at Gloucester Music and Liquor Locker

Sample Ticket

For our first 2012/13 Berklee in Gloucester show, we didn’t have real tickets — you know the paper kind you buy at box offices and stores.  And people asked why?

Some of you just prefer to buy a real ticket.  You don’t want to go on-line or call and have your credit card charged.  And you don’t want to have your name on a list at the show.  Nope.  You want to walk in, show your ticket and take your seat.  Plain and simple.

Most importantly, you want to save your ticket as a memento.  I’ve got my share of concert and show tickets stashed somewhere.  I figure that when I get old, I’ll sit in my chair by the fire with my glasses on thumbing through these old tickets, reminiscing about this concert and that play — remembering whom I went with; what my life was like back then; how the music sounded.  Ahhh … the good-ol-days — today’s music is crap — that sort of thing.

OK, we got it.  So we printed up some snazzy tickets for this next show: Indie Rock Night featuring Boston’s The Shills with local favorites Renee & Joe at Latitude 43 on November 29 and you can get these tickets in Gloucester at The Liquor Locker @ 287 Main St. and Gloucester Music @ 210 Main Street.

These are nice, big, full color tickets with a photo of The Shills and that wicked-cool drawing of Renee & Joe.  You’ll be proud to add this one to your collection.  So hurry out and get yours soon before they’re all gone.  Or if you just want to order on-line click here.  Which ever way you buy them,  a portion of proceeds benefits the Berklee2Gloucester Scholarship fund — and remember: this is an ALL AGES show and it will ROCK!  Here’s a taste of what you can expect.

If you don’t vote you can’t bitch

I LOVE to bitch, so I vote.  I may not like the choices.  But I figure they can’t possibly be identical, so I vote for the one who might be a little better.   No, I’m not always sure.  And sometimes I end up disappointed with my vote.  BUT THEN I GET TO BITCH — because I voted.  Having voted makes bitching so much more fun.  I can say, I can’t believe I voted for that a**hole.  Or I can say, don’t blame me, I voted for the other one.

You’re probably saying, what? … another election ? … already? … really?  Yeah, this one snuck up on us — just came out of nowhere.  In fact, this post is probably the first you’ve heard that there’s an election tomorrow, right?  That’s OK.  Google “presidential election”.  You’ll find a few results (1,160,000,000 as of this writing).  Google also returns about 23 million results for “massachusetts senate race”.  So you’re good to go there — along with the other local races too.  Between now and tomorrow (Tuesday) at 8pm, you should be able find out enough about the candidates and ballot questions to make intelligent choices.

If you live in Gloucester and you’re not sure where to vote, you can get a wicked cool color-coded map of Gloucester polling stations here.

Even cooler than that, if you live in Gloucester, you can go out after you vote, get a drink and reward yourself for making all those difficult choices with some great music — whatever your taste: Billy Novick & Thomas Hebb playing jazz at The Franklin, KMBG — masters of classics, rock, blues, etc. at Jalapenos or Henley Douglas soul at Rhumbline.

Here’s the complete live music listings for Gloucester, so after you’ve chosen whom to vote for, you get to choose where to start your bitching after you cast your ballot.

Two chances to see Leven’s Carpe Diem this weekend and support New Years Rockport Eve

See complete live music listings for Gloucester, Rockport & Cape Ann here.

 

Cape Ann once again featured in The Noise ~ Rockport Show Recommended for This Saturday

Last month I pointed out that The Noise Magazine recommended two Gloucester shows for the week of Oct 22, putting us on par with Cambridge (see post here).  Well there’s a new Noise issue out and this week they recommend a Rockport show (see here) specifically Amy Black with Megan Burtt at the Old Sloop Coffeehouse.  Congrats Amy Black, Megan Burtt, Old Sloop (tickets here) and Rockport!  Oh, and I guess I have to congratulate myself on being right again.  I picked this show in this post .  Here are two more videos from these rising stars, just in case you weren’t convinced by the ones I posted last week.

More Megan Burtt videos here.

Now for tonight, there’s a special treat at Minglewood: Tony & Samantha Goddess will share the stage with KBMG.  You don’t get to see all these talented artists sharing the stage very often so take advantage.

See this weekend’s complete live music schedule for Gloucester and Cape Ann here.

Breaking News: Berklee in Gloucester Indie Rock Tickets Available Now

You heard it FIRST on GMG: Tickets just went on sale for the next Berklee in Gloucester benefit on November 29 (the Thursday after Thanksgiving) at Latitude 43.  This is our first Indie Rock Night featuring one of Boston’s top Indie bands, The Shills with local rising stars, Renee & Joe.  Space is limited, it’s an ALL AGES SHOW, so get your tickets now.  Check out The Shills in this video (more excellent videos of The Shills here).

This concert features recent Berklee alumni from Boston and Gloucester sharing the stage to help send a Gloucester student to Berklee (more about the Scholarship Fund).  When you think of Berklee College of Music, you might think Jazz only, but Berklee is all about contemporary music, which was Jazz when Berklee was founded in 1945, and now includes  genres that didn’t even exist then.  Check out this from  Berklee’s About page:

Berklee College of Music was founded on the revolutionary principle that the best way to prepare students for careers in music is through the study and practice of contemporary music. For more than half a century, the college has evolved to reflect the state of the art of music and the music business, leading the way with the world’s first baccalaureate studies in jazz, rock, electric guitar, film scoring, songwriting, turntables, electronic production, and more than a dozen other genres and fields of study. 

Simply put, if you want to study contemporary music — from Jazz to whatever genre becomes the next big thing — and you can get in to Berklee (not so easy) that’s where you want to be.  So, save the date Thursday, November 29 and come to Latitude 43 to hear some of the best Indie Rock on the planet — and, who knows, you may be helping to send the next big rock star to Berklee.

Remember, it’s an all ages show, so you can bring your kids and introduce them to the latest generation of Berklee rock stars.

Cape Ann Big Band Benefit for WWII Memorial @ Gloucester House on Veterans Day

There simply isn’t a better way to celebrate Veterans Day than to support the people who serve in the military and the memorials we build to those who “gave the last full measure of devotion”.   Lily Linquata sent this notice about the event that is from 3-6pm next Sunday.  If you’ve never seen the Cape Ann Big Band live, this is your perfect opportunity!

Join Gloucester’s WWII Veterans Memorial Committee and friends on this upcoming Veteran’s Day — Sunday, November 11, 2012 — for a Cape Ann Big Band concert to benefit the perpetual care of Gloucester’s WWII Memorial on Kent Circle. Starting at 3pm and going until 6pm, tickets are $20 each. Tickets are on sale now at The Gloucester House or via Connie Condon.

Cape Ann Big Band frequently sells out so don’t wait too long to get your tickets for this sure-to-be excellent event. As there will be no reserved seats, it is also important to be on time. Doors will open at 2:45.

Old Sloop brings top talent from Boston and Colorado to Rockport on Saturday

The Old Sloop Coffeehouse is known for bringing rising stars to Cape Ann — a risky business since rising stars, by their very nature (i.e., still rising) don’t have the draw of a more established artist.  Even falling stars draw better because people know them, and their names ring a familiar, sometimes nostalgic bell.  But that doesn’t stop the Old Sloop from booking rising stars and taking the risk.  And all of us benefit.

Every month, you can be sure that even though you may never have heard the names of the artists, just the fact that their playing the Old Sloop means they’re top talent.  These people do their homework.

It will be a long time before you can see Amy Black and Megan Burtt on the same stage again so close to home.  And when you do, it just might be in a big theatre with expensive tickets — not a cozy, intimate setting in our own backyard.  So as the song says, “get it while you can!”

Power’s on, Cable’s up, Inge’s at the Rhumbline tomorrow — all is good in Gloucester

One of my favorite singer-songwriters, Inge Berge, will be Fly’s guest tomorrow (Wed) at Rhumb Line.  Inge can be bitter, touching, poignant, hopeful — holding nothing back, always wry — his music expresses his feelings (and ours) beautifully and artfully.  It stays with you (you’ll be humming it the next morning).  Here are some examples:

BITTER (see how we made this video here).

TOUCHING (I think this is the sequel to Shit Under Your Shoes.  Inge disagrees)

POIGNANT (one of the best protest songs of the 21st century)

HOPEFUL

Tonight and the rest of the week offer an excellent variety of music.  See the full lineup here.

Two rising stars coming to Rockport next weekend

Colorado native Megan Burtt returns to Cape Ann to perform with Boston-based Amy Black at the Old Sloop Coffeehouse next Saturday, November 3.  I could tell you how good they are, but I’ll let the videos speak for themselves.

As you’ll see in this video I shot last year when Megan performed with Chelsea Berry, her stories are as entertaining as her songs — and this song will send chills up your spine!

More Megan Burtt videos here.

Over 3 dozen live shows to choose from this weekend (see complete live music listings here).  Better get out there before the storm hits!

Safety ushers in Halloween with a party Tomorrow @ Mile Marker One

Now that we’re starting the weekend on Thursdays (that’s tonight, folks) we might as well start Halloween this Friday (before the hurricane hits) and guess who stepped up to help us do just that: Gloucester’s favorite 80’s band, SAFETY.  Catch them on Mile Marker One’s heated deck, Friday at 7pm, costumes, prizes, etc.
http://vimeo.com/4332773

Saturday’s seARTS benefit featuring Cape Ann Big Band with the Beverly High School Jazz Sextet at Bass Rocks Golf Club is sold out, but you can still get on the waiting list if you click here.

And there’s lots more happening all weekend long, so get out before the storm hits.  Check the complete live music listings here.

Only a few hours left to get Berklee in Gloucester tix cheap and hear Brand New Music

The on-line system that sells advanced tickets and takes credit cards will be turned off at noon on tomorrow (Thursday).  Just because it’s a benefit doesn’t mean you have to pay full price.  So click here and get cheaper tickets now.  Or just show up at the Gloucester House and pay $15 cash at the door.  Either way, you won’t want to miss this concert.  You’ll be among the first to hear some of Jim Odgren‘s newest music.  Here’s what said in a recent email, The band is sounding terrific. Lots of songs from “Day Dreaming” as well as our cd that is as yet unreleased. And some additional songs in the same genre.

Latest updates to Music Lineup ~ Missed Peter on the radio Sunday? Listen here.

Just so you know, Peter wants no part of this post.  So guess who’s writing today.  I don’t mean to bitch, but you people who leave everything to the last minute make my job harder.  Today, I found a number of live shows that hadn’t been listed on gimmesound (because you didn’t tell us about them) so I put them in.  See the updated live music listings here.  If you’re a musician or a music venue, you get a free listing on gimmesound.com and you can update it yourself.  It’s easy.  I’m happy to give you a private lesson on how to keep your shows updated if you want.  Or if you don’t even want to learn how, just send me your shows — either way, send an email to live@gimmesound.com.

For all of you who slept late or enjoyed the sun on Sunday and missed Aurelia Nelson’s interview with Peter talking about Berklee in Gloucester on her 104.9fm show, Curtain up, you can hear it here:

Gloucester scores 2 shows this week in The Noise Magazine Live Show Picks

I love being right (just like Paul F.)  I predicted Gloucester’s music scene would benefit as a result of The Noise Magazine publisher/editor, T Max, moving here.   Check this out: The Noise Live Show Picks for this week include not one, but two Gloucester shows, putting us on par with Cambridge for the week’s picks.

So I figured you might enjoy a video series I published in February where T Max walks Gloucester’s music scene, visiting many of our excellent music venues, plus you’ll see chance encounters with some of Gloucester’s finest characters.  Here’s the first one:

Watch the other T Max in Gloucester videos here.

Well, T Max is right.  It’s an excellent week for music in Gloucester.  See the full live music schedule here.

Not your average college dean ~ listen up tomorrow at 9am on 104.9FM

In case you missed this post, Next Thursday (10/25) is the 2012-13 Berklee in Gloucester season kickoff at The Gloucester House featuring the Jim Odgren Quintet, who are helping raise money to send a Gloucester student to Berklee.  You may remember that this is the brainchild of Berklee’s Dean of Performance, Matt Marvuglio.  Now, when you read the word Dean, what do envision?  Bet it’s not the guy playing the flute solo at about 2 minutes into this video (Jim Odgren is on alto sax in this video too).

Here’s another video of Matt at The Gloucester House on March 30 with Berklee professor Ed Saindon on vibes and students Nori Shiota on bass and Jazz Robertson on drums.

Matt told me he’s planning to come to the concert on Thursday.  Perhaps we can convince him to sit in.

How cool is it that you can see the top professors, students — even the dean — of the best music school in the world right here in your own backyard!  Well, Aurelia Nelson, host of the show Curtain Up on North Shore 104.9 thinks it’s pretty cool, so she asked me to join her for tomorrow’s show to talk a little about it.  So tune in to 104.9FM tomorrow at 9AM.

But before all that, you’ve got 13 venues with live music to choose from tonight — perfect number for a beautiful October Saturday!  See the complete live music listing here.

Hot and Spicy Gloucester

If variety is the spice of life, then Gloucester & Cape Ann are hot and spicy this weekend with an impressive variety of live music at over 2 dozen shows.  Rock, Blues, Jamband, Jazz, New Orleans, Folk, Classical, Funk, Latin, Reggae, Soul, Ska, Celtic, DJs.  Whatever you want, you got it.  Check out the complete live music listings for Gloucester & Cape Ann here.  Often you get multiple genres on the same stage.  Here’s one of our favorite local bands, The Runaround Sound, downstairs at The Middle East in Cambridge fusing Latin & Ska into a single song.  You can dance to them at Minglewood tonight.