First Spring weekend and over 2 dozen live shows on Cape Ann ~ Clickity Clack!

You know the season is upon us when there are 26 live shows over the weekend and most of the summer-only venues aren’t even open yet.  (If you’re a summer business, stop what ever you’re doing, take Paul & RD’s advice and let him know when you open: see here).

And just in case you’ve missed my incessant plugs for taking kids to live music, here we go again … shows start as early as 7pm tonight and tomorrow.  Then on Sunday it’s 8 different start-times in 8 1/2 hours:  11am, 2pm, 3, 5, 5:30, 6, 7 and 7:30.  See the complete weekend live music schedule here.

One of this weekend’s shows features Noise publisher/editor T Max, who’s got a new CD out soon.  And on that CD, is a new song Clickity Clack, which was inspired by a spontaneous burst of creativity from over a year ago, when we filmed his walk through Gloucester’s music scene (see the video series here).  Now he’s turned it into a clever romantic tragedy with an edge (see lyrics and chords here).

Here’s the original spontaneous creative burst from February 2012

Here’s the new version a year later performed by T Max with Bird Mancini

More Gloucester Blues Festival Lineup ~ Tickets go on sale April 10

This just in from Bob Hastings, co-producer of the Gloucester Blues Festival.  Excellent lineup for August 10.  And this isn’t even everybody.  There will be at least one more performer, so stay tuned.  Tickets will be available April 10 on the Blues Fest website.

B.B. King Entertainer of the Year, Tommy Castro headlines:

Ana Popovic – how does she play in that dress?

Soulful Johnny Rawls

Biscuit Miller – with a name like Biscuit, you gotta be funky

Anthony Gomes – Smokin!  You saw him yesterday.  Here he is with Ana Popovic – again I ask, how does she play in that dress?

Free Chamber Music Concert at Shalin Liu on Saturday

NYSOfirehousechamberconcert_0053Some of the best young musicians in the state will perform for FREE as part of the Northeast Massachusetts Youth Orchestras (NMYO) Honors Chamber Ensemble Concert this Saturday, 3/23 at Shalin Liu.

Don’t miss this FREE opportunity to hear top young artists perform Chamber music in a venue acoustically tuned to that kind of music.  Plus you can expose your kids to the music you love!

Check out the press release from Laura Heinrichs below the video.

NMYO’s Honors Concert
Saturday, March 23, 2013 at 7:00pm
Shalin Liu Performance Center,
37 Main Street, Rockport, MA

Free Admission

DANVERS, MA – 20 March 2013 – The Northeast Massachusetts Youth Orchestras will be presenting their Honors Chamber Ensemble Concert on Saturday, March 23rd, 7:00pm, at the Shalin Liu Performance Center, 37 Main Street, Rockport, MA.

“Our Honors Chamber Concert features NMYO’s top student musicians,” says Trudy Larson, NMYO’s string and chamber music director, “chosen because they demonstrate a high level of skill and musicianship.” This special concert will include music from some of the great masters of the chamber music genre such as Beethoven and Mozart in addition to more contemporary composers.

NMYO’s Honors Concert will feature around 30 musicians from all over northeast Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire playing in small chamber ensembles as well as selected soloists.

This concert is free and open to the public and appeals to all ages.  The evening’s musical selections will last approximately an hour and a reception will follow the performance.

This concert is sponsored, in part, by the Geoffrey H. Richon Company, with additional grants from the Gloucester and Rockport Cultural Councils, local agencies which are supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.

For more information on NMYO and their performances and opportunities for young musicians, please visit the website or contact NMYO at info@nmyo.org or (978) 309-9833.

About Northeast Massachusetts Youth Orchestras
The mission of the Northeast Massachusetts Youth Orchestras (NMYO) is to provide young musicians with exceptional ensemble training and opportunities for growth through musical performance and community service. Led by Music Director Gerald J. Dolan Jr., with an accomplished team of music professionals, NMYO creates community connections and collaborations for its young players.  NMYO’s musicians come from over 40 towns and participate in one of eight ensembles offered by the program. The regular rehearsal and concert schedule is supplemented with master classes, enrichment days, chamber music coaching, community service outreach concerts to underserved populations, and a composer in residence program.

First Blues Fest Performer Announced — and he’s HOT!

Bob Hastings sent me an email last night announcing the first act to be booked for this year’s Gloucester Blues Festival.  His name is Anthony Gomes and he’s a smokin’ guitar player as you can see by the video below.

Here’s the thing: He’s not even the headliner … Whew!  This will be a spectacular Blues Festival.

You can’t get tickets yet, but you can save the date, which is August 10 at Stage Fort Park.  Remember, you heard it here on GMG first and you can trust GMG to let you know the minute tickets  go on sale.  In case you’re one of the unfortunates who missed last year’s Blues Fest,  see some videos here.

No, you don’t want to miss this year, do you?

Dan King with Brown, Mattacks & Ginandes @ Jalapenos tonight

Just got the word from DB that Dan King will be joining the boys at Jalapenos tonight before he flies back to the west coast.  Here’s a nice video, albeit a bit shaky, shot  by Ned Nugent, of the boys at Jalapenos last May — one of my favorite Dan King songs.

More KBMG live videos here.

Larry Coryell Power Trio will knock your socks off on Friday

If you saw jazz guitar master Larry Coryell back in November 2010 when he played a benefit for seARTS, you already know what I’m talking about.  At the risk of dating myself (this is Peter, not Vickie) I was mesmerized when I saw him on tour with Gary Burton back in the late sixties/early 70s (I was in high school).

Larry Coryell is a master, plain and simple.  And you’ve got a chance to see him with his Power Trio (Larry Coryell on guitar, Larry Gray on bass & Paul Wertico on drums) this Friday at Shalin Liu (get tickets here). You might think of jazz guitar as beautiful, lyrical and highly improvisational, if a little on the quiet side.  Here’s a video of Larry’s Power Trio showing off Paul Wertico on drums — spectacular!  Anything but quiet.

Here’s what it says on the Rockport Music website:

Known as the pioneer guitarist merging jazz, rock, free-form improvisations, and Eastern influences, Larry Coryell brings his eclectic style back to the Shalin Liu Performance Center this March. Described by critic Whitney Balliett as “the most innovative and original guitarist since Charlie Christian,” Coryell’s career spans four decades, over 60 albums (dozens more as a sideman), and performances with some of music’s heavy-weights like Eric Clapton, John Scofield, Elvin Jones, and Chick Corea, to name a few. Also a consummate composer, he tells Rockport Music, “I write music because I can’t help it. I think perhaps I want to complement all the great compositions already out there…Wayne Shorter and Sonny Rollins come to mind, and of course, Monk!” Coryell’s personal philosophy of music has kept his playing fresh and exciting, and makes each of his personal appearances a special event.

“…Coryell played poetically, switching between unhurried, unmetered passages and a subtly swaying backbeat. Before long, however, the guitarist was throwing off fleet runs and venturing far afield harmonically, onceagain swept up in the exuberance of the moment.” – Chicago Tribune

Felicia Cooks For St Joseph’s Day Filmed By Gianni Gallo Part II

www.galloproductions.com

Rev. Tom Bentley invites us to “Glow with Grace”

Note: We will sing “Amazing Grace” during this event, and would like to invite everyone to participate, especially members of any of our local church or secular choirs!

Fr. Matthew Green

Video- Desi Smith From The Gloucester Daily Times Captures Dodgeball Excitement–Check The GDT Monday For More Complete Coverage

Watch Mr Bentley (Ryan Cox’) and His team of Tracey, Grace, Peter and Chris Kersker defeat The Speedo Cops and Beverly Athletic Club Compete against Cross Fit Cape Ann.  Also Ed Collard’s Winning Squad Blinded By The Light

2013 GMG/FARM BAR AND GRILLE BIKINI SPEEDO DODGEBALL TOURNAMENT HARLEM SHAKE VIDEO

The Details (also available on The Event Facebook Page Here)

Shot and Edited By Kim Smith

EARMUFFS MADELINE!

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Gary Backstrom Band with Michael Thomas Doyle on Drums tonight @ Rhumb Line

There’s so much going on tonight (see schedule here) that even if you go out early and stay out late, you won’t be able to catch everything.  I guess you could call that good news for Cape Ann’s music scene.  More good news that Dan King is back in town playing with KBMG tonight at Dog Bar.

It’s also good news is that if you play your cards right, you can get to a lot of shows because they start at 6, 7, 8, 9 and the Gary Backstrom Band at 9:30 at the Rhumb Line.

Dancing to the Gary Backstrom Band would be a perfect way to end an excellent night of music.  Tonight Gary’s got Michael Thomas Doyle on drums.  Hopefully you’ve seen Doyle on guitar with Chelsea Berry (check out this video).  He’s just as good on drums.  See him in the Gary Backstrom Band video below at Harbor Loop last summer.

Oohh, I can’t wait for Harbor Loop concerts to start up again … I once asked Doyle which instrument he likes better.  He replied, “Do you have kids?”
“Yes.”
“Which one do you like best?”

Point taken!

3 April Concerts by Sorellanza ~ Local Women’s A Capella Chorus

SorellanzaCheck out some videos of the group below:

 

Bach, Mozart, Hendrix, Prince & Elvis – all by one virtuoso guitarist on Sunday @ Shalin Liu

Benjamin Verdery does it all.  When Karen Herlitz from Rockport Music sent me the program for Sunday’s concert with Ben Verdery, I said, Really?  Bach & Hendrix in the same concert?  Mozart & Prince?  Elivs? Actually he’ll play Don’t Be Cruel
written by Otis Blackwell, who also wrote Elvis hits All Shook Up & Return to Sender, along with Great Balls of Fire & Breathless for Jerry Lee Lewis.  But it’s Fever, which he co-wrote with Eddie Cooley, that makes Otis Blackwell one of my favorite songwriters.  You can listen to Ella Fitzgerald sing Fever here (my favorite version for a lot of reasons) … But I digress …

How can anybody play such a diverse repertoire in a single concert without losing the audience in a swirl of confusion.  Well, just listen to this:

Now don’t you want to hear what he does with Bach, Mozart, Prince and Otis Blackwell?  Well you can on Sunday in one of the most acoustically perfect places on Earth.  Aren’t you glad you live nearby? There are still good seats left.  Get them here.

Just for fun, here’s Hendrix’s version of the song live in 1970.

Inspired?  Now check out this weekend’s spectacular live music schedule with 35 live shows on Cape Ann starting tonight.

Follow John Rockwell around town tonight

This could be a record: you can see a the same local artist in 3 different venues in one night.  So John Rockwell fans are in for a treat.  And if you’re not already a fan, you don’t know what you’re missing.  It’ll be a nice night, so take this perfect opportunity and go see him.

If you bought an Irish Sweepstakes ticket, you’ll see John singing Irish songs at Gloucester House tonight starting at 5pm.

Then you can bop on over to Alchemy and catch his set with Robert Erinn Brown at 7.

And off you go to Rhumb Line to see him (and Robert) as Fly Amero’s special guest just after 9pm.  If you’re not familiar with John’s full, smooth, robust voice (Vickie says it has sex appeal), check out the video of John with another of our favorite voices, Sarah Slifer, nicely shot by FOB Joanne Silva.

Going out tonight is a perfect way to gear up for a great weekend of music starting tomorrow and to prepare for Friday, when you’re just gonna have to choose from among Cape Ann’s best musicians all playing on the same night.  Check the Friday schedule here and start planning now.

The Real Real Real Harlem Shake

Looking forward to filming all the moves Bikini Speedo Dodgeballers are bringing to the GMG Harlem Shake video tomorrow night!

Lots of early shows tomorrow (SUNDAY) will seem even earlier

OK, you’re setting your clocks ahead before you go to bed tonight, so that means everything that happens tomorrow will seem earlier.  That’s because it will be earlier even though our clocks will tell us differently.  Honestly, I don’t much like this business of changing time twice a year.  And setting clocks ahead seems to be much more difficult than setting them back.  It’s not because we supposedly lose an hour of sleep.  It’s because it feels funny.  In fact, early studies on circadian rhythms showed that when people could control their own light and were not exposed to any time cues, they gravitated toward almost a 25 hour day (sometimes referred to as a “lunar day”) — essentially synchronizing their inner “body clocks” with the tides.  (It takes the Earth 24 hours 50 minutes to rotate to the same position relative to the moon.)

Anyhow the point is that if you’re gonna feel weird, you might as well take advantage of the fact that good music starts at 11 AM tomorrow (it’ll feel like 10).  Then there’s music starting at 5:00, 5:30, 6:00, 6:30 and 8, when you can catch Marina Evans at Rhumb Line (good for those of you who were bummed because The Grove cancelled her last night).  Check the full live music schedule here.

The Bean and Snoop Maddie Mad Give The Little Mermaid Jr At O’Maley A Bazillion Thumbs Up

We just caught the dress rehearsal and I’ll let the Bean and Snoop Maddie Mad’s review speak for itself-

Don’t be the neglectful parent that deprives your child the opportunity to see this performance!

The O’Maley Innovation Middle School’s Performing Arts Department cordially invites members of the Cape Ann Community to attend our upcoming production of Disney’s Little Mermaid Junior.

Performance dates and times are as follows and tickets can be purchased at the door.

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Since September, our cast and crew of almost one hundred 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students have been rehearsing twice every week after school.  You will be inspired by the talent and exuberance radiating from these young performers singing, dancing, and acting out this popular and heartwarming story.   Performing Arts classes during O’Maley’s school day focus on developing students’ 21st Century Skills and Common Core mastery through an interdisciplinary, project-based curriculum that utilizes the mediums of Theater, Music and Dance. This production is an excellent showcase of our department’s extra-curricular offerings, which focus on developing standards in the disciplines of Music (Chorus), Dance, and Theatre within a performance setting.

See you at the show!

Pictures from today’s dress rehearsal-

View-

The Bean’s Pictures from The Little Mermaid Jr Dress Rehearsal at The Bean’s World

also see coverage of today’s dress rehearsal from 5 year old Snopp Maddie Mad here-

The Little Mermaid Jr

and Jason Grow’s video-

Award-winning local songwriter/producer wants to help you take your songs to the next level

Check this out from  Brad Byrd, whose songs have appeared on TV shows, including ABC’s Happy Endings, MTV’s Teen Mom, The Challenge, Downtown Girls, VH1’s The TO Show, E! Keeping Up With the Kardashians, and in TV commercials and films, including Bloodline.

Brad says,
Hi there, are you a songwriter!??  Have you ever thought about working with a “producer” to make them, as they say in the biz “fully realized”?? Well, aside from developing my own songs, I LOVE working (and developing relationships) w/other artists/songwriters on their SONGS as a producer, songwriter, arranger, music director, songwriting teacher, drummer, vocalist, and/or guitar player (teacher).  I work out of my home studio, do skype sessions, travel to client’s homes, and have had the unique opportunity of working out of various amazing studios around the country for over 10 years!  If you have songs, and think that working with a producer could help get them (YOU) to next level in your music career, well, I think I can help…  

See more here along with a long (shortlist) of musicians you’ve heard of, for whom he’s produced .  If you’re not sure what a “fully realized” song is like, check out his new video, below (more Brad Byrd videos here).

O’Maley Innovation School Production, Little Mermaid Junior Promo Video From Jason Grow

The O’Maley Innovation Middle School’s Performing Arts Department cordially invites members of the Cape Ann Community to attend our upcoming production of Disney’s Little Mermaid Junior.

Performance dates and times are as follows and tickets can be purchased at the door.

image

Since September, our cast and crew of almost one hundred 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students have been rehearsing twice every week after school.  You will be inspired by the talent and exuberance radiating from these young performers singing, dancing, and acting out this popular and heartwarming story.   Performing Arts classes during O’Maley’s school day focus on developing students’ 21st Century Skills and Common Core mastery through an interdisciplinary, project-based curriculum that utilizes the mediums of Theater, Music and Dance. This production is an excellent showcase of our department’s extra-curricular offerings, which focus on developing standards in the disciplines of Music (Chorus), Dance, and Theatre within a performance setting.

See you at the show!