Stefan Christensen, Dan Greene, Tim Rowe @ Willimantic Records SUNDAY 3/16

Willimantic Records has been rocking mad shows recently, and that's a good thing! Come by at 3pm on Sunday, pick up some wax and check out 3 acclaimed singer/songwriters!

Them Damn Hamiltons and Jay Prince @ Javapalooza 4/6

The fine folks of Them Damn Hamiltons and Jay Prince will be playing Javapalooza in Middletown on April 6th! Get the folk down to Middletown this Saturday at 7pm!!!

Heather Maloney, Them Damn Hamiltons + Rum Glass Serenade @ Black Eyed Sally's on 2/7

Folk music, coming through! Heather Maloney is playing Black Eyed Sally's in Hartford on Thursday, and local favorites Them Damn Hamiltons and Rum Glass Serenade will also be on the bill!

SICK/SEA | SPECTRAL FANGS | KENNY WARD & MORE @ THE HEIRLOOM ARTS THEATRE 2/8

Monster show at The Heirloom Arts Theatre on Friday. Sick/Sea, Spectral Fangs and a slew of other bands are performing for your waiting ears!

Help José Oyola: 2nd Attempt!

José Oyola just relaunched a 2nd attempt to get his debut LP made, via kickstarter. Time to get out those wallets and make this happen!

Help José Oyola make his debut album!

For those of you who don't know, José Oyola is a new haven musician and the man behind Taco Hut Music and Taco Hut HQ. He is currently in the process of putting together his debut album "Give, Give, Give. Take, Take, Take." and wants YOUR help in making the album a reality!

Rachel Carson At The Outer Space on February 29

Rachel Carson is a twenty-something singer songwriter from Ellington, who plays on the more commercial end of pop-rock spectrum. While drawing influences from such performers as Sheryl Crow and Michelle Branch, this up and coming performer intends to hook the listener with catchy choruses and breezy melodies. So, for some of you this might not be to your taste, but she is sincere and works hard, so that does matter. We can't always write about crazy, snobby, indie rock all the time, can we? (Well, maybe.)

Anyway I sent Carson a few questions by e-mail last weekend and here are her responses. It must be noted that she will be the featured performer at the Outer Space's in Hamden's Open Mic this Wednesday at 7pm. So if you like what you've read and what you've heard, then head on down and show some support.

Peter Case at Trinity with Matt Mainuli

Wednesday, November 3, 2010:

photo: Dennis Keeley

Location:
The Underground Coffeehouse
in the Mather Campus Center
300 Summit Street
Trinity College
Hartford, CT

8:00pm - All Ages - FREE

The show will be recorded for WRTC's Notes From The Underground!

Peter Case got his start in 1976 when he joined the Nerves, and later, after moving to L.A., joining the Plimsouls in 1979. But Case moved on to become a multiple-time Grammy nominee as an American singer/songwriter. He has played with greats such as David Hidalgo and Ry Cooder, and has been cited by Bruce Springsteen as an influence. 2004 saw the release of the compilation Who's Gonna Go Your Crooked Mile, celebrating the past two decades of Case's output along with several new recordings. Plimsouls reformed in 2005 to play reunion shows. Case for Case, came out in 2006, a three-disc set of Case covers by fellow musicians Richard Buckner, James McMurtry, and Amy Rigby, and many others.

Case put out Bomb Light Prayer Vigil by the literary audio magazine Verb in early 2006, and Let Us Now Praise Sleepy John followed in 2007. Wig!, Case's 2010 LP is out on Yep Roc Records.

Local singer/songwriter Matt Mainuli opens!




Peter Case tour dates:

10.28.10 Ashland Coffee and Tea Ashland VA
10.28.10 Plan 9 Records live instore performance @ 4:30pm Richmond VA
10.29.10 Avalon Theatre Easton MD
10.30.10 The Secret Theatre Long Island City NY
10.31.10 Giant Ant Concert Series Boston MA

11.01.10 Club Passim Solo 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. songwriter's workshop and set from 8:45 p.m. until 10:15 p.m. Cambridge MA

11.02.10 Watercolor Cafe solo Larchmont NY
11.03.10 Underground Coffee House Hartford CT
11.04.10 World Cafe Live Philadelphia PA
11.05.10 Valentine's Albany NY
11.06.10 Maxwell's Hoboken NJ
11.06.10 Vintage Vinyl Live In-store Performance @ 3pm Fords NJ
11.07.10 Mountain Stage Morgantown WV
03.26.11 Home of Charles Knott Chester Springs PA
04.03.11 King of California Train w/ Dave Alvin, Chris Smither, Laurie Lewis, Nina Gerber

David Bazan and Titles

Wednesday, May 12, 2010, Manic Productions presents:


Location:
The Space
295 Treadwell Street
Hamden CT

$12 - 7:00PM - All Ages

Directions: Click

Tickets: Click or pick them at Redscroll.

Known* for his work fronting the enigmatic rock band Pedro the Lion, David Bazan's emotionally charged narratives, eye for telling detail, and mournful voice have more in common with J.D. Salinger's 'Nine Stories' or Flannery O'Connor's 'Wise Blood' than with the usual lyrical slant of popular music. Bazan is a gifted storyteller, weaving parables of spiritual conflict, suburban ennui, and personal surrender into magnetic, well-crafted songs.

The ever lovely CT Indie faves Titles are opening!

More Bazan dates:
For us nothern CT peeps: Thu 05/13 – Northampton MA – The Iron Horse
20 Center Street Ages: 21+ / Doors open at 9pm, Show starts at 10pm.

Living Room shows:
Fri 05/14 – Beverly, MA – Living Room Show
Sat 05/15 – Philadelphia PA – Living Room Show
Sun 05/16 – Baltimore MD – Living Room Show
Tue 05/18 – Charlotte NC – Living Room Show SOLD OUT
Wed 05/19 – Atlanta GA – Living Room Show SOLD OUT
Thu 05/20 – Birmingham AL – Living Room Show
Fri 05/21 – Birmingham AL – Living Room Show
Sat 05/22 – Nashville TN @ 5pm (early show) – Living Room Show
Sat 05/22 – Nashville TN @ 8pm (late show) – Living Room Show SOLD OUT
Sun 05/23 – Nashville TN – Living Room Show SOLD OUT
Tue 05/25 – Chicago IL – Living Room Show SOLD OUT
Wed 05/26 – Chicago IL – Living Room Show SOLD OUT
Thu 05/27 – Kalamazoo MI – Living Room Show
Fri 05/28 – Toledo OH – Living Room Show
Sat 05/29 – Pittsburgh PA – Living Room Show SOLD OUT
Sun 05/30 – Washington DC – Living Room Show

What's this "Living Room Show" stuff all about? Well, Bazan explains:

Here’s how it works.

1. You have a house or loft space that can comfortably and safely host 40-45 people. A place with a big living room, finished basement would be ideal. There would need to be enough parking nearby and your neighbors should be cool. It would be a huge bummer if someone called the cops because of all the extra cars and people coming to your house. You should probably not do this if you live in a small apartment with a bunch of uptight neighbors or a cranky landlord.

2. The shows will not be open to the public and no tickets will be sold at the door. We will pre-sell a set number of tickets for each show on David’s website before the show. Be realistic on how many people your place can hold. We need to know how many tickets we can sell in advance. We’ve found that 40-45 people is what the average living room can hold. Ticket price will be $20.

3. We will provide you with a detailed list of everyone who will be coming to the show. The host won’t have to deal with any money and will only need to check people off the list as they arrive.

4. The host can have up to 5 additional free tickets for the show. If you have other friends who want to come to the show you can direct them to the link to buy tickets on-line.

5. You don’t need any sort of sound system. All you need is a chair for David to sit on.

6. Your home address will not be published on the web and will only be given to those people who purchase tickets.

7. The shows will not be promoted or advertised anywhere except David’s websites.

Hmmmmm, $20.00 is kinda steep. I usually only charge $10.00 for people to sit in my living room. Of course no one ever comes to my living room shows because my awesome dog Molly is the only performer, with her incessant hound bark not being all that hip in the indie music scene these days. Someday she'll be the coolest thing ever, and you'll all feel like chumps for having missed it. Nyah.

*PS: I was just roundly scolded by Manic for having never heard of Bazan before this show came along. Guess I've just been way too into my dog's barking.

Amy Speace, Lys Guillorn @ Cafe Nine - May 5th

Next Wednesday, May 5th singer/songwriters Amy Speace and Lys Guillorn hit the Cafe Nine for a night of folk/americana geetar-twang.


Photo: Crackerfarm, NYC

Speace, who is currently on tour in support of her newest disc 'The Killer In Me' (Wildflower Records), has been riding a wave of acclaim both for her off-beat songwriting and for her heartfelt performances. In regards to her newer material Speace explains, "In many ways, it was the hardest thing I've ever done. And in some ways, it was the easiest. Writing the songs was emotionally difficult, deep and intense--it was kind of an exorcism. But in the end, the songs flowed pretty quickly. You write the things that you're afraid to say out loud." As Speace alludes to, the songs on 'The Killer In Me' tend to fall into the darker side of the spectrum but never lose their footing. Instead she seems to be able to take such difficult emotions and channel them effectively into a memorable set of country-tinged folk songs. The album's title track, in particular, exemplifies Speace's talent for bringing out her emotions in both song and performance.

New Haven, CT.'s Lys Guillorn mines much of the same musical territory as Speace however with a much more organic feel. Now long a stalwart on the local scene, Guillorn has made a niche for herself creating some truly unique songs, both musically and lyrically. Performing this particular show in 'full band' format, Guillorn mends folk and country influences with a healthy of dose of old-time americana, and even psychedelica. Her bluesy vocals compliment the combination well, creating a much more convincing 'world-weariness' than Speace.


Lys Guillorn's "My Lullaby"

Although musically similar, Speace and Guillorn offer just enough differences in their approach and content to keep the listener on their feet. For fans of female-fronted folk, country and americana, make sure to stop by Cafe Nine next week.

IfWhen You Go:

Wednesday, May 5th

Amy Speace
Lys Guillorn

@ Cafe Nine
250 State Street (at Crown Street)
New Haven, CT. 06510

Show begins at 9pm SHARP.
21+ / $8 cover

Jack Stafford

Jack Stafford is a modern troubadour in the truest sense of the word, singing fun and heartfelt folk songs while traveling the world. He grew up in Suffolk, England, playing in a myriad of local indie bands. After traveling in his early 20s he set up shop in Amsterdam, literally, selling his trademark zip suits. He eventually picked up a guitar and began singing songs of the people he might meet, the stories he's made up, and the adventures he wishes he'd had. Now, he's back on road, playing upwards of 200 gigs a year in Europe and America. He's playing two gigs in CT in September that will absolutely be worth seeing.

On Sept. 17th, he'll be at The Space, and on Tuesday, Sept. 29th. he will be at Cafe 9.

I've just been informed that the gig at The Space was canceled - sorry everyone. But he'll still be playing at Cafe 9, so don't miss it!

Alli Millstein

If delicate and searching folk warms your heart, but you want something more compelling than the usual singer/songwriter fare, take the time to check out Connecticut's Alli Millstein. At only 21, she has already sailed well past affectation towards the deeper waters of song craft and poetry.

It's Millstein's attention to detail that truly sets her apart. Her tune "Skeletons" in particular, with its bendy drones and bursts of buzz, or the touch of slide on "Our Love is Underground", signal that she knows what's up. And it seems that she is destined to soon deliver the kind of intensity that Ellen McIlwaine poured from her soul over thirty years ago. For now, think of Alli Millstein as the little wooden match that's about to light a bonfire. Stick around and watch her grow.

JD