In-Studio Performance: Tall Heights

Local boys, Tall Heights, stopped by the studio on April 25th to chat with Dave about their currently unnamed forthcoming album. The duo, Paul Wright and Tim Harrington--both currently sporting ponytails--grew up together in Sturbridge, Massachusetts and in 2008  began busking, playing covers in Faneuil Hall.

Wright is a classically trained cellist, playing his grandmother's cello. She passed away when he was just 5 years old. He first tried to play her cello at the age of 8, but found that the instrument was too big for him, "I grew into it in high school". Now he runs the cello with reverbs which, he says, allows him to "play with more colors". Harrington on guitar stated that they both have memories of writing poetry when they were small children and that that now influences their songwriting. They have also been known to lock themselves in cabins for twenty-four hours and refusing to leave until they've written songs.

While in-studio they played four songs including "Spirit Cold" for which a video was just released. They also performed "Back To Autumn" was written for Wright's grandfather and Harrington's grandmother. Wright's grandfather, a classical pianist, passed away at the age of 100, and Harrington's grandmother passed away exactly one year and one day later.

The new album was recorded in the home studio in the spare room in Harrington's apartment in Somerville and will be pressed to vinyl  and will also be available digitally. It will not be released on CD, however, because as Harrington says "CDs are a completely locked box that [people] don't have the key to," they believe that CDs are no longer accessible to people. More information can be found at TallHeights.com

Folk Alliance International 2015: Laney Jones and The Lively Spirits

Folk Alliance International is a non-profit organization that sponsors an industry conference for the folk music industry every year, attended by artists, record companies, manufacturers, music publishers, music support services, presenters, managers and agents. This year marks the second year that the conference takes place in Kansas City, Missouri. With a membership of over 2,000 people Folk Alliance is among the top five largest conferences in North America. Thursday, February 19^th, was the second day of the conference and one of the best acts that night was a band called Laney Jones and The Lively Spirits.

                Laney Jones and The Lively Spirits were a band that I stumbled upon completely accidentally. And am I sure glad that I did. Though Jones and her band—Matthew Tonner, Curtis Seligson, and Alex Shames—are from Florida, they are not without local ties. Jones landed at Berklee College of Music in 2013 where she studied until, in typical Berklee fashion, she left to tour with her own band.  Since then she has  been busy touring up and down the East Coast. Recently she made her debut on national TV as part of Great Performances on PBS. She performed her track “Broken Hearts” as part of a masterclass with Alison Krauss. Her style is an even blend of the old and the new, Pop meets Americana, some Brandi Carlile and some Patty Griffin with a little bit of Sara Bareilles thrown in for good measure. She performed a selection of songs from her self-produced 2014 debut Golden Road, as well as from her upcoming new record, due out in 2015.

                Laney Jones and The Lively Spirits will even be making a pit stop in Cambridge at The Lizard Lounge on March 5^th. 

In-Studio Performance: Patrick Coman, January 23rd, 2015.

WUMB’s very own Patrick Coman, host of Local Folk,(Saturdays from Noon to 2PM) switched sides of the mic on January 23^rd to perform tracks from his brand new album Reds & Blues for Dominick’s weekly Local Spotlight. In addition to being a musician and the host of Local Folk, Coman serves as the organizer of the For The Sake of The Song series, a concert series featuring bands and songwriters performing either the music of or music inspired by their favorite artists. It was through this series that Reds & Blues really came together, particularly in the almost-title track “Red Diamond Blues”—inspired by Bob Dylan and The Band’s The Basement Tapes—with which he started the set.

                Being such a fixture in the Boston music scene it would  be reasonable to assume that Patrick Coman is a Boston native. This, however, is not the case. His journey began in Oklahoma and made a stop in Berlin before landing him in Boston, his home of the last five years. He chronicles this trip in the song “Foreign Tongue”—influenced by Tom Petty’s Wildflowers—written during his move to Boston.  When asked about living in such different locations he said, “I met a girl and followed her around”. Coman then finished the set with “My Baby’s Been Good To Me” written for that same girl.

                The Reds & Blues CD release party will be at The Lizard Lounge in Cambridge on January 24^th. Coman and will play two sets;  one of his own songs followed by a cover-set featuring music from the seven albums that influenced the record. More information at PatrickComan.com. 

The best value for a night out!

In this day and age, who isn't looking for a bargain. Well, you've got one of the best entertainment bargains right in your back yard. For somewhere between $10 and $20 you can get a ticket to your local coffeehouse. You'll have an intimate musical experience because the furthest seat from the stage is just feet away. Add a couple of bucks for coffee or tea and maybe a piece of carrot cake and you're still well below what it might cost you for a night out at the movies. At the end of the evening you can pick up a CD as a souvenir and still not be at the cost of a single ticket for an average mainstream music event. And, I dare say, nine times out of ten, you'll be able to chat with the artist or artists you've just enjoyed. Try that at a Van Halen concert!

Here in New England we are doubly luck. Not only do we have a coffeehouse in practically every second town, but most of them collaborate as a part of the Boston Area Coffeehouse Association, whose website (http://www.bostoncoffeehouses.org/) allows you to easily locate one near you. If you don't know the location of your nearest coffeehouse, just scan down the list (http://www.bostoncoffeehouses.org/Finder/FindACoffeehouseNearYou.html) until you find one in your neighborhood and then click on the logo to be taken right to that venue's own website. If you have a favorite performer, or are just looking to go a little further a field, try the combined coffeehouse calendar (http://www.bostoncoffeehouses.org/Calendar/Calendar.html) where you'll find listing that stretch into the summer and beyond.

Did I mention that parking is usually free. Many are accessible by public transportation, and since the performances begin between 7 and 8, depending on the venue, you won't be up late. Unless, of course, you want to be. I should also mention that the volunteers who run these coffeehouses, and the folks who attend them, are among the nicest, friendliest people, you'd ever want to meet.

Now, what's keeping you? I bet there's a coffeehouse performance near you this weekend. Get out and enjoy!