Travis James Humphrey had to travel the world in order to realize that what he really wanted was to be back home in Maine. “I was living in Washington D.C., and I was just miserable,” said the 32-year-old singer-songwriter, who’s now based in Gorham. “I… Read More
In the olden days, the town square was the place where the commoners gathered to sell their wares, pontificate on the pertinent subjects of the day, and simply lollygag about, to chat with friends and enjoy the fresh air. In the year 2008 … well,… Read More
We really appreciate it here when bands make a point of working a stop in Maine into their tour schedules. So that’s why Strangefolk, even though they’re on semihiatus from touring and recording, still have a huge fan base here in Maine. If you come play for us,… Read More
One of my favorite parts of contemporary music is the proliferation of bands that take elements from folk traditions and put their own spin on it. Gogol Bordello. The Dropkick Murphys. Flogging Molly. Devotchka. Using the energy, history and emotional heft of styles that have been around for… Read More
Allow me to deviate, dear reader, from the topic this column usually discusses: rock ‘n’ roll, of course. We’ll get back to that next week. No, this week’s missive concerns the strange event that occurred in the fair city of Bangor during the week of… Read More
How do you know when you’ve made it as a band? For Massachusetts-based rockers The Brew, it was meeting the first fan so diehard she had the band’s logo tattooed on her back. “We showed up to a show, and this girl showed us her… Read More
A couple of weeks ago, I drove out to Pet Quarters, looked carefully through the tropical fish section, and selected a purple, pink and blue-colored betta. A half-hour and $5.99 later, it was swimming comfortably in a little plastic fishbowl, complete with gravel and fake plant, sitting on… Read More
At the age of 22, Christian Cuff was living under the 59th Street Bridge in Manhattan. He had 200 bucks and a guitar to his name. Ostensibly in New York City to try to make a break as a songwriter, he discovered things didn’t quite work out as… Read More
Losing three members of a five-piece band has at least one upshot – the remaining two musicians can sell the van. Justin Wiley and Joshua Francis from the Portland-based electro-rock duo Dreamosaic did just that earlier this year. “It makes for an extremely mobile situation,”… Read More
Wonder Bread. Wonder Woman. Wonderland. I wonder as I wander, it’s a wonderful life, and after all, you’re my wonder wall. And now, ladies and gentleman, we bring you: Wonder Jam. What’s Wonder Jam? It’s a daylong music and environmental and peace activism festival, set… Read More
It takes guts to get up in front of a crowd and play music. Even if you’ve been doing it for decades and it “ain’t no thang,” it still takes a healthy dose of self-confidence to put yourself out there. Hey, I try to do it sometimes. I’m… Read More
Ryan Montbleau doesn’t travel with a tour rider, per se. The man and his band may crisscross the country several times a year, but they aren’t exactly Led Zeppelin. They won’t start chucking TVs off hotel balconies if they don’t have, say, three bottles of each flavor of… Read More
Paul Waring wasn’t working on the railroad or the chain gang when he started singing the blues. He was doing it Pine Tree State style. Back to that same old place – sweet home Brooklin, Maine. Waring is the guitarist and lead vocalist for the… Read More
Gather ’round me, children, and hear the tale of Stiff Whisker and the Driftwood Kids. At least, what we can glean from what remains of the story. We’re pretty sure it involves a magical crystal, a dude with muttonchops and aviator sunglasses, and a several rounds of Jager… Read More
It’s the simple things that really make a difference. An iced coffee on a hot summer day. Finding a dollar on the sidewalk. Reruns of “The Golden Girls” (R.I.P. Estelle Getty). Taking goofy pictures of yourself in front of the Paul Bunyan statue. That’s why… Read More
Last week I purchased a pair of comfortable black and purple slip-on sneakers for five bucks at the mall. I didn’t buy them because they matched any particular outfit, or because I have a fondness for cheap-o Chuck Taylor rip-offs; I bought them because I’m planning ahead for… Read More
Naming your band after the Norse god of trickery and change is kind of like walking around with a “kick me” sign on the back of your shirt: you’re just asking for it. “He’s the god of mischief. He’s good, and he’s bad. He’s a… Read More
I came upon a child of God – he was walking along the road. I asked him, “Where are you going?” and this he told me. “I’m going on down to Kidson’s farm. I’m going to join in a DJ dance party,” said child of… Read More
A few years ago, Garrett Soucy had some demons to exorcise. The record of how he did that is available for your listening pleasure on his new album, “Sunlight in Architecture,” officially released last week on Long Ago Light Records. It’s one of the best albums to come… Read More
Paul Conte, Jake Adams and Cyrus Dworsky go way back. Way back. Like, they had nap time together. They made hamburgers out of Play-Doh. We’re talking “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” old school. “We all went to preschool together,” said Conte, guitarist and co-vocalist for the… Read More
Years from now, when we’re all paying 27 bucks a gallon for gas, the polar ice caps have melted, and Miley Cyrus has been appointed United Nations secretary-general, we’re all going to look back on the summer of 2008 as the end of an era. The end of… Read More
Though he’s coming to Maine this weekend to play a benefit concert at the Worker Center in Brewer, Bill Morrissey has ulterior motives. Motives that involve fishing poles and some (he hopes) big, ornery trout. “My friend Bruce Pratt invites me up to fly-fish. He’s… Read More
To say Grace Potter is a charmer is a bit of an understatement. I have not met her in person, but judging by the 20-minute phone conversation we had last Monday, she has more than her share of people skills. Thirty seconds in, and I felt like I… Read More
Things grow well in Aroostook County. Potatoes. Broccoli. Peas. Musicians. A lot of those things get shipped away upon ripening – the spuds hitch a ride in big rigs down I-95 to meet their destiny in the form of french fries and baked potatoes. Musicians… Read More
Sometimes, the universe gives you what you need. You don’t have to ask for it. It just happens. Take, for example, the Portland-based post-punk band Huak, who are set to play at the Solidarity Center on Friday, June 20, along with a bunch of other… Read More
Here’s a little nugget of trivia for all you proud Bangorians. The abstract aluminum statue in the fountain in West Market Square was created by sculptor Clark Battle Fitzgerald. It was erected in 1969, and is titled “Continuity of Community.” It’s an appropriate name that… Read More
Hold on. Let me get comfortable. Ahhh, there we go. Sorry, I had to take my shoes off and put on some flip-flops. Would you care for a frosty, cold beverage? No, no, don’t get up. This round’s on me. Something about a balmy June… Read More
I’m pretty sure that in more than three years of writing this column, the group Afghan Banana Stand may be the most ridiculous band name I have heard yet. I don’t even know what train of thought leads to putting those three words together and deciding that that’s… Read More
The Killing Moon’s story is a cautionary tale to all rock star hopefuls getting started in the music business – but it’s also a story about good luck, bad luck, and figuring out what really matters. Which, in their case, is the music. In 2002,… Read More
I had a media colleague say to me the other day, “Man, I wish I got to write about rock stars for work!” While I cover more than straight-up rock ‘n’ roll in my position as a reporter here at the good ship BDN, I have to say,… Read More
Forgive me, readers. I appear to have lost my mind. You see, this past week of unseasonably warm weather has turned my brain to goo. The balmy breezes enter one ear and go straight out through the other. The smells of grass growing and neighbors… Read More
Attention, citizens. Be on the lookout for four unsavory, unreliable characters, who may be coming to your town in the near future. They claim to simply play punk rock, mixed with rockabilly, but by all accounts, they are hellbent on destruction. The foursome goes by… Read More
There are a few stock questions I always ask the bands I interview for this column, one of which is, “How did you guys get together?” More often than not, the answer is something like, “Uh, we worked together,” or “My friend knew his friend and said he… Read More
Like Betamax in the ’80s, or for a more recent example, the decline of HD DVD as the preferred platform for high-definition DVD watching, I present to you the 8-track, yet another media format that’s gone the way of … well, the 8-track. Though it has a cult… Read More
It’s old news now that MTV is but a shadow of its former self. “Music Television” doesn’t even show music videos anymore – just endless episodes of “Laguna Beach” and “Celebrities Telling You How Great It Is To Be Rich and Thin” or whatever. I try to avoid… Read More
The road to Memphis is a bumpy one. For some, the journey to the blues starts at a busted-up bar on the side of the highway. For others, in the crossroads. Maybe sweet home Chicago, or the bayou. And then, for some, it starts at… Read More
Belfast-based singer-songwriter Dan Beckman’s story reads a bit like Woody Guthrie or Bob Dylan. Smart, eloquent, socially aware kid from the sticks sets out across America to see how the other half lives. Draws from his experiences to write songs. Becomes iconic countercultural figure. And so on. Read More
Rockin’ Out turns three this week. In dog years, that’s 21. Which means we’re legal (that’s the royal “we,” in the parlance of our times). In lieu of going out and celebrating this rite of passage the way many a hapless young adult does –… Read More
One of my favorite things to do with my friends is to make big plans to start a band. Seriously, dude. For real this time! Who doesn’t want to see an all-girl punk band? Come on, you can learn bass in a week! Or let’s… Read More
It all started with a burrito and a dream. “I’d given up on being in bands. Everyone’s drunk and insane, and it seemed more work than it’s worth,” said the man known as Boo, lead singer for the Portland horror-rock band Covered in Bees. “I… Read More
Sometimes, the personal is political. In the case of local punk bands Clinic Bomb and USA Waste, it always is. “When I write songs, I write from personal experience,” said Joanne Bolduc, vocalist for Clinic Bomb, who are based out of the Bangor area. “A… Read More
Robots have an unfair rep. They tend to get shoved into one of three categories. They’re either lifeless automatons, designed to serve as slaves to their human masters, like Rosie from the Jetsons or Robby the Robot from “Forbidden Planet.” They’re supersmart androids, like… Read More
The scene: a frigid wasteland. Desolate miles of snow and ice. Wind biting and snapping like a dog left chained outside. Numb extremities. Trudging through the elements, where even your Thinsulate-lined boots don’t keep you warm. Sound familiar? Ah, but for the intrepid wanderer, relief… Read More
Bar Harbor starts to buzz in May. It turns into a roar in June and then into all-out cacophony that lasts until Labor Day or until the last drop of ice cream is scraped from the bottom of the barrel, whichever comes first. For another six weeks or… Read More
It’s rare in music to be able to trace an entire genre’s roots back to one individual. In the case of gypsy jazz, it all goes back to the legendary Django Reinhardt, the Belgian guitarist who melded traditional gypsy music with the hot jazz popular in the 1930s. Read More
Two heads are better than one. I’ll scratch your back and you scratch mine. Or how about great minds think alike? Cliches aside, all those sayings are true about Jason Hjort and Marc Shepard, aka jhjort and Moshe, two Portland-area musicians, producers and label heads. Read More
New Year’s resolutions are always a tricky thing. Personally, I don’t care for them. Why decide to make positive changes in your life on Jan. 1? Why not do it whenever you want to during the year? July is as good a time as January to lose weight… Read More
I think people from Maine have an innately deeper appreciation for cool things when they happen. Especially people from eastern and northern Maine. Those Portland folks get cool stuff all the time. Up here, we have to work for it. We have to wait for it. And when… Read More
Dear Santa, How’s it goin’, big guy? Everything working out for you so far this year? Found out who’s been naughty and nice? Waxed up the sleigh? Cleaned the reindeer barn? I heard you’ve been training with that Japanese dude who can eat like 200… Read More
If the 500s were a dessert, it would be strawberry shortcake – sweet, but with substance. If it were a brand of shoe, it would be neon-colored Kangaroos with Velcro straps – fun, retro and suitable for dancing. If it were a video game, it would be “Mario… Read More
Erin McKeown’s remarkably prolific career (six albums in eight years and thousands of shows) all traces back to one crucial moment during her freshman year of college. “I was going to be a scientist. I was going to study birds. I went to nerd kid… Read More
Radiation Year’s new album, “Age of the Everglades,” has been a labor of love for the Augusta-based quartet. For six months, the band practiced, refined, recorded, rerecorded and polished the 10 songs that compose the album. For that, vocalist Nick Chiasson is very, very proud. Read More
Mark Erelli has his hands full lately. Literally. When I chatted with him earlier this week, he was feeding his 4-month-old son while talking on the phone. Not surprisingly, having a child has put a lot of things in perspective for the Portland-based singer-songwriter. “Things… Read More
What are you – a girly man? For the folk trio Girlyman, the answer, obviously, is yes, and darn proud of it. They even wrote an open letter to Arnold Schwarzenegger, when he called California legislators “girly men.” It’s a compliment, not a dis. You should be lucky… Read More
As of Friday, Nov. 9 (why, that’s today!), singer-songwriter Pete Kilpatrick is 10 days shy of his 25th birthday. What’s he got to show for it? If you’re at all familiar with the Portland music scene, then you already know: lots. Winning the Best Local… Read More
I’m certainly not naming names, but I don’t know how many times I’ve heard various groups say things like “Oh, yeah, we are, like, totally unique and original and stuff,” and “I couldn’t possibly explain what we sound like, it’s really different.” And yet, they sound exactly like… Read More
If you’re a devoted Rockin’ Out reader (and surely you are!) you may have noticed my obsession with my iPod and with Apple products in general. Every song in my iTunes is labeled correctly. Every few months I go on a rampage and reassign genre categories to all… Read More
Last fall, Band X could not decide on a name for their new project. They had a long list of potentials – but they remained unsure of whether anyone would want to see a band called Toejam and the Finger Taffies. Or Birthday Deathbed. Or any of the… Read More
Being the relentless Queen City cheerleader that I am, I have this vision in my head of a typical weekend night in Bangor in the not-too-distant future. Besides there being people spilling out of the shops, bars, clubs and restaurants, I’m picturing events going on at multiple locations. Read More
One thing that’s simultaneously exciting and totally frustrating about journalism is its fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants nature. For example: I wrote a lovely column earlier this week about the Eric Lindell Band, which was scheduled to play at the Unity Centre for the Performing Arts tonight. Then I… Read More
The life of a traveling musician isn’t always as crazy as the stories make it out to be. The Billies know that for a fact. “I wish we had some Motley Crue debauchery stories, like Ozzy urinating on the Alamo. We don’t. It’s nothing very… Read More
The eastern Maine music scene lost a devoted patron over the summer when Kristen Klint, co-owner of the Lompoc Cafe in Bar Harbor, passed away last June. The Lompoc is one of the best places to see live music ’round these parts, and since 2000, when Klint and… Read More
The story you are about to read is fact, not fiction. It recounts a tale so horrifying, so ghastly, so utterly disturbing that the weak of heart and mind might do well to stop reading right now. It’s the story of the Quasi-Men. “Cygnus-A and… Read More
I’m always genuinely amazed by people who can play multiple instruments. Me, I am competent on guitar and vocals. I learned clarinet and oboe growing up, two instruments I’ve largely forgotten how to play. And I know where a C is on a piano, so I can make… Read More
You can’t make me. I refuse to believe it. Nope. No way. What? I can’t hear you with my fingers in my ears. La la la la la. I won’t openly admit it. Summer is not almost over. It’s not that I don’t like autumn… Read More
Music heals. It unites, it strengthens and enlightens. And more so than almost any other art form, it can be a force for change. The cynics out there might scoff, but I have living proof: the remarkable story of the Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars, a collective of… Read More
The charge gets levied often against indie rock bands that they’re too sullen. The band gets onstage and frowns through its set, and the audience stands with arms crossed. No dancing. No jokes. Nothing that could make you look uncool. Not so with Full Contact… Read More
I have not seen the film “They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?”, but according to imdb.com, it stars Jane Fonda, it takes place during the Great Depression, and it’s about an insane dance marathon that drives Fonda’s character almost to suicide. Knowing that, I had some… Read More
The rumor mill began a-churnin’ last April, when word leaked that Portland funk rock powerhouse Rustic Overtones might be re-forming, five years after the band broke up. Unless you lived under a rock in the late ’90s and early part of this century, if you’re from Maine, you… Read More
The Shag Gallery in Eastport is quite possibly the only place in Washington County that displays the works of a dadaist – the mysterious Bang Bangs, according to theshag gallery.com. If there’s another dadaist Down East, please, visit the Web site and get in touch. You… Read More
I love it when bands come up with their own genre names to describe the music they play. For instance, Moss Mountain Project, a band who will play at the Lompoc Cafe in Bar Harbor this Saturday, describe themselves as “doom folk.” “I think a… Read More
Lest you think I’m some kind of Bangor snob, writing only about the stuff that happens round these parts and along the coast, why don’t we check in with what’s going on up in The County? Specifically, the St. John Valley, a place I’ve never had the opportunity… Read More
According to Merriam-webster.com, “climactic” means “of, relating to, or constituting a climax.” With that definition, the Ellsworth-based band the Climactics sure do have a lot to live up to. They may not have reached that creative zenith quite yet, but if things keep going the way they’re going,… Read More
When Joe Hartell was a little boy, he threw all his toys out of his second-floor bedroom window. His dad was understandably irritated. “My father told me that he was going to take me down to the docks, and they were going to pick me… Read More
Ah, the concept album. You know the classics: the Who’s “Tommy,” Pink Floyd’s “The Wall,” bombastic spectacles such as Genesis’ “The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway,” and more recent examples such as My Chemical Romance’s “The Black Parade” and Sufjan Stevens’ “Illinois.” Usually a band… Read More
Most bands, when they want to get out of Maine, head south. They go to Boston, or New York, or Philly. Farmington’s Gristlestick took the opposite approach: they went north. Way north. Fairbanks, Alaska, to be exact. “It was wild,” said lead singer and ukelele… Read More
The most immediately noticeable thing about Los Straitjackets is, naturally, the Mexican wrestling masks they wear at every show. It adds an air of mystery. Who are those masked men? “We can’t take those off,” said Danny Amis, aka Daddy-o Grande, co-guitar slinger for the… Read More
It’s been a while since we’ve checked in on the Maine metal scene here in Rockin’ Out. Status? Still alive and well, of course! As those wise sages Tenacious D once said, you can’t kill the metal. The metal will live on! But let’s focus… Read More
If you’re of a certain age, you remember seeing the ads for the BMG or Columbia House music clubs in copies of Rolling Stone or TV Guide. If you’re like me, when you were in junior high or high school, you thought, “Hey, that’s a really good deal!”… Read More
Rock for Relief 2, set for Saturday afternoon at the Cohen Middle School Baseball Stadium in Bangor, is a bit of a smorgasbord. A cornucopia. A pu pu platter of music, if you will. With 24 local bands in four hours, spanning genres from hip-hop to metal, there’s… Read More
Until just this week, I lived under the misguided impression that Rotundo Sealeg, the name of Belfast musician Nate Oldham’s one-man-band, was taken from one of those weird spam messages you get in your e-mail. You know, like “Merriweather T. Angioplasty,” or “Abraham Quetzelcoatl,” both of whom are… Read More
It must be nice to go to school to learn how to make a living in rock ‘n’ roll. That’s what the students in New England School of Communication’s Business of Music class are doing, through hands-on experience in recording, mixing, distributing and marketing the… Read More
A near-death experience tends to put things into perspective. Such was the case with rap- per Mr. Lif, when he and rap duo the Coup’s tour bus flipped over an embankment and burst into flames after a show in San Diego last December. Everyone on… Read More
Eleven years and four albums into her career, singer Morgan Lander of the Canadian metal quartet Kittie feels like she has come full circle as a musician. Which, considering she just turned 25 and has been in the same band since she was 14, is certainly saying something. Read More
At 24, Lindsey Ray has already been there and done that when it comes to the music industry. “I left high school to go to New York City to record,” said the Belfast native. “I was working there trying to pursue a record deal, but… Read More
The story that the four members of Winterpills tell about how the band got together involves two things: Beatles covers and long winter nights spent drinking and hanging out with friends. “We would congregate at Dennis’ [Crommett, guitarist] apartment, and we’d start swapping the guitar… Read More
I’m always thinking up get-rich-quick plans. Harebrained schemes. Cockamamie ideas, if you will. Most of which fail within days, or even hours of being thought of – but ideas, nonetheless. In elementary school I attempted to sell school supplies from my desk. Hey, you need… Read More
If you look on the Rattlesnakes’ MySpace page (www.myspace.com/therattlesnakes, and yes, it’s true, everyone and their brother is on MySpace), you’ll see that the band lists burritos, bikinis and “nature destroying stuff” as influences, besides more obvious ones like Guided by Voices and the Pixies. Read More
Though the band Seepeoples was formed in Allston, Mass., and currently makes its home in Asheville, N.C., its roots can be traced right back here, to the good ol’ 04401. But, like many people (many sane people, you could argue), guitarist and vocalist Will Bradford… Read More
Happy birthday to me! It has been just a hair under two years since I first started writing the Rockin’ Out column. I’ve been fortunate enough to write about a different topic every single week, and have not even come close to running out of things to write… Read More
Four years ago, when Laurie Jones released her second album, “Better Days,” she and her band hit the road. They toured. And toured. And when they got done, they toured some more. “We played our guts out,” said Jones, who is in her 30s. “I… Read More
If there’s such a thing as a supergroup for the Bangor area, then Wolves Among Sleep is it. Made up of former members of Radiation Year, Soundbender, the Resolution and My Heart Her Ashes, the six-piece band formed last September when several founding members expressed… Read More
When Affiliate left Boston several years ago to come to the University of Maine on a football scholarship, he had plans to focus on sports and school and that’s it. Sure, he’d been writing and rapping since high school, but he put that on the back burner when… Read More
One of the things they don’t tell you when you form a band is that shouting matches, petty arguments and general irritation with your fellow musicians are par for the course. In fact, it would be weird if you didn’t fight with your band members. Read More
Once upon a time, in a city called Bangoria in the enchanted kingdom of Maine, there lived a strong, intelligent, charming, beautiful princess named Emily (just go with it, OK?). When she wasn’t busy going to balls, defeating evil wizards and fending off hordes of… Read More
Shawn Mercer can trace back the moment that his life in music changed to one night in Camden nearly four years ago. “I went to see Greg Brown at the Camden Opera House. I had just gone through a divorce, so I was in a… Read More
Alan Gibson, guitarist and keyboard player for Rural Electric, readily admits that the whole pastoral, country bumpkin image of his band is something that he and fellow members Andy Veitze and Andrew Carpenter perpetuate, despite its not being the whole truth. “Yeah, our Web site… Read More
Jon Bailey isn’t ashamed to admit that he still gets nervous onstage, with or without his band Belmondo. There’s a bit more at stake for him, besides simply performing his songs well. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes =… Read More
Before I start listing off the many musical events happening this New Year’s Eve, I’d like to throw out some thanks to a few excellent people who have helped out the northern Maine music scene enormously over the past year (though the list certainly doesn’t end here). Read More
The Koko Xperience, a West African dance collective that plays next weekend at The Grand in Ellsworth, gets its name from a concept bandleader Kwabena Owusu holds very dear to him. “The name koko comes from a Ghanaian word for fermented grain porridge,” said Owusu,… Read More