Tag: massachusetts

LISTEN: Naomi Westwater, “Americana”

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Artist: Naomi Westwater
Hometown: Brockton, Massachusetts
Song: “Americana”
Album: Feelings
Release Date: September 3, 2021

In Their Words: “‘Americana’ is a song about race and pain. It’s a song about being in the in-between. This is a song for multiracial Americans — for every person who’s been asked, ‘What are you?’ This is for the people who are white, and Black, and brown all at once, and at the same time never white, or Black, or brown enough. This is my love letter to America, I think we need to break up? This song is me asking, post-racial America? For who?” — Naomi Westwater

Photo credit: blahnik x westwater

LISTEN: Kris Delmhorst, “Light Breaks Through”

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Artist: Kris Delmhorst
Hometown: Buckland, Massachusetts
Song: “Light Breaks Through”
Album: Light Breaks Through
Release Date: March 26, 2021
Label: Bandcamp only release

In Their Words: “‘Light Breaks Through’ is a pretty straight-ahead song about the moment after a long stretch of bad weather (literal or emotional) when you begin to believe it’s over. As I was writing it, it landed naturally in these feel-good chords that felt like a bit of a guilty pleasure, and I kept having the urge to make it more complicated. But ultimately I decided that it’s right for this one to feel effortless; effortlessness is exactly the point. When you’ve been struggling and it suddenly eases up, you don’t overthink it; your job is just to let go and enjoy feeling good.” — Kris Delmhorst

Photo credit: Brittany Powers

LISTEN: Will Orchard, “Rita”

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Artist: Will Orchard
Hometown: Boston, Massachusetts
Song: “Rita”
Album: I Reached My Hand Out
Release Date: March 18, 2021
Label: Better Company

In Their Words: “‘Rita’ is a song about the blurred lines between attraction that’s real and long-lasting, and attraction that’s intense and fleeting. To me, it’s about lacking trust in my own impulses, and constantly questioning if those feelings are valid. I wrote this song while on tour on two separate occasions about a year apart, and the distance between those two moments really helped me put what I was feeling in perspective. The contributions of Allen, Jess, James, and Miles really helped bring this song to life and create the dark and the anxious landscape of those emotions.” — Will Orchard

Photo credit: Tim Ryan

LISTEN: Ryan Dugré, “Powder Rains”

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Artist: Ryan Dugré
Hometown: Holyoke, Massachusetts
Song: “Powder Rains”
Album: Three Rivers
Release Date: Feb 19, 2021
Label: 11A Records

In Their Words: “‘Powder Rains’ was written for a potential film placement which did not pan out. It started with the image of being on a train sitting opposite of the train’s direction, slowly gaining speed. I tried to create this feeling in the recording by adding parts in slowly throughout the song, and by increasing the tempo halfway through. Mixer Leo Abrahams added to this by accentuating the swirling, circular sounds, building to a feeling of arrival at the very end.” — Ryan Dugré

Photo credit: Annette Wong

LISTEN: Mark Erelli, “Handmade” (Feat. Maya de Vitry)

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Artist: Mark Erelli
Hometown: Melrose, Massachusetts
Song: “Handmade” (featuring Maya de Vitry)
Album: Jackpot EP
Release Date: February 12, 2021
Label: Soundly Music

In Their Words: “Sometimes I’ll write a song that just truly comes alive when turned into a duet. I didn’t write ‘Handmade’ for two people to sing, but it didn’t take much to retrofit it to include another voice. The question of who that voice should be was a harder decision, made difficult by the shear number of amazing singers in Nashville where we recorded the song. I was a big fan of The Stray Birds, and when Maya de Vitry went out on her own for her 2019 solo album Adaptations, I was truly blown away. I love listening to all types of voices, but I really love singing with someone who can dig in and match my dynamics, which inspires me to dig deeper. Singing with Maya, I didn’t have to hold anything back, and I think the strength our vocals project reinforces the song’s message that sometimes you have to dig in, roll up your sleeves, and really work to make love happen.” — Mark Erelli

“It was an absolute joy to sing ‘Handmade’ with Mark. As a guest in Mark’s recording process, I was stepping into whatever culture and atmosphere that they (Mark, his band, producer Zack, engineer Dan) already had going in the studio — and I remember stepping into that room and finding a place of pure warmth and enthusiasm. Harmony singing is one of my favorite things in the world — I get to feel the emotional intensity and energy and character of a song, and then actually climb into it and do my best to help convey the story. I think Mark’s lyrics here are especially resonant in this moment, because a lot of us are taking a more ‘handmade’ approach to everything these days. And that line ‘I can’t wait to see what we’re gonna make’ really hits me now too — in dreaming about our future beyond the pandemic, and how we won’t just be returning to something in the past… we all have an opportunity to make something new.” — Maya de Vitry

Photo of Mark Erelli: Joe Navas; Photo of Maya de Vitry: Kaitlyn Raitz

BGS 5+5: Jim Olsen, Signature Sounds

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Name: Jim Olsen, President, Signature Sounds
Hometown: Northampton, Massachusetts
Latest Album: Golden Age: 25 Years of Signature Sounds
Personal nicknames (or rejected band names): Molson

What’s your favorite memory from working in the music business?

I’ve been in the music business in one form or another for over 40 years, so it’s pretty hard to break it down to any one memory. Without question my favorite moments are discovering great new artists and watching them perform for the first time in a small club to an intimate audience. I’ve had the good fortune to see amazing performers like Josh Ritter, Eilen Jewell, and Lake Street Dive way before the rest of the world knew them.

What was the first moment that you knew you wanted to work in the music business?

I grew up in the NYC area, a huge fan of music and WNEW and LLIR, the great progressive radio stations of the time. A career in music never occurred to me until I discovered that my Ithaca College roommate had a show on the campus radio station. It seemed inconceivable that anyone who asked could get a radio show. I’ve worked in radio ever since and have hosted The Back Porch, a weekly roots music show on 93.9 The River in Northampton, Massachusetts, since 1992. Working in radio keeps me connected to new artists and the greater music community.

What advice would you give to an artist who’s pursuing a career as a singer-songwriter?

Aim for quality, not quantity. I think many new singer-songwriters are focused on making album-length statements when a few good songs would be more effective. The streaming age has changed the way we listen to music and the sad truth is that no one has the patience for 12 songs from an unknown artist. Take your time, edit and hone your best songs and present them thoughtfully.

Which elements of nature do you spend the most time with and how do those impact your work?

I’m fortunate to live in a beautiful rural area, and I love to run and bike with a musical soundtrack. I can lose myself completely in the music and scenery to the point of not even being aware of time or commitments. The combination of deep listening and fresh air make it a highlight of the day. I also find that some of my best creative ideas happen on the road.

Since food and music go so well together, what is your dream pairing of a meal and a musician?

My dream pairing involves a fried oyster po’boy and an Abita Turbodog while watching a favorite Louisiana band, like the Iguanas, in front of the Fais Do-Do Stage at Jazzfest in New Orleans. It’s number one on my post-pandemic wish list.

Photo credit: Courtesy of Signature Sounds

BGS 5+5: Bob Davoli

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Artist: Bob Davoli
Hometown: Lincoln, Massachusetts
Latest Album: Wistfully Yours
Nickname: Bob Davoli Band

What was the first moment that you knew you wanted to be a musician?

When I first heard Dylan’s first album in 1962. However, I never wrote my first song until I was nearly sixty. I guess life got in the way!

Which elements of nature do you spend the most time with and how do those impact your work?

I live by the sea for six months; its rhythms and beauty influence my writing and music. The other six I live in the woods, on a pond, which influences my writing and music as well.

What other art forms influence your music?

Film, plays and painting have influenced my writing. For example, I use the lines “alone and lonely as Edward Hopper’s Nighthawks; “Rear Window Waltz” is from Hitchcock’s film, Rear Window; from John Schlesinger’s Midnight Cowboy, I use the phrase “just like Ratso in Midnight Cowboy”; and I reference twenty-five Eugene O’Neill plays in my song “Ode to Eugene O’Neill.”

What’s your favorite memory from being on stage?

Playing at a community center with my great bandmates, and the audience loving the set.

If you had to write a mission statement for your career, what would it be?

Write from my heart, follow my muse to the truth and be forever curious!

Photo credit: Lynn DeLisi

LISTEN: The Suitcase Junket, “Last Man on the Moon”

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Artist: The Suitcase Junket
Hometown: Amherst, Massachusetts
Song: “Last Man on the Moon”
Album: The End Is New
Release Date: November 20, 2020
Label: Renew Records/BMG

In Their Words: “The first version I wrote of this song was an almost entirely sci-fi scenario about a guy who got sent to the moon with a bunch of other people to set up a colony there, because we’d messed up earth so badly. It was a little heavy-handed. So I took it back to the shed and reworked it. I still liked the imagery of the Last Man on the Moon, but figured it would work better as a metaphor for that big lost feeling of not being with the one you love. I tried to write it so it could be heard both ways, as a love song or a sci-fi fantasy. I usually keep both in mind when I play it.” — Matt Lorenz, The Suitcase Junket

Photo credit: Joanna Chattman

LISTEN: Ruby Mack, “Little Bird”

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Artist: Ruby Mack
Hometown: Greenfield, Massachusetts
Song: “Little Bird”
Album: Devil Told Me
Release Date: October 23, 2020

In Their Words: “‘Little Bird’ is a spirited newgrass ditty about laying down your pride and being vulnerable to the risk and improbable feelings that flood in when you follow your heart versus the stasis of playing it safe. I wrote it with a friend when I didn’t have the courage to tell the one I loved that I loved her. ‘Little Bird’ was the 2am phone calls in the heat of the summer. We never kissed and we never told a soul. Historically, songwriting has been a vehicle for sharing everything I couldn’t say directly. I conceal my truths in poetry, metaphor, and melody. ‘Little Bird’ is a page from one of my oldest diaries.” — Emma Ayres, Ruby Mack

https://soundcloud.com/loudmouthpro/04-little-bird-ruby-mack/s-yNxMKMklVbp

Photo credit: Gianna Colson

LISTEN: Chris Smither, “Caveman”

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Artist: Chris Smither
Hometown: Amherst, Massachusetts
Song: “Caveman”
Album: More From the Levee
Release Date: October 2, 2020
Label: Signature Sounds

In Their Words: “This is one of those songs that began very innocently, pretending to be a harmless little ditty… then about halfway through it turned on me and showed its teeth, not so much with a snarl, just a simple expression of hunger and a desire to eat me up. I thought it was going to be easy to write, and it was, as long as I thought it was a ‘four stages of man’ kind of theme. But then THE WALL kept climbing into every verse, and things got heavier. Finally it consumed me. This is one of those ‘surprise hits’ in my repertoire. It’s a frequent request. Maybe I’m the only one who’s surprised.” — Chris Smither

Photo credit: Joanna Chattman