POPCORNER
October 10, 1996
A Guardian angel for The Nields
by Seth RogovoyWILLIAMSTOWN, Massachussetts, In a move that comes as no surprise to those who have seen them in concert or heard their recordings, The Nields have signed a recording deal with Guardian Records, a division of the international record label EMI.
In other words, the group that began life as a sister-wife-husband acoustic trio in the lounge of the Williams Inn in Williamstown and became a Northampton-based folk-rock quintet is now a major-label rock band.
Only last July, in a review of the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, this critic wrote of The Nields that they were "destined for a major- label record deal."
Immediate plans with Guardian/EMI -- which also boasts Joan Baez, Catie Curtis and The Kinks among its clients -- include the re-release of The Nields' superb album "Gotta Get Over Greta" in January 1997. "Greta" was first released last February by the New York indie label Razor & Tie. The band returned last week to Longview Farm Studios in Brookfield with "Greta" producer Kevin Moloney (U2, Sinead O'Connor, Eleanor McEvoy) to record several new songs which will be added to the re-release.
The Nields credit their former record label, Razor & Tie, with helping get them to the point where a major label would be interested in them. "Without the support of everyone there, we never could have gotten the exposure for 'Greta' that Razor achieved," says Nields' guitarist David Nields.
"We're ready now to get to the next level. And the one after that, and the one after that," adds bandmate, collaborator and wife Nerissa Nields who along with her sister Katryna Nields, bassist Dave Chalfant and drummer Dave Hower are The Nields. "We've never kept it a secret that we want the brass ring: Rolling Stone, Letterman, MTV. The works. And with Guardian, we have a shot at that."
What Guardian can provide The Nields where Razor & Tie could not is promotional support to get the group's singles into the hands of DJs and music directors at college, adult-album-alternative and alternative-rock radio stations, where the band's best chances for success lie waiting.
Since the release of "Greta" last February, The Nields have been on the road, traveling more than 120,000 miles to play over 130 dates at festivals (Birmingham's City Stages, Nashville's Summer Light, Bumbershoot, Telluride, Kerrville, Winnipeg, High Sierra), rock clubs and colleges. As of now, the band's next scheduled date in the region is on Dec. 7 at the Iron Horse in Northampton.
Spotlight
More soulful and intimate than 1993's critically-acclaimed "Little Victories," Austin singer/songwriter Darden Smith's latest CD, "Deep Fantastic Blue" (Plump), is another winning collection of state-of-the-art folk-pop. Smith's concerns here include growing up, making changes and leaving the past behind, and in his juxtaposition of religious imagery ("Drowning Man") and earthly concerns ("Skin"), as well as in his plainspoken vocals, he recalls Bruce Cockburn at his best. "Skin" is a sensual, folk-soul groove, and "Silver and Gold" is a suggestive slice of noirish folk-pop -- think Fleetwood Mac's "Dreams" via Chris Isaak. While all 10 songs might not be fantastic, they all dig deep and they're definitely tinted blue. Smith is at the Iron Horse in Northampton with Boo Hewerdine on Tuesday, Oct. 15 at 7.
Spotlight 2
Humbert began life in 1991 as Nag Nag Nag, a quartet formed by four students at the University of Massachusetts - Amherst. After stints in New York and Richmond, the band is back in the Pioneer Valley, where it will headline at the Iron Horse in Northampton on Friday night at 10. On the evidence of the group's self-produced CD, "Are You Still Dancin', Darlin'?," Humbert, fronted by singer/songwriters Ari Vais and Anthony Westcott, is a witty, literate and creative group that crosses the darkly melodic, punk- rock of American Music Club with the ingenious and quirky pop of They Might Be Giants. Throw a little Jonathan Richman in for good luck and you wind up with tunes like "My Siamese Twin," in which the narrator sings, "My brother and me is close." Think about it -- that's not grammatically incorrect if you're a Siamese twin! Or "Beautiful Lesbian," in which the singer pines away for a colleague at work he knows he can never have: "There's no point, there's no use/I'm the wrong man for you, lesbian." More gems like those await future fans of Humbert.
Backstage bits
Good luck to South County band Qept Quiet, which performs at this weekend's Adirondack New Music Fest '96, an all-original music festival and trade show, at the Washington County Fairgrounds in upstate New York....The debut of the annual Berkshire New Music Festival at Williams College includes a few jazz programs this month, tonight featuring two campus groups: the Williams College Jazz Ensemble and Kusika and the Zambezi Marimba Band, at 8 in Chapin Hall. The jazz ensemble will premiere "Portaculture," a new composition by ensemble director Andy Jaffe dedicated to guest artist/clarinetist William O. Smith, and will feature guest artists Tom McClung on piano, Bruce Williamson on reeds and Randy Kaye on drums. Kusika will debut a work by Gary Sotjkowski, who co-directs the group with Ernest Brown and Sandra Burton....
Look for next week's PopCorner in Friday's Weekend section, as Berkshires Week takes a one-week vacation, after which you will find us right back here in our usual spot....
[This column originally appeared in the Berkshire Eagle on Oct. 10, 1996. Copyright Seth Rogovoy 1996. All rights reserved.]
Seth Rogovoy
rogovoy@berkshire.net
music news, interviews, reviews, et al.
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