POPCORNER
October 3, 1996
From Wavy Gravy to Boxing Gandhis
by Seth Rogovoy(WILLIAMSTOWN, Massachusetts) Oct. 3, 1996 -- When Eric Fowler first went out to Los Angeles about a decade ago, he wound up staying at Wavy Gravy's Hog Farm -- which he describes as "America's longest-running hippie commune" -- for a year and a half. A decade later, the Lenox native now finds himself playing guitar in Boxing Gandhis, a retro-funk band that Fowler says in many ways is itself "like a hippie commune."
Fowler and Boxing Gandhis will be making three appearances in the region in the coming week, opening for the Dave Matthews Band at the Mullins Center at U. Mass -- Amherst on Oct. 6 and at Albany's Knickerbocker Arena on Oct. 10, and making a special "unplugged" appearance at the Iron Horse in Northampton on Oct. 9 at 10.
Fowler was born in Pittsfield in 1968, and is a graduate of Lenox Memorial High School. His parents, Ken and Fran Fowler, live in Lenox. Before joining Boxing Gandhis, Fowler played guitar in the reconstituted British reggae/ska group General Public. His recording credits include work with Sting, Pato Banton and UB40, and he has worked with Clint Black, Hot Tuna, Carole King and Jimmy Buffett. He has also done extensive work in film.
Speaking in a recent phone interview from his home in Los Angeles, Fowler recalled the local band scene in the mid-'80s, when his group Street Legal would regularly lose out to Xavier in battles of the bands. While he studied music with a number of teachers, he said, "I have worlds of respect for Dave Lincoln Jr. He's sort of my mentor from Berkshire County. He's the guy. He's amazing. He set a standard for me growing up."
Boxing Gandhis was formed in 1993 by lead singer and guitarist David Darling. The sextet releases its second CD, "Howard," on Atlantic Records next week. The album has a classic-funk feel, reminiscent of Sly and the Family Stone, Stevie Wonder, Prince and George Clinton's P-Funk. The group's debut music video won Billboard Magazine's 1995 Video Award for Best Jazz/Adult Contemporary video.
"We're really excited to see how the new record is received," said Fowler. "We've not played to an audience that has had the benefit of hearing it before they hear us, which is kind of helpful for performing in front of a crowd, because you can work off that energy."
"I've always had an affinity for black music -- blues, R&B, soul," said Fowler, explaining how he wound up playing Boxing Gandhis' style of music. "It's more or less been a passion for me. I've been in L.A. for 10 years. It's a multiracial, multiethnic city. I've done a lot of work in R&B circles here."
Spotlight 1
Guitarist/vocalist Beppe Gambetta's diverse repertoire includes bluegrass flatpicking, Celtic folk, central European and Mediterranean dance tunes and music from his native Italy. He has performed at festivals and clubs all over the world, and his numerous albums include "Good News From Home," available on the Green Linnet label. "Good News" is a showcase for Gambetta's multicultural approach, variously featuring Eastern European Gypsy musicians, members of the Czech bluegrass outfit Second Grass, and classical mandolinist Carlo Aonzo. Gambetta brings this year's Stone Chapel Concert Series to a close on Sunday at 4 in the Barn at Bucksteep Manor on Washington Mountain Road in the town of Washington. For concert information or reservations call 623-5438 or E-mail darkmoon@vgernet.net. Gambetta's World Wide Web site is at http://www.pangea.it/music/gambetta/welcome.html
Spotlight 2
Earlier this year, singer/songwriter Peter Mulvey released "Rapture" (Eastern Front), his indie-label debut that featured the much-touted, Peter Gabriel-like title track, as well as numerous other self-consciously poetic original compositions. The former Bostonian who won Boston's Acoustic Underground competition in 1994 is one of a number of his ilk who now call the Pioneer Valley home, and he will be making the drive up to North Adams State College this Saturday night, Oct. 5, to perform in the CC's Cafe series in the Campus Center at 9.
Backstage bits
If this is the only part of the paper you read, you might have missed last week's big news: Mort Cooperman, the impresario that brought North Adams the Night Shift Cafe, is bringing downtown Pittsfield its first-ever concert club, which will be located in the England Bros. building on North Street. The club will open on Oct. 26 with a performance by Celtic-rock band Black 47. The group played two of the best shows ever at the Night Shift, and will be bringing a whole new set of songs to Pittsfield from its excellent new album, "Green Suede Shoes" (Mercury)....A new folk series in the Chaise Lounge Gallery at Milltown Studios on Main Street in North Adams kicks off on Oct. 27 with Jim Infantino and his group, Jim's Big Ego. Infantino played the best show of last winter's music series at North Adams State College -- it will be great to have new-folk's answer to the Beastie Boys back in town....
Christine Lavin plus Sally Fingerett, Megon McDonough and Debi Smith add up to Four Bitchin' Babes, which is what the serio-comic women's troupe calls itself. Catch the babes at the Empire Center at the Egg in Albany on Oct. 4 at 8. Call 518-473-1845 for more info....
Don't forget the Afro-Cuban Experience with Los Afortunados, featuring music and dance, at the Mahaiwe Theatre in Great Barrington on Oct. 5 at 3:30 and 8. Call 528-6575 for more info....
Add the Richard Thompson Band to the lineup at the Troy (N.Y.) Savings Bank Music Hall, where they will be performing on Oct. 27. B.B. King is at the Palace Theatre in Albany on Nov. 19....
Plans are already afoot for the second annual Noppet Hill Bluegrass Festival, to be held next July on Steele's Dairy Farm in Lanesboro. The Nashville Bluegrass Band will return as headliners, and will be joined by acts including the Del McCoury Band and the Lynn Morris Band. Stay tuned to this space for more details as they arrive....
[This column originally appeared in the Berkshire Eagle on Oct. 3, 1996. Copyright Seth Rogovoy 1996. All rights reserved.]
Seth Rogovoy
rogovoy@berkshire.net
music news, interviews, reviews, et al.
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