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by Seth Rogovoy
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. April 12, 1996
In popular music there is a hierarchy, much like the one in sports, that runs the gamut from rank amateur to professional superstar, with fame and fortune accruing to the select few who make it to the top.
The band that rehearses in the garage across the street or the folksinger who frequents open-mike nights is akin to a sandlot player. A musician who has achieved a modicum of success with regular gigs in the region, perhaps enough to finance a self-produced tape or CD, is playing in the semi-pro league. One step up from that is the performer who has the financial backing of an independent record label, the minor league from which the majors scout for hot prospects. Getting signed to a major label is no guarantee of riches or a top spot on the charts -- the pros battle it out on a competitive playing field that would make even the most hard-line Darwinist cringe.
Where music differs from sports, however, is that talent and creativity are not as easily quantifiable as home runs, stolen bases or an earned-run average. Chart success reflects record sales and radio play, but presumably some have greater aspirations than a chart-topping hit record.
In the next few days, the Berkshires will play host to an array of performers ranging from the corner garage band to a highly-touted major label performer. In between are a number of semi-professionals, including one who entirely on her own has sold about a quarter of a million self-produced recordings. In these cases the musicians' rank in the establishment hierarchy may give little indication of their relative talents.
Tonight at 8, the Birch Tree Concert Series at Berkshire Community College in Pittsfield plays host to a local band called Upholstery, about which very little information is available. Even the concert promoter was unable to identify the musicians in the band, other than that they are high-school students from the Dalton area.
Judging from a dubbed copy of a crudely-recorded demo tape made by the band, however, Upholstery is one of the most creative and promising groups to come along in quite a while. The band plays in an original pop-punk style and writes witty, melodic and well-crafted songs that take as their subject matter topics as various as drinking tea, the love of Lego-brand toys, and a loner kid whose great ambition is to be a fascist dictator. The closest references would be the Pixies crossed with They Might Be Giants. For more information call Birch Tree concerts at 413-623-5526.
On Saturday night, singer-songwriter Patty Griffin performs a free concert at North Adams State College in the campus center at 8. Griffin is about to release her major-label solo debut, "Living With Ghosts" (A&M). In a virtually unprecedented move -- one that is usually reserved for superstars like Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen -- the record company is releasing what is basically Griffin's guitar-and-vocal demo, with no overdubs or accompaniment. A listen to an advance copy shows why: Griffin's naked, emotional songwriting, richly melodic fingerpicking and raw, passionate vocals need no elaboration. Although it sounds nothing like him, the overall effect is reminiscent of Kurt Cobain. Some might compare Griffin to flavor-of-the-month Alanis Morissette, but this divorced former waitress is no manufactured "angry young woman." She's the real thing.
On Sunday night, singer-songwriter Ani DiFranco performs at the Night Shift Cafe in North Adams at 8. DiFranco's is also an unprecedented story. She formed her own label in 1990 to produce and distribute her recordings, and her sales figures and fan base contrast favorably with many acoustic-rock performers signed to a major. For tickets call Berkshire World Travel at 413-663-7646.
Other performers worth checking out are Swing Set at the Macano Inn in Housatonic tonight, a four-member funk-rock group from Albany which, judging from a four-song demo, is a danceable cross between the Spin Doctors and Living Colour.
Rick Tarquinio, of Tewksbury, writes and performs his original material in a country-influenced folk style that recalls early James Taylor. His pleasant, melodic songs are about work, music, money, marriage, family and animal rights. He performs on Sunday night at 7 at the Cactus Cafe in Lee in that venue's Musica y Mas series. Call 413- 243-4300 for more information.
Don White's "Live at Somerville Theatre" (Lyric Moon) shows off the singer-songwriter's comic gifts to hysterical effect. In fact, it's hard to say if he is a humorous songwriter or a humorist who occasionally sings. In any case, in word and in song the Eastern Massachusetts native pokes fun at suburban life, New England, parents, children, dogs, his wife and himself, in an over-the-top style that occasionally recalls Jonathan Richman at his looniest. White is at North Adams State College on Tuesday night at 8 in the campus center and on Wednesday at noon in Hoosac Harbor. Both shows are free.
(This column originally appeared in the Berkshire Eagle on April 12, 1996. Copyright Seth Rogovoy 1996. All rights reserved.)
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