THE BEAT
Singer-Songwriters: The Next Generation
by Seth Rogovoy(WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass., Jan. 30, 1997) -- A slew of some of Boston's best, up-and-coming singer-songwriters will join forces in an all-star effort at Milltown Studios on Main Street in North Adams on Sunday, Feb. 2, at 6, in "One Night in Cambridge," part of the Music on Main Street series presented by DCN Entertainment.
Among those scheduled to appear are Deb Pasternak, winner of the 1996 Boston Music Award for Outstanding New Contemporary Folk Act, Jim Bouchard, Ry Cavanaugh, Sean Staples and Kris Delmhorst, who coincidentally happens to be a Williams College graduate, class of '92.
"One Night in Cambridge" takes its name from a compilation album of the same title recently released by Holy Mackerel! Records of Cambridge, an independent label started by Cavanaugh to showcase emerging talent on the thriving Boston folk scene. Pasternak, Bouchard, Staples and Cavanaugh appear on the album, which was recorded live at Cambridge's Kendall Cafe last spring.
For Sunday's performance, Bouchard, Staples, Cavanaugh and Delmhorst will join forces as the Toots Rambles String Band, a freewheeling, improvisatory troupe formed as an outgrowth of the recording sessions for Bouchard's solo album, "^`Toots' Rambles" -- a rootsy, acoustic effort also recently released on Holy Mackerel! Records, that finds the upstate New York native mining territory and sounds that recall Bruce Cockburn. Performing together, the musicians -- all of whom are solo singer/songwriters in their own right -- will back each other up on their own songs as well as some well-chosen covers from a diverse repertoire that includes songs by Prince, Iggy Pop and Hank Williams.
"The main feeling behind Toots Rambles is mutual support," said Bouchard, in a phone interview from his home in Jamaica Plain. "We know each others' songs and appreciate each other from the inside, really deeply, and that's how we play together. Musicianship is not really the question. It's more the feeling."
"As solo performers, the group is a really nice contrast from the usual thing," said Delmhorst, speaking by phone from her apartment in Somerville. "It just started out as the four of us playing songs for fun, and then we would just informally crash each others' gigs. Now we take each others' songs and convert them to Toots Rambles format, which is sort of chaotic, trading around instruments. It's definitely one of those things where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. It's a blast."
While Pasternak is not a member of Toots Rambles, she frequently shares double-bills with Cavanaugh. Her performance on Sunday is billed as solo, but Bouchard said it is likely that some or all of the members of the ensemble will back her up on some of her original compositions.
In a few weeks, Pasternak will release her debut album, "More," on the Signature Sounds label. An advance listen to the 15-song CD shows Pasternak bringing the agility of a jazz vocalist to her soulful, melodic compositions that draw equally from folk, pop, rock and jazz. Her lyrics are alternately direct, witty and starkly incisive, and she sings with a sparkling clarity to match the unique sophistication of her melodies. In sum, "More" announces the arrival of a singular new talent which the Boston Music Awards were not mistaken in honoring.
Delmhorst also has a solo recording, an 11-song cassette tape called "Swim For It," which shows the former studio art major and classical cellist turned guitar-playing folksinger to be a dynamic vocalist and songwriter of immense power and range in the Patty Larkin/Ani DiFranco vein. With Toots Rambles, the multi-talented Delmhorst, a native of Brooklyn, N.Y., who has been playing folk music for less than two years, also plays fiddle.
Warming up the crowd for "One Night in Cambridge" will be Pownal singer-songwriter Bruce Wheat. A portion of the evening's proceeds will benefit the Berkshire Chapter of the American Red Cross's "Volunteer Hands" AIDS assistance program. Tickets are $7. For more information call 662-5770 or E-mail dnickers@nasc.mass.edu.
Spotlight -- Cole-Connection
Begun as a duo in 1994, Cole-Connection has expanded to become a full- fledged band and a ubiquitous presence on the local club scene. At the group's core is vocalist/songwriter Gina Coleman, multi- instrumentalist Jeff Dudziak and guitarist Matt Mervis, formerly of East Creek. On its new CD, "Birch Tree Sonnets," the band is fleshed out by bassist Dan Broad and drummer Mike Basiliere.Recorded at Derek Studios in Dalton, the CD features 11 cuts, including nine originals, most with lyrics by Coleman and with musical credits shared among Coleman, Dudziak and Mark Massery. Simple folk, blues and ballad-style song structures given the standard, Little Feat-derived, hippie-rock treatment, with group harmonies and neo- hippie sentiments like "Hold on to me and we'll be free/To love in peace and harmony," are the rule, typical of what has come to define the Berkshire sound.
The music doesn't always match the lyrics, however. For example, on close inspection, "Prodigy," an upbeat, almost giddy funk number, reveals itself to be a sad song about a woman's unfulfilled yearning for a baby. And sometimes Coleman -- whose soulful, dynamic vocals are undoubtedly the best thing the band has going -- seems to be covering up the triteness of the lyrics with slurry, mumbled diction.
But the album ends on a high note. "I Like You (But Not Your Friends)" is a wildly different bit of new-wave pop-rock recalling Blondie. And it's a direction Cole-Connection might want to explore further. In the meantime, help the group celebrate the release of "Birch Tree Sonnets" at the Silver Screen Restaurant in Pittsfield on Friday night at 8. The group is also at the Olde Forge in Lanesboro on Sunday in a benefit for Megan Kucka. And check out Cole-Connection's web page at http://www.berkshire.net/~fkennedy/birch.
[This column originally appeared in the Berkshire Eagle on Jan. 30, 1997. Copyright Seth Rogovoy 1997. All rights reserved.]
Seth Rogovoy
rogovoy@berkshire.net
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