THE BEAT

Evan Rude, Cheryl Hoenemeyer, Hypnotic Clambake

by Seth Rogovoy

(WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass., Oct. 2, 1997)

Evan Rude and the Motors: Batteries included

Evan Rude and the Motors' new, eponymously-titled CD of a dozen original songs kicks off with "Fine," the sort of gloriously poppy rock 'n' roll the Replacements were noted for in the late-'80s, wherein catchy melody rubs up against hard-crunching guitars.

It's an approach that works well throughout the new album by the Lee-based power-trio. "Fine" is followed by "Time For a Change," a Pearl Jam-style, minor-key slow rocker, replete with Middle Eastern- like guitar fills and angst-ridden lines like "People, they talk, I don't hear what they're saying."

"This Feeling," the CD's third song, is another bit of Seattle-style rock, with grungy guitars -- one part Nirvana, one part Neil Young -- occasionally dropping out of the mix to allow Bob Bowers' affectingly sympathetic lead vocals to grab the listener's attention.

The album's closer, "Sacred Song," echoes the sound and sensibility of "Time For a Change," with its own repetitive lyrical hook, "It's no good to keep it inside." The song could be a tribute to Kurt Cobain (Bowers denies any such intention), but it works just as well as a song addressed to anyone who feels the world spinning out of his or her control.

But Evan Rude is no mere grunge wannabe outfit. "Breaking Down," replete with pedal steel guitar courtesy of guest musician Pete Adams of Dooley Austin, is a sort of "No Depression" country-rocker; "Stand Tall" is a dreamy rock ballad; tuneful minor-key pop like "All This Time" and "Heartbreak, Love and Lies" could be a nod to the Beatles or Oasis -- who can tell the difference these days?

In any case, the sum effect of "Evan Rude and the Motors" -- one of the best, locally-produced CDs in years -- is one of an open-minded, modern rock band with an array of influences while holding no allegiances other than to its own eclectic muse.

The three-year-old band makes the most of its minimalist instrumentation -- in addition to Bowers on guitar and vocals, the trio includes Bob Scolforo on bass and vocals and Mick Eisenberg on drums. The arrangements are full and precise, and the vocals are usually up front in the mix.

The group produced and recorded the CD at its home studio in Lee. Copies are available at local retail outlets and at Evan Rude's performances. Evan Rude and the Motors appears locally this weekend at the Macano Inn in Housatonic (Oct. 10) and at Herman Alexander's in Pittsfield (Oct. 11) and next weekend at LaCocina in Pittsfield (Oct. 17) and at the Olde Forge in Lanesboro (Oct. 18).

Cheryl Hoenemeyer: Booming disillusionment

There's nothing funny about being an accountant -- believe me, for the first 18 years of my life I lived with one. So anyone who can lay claim to having won an award as "Funniest Accountant in America," as Cheryl Hoenemeyer's press bio says she did in 1990, is worth taking a closer look at.

Piano-playing singer-songwriter Hoenemeyer, who credits Randy Newman and Warren Zevon as key influences -- another plus in my book -- has in one way or another been on the music scene for the last quarter- century. In that time she performed in Boston folk clubs, San Francisco coffeehouses and Manhattan cabarets, and wrote music for industrial videos and an off-Broadway musical.

Hoenemeyer's career has come full circle, and the New Jersey native finds herself back in the Boston area, from where she is launching her career as a solo singer-songwriter with her debut CD, "Dark Horse" (SOL).

Recently named a finalist in the Kerrville Folk Festival's prestigious "New Folk" competition and having earned similar placement in several national competitions, including the Napa Valley Festival Emerging Songwriters Showcase and the 91.9 WUMB/Borders Books and Music Songwriters contest, Hoenemeyer comes out of the chute fully sprung as an artist with a mature sensibility that speaks with authority of and to her peers in the baby-boomer generation.

Songs such as "Chains," "Class Notes" and "Factory Girl" are populated with children of the '60s who find themselves decades later trapped in lives seemingly not of their own making, wondering how they got there and if there is any way out.

Hoenemeyer's piano-based arrangements are propelled by her deep, dusky vocals and accompaniment provided by the likes of Bill Novick on saxophone, Joe Donnelly (Del Fuegos, Swinging Steaks) on drums and Jennifer Kimball (ex- of The Story) on backup vocals.

Hoenemeyer is at Northampton's Fire and Water coffeehouse on Friday night (Oct. 10).

Hypnotic Clambake: Proudly eclectic

Hypnotic Clambake is a Boston-based quintet that wears its eclecticism like a badge of pride, boasting a blend of klezmer, zydeco, East European traditional folk, reggae, blues, jazz, polka, rock 'n' roll and funk. Judging from its fourth CD, "Frozen Live: Vol. 1" (Blue Button), it's a claim the group pretty much substantiates in performance. Imagine an acoustic ensemble with the virtuosity of Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, the jam impulses of Phish and the wiseguy pop smarts of They Might Be Giants and you get a rough idea of where the group is coming from. Hypnotic Clambake is at the Iron Horse in Northampton tonight (Oct. 9) at 10.

[This column originally appeared in the Berkshire Eagle on Oct. 9, 1997. Copyright Seth Rogovoy 1997. All rights reserved.]

Seth Rogovoy
rogovoy@berkshire.net
music news, interviews, reviews, et al.

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