30 October - RMB

THIS WEEK'S COMMUTE
M: Tears for Fears - Tears Roll Down
T: Elvis Costello - Armed Forces
W: Eurythmics - Greatest Hits
F: Ray Mason Band - Don't Mess With Our Routine

Listening to Ray Mason again today. The whole band this time, and an album full of favorites. Our first snow of the season is falling this morning, and I want some neighborhood music. That's what this is. 

29 October - Album Update

The album is mixed. Its title is Rising in the Blue (the title song, in fact), and its initial release will be on Bandcamp. A short run of promotional CDs will be made, and we'll eventually order additional copies to have at shows whenever it's safe to play gigs again. Today I thought you might like to see what the cover art will be. It's a tarted-up photo illustration based on an iPhone image I snapped of the full moon seen through the branches of a tree on our property.

23 October - Hotel Massachusetts

THIS WEEK'S COMMUTE
M: Iggy Pop - Instinct
T: Beastie Boys - Ill Communication
W: The Rolling Stones - Let it Bleed
F: (Various Artists) - Hotel Massachusetts

Locals learned this week that the Sierra Grille restaurant in Northampton is closing. The significance of this is not just a sad fact for those of us who loved to dine there, but also because the Sierra occupied the space formerly known as The Baystate, a now-legendary music venue hereabouts (the building was once the Baystate Hotel).

I did not move home to the Valley until the scene there was well underway, and was never much a part of it. In fact, I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of gigs I attended there. But the place looms large in area history, and I inevitably became friends with many who were immersed in the Baystate goings-on. When this CD was released, I was pleased to be a part of its production. Not musically, no. But I did all the hand lettering of the liner notes, as well as the titling on the face of the disc itself.

The Sierra kindly re-opened the former performance space on Thursday nights, calling the series "Reanimate the Baystate," and featuring many bands who'd graced the space in its heyday, as well as new acts. With the Sierra shutting its doors, the future is obviously uncertain as to whether or not the next tenant there will make a space for music. Let us be hopeful.

16 October - Playtopia

THIS WEEK'S COMMUTE
T: Mark Knopfler - Sailing to Philadelphia
W: Jeff Beck - There and Back
F: Playmates - A Traveller's Guide to Playtopia

This Friday's CD: Jim Weeks, previously mentioned in these electronic pages, was also involved in this project. So was Mike Flood, a great guy who has also played many of the Transperformance events I've performed at over the years. Eric Payne rounding it out. Face it, it's a great big music family here in Western Mass, and we're all connected somehow. Playtopia was one of the few acts I actually saw at the now-legendary Baystate venue in Northampton. Fun stuff. Loud. But who are they here? Playmates? Or are they a guide unto themselves, Playtopia? There are no surviving internet links, sorry. I guess you had to have been there. But look, I have a CD.

9 October - John Lennon

THIS WEEK'S COMMUTE
M: Simple Minds - Glittering Prize
T: David Gilmour - About Face
W: Jimi Hendrix - Valleys of Neptune
F: The Beatles - Rubber Soul

Yes, okay. Fridays are supposed to be CDs by friends of mine. But today would have been John Lennon's 80th birthday, and I wanted to hear his voice. John met Paul the year I was born. I was watching Sullivan the night The Beatles made their USA debut. And I had just got back from band practice when I heard the news John had been murdered. Today I'm celebrating his life, not its sad end. John's music has enriched my time on Earth. If that's not a friend, I don't know what is. We all shine on. All across the universe.