Once again Gemstones Night Club in Downtown Lowell on Saturday Night March 20th will be the center of the Mill City music scene, "A Local Anesthetic: Live" and Stellar Productionz will be pulling out all the stops with a collection of Funk, Blues, and Soul artists who will pour it out and deliver all night long.

Kicking things off at 9pm will be the Delta Funk sound of Trick Bag, four seasoned musician performing a collection of original songs with a perfect balance of covers tunes. Influenced by that classic New Orleans sound and the original funk band "The Meters", Trick Bags has managed to not only capture that deep funk sound but they also know just how to deliver. Opening for the Neville Brothers in 2008 and appearing live on WMBR radio last August Trick Bag has been gaining more and more momentum as they continue to perform live and spread the groove with audiences all over the Boston area.

Taking the stage next will be one of the area's most talented musicians and prolific performers; Carl Johnson, performing with The Carl Johnson Trio. With a blues and Rock edge, and a style all his own, Carl Johnson with guitar in hand has been performing for audiences all over the northeast, and on March 20th at Gemstones he will once again be doing what he does best. With a mixture of Blues, Jazz and old time Rock n Roll, Carl Johnson and the rest of the Trio will be taking the stage at approx. 10pm

Closing out the night with their first Gemstones appearance of the year will be The Soul of Lowell; Jen Kearney and The Lost Onion, The band has been packing them in of late with their Monday night regular slot at TOAD in Cambridge as well as a Thursday night residency at Ole' in DTL. But while the intimate space of these two rooms may allow for fans just looking to take a break from the work week and relax to the music, it is the bigger rooms which Gemstones offers where JKLO truly shines! And while the constant comparisons to such icons as Stevie Wonder and Aretha Franklin are constantly being made regrading Jen's music, and on occasion the band has qualified those statements with spot on covers from both, it is Jen's originals song writing and soulful voice that separates her from the rest and establishes JKLO as one of the best live acts performing today.

A Local Anesthetic; Live is a series of Saturday night events at Gemstones in downtown Lowell based on the TLC Television show "A Local Anesthetic" which features and highlights some of the best bands and musicians the area has to offer. Stay tuned to Audio Floss for future announcements and show schedule. Also, during the show this Saturday night, a free copy of the new CD single "A Local Anesthetic" written and performed by Gary Smejkal will be available at the door while supplies last.

Tickets for the event can be purchased at the door the night of the show and are just $5, doors open at 8:30pm

See ya there!

One of my favorite Albums from the 80's was the debut release by Tears for Fears called "The Hurting" the brit pop duo combined both the upbeat tempo and electronic sound of the period with smart, honest, and introspective lyrics. From track 1 to track 10 and all the songs in between they shared a common thread and told a story. It was a concept album.

My Audio Floss predecessor during a radio interview on WMBR last July called the concept album "a lost art" and I can't agree more. About a week ago I got my hands on a CD called "In The Wake of What Won't Change" by the Boston based band The Luxury. Although in the form of a compact disc, this one can clearly be called an album! Call it clever packaging or a smart marketing idea; either way, I like it! On the back of the CD case the first 6 tracks are listed under the heading Side 1 and to the right, the remaining 7 tracks appear under the heading of Side 2. a rather interesting concept.

Both sides of the Album have intros and finales and referring back to one of my favorites, the latest CD from The Luxury possess many of those same qualities and more. Oddly reminiscent of that brit pop electric sound with a harder edge for the modern day along with those passionate inward looking and self affirming lyrics we all can identify with again and again. "Take it Back" and "The Mirror Fogs" are the obvious Side 1 stand outs.

Side 2 opens with the brief abandonment of a techno sound for a more classic horn section and a faster paced rock 'n roll style; Straitjacket and the driving beat of 012009 are perfect examples. And in keeping with finding this lost art, each song on the CD all beautifully fade into the next. While each track does stand on its own for the ipod junkies and the downloader's laptop, "In The Wake Of What Won't Change" is best enjoyed from start to finish. ...another interesting concept.

Winners of the 2009 WBCN Rock n Roll Rumble, Nominated last year for a Boston Music Award as "Best Rock Band", and listed in many of the areas entertainment publications and websites as one of the top 5 bands to watch in 2010, The Luxury is without a doubt a band worth checking out. The CD is available for download and purchase at CD Baby and iTunes.

Go get it!

Has anyone seen or heard the new Dunkn Donuts commercial, it's a 15 second spot and features a lovely young lady joyfully sipping a fresh hot cup of delicious Dunkin Donuts coffee while in the back ground the song "Show Me Love" by local artist Leo Blais is playing. I happen to cacth this thing twice last night while watching the same 60min television show, my compliments and major Kudos to Lowell singer/songwriter Leo Blais,! A great break for one of Lowell's most original talents!

Best of Luck Leo!

i write this now in the hopes that there is still time.

In July the city of Lowell will yet again host another Folk Festival, and that is all the city really does, it's a host. it has no involvement or say in the musical acts coming in and has no say in the times or places these acts will perform, none at all. It's just a host........ but when one hears or reads Lowell Folk Festival the notion that perhaps seeing and hearing some of Lowell's own musical talent is implied, yes?

Unfortunately this is not the case, the musical acts coming in are good, and many of them which i saw last year i thoroughly enjoyed, and I'm sure that this year they will be just as good. But if ya come to the Lowell Folk Festival this summer expecting to see and hear some of the best music the city of Lowell has to offer , don't look to the Lowell Folk Festival website or the list of events in the program guide because you simply won't find them. in fact, the local talent that does happen to appear during that weekend in the local clubs will be listed elsewhere (if at all) as "Not a Festival Act"and this is stressed by the organizing committee. these people take their live music very serious, and they certainly don't want any local folk musicians causing any confusion to the people of Lowell who might want to see and hear a local act during the cities biggest musical event of the year.

there are stages at every corner of the Downtown Lowell Area all day Saturday and Sunday but nowhere is a Lowell act gonna be heard. So, if the Lowell city officials (if any) are free to offer even their slightest opinion or comment on the matter, perhaps they can offer this; "Hey, lets have a few of our cities best live acts play for the Lowell audience this year, lets have them share the Lowell Folk Festival Stage(s) with some of these virtually unknowns that are coming in all weekend" in fact they should insist on it, or tell the national festival planning committee in Washington DC (yup, that's where it is) to take ya Folk Festival somewhere else.
i was made aware of 3 live events last year during the Lowell Folk Festival which i really wanted to see and hear, but when i looked to the "official" lists and guides for time and place, I saw nothing, they came and they played but they were simply not acknowledge. in fact some of them were even asked to make it clear when promoting their appearance that they are "Not a Festival Act"

There are a number of Lowell musician worthy of both the Boarding House Park Stage or City Hall stage and to not put them there or even try to put them there during the Lowell Folk Festival Weekend is a disservice to the residents of this city that come out to the festival and it is also an insult to the amazing talent that this City claims to pride it self on.

Not a Festival Act? Perhaps Lowell is No longer a Festival City

For the last few months "Gentlemen Hall" has been literally tearing it up on the NYC/Boston music scene and it seems that everyone of late has something to say about it. Most recently is Billboard.com and the website of first choice for many acts looking to advance their cause; Sonicbids, which has the band featured on their main webpage this week, and then there is teapartyboston.com spotlighting the Gentlemen as their lead story while the band prepares for a gig this weekend at The Middle East in Cambridge Ma.

Last September MTV presented Gentlemen Hall with Boston's Best Breakout Artist Award for 2009. Shortly after that announcement local television, radio, and print media all shared the same opinion; Gentlemen Hall is the band to watch in 2010. Clearly it is no longer a question of if this band is going to succeed on the national level, but when are they going to do it. And it appears that all indicators are pointing to the word; Soon! Very, very soon!

The band's music is a mixture of everything from classic funk and soul to contemporary rock and pop. And while many fans are using such original tags as "Crunk" and "Robo-Funk" to best describe their unique sound. But however one chooses to define the music of Gentlemen Hall there is simply no denying this; Rory, Gavin, Jacob, Brad, Phil, and Seth are rock stars waiting to happen! The energy they bring to the stage show after show is nothing short of electrifying and they are one of the best original live acts I have seen in a long time.

So this Friday night (Feb 26th) in Central Sq. The Middle East is your chance to see the act that everyone has been talking about. The show starts at 9pm and tickets for the show are $15 at the door. also performing that night are Spiritual Rez and Buffalo Soul

Believe the hype!

in case ya haven't heard.

Saturday Feb 27th at Gemstone in Downtown Lowell on Market Street,
$5 cover,
doors open at 7:30.

enjoy!

"Audrey Can't Die"

"Air Traffic Controller"

"Speakermute"

On Saturday Night February 27th at Gemstones Nightclub in Downtown Lowell "A Local Anesthetic; Live" and Stellar Productionz kicks off its first event of the year with 3 of the area's best bands coming together for a night of awesome live music and for the price of a bottle of beer at many of the Boston area night clubs you can buy yourself a ticket for this one!

Taking the stage at 9pm is "Audrey Can't Die". 2009 was a busy year for ACD , one band member married, another saw the birth of his first child, and late in the year the band replaced their drummer. but the act still found time to release their third CD "Waving at Parked Cars" to rave reviews. In July of 09 they dropped in on WMBR Radio for a live on air set, in September ACD appeared as one of the featured acts at the MIT Fred Fest (an annual outdoor concert on the college campus) in Cambridge Mass, and late in December the band performed on the LTC television show "A Local Anesthetic" Yes! 2009 was certainly a busy year for "Audrey". And as fans now await the release of their "Remix and Rarities" EP due this summer.... Saturday night Feb 27th at Gemstones in Downtown Lowell; ."Audrey Can't Die" will finally return to the Lowell stage!

Following "Audrey" is another very popular act that also had a very busy year in 2009. Air Traffic Controller; nominated by MTV as one of Boston's Best Breakout Artist for 2009 and listed by bostonspotlight. com as one of Boston's 10 best bands to watch in 2010 ATC spent much of 2009 playing to bigger and bigger crowds as the year came to a close, and many of the tracks from their debut CD "The One" released in December of 2009 can be heard on quite a few of the popular FM radio stations in the greater Boston area. Air Traffic Controller is definitely a band on the edge of break out status at the national level. And on Saturday night Feb 27th not only will this 5 piece act deliver all the songs that have brought them to them to that point but they will also be bringing with them a string quartet to guarantee an incredibly full sound and a must see stage show as 9 incredibly talented musicians take the stage and roll though a very impressive original set list.

Closing the night will be hometown favorite and Lowell's own; Speakermute. A band Metronome Magazine calls; "One of the most original Boston bands performing today". Speakermute will be celebrating in front of the hometown crowd the release of their 2nd CD which at this moment is still untitled. over the last few months the band has not only been putting the finishing touches on their new CD but the band has also been performing at a number of area venues that they have modestly promoted and at times called "tune ups" in an attempt to be ready for their live show on Feb 27th

So there you have it music lovers, 3 amazing bands all on the verge of commercial success and all on one stage for one night at Gemstones Night Club in the heart of Downtown Lowell, the club opens at 7:30pm and tickets at the door the night of the show are just 5 dollars!

See ya all there!

I got a CD sent to me about a month ago. I opened it and gave it a quick listen while behind the wheel and then popped it out once my destination was reached. there it sat in the car for a while, but a couple days ago while listening to a local radio station i actually heard one of the tracks from that same CD. i turned quick and saw the disc just sitting there in the back seat with the rest of the CD's I usually travel with and decided to slip it back in, and this time it clicked. It's very good, l'il did I know that when I first heard it a few weeks back the tracks were sinking in....

The CD is called "Tin Can Town" by a Virginia based act called Andy Hawk and The Train Wreck Endings,

The title track "Tin Can Town" as well as a few others on the CD sound like Bob Dylan classics as opposed to 2009 originals. but they are definitely catchy with a full upbeat sound. it's folk music with layered harps, mandolins. and those honest and miserable lyrics that makes Dylan such a great storyteller. And it also makes Andy Hawk and The Train Wreck Ending something that is certainly worth listening to. The CD is available at CD Baby, and you can also preview some of the tracks on his website.

enjoy

New England Comedians have always been nationally known for their willingness to be there for those in need, and the horrible tragedy in Haiti is no exception. So on Thursday Feb 4th at The Old Court Irish Pub and Restaurant in Downtown Lowell some of the funniest and best known comics performing in the area, are coming together to help the unfortunate victims of the earthquake in HAITI.

COMEDIANS FOR HAITIAN RELIEF BENEFIT SHOW
100% of Proceeds goes to THE ESTER LAFONTANT CHARITABLE FOUNDATION....(ELCF) for Haitian Relief

The comedians scheduled to appear that night are a collection of both local/national headliners and the event is hosted by none other than "The Godfather of Boston Comedy" himself, Mr. Dick Doherty.

The line up for the show includes appearances by "Last Comic Standing" and Winner of the Boston Comedy Fest; Dave Russo. Boston Comedy Legend and National headliner; Mike MacDonald, along with television and film star Frank Santorelli; Best known for the role of Georgie" from "The Soprano's". it is guaranteed to be a great night for a great cause.

Tickets for the event are available at the door and are $25 w/ Golden Circle tickets available at $50, Showtime is 8pm @ Dick's Beantown Comedy Escape inside The Old Court Restaurant , 29 Central Street, Lowell Mass

For reservations visit beantowncomedy.com or call 1-800-401-2221

When it comes to local bands and unsigned artists using the web as a marketing tool to sell their music, promote their gigs, exchange info w/ other artists, find potential venues, and listen to/upload their tunes for all to hear, it is usually a bands website I seek first, all I need is the name of the act and I can most certainly find everything I need to know about the artist, and more with just a few simple clicks.

ourstage.com and sonicbids online press kits are great, facebook is a major social network, myspace is still the preferred vehicle for bands of all genre's to get their music out there to the masses, and even twitter has its value. But there is one website that predates them all and encompasses all of the above. The website is called lowellroclks.com.

The brain child of Rob Breton, Rick "Web Guy" Breslin, and Randy "Big Daddy" Breton. Their idea for a local website created years ago which was originally designed to promote their own musical endeavors has become not only a first option for many Merrimack Valley acts it is also a members driven resource for local musician to have any and all questions answered with regard to the local music scene.

The website came to my attention about a year ago and at that time I clicked on and took the virtual tour, I listened to a handful of songs uploaded by local musicians, I read a few threads from the "classified" and "general discussion" message boards, and I looked at some of the venue rankings best to worse all over the city, and I did all this without creating a member account.

But as the buzz continued, and I became more and more aware of its value from the musicians who use it, I not only decided this might be "Floss" worthy I also choose to create a username (joeg) and a password (xxxxxxxxx) and attempted to become a contributing member of the Lowell rocks glitterati.

My first order of business was to simply establish myself as the new guy, so a brief introduction of sorts took place with a couple of members warmly replying to my greeting with welcoming words. I toured the site again, took a harder look at pages and links, listened to more bands, and even started to post my own messages to the boards.

And then it started... For the next few weeks, every Monday I would aggressively introduce a new subject for discussion by offering up any scenario I could think of revolving around the day to day struggles and issues local bands deal with, booking gigs, working with sound engineers, dealing with club owners, and whatever i could think of that best puts into perspective the daily grind of a local act. by conjuring up examples that I thought would best get everyone's attention while also making sure my stories would relate to the local music scene in an attempt to draw out as many members of Lowellrocks as possible, and gather as much feed back as I could. Let's not call my subjects on the message board "lies", instead let's call them good ole' fashion journalism, undercover work, research.

I played the aggressor and I played the victim, I would criticize club owners and make jokes at the expense of the cover band while I celebrated the original artist. i commented about greedy middle men (booking agents/promoters), and i questioned the exchange of who should be paid and who should stay home on gig night. I was labeled "naive" and "ingenuous" i was thought to be a "mole" an "impostor", i even criticized the lowellrocks website and received angry replies and challenging comments from both the sites creator and it's webmaster when i called them "apathetic" in the upkeep of the sites ranking system (something that has since been updated). but i didn't let up there, on one occasion i was even threatened by another member. at one point the subject of conversation was titled "Is Joeg a Musician" and after a number of reply and comments truth be told, "yes! I am in fact a Musician" but up or down, good or bad, they were all talking about the new guy.

one of my first messages posted to Lowell rocks and the one that pushed me to the point of no return was titled; "Lowell (doesn't really) Rock" and the first words from the first reply had let me know that I got their attention "why sir, where I come from them are fightin words" ........,

what followed on that thread was 51 different members of Lowell rocks all chiming in and commenting back and forth for the next 8 days totaling 178 replies, i even received emails and telephone calls from people wanting me to explain it even deeper, they all offered their opinion, critique, thoughts on the matter, and their witticism both praising and complaining about JoeG (aka the new guy).....it was at that moment when I realized I was onto something. i had not only found a gold mine of local music and musicians to talk to but also stumbled into and became part the lowellrocks.com sub-culture

(more to come)