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Dec. 28, 2000 - Jan. 03, 2001

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A very good year

The best of Worcester music 2000

by Brian Goslow

How does one encapsulate the year 2000 on the Worcester music scene? Do we celebrate all the great CDs that have been released? Doc Siddal's bringing of local rock to prime time commercial radio with Worcester Rocks on WORC? Mass Concerts establishing the Palladium as a major stop for national touring acts? Or should we fret that good turnouts for indie rock at the Palladium

did not translate into similar results for local acts, some of which are arguably as good, if not better, than many of the acts in the larger hall?

Through the wonders of e-mail, we held a round-table discussion with a cross-section of Worcester County musicians -- Brendan Cheever of Controlled Aggression, Sean Fullerton, acoustic guitarist for the Baysics, singer/songwriter Debby Rao, Steve Blake of Snakes and Ladders, Matt Erhartic of Carry the Zero, John Donavan of the Deal, Evel Markie of pop parodists Evel Karaoke, Jerry Sabatini of the Sonic Explorers, rapper (and on occasion, Tavaras drummer) Mingo, and Mike Duffy, host of Gilrein's Tuesday Night Folkin' A open mic -- to look back and forward at the year in local music.
BEST LOCAL HAPPENING

Duffy tips his hat to `the continuing efforts of the folks at the Palladium, the Lucky Dog and Paul Walker at the Above Club "to bring `name bands' to town and also offer local rock bands a quality place to play."

"It was great to see Worcester still has some great acoustic venues," says Rao. "I thought acoustic music was big this year. Every song starts out with just a guitar and lyrics. The Java Hut, G. Willickers, and the Booklovers' Gourmet are very important to the scene."

Cheever celebrates, "Gangsta Bitch Barbie getting signed. They're good friends of ours and I think it's great for them as well as the whole scene." Look for GBB's Grand Royal debut in March. Fullerton was glad to discover South Worcester County metalers Dogleg, while Donavan heralds "The return of Ralph's as a viable venue" and recalls former "On the Rocks" columnist John O'Neill's bachelor party and musical sendoff. "It was a great evening of Worcester's finest music."
BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT

Duffy says, " I wish more people would support live shows, especially local artists. There are venues around here that are inexpensive to get in to -- some are free --Java Hut, Rotman's Cafe Fantastique -- and attendance is low. Local radio/TV are real good but it doesn't get any better than `live.'"

As a jazz musician and teacher, Sabatini's challenge is even greater. "There are really a lot of great musicians in the Worcester area, but there are just too few places to play, especially for those who view music as a creative and expressive art form, and not just a commodity to be bought and sold. As a result, I see a large number of musicians trying to `shape' their own musical personalities in order to fit a prescribed `standard' for what these few opportunities view as `acceptable' for their purposes, typically defined by non-artistic/business needs. So if you fit this paradigm and you are fulfilled by it, then all is beautiful. You can even make a few bucks as these `standards' will pay. However if you have a different view and way of expressing your own music, then you have extremely limited choices as to where you can present your work with absolute freedom."
BEST LOCAL RELEASE

Donavan boldly declares the Deal's (thus his own) Upcoming CD as his favorite local occurrence, adding, "After ours, they were Huck's Nothing To Hold On To..., and Thinner's The Roger Project. They're great songs, and that's what it's all about." Erhartic's top local release was The Curtain Society's Volume, Tone, Tempo, adding, "Thinner's was cool too." Blake votes for Zolli's Follies: Santa's Bootleg, "Because I engineered half of that damned CD." Markie mentions the "debut EP by our pals, Space'n -- now we can work up a parody of them," and Mingo's favorite local release was Billy Pain's Scorpion Summer. "KAZ and Billy Pain put together a masterpiece."
BEST NON-LOCAL RELEASE

Fullerton loves the Beatles' 1 and Paul Simon's You're the One, while Blake says Stone Temple Pilots' STP 4 was his fave. Erhartic can't get enough of the Dandy Warhols' 13 Tales or At The Drive In's At The Drive In. Sabatini's enjoyed, "Many things from New York City -- the Knitting Factory and Tonic scene mainly -- and from Holland, but Tim Berne's Bloodcount Unwound keeps rising to the top." Markie dug Nashville Pussy's High as Hell, while Rao's enthralled with Dokken's Live from the Sun. Donavan raves about the Pills' Wide Awake With The Pills, while Cheever can't take off Slipknot's self-titled debut. "When I first threw it in. I thought, no way, this band is too much. Too fast, too loud, what a mess. But I kept coming back to listen. The music turned me very angry and I stabbed my laundry after playing it." Duffy was probably a little more subtle listening to Chuck Brodsky's Last of the Old Time.
TOP MOMENT AS A FAN

Duffy enjoyed "hearing, meeting and getting to know local songwriters, poets, story tellers, musicians, writers from Wormtown. There are so many creative people here. It's great!" Erhartic's top show was Superdrag at the Lucky Dog. "I was disappointed that no one was there, but it was great to see one of my favorite bands at the same place that I play at. That and the fact that I got absolutely shit-faced with them after the show." Fullerton's favorite concert was Men at Work at the Paradise in Boston, while Cheever's was Slipknot at the WAAF show at Suffolk Downs. "I was amazed at how they worked the crowd and had the fans whipped into a frenzy." Jazz performer and instructor Sabatini got to meet one of his musical mentors, Dave Douglas.

Proud to show her rock and roll roots, Rao states, "All the reunion shows this year as the Tweeter Center, and the `80's tour of Poison, Dokken, Cinderella, and Slaughter at the Tweeter. It was great to see the bands still playing great music and the crowds lovin' every minute of it." Speaking of survivors, Blake's top moment as a fan was seeing Stone Temple Pilots live, and "confirming that Scott [Weiland] has finally gotten it out of his arm." Markie enjoyed Robyn Hitchcock with Grant Lee Phillips at the Middle East, and proving old legends never die, Donavan loved the Who tour. "The old geezers actually pulled it off -- with style!"
TOP MOMENT AS A MUSICIAN

Carry the Zero have already made inroads towards getting out of town. But don't look for them to add Boston to their mailing address yet. "This was our first year playing out, and it has just been absolutely incredible," says Erhartic. "Say what you want about the Worcester scene, but you can't get the same support and nurturing from other bands and club owners anywhere else. It's uncanny. There is a real sense of `we're all in this together.'"

Cheever's favorite performance was at an outdoor show during the Boston Marathon. "It was great playing in front of a big crowd of kids and the runners. People from all over the world trying to catch a glimpse as they passed by." For Fullerton, it was contributing to the Worcester-based Christmas CD called Jubilee: Bill McCarthy's Local Artists Christmas Sampler 2000. Donavan's top moments were "Releasing our first CD, and playing with the Forty-Fives and Huck at Dinny's." For Duffy, the year's big event was "Having my son Eric (13) play bass guitar with Kenny Dennis, Walter Crockett and me on main stage at the Sober in the Sun festival; he nailed it." Sabatini's favorite moment could very well end up one of yours for 2001: "Recording the premiere CD with Trio Kakalla. Voice of Blood is due in February." Markie, whose group released Stuff THIS!!! , a four-song promo sampler of holiday song parodies, says his top moment was "Performing at WAAF's `Looneypalooza' at the Lucky Dog, opening for a hero -- Red Peters!"

WHAT'S UP FOR 2001?

Blake promises, "One (or maybe two) new records from Snakes and Ladders, more gigs (at Lucky Dog, Above Club and hopefully a few more in Boston and Providence,) a new record from Aslan (Peter Zolli's mob), a Snakes and Ladders appearance on the Devo tribute album Spudsuckers (with special guest star Peter Zolli on guitar,) and the release of Blind Pineapple Phillips's Bee Spit Architecture. Fullerton looks forward to "the return of acoustic power pop/rock and the release of the Baysics' all-original self-titled CD," while Controlled Aggression's Cheever guarantees, "New songs, more shows, and our new demo, After the Fall, in your hands." Carry the Zero's Erhartic says, "Our new disc Rev Em' Up is due out in January, Roger [Lavallee] is hard at work completing the mix armed with a handgun and a bottle of cognac." Rao plans on expanding her musical boundaries. "I would like to do some traveling to the music venues in New York and California, I have been writing a lot of new tunes, maybe start working with a band."

The omnipresent Sabatini says, "The Sonic Explorers have slightly reconfigured into a four horn, bass and drums `chordless' sextet with new original compositions written specifically for this instrumentation. Look for a new CD in the summer." Markie promises "no mercy, no quarter, no decorum, and no respect for the top 40, past or present -- and at least one full-length release, available through www.evelkaraoke.com!"

Mingo gives us the heads up on some new projects from 3rd Degree Records. "Look for us to deliver some hot music. A blast from the past, some present day funk and a taste of the future is coming your way."

We'll let Donavan have the final words.

"More music, more music, more music..."

Which is what you'll be getting in the pages of the Worcester Phoenix in 2001.

Brian Goslow can be reached at bgoslow[a]phx.com.

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