Notes on Tarbox Ramblers and Opera Boston's Kurt Weill program
By JIM SULLIVAN | January 8, 2007
Kurt Weill |
Rock and pharmaceuticals may have a long history, but what about rock and pharmacies? Well, last October, Boston’s TARBOX RAMBLERS tested the waters by recording their upcoming CD at Fry Pharmacy in Nashville. Ramblers bassist Scott McEwen, who now lives in Nashville, bought the place, which had been unoccupied since the early ’60s, and converted it into a studio. “He just got this old ramshackle building,” reports singer/guitarist/songwriter Michael Tarbox. “And we recorded a bunch of stuff there last fall and have three more songs to do this month.” McEwen produced the sessions for the as yet untitled album. “The new recordings have what I’d call a primitive, dusty, and very warm sound that I love,” Tarbox continues. “Many songs are short; several are quiet and low-key. There’s a lot of strummed acoustic guitar, and there aren’t many solos. There’s a certain eerie quality, which sounds like we’re trying to make it spooky, but we’re not. It’s just the unusual microphones, and the fact that we cut it live.” Themes? The first thing Tarbox mentions is “addiction.” Then he steps back for a longer view. The new songs “include new ways to have a good time and the pros and cons of ecstasy, displacement, and betrayal.”OPERA BOSTON begins its underground series at the Lizard Lounge January 17 with “Kurt Weill’s World.” Of course, Weill has more than a few rockers as fans — think of Lou Reed, Tom Waits, Marianne Faithfull, and David Bowie, for starters. What better way to bring opera to a younger generation than in an intimate rock-club setting?
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Opera Boston: http://www.operaboston.com
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Jim Sullivan: jimsullivanink@verizon.net
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