Eric Bettencourt dropped us a line to say Shadow Shine Records is close to its first releases, one of which will be a Strange Pleasure live album, currently being recorded by Jack Murray over the course of four Wednesday shows at the Big Easy (catch the last ones August 20 and 27). Further, Strange Pleasure bass player Keith Mann worked on a “semi-live/semi-studio” release at SPACE on the 17th, doing a closed session to lay down the basic rhythm tracks.
Tony “Vegas” D’Agostino, last seen in Supersoul Challenger but with a resume that includes Swampwitch Revival and Novadose, has put together a new “hard classic riff rock band” they’re calling Burnt Orange, with Adam Hitchcock (Black Apple), John Lennon (Novadose, Dirtnap, Ocean), and John Kennedy (Lost Cause Desperados). Look for gigs in the fall and an album in the spring.
Bad news out of Newmarket: Unless something changes in the meantime (i.e., someone finds some money under the floorboards), the Stone Church is going to be sold at foreclosure auction. It’s a great venue for local and touring musicians, and it got a much-needed renovation in 2003, but it’s apparently not producing enough cash flow to meet the mortgage payments. Co-owner John Pasquale told the Portsmouth Herald there was still hope of finding investors, but time is running out.
Steven Williams (formerly the brains behind Yeah OK and a key Cat and Mouse Records contributor) has a new band with Mike O’Connor (Dead End Armory), Derek Gierhan (Cougars Kill Cobras), and Matt Hansen (Strange Pleasure, Line of Force, Los Federales) that they’re calling Space Elevator. They played their first gig last Saturday at Slainte. The one song they’ve got on MySpace is a contemplative, no-vocals, indie-jam kind of thing. Williams also says they’ve got a new rehearsal space in North Deering that they’re sharing with Dead End Armory, Ulterior Votives, Anna’s Ghost, and some other folks, and that the collective energy may inspire a Cat and Mouse comeback.
