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New England Music News

Don't call it a comeback

Six Finger Satellite never left. And never will
Six Finger Satellite founder and frontman Jeremiah "J." Ryan has news for anyone assuming that the upcoming Six Finger Satellite mini-tour is a harbinger for some big 6FS reunion, following the recent release of Half Control on Load Records, originally recorded in 2001 and remixed last year.

By CHRIS CONTI | August 05, 2009

Ziggy lives!

And FH13 offers a little bit of everything
Club Hell starts the weekend off THURSDAY (the 6th) with an early-bird experimental rock show featuring Houston's SCALE THE SUMMIT (currently on tour opening for Dream Theater) with Cranston's CALIFORNIA SMILE , who are reportedly finishing a new record.

By PROVIDENCE PHOENIX STAFF | August 04, 2009

Solid foundation

A promising debut from Big Tall Buildings
When Big Tall Buildings guitarist Jared Mann sent in a disc of six demos earlier this year, the raw potential behind songs "Natalie" and "Something with a Semicolon" had me dropping monthly emails on him with the subject header "WHERE'S THE ALBUM?"

By CHRIS CONTI | July 29, 2009

Making waves

Six Star General invade Newport
A packed weekend begins THURSDAY (the 30th) when the ladies take over at the Hi-Hat, with MELISSA FERRICK and locals Seriously Fierce (aka Heather Rose and Keturah) opening, call 401.453.6500.

By PROVIDENCE PHOENIX MUSIC STAFF | July 29, 2009

Psalms For The Deaf

Jared Paul Unleashes Prayers For Atheists
Sage Francis addressed the densely-populated crowd at Rock the Bells at Comcast Center last weekend: "This song helped get a friend of mine out of jail. Thank you to all who donated. This song is called 'Conspiracy to Riot.' Strange Famous fucking Records, Providence."

By CHRIS CONTI | July 21, 2009

Feel-good hits of summer

Wheat's strange beauty
Life is unabashedly beautiful for Wheat founders (and Taunton natives) Brendan Harney and Scott Levesque. That sentiment echoes throughout their latest release, White Ink, Black Ink (The Rebel Group) — which is surprising considering their track record with major and indie labels over their dozen years in the business.

By CHRIS CONTI | July 14, 2009

IndieArts mania!

So much to do, all at once
Head down to the Greenwich Hotel THURSDAY (the 16th) and lounge with local acoustic troubadour DANIEL CHASE and Boston's SARAH BORRELLO (her piano-driven cover of "White Rabbit" is insane); never a cover and always 21+, call 401.884.4200 for more.

By PROVIDENCE ARTS STAFF | July 15, 2009

Back in action

Multitasking with Senior Discount
Veteran punk rock quartet Senior Discount returns to the live circuit this weekend, starting with the big Lupo's/WBRU Block Party on Friday and an early-bird slot at Club Hell on Saturday. And national retailer Hot Topic has invited the band to play a string of acoustic shows around New England throughout the summer (check myspace.com/seniordiscount for the full schedule).

By CHRIS CONTI | July 08, 2009

Hard-wired fuzz

The Inclined are finding a balance
The Inclined's December '08 debut, The First Day of Many, continues to captivate my attention with big hooks, spacey synths, and manipulated guitar riffs and squalls, at times encapsulated in fuzz and exploding with unabashedly catchy gems.

By CHRIS CONTI | June 24, 2009

In the blood

VulGarrity is humming on all cylinders
“We don’t have five dudes on stage pounding out power chords, so we need to find other ways to fill up all that space,” said Shawn Garrity, one-half of the multitasking siblings known as VulGarrity (sister Tracy is three years younger). “It forces us to think differently than before, and that’s proven to be a breathe of fresh air.

By CHRIS CONTI | June 10, 2009

Creedence-meets-Waylon

Jay Berndt resurrects the Revival Preachers
No, there will not be country-fried rockabilly renditions of Kilgore Smudge tunes at the Blackstone when ex-Kilgore frontman Jay Berndt resurrects the Revival Preachers (myspace.com/jayberndt) in what will be only their second show since 2005 (the boys reconvened for a wedding party in March).

By CHRIS CONTI | June 02, 2009

Passion players

Rap-rock vets Mastamindz stay the course
"If music is your passion, then promote it. Get people to your shows. I honestly think people don't push themselves enough."

By CHRIS CONTI | May 27, 2009

Back on the surf-rock sonar

Hanging 30 with the Fathoms
'Tis the season for veteran surf-rock trio the Fathoms to usher in the warm weather when they play a free gig at Nick-a-Nee's on Saturday.

By CHRIS CONTI | May 20, 2009

Into the darkness

Riding shotgun on Route .44's lonesome highway
The new release from Route .44, This is My America (Blue Radio Records), provides further insight into lead singer Ian "Lefty" Lacombe's affinity for the dark side, as the enigmatic southpaw guitarist delves even deeper than on the acclaimed 2'07 debut, Worthless Lessons .

By CHRIS CONTI | May 05, 2009

Sugar-coated pop, anyone?

Jonas Dream's merry melodies
With lines such as "chock-full of sunny melodies and intimate, introspective lyrics with bright, polished production," I clearly didn't stumble onto the next Jesus Lizard here.

By CHRIS CONTI | April 28, 2009

Rude awakening

The rousing sounds of Coma Coma
Coma Coma singer/bassist Eric Sampson brushes off the notion that Rhode Island's music community currently lacks quality acts.

By CHRIS CONTI | April 22, 2009

Magic man

Theo Martins kills 'em with kindness
If the first quarter of '09 is an indicator of things to come for Theo Martins the Providence-based lyricist had better buckle up for what should be the biggest year in his budding hip-hop career.

By CHRIS CONTI | April 15, 2009

One shining moment

Fairhaven grab the brass ring at the 'BRU rock hunt
Fairhaven won a tight race at the 2009 WBRU Rock Hunt Finals at Lupo's on April 4.

By CHRIS CONTI | April 07, 2009

Unextinct

Dinosaur Jr. will roam the earth forever
The convo is already off to a bumpy start with one Lou Barlow of Dinosaur Jr., phoning in from his Los Angeles residence at 10:30 am PST.

By CHRIS CONTI | March 31, 2009

Springing ahead

The 'mericans are comin' back 'round
When I asked Chris Daltry just where exactly his acclaimed quintet the 'mericans had been hiding out, the founding father of the rootsy rockers was quick to deflect any insinuation that the Providence group had been slacking.

By CHRIS CONTI | March 25, 2009