ACTINGUP Huff. |
Listening to him now, it’s clear that Brad Huff’s career was just getting started with his former act, the Jim James Band. While that gig, which lasted for eight long years, got him some attention and off to a quick start, he’s only now beginning to find his real groove. On his solo debut, Very HardlyBarely (Record Breaking Records), the singer/songwriter busts out all the best goods: solid hooks, great melodies, and wry lyrics. It’s edgy but completely traditional, with a load of personality and heavy doses of tuneful intrigue. It takes Huff’s work with JJB and erects a tower atop it, with dynamic sophistication and stellar production. He’s using those years in his former band as leverage to help him hoist the musical weight he’s capable of lifting.
Playing nearly all the instruments on the album, Huff is also a real one-man band. He has an Eddie Vedder quality to his voice, with just enough Neil Diamond rasp to sound familiar and comfortable, and his guitar playing is also sturdy, suggesting the work of Neil Young on the droning “The Collision.” Songs such as the closing “22 Months” and “My Walk Down¬town” have moody overtones. But others — the three-chord stomper “Stripper Katie” and the whimsical and funky “Jellybeans” — shimmer with Huff’s humor and personality.
But it’s Huff’s lyrics that seize our attention. Part self-referential and part self-effacing, he’s an endearing and observant writer. “I’ve got my hands over my ears,” he sings on “Storm Windows.” “I’m talking about staying/I know that I’m leaving/I keep talking about staying to settle my fears/But I know that I’m leaving/I’ve been saying it for years.”
We’re not sure what Huff’s career goals are. He records and plays out sporadically and, apparently, he also has acting aspirations. He recently appeared as a featured extra during the second season of Showtime’s Providence-based series Brotherhood, and grabbed a role on the ill-fated Waterfront TV series. But if he chooses, he has a decent shot at this music thing. He’s a compelling performer with lots of tactile skills and enough of a gutsy, personal style to help him get where he might want to go.Brad Huff + Robot Dick + Alien Father | March 22 | 9 pm | AS220, 115 Empire Street, Providence | $6 | 401.831.9327
A really big show
There’s something of a MARK CUTLER family reunion happening at Jake’s this Saturday. Almost every band our local hero plays in will be joining him on the bill for his birthday celebration.
The Dino Club, the Schemers, the Raindogs, and his acoustic hootenanny pals Men of Great Courage will all be turning up. “I don’t want it to be nostalgic,” Cutler insists. “I just want to play music with the people I’ve played with through the years. I want it to be like a real show.” For Cutler fans, the very idea of all these bands together for even a night sends hearts racing. Cutler has, since coming on the scene oh-so-many years ago, been a constant source of inspiration, a neverending font of melody and significance that has lit the way for many fans, not just here but across the country.
“The common thread between all of these acts is that the musicians play music because we love it,” he says. “And we’re all part of an extended family. At one point or another we’ve shared homes, helped each other move, spent holidays together, lost loved ones, had babies, got divorced, married, loved and hated. For my birthday, playing with all these guys is one of the best gifts I could receive. I hope that doesn’t sound corny.” Not corny . . . perfect.
With a little luck, Cutler and pals will be closing the night with a celebratory “G-L-O-R-I-A.” Hallelujah!
Mark Cutler & Friends | March 22 | Jake’s Bar & Grille, 373 Richmond Street, Providence | 401.453.5253
Wandering eye
On Friday, March 21, at the Brooklyn Coffee & Tea House, it’s a Rhode Island Songwriters Association lineup with JOHN FUZEK, LISA LAWRENCE, and non-local ROZ RASKIN. Call 401.575.2284. At AS220 on the same night, Paul Caraher has put together an experimentally funky bill with NYC’s CONSIDER THE SOURCE, MUSTACHE, and his own groove-heavy dynamo FUNKATRONIC. Call 401.831.9327. On Saturday (the 22nd), SIX STAR GENERAL, SUICIDE BILL, THE FRENZY OF TONGS, and CHRIS EVIL AND THE TAINTS play the Penalty Box for a can’t-beat-the-price free show. Call 401.331.8545. Also on Saturday, two Francophones will be diving into American musical idioms at the Music Mansion courtesy of the French Alliance of Providence. French boogie-woogie piano master PHILIPPE LEJEUNE (and his quartet) joins acoustic blues and jazz guitarist/singer BERTRAND LAURENCE. It’s $20 at the door but free for kids under 12. To reserve tix, call 401.272.6243. On Sunday, March 23, TONY JONES of Coventry punk rock legends the Goners will be brushing up on his DJing skills at the Dark Lady (myspace.com/sanctuary_ri) for a Horror Punk Birthday Bash. DJ COFFIN JOE also appear and so, we hear, will Chuckles the Clown. The Dark Lady is a weekends-only goth/industrial/dance hang out, but we’re thinking you can get in with punk garb too. The Dark Lady’s at 124 Snow Street in Providence; the show’s 18-plus, doors at 9:30, and cover’s $5. Call 401.831.4297.
Ajay Coletta plays his farewell gig with SANTA MAMBA on Saturday at the Newport Blues Cafe. Ajay formed Planet Groove, Santa Mamba’s original incarnation, 12 years ago with Leith MacArthur and John Medeiros. The talented percussionist/drummer and tireless local musician decided to “leave the project to pursue other interests,” according to a press release. It will be hard seeing SM go on without Coletta on drums and even harder, we imagine, for the band to find an equitable replacement. But you can catch him one more time in his last “official” performance. Call 401.841.5510.
