MEN AT WORK: Cutler [third from right] and company. |
“This was just something I had to do,” says Bob Gillespie. “I had to do it. The rent might not get paid for a while, but at least we’ve got this to show for it.”
Gillespie’s speaking excitedly about a new project he helped see through — Men of Great Courage Live, a Mark Cutler-led side session set for release this weekend. “It’s a very raw recording that I hope people think has a certain charm,” says Gillespie, who helmed the recording with Cutler’s blessing and the quality assistance of co-producer Tony Caramadre at his Phattones Studios.
MGC all started quite casually, with a bunch of friends jamming on familiar tunes at a few local haunts: Nick-a-Nee’s, the Ruffstone Tavern, and Eddie’s 529. At one point, during another unrehearsed session, Gillespie remembers Mark shouting out a key change. “You gotta have courage for this!” shouted Gillespie to the band. Hence, the origin of the band’s name.
Of course, all of Cutler’s projects — tough, passionate, compelling, articulate — have possessed courage of some form or another. But Live is something else entirely; it’s a melodic but roughhewn joy, nine tracks of rootsy, bluesy, gutsy, folky rock, recorded well enough to showcase the collective’s ragged charm and serve-the-song tastiness. Caramadre captured the mood over a series of nights: “I’m not a technical guru or anything, but we do this kind of thing because we have a great love of music. Plus, it was a lot of fun getting all this great material on tape.”
The loose tracks also happen to comprise Cutler’s first live album. He has a pretty able supporting cast helping him pull it off, including former bandmates Jimi Berger, Bob Giusti, Mike Tanaka, Emerson Torrey, “Banjo Bob” Kirkman, Dave Richardson on mandolin, and Dicky Reed on accordion, along with drummer/harmonica player Gillespie. Together, it sounds like what it is: good friends, close musical associates, and an eager audience all creating some feel-good music. “It’s this great little band that people don’t get a chance to see very often,” says Cara¬madre. “More people should get down to the pub, have a beer, and listen to these guys. It’s what it’s all about.”
MEN OF GREAT COURAGE | April 5 | Nick-a-Nee’s, 75 South Street, Providence | 401.861.7290
On The Fringe
Cory Pesaturo is only 21. He’s in his senior year at the New England Conservatory. He’s also, not surprisingly, the only accordionist enrolled at the urbane music school; most of its denizens likely consider the squeezebox pretty gauche. Yet that doesn’t prevent the kid from Cumberland from making sizable inroads with the instrument on his way to becoming a serious and eclectic force on the local and regional jazz scenes. Heck, he’s already won tons of competitions and performed at the White House. Cory plays all kinds of stuff on that box, from classical and jazz to funk and roots. At the 2007 World Accordion Championships, he was hailed as the best jazz accordionist on the planet, as none of his competitors included improvisation. Cory released the aptly titled second disc, The Fringe, last fall. His gig at Chan’s will feature some of those tracks and some brand new ones which include funk as well as jazz, as Pesaturo looks to blaze new trails on what has always been a very traditional instrument.
CORY PESATURO | April 5 | Chan’s, 267 Main Street, Woonsocket | 401.765.1900
Wandering eye
B Sharp Music is celebrating its fifth anniversary by throwing a show/party at AS220 on Friday, April 4. Musical guests include DENIMVENOM, THE BUTCHERINGS, and SWEETTHIEVES, among other fun and surprises. You can check out the details at B Sharp’s crackin’ new website: b-sharpmusic.com. The same night, up-and-comer JOHNNY LINGO, a nominee in this mag’s best guy singer slot, is opening up for PETE FRANCIS, formerly of Dispatch, at Club Hell. At the Brooklyn Coffee & Tea House, it’s all local and solo with HEATHER ROSE, STEVE ALLAIN, and KETURAH BURGESS. Burgess recently reached the second round of the singer/songwriter game known as “The Contest” at Tazza. The show starts at 8 pm; call BC/T at 401.575.2284. At the Shorebreak in Narragansett, RED MOLLY, an all-female roots/Americana/bluegrass trio, headlines. The show opens with MARC DOUGLAS BERARDO, a talented Westerly acoustic artist whose material concentrates on the sea and its allure. The venue is at 3 Beach Street and is reachable at 401.783.1022.
On a not-so-local scale but worthy of mention is ALICE PEACOCK’s appearance at Stone Soup on Saturday. Peacock is a gorgeous and gifted pop folksinger with strong melodies and a memorable voice. She also has her heart in the right place; she’s the founder of the not-for-profit program Rock for Reading, which raises funds for literacy and reading in her native Chicago. Stone Soup is at St. Paul’s Church, 50 Park Place, Pawtucket. Emily Nyman opens at 8pm. Tickets are $15 and available at the door or at stonesoupcoffeehouse.com.
On Saturday at Firehouse 13, you can witness the Zombie Jamboree Slideshow, with LAZY MAGNET and AWESOME BROTHERS. Call 401.270.1801. At the Living Room on Saturday, there’s a monster hip-hop night with ESH THE MONOLITH of Labeless Illtelligence, Northampton crew the PROBLEMADDICTS, ANTFARM AFFILIATES from Connecticut, and AX BUTANE & DJ JANKS from Conscious Insanity, plus some surprises if time allows. Everyone who comes down gets a free copy of the new hip-hop comp Shoot For the Stars, Hit the Ceiling, which includes a few dozen new joints from Storm Davis, Reason, Dox, Entity, and DJ Sterbyrock, and collaborations with Cas Uno and Esh, Prolyphic, Need Not Worry, Al Bums, and more. Call 401.521.5200.
E-mail me: bobgulla@verizon.net.
