Quick Hit: Dan Burke

Dan Burke, who was the featured guest on the Weekly Shuffle 91.3 WCUW Thursday, Jan. 29, is best known in this area as the frontman for The Orange Ocean. Formerly Walter the Orange Ocean, the "Walter" was dropped after its first disc - Restless or Sleeping - when guitarist Dan Hedley moved back to California. Burke and the band most recently recorded and released Caught in the Air, which featured hip-hopper trumpet player AfroDZak, guitarist Troy Gonyea and string arrangements by composer Joey Newman. Newman, in fact, was Burke's recent connection to some shows in some prominent LA clubs. Now, though Burke plays occasionally with the Orange Ocean, he's focusing on writing solo material, making his living as a fulltime musician. Burke's joined by a trio, which includes AfroDZak this Friday at the wonderfully funky Nick's on Millbury Street.

Club Notes, Jan. 29, 2009

Tonight, Andy Cummings is taking care of Thirsty Thursdays at Hooligan's in Fitchburg; Proud Simon helps open for Flock of Assholes at the Lucky Dog; and Herra Terra, Coral Cola and Slag joins forces at Ralph's to celebrate the launch of its new website.

On Friday, The Chris Fitz Band plays the blues at Gilrein's; Sadplant, Wicked Whiskey, the Murder Weapon and Hoodrat punk up Ralph's; The Roxbury Secret heads to the QVCC for a one time only show with Arms Over Broadway; Last Laugh does covers at Irish Times; Soulstice makes it an “electric Friday” at the Gardner Ale House; Dave and Chris sing at Greendale's early evening; Bill McCarthy's bringing his guitar to Al Fresco in Holden; Touched rocks amongst the pool tables and blinking machines at Jillian's; Skullfunked headlines Tammany Hall along with their good friends The Muve; Ken Steiner and Travis Colby from Roomful of Blues back up the wonderful Lisa Marie at the Sahara Restaurant; Jason James is tearing up the Blue Plate in Holden; and the Stumbleweeds do the rockabilly roll through Vincent's.

On Saturday, our friend Cowboy Matt and many others join the Worcester Youth Poetry slam at 6:30 p.m. at The Bistro in the Higgins Student Center of Clark University; Cassidy is on the bill with Spit Supreme and Nynewest at Worcester State College; Devoid returns to Ralph's with God's Green Earth Shane Hall from the Rectangle Club is doing a night of Leonard Cohen at The Q; Sparse Grey Hackle makes its return to Vincent's; No Alibi's a big hit at Greendale's; One Lane Bridge celebrates the release of “Long Time Coming” with a show at the Lucky Dog along with Gutta and Treadwater; Matt Shwachman brings his band to Oxford's on Main Street in Oxford; Unearth, Every Time I Die and Sick of it All rock The Palladium; Bret Talbert is up to The Nines (on Millbury Street); Jon Short's fingerpicking the old time blues at Nick's; '70s and '80s jam band Mad River resurfaces at the Green Rooster Coffeehouse – Mad River includes the likes of Rich Hennessey, Michael Allard Maddaus and Peter Allard; Cadillac Jack is way out at Tal's Place in Webster; The Great Escape pays tribute to Journey at Speakers in Marlboro; Last Regret is with Hour Before Dawn at Tammany Hall; and Blender Method joins a CD release show for Composted at London Billiards, where the sign continues to say “booking Xmas Party,” which is better than “free poo,” which it said for a good four months.

On both Friday and Saturday night, Pet Rock's playing fun dance hits – including disco – at Sakura Tokyo on Park Ave.

Other events going on:
The Barre Players Theatre presents, back by popular demand, “Winter Shorts” through Sunday. “Winter Shorts” is a serious of one-act plays and sketches.

Saturday is “Fire and Ice” day at Old Sturbridge Village, which is a day of ice harvesting and heartwarming tales by the fireside. Also Saturday, there's a “walk for warmth” at the Auburn Mall for people in need of fuel assistance. It starts at 10 a.m. and you can sign up right at the Mall. And, there's a beginner tracking program at the Wachusett Meadow Wildlife Sanctuary in Princeton, where you can learn about animal tracks in “Leaps and Bounds.” At 7 p.m., the Gateway Players in Southbridge are putting on the “Stew and Story,” which is a staged one act play. They act, you bring a dish for potluck.

Idols of the King continues at Foothills Theatre through Sunday, which is Superbowl Sunday, so place your bets and try to find the best free wings in town. Also on Sunday, The Worcester Art Museum hosts a special black history month event that includes artwork and winners from the “Keeping the Dream Alive” essay contest.

Lane Leads to a New CD

One Lane Bridge is celebrating the release of Long Time Coming with a show on Saturday, Jan. 31, at the Lucky Dog Music Hall, joining Gutta, Mike and Amanda Lirange (acoustic) and headliners Treadwater. Buoyed by songs written originally as a solo project by Wayne "Wayno" Winslow, he is joined by Mike Whalen on bass, Jamie Loader on vocals, Ted Kalinowski on guitar and drummer Keith McGrath, whose last show with the band is this Saturday. Superstar-in-the-making Seth Glier lent piano and organ on the record, and Billy Claire did the lead guitar on "In My Arms."

"I poured my heart and soul into writing this album and it shows," says Wayno. "The only regret we have is how the economy hindered us to spend the extra dime on it, or it would have been done eight months ago."

Check out http://www.myspace.com/onelanebridgema for tunes and such.

Rectangle Club's Shane Hall Releases Solo Work

Shane Hall, frontman for the original rock quartet The Rectangle Club (based out of Uxbridge), has a new solo record on the launching pad. Called Basic Draining, it is complete and mastered, and should be in his mailbox - and available to fans - soon. Hall is following this up with a tour the last two weeks in April, with dates on the east coast as well as in the midwest. "It's got a lot of my Rectangle buddies, past and present, on it helping me out," says Hall, "as well as Sam Dingley from the Red Attire playing bass cello for 'Astronaut.' Buddy Peace (British hip-hop deejay and producer) and I did what I think is a standout rendition of Brian Eno's 'The Fat Lady of Limbourgh."

Typically, Shane employs a backing band called The Dust Collectors, who will join him on the pending tour. The Collectors lineup includes Michael Roser and Brian Delsignore (who is also in the Rectangle Club).

But Shane will be by his lonesome on Saturday, Jan. 31, when he does the songs of Leonard Cohen at The Q on Chandler Street.

Yoga Ta Go and more Sprinkling

News from the Sprinkler Factory, located at 38 Harlow St. The Factory is celebrating National Yoga Day on Saturday, Jan. 24, from noon to 4 p.m. Benefitting YWCA Daybreak Resources for Battered Women, the day includes 45-minute Svaroopa Yoga classes, massages, a display of the Clothesline Project and the airing of the video "Making of a Shirt."

Also, look ahead to the new First Saturdays at the Sprinkler Factory, which are scheduled monthly open houses. The first one: March 7 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Tango dances are also scheduled for the first Saturday of each month from 9 p.m. to midnight, and a juried fine arts and crafts show is lined up for May 15-17 in collaboration with FireWorks Clay Studios semi-annual sale.

Visit The Sprinkler Factory.

Club Notes, Jan. 21, 2009

Wednesday, a group called Sool is at The Dive Bar; and there's weekly karaoke going on over at Ralph's.Tomorrow, Thursday, Shoheen in the Rose Room Revue featured performer; and Linzy Martinelli joins Dusty's birthday bash at Tammany Hall.

On Friday, Billy Cameron's singing tunes early evening at Greendale's; Route 66 does its first night at Sakura Tokyo, returning the following night as well; The Weisstronauts make their debut at The Dive; Bill McCarthy's slinging his guitar at the Galway Bay; Johnny Carlevale brings his Band of All Stars back to Vincent's; Shirley Lewis is belting the blues at Gilrein's; and don't forget about Gilmour's Breakfast (this week's guests on "The Weekly Shuffle" on WCUW) at the Lucky Dog Music Hall.

Saturday, Reel Big Fish joins Streetlight Manifesto and more at The Palladium; Rose Colored Glasses rocks the Wheelock Inn in Millbury; Uncle Billy's Smokehouse is jamming at Greendale's; Skulltoboggan rocks London Billiards; Soulstice and Weight of Gravity make for an excellent bill at Tammany; the Cosby Sweaters do their '80s thing at the Galway Bay; Paul Buono brings his band to Vincent's for a CD release party; Mike O'Connell's doing the blues rock thing at Gilrein's; The Silverbacks play rock and blues at Greendale's; and the Suicide Marys headline the Lucky Dog.On Sunday, Jon Short's the weekly entertainment at Vincent's; 7 Hill Clique joins Prospect at Tammany Hall; and Funeral for a Friend headlines the Palladium.

Other stuff going on:

There's a Mixed Media Show at Post Road Art Center in Marlboro through the end of the month.
From Friday through Sunday, hundreds of cars and trucks park it at the DCU Center for the 2009 Massachusetts International Auto Show.Students of all levels, as well as teachers, perform at the annual Jompathon (which is the Joy of Music Program) on Saturday all day at the Living Earth, which just recently opened the new Evo Cafe.

Also on Saturday, there are two performances of Cats – at 2 and 8 p.m. - at the Hanover Theatre. And the Blissful Meadows Country Club in Uxbridge hosts the Bucky Lewis Comedy Dinner Show.

Love at First Sight - One of the United States First Slalom Freestyle Skaters...in Worcester

The first time the world watched Michael Jackson slide effortlessly through his Moonwalk, it was hard to believe legs could move that way – so fluidly, so precise, and almost independent of the rest of the body. With certain dance, the legs and feet become an entity of their own. Watching Fanny Violeau slice gracefully on inline skates is like a dance; as a pro slalom freestyle skater, her legs move like rubber amongst the cones.

For Worcester resident Megan McIntosh, it was so amazing to watch that she decided she wanted to do it, too.

“It floored me, really,” says McIntosh. “I now believe in love at first sight.”

Now, you could consider McIntosh a pioneer of the sport of freestyle slalom skating. Though it is popular in Korea, China, France, Spain and German, it has yet to catch fire in the United States. McIntosh is literally one of the only internationally competitive skaters in the county. “I was surprised at how many people don't even know what the sport is,” she says. “Outside of the skating world is one thing, but skaters are constantly coming up to me and asking me what the heck I'm doing. People are going to see this and immediately want to do it, because it's so flipping cool.”

McIntosh beat out her first coach, Denni Palmer, for second place in Battle US in Seattle in August, and he remains one of her best friends and fellow teammates. But she credits Naomi Grigg, whom she met in April of 2008 at a slalom workshop, as helping to elevate her in the sport. Now, McIntosh is a member of her team – Team Skatefreestyle – which traveled to Singapore in December for the World Slalom Championships. McIntosh joins Palmer and Doug Persons as the US contingency on the team.

Practicing in her “scary” basement on a daily basis, as well as Roll On America in Leominster, Newton Circle and Rocketland, McIntosh is disciplined and hopes to not only make a name for herself in the sport, but inspire others to pick it up. Styles vary from the more “dancey” to those concerned with mastering technical tricks. For McIntosh, she does a little of both, but says she is working harder to master those tricky tricks.

There are a number of European competitions on the horizon this summer, and McIntosh plans to compete in several of them, as well as Battle US III in June of 2009 in Boston.

For more information on the sport:
http://www.freestyleskaters.org/
http://www.skatefreestyle.com/
http://www.worldslalomseries.com/

Club Notes Jan. 14, 2009

Thursday night, Quintana’s Revenge, The Vital Might and A Band Called Spike open for the mighty Flock of Assholes at the Lucky Dog Music Hall; and Pueblo Nuevo, which is the house band at Bocado, does an early show (at 5:30 p.m.) at the Worcester Art Museum for its Third Thursday series.

On Friday, Bill McCarthy and his guitar are at Greendale's; The Koffin Kats (who are from Detroit), Goddamned Gallows, The Knuckledusters Band & 10 Foot Polecats join forces at The Lucky Dog; John Small returns to Borders in Shrewsbury; Dave Magario's singing at The Q on Chandler Street; Clutch Grabwell's blaring at Gilrein's; Jason James rockabillies at the Sahara Restaurant; and Sarah Kauffman makes her debut at Vincent's.

On Saturday, Rob Ledoux's band Atomic Stereo rocks JJ's in Northboro; Campaign For Real Time joins guests Traphiq, Ketman & The Wandas at the Lucky Dog Music Hall; Danny Dark and the Black Souls hit some unusual '70s covers at the Emerald Isle; Rose Colored Glasses is out in Upton at the Rose Garden; Skullfunked rocks Greendale's; The Valves blast PJ's Bar and Grill on West Boylston Street; surf's up when The Swaggerin' Growlers join Guns of Navarone and Ghoul's Night Out at Ralph's; the legendary Roger Salloom performs the Hanover Theatre; Lisa Marie brings All Shook Up to the Nines; Ryan Fitzgerald sings his ambient acoustic tunes at Spiritual Haze; Clamdigger burrows into Galway Bay; and Whalebone Farmhouse returns to Vincent's.

Other stuff going on around town:

Idols of the King, a show about Elvis, continues through February 1 at Foothills Theatre.
Jim Lauletta, Greg Howell and Jason Marcus is the comedy lineup at Dick's Comedy Escape, with shows at the Crowne Plaza Friday and Saturday night.

On Saturday at 1 p.m., head into the deep snow with some snowshoes, and a leader, at the Wachusett Meadow Wildlife Sancutary on Massasoit Road.

Next Monday, the Green Rooster is hosting a Martin Luther King Day celebration featuring performances by the Bunny Price Band and Lydia Fortune. Professor Thomas Doughton, co-editor of “Worcester Slave Narratives,” is the keynote speaker, and folks are asked to bring a dish for a pot luck. The event runs 6-9 p.m.

There are Pictures on the Edge of Town: Artist Jodie Mim Goodnough's first Massachusetts exhibit

Up in Portland, Maine, there's a street out on the edge of town (cue Springsteen tune) called Marginal Way. Living there almost two years as a student, artist Jodie Mim Goodnough was always intrigued by the fact that the street never felt defined, though it is wedged between a gorgeous downtown and a major highway. “It feels very industrial in that trucks are always parking there so the drivers can sleep,” says Goodnough. “At the same time, they're building it up and trying to make the space more people-friendly.”

The people in her pictorial exhibit, Marginal Ways, are on the edge of town, so to speak. In fact, two of the stories in her current exhibition, showing at Booklovers' Gourmet in Webster, are from her time spent in Portland.

The piece “Sisters” is about the Catholic sisterhood, specifically targeting a small group of them living in a Maine convent. “All four women currently living in the house joined the Sisterhood when they were young women,” she says. “It was pretty regularly considered an option back then. But these days, their numbers are dwindling, and the women are aging.” In the midst of all this, explains Goodnough, was Ann, a graphic designer in her mid-40s that worked at the Maine Medical Center. “She was making public the fact that she was seriously considering joining the Sisters of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary in Portland,” says Goodnough. “It was an experience so far from my own, but I found myself really loving these women. They were so funny. They opened up their lives to me for a couple of months so I could try to tell the story of the Sisterhood. Really amazing.”

“The Family Business” threw Goodnough into the unfamiliar world of harness racing, using subjects The Switzer family to capture “sport” (though many animal advocates take objection to this being called a sport). Another piece in the exhibit is “Operation Footprint,” which is based on her aunt heading to Honduras every year to help organize a medical brigade. With Rotary International, Mending Kids International, Hospital San Felipe and a bunch of Peace Corps volunteers, US surgeons head down once a year for a week. “When I tell people about this brigade,” she says, “they always ask why there are so many kids in Honduras with club foot. As far as doctors can figure, though, there are no more born there than anywhere else. It's strictly a financial issue.”

For Goodnough, photography is often about digging beyond initial impressions and perceptions about people and life, and she agrees that taking pictures is a unique way of doing so. “We all judge too quickly when we meet people, myself included,” she says. “I actually use experiences like the stories I've worked on to remind myself how wrong I can be. It's hard to see people as individuals every single time you meet someone. It's much easier to put them in a group and dismiss them. But if I'd done that, I would have missed out on some pretty amazing experiences.”

Goodnough describes herself as “a photographer and assemblage artist who focuses on the unknown, but extraordinary members of our society,” and works out of her studio in Providence, Rhode Island. When asked what it means to be an “assemblage artist,” she says, “Sounds fancy, doesn't it? To me, it just means that while I'm not classically trained in sculpture, I have this weird need to make three dimensional 'stuff.' I get an idea in my head and then gather what I need to create it. It means lots of money spent on weird things. My studio looks like a crazy person works there. Next to the tripod and cameras are Styrofoam wig heads, stacks of fabric, plastic flowers, empty pill cases and all sorts of stuff.”

Her next exhibit, she hopes, will concentrate on mental illness and the stigma that is often attached to it. Diagnosed with bipolar at age 20, as were her mother and grandmother, she's resisted dealing with this in her art for some time out of a fear of being stereotyped as an outside artist. Still, Goodnough insists her experience with this illness is unique, and not at all what people might expect. Well educated, successful, friendly and social, she also has a close, supportive family. People generally consider her to be happy and interesting. But...she also happens to be bipolar. “So the work I'm creating now,” she says, “has to do with division between our public and private lives, especially people dealing with mental illness.”

Marginal Ways is at Booklovers' Gourmet in Webster through the end of January, 2009. It is her first Massachusetts exhibit.

Cowboy Matt and His Words

Matthew Hopewell, known to many as "Cowboy Matt," visited the Weekly Shuffle program on WCUW 91.3 FM on Wednesday, Jan. 7, talking about his career, and reading some of his works.

Matt is a local poet, musician, entertainer, all-around-nice guy. With an wacky, unusual bend on the spoken word (not unlike Joe Fusco, Jr.), he considers himself a lover, a dreamer, psychotic, and an occasional barista. He was in the band Pharmaceutically Gifted, and currently lives in Shrewsbury. He works at the Q Cafe, and will soon be peddling Dr. Gonzo's Uncommon Condiments, which now has a store right next to Armsby Abbey on Main Street in Worcester.

Matt is the featured performer at GotPoetry Live on Tuesday, Jan. 13, at 7 p.m. at Blue State Coffee, Thayer Street, Providence, Rhode Island. He's also the main man at the Youth Slam at Clark University's Bistro on Saturday, Jan. 31, at 6 p.m. Matt's a regular at the Sunday night Poet's Asylum at Jumpin' Juice and Java as well as the Thursday night poetry open mic at the Hotel Vernon. You can find two of his books, Eccentric is the Word and From the Notebooks of Madness, at That's Entertainment, as well as his shows.

Doctor Robert Video - from the Arsenault Archives

Doctor Robert - led by the stylings of guitarist/keyboardist/singer Jim Perry - rocks Sakura Tokyo during a November gig, bringing the audience to its rum-drunk knees. This one features Sakura faves Joe and Carolyn Hebert ripping it up on the floor. More video of Doc. Rob. to come.

Club Notes, Jan. 7

Pictured: Sunlea

Thursday night, Intermission joins Shawn at Tammany Hall; Sunlea sings at the Blackstone Tap; and Old Wet Dog helps open for Flock of Assholes at the Lucky Dog.

Friday, The 50 Mics Concert Series hits The Venue on Main Street; Sasquatch and the Sickabillys are joined by Wicked Whiskey, Fighting Cocks and the Peasants at Ralph's for a night of rockabilly madness; Big Gunz rocks Mill Street Brews; The Pathetics join the Whisper Campaign at the Lucky Dog; Ken Reid joins Soul Kitchen at Gilrein's; The Sarah Lavecque Band makes its debut at the Sahara; The Drunken Uncles are always at McFadden's during the after-work hours on Fridays; Steve Connolly brings his famous Elvis show to the Hanover Theater; The Hurricane Horns blast through the Dive Bar's holiday party; Greg Mackenzie leads the Greenback's at Vincent's; and J. Profane is at Tammany Hall.

On Saturday, Vallon joins Stay, When Girls Kiss Girls and Teamwork at the QVCC; Rotting Christ is on the bill – instead of the cross – at The Palladium; 12 Step Program rocks its last show, joining Devoid, Sacreligion and Army of None for a kicking lineup at The Lucky Dog; Debaser is with Verse, I Rise and Outbreak at Club Oasis; Auntie Trainwreck rocks Greendale's; Apache Stone (which is led by Mike Lombardi, who is on the TV show “Rescue Me”), splits the bill with Necktie Party and Hank at Ralph's; The Ed Melikian Ensemble returns to the Sahara Restaurant; Bill McCarthy's singing his covers at the Whistle Stop in Oxford; The Dinosaurs are back at the Blue Plate in Holden; and Jason James is ripping it up at The Galway Bay.
On Sunday, Cathy's Clown returns as favorites of the Dance2Swing sessions at the Leominster Elks – lessons start at 6:30 p.m., and the band plays at 7:30 p.m.; and blues belter Lisa Marie's joining Jim Perry for his afternoon blues jam at Greendale's.

Some other events to take note of around town:
Heavenly and Earthly Delights: Alive in Colorful Display features large-scale Japanese paintings at the Worcester Art Museum. There's a new exhibit at the EcoTarium called Exploring Science and Art, which is an interactive exhibit exploring the connections between art and science.
It's opening weekend for Idols of the King at Foothills Theatre. Told in funny and touching vignettes, Elvis's fans travel to Vegas to catch him in concert, which features his biggest hits.

On Friday, Worcester Storytellers is hosted by Dave McPherson at Vasa Hall.
Saturdays through the winter, Old Sturbridge Village hosts its Dinner in a Country Village, where participants not only dine on a feast, but help prepare it – the old fashioned way.

On Sunday, the Worcester Public Library hosts “Yours for Humanity – Abby,” a one woman play to commemorate Abby Kelly Foster's 198th birthday and the 5th anniversary of the play's premier.