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Scott Metzger of LaMP joins Nine Volt Heart. Local show at The Drake 2/26.

Scott Metzger is a guitarist in the trio LaMP. They are playing at The Drake in Amherst Ma on 2/26 and we discuss the upcoming tour, the most recent album, “One of Us”, and much more in this radio segment. We begin with a cut from that release called “Nice Girl (Walks Loud)” a soul groove that gives you a sample of this organ-based funky trio. We talk with Scott about his early days playing jazz guitar and some of the life long lessons he learned in the NJ club scene as a teenager. Scott sets the scene when he first met Trey Anastasio and Tom Marshall ( Phish guitarist and frontman along with the band’s lyricist) in a small club in Princeton NJ. Little did the teenager know he was auditioning for a job in Tom Marshall’s band AMfibian.

We talk about the night in 2018 at Burlington Vt’s Nectars when LaMp became a band instead of a one time gig. They returned to Vermont the following spring to record their self-titled EP. The band has a serious resume! Russ Lawton (drums) and Ray Paczkowski (organ, keys) were both part of Trey Anastasio’s band while Scott Metzger’s many collaborations include a long stint with Joe Russo’s Almost Dead. Their free-wheeling improvisational sets are wholly instrumental and decidedly funky.

Our conversation also touches on Scott Metzger’s work in Joe Russo’s Almost Dead where Scott takes on the Bob Weir songs from the Dead’s catalog. We reminisce about Bob Weir’s influence and his loss. We end our segemt with JRAD’s take on “Looks Like Rain” with Scott on vocals and guitar.

Scott introduces a cut from “One of Us” called “Backfire” to end our conversation claimimg it gives him space for a bit of a guitar solo which the catalog doesn’t feature.

Tickets are available for the 2/26 show at The Drake Amherst.org

Ramblers Take us to Church; Happy Valley Bluegrass Church at the Iron Horse 2/15.

Jim Henry and Chris Brashear are Deep River Ramblers who are joined by Annie Patterson for a fun project coming to the Iron Horse for three dates. It’s called The Happy Valley Bluegrass Church with the audience becoming the choir with the band (including Paul Kochanski on bass) accompanying. The lyrics for all the selections will be posted on a screen for easy sing-alongs. The trio premiered a four pack of songs live in-studio as examples of the Church’s repetoire. They opened with “Keep On The Sunny Side” popularized by The Carter Family, followed by an amazing version of “I’ll Fly Away” by Albert E Brumley. That song is likely the most recorded gospel song ever (with over 700 versions). Both songs became popular once again by their inclusion in the film ” O Brother, Where Art Thou”. Our segment includes a recorded version of Annie Patterson with Mary Witt covering Gillian Welsh’s “Orphan Girl”. The group did Tom Paxton’s “The Last Thing On My Mind” as well as The Carter Family’s “Gold Watch and Chain” to finish off the in-studio performance.

I included Chris Brashear’s “Mamas Opry” and the Deep River Ramblers “So Early” as well as Jim Henry’s ” Windy And Warm”.

Throughout the segment we dive into each band members career and projects. We discuss Annie Patterson’s work with an extensive song book “Rise Up Singing” and “Rise Again”; making Annie an obvious choice for the Bluegrass Church events. We talk about Jim Henry’s many sidegigs with musicians including Mary Chapin Carpenter, Paula Cole, Eliza Gilkyson and more. Chris Brashear chatted about his Jazz standards project “Jazz Sketches” and his Outdoor River Projects in the SW with Peter McLaughlin. Of course, there is a Deep River Ramblers show in Bernardston Ma’s Incandescent Brewing on 2/8 in the afternoon.

The Deep River Ramblers will also be the house band at Signature Sounds Tribute to Johnny Cash on March 22 at The Academy of Music. Special guests include Lisa Bastoni, Ward Hayden, Lonesome Brothers, Steve Sanderson and Christa Joy.

Tickets to the Happy Valley Bluegrass Church are still available for all three dates (Feb 15, March 15 and April 12) at IronHorse.org

High Tea and Wallace Field preview their Iron Horse show 1/31; In studio on NineVoltHeart

I had the pleasure to host two fine young bands on the show in advance of their Iron Horse Music Hall show on January 31. High Tea (Isabella DeHerdt and Isaac Eliot) along with Wallace Field entertained us with conversation and song for the hour. We heard four live in-studio songs (most of which were new and unreleased) from the pair of indy-folk Valley favorites. High Tea performed “Whole Lotta Lovin'” and “Paper Mache” while Wallace performed “The Common” and “Lighthouse Man’. We also played “The Tale of Billy and the Void” and “Tender Heart Attack” from High Tea’s recordings. We also heard “Stranger” from Wallace Field’s latest record.

Both bands are clearly excited about their Iron Horse premieres having both sold-out Parlor Room gigs in the past. They will be welcoming full band versions of these songs at the Iron Horse. We chatted about each of their musical journeys and their song-writing styles. We also discussed our Connecticut Valley music scene and it’s viability along with it’s emphasis on collaboration and community building. Both bands have new material they’re working on with upcoming recording sessions scheduled. High Tea is also touring this month with Heather Maloney as part of her band (also playing the Iron Horse Feb 7&8)

Info on the bands can be found at WallaceField Music.com and HighTeaBand.com

Info on the venue and tickets can be found at IronHorse.org

The Secret Chord channels Leonard Cohen on NineVoltHeart.

Three members of The Secret Chord joined me in-studio in advance of their local show in Amherst Massachusetts on Feb 7. Gordon Kramer, Ruth Critcher and Jody Spitz performed four Leonard Cohen songs and discussed his music and influence during our lively discussion. In concert, the trio are usually joined by Ray Gregonis (bass), Jess Sproule (keys), and Patrick Kelley (drums). Their local show will be help at the Cherry Hill Cohousing Commons at 120 Pilpit Hill Road in North Amherst. Doors at 6:30 for their 7:00 concert.

Leonard Cohen had a long and interesting musical career from poet/songwriter to the leader of a large choir/ensemble. He wrote three novels, thirteen books of poetry and released fifteen albums of his own original music during a fifty year span. He started later than some at age thirty-two (debuting at Newport!) and had his career derailed by difficult producer Phil Spector, a stint on a Greek island, five years in a zen monastery in California, as well as having his manager embezzle all his earnings and his sell copywritten songs! Despite these setbacks, Cohen perservered and became a beloved artist to many culminating in a Canadian Hall of Fame honor and the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame induction.

The Secret Chord has learned dozens of Cohen’s songs and performed “The Window”, “First We Take Manhattan”,”If It Be Your Will” and “Tower Of Song”. Along the way we heard Cohen recite Joni Mitchell’s “The Jungle Line” with Herbie Hancock on piano.

Our discussion entails several other musical projects from our members beyond Cohen’s music as well as a discussion of Leonard’s spiritual messages and musical impact. Give the segment a listen and head to Amherst on February 7 to hear the full band treatment of this amazing catalog of songs. More info on the band can be found at The Secret Chord.band