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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

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

Deep River Ramblers preview new release and upcoming Parlor Room show 11/14

The Deep River Ramblers are Chris Brashear, Jim Henry and Paul Kochanski. They’ll be appearing this Thursday, 11/14, at the Parlor Room with their friend; the legendary Jim Rooney. The band just finished their debut EP for release in the Fall but listeners can hear most of the songs this week at the show. The band visited in-studio to play some favorites such as “Deep River Blues” which opened the segment. This Doc Watson favorite is responsible for the band’s name and their origin story. Signature Sounds suggested a tribute to Doc Watson as part of a Back Porch Festival lineup and these valley veterans were amazing. Ten tribute shows later and they continue to be the house band for the series.

One of the series centered on the music of Nanci Griffith and featured Nanci’s good friend and producer Jim Rooney. Chris Brashear’s history with Rooney goes further back to his early album recorded in Nashville with Jim Rooney producing. Jim Rooney has received LifeTime Achievement Awards from both the International Bluegrass Music Association and the Americana Music Association. Jim is a great story-teller, author, singer, and picker. The night promises to be a very special one.

Ticket info at ParlorRoom.org