Okee dokee folks… Oftentimes I receive press releases about an artist/band that I have never heard of. I click the links that lead me to websites and social media pages. The first thing that I usually see are the photographs. If it’s a band, it’s usually some oddly posed group shot with the members trying to look their absolute coolest. The photos do not tell me anything about the performer other than that the photographer managed to get them to do something weird or sexy. The one type of photo that I see a LOT of is the performer standing in waist-deep water. WHY??? Did a flood happen during the shoot and the photographer just went with it? Regardless of the photos, a lot of this stuff is just fluff. You can’t judge a book by its cover, and you can’t judge an artist’s musical talent by a slick promo. PR is a necessary evil in the music business, but don’t let it oversell a lackluster product. Read on…
Last week, I had a chat with Rachel Kinnevy-Fitzpatrick, manager at The Greenwich Odeum. There was water damage that happened a couple of weeks ago, and initially they had to cancel and/or reschedule some events. Fortunately, the damage was not as drastic as they originally thought, though it was still extensive, affecting the ceiling and the curtains. Some kind of hot water coil above the stage had given out and the water just poured down. The Odeum does carry insurance for these kinds of unfortunate occurrences, but the deductible is 10,000 dollars. Though the repairs are completed and they are up and running, the 10K deductible is going to be hard on the Odeum for a while. One young girl, who was part of the canceled Children’s Theater Camp, sold lemonade to raise money. She brought in an amazing 2,000 dollars! There is still a big chunk of change that needs to be covered. If you are interested in helping the Odeum out with this, please go to their website and you will be able to make a donation there. When you visit the Odeum’s website you can check the plethora of shows that are coming up. One of those shows is on September 27 with Micky Dolenz of Monkees fame. I spoke with Micky for my Roots Report Podcast. Give it a listen! For more about the Odeum, HVAC over to greenwichodeum.com.
The new season has begun at Stone Soup, and the concerts and open mics will fill the Music Mansion with the sounds of folk. The Stone Soup open mics, hosted by Ed Dean, will happen from 6 – 9:30pm on Thursdays: October 16, November 13, and December 18. These are unplugged open mics. As for the scheduled concerts, coming up: October 11: Bird & Augur: Live Recording Session; October 25: Stash Wyslouch and Birds of Appetite; November 1: Pete Avitable & Friends; November 8: Ellis Paul; and December 13: Catie Curtis. For more about the shows and open mics, slurp over to stonesoupcoffeehouse.org.
The new season of Music at Imago begins on September 28. Imago Gallery is a cooperative gallery founded and run by artists for artists that provides a supportive community and exhibition space. The gallery is located at 36 Market Street in the very happening town of Warren. The performances take place on one Sunday each month from 4 – 6pm! Doors open at 3:30pm. The season kicks off with the upbeat shanties and maritime music of Sharks Come Cruisin’ on Sep 29. The original roots and world music of the Chris Monti Band with Marty Ballou & Grant Smith paints the gallery with amazing music on October 26. The subterranean honky-tonk of The Super Chief Trio surfaces on November 23 and the jazz/Americana sounds of Evening Sky with Tish Adams closes out the 2025 shows on December 21. Tickets are usually available at the door, but they can be reserved. For more about the shows and the gallery curate over to, imagofoundation4art.org/music-at-imago
Back in prehistoric times, when I was in high school, I was turned onto the music of Gilbert & Sullivan. The choir director would select one of Gilbert & Sullivan’s operettas and would spend a couple of months teaching the songs to the diverse group of students that made up the cast. By diverse I mean all walks of students were part of this — jocks, stoners, preppy kids, etc… The chorus was the only real place that these folks intermingled peacefully. I was thrilled to have been part of one of these productions, and the school’s chorus. Before I was involved in any of this, I went to one of the high school’s G&S productions and loved it. Ever since then I have loved Gilbert & Sullivan operettas. Though these were originally written and performed back in Victorian England they still are very enjoyable and the music is often used in commercials or films. I bring this all up because I noticed that the Salt Marsh Opera Company will be presenting the Pirates of Penzance at the United Theatre in Westerly on October 11 & 12. If you have never seen a G&S operetta it really is about time you did. Kevin Kline and Linda Ronstadt were in the movie version so you know it’s good! For more, pinafore over to unitedtheatre.org.
That’s it for now. Send me your protest songs! (RISongwriters@yahoo.com). You can listen to my podcasts at motifri.com/rootsreportpodcast and find my concert photographs at motifri.com/fuzeksfotos. Thanks for reading and listening.