Holiday Pops: From Symphony Hall to Faneuil Hall, Don't Miss the Extravaganza!  

 

By Doug Ruffin

      President,

      Boston Music Coalition

 

 

The Boston Pops experience is a tradition that continues to reemerge and dazzle Boston audiences. If you think the Boston Pops just dusts off the old sheet music every Fourth of July and Christmas season, well then, you're out of tune with the real meaning of tradition from the Boston Pops. Every year presents something new.

 

Thanks to the great people at the Faneuil Hall Merchants association, everyone can experience the Holiday pops in two ways this season. First, The Holiday pops perform live at Symphony hall now through December 23^rd. Tickets are as hard to find as one of Santa's elves in a desert in December, but with a little magic, perhaps you may be able to score a seat or two before December 23^rd. If not, fear not, because the second and new way to experience the Holiday Pops is at Blink! Brought to you by the Faneuil Hall Merchants Association, "Blink!" is a light and sound Extravaganza playing nightly now through New Years at Faneuil Hall. That means, Naughty or Nice, everyone can experience a sight and sound show that is sure to amaze and entertain just like Faneuil Halls' Restaurants, Retailers and Nightlife does all year long. But this is extra special and not to be missed. The light show is fascinating and the sound quality will amaze the most skeptical audiophile.

 

Hopefully, you can keep the Holiday nights from going too silent. Take some time and take some friends and Family out to experience the Holiday pops at Symphony Hall or, in the new tradition at Faneuil Hall.

 

Resources

 

Faneuil Hall Market Place

www.faneuilhallmarketplace.com

 

Holiday Pops

www.bso.org

 

Mayors Holiday Special

www.mayorsholidayspecial.com

 

 

Natalie Cole: This is a Boston Music Coalition Live Music Revie

By Doug Ruffin

      President

      Boston Music Coalition

Almost everything in life can have a musical accompaniment. For example, the musical story for the realities of the street is found in some Hip Hop. Youthful upbeat City life has a dance / pop rhythm. Many countries and regions around the world are often represented by the traditional music that accompanies their culture.   

What would then be the musical accompaniment of a celebration of fifty years of legendary service to the greater Boston Community from Action for Boston Community Development?

When you think of what is quality, who is legendary and a musical standard for the years; Natalie Cole is clearly the musical accompaniment to the Action for Boston Community Developments’ (ABCD) 50^th Anniversary Gala held a few weeks ago in the Grand Ballroom of the Marriot at Copley Place in Boston.

Natalie Cole took the audience of over 1,200 dinner guests through a musical journey. Songs she learned as a little girl, the standards she loves and how the memory of her Father is truly, “unforgettable”. Natalie Cole was comfortable in the setting the Marriot Grand Ballroom provided. That ease of comfort translated to Natalie’s warm and soothing voice that covered the room like your favorite quilt. The live band performed well with Natalie Cole. The band played every note with the emotion that each song called for; as the band fell in tune with every song Natalie Cole sang. 

Natalie Cole and her band hit all the right notes and ABCD has the right keys for future success in the community.

 

Resources

Natalie Cole       www.nataliecole.com   

ABCD              www.bostonabcd.org

Barry Mamilow Live! This is a Boston Music Coalition Live Music Review

 By Doug Ruffin

      President,

      Boston Music Coalition

Those who know me also understand my love for music. Be it live or pounding dance beats in a club I love it all. Barry Manilow delivered both on the final stop of his summer tour in Worcester Massachusetts last week.

Some guys have to get dragged to a Barry Manilow concert. Not me. He’s a great performer and you can admit it; you know the words to a lot of Barry Manilow songs. The Worcester audience was treated to an energetic concert starting with live upbeat dance music including a live remixed performance of “Could it Be Magic”. It seemed to reach out and command attention from the audience who stoop up and responded by dancing, cheering and waving glow sticks. As energetic as the concert was, the mix of upbeat hits, sing a longs, television clips and romantic ballads ended in less than two hours. He has enough material to sing through the night. In fact MR Manilow stated that fact when he opened the show. But the 7:30 show that started fifteen minutes late ended disappointingly at 9:30. Honestly, I don’t know about you, but never in my life have I left a major arena concert at 9:30. Have you? Still, most would agree that the one hour and forty odd minute performance was time well spent. Barry Manilow sings and performs from deep in his heart. He celebrates the joys of music and shares it with those who will take the time to listen. The sharing of music is not limited to his live stage performances. During the concert, Barry Manilow announced an initiative to bring music instruments to schools for students to use throughout the country. The Manilow Music Project (http://www.manilowmusicproject.org/latestnews4_26_09.html) invites fans to share old music instruments and donate them to a central location in Cities and towns throughout the US. MR Manilow leads by example and donated a piano to Worcester Public Schools.

What’s next?  A new single, “Everything’s Gonna Be Alright” and CD, “15 Minutes”, of course. The Single is an upbeat dance / pop number designed either to keep Barry Manilow relevant Or, to confuse the living hell out of every radio music director on the face of the earth. Whatever the case, Barry Manilow will continue to write the songs that make the whole world sing and perform live for many years to come.

Hugh Laurie Entertains with a Music Appreciation Lesson. This a Boston Music Coalition Live Music Review

By Doug Ruffin

     President,

     Boston Music Coalition

By now, many students are settled in to classes with the start of the new school year. The audience for Hugh Laurie in Boston, last week, also settled in for a fantastic musical Journey guided by Hugh Laurie and his band with back up singers that also includes Jean McClain. Great Jazz and Blues performances were complimented with Hugh’s sense of humor and his knowledge of song writers and music performers. Hugh Laurie, in fact, complimented the Boston based audience for its recognition of the Jazz and Blues greats he mentioned that were greeted with applause throughout the two hour plus show.   

The Hugh Laurie Music Tour is not instructional, but it leaves audiences ravaness for more of the music Hugh Laurie supports. I wanted to go deeper in to the history of Jazz, Blues and all sorts of music genres to expand my interest in music. All thanks to the lessons learned at Hugh Laurie’s concert.

As for the performance, everyone on stage gave it their all. Upbeat and engaging selections had the audience tapping foot and standing on their feet clapping, cheering and begging for more at the end of the performance.

Live music uniquely celebrates and informs in all genres. Hugh Laurie is one live music performer who truly knows how to guide and entertain as well.

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band; this is a BMC Live Music Review.

By

Doug Ruffin

President,

Boston Music Coalition

August 21, 2012

Last May, I attended a great fundraiser. During the event, a silent auction took place. Several choices abound, my law of attraction for live music sent me bidding for an August 18^th Bruce Springsteen Concert at Gillette Stadium. Without breaking the bank, I won a pair of Tickets to a music experience.

Saturday night arrives. My girlfriend lookin’ hot as always, Limo service on time and great eats at, “Toby Keith’s I love this Bar and Grill”. Our seats for the concert were not just good; they were what I would call, a privilege!

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band are the embodiment of what popular live music strives to accomplish. The Wrecking Ball Tour Roared in to Foxborough MA Busting out on stage with high voltage and sustaining that energy throughout the four hour concert. Bruce Springsteen welcomed back repeat concert attendees and introduced him self and the E Street Band to those of us who joined the experience for the first time. He stated on stage that he welcomes new and younger fans because he has another forty years in him to perform. The Boss truly ruled. But he achieves that honor to rule without manipulating the audience. Instead, The Boss employed a relentless driving musical force with the E Street Band, amazing interaction with the audience while rockin’ a non stop spiritual vibe that some of today’s younger R&B or Gospel singers have yet to achieve. It’s no wonder why Bruce Springsteen’s 50,000 strong audiences left the concert up lifted and sanctified!

Resources

About Bruce Springsteen: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Springsteen  

Latest News: www.brucespringsteen.net/category/news  

Tour Dates: www.brucespringsteen.net/category/live-dates  

The Music: www.brucespringsteen.net/category/music

A Message from the President: The Future of Jazz Radio effects the Future of Live Jazz Music.

By Doug Ruffin

President,

Boston Music Coalition

I have been a friend with the folks at JazzBoston for some time now. So when the call was made to attend a gathering outside of the WGBH studios in Boston because of a programming change that canceled weeknight Jazz programming after many years of sustaining ratings and contributions from listeners, I knew I had to attend. In a large radio market like Boston, Radio formats are likely to change. ‘FNX flipped to a “Jack” format, ‘ODS flipped to the Amp (dance / Pop) format. The change at ‘GBH Radio is not a format change but instead, a cultural change. And they did it with “our” money! Weeknight Jazz programming is relegated to limited hours on weekend nights in favor of a News / Talk format. The market already has News / Talk at WBUR, WRKO  WTTK not to mention WBZ All news during the day and talk at night. So ‘GBH cried poverty, changed culture and went out to purchase PRI. No, Not channel 10 in Providence; bigger! (Public Radio International). You’ve got to be kidding!

Music formats have a direct effect on live music in any market. Want to know if Lady GaGa is coming to town? Kiss 108 is here to tell you. Want to know when that rock or alternative band is hitting the stage? ‘AAF is here to tell you. And when you want to know about live Jazz performances, Jazz greats, Local Jazz artists and jazz history? Sorry Bud! You’re out of luck. ‘GBH doesn’t want to play anymore. Remember that local donation you made to ‘GBH to keep local programming going? It was used to purchase PRI.

JazzBoston Stepped up to the plate and invited the public, musicians, radio professionals and educators to an open community meeting Tuesday night at the Boston Public Library where anyone can share positive ideas to help Jazz music survive on traditional radio as well as alternative media. Without Jazz media, fans cannot get current information on Jazz artists, local jazz performers or where Live Jazz music is being performed in greater Boston. Jazz is rich in history and culture and announcers like Eric Jackson bring that history to life so that any 15 year old can appreciate something a little bit more than Lady Gaga.

The well attended community meeting was moderated by JazzBoston Board Members’ Jose Masso and Emmett Price.  Everyone who wanted to speak got the chance to do so. Attendees came prepared with short statements and questions that stayed on topic without a single drifting speech or long over the top commentary. WICN in Worcester was in attendance. That opened the idea to get “repeaters or “Feed” to a Boston area station so Jazz can be heard on the radio again from Worcester to Boston. Many New media ideas were expressed and with a proactive follow up commitment from JazzBoston and the attendees to participate in committees, Jazz could be back on the air. Live Jazz Music will sustain and grow throughout greater Boston. But the follow up has to be just as energetic as the community meeting was on Tuesday. If not, a vital part of music culture will die.

Resources:

Take Action! Get Involved! Find out How You Can Help! Send Questions and Suggestions Regarding the Future of Jazz Radio in Boston to:

thefutureofjazz@jazzboston.org 

Join the Conversation on FaceBook:
http://www.facebook.com/JazzBoston?ref=stream 

JazzBoston:

http://www.jazzboston.org/about/future-of-local-jazz-radio.asp

WICN Radio Worcester:

www.wicn.org

WGBH Radio Boston:

www.wgbh.org

Scullers Jazz Club:

www.scullersjazz.com

MassJazz:

www.massjazz.com

MAJE (Massachusetts Association for Jazz Educators)

www.majazzed.org

DROPPING THE BOMB ON THE MUSIC INDUSTRY

All of us at the Boston Music Coalition want to hear your voice. That's why we invite you to become a BMCiReporter. Send us information on the music performer or well planned live music event you are excited about via e-mail to; BMCiReporter@BostonMusicCoalition.com . This week, Nick Christopher tells us who's dropping a bomb on the music industry. 

DROPPING THE BOMB ON THE MUSIC INDUSTRY

THE BAND FROM “DOWN UNDER” DROP TANK

by Nick Christophers

In 2012 the landscape of the music industry has changed drastically in every facet of the business. From the swift shift from CD to digital music the only prayer for recording artists to earn is to perform constantly. Unless you are a house hold name like Bruce Springsteen or Lady Gaga making a profit just from record sales in nearly impossible. Even stars like them have a hard time breaking even.

Many individuals in the business have unwillingly depended on iTunes, Amazon or Beatport to generate sales. In addition the music industry has become so saturated with anyone who thinks they can sing is digitally putting out music. But there are those who still go about the business the “old fashion” way, by utilizing real instruments. One such band is the punk rock band “Drop Tank”.

The band hails from the land “down under”, Australia. The band is a female fronted group that has a cutting edge “in your face” approach. The leader Zebidy Tank is the driving force behind this edgy band. As a teenager growing up she had a strong punk rock influence which led her to experiment with heavy rock and metal. Both of these genres are reflected in her music.

Zebidy, whose real name is Phillipa, is an attractive blonde with a slim figure. But don’t let the pretty look fool you, on stage she is a force that delivers a strong performance that can leave you stunned. The band’s popularity in Australia is very solid and is going global. When it comes to developing lyrics Zebidy has an odd way of coming up with concepts for her music. She gave us a breakdown.

“The best songs always write themselves. In a stressful or frustrating situation a riff or melody can hit you in the side of the head. I have gotten better at capturing these ideas as they happen immediately. For example, singing into my phone or writing something down. Spontaneous ideas are usually the most fun and interesting and when you exercise your writing muscle on top of it creating songs becomes easier as you have more tricks to use.” 

The band was formed in 2008 after the first group Zebidy was involved with dissolved. To produce a new band she  would frequent various venues and listened to bands and see if she can find one to build on. After a few visits she found the right “chemistry” and formed the group. Her bass player at the time came up with the name “Drop Tank” which seemed fitting for her. Especially, since it signified the reserve fuel tank for a “muscle car”, the type of car that she prefers.

Being the only female in the band and the front – woman, most would think it would be a demanding task. Yet Zebidy honestly confides that it’s not as difficult as it may seem. Zebidy grew up attending an all girl school and was tired of the “cliquey” attitudes and actually welcomed male friends. She did perform with some great female musicians during her time but still preferred to work with an all male group. Because of their stage presence Zebidy admits that they are viewed more seriously in the music world. The band has been together for the past five years.

Drop Tank has so far released two albums, the first was self-titled and the second was titled “Vice”. Zebidy admits that there are two singles that stand out most for her, “White Lady” and “Saw Nothing”. The titles of most of the band’s tracks have an edgy relentless image invoking a “no hold’s bar” attitude.

“Lyrics are written to suit the song. They are based on creative ideas and nothing more.  I have never set out to shock or offend. I have only written ideas for the lyrics to suit the riff or music. I

feel if you become too conscious of your material it can hinder the creative process.  So I guess it is purely entertainment. Lyrics always come last when writing. If you look closely there are good messages in there too.”

Currently, Zebidy is in the process of searching for a producer to work with them on some new tracks they have recently laid down, and is hoping to release these to the public soon. To search for information on the band you can visit http://www.reverbnation.com/droptank

or http://droptank.bandcamp.com/ .