Author: Michael Witthaus

The Music Roundup 25/09/18

Local music news & events

• Natural man: If he weren’t singing and playing guitar, fishing enthusiast Zak Trojano would “be out there cleaning a river,” he said a few years back. Instead, he’s making records like 2018’s acclaimed song cycle Wolf Trees while touring with Chris Smither, Jeffrey Foucault and Peter Mulvey. He’ll perform an early evening set at a restaurant/pub near his parents’ home in Contoocook. Thursday, Sept. 18, 5 p.m., The Local, 15 E. Main St., Warner, facebook.com/zaktrojano.

• Monster bash: An evening of guitar-driven rock and blues benefits Rockin’ 4 Vets, with Johnny A., Jon Butcher, Chris Anderson supplying the fretwork with high-kicking singer and harmonica player James Montgomery, who helped form the charity in 2015, leading the band. The raucous setlist will include songs from the Yardbirds, Johnny Winter, the Outlaws, Jimi Hendrix and others. Friday, Sept. 19, 8 p.m., Tupelo Music Hall, 10 A St., Derry, $30 and up at tupelohall.com.

• Acoustic aces: Few bands have elevated the genre of bluegrass music like Alison Krauss & Union Station, still going strong more than 40 years after teenager Krauss and her fiddle began wowing audiences. Friday, Sept. 19, 7:30 p.m., BankNH Pavilion, 72 Meadowbrook Lane, Gilford, $50+, livenation.com.

• Lyrical lady: Along with writing country music hits, Lori McKenna has released several albums; her latest is 2023’s 1988. She earned a Grammy nomination for 2016’s The Bird and the Rifle, and a Songwriter of the Year prize from the Academy of Country Music in 2017. Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, Tim McGraw and Little Big Town have all performed McKenna’s songs. Saturday, Sept. 20, 7:30 p.m., Colonial Theatre, 609 Main St., Laconia, $54 and up at etix.com.

• Emerald shine: With the release of their 2024 album Odyssey, Celtic Thunder made a return to its roots, offering a slate of patriotic songs telling the story of the Irish state’s foundation in the early 20th century. “People are very passionate about that historical side to Ireland … it’s given us so much of our identity,” the group’s singer Emmet Cahill told the Hippo at the time. Sunday, Sept. 21, 7 p.m., Nashua Center for the Arts, 201 Main St., Nashua, $64 and up at nashuacenterforthearts.

Granite State Comicon conquers downtown

22nd annual event continues its growth

The first Granite State Comicon, in 2003, was a modest affair that helped celebrate the recent opening of Double Midnight Comics.

“There hadn’t been a comic book show in Manchester in a while,” store owner Chris Proulx recalled recently, so he and his cohort decided to do one.

The one-day, one-room, no-celebrity comic book and gaming show turned out to be a big hit, and the event has experienced steady growth ever since. This year’s Granitecon, as it came to be known, is spread across the city, anchored by a slate of activities at DoubleTree by Hilton and the SNHU Arena. There’s even a Granitecon Lager, brewed by Great North Aleworks.

It begins with a preview night on Friday, Sept. 19, that includes Just Cos’ Wings, where cosplayers eat chicken wings and discuss their shared passion, and a D&D-themed show from local troupe Queen City Improv, both at the DoubleTree. Next is the 8-Bit Karaoke Bash, Granitecon’s official kickoff party, at nearby Shaskeen Pub.

The retro video game-themed title was chosen as a nod to the 40th anniversary of the Nintendo gaming console. The event is an annual fixture.

“People love karaoke, and it’s always a great turnout,” Proulx said. New to Granitecon this year is an afterparty at Harpoon Brewery, in the just-opened Queen City Center.

Among the big first full day events is an afternoon Q&A with voice actor Will Friedle to mark Batman Day, followed by an evening screening of 2000’s animated film Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker at the Rex Theatre. It’s their second collaboration with the Rex. In 2024, the 40th anniversary of the first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie was honored there.

Born in New Hampshire, TMNT is a part of every Granitecon. This year, there’s a gaming panel discussion about the next release of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles & Other Strangeness RPG with designers Kevin Siembieda and Sean Owen Roberson, along with comic book artists Steve Lavigne, Jim Lawson and Luis Delgado.

Another Granite State-centric event is a free one, a screening of Jumanji at dusk on Sept. 20 in Veterans Park. The event is sponsored by the City of Manchester.

“I had been in touch with the department of economic development, and they were like, ‘We’d like to sponsor something,’” Proulx said. “I replied, ‘It’s Jumanji’s 30th anniversary, and it was filmed here.’”

One of the things Proulx is looking forward to is Big Dumb Robot Con, where robot builders have the chance to show off their movie-themed work. “This is the second year, and we’re giving these guys some room,” he said of the SNHU Arena meetup. “They love to build robots and talk to people about how they build their robots.”

There’s now an educational component to Granitecon. It includes panels on topics like working in game publishing (Sunday, Sept. 21, noon), the process of creating a graphic novel (Saturday, Sept. 20, 2 p.m.) and a forum that covers how to bring gaming to novels (Saturday, 11 a.m.). The idea came from Doug Shute, founder of Victory Condition Gaming.

“He brings in all kinds of different developers,” Proulx said. “Whether it’s role-playing games or board games … they want to share their expertise, and he’s built that up to taking over half the ballroom at the hotel. We’re trying to figure out how to continue to grow that.”

Far from its humble beginnings, Granite State Comicon is an event that now attracts guests from around the world.

“When we first started, we’d have been excited if somebody came from New York,” Proulx said. “Now, there are people coming from Australia, Europe and South America…. That’s really cool.”

The ripple effect is filled hotel rooms, and folks coming from out of town who are looking for great places to dine. Proulx attributes a lot of this success to the event’s inclusive spirit.

“We don’t do any gatekeeping,” he boasts. “We’re like, ‘If you’re a fan of wrestling, if you’re a fan of video games, come on in.’ Everybody’s nerdy about something.”

Granite State Comicon

When: Friday, Sept. 19, from 3 to 8 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 20, and Sunday, Sept. 21, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Where: Downtown Manchester, including DoubleTree by Hilton, SNHU Arena, Shaskeen Pub and Rex Theatre
Tickets: $20 to $125 at granitecon.com (day-of tickets sold at DoubleTree by Hilton, 700 Elm St., Manchester)
Full schedule and more: granitecon.com

Go-to guys

Celebrated sidemen share songs at Rex show

By Michael Witthaus

mwitthaus@hippopress.com

Alone or between them, Jeff Kazee and G.E. Smith have an enviable list of credits. Keyboard player and singer Kazee was Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes’ longtime Music Director. He’s toured with everyone from Dar Williams and Bon Jovi to the Blues Brothers, and occasionally filled in for Paul Schaeffer as Late Show with David Letterman’s band leader.

Guitarist Smith has served as the secret ingredient of superstars dating back to his days with Hall & Oates, where his licks were key to the duo’s run of five straight multi-platinum albums, starting with 1980’s Voices. Beyond that, he led the SNL Band for a decade, and supported big names like David Bowie, Bob Dylan, Mick Jagger, Tina Turner and Roger Waters.

The two have a history of more than 25 years playing together. They’re in Manchester for an evening that promises spontaneity.

“We get together before a gig and rehearse a set list,” Smith said in a recent Zoom chat. “But in the middle of the gig, one of us will say, ‘Hey, let’s play … boom.’ We’ve never played it together before, but we do it because we know the songs.”

Along with a multi-genre concert that includes favorites from both along with solo songs, the two will share memories of their storied and eventful careers. As Smith has no plans to write a memoir, onstage tales like the one about how he came to appear in Bowie’s “Ashes to Ashes” video must suffice.

“A couple times, publisher-type people talked to me about writing a book, but they want to hear salacious stuff … sex and drug stories,” he said. “That’s so boring to me; that’s not the good stuff.” More interesting is talking about rehearsing a band backing George Harrison, Tom Petty, Johnny Cash and other greats for Bob Dylan’s celebration concert in 1993.

Another was how Saturday Night Live’s practice of having the band play bumper music to fill the gap between the end of a skit and commercial became a star-studded segment, with legends like Eddie Van Halen and Muddy Waters making pop-up appearances with Smith, T-Bone Wolk and the rest of their bandmates.

Created by producer Lorne Michaels, the first few used just the SNL Band, until Smith had an idea.

“I went to Lorne and said, ‘When there’s a good guitar player in town, can I have them come and sit in?’ It became a kind of a thing. A lot of bands on the road [told] me that they’d always look to see who was playing that week with the band. That’s a cool thing.”

In a 2006 documentary about Smith, 50 Watt Fuse, he likened himself to Harry Dean Stanton with a guitar. A supporting actor, he reasoned, excels by drawing attention to the best attributes of the people he works alongside. He’s tried to do the same in his musical collaborations.

For that, he’s grateful. He also believes getting his chance is down to good fortune as much as any other factor.

“I was just lucky,” he said. “You happen to meet somebody and then that person gets you on to the next person. That’s the way my … let’s use the word ‘career’ — that’s the way my career went.”

Among his many collaborations, were there any that surprised him? “I think they all did,” Smith replied. “Because you learn from these people. There’s a reason they’re well-known. It’s because they’re talented and they’ve got something to offer, whether it’s Daryl and John or Mick Jagger, Bowie or Bob Dylan, whoever.”

Asked if there were any he’d like to do but hadn’t, Smith answered, “I always kind of wished I could have been in one of Neil Young’s bands. I did get to play with him a little bit here and there, but to really be in his band and go on the road … I think I would have done a good job at that because I love his music, and I love his guitar playing.”

An Evening With Jeff Kazee & G.E. Smith

When: Thursday, Sept. 18, 7:30 p.m.
Where: Rex Theatre, 23 Amherst St., Manchester
Tickets: $35 at palacetheatre.org

Featured photo: GE Smith. Courtesy photo.

The Music Roundup 25/09/11

Local music news & events

• Sit dance: Enjoy wine tasting and rootsy music from Alex Cumming & Audrey Jabra. Cumming is an England-born singer, accordionist, pianist and dance caller who now lives in Vermont. Fiddler Jaber hails from San Diego and has toured the world. One critic called them “a wonderful celebration of traditional folk song, dance music and the traditions of England and the U.S.” Thursday, Sept. 11, 7 p.m., Hermit Woods Winery, 72 Main St., Meredith, $15 at eventbrite.com.

• Virtual ELP: With so many tribute acts, Welcome Back My Friends – An Evening with Emerson, Lake & Palmer is special because it’s not. Drummer Carl Palmer, the only surviving member of the prog rock supergroup, mixes footage of Keith Emerson, Greg Lake and himself performing in 1992 at Royal Albert Hall with his live ELP Legacy Band, as all play in sync. Friday, Sept. 12, 8:30 p.m., Capitol Center for the Arts, 44 S. Main St., Concord, $61 and up at ccanh.com.

• Home grown: Fans of local music will enjoy the Third Annual Live Free Fest, a one-day celebration that offers a wide range of multi-genre performers along with games, food trucks and merchant booths. Acts include Cozy Throne, Regals, Seph & the Nomads, The Forest Forgets, Pointless Culture, Animatronic the Abolisher, Faith Ann Band and The Whole Loaf. Saturday, Sept. 13, 1 p.m., Hillsborough County Youth Center, 17 Hilldale Lane, New Boston, $15 at eventbrite.com.

• Axe slingers: Since moving here from Texas over a decade ago, Willie J. Laws has become part of the Granite State’s musical fabric. The fiery blues guitarist and singer headlines at a former ski lodge that’s now the performance space at a unique arts center. Also on the bill is the youthful Nick Spencer, whose fiery playing has earned accolades like “the future of blues.” Saturday, Sept. 13, 6 p.m., Andres Institute of Art, 106 Rte. 13, Brookline, $25 and up at andresinstitute.org.

• Son shining: Starting in 1996 with the multi-platinum Bringing Down the Horse, The Wallflowers have been a band in name only, its singular vision guided by front man Jakob Dylan who once said, “no one lineup … ever made two records [and] one person is actually putting the ideas together … that’s always been me.” Sunday, Sept. 14, 8 p.m., Nashua Center for the Arts, 201 Main St., Nashua, $54 and up at nashuacenterforthearts.com.

Kids lit – not

Granite State native publishes tongue-in-cheek book

By Michael Witthaus

mwitthaus@hippopress.com

Microplastics Are Your Friends! is a new book that at first glance looks aimed at younger readers, but it decidedly is not children’s literature. Playfully illustrated, the colorful 30-pager is subversively hilarious as it depicts what might happen if the people behind a really bad idea tried to sell it as something to celebrate.

The central premise, delivered by a white-haired narrator named Professor McTegan, who looks a lot like Doc from Back to the Future, is that while microplastics contribute to all manner of maladies, they serve a higher purpose. Each teaspoon of deadly pixie dust in our brains is the only defense against a race of human-hunting demons called The Shalhoub.

Standing up to these “vicious hell beasts that will not rest until we’re completely eradicated from this mortal coil” is worth the cost of things like dementia and low fertility rates. Besides, forgetting the present to reminisce about the past is a good thing, right? And, the Professor adds, “look at our friends, solving the overpopulation problem for us!”

Prof. McTegan’s “odyssey of discovery as he explores the benefits of having microscopic bits of plastic inside you” came from the imagination of Mister Shushy, the nom de plume of a former standup comedian. He began with the idea of RFK Jr., or someone similar, deciding to sell microplastics as a positive and commission a children’s book.

“It is the kind of off-the-wall weirdo humor that I like,” he said by phone recently. His Mister Shushy’s Nightmare Box Substack contains examples of this, like Ask Cherk, an advice column run by an oversexed “debonair alien gonzo journalist” as well as the too-close-to-the-truth short story Flow Ryda Man, which includes equally funny context.

While he was a comic, the author appeared at the Shaskeen’s Wednesday night event and also ran a regular showcase at the Dover Brickhouse for “the majority of its lifespan,” he said. Despite successes like opening for Frank Santorelli, Mike Racine and others, however, he decided to leave. It turned out to be decent timing.

“I quit stand-up in, like, 2019, and then the pandemic happened,” he said. His day job also contributed to the decision. “I’m talking on the phone to people all day, and it’s mentally exhausting…. I didn’t have the mental energy to do that for eight or nine hours and then go out and do open mics.”

Zoom shows held no appeal, so he laid low for the next five years, but the November election changed that.

“Something snapped in me,” he said. “It was, like, I need a creative outlet, I need to not be just doomscrolling. It’s easy to be sick to your stomach and depressed if you’re just looking into this little infinite box in your pocket. So I started writing.”

The name of the demonic race to whom microplastics are Kryptonite was inspired by Dune, but the actor famous for Monk and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel is there intentionally, and not altogether flatteringly. Don’t take it the wrong way, though.

“It’s a deep abiding love for Tony Shalhoub that he’s included in the book,” the author said.

While he works to get Microplastics Are Your Friends! into bookstores, the easiest way to read it is on a Kindle. For those who want a physical book, it can be ordered at Gibson’s in Concord and Manchester’s Bookery. He’s also working to get it into Eight Legged Octopus in Dover, Water Street Bookstore in Exeter and Jetpack Comics in Rochester.

It’s stocked in a store in the Massachusetts town the author now calls home, with a fun touch — in the nonfiction section. “Somebody has a great sense of humor,” a delighted Mister Shushy said, adding that while it’s technically a kids’ book, the real audience should be obvious.

“Sorry in advance if you’re upset,” he writes in an opening disclaimer. “But also, like, you saw a book with the title Microplastics Are Your Friends! and still bought it for your child, so hopefully this ends up being a teachable moment for you.”

Microplastics Are Your Friends! by Mister Shushy, Illustrated by Lucas D

Available on Amazon Kindle. Physical copies can be ordered at independent bookstores like Gibson’s in Concord and Bookery in Manchester. Works by Mister Shushy are compiled on mistershushy.substack.com. Follow him on Instagram @mistershushy.

Not One Direction

Chad Price brings varied sound to Shaskeen

By Michael Witthaus

mwitthaus@hippopress.com

It’s fair to say that during a career that began in the mid-’80s, Chad Price has been all over the road; no one tells him to stay in his lane. He rose to prominence as the third lead singer of Descendents spinoff ALL, joining the melodic punk rockers just in time to work on their major label one-off Pummel in 1995.

He made rootsy Americana with Drag the River and led the relentless, metal-edged A Vulture Wake, while touring as a solo singer/guitarist during downtime between those projects. All the while, he’s chased a muse that’s rooted in the progressive rock of the ’70s. Lately, that’s all he really wants to do.

Last year Price sang with Mass Nerder, a Portlandia ALL/Descendents tribute band, and bonded with them over a shared love of prog rock. Inspired, he recruited drummer, guitarist and keyboardist Corey West, and Anthony Medici, a vocalist, bass and guitar player, to work on fleshing out some of his songs.

Quickly naming it The Chad Price Peace Coalition, the three recorded the 10-song album, A Perfect Pearl, releasing it in late May. Joined by touring drummer Kyle Bird Moore, the band is set to appear Sept. 5 at the Shaskeen Pub, with local favorites Lenny Lashley and the Brad Marino Band.

The new effort reflects many musical moods. The brooding “A.M.” was the album’s first single; shifting rhythms and sharp guitar flourishes drive the song. “Wake Me” has a Pink Floyd vibe, along with lovely, layered harmonies. Both tracks reveal the influences of a decade that Price regards with reverence.

In particular, he’s a big Jethro Tull fan.

“From ’70 to ’79, I don’t know any other band with a body of work like that, it’s just so good,” Price said by phone on his way to a show in Providence. “One thing that’s crazy to me is how it was possible that Tull was the biggest band in the world, yet made that very complex music.”

The rest of Perfect Pearl is wide-ranging, from gentle acoustic forays like “Alchemists,” “Sunflowers” and “Tell Me” to the ethereal power ballad “Rose.” On another note, “Tongue” lopes deceivingly then strikes hard, just like so many great bands did with their music back in the day.

“There is a sound, but we’re free to do whatever we want [and] there isn’t a specific genre,” he said. “Basically anything is fair game. I mean, listen to a Led Zeppelin record — you have your rock, your folk, you might have a little bit of reggae or something, and that’s just one album.”

When Price began working with West and Medici, they sent him a batch of ALL songs done in his new songwriting style, but the idea didn’t last. The only old stuff showing up in concert these days are from his Drag the River days. Otherwise, he sticks to the new album, and solo material like One Week Record, his most recent LP.

There’s a recent book called Sellout about the early ’90s music business feeding frenzy that Nirvana and other alternative bands spurred, and Price’s then-new band got swept up in. He has a few memories of the time, most of them good. Which isn’t a story his bandmates would likely tell.

“I was just happy to be in a touring band and play, let alone ALL, my favorite band,” he said. “It was great … we had A&R people fly us out to L.A., we got wined and dined, all this stuff did happen. I was taking in anything that was going on, just enjoying it. That question would be very different if you asked the other guys.”

The Shaskeen show came together quickly. Price had an open date, posted on social media looking for ideas, and he heard back from the Brad Marino Band. He performed solo before at the Manchester venue, and is keen to be returning with his new project.

“I do love the Shaskeen, and I wanted to play there, but I didn’t know if it was going to happen,” Price said. “I have been doing solo acoustic tours for years. Now that I have a band, it’s like, wow, let’s play a f-ing rock ’n’ roll show. We’re not guys with acoustic guitars.”

Chad Price Peace Coalition w/ Brad Marino Band and Lenny Lashley

When: Friday, Sept. 5, 9 p.m.
Where: Shaskeen Pub, 909 Elm St., Manchester
More: 21+ / chadpricepeacecoalition.com

Featured photo: Chad Price Peace Coalition. Photo by Lindsey Lu McGuire.

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