Posts By 75orLess
Motif Magazine covers the new Junior Varsity Arson and Mark Cutler albums
You can read the reviews here
Mark Cutler – Dreamland (75orLess Records)
After recently quitting his day job to be a full time musician, Mark Cutler hunkered down to record Dreamland, a decidedly more quiet and intimate album compared to his recent releases Sweet Pain and Red (both on 75orLess Records). Cutler tells me he recorded the album in his house and mostly by himself with cameos from his always formidable Men of Great Courage band. One doesn’t have to wait long to see the new direction: the first tune, “Doing Things That We Like To Do” has a lazy, peaceful strumming guitar around a campfire kind of feel. “Tankful of Gas” has a decidedly acoustic blues meets folk feel, with buzzing slide guitars. “Circle To a Square” reminds me of the 60’s folk of early Donovan, before he started singing about important stuff… you know, like the hurdy-gurdy man and witching season. The title track is my favorite on the record with a great melody that I can hum all day. “Too Much Fun” is a more upbeat rocker, while retaining the stripped down feel of the rest of the rest of Dreamland. “We Don’t Do That Stuff No More” has the feel of Tom Petty blues ballad. The theme of nostalgia runs through much of Dreamland, but probably never more than on the closing, “I’ll Play For You,” where Cutler weaves his tale of days past over a simple beat. It works. Dreamland may not be your typical get ready to rage on a Saturday night record, but it sure sounds great on a Sunday afternoon!
Junior Varsity Arson – Self Titled EP (75orLess Records)
Every now and again I get a new biscuit and look at it and say what the hell is this? Case in point, when something called Junior Varsity Arson came in. So I checked out their one sheet that describes the band as “Lonely Guy Rock.” They go on to describe themselves as a soundtrack for men who are banned from certain establishments, with endless theories and endless amounts of time to explain those theories. Okay, maybe I’ll actually like this.
Truth is, Junior Varsity Arson is a local super group of sorts, composed of Guy Benoit (Thee Hydrogen Terrors), Don Sanders (Medicine Ball, The Masons), Dave Narcizo (Throwing Muses), and Kraig Jordan (The Masons). Junior Varsity Arson is a little twisted in a fun indie rock way. The EP kicks off with “Her Parents Love Me,” chock full of lyrical gems like, “Her parents love me, I’m such a big improvement over the white supremacist.” Indie rock is a genre chock full of people that take themselves too seriously. That’s why it’s refreshing to come across something like Junior Varsity Arson, that’s lighthearted and still rocks. “Brown Jacket and Purple Keds” reminds me a little of the Dead Milkman as it chronicles the lonely man that Junior Varsity Arson proclaims to be the soundtrack for. “Hippy Dippy Milk Man” has an anthem, ‘60s spy feel with the keyboards. “Skull Collection” has an ‘80s alternative rock feel, while the song chronicles getting broken into and having one’s skull collection stolen. “I’m Hooked” is Junior Varsity Arson’s alternative dance number, that has a little bit of a psychedelic feel. What I like about Junior Varsity Arson most is they have personality both lyrically and musically, that makes each song memorable. – See more at: http://motifri.com/mark-cutler-dreams-junior-varsity-arson-burns-it-up/#sthash.dshz02O3.dpuf
Haunt the House and Allysen Callery at Club Passim
with Low Anthem, Dan Blakeslee and many others
Club Passim
Cambridge, Mass
75orLess presents Six Star General, Baby Oil, Sick Pills
Coma Coma, the return of synth-magnets Baby Oil, and New Bedford’s lovable ex-whaling shipmates Sick Pills.
The Parlour
North Main Street
Providence, RI
9pm
$5
21+
The Blood Moons at The Pour Farm Tavern
with Really Bad Religion and Nick Sundman
The Pour Farm Tavern & Grille
New Bedford, Mass
9pm
Deadlands at the Parlour
with The Really Heavy and The Same
The Parlour
North Main Street
Providence, RI
9pm
Mark Cutler and the Men of Great Courage at the 133 Club
The 133 Club
East Providence, RI
Please bring canned goods for the food drive.
9pm
Northern Lands at The Met
with Jay Berndt & The Orphans, Brian McKenzie, Michelle Lewis, Jeff Byrd
The Met
Pawtucket, RI
8:30pm
The McGunks at Broad Street Tap
with The O’Tooles
Broad Street Tap
433 Broad St
Cumberland, RI 02864
The McGunks at The Pour Farm
with The O’Tooles
Pour Farm Tavern
New Bedford, Mass
9pm
Dan Baker ‘Pistol in My Pocket’ review at Musical Pearls Rebirth
You can read the article here.
Dan Baker was living in Chelsea MA, during the recording of his new record. A small city on the outskirts of Boston, Baker describes the city as “A place littered with factories, oil tanks, and pot holes… surrounded by great heaps of salt and scrap metal”. Being influenced by his surroundings Baker wrote many songs about the town, one even making it onto the record, the title track “Pistol in my Pocket”, Baker states, “That song came about from a conversation I had. I was talking to the clerk at the 7-Eleven down the street. He was telling me about all the times his store had been held up… at one point he said pistol in my pocket and I guess that just got stuck in my head”.
The city of Chelsea, luckily for Baker, is also where 1867 Recording Studio is located. A former Masonic Temple, the studio boasts 60 foot vaulted ceilings with walls still equipped with their masonic images and moldings. Baker knew he had found the right place so he called in his band and they got to work. The recording process was fairly straightforward; they all set up in the middle of the temple/live-room and cut everything live.
The result is Dan Baker’s third record, “Pistol in my Pocket”. A record that finds Baker more matured and in command of his craft. With songs of betrayal and revenge as well as songs of love-lost and love-regained. A small record with a big punch: gritty, raw, but heartfelt and nostalgic, and much like Baker’s first two records, you’ll be hanging onto every word. This is a great record, with everything you’ve come to expect and more from this great New England based singer/songwriter.
A record that finds Baker more matured and in command of his craft. Songs of betrayal and revenge, as well as songs of love-lost and love-regained. For fans of dark rural blues, Okkervil River, Magnolia Electric Co., Bob Dylan, and Leonard Cohen.