Joe Buck Yourself [Big Room-Upstairs]
Joe Buck’s first serious musical project was called Gringo. They released self-titled “Gringo” on Pravda Records in 1995. The lineup consisted of Jim (Joe Buck) on vocals and guitar, Leila Vartanian on vocals and bass, and Tim Krause, who produced the CD, playing drums. It is a polarized collection of ballads and throbbing rockers. The follow-up CD, “Combine” was released on Pravda Records in 1997. It is a blend of country and newgrass and is musically distinct from the first CD. The lineup consists of Jim and Leila as before but the drums are replaced by Martin O’Doherty on banjo. In the late 1990s, Joe Buck emerged as the guitarist for Th’ Legendary Shack Shakers. He played all guitar, bass and drums on their 2003 album Cockadoodledon’t. He played bass for Hank Williams III’s country/hellbilly “Damn Band”, and was also member of Williams’ punk-metal project Assjack. He is credited, along with Williams and Andy Gibson, with engineering and producing Williams’ album, Straight to Hell, and appears to have recorded backing vocals for Hank Williams III’s Bootleg #3 Pre-Release album. As a solo artist, he tours internationally under the moniker “Joe Buck Yourself” and is represented by Bucket City Agency, a booking agency which he co-founded.
Rock Eupora / The Prescriptions / Avon Park[Small Room-Downstairs]
Deterioration [Small Room-Downstairs]
IMMATERIAL POSSESSION / Walt Phelan / Elf Rage [Small Room-Downstairs]
Emo Night [Big Room-Upstairs
Shakermaker / Dirt Track Date [Big Room-Upstairs]
Jerry Paper / MamalarkyBig Room-Upstairs]
Jerry Paper is Lucas Nathan. Jerry Paper is instant coffee, bullshit jobs, weekly therapy sessions, crises of conscience, corporate mascots, 5meo-DMT trips, jokers down on their luck, surveillance, a jacked dad high on meth at a child’s party, apologies, trash cans, cacti, and the magic of words. From its initial days as a DIY solo synth project in the early 2010s to its current incarnation as a five-piece band, Jerry Paper has always been the earthly conduit for the wild and uncanny imagination of its creative mastermind.In 2019, back from traveling the world for the I Am Begging You To Come To These Shows tour, Jerry Paper hung up their flowing dress and sandals, glided into the studio, and began giving material form to their new musical manifestation: Abracadabra.Over thirteen songs, they serve up a blend of jazzy instrumentation with soft-rock stylings and some seriously catchy earworms, forging a style that hints at the avant-pop of Scott Walker, the sweet enchantment of Paul McCartney, and the cryptic, smooth grooves of Steely Dan.Like all good stories, Abracadabra boasts unforgettable characters: someone with a victim complex (“Cholla”); an alien captive surveilled by a mysterious presence (“Puppeteer”), and a buff man whose life is thrown into shambles when he is caught smoking methamphetamine at his child’s birthday party (“Body Builder on the Shore”). Nathan’s interest in talk therapy led to “Spit It Out”, a song about the health-inducing qualities of improvised speech; “Memorial Highway” is about existence after death in other people’s memories, and “Apologist” and “All I Need” affirm the value — and occasional futility — of recognizing one’s wrongs. Building new realities out of words and sounds is no easy task, and on “Trash Can”, Nathan mourns the frustrations of the creative process.Abracadabra is many things at once: arch and sincere, bizarre and all too real, funny and melancholic — the work of an artist living in a world when despair so often tips over into ridiculousness, sometimes the only thing left to do is laugh.Nathan worked with longtime visual collaborator Steve Smith and avant-comedian Alan Resnick to create the album art, which depicts an alien outsider spotting someone he recognizes. Who could it be? Don’t worry. Sit back, relax, and let Abracadabra cast its spell.
Cam Cole / The Whiskey Wells [Small Room-Downstairs]
Multiple viral internet videos, a rapidly increasing following from all over the world, a well-received debut album, international tours planned… Everything was set up for London busker Cam Cole to make the move from the street to the stage. And then the world came to a standstill.What could have killed any momentum he had, Cam turned into an opportunity to connect with the fans he had gathered. The advantage of being a one-man band is that rehearsals are rather easy to set up – especially in a socially distanced world. And even the drummer shows up on time if you are the drummer yourself. And so Cam stayed in touch and visible with his “Sounds From The Van” video series, streamed directly from his van rehearsal room. He released a live album recorded on the streets of Camden before the pandemic, which reminded everyone what we were missing. And after appearing as himself in the Golden Globe-nominated Apple TV series “Ted Lasso”, Cam found that during the pandemic his audience had more than doubled in size.With his second album Crooked Hill out to great reviews, he is ready to kick it up a notch. The heavier, ferocious sound of his sophomore fits well in a time where people are looking to finally release all that pent-up energy. And Cam is just the right man for the job.
