26 www.MotifMagazine.netarts • entertainment • news • humor • opinion Motif • nov 4 thru nov 17 • 2009

Okee dokee folks…Right now I’mlistening to the Swell Season’snew CD, Strict Joy. It’s the fol-

low-up to their Oscar winning and gold cer-tified soundtrack to the film, Once. I’mpriming my ears for their show at Lupo’sHeartbreak Hotel on Saturday, Nov 7. Ihaven’t been this excited to see a nationaltouring act in a long time. At the core, the

new CD carries on thesound from the Oncerecording, but it is a fuller,slicker and more producedproduct. Glen Hansardwrote and performs thelion’s share of the contentbut Marketa Irglova’ssongs have soft, vulnerableand passionate vocals.

If you have the filmsoundtrack, you will want Strict Joy. And ifyou already have either one or both, youwill want to see them live at Lupo’s. If youhave neither and are curious, go towww.theswellseason.com and you can hearclips of the new CD. Then get tix for theshow! Please note that this show is at 7pm.It is an early show. Visit www.lupos.com

Mistaken IdentityFor the longest time, I heard songs by

singer-songwriter Jacob Haller and wishedthat he had a real CD of them. Occasionallyat gigs he would sell the homemade discs,but they were random and not professionallyrecorded. At long last he bit the bullet andwent into the studio and the end result isMistaken Identity, a thoroughly entertain-ing, sonically accurate, and well-produced

CD. With musical help from friends: KeithMunslow, Serena Andrews, Chris Monti,Sarah Dawson, Pamela Murray, DanielOullette, Sarah Dawson, Ron Pigeon,Bridget Dignon, Sonny Roelle and JohnWindle. Haller created a comfortablerecording of his quirky, offbeat, and fromthe heart compositions. I sometimes refer toJacob Haller as a sort of Burl Ives typemusician/character with a twist. Haller singsin a rich baritone voice and accompanieshimself on guitar (sometimes accordion) andsings songs that come across as traditionaltype folk songs, at least for the first fewlines. Therein lies the twist. They then strayinto another realm. The opening track of thedisc, “Stale Tequila,” one of three songs thatare products of the RI Songwriters in theRound Series at AS220, starts off simplysinging about meeting a woman after a bargig and falling in love. The next morning hewoke up in a bathtub of ice with a missingkidney. The second song on the CD is thefirst song that he wrote for the RISA seriesand he “was deathly afraid that the othersongwriters would come up with the sametake on that month’s theme, “ChildhoodMemories.” Not likely. Jake’s take onthings are definitely all his own. “PhotoAlbum,” the song written for the ChildhoodMemories theme, is sweetly sung as it talksabout the memories that photos bound in analbum of human skin hold: “Here’s a picturewhen you became ole Satan’s bride, thereyou were all dressed in black, Satan nervousat the back you were such a lovely coupleand your ma and me both cried, it’s amazinghow you’ve grown since then.”

“I’m a Guy” pays homage to the Muddy

[roots report]

JJoohhnn FFuuzzeekk

Haller releases Mistaken Identity

jacob haller

www.StoneSoupCoffeehouse.com

St. Paul's Church 50 Park Place Pawtucket, RI401-921-5115

In 1977, Dean Friedman marked his entry into pop con-sciousness with the enormous success of his infectioushit single “Ariel,” a quirkily irresistible and uncategoriz-able pop song about a free spirited, music loving, vege-tarian Jewish girl in a peasant blouse who lived, as thelyric goes. Since then, his songs have been irreppress-ably popular, such as “McDonald’s Girl,” and his workwith TV and cult films such as I Bought A Vampire Motorcycle.

Dean Friedman (Hoot)Sat, Nov 7 • $15 adults • $8 kids Sign-ups day of show. Come early

Bob Franke is at the peak of his considerable craft,brimming with the wise and spiritually generoussongs for which he is best known, along withpoignant topical songs and songs that are sugaredwith the hilarious. His are the kind of songs thatreally do have the power to change the world bybeing taken into the lives of people. Bob's songs areconsidered classics, fueled by his deep faith and thereal-life lessons taught him by his 30-odd years ofplaying everywhere from concert halls to street cor-ners. Bob has appeared in concert at coffeehouses,colleges, festivals, bars, streets, homes and churches.

An Evening w/ Bob Franke Sat, Nov 14 • $15 adults • $8 kids

Lucy Kaplansky’s road to musical fame was anunlikely one. She started out singing in Chicago barsand then, barely out of high school, Lucy took offfor New York City. There she found a fertile com-munity of songwriters and performers—SuzanneVega, John Gorka, Bill Morrissey, Cliff Eberhardt,and others—where she fit right in. The New YorkTimes said it was “easy to predict stardom for her”,but Lucy temporarily left the musical fast track topursue a doctorate in Psychology and open her ownprivate practice. Lucy was often pulled back into the studio by her friends (who nowhad contracts with record labels), wanting her to sing on their albums.

Lucy Kaplanskyw/ Patrick FitzsimmonsSat, Nov 21 • Adv. $18, door $20

27www.MotifMagazine.net arts • entertainment • news • humor • opinionMotif • nov 4 thru nov 17 • 2009

Waters’ song, “I’m a Man.” The dif-ference between the two is that Jake’s“guy” knits and likes “chick-flicks.”You will frequently see Jake sitting inan audience knitting. Jake’s live per-formances are pretty true to the record-ing, with the exception of the extrainstruments and backing vocals pep-pered throughout. But Jake has plentyof friends that sit in and audiences liketo sing-a-long, so that makes up thedifference. Haller is quiet and assum-ing in his delivery and that makes thesegems shine the brighter. And the listen-er laughs harder. You’ll sing along to“Watching Killer Robots EatingYour Head” and “Whenever I amSad I Do a Web Search for Picturesof Adorable Kittens.”

Jake Haller releases MistakenIdentity at Everyman Bistro, 311 IronHorse Way (off Valley Street) inProvidence Tuesday, Nov 17, at 8pm.Joining him will be: Hannah Devine,The Killdevils and Jon Campbell (whoalso has a CD coming out). EverymanBistro, Show runs 8pm to midnight andadmission is free. You can get copies ofthe CD at the show or online athttp://music.jwgh.org

Scheming & dreamingIf you do catch the Swell Season

and you are still up for more music,head on over the Blackstone Club andcatch The Schemers in a specialreunion show. They won’t be reunitingagain for a while so best to get someSchemers when you can. TheSchemers were one of the hottest actsthat played the old “3-L tour” (Lupo’s,Living Room, Last Call) in Providenceand beyond, going back 20+ years.They even had a video on MTV. Youcan find it on YouTube, it’s called “IWant Some Fun.” They epitomizedthe RI music scene back then. Thesongs “Valley of Love,” “Too ManyStars and Not Enough Sky,” certainlywill strike a memorable chord formany. Reminisce and feel good aboutit. The Schemers were a great band.They perform Saturday, Nov 7, at 9pm- www.theblackstoneclub.com

Campbell collectiveAs I mentioned above, Jon

Campbell will be performing at JakeHaller’s CD Release show. Campbellhas a CD of his own (sort of) comingout and will be available at that sameshow. The “sort of” comments aboutCampbell’s CD is best summed up bythe WARNING on the back of the CD.It reads: Jon Campbell DOES NOTperform on this CD. The recording

called, “Yup, I Said That-A Collectionof Artists Performing the ‘Classic’Hits of Jon Campbell” is the brain-child of the CD’s producer, MarilynBellemore. Over the years, manylocals have covered Campbell’s quirky,funny songs about the sea life and RIliving. It wasn’t until a year or two agothat Bellemore and Campbell were inOregon listening to a band and theybegan to perform one of Jon’s songs. Itcaught their attention. Campbell intro-duced himself to the band as the writerof the song. The band had learned thesong from someone else in the PugetSound area.

Since that time they found manyother artists performing the songs ofJon Campbell. Bellemore decided thata collection of these songs would makea great CD. And she was right.Featured on the CD are The ShortSisters, Pendragon, RobbieO’Connell, Steve Snyder and KateKatzberg, Peter Breen and manymore. They all add a different feel toCampbell’s material. Spoken word isintermingled amongst the tunes. Someof the songs go back 25 years andsome are recent. It’s sort of a tribute toJon, his lengthy career and his writingthat this CD has come to fruition. Myfavs off the CD are “Winnebacome,Winnebago” with the line, “there’s aslick of Bain de Soliel on the Bay” andthe sweet rendition of Pendragon’sMary Lee singing “Restless Waters,”which is a beautiful song that traces thejourney of a drop of water around theworld and through history.

If you are looking for a copy ofCampbell’s CD or Jake Haller’s CDyou can get them both at the CDRelease Show on Nov 17 at EverymanBistro. Visit www.celticamusic.com

Chester in ChurchThe Church Street Coffeehouse

has kicked off its eighth season and itis in full gear. And the Coffeehouse hassome new gear as well. C/H coordina-tor, Rick Norman let me know that thesound system has been seriouslyupgraded. And, they finally have a newwebsite, www.churchstreetcoffee-house.com. Rick says, “As you canimagine Tom (sound) and I are prettyexcited about all of our new toys”Saturday, Nov 14, hosts GoodbyeChester, a trio with beautifully blendedharmonies and riveting guitar work tothe Church Street Coffeehouse.

Goodbye Chester is an acoustic,electric trio who have been performingin one configuration or another formore than two years now. Their current

lineup of Tim Murphy (acoustic guitarand vocals), Kasey Taylor (vocals), andKen Taylor (vocals, guitar, bass, man-dolin, dobro, and harmonium), empha-sizes their considerable vocal talents asthey trade lead vocal duties and bringrich three-part harmonies to theirsongs. Their repertoire comprises origi-nal songs, as well as little known andpopular covers, drawing from country,folk, alternative, and the occasional’80s New Wave chestnut. RickNorman wants you all to know, “Ifyou have never heard these guy’s, youreally need to check them out as theyare loaded with talent.” The ChurchStreet Coffeehouse is one of the best-kept secrets around…but spread theword, get the secret out. You can findthe C/H on Church St. in Warren. It’sthe BIG white Church!

To Do ListFinally, a couple of more shows to

add to your “to do” list for the plannersamong us. And really . . . who’s moreorganized and well-adjusted than folkmusic fans??? RISA and the BrooklynCoffee Tea House want you to “comecelebrate – the times will be done achangin’ (the clock will be set back andthe calendar page turned toNovember). So, by Saturday, Nov 7,you should be well adjusted and readyto venture out for the SaturdaySongwriter Sessions at the BrooklynCoffee Tea House. Billy Mitchell,Wyatt Lema and The Benedictions,all attractive, dynamic and full of blus-ter, guarantee a night of storytelling,comedy and good old-fashionedwhoop-de-doo type music. Starts at8pm sharp and at five dollars, it’s arecession-buster. Plus, check outBrooklyn owner, Tony Demings’ newpiano, a low-rider. If you can’t wait,there’s an open mic there Wednesday,Nov 4, at 7pm). www.brooklyncof-feeteahouse.com. Located at 209Douglas Ave., Providence. At Local121 on Washington Street inProvidence, there will be a benefit con-cert for RI Marriage Equality. It’sabout time RI joins the rest of NewEngland and opens its mind to expand-ing the definition of marriage. You canhelp the cause and hear some prettygreat music as well. Singer-songwriterCatie Curtis will be performing. Theshow is Wednesday, Nov 11, at 8pm.They have Valet parking. Dial up 401-274-2121 or type inwww.local121.com.

Thanks for reading, John www.johnfuzek.com

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