The Setlist

Although we live in an age of alternative facts, I can’t sit here and lie to you and say that I’m a big fan of rap music. I’m not one who is necessarily “anti-rap,” it’s just not my thing. Although I do have a soft spot for some vintage De La Soul and The Beastie […]

Somewhere and some time ago, I remember hearing the idea posited that music had the power, if we’d only let it, to stop war and aggression. It was phrased a bit more eloquently than that and perhaps not as naively, but the thinking went something like this: Imagine that soldiers on two different sides of […]

To be healthy, wealthy and wise. Now not many folks know this, but music can help us achieve two of those goals, and I’ll give you a half-second to ponder which one music rarely helps out with. I heard an interview on KHSU not too long ago with Jeffrey Smoller of Making Headway, which helps […]

Thursday If you’ve been holed up since New Year’s trying to stay dry through our winter storms, you’ve got a full weekend of events to check out. You can start out tonight at the Mad River Brewery Tap Room at 6 p.m. for free “alternative folk/rock” tunes from Cygne. Local poet Jerry Martien will get […]

The year 2017 is upon us, presenting us with the opportunity to start somewhat fresh. Deep-seated character traits/flaws aren’t likely to change — more superficial habits are the best targets to take aim at. Some call these resolutions and the rest of us just see a chance to try something different. Perhaps you, like me, […]

Another year is behind us and, fortunately, another in front of us. When we look back to take stock of the year we’re leaving, it’s easy to focus on the times in which life had its bloody way with us. It’s less easy to remember the multitude of small and daily joys we experienced throughout. […]

At the Murphy’s Market not far from my house this past Sunday, I got to chatting with Noah there about rock music in general and he made the astute point that Christmas seems to be the only holiday that is also a music genre. Christmas music for some may sound like Bing Crosby or Johnny […]

Time’s flying. The New Year is approaching. The War on Christmas has officially begun. The kids are almost out of school for the winter — I mean, Christmas break. So parents, you need to pack in as much amusement and entertainment as you can [more below] before the kids are at home all day maxing […]

Thursday It’s almost guaranteed that if you show up to the Mad River Brewery Tap Room during the evening, you’ll recognize someone you know either at the bar or out under a heater checking out the live music. This will be true tonight but you’ll doubly recognize MRB employees taking a break from serving you […]

Smack dab in the middle of Halloween and Christmahanakwanzaa, Thanksgiving always seems more of an autumn holiday than a winter one for me. Yes, I know winter doesn’t actually start for another month but we’d be forgiven for forgetting that given our recent weather. So with this seeming transition between the seasons, I began to […]

Pessimism had a good year in 2016. With an unreal election finally behind us, one that throve on negativity and peddled as fact the idea that we were all living in utter squalor and shame, few of us would dare call 2016 The Best Year Ever. On the music front, we’ve lost some amazing artists […]