 Where to begin? Now that you’ve discovered Concert Cast the Podcast, it’s up to you to wind your way through the episodes. Concert Cast was produced as a linear experience, but episodes can also be listened to in any order. Perhaps by topics that resonate most. If concerts are your compass and venues are the destination, consider this your field guide to uncovering Concert Cast episode by episode; experience by experience. Now, go forth and choose your own adventure in listening…here are a few entry points into Maine’s music scene.
If you love DISCOVERING A NEW BAND, listen to: Episode 6: All Roads Music Festival Walking and talking with the festival promoter and co-creator, Meg Shorette, I learned a lot about her process of transforming historical buildings into pop-up music venues for the night. One of the venues is a historic movie theatre called, “The Colonial". When I walked in, the smell of popcorn permeated the air, and concertgoers were milling around trying to decide which band to check out. I heard a siren-like voice coming from downstairs, and I followed it. The music guided me through a series of lower-level passages, which led to a subterranean movie theatre turned concert stage. I found a spot in the back and got lost in the dizzying sounds of Portland based singer Katie Matzell, who was singing “Better Late than Never,” a new age jazz song. I had never heard of her before, but I was an instant fan. I love those kinds of moments - discovering new music live and on the spot. If you like HEARING ABOUT THE CREATIVE PROCESS, listen to: Episode 13: Northern Maine with Ben Cosgrove Going into my interview with Ben Cosgrove, I was admittedly really confused by his music. His artist statement says that he makes “instrumental music that explores themes of landscape, geography, and environment and straddles a line between folk and classical music.” What does that even mean? And how does he get there? I felt that, in order to really get a sense of his style, it was best to go to the source of his inspo: nature - so we went for a walk through the snow in Stockholm before his show at Eureka Hall - Maine’s most remote music venue. To get to the core of his process, I had to ask a series of questions, and then, it finally clicked. Now, when listening to his music, especially the song SALT, I know exactly what he means and can use my own metaphors and stories to make it come to life. If Covid has you CRAVING A ROAD TRIP Listen to: Mini-Casts: 3,4, & 5: Travel Tales with Jon Fishman Of PHISH It brought the biggest smile to my face to hear how the legendary Jon Fishman talked about being a long haul truck driver as a fallback career to drumming. He even once considered being a taxi cab driver! And to say that Fishman is a road trip warrior is an understatement. In the early days when the band toured around the country in a van, Fishman was always the “DD” - the driver and the road DJ! As a podcast host, listening to his road trip stories from earlier days with the band was just as fun as hearing him talking about playing at Madison Square Garden. But surprisingly, it’s the silence in between venues, when there is nothing to talk about, when you need a break from sound, that was also one of our most interesting conversations. It was also fun to hear him tell the story of finding the most epic Mexican restaurant one night after a show in the midwest! Our conversation was filled with awesome moments like this - and his stories were a great reminder to why we all love road tripping - the unexpected! If you like MUSIC VENUES AND HISTORY, listen to: Episode 1: State Theater Portland, Maine To me, every venue has a voice, including a special history - and researching the State Theatre in Portland , Maine became a jaunt through years past. I mean, it was once a porn theatre! Then I got to speak with Lauren Wayne for the first episode of what would become my baby, my podcast. I met up with The musical high priestess of Portland, Maine who took me on a daytime tour of the venue to tell me more about some of the history, operational logistics and of course, stories including the one about the very firs performance she hosted after a major renovation was complete. The jam band called MOE. was playing and the fire alarm went off! Can you imagine having to evacuate the building on the first night? Luckily, the guests were allowed back in once they cleared up the commotion, and now the venue has another story to tell!
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Continuing on the theme of discovering Concert Cast the Podcast, I’d love to take you through another collection of episodes visiting the four vistas of concert culture: the creative process, venue history, live music and roadtripping. Concert Cast was produced as a linear experience, but episodes can also be listened to in any order. Perhaps by topics that resonate most. If concerts are your compass and venues are the destination, consider this your field guide to uncovering Concert Cast episode by episode; experience by experience. Now, let’s continue our adventure together... If you love Discovering New Music - then listen to: Episode 2 & 3: Jon Fishman talks about memorable performances and being a radio DJ The red On Air Sign was glowing when I walked into the radio booth at WBFY 100.9 Community Radio Station in Belfast, Maine. Jon Fishman was sitting on a wing backed leather office chair which was tearing at the seams, talking about a Stevie Wonder Song he played and then riffing on it… The show is called The Errant Path, and it relates to his DJ style of meandering around the music and finding interesting connections between songs or musicians. He has been a music aficionado since high school, was even a DJ at Goddard College in Vermont, he just loves following connections and careers of musicians. This episode will make you listen to music in a new way and inspire you to invest more time in knowing the people behind the instruments. If you love The Creative Process the listen to: Episode 15: The Ghost of Paul Revere Getting to hang out in the green room with The Ghost of Paul Revere before they took the stage sounds glamorous, until you hear that the green room is actually the daycare of the ski school! Everything was pint size! But it made do for the purpose a green room serves, to chill out and get into headspace before performing. I was able to get a cross section of points of views from their manager, sound engineer and from all band mates, but I was so curious about Griffin's song writing process. Considering Maine is a state that you have to drive everywhere to get somewhere, I wanted to know if he came up with songs while driving? Griffin: My voice memos on my iPhone is like just full of half-baked ideas or like things like like how to just get down. And like Tom Waits spoke on that very well. As as Tom Waits speaks on most things very well, he was talking about how if a song pops in your head and you'd like, it's your duty to pull over immediately and capture that moment because it's fleeting and it'll it'll disappear and it might be the greatest thing you've ever thought of and I very much agree. Like it comes in waves for sure.” Being at a live show, belting out their songs in unison is a wonderful experience, to know that they were written on the side of a road in the middle of Maine is even better. Listen to this episode for more thoughts from Griffin on music venues and touring. If You love Venues & History - then listen to: Episode 7: Ellsworth Feat. Fogtown Stepping into Fogtown Brewing Company in Downtown Ellsworth for a beer and some music, you can sense that this was “once something else.” The building is huge, cavern-like, so big it once was a parking garage for Greyhound Buses, a paper mill for all the lumber that moved through town and a storage facility for the Grand Theatre. The best is when Jon, Fogtown’s co-owner, tells me this story: Previous owners have come by. One in particular, Matt Strong who used to own this building when there was like a telephone parts manufacturing something going on in here. He's come in sat at the bar. Looked up at the ceiling. And just said huh. And I was like What. What are you talking about. What's what are you looking at. So well see those patches of new spruce and pine that have patched up the old like hundred year old hemlock. I put that in because a truck came [00:41:00.0] in the loading dock and like busted through the floor on the on the floor above us and the tires were hanging down through the ceiling and they had to winch it out somehow and then put a new wood to patch the holes up so but he was fascinating. Once you’ve experienced Fogtown, you can’t undo it. Listen to this episode to learn more about Ellsworth’s live music scene and take in a show from Beach Trash, a punk band fronted by a lobsterman by day and drag queen by night. If Covid has you Craving A Roadtrip then listen to: Episode 11 - A Road Trip Downeast to visit Maven & Pickled Wrinkle When Driving Downeast to visit my friend Emma Thieme at her studio in Cherryfield I always take the scenic route. Known as Blackswoods, Route 182 is like entering a fairytale book. Winding roads and gorgeous lakes. Little pull offs and mountain views. The drive is short lived but so damn pretty, which is ironic because it is also the site of Maine’s most notorious ghost stories.... This road eventually brings you through Cherryfield where Maven Studio is located. Maven is handmade leather bags and motorcycle seats by Emma Thieme who also happens to star in a music video I directed called, "Love at Last Light". I capture her riding her motorcycle on Blackswoods en route to meet with her lover at a lighthouse. She is so inspiring and this area inspires her work : “ I want to think of it as gritty and raw and like yeah not refined and I have found over the years that my designs change based on where I live. I'm realizing that like the hardware makes a really big difference and I'm looking at what's around me because this is just such a rough hard working area..” After checking out her studio, we head to Pickled Wrinkle in Prospect Harbor. This road trip takes you around Schoodic Peninsula, though awesome fishing towns and all the way to Schoodic Point; Maine's best kept secret (till now). At Pickled Wrinkle... a place where “You'll have a clam diggers sitting next to a millionaire and they're hanging out and buying each other drinks." This restaurant and music venue is the best in the area and the building has an awesome history as well! Road tripping around Downeast Maine is exciting because it is so rural with so many back roads to explore, sure there are some Dollar Stores and eye sores but this part of Maine is a place of no distraction, it sings a different tune, it is gorgeous and it is waiting for you.  As the curtain closes on our Concert Cast journey through Season One, we experience Maine’s concert culture through two very different and wonderful places; Downeast and Aroostook County. While one conjures visions of lobsters and the other potatoes, they are a perfect pairing; just add butter and live music! As I write this post, I am reminded of two feelings that cannot be described, only felt. Leaving home and returning home... As we close out our adventure together, it's fitting we begin with a stop in my hometown of Sullivan, Maine.
If you LOVE THE CREATIVE PROCESS then listen to: Episode 9 & 10 Southwest Harbor & Sullivan In Episode 9 we meet up with award winning film composer and Jazz Musician Ryan Blotnick who scored the fame documentary, "Knock Down the House". He talks about moving back to Southwest Harbor from NYC and how his love of jazz is rooted in nature. Episode 10 - we head across the bay to Sullivan, my hometown! A town that is very quiet but loudly inspiring. In Episode 10 I catch up with Craig Grossi, a military veteran who completed his memoir about rescuing a street dog from Afghanistan at my rental property called, The Lucky Stone Retreat. The second half of the Sullivan episode is a volume turner. It features a phone interview and lots of music with my friend, Audrey Ryan who resides in North Sullivan (grittier part of town) for the summer season. This woman is a creative force. Not only does she perform indie rock, loop all sorts of wild instruments, but she is a psychologist, a DIY venue owner and to cap it off, a fiction writer.In this episode we talk about playing on islands in Maine, tour stories, and how lyrics to one of her folk songs, about Maine’s most popular alcohol, was crowdsourced by parents & fans. Insider Tip: When traveling to Maine, get yourself a gallon of Allen’s Coffee Brandy. Mix with milk and pour over ice - crank some local music while sipping in the stunning vistas If Covid has you CRAVING A ROAD TRIP then listen to: Episode 8: Bar Harbor Bar Harbor is on the east side on Mount Desert Island which is home to wildly beloved Acadia National Park. The coastal town is roughly 3 hours north of Portland and the road trip is well worth it, especially if you take the long way via Historic Route 1. In true road-tripping form, you might add an extra day to visit a nationally recognized art museum, eat at an iconic pit stop and treat yourself to handmade Maine craft. Once you arrive on Mount Desert Island, the island itself provides an open invitation to get comfortably lost (only one way on and one way off). Scout the island to check out several communities,, each offering their own distinctive personality. After exploring the national park, you’ll want to head into the heart of Bar Harbor. Skip the tourist traps and head to Rodick Street AKA “Music Row” where you’ll find an off the beaten path selection of restaurants with live music and local talent of many sorts! The anchor here is Lompoc Cafe which was started by Doug Mafucci in the early 80’s who later went on to start Atlantic Brewery, Maine’s first craft beer company. “What’s really interesting is that we kinda needed to connect the dots along the coast of Maine. Portland has a big music scene, so does Rockland, and we were the northern most part of that trip. By having a good venue here it actually encouraged venues to pop up a lot the way. You had this sort of road trip where you could go on vacation and see music along the coast of Maine every stop along the way. " In this episode we’ll hear more from Doug and what it was like opening a radical venue in a little tourist town and also from Jenna Young, the co-owner of Side Street Cafe and The Annex who talks about her process of creating a vibe as well as the allure of Rodick Street. If you LOVE DISCOVERING NEW MUSIC then listen to: Episode 12: Birding Head to the biggest venue in Maine - the woods! Birding is a big thing here... walking in the woods, listening to the crunch of leaves under your feet and birds singing from their stage in the trees makes for nature's best concert experience. And here in Maine, we have so many birds, due in part because we have so many bugs! In Episode 12 I catch up with my friend Chris Riley who is an avid birder to talk about chirp notes and popular birds in Maine. After listening to this episode, you’ll surely find yourself paying a little closer attention to nature’s concert culture! If you LOVE VENUES & HISTORY then listen to: Episode 14: Eureka Hall Driving to Maine’s most remote music venue in Stockholm, Maine was like venturing to an entirely different state. Coastlines morphed into potato fields, and soon miles of nothingness. I drove up to see Ben Cosgrove perform at Eureka Hall, a venue I had been wanting to visit for quite sometime now. They always have terrific shows lined up and also have a cutting edge food menu. Going to Eureka embodied the entire concert experience for me: Traveling for Live Music. While waiting for Ben to take the stage at Eureka, I struck up a convo with Ezra, the bartender. "Eureka has gone through 1000 iterations. So this is the second building it used to be four stories tall.Then it burnt down. It used to be the town office. It used to be the nursing home. It used to be an arcade. Used to be the town hall. Used to be you name it. That's where they used to take care of kids, old people. And then they converted into a restaurant back in the 80s. And now it's technically this is the 21st birthday of Eureka as a restaurant. So it's worth celebrating." This two-part episode is chock-full of delightful conversations and offers great perspective on a piece of Maine that oftentimes gets overlooked. |
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