NE PopFest 2011 Bands

September 15-17, 2011
The Rosebud Bar and Grill


Angeline (Boston, MA)
www.facebook.com/AngelineMusic
Emily Grogan, Linda Viens, Scott Cornielle, Larry Dersch

Angeline is a 4 piece band that creates passionate folk-rock with a spooky, dirty edge...like Pentangle meets Leonard Cohen meets Crazy Horse. Lushly orchestrated and packing a powerful emotional punch, Angeline's haunting, original melodies have been described as the "love- child songs of Sandy Denny and Lucinda Williams". Solace, pain, heartbreak and beauty abide in these songs along with punk attitude and rock and roll ferocity. Angeline's cd Powdered Pearls can be purchased at cd baby; http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/angelinesounds.
The Bandit Kings (Gloucester, MA)
www.banditkings.com
Ann Marie, Renee Dupuis, Dan King, Joe Cardoza, Dennis Monagle

The Bandit Kings are an alt. country/rock/pop band with two female lead vocalists, a vintage jangle sound and modern rock rhythms. In the last two years, the BKs played great clubs throughout New England, including Boston, the North Shore, and New England -- as well as a great tour in Los Angeles. They have managed to find raw, bare-bones musical chemistry, including the rich meld of vocalists Ann Marie and Dupuis, who "both have voices that bring us back to the dawn of country rock, whisky soaked and raspy in just the right places while never crossing into the overpowering." (Boston Band Crush)

The Bandit Kings are currently recording their third full length album and their last two albums, Live in Los Angeles and Precious Stones are currently available at iTunes, Amazon, and CDBaby

Butterknife (Somerville, MA)
www.butterknife.info
Kieran Stone, Jim Theodore, Phil Wisdom

Butterknife had themselves a great 2010 - they released their debut LP onetworeadygo. to positive reviews from Performer Magazine, The Noise, and Kapital Ink, among others; received radio play on WFNX, WFMO, WZBC, and WZLX, and played some well-received shows in the area. Boston Band Crush said Butterknife play "some of the best power pop in town. These guys do it up proper, crafting well-structured melodies that fill the room with delight. We'd wager that there aren't many bands that have as much fun playing live as these gentlemen and that joy is infectious." Butterknife will release their new EP Do the Needful this fall, and are excited to be part of NE PopFest 2011!
Wayne Cabral (Westport, MA)
www.myspace.com/waynecabral
Wayne Cabral, Joe Militello, Bob Dinozzi, Stuart T. Powers

Although fronted by Award Winning Singer/Songwriter Wayne Cabral, The Band is much more than that.... Keyboardist Joe Militello, Bob Dinozzi on bass, and Stu Powers on drums round out a formidable quartet... The boys will play songs from Wayne's critically acclaimed cd 17 Hours as well as selections from his upcoming release Nothing To Do....
Eddie Japan (Boston, MA)
www.eddiejapan.com
David Santos, Chris Barrett, Bart LoPiccolo, Eric Brosius, Chuck Ferreira, Charles Membrino

Built around the singing and songwriting of David Santos, Eddie Japan takes its cues from the more stylish, esoteric side of '60s pop music. With classic melodies, flashes of brass, and smooth but strong vocals, theirs is a sound that takes the listener to a time when the suits were sharp and the drinks were stiff.
Fireking (Boston, MA)
www.firekings.com
Anthony Kaczynski, Smitt E. Smitty, Drew Morrison

From Boston by way of Detroit, and featuring two former members of Figures on a Beach, Fireking aims for the sweet spot somewhere between Face to Face era Kinks and Funhouse. Fireking is currently working with producer extraordinaire Ducky Carlisle on their second album, Double Trouble, which will indeed be a double album in the very best old-school tradition, and we'll be previewing tunes from it at NE PopFest 2011. Fireking rocks.
Miskatonic (Boston, MA)
www.facebook.com/miskatonicrock
Tim Farrell, Elizabeth Fryman, Steve Kelly, Mark Patti, Paul Wisner

Miskatonic has been described as "a potent mixture of new wave and rock and roll," "intensely energetic" and "Courtney Love on mood elevators singing in a sci-fi rock opera." The Boston-based band’s songs are riddled with powerful rock beats and infectious, melodic vocals.

The band's first release (2007), Let Us Entertain Us, received significant commercial and college airplay ­ and strong reviews. Northeast Performer wrote: "Miskatonic's bombastically catchy sound is complemented by Fryman's sometimes delicate, mostly edgy vocals." The Noise Boston exclaimed: "'Dregs of the World' kicks like a page from the book of new wave Johnny Lyndon." and "It's damn near perfect." Their follow up (EP) release Favorite Records rocks just as hard while drawing the listener in with haunting melodies that you can't get out of your head! Finalists in Boston Emergenza competition in 2007 and commercial radio 92.5 The River’s 2008 Rising Star competition. Miskatonic is currently working on their 3rd CD at QDivision studios with producer Rafi Sofer.

The One Smith (Jamaica Plain, MA)
www.theonesmith.com
Eric Schmider, Joe Klompus, Jefferson Davis, Aaron Gelb, Dave Aaronoff

Eric Schmider is The One Smith. The map: from New Mexico to Boston, from Folk to Pop, from blur to clear - I am here to make some music.
The Pomps (Allston, MA)
thepomps.com
Alex Stern, Jameson Hollis, Casey Gruttadauria, Rick Smith

While his peers joined the white-belted masses at the coke-fueled dance-rock marathons that came to symbolize the water-treading music industry of the early 2000's, Alex Stern doubled down on the curious rhythms of Jamaican independence, the farfisa-drowned overtones of the British new-wave, and the arpeggiated jangle of Manchester's guitar-pop revival. This is the recipe for the Pomps; a band that is just laughably out-of-step enough with the current landscape to be taken seriously.

In his years-long journey to Pomp-hood, Alex started, joined and left bands such as The Void Union, The Sterns, Westbound Train, Mass. Hysteria and the New Collisions. All have been national touring workhorses. It was through this constant touring that he met his current bandmates. Though the group only officially formed in April of 2011, they are fielding offers for shows in the USA and Europe, and will be celebrating the release of a full-length in 2012. The Pomps are coming!

A Pony For My Birthday (Somerville, MA)
www.aponyformybirthday.com
Evelyn Pope, Scott Riccuiti

Evelyn Pope (Ashby) and Scott Ricciuti (Huck) came together through their love of catchy pop melodies, boy/girl harmonies and minimal instrumentation. Armed with an old Wurlitzer electic piano (Evelyn), a ukelele and acoustic guitar (Scott) and some egg shakers and a tamborine they sing songs about pretty much anything that comes to mind, from Newport Jai-Lai to Longfellow's poem "Song of Hiawatha." Look for their album Happy Tearful You, coming soon!
Popfilter (Boston, MA)
www.popfilterboston.com
Chris Anderson, Joe Massei, Chris Carucci, Josh Davis

POPFILTER! released its debut CD, POP THIS! in November 2010 to critical praise. For 2011, Chris returns to drums, Joey Massei (The Dons) on lead guitar, Chris Carucci returns on rhythm guitar and Josh Davis (The Olde Maids), on bass.
Preacher Roe (Ashland, MA)
preacherroe.bandcamp.com
John Donovan, Greg Olson, Mike Orr, Scott Ricciuti

5 year old four piece Preacher Roe purveys sub 3 minute pop with hair on it.
"incredible songs with a stones/replacements live dynamic" -Portsmouth Herald
"the perfect soundtrack to your after work drinking" -Boston Band Crush
"a rising indie pop force" -Worcester Telegram
Scarce (Boston, MA)
www.myspace.com/scarcetheband
Chick Graning, Joe Propatier, Joyce Raskin, and Karen Orsi

Scarce released their major label debut, Deadsexy, on A&M Records in 1996 in followup to an indie release, great press (a 3.5 star review in Rolling Stone) and extensive touring in the UK & US, culminating with an opening slot on Hole's '96 tour. Scarce was poised for a national breakthrough when the lead singer sustained a brain injury a week before Deadsexy was to be released. The release of the album was postponed, and Graning then spent the next nine months re-learning how to walk, talk, play his guitar and sing his songs.

11 years later the band re-formed and played a sold out show in Boston in the fall of 2007. Tattoos And Parades was released in October of 2008, and they've toured the U.S. and Europe since then. In 2010 SPIN magazine listed Scarce as one of top 100 bands you've never heard of. The band released 7 new songs in 2011 that are an album soundtrack to Joyce Raskin's fall release The Fall and Rise of Circus Boy Blue, and this summer they toured the west coast to promote Joyce's tween novel My Misadventures as a Teenage Rock Star, do special bookstore events, and visit Girls Rock Camps.

Shepherdess (Jamaica Plain, MA)
www.facebook.com/pages/Shepherdess/177455302272692
Hilken Mancini, Emily Arkin, Alison Murray

Shepherdess is a power trio consisting of singer/guitarist Hilken Mancini (Fuzzy, Punk Rock Aerobics), baritone guitarist Emily Arkin (The Operators), and drummer Alison Murray (Gamine Thief). They may be compared to Cat Power on speed. Or perhaps Kate Bush fronting The Wipers. Or Captain Beefheart falling, hitting his head, and waking up believing that he is Built to Spill.
Joe Turner & the Seven Levels (Boston, MA)
www.JT7L.com
Joe Turner, Carolyn Corella, Adam Goodwin, Joel Simches

Joe Turner's first forays into public performance were varied, to say the least: in the late 80's as part of the goofball semi-hardcore, semi-industrial "Smegabucks", then into the space-drone of "Cinnamon". Real notice came with his tenure as drummer for Abunai!, turning out three albums, singles, and compilation tracks.

When Abunai! eventually called it quits, Joe unleashed his psychedelic pop visions on the world, as evidenced by the well-reviewed Between Two Seconds (Camera Obscura Records, 2004). Joe also chalked up a brief drumming stay as a founding member of goth-americana mavens "Black Fortress of Opium", as well as one-off performances with the likes of The Lilys, Barbara Manning, Damo Suzuki (Can), Brother JT, and Nick Saloman (Bevis Frond), and performed several times with the Boston Rock Opera. The band are currently at work on their second full-length release, provisionally entitled Girls Get Drugs for Free.

Uranium Daughters (Somerville, MA)
uraniumdaughters.bandcamp.com
Julie Kantner, Eric Krauter, Niels LaWhite, Walter Young, Jerry Kyn

Julie read a story about Nuclear fusion and its byproducts and came upon the name Uranium Daughters and thought what a good name for a band! After some years as a solo project friends agreed to play and now Julie plays guitar and sings, Jerry plays guitar, Niels plays bass, Eric plays trumpet, Wally plays drums.

Recordings at Q Division have been leaking out and are almost ready for take off.

Watts (Boston, MA)
www.facebook.com/wattsrock
John Blout, Dan Kopko, Craig LaPointe, John Lynch

Watts "make a superb retro rock ‘n’ roll racket," says Rob Forbes (LeicesterBangs). A dynamic four-piece aptly named for the gentleman drummer of the Rolling Stones, Watts' sound combines all the best elements of '70s glam, old school punk, new wave, British Invasion and straight up rock-n-roll to create a timeless amalgam that is at once familiar and fresh. The band was named one of ...the "Bands You Must Hear" by the UK's Classic Rock magazine in 2008 due to their previous record, One Below The All Time Low. The newly released On the Dial carries on in the tradition of the One Below... record with a full set of rock-n-roll songs ripe for the radio. In the tradition of the Beatles and Kiss, this record features all four Watts singing lead vocals.
Yes, Sir (Somerville, MA)
www.facebook.com/weareyessir
Jen Grygiel, Jen Chouinard, Jordan Weaver, Chris Erickson

Yes, Sir is fronted by Jen Grygiel (ex MEandJOANCOLLINS & Steel Poniez). She is joined by rock drummer Jen Chouinard (Birds Make Birds, ex Kitty Kill) and former members of Oranjuly, Jordan Weaver and Chris Erickson.


  [ PopFest Home ]    [ NE PopFest 2011 ]    [ The 2011 Bands ]    [ The 2011 Schedule ]    [ 2011 Photos ]  
To get email address, enter verification code   then click here.  

Copyright © 2004-2024 Roy S. Rubinstein. All rights reserved.
The New England Pop Music Festival theme song Copyright © 2006 Robin Lane/Roy Rubinstein. All rights reserved.
"The New England Pop Music Festival", "NE PopFest", "Random Rogue", and the nepop logo are trademarks and may not be used without permission.
Web site designed and maintained by Roy S. Rubinstein.