Bunker Rock/JimBaumerMe
A Full Season of Music
Vol. 1/Issue 3
Sitting at my dining room table in June, I wrote a song that in many ways is my “Alice’s Restaurant.” By that I mean that it’s a song written in a vein similar to Arlo Guthrie’s late-60s classic—a sort of talking blues that spans nearly five decades of my musical journey from the age of 8 until now.
At the start of summer, I was just coming out of the chute relative to booking gigs. A mere few weeks into a calendar of bookings and venues that ran well into the fall and the eventual closing-down of many outdoor places catering to warmer days and music.
The cold and darkness of November now morphs into full-blown winter. My crowded calendar of the summer now has a smattering of dates marked in January, with other possibilities confirmed out into 2022.
Since I write my own songs, like “Finding a New Path,” the song I reference above, and my penchant and preference for the indie side of the rock landscape, I began seeking opportunities to play original songs, versus the summer-long slog of three-hour sets spiked full of cover material, even if what I cover tends towards my own preference for the more obscure side of music. There’s nothing wrong with playing covers if that’s your thing. It’s not really mine. So, where to look for opportunities and perhaps, a scene that still understands what indie once meant when it was still vibrant. And yes, Virginia, there are still places where indie still has street cred.
Apple orchard rocking
I began looking at clubs in the Boston-area, I found a booking agent who manages the calendar at places like The Jungle in Somerville and the Midway Café in Jamaica Plain. Both regularly feature indie bands and solo artists. In September, I made my Boston debut at the former and then, a few weeks ago, found myself on the stage of a venue that meant something significant to me, opening for a couple of well-known local bands.
The Midway has a storied indie past, and I was gracing the same patch of a performance-worn stage where many indie rockers of renown like Buffalo Tom, Thalia Zedek, and Tanya Donnelly had played before me dating back to 1987, in a city where rock and roll has rich history. Thanks to Doug George for capturing me on video.
The headliner was none other than Martin, Morell, and Fredette, a Boston-based super group of sorts with a resume spanning bands like The Neats, The Del Fuegos, The Oysters, and others. For me, a fan of earlier eras of Boston rock, I knew that The Neats ran in the same metro music pond with post-punk pioneers, Mission of Burma. In fact, both MOB and The Neats were on Ace of Hearts, a local label that still means something to connoisseurs of underground rock and roll.
I’m headed back to Boston in January and hopefully, efforts to lands some dates further south, like in Providence—another “town” with an indie rock past—will come to fruition.
Shout outs: Hidden Cove Brewing Co. (for graciously booking me multiple times), The Fryeburg Fair, Taste of Waterville, Eric Mauriello, Dom Colizzi, Heather and Tiny Oak Booking, Shawn Munro Edgecomb (for some great photos), my better half, Mary, my sister, Julie-Ann, Larry Roop, Ben Tyler, Linda Andrews, Ralph Campbell, and all the friends and family who came out to support me at gigs this summer/fall. Kudos to Tom Dube (Dube Music) for being there for guitar repairs and offering an encouraging word.
Keep an eye on the website for new opportunities as we head out into 2022. A good way to keep tabs on JimBaumerMe is by subscribing to my newsletter, which can be done at the bottom of the music page.
Happy Holidays!!