Press Release Courtesy of Nick Riebel

Following last week’s incredible debut of The Unplugged Series at Berklee College of Music, Series #2 is sure to be a sell out. Featuring Berklee’s Pitch Slapped, Merry Go Round, and Tom Howie, the LOFT will see another impressive crowd for its first annual OKTOBERFEST. Admission is free, doors open at 6:15PM, show begins at 6:30 with Tom Howie.

The Lineup:
Pitch Slapped: For the past three years Pitch Slapped has been the only student run A Cappella group at Berklee.  Started by Cate Wright, they have competed in annually in the ICCA’s (the International competition for collegiate A Cappella)  And last year placed third in the entire north east.   They are currently an ensemble 15 talented singers and will be gigging around Boston and New England under the new direction of Christine Gallagher.

Merry Go Round: Evelyn Brown and Ashley Root are two powerful musical forces coming from two very different parts of the country. Hailing from North Attleboro, Massachusetts, Ashley found herself beginning her musical career at Berklee in 2006. Likewise Evelyn had just moved to Boston from the “Live Music Capital of the World” of Austin, Texas to study at Berklee. Through their interactions in songwriting classes they became great friends and admirers of each other’s work, but it was months before they wrote their first song together, “Better On My Feet.” Every line one of them started, the other finished. Every melody one of them would sing, the other added an amazing harmony to it. After this collaboration they realized there was no way they could dive into the music business without each other. Merry Go Round’s debut album is due out in late 2009 from Tono Music Group. Evelyn and Ashley are currently planning a nationwide tour in support of their album, kicking off during winter 2009.

Tom Howie’s talent lies in his ability to weigh the ups and downs of what is really meaningful in ways that awaken us to our own reality. The 21 year-old Canadian is currently a scholarship student at Berklee. Despite his age, he has already had a production deal with Ashwin Sood, husband to and drummer for acclaimed singer/songwriter Sarah McLachlan (with Sarah performing on several of the tracks, he released an EP entitled Song is the Lifeblood), he has been courted by major labels, and has played extensively throughout Western Canada.

For press passes and inquires, contact:
Nick Riebel
Event Coordinator
Berklee College of Music
317-697-0669
nriebel@berklee.net
nickriebel.berklee@gmail.com

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Press Release Courtesy of  Caf Shows

Sponsored by the Student Activities Center, a new student project titled The Unplugged Series will debut its first show at the LOFT at 939 this Friday, October 23. The first series will feature: Nini & Ben, Black Kettle, and Emily Elbert. Admission is free, doors open at 6:15P.M., and the show begins at 6:30P.M.

The Unplugged Series was developed by Berklee students Nick Riebel and Trevor Paul who came up with the idea when they realized the school needed a weekly and free music venue to see not only Berklee students, but also national touring musicians in an intimate space. “We wanted to book talent that we ourselves loved, and yet, knew would translate well acoustically,” said Riebel, who is in charge of booking for the Unplugged Series. “I knew the first seriesʼtalent bill before I even got the ʻgoʼ from the school.”

The Lineup:

Nini & Ben began as loving partnership between Nini Fabi and Ben Gebert. Nini, a talented vocalist with a classical background and Ben, a strong pianist and gifted music engineer has traveled the world together seeking adventure and music. In 2007 they settled in Boston, Massachusetts to attend Berklee College of Music and bring together their vision within the hotbed of talent of the Boston music scene. Their first show as a steady lineup was to a sold out crowd of 1,200 people at the Berklee Performance Center and since then, their shows have been peaking the interest of fans all around the world. In 2009, Nini and Ben signed to Boston’s Heavy Rotation Records and have just finished recording their second album, The Reasons We Try, at the world famed Avatar Studio in NYC under the guidance of engineer and producer Rich Mendelson (Rhianna, The Cars, Boston), which will be released next month.

Black Kettle is a female duo comprised of Kailynn West (Hershey, PA.) and Keeley Bumford (Seattle, WA.) With folk, bluegrass and indie roots, their eclectic tastes blend to make a unique sound with quirk and charm, which creates a refreshingly youthful sound for their genre. Playing a combination of guitar, piano, ukulele, mandolin, chord organ and other percussive instruments, the two are self-sufficient recording artists as well as producers and engineers; their friendship being rooted in the recording arts. The two met on a common ground where their collaborative songwriting brings new and creative ways to say, “I love you,” and even “I hate you.” Black Kettle is a group that strives to keep music and emotion humble, organic, and most importantly, sincere.

Emily Elbert was raised in Texas on a musical diet of Antonio Carlos Jobim, James Taylor, and oldies radio. Her music has delighted audiences and music critics alike with her jazz-infused sound, which she describes as “acoustic soul-folk.” Fresh off a northeast run with G-Love and Special Sauce and a showcase spot at the Folk Alliance Festival in Memphis, Elbert is already making a name for herself. Elbert’s debut CD, Bright Side, contains eleven original songs that she wrote, arranged, performed and recorded at Bob Gentry’s New Masters Studio in Tyler. Texas Instruments recently licensed videos of two of Emily’s songs to demonstrate their new video cell phones throughout the U.S., Europe and Asia. In addition to G-Love and Special Sauce, Elbert has opened for Kaki King, the Wood Brothers, Patty Larkin, Ruthie Foster, Marcia Ball and Ben Taylor and even Ryan Montbleau. When Elbert is not touring, however, she attends Berklee College of Music and is a recipient of a full-tuition scholarship.

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By Ann Driscoll
Associate Editor

Boston venues can be a hassle. For many Berklee bands, the following scenario is familiar. You hear about a club that a lot of your friends play at. You visit the website, and send the booking contact an email, but don’t receive a response. When, after your fifth booking inquiry, the booking guy does respond with a surly one-sentence confirmation of the date, the venue offers little to no promotion and gives you a timeslot playing at midnight on a Monday night after such exciting acts as Billy Bob & the Thunderfarts.

Read the full story

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Dhy Berry of Mrs. Danvers. Photo by Kevin Bullis.

By Ann Driscoll
Associate Editor

Queerstock ‘09 features 11 of the most talented LGBT-identified artists at Berklee. The second-annual event is sponsored by BUGLE, Berklee’s Union of Gays, Lesbians, and Everyone Else. Last year, Queerstock featured a roster of talented acts, attracted around seventy people to the caf and was a unifying event for Berklee’s queer community. This year’s event, which already has 91 confirmed guests on Facebook, is being promoted both on- and off-campus, and features a lineup of 11 young artists and Berklee students from all over the world.

Some of the featured artists include Berklee Songwriting Contest ‘09 Winner, Michael Gottlieb, a current 4th semester professional music major hailing from Israel. Second-semester student, Lydia Kay will perform her feisty, tragic Johnny Cash-influenced number, “You’re No Good For Me.” Metal band, Horcrux will perform the raucous, “Acid” featuring front-man, Stephen Hopkins’ impressive wail and Phoebe Danskin’s thick, supportive bass playing.

Miami native Joey Primero will play her deceptively sunny pop song “Living With a Ghost,” accompanied by her full band, while Emily Musolino will perform her smoldering acoustic blues number whose lyrics declare pride and strength, while decrying hypocrisy in such targets as Dick Cheney.

Michael Gottlieb

Mrs. Danvers, an all-female rock sextet, will bring their energetic, disco-pop to the caf. Rebecca Perkins and Becca Marbach are performing again after making strong impressions last year. First-semester student, Lauren Grubb of San Francisco will make her cafshow debut, as well as second semester singer-songwriters, Wil Viozzi and Drue Wendt.

The showcase is no ordinary night of music- but a celebration of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and queer identity. It is also an acknowledgement of the wealth of talent within the queer community, which is frequently discriminated against in the music industry as well as society as a whole. BUGLE invites students to attend and support this event on Sunday April 19, at 10 p.m in the Caf.

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