#artsatthearmory

[somervillesongwriters]

Interview with upcoming artist (November): Tim Foley

You're an impressive fingerstyle guitarist: how did you learn? 

Thank you for the compliment. It's difficult to answer this without bringing in some history which tells part of the story, but I'll try to be brief. I didn't start out as an instrumentalist, but I did start on the acoustic guitar. I started to play guitar when I was 15yrs old. My sister actually started before me, and she had an acoustic guitar that she used for lessons. She lost interest and my older brother, and I took over the guitar and we both took lessons at the same time, learning folk songs from this lady at her house. After a while my brother dropped out and it was just me.

I then bought an electric guitar with paper route money and when I showed up for my lesson with the electric, the lady said she couldn't teach me anymore. I then took a few lessons from a guy at a music store downtown Framingham, but as I remember, he had really bad breath and sort of a stale attitude, so I quit.

It wasn't until I broke my leg playing hockey in high school when I advanced to another level. Since I would be out of school healing, my mom suggested that I take guitar lessons to occupy my time. She hooked me up with Rick Dzurick, a great teacher who really brought me to another level. I was interested in jazz fusion at the time and loved Steely Dan and when Rick showed me the chords to Josie it was homework for the next 10 years.

I was sort of lost as a musician for a long time after that. I was in a number of bands playing electric guitar with no direction and didn't play much acoustic until the early 90's when I purchased a half descent acoustic. When I lived in New Hampshire I got emersed in the blues and spent my money buying all the blues cassettes at a local music shop. Another 8 yrs went by when I decided to move to New Orleans where I worked weekends, and I had Monday through Friday off. I would go out to see great music every night, stay out late, get up around 11am, drink a pot of coffee on my porch on Dublin St, play acoustic guitar all day long, then do the same thing the next night and so on. I think the hours on that porch on Dublin St. solidified a direction in my playing.

That lifestyle was hard to keep going with what I was earning, so I ended up working several jobs. I just primarily played acoustic on gigs when I was in New Orleans with exception of playing electric at the Mark Bancroft Blues Jam on Wednesday nights at the Maple Leaf Bar. I met Taka Moro at the Maple Leaf Jam and we started a duo called TIMTAKA, playing out at some local places like the Spotted Cat on Frenchmen St, performing a number of our original tunes. Taka is now a fine luthier and making amazing jazz guitars in Houston, Texas.

 When I returned to the northeast from New Orleans, I was disenchanted with music. I threw my mic stand out in the snow and let it rust and put my guitars under the bed and didn't play for six months. One day I decided to pull my guitar out and for some reason I tuned it to a B tuning and wrote my instrumental, 'Here I Am' in about 10 minutes. Why I tuned to the B tuning I haven't a clue and the song just flowed out of me like it was just waiting for me to have a guitar in my hand for it to be played. I thought it was way too easy for me to write that song and thought that maybe it was a sign for me to keep going on the guitar, so I started up again. I then started experimenting with different types of capos and alternate tunings. 

Who are your guitar inspirations?

I have many: The Assad Bros, Badi Assad, Sonny Landreth, Walter Becker, Robben Ford, Bonnie Raitt, Larry Carlton, David Lindley, Ry Cooder, John Scofield, Joni Mitchell, Fernando Sor, Chris Whitley, Ricki Lee Jones, Al Di Meola, Freddy King, BB King, Pat Metheny, Leo Kottke, Joe Pass, Phil Manzanera, David Hildago and on and on... I've always been open to many types of music, but I definitely have a handful of categories that I gravitate towards.

There have also been phases I've gone through, and I moved on because I easily became bored with just remaining in one idiom of music. I always felt there was more to listen to around the corner and places from away. I think that's why I started listening to jazz because it's such a high art form with surprising improvisation that isn't boxed in. I like sax players because they know how to use space and play outside. In my mind the best blues is played with a sax soloist. 

So, then I need to mention the non-guitar influences like John Coltrane, McCoy Tyner, Elvin Jones, Art Blakey, Brian Blade, Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis, Marcus Miller, Terence Blanchard, Cassandra Wilson and all those jazz musicians. Then there's those Cuban musicians and it just keeps going. 

A lot of your music is instrumental. How do you conceptualize and title an instrumental song? 

A lot of what I do with the guitar instrumentals starts out as noodling around using alternate tunings and various capos like the 3rd hand capo, regular and partial capos. I might come up with a phrase that I like and need to figure out where it will fit by putting other phrases with it. Depending on what I come up with for the other phrases will dictate where things will be placed. What might start out as a chorus sometimes ends up as a verse or bridge. It's sort of like putting a puzzle together.

The trick is, in the end it has to make musical sense to me. It doesn't work if it just sounds like noodling with no structure to it. There needs to be a melody and resolve. The guitar instrumentals also need to be played as solo and not need support from other instruments. Many times, the music just comes to me, and I've learned to recognize when that happens. The only way I can describe it is I'll get a feeling of creative energy which is sort of like a caffeine buzz from too much coffee. I never know when it will happen. It's a very brief window that opens for about a minute and I need to pay attention to it and grab a guitar to see where it will lead me.

Piecing the instrumentals together sometimes takes months. I keep moving things around and adding parts to them. It's difficult to title these instrumentals because of the extended period it took to complete them, and they may begin in one environment and end up in another. For one of those instrumentals, 'Hello There's Hope' I couldn't come up with a name for it, so I asked me niece to listen to me play it and tell me the first thing that came to her mind when I stopped. Then there's 'Caribbean Moon for Pat', which I ended up naming for my brother who's no long with us. For that song, I actually tried to create music to a mini movie that was in my head. The scene is a black and white tv showing a full moon scene of a view from a beach with palm trees flowing in the breeze and a small sailboat going by. I haven't figured out how to perform that song solo because the chords need to be consistent while the slide guitar plays the melody.   

Your music spans a number of styles -- is there a thru-line to how you would describe the music you make? What are your primary musical inspirations?

I guess I'm the amalgamation of everything I've listened to, all the places I've lived and the experiences I've had. I've tried to make music that is honest to me and tried not to sound like someone else. That was one of my original rules. If I started writing a song and it sounded like another song, I would scrap it. When I started to write songs, I'd put constrictions on myself. I wanted to write music that sounded a certain way. I would say to myself: "that's not Steely Dan enough" or "that's not jazz fusion enough" it's not this enough or that enough etc...and obviously, I wasn't coming up with any material and I was going nowhere.

I came to the realization that if I was going to write original songs, I needed to be honest with myself and accept whatever I came up with. I remember saying to myself: "Hey, if it sounds like a &*%#@ing nursery rhyme, that's what it is and you're going to have to deal with it". It was a stepping off the dock onto a skiff to the unknown for me to look at who I really was musically at that time. When I did that, I let myself out of the box I put myself in and I started to write original songs. From that point I never wanted to be stuck in a particular style of music and find it interesting to see where things go.

Tim will be playing on Saturday, November 5th, 7:30 p.m., in the Somerville Songwriter Sessions, along with Doug Kwartler and host Sam Bayer, at the Somerville Armory Cafe, 191 Highland Ave, Somerville MA. (Great music, great food, free parking.) $15 suggested donation. Questions? [email protected]

#somervillesongwritersessions #somerville #songwriters #livemusic #somervillesongwriters #music #somervillearmory #artsatthearmory

[jamesadomian]

Falling Fast ... Boston tonight at Somerville #artsatthearmory with @yogipaliwal! https://www.instagram.com/p/BomsI8GHgUS/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1ryevcgt398td

#artsatthearmory

[anartsnotebook]

Photos from #herbstalk2019 last weekend at #artsatthearmory I got a great haul from @muddyriverherbals (love you, Jenny 😘), @fosterfarmbotanicals, @tamimteas and many more, plus I learned excellent things during the Sunday classes. I'll be working in garden tomorrow & hope to have many great pics to share all summer of my #containergarden & little front #urbangarden so stay tuned! #herbgarden #urbangardening #containergardening (at Arts at the Armory) https://www.instagram.com/p/BydlaDuADeB/?igshid=15wr2v2570jdq

#herbstalk2019 #artsatthearmory #containergarden #urbangarden #herbgarden #urbangardening #containergardening

[briotheatre]

The last night of rehearsal! Come see The Real Me, a play by Joseph Sorrentino playing at the Center For The Arts at the Armory in Somerville. All proceeds from food by @kosharimama will be donated to Brio. Don't miss this performance which is free and open to the public. #briointegratedtheatre #artsforall #therealmeplay #artsatthearmory #autismawarenessmonth #inclusioninthearts (at The Somerville Armory) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bv3x8j_l7ao/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=x2nzts6d92y4

#briointegratedtheatre #artsforall #therealmeplay #artsatthearmory #autismawarenessmonth #inclusioninthearts

[hieropice]

#Herbstalk2018! I’m flying solo today so can’t leave my table at the moment, but so much cool stuff to see! • #herbal #herbalism #herbstalk #plants #botany #armory #artsatthearmory #somerville #artsatthearmorysomerville #somervillearts #herbalstudies #nature #naturalhealing #botanicals

#artsatthearmory #somervillearts #plants #herbalism #artsatthearmorysomerville #nature #naturalhealing #botany #herbalstudies #herbstalk2018 #herbal #botanicals #herbstalk #somerville #armory

[squoose]

This is not a drill! The next somerville flea is this Sunday at the Somerville armory. Will you be ready? I will be ready with lots of new drawings including this lovely science pig. #somervilleflea #somerville #unionsquare #artsatthearmory #artistoninstagram #artistofinstagram #love #jailcosby #watercolorpainting (at Union Square (Somerville))

#somervilleflea #artistofinstagram #somerville #watercolorpainting #artsatthearmory #jailcosby #unionsquare #artistoninstagram #love

[muddyriverherbals-blog]

Day two of the #fivedaysofherbstalk: ☄️ chamomile ☄️ This magical herb is well-known as a mild and calming sedative. It is also deliciously bitter which makes it perfect in an after dinner tea. When we started growing this self-seeding annual years ago in our plot at the @fenwayvictorygardens we were floored by the vibrant flavors and divinely calming quality of homegrown chamomile. After you grow it in your own garden you'll never want to buy it at the supermarket again (and you won't have to, as these plants are wonderfully prolific!). . . . Join us this weekend (June 3rd and 4th, 10 to 5 both days) at our favorite herbal event of the year, @herbstalk! We'll be at #artsatthearmory in Somerville, selling plants for your garden, signing folks up for the CSA, and talking everything herbal til we're blue in the face (and then talking some more). Our booth will be in the marketplace which is FREE to all, so come by and say hi! #somervillema #igersboston #medicinalherbs #bostonfoodies #chamomile #chamomiletea #homegrown #plantmedicine #herbgarden #herbfarm #herbalcsa #herbstalk #herbstalk2017 (at Muddy River Herbals)

#herbgarden #herbfarm #medicinalherbs #herbstalk2017 #fivedaysofherbstalk #somervillema #homegrown #chamomile #artsatthearmory #igersboston #chamomiletea #plantmedicine #bostonfoodies #herbalcsa #herbstalk

[toriwestonwriterartist]

Stop by @artsatthearmory for #somervilleopenstudios2021 or check out https://somervilleopenstudios.org/web/artists/artist_profile/1298 #somervillema #somervilleopenstudios #supportlocalartists #lithography #printmaking #drawing https://www.instagram.com/p/COVimXMBdu-/?igshid=eod7rnsuxbbg

#somervilleopenstudios2021 #somervillema #somervilleopenstudios #supportlocalartists #lithography #printmaking #drawing

[yeioupaperobjects]

So excited about these cheery postcards! I'm making and taping a little "yay" banner to each one - you can get one if you purchase a goodie bag ticket to next weekend's @craftmywedding bridal show at #artsatthearmory in Somerville! (Or if your engagement ring comes from @escottoriginals, but that will take a little more planning!) . . . . . . . . #yeiou #yay #livecolorfully #colorfullycrafted #weddingideas #weddingplanning #weddingtable #northshoreweddings #bostonbride #weddingdecor #weddinginspo #weddinginspiration #diywedding #weddingideas #weddingplanning #craftyfingers #madeinsomerville #somervillema #unionsquarema http://bit.ly/2nhDA0a

#IFTTT #Instagram #yeiou

[somervillesongwriters]

Interview with upcoming artist (October): Caroline Cotter

So many of your recent songs are deeply personal or about family. How do those kinds of songs start? What's the spark for a song for you? Yes, many of my songs are deeply personal. I've always written about what's going on for me, whatever it is I'm needing to process.  My writing tends to be a cathartic expression of my life experience, and I've found that I often process things slowly.  Sometimes it will take me years to write a song about a significant life event, but it always feels good to get it out. I don't necessarily write for an audience but when I do share songs, it's often the ones that are deeply personal that people connect to the most.

How did you cope musically with the first years of the pandemic? It took me a long time to adjust to just being in one place. I had been touring non-stop for over 5 years when everything shut down, and not playing shows or having contact with the general public was a complete 180. I've never enjoyed engaging virtually with an audience, which is why I had spent so much time traveling to play for people live. I really resisted the virtual performances, and mostly participated in online concerts only when I was invited. I really didn't have a lot of motivation to play music, maybe I was depressed, or just trying to make sense of this new life, all of the uncertainty, and all that was happening out in the world. 

There were a smattering of online shows I did in the first several months, and then in the fall of 2020 I started teaching.  I offered private music lessons through zoom, got a pretty great response for that, and also started teaching music at a little community school on Mount Desert Island where all classes were conducted outdoors. It was a true adventure teaching music to K-8 students in masks, outside in downeast Maine through the winter. We weren't allowed to sing at that point, so I taught them about music using rhythm instruments, ukuleles and glockenspiels, and listening to a wide range of different music. 

Once vaccinations became available, I started playing music with some musicians around here and we've continued playing and working together, mostly playing private gigs in the area, but adding some public shows as those became more available. I did record an album just before the pandemic started and I've been sitting on it since. I'm not sure when I'll release it but when I do, I'll make sure you know about it :) 

In May you're involved with a "Scotland Folk Tour" -- what will that entail? How did it come about? I was invited and encouraged to be a tour leader by a singer songwriter friend who has led these tours in Scotland with this company for many years. You can find out all about the trip on the website at https://scotlandfolktours.com/beyond-the-tartan-tour/

Caroline will be playing on Saturday, October 1st, 7:30 p.m., in the Somerville Songwriter Sessions, along with Phil Henry and host Beth DeSombre, at the Somerville Armory Cafe, 191 Highland Ave, Somerville MA. (Great music, great food, free parking.) $15 suggested donation. Questions? [email protected]

#somerville ma #artsatthearmory #livemusic #songwriters #songwriting #carolinecotter

[gratefultastes]

Public Schedule 🌬 Wednesday 3/31 #lowellvirtualmarket at @purplecarrotbread from 3-6pm 🌬 Saturday 4/3 @somwintermarket preorder pickup from 10-1pm at @artsatthearmory through @sourcewhatsgood app & Our debut at the #openmarket from 11-3pm on the third floor of @mills58peabody 🤘 We’ll be taking Sunday off, but want to remind all our faithful Lowell #jamfam that @farmlowell at @millno5 will be kicking off the outdoor season with vendors returning to the lot while #millfam shops and stores will be open from 10-4pm 🙏 Monday Motivation #vendorcollaboration breakfast 🍳 We whipped up a lazy avocado spread with some @forkonaroad Viva la Chili seasoning with a teaspoon of our #liamslocallemonjelly before topping with @neighborsacre #microgreens and a perfectly #sunnysideup duck egg and an extra large hot coffee made with @muddywatercoffee beans. 🤤 #grateful #gratefultastes #artisanalspreadsformorethanjustbreads #foodie #iger #foodies #massfoodies #bostonfoodies #lowellfoodies #mondayvibes #mondaymood #coffeefirst #yumyum #avocado #duckegg #hyperlocal #lowell #lowellma #getinmybelly https://www.instagram.com/p/CNANHYRHrOm/?igshid=umxen1944p8v

#lowellvirtualmarket #openmarket #jamfam #millfam #vendorcollaboration #liamslocallemonjelly #microgreens #sunnysideup #grateful #gratefultastes #artisanalspreadsformorethanjustbreads #foodie #iger #foodies #massfoodies #bostonfoodies #lowellfoodies #mondayvibes #mondaymood #coffeefirst #yumyum #avocado #duckegg #hyperlocal #lowell #lowellma #getinmybelly

[hieropice]

At the Somerville Flea Holiday Fair till 5 PM! • #somerville #somervilleflea #artsatthearmory #hieropice #natureart #naturalart #tree #Christmasdecor #botanical #botanicalart #botanicalmagnet #naturemagnet #landscapeart #landscape #handmadegift #handmadecraft #pinecone #pine #fridgemagnet #frigemagnet #magnet #madeinma #plantart #holidays #christmas #holiday #forest #forestart #woods #woodsy #leafy #miniature #mini #miniatures #terrarium #terranium (at Arts at the Armory)

#terranium #botanicalart #magnet #botanical #naturalart #miniature #miniatures #woodsy #plantart #hieropice #holiday #somervilleflea #terrarium #handmadecraft #artsatthearmory #leafy #mini #fridgemagnet #handmadegift #forest #madeinma #christmas #christmasdecor #forestart #frigemagnet #somerville #holidays #tree #natureart #landscape

[toriwestonwriterartist]

Somerville Open Studio is tomorrow. Stop by and say hello. I’ll be @artsatthearmory from noon-6pm. Can’t make it? Check out ToriWestonWriterArtist.com #somervilleartist #somervillema #somervilleopenstudios2021 #supportlocalartists #supportlivingartist #femaleartist #blackfemaleartist #blackprintmakers #printmakersofinstagram #femaleartistsofinstagram #artistsoninstagram #lithography #grrrl #drawing https://www.instagram.com/p/COSmwX8Bo4B/?igshid=1ctqkc43hiqii

#somervilleartist #somervillema #somervilleopenstudios2021 #supportlocalartists #supportlivingartist #femaleartist #blackfemaleartist #blackprintmakers #printmakersofinstagram #femaleartistsofinstagram #artistsoninstagram #lithography #grrrl #drawing

[yeioupaperobjects]

I'll have lots of paper things on strings at the @somervilleflea at the @artsatthearmory on Sunday! Stop by 10am-4pm (on your way to or from brunch!) and check out the selection of vintage and handmade goods! . . . . . . . . . . . #yeiou #yeioupaperobjects #thingsonmywall #makersmovement #makersgonnamake #calledtobecreative #friyay #handmadelife #papergoods #paperarts #papercrafting #paperobjects #paperfolding #paperplay #madeinsomerville #somervillema #tinyhouse #geometric #geometry #tgif #etsyartistsofboston #craftyfingers #etsyshopsofinstagram #etsyorganizedneatly #ihavethisthingwithtriangles #dailydoseofpaper http://bit.ly/2kxh6IV

#IFTTT #Instagram #yeiou

[somervillesongwriters]

Interview with upcoming artist (October): Phil Henry

Your songs so fully embody the wide array of characters who populate them -- how do those songs start? What do you do to craft such fully realized characters and settings?

Almost every time, those character-driven songs start from a musical idea: a chord progression or a melodic idea that seems to imply a mood or emotion. I think that sort of starting place might lead another songwriter to sing ABOUT that emotion, but instead I picture a PERSON who might be experiencing it. One of my oldest examples was called "Dear Noreen," in which a repeating melody over a very solemn chord progression made me picture a trapped coal miner. Very easy to tell that story once I can picture it in my head!

In addition to writing and playing, you also record your songs, make videos, and do the related art -- how did you learn to do all these things?

I come from DIY people- My parents quilt, and cook, and build things and I learned from that. 

Early in my career, paying for studio time was far outside my budget. So I saved for one condenser mic, a little mixing board, and started recording everything myself. I would go to Borders Books and read books and magazines on recording and mixing. Eventually, I couldn't imagine going to a studio and putting it into someone else's hands. Producing became part of the art for me, where for some musicians, that might stop at writing and performing. Video is an extension of that. It's so important for connecting with new fans and presenters, I had to get into it, but once I did, I couldn't stop. It's fun to figure out how to visually represent the music as professionally and creatively as I can.

In your day job you teach music -- how does your teaching affect your own songwriting and music making (or vice versa)?

One danger in songwriting is falling into a narrow rut of perspective. I see about 150 different students as young as third grade all the way up to high school seniors. They love country, and hip hop, and classic rock, and have different economic and political backgrounds, and radically different kinds of personal stories. I learned long ago I could never be snobby about music I didn't like. We'll study and sing and play everything, and find the commonality and humanity in all of it. If I can write songs that speak from different perspectives but reveal some common humanity, all the better.

Phil will be playing on Saturday, October 1st, 7:30 p.m., in the Somerville Songwriter Sessions, along with Caroline Cotter and host Beth DeSombre, at the Somerville Armory Cafe, 191 Highland Ave, Somerville MA. (Great music, great food, free parking.) $15 suggested donation. Questions? [email protected]

#somervillema #artsatthearmory #livemusic #songwriters #songwriting #somervillesongwritersessions

[jamesadomian]

Starscream and Bernie Sanders are VERY UPSET about my fall tour that starts tonight! 9/26 - NASHVILLE @zaniesnashville 9/28 - ASHEVILLE @thegreyeagle 9/29 - ATLANTA @relapsetheatre 10/6 - BOSTON Somerville #ArtsattheArmory 10/10 - NEW YORK Brooklyn @unionhallny 10/11 - PHILADELPHIA @goodgoodcomedy 10/12-10/13 WASHINGTON DC @arlington_drafthouse #jamesadomian #starscream #berniesanders #adastrapersanguinem #standuptour https://www.instagram.com/p/BoNINDiHbGw/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=8y337galkbwk

#artsatthearmory #jamesadomian #starscream #berniesanders #adastrapersanguinem #standuptour