NEWS ARCHIVE
On Friday, March 30, 2012, Snake will be opening for and accompanying Colette O'Connor in a concert presentation Have You Ever at the Catbird Café, NE Wildlife Center, 500 Columbian Street in South Weymouth. This promises to be a great show. Doors open at 7 PM. Hope to see you all there!
Recently, Snake has been working with a Peter, Paul & Mary tribute group called Rick, Andy & Judy. The group has released a limited distribution demo containing selected tracks from their recent concert at the First Parish Church in Taunton; you can listen to clips from these tracks here (scroll down).
Stephen and the Snake have just completed another new studio recording - give a listen to Black Beauty Blues (scroll down)
Stephen and the Snake have just completed a new studio recording - give a listen to Stevie Ray !
We've run across a recent live version of Steve's tune Lucianne, performed live at Kelly's by Bruce MacKay and Friends. Bruce was a founding member, with Steve, of the trio Martin, MacKay and Schell in the early nineties. Elliot Sherman, keyboardist for Orpheus (II), was also a part of this performance.
Bob's tune Mick Ryan's Lament has been featured in an Irish stage production called An Emigrant's Tale, performed for several years at Dooley's Hotel in Waterford, Ireland. A CD featuring the show's music has also been released, available at www.amazon.com (and other outlets). The show was produced by Martin Murray. More information can be found at http://www.anemigrantstale.net. Click here to listen to a clip.
Snake and Colette O'Connor have finished another song, destined for Colette's Writing In The Sand album. Click the blue link to listen to Hide And Seek.
We lost another old friend this past Sunday, December 4. John Lincoln Wright, who was one of the founding members and lead singer of the Beacon Street Union back in the Orpheus days, passed away after a long illness. The Union was also a part of the "Boston Sound."
After BSU, John went into country music and became one of New England's real stars with his group the Sour Mash Boys. Although we'd lost touch, we still mourn his passing.
Since early in 2011, Snake has also been working with a wonderful singer-songwriter named Colette O'Connor. They've started recording what may well turn out to be several CDs - click on the blue link to hear the first completed song, Have You Ever.
Stephen and the Snake would like to thank all of their fans and friends who attended the pair's Feature at Roslindale Open Mike on Monday, October 10. It was the biggest crowd ever at ROM - the staff even had to open the doors to allow seating in the church sanctuary! Thanks again ... we love all of you!
On Monday, October 10, a young lady named Paisley Parker, who is a student at the University of Wisconsin / Eau Claire, will be featuring Orpheus on her Internet radio show called Friday On My Mind (note: the schedule shows this as being on Tuesday, but that's an error). The program "airs" from 3 to 5 CENTRAL time; if you're in the East and want to listen to it it'll be on from 4 to 6. Go to http://sri.uwec.edu (note that there is NO "www" in the URL) and click on "Listen Live." We're going to record it and will post it when we get a chance.
ALSO on Monday, October 10, Stephen and the Snake will be the featured performers at Roslindale Open Mike Roslindale Open Mike, held at the Roslindale Congregational Church, 25 Cummins Highway in Roslindale. This should be a really good time; hope to see you there!
We've found, and posted clips from, three 2009 performances of Bob's tune Mick Ryan's Lament. One is from a CD by Sean Brennan (Bob and Kathi are currently performing with him on the Cape under the name The Skiffs), while the other two are live performances found on YouTube, one by Steve Jacobs in Dortmund, Germany, and the other by the Sioux Falls Ceili Band at a festival in Falls Park. You can access the clips from here (scroll down).
Stephen and the Snake appeared and performed on Deb Barron's show The Folk Spot, WCUW-FM (Worcester) on August 13. You can listen to their segment on the S&S web site, http://www.stephenandthesnake.com/press.html. They performed three songs: Congress Alley and Stevie Ray, both written by Stephen, and Ramblin' Boy, written by Tom Paxton. You can access the songs here (scroll down).
We've also found out that the area of Worcester known as Crown Hill is being designated as an historical site. This includes Congress Alley, which is to be rehabilitated (it's been fenced off and overgrown for the past several years) and opened for walk-throughs; word is that it will be marked with commemorative placques (although we haven't confirmed that yet). A bunch of us feel that the entire Congress Alley district should be designated a culturally significant historical site, with appropriate markers. That's some time off, but this at least is a start. Help us out and make your support known to the mayor and city manager.
We've discovered and posted clips from two more cover versions of Can't Find The Time. The first is a live version by a group from Dedham (MA) called the Chick Magnets, and the other is an instrumental by Rich Goldberg from his new CD Eclecticity. Click on the blue links to give a listen!
The Video Beat (http://www.thevideobeat.com) has recently released a DVD set called Folk in New York City, Vol. 5-7. This includes Orpheus' lip synched performances of Can't Find The Time and I've Never Seen Love Like This, videotaped at the Bitter End in 1968 and previously released in the VHS tape compilation Live From Greenwich Village, Volume Six, 1996.
Since the passing of our friend Walter "the Bear" Zaremba" (see below), we've been regularly performing one of his tunes called Torn Up Blues. As Bear used to say it's kind of misogynistic, but hey! a lot of classic blues songs were. Click here to listen to our take on it, performed at the Roslindale Open Mike in July of 2011.
Yet another version of Can't Find The Time has appeared, this one a live recording by a group from the Bronx called the Beau Beats. You can access a sound clip here.
Warner Brothers has finally released the movie Marlowe, starring James Garner, on DVD. "Why should we care?" you ask. Well, the original Orpheus did the theme song for it. You can see the DVD cases and listen to a clip of the theme here.
The South Shore music community has lost one of its legends. Sadly, Walter "Bear" Zaremba is no longer with us. Bear was a great blues man, a big burly soul with a tremendous voice and a heart of gold. Stephen and Snake had the honor and pleasure of performing with him many times over the past few years. He was an amazing person who will be sorely missed by all who knew him. Rest in peace, Bear.
Our friend Michael Gutierrez-May has released a new CD EP enititled Fifty Miles Away. Steve provided background vocals on two tracks, and played harmonica on one of them. Listen to clips from The Albino And The Transvestite and Groucho.
Stephen and the Snake will be featured on WATD-FM's Twilight Showcase Sunday evening February 27 from 9 to 10 PM. The show, hosted by Sandy Streid and Keith James, can be heard on the air at 95.9 FM and, if you live too far away, you can listen to a streamed version at http://www.959watd.com/twilightshowcaseradio.php (click on "listen live"). The guys were joined by Catbird Café regulars John and Dan Olivere, and by Victor "Moulty" Moulton, drummer for the mid-60s group the Barbarians (Are You A Boy or Are You A Girl, What The New Breed Say, etc.). Give a listen!
The show will also be posted in WATD's archive a couple of days after the 27th (and will be posted on stephenandthesnake.com as well).
On Monday, February 14, Steve will be the featured guest on Hull Community Television's Cinzi Lavin Show (Comcast ch 10, Verizon ch 35). Later in the show he'll be joined by Snake, and the pair will perform a few live tunes. The show airs at 7:30 PM and is repeated at 9 PM. We understand that it will also be aired in Hingham, Maynard and Stow; check your local listings.
The Iris Music Group has released a remastered version of Orpheus' Joyful album (the third album). Previously, IMG had only offered this album as a digital download; this is a full CD release. Details are here.
Steve, in his capacity as host of the Catbird Café Open Mike, will be featured on WATD-FM's Twilight Showcase Sunday evening January 9 from 9 to 10 PM. The show, hosted by Sandy Streid and Keith James, can be heard on the air at 95.9 FM and, if you live too far away, you can listen to a streamed version at http://www.959watd.com/twilightshowcaseradio.php (click on "listen live"). Catbird regulars Jennifer McQuaid, John Olivere and Frank Ruzzano also participated. The show will also be posted in their archive a couple of days later (and will be posted on stephenandthesnake.com as well).
Steve plays harmonica on two tracks of a new CD release by John Olivere called Silence Is Consent. John is a decorated Viet Nam veteran who is now in the forefront of the peace movement. Listen to clips from Another Soldier and Hit The Ground Runnin'.
IMG Books has recently announced the publication of Alan Lorber's Benny Allen Was A Star, a work of historical fiction that is largely autobiographical. You can read a fairly large excerpt here.
We've posted some more live tracks from our 2006 performance at Johnny D's. Access them here.
We've recently unearthed some LIVE RECORDINGS of Orpheus Reborn! These were recorded for Hull Community Television by David Rienks - we're planning to post the videos as well, once we increase the storage space on our web host server (which is in the works). We've posted the first audio track from these, a version of Congress Alley, recorded at Johnny D's in Somerville in 2006. Sound quality is a little less than stellar because they were miked using the camcorder's built-in microphones rather than from the sound board, but they're not bad! You can access it here.
Ran across still another obscure cover version of Can't Find The Time, this one by a the Invictas, released in 1970 on a 45 RPM single. We haven't been able to come up with a clip, but you can see a photo of the record on the Stephen and the Snake web site.
The Iris Music Group has released two new compilations: Indofusion, Volume 1, which includes The Dream by Orpheus, and Indofusion, Volume 2, which includes the Alan Lorber Orchestra's rendition of Echo Of The Night. The latter is based on Alan's orchestration for The Dream, and was previously only available on the 1997 Ace Big Beat CD reissue of his Lotus Palace album.
Stephen and the Snake's outdoor concert at the Wayside Commons in Burlington, scheduled for Wednesday, August 25, has been postponed until Thursday, August 26, because of rain. The forecast for Thursday is good, so we hope to see you there. Music starts at 7 PM.
We've acquired yet another obscure cover version of Can't Find The Time, this one by a group called The X-Ceptions. It's a cut from their album Live At The Gables, released in 1971. Click here to listen to a clip.
Several months ago, a film crew from Burlington Community Access Television (bcattv.org) showed up at the Catbird Café to interview and video a performance by Stephen and the Snake. We just got the word that a 1/2 hour program, Stephen and the Snake Live at the Catbird Café will be airing, starting tonight (July 27) on their Public channel. This can be found on Comcast Channel 9, RCN Channel 3 and Verizon Channel 39. Don't have details as to the schedule, though. Check your listings. The interview will be aired on Richie Sarno's Turntable show in August. Again, check your listings. These are being aired in conjunction with the Music at Wayside Summer Concert Series (see below), and Verizon will also air them in several other towns.
On July 22, 2010, the South Shore music community lost one of its staunchest supporters when Osvaldo "Ozzie" Marinelli passed away after a long battle with cancer. He was a truly unique individual and a good and loyal friend, with a real love for music. We will all miss him. Rest in peace, Ozzie.
Ran across another, very obscure cover version of Can't Find The Time, this one by a Dino Take Five, released in 1971 on a 45 RPM single. We haven't been able to come up with a clip, but you can see a photo of the record on the Stephen and the Snake web site.
Stephen and the Snake will be be closing out the Music at Wayside Summer Concert Series, held outdoors at the gazebo at Wayside Commons in Burlington. The Commons are on Wayside Road, Exit 33A off Route 128/95. You can find driving directions at the link above. We'll be performing starting at 7 PM; admission is free. Rain date will be the day following (Thursday, August 26). See you there!
The April 1, 2010 Notty Wood Show, from CyberStation USA, is now archived on the Press page of the Stephen and the Snake web site. Click here to access it.
Iris Music Group has announced the release of another new CD compilation, Fire On Route 10, Volume 2, which includes Just A Little Bit by Orpheus. Details are here.
Stephen and the Snake will be featured on the Notty Wood Show on Cyberstation USA on Thursday, April 1, 2010 at 2 PM. They'll be chatting about their past and present musical efforts, and playing some recorded stuff as well as some live tunes. Cyberstation's home page has a link to "Listen Live." And, if you can't tear yourself free to listen on Thursday, the show will be available for a couple of weeks at Cyberstation's "Show Archives" link. When that expires, we'll make it available on the Stephen and the Snake web site. BTW - if you haven't checked out the S&S site, you should!
Bob and Kathi, with Hogan's Goat, recently did a one-hour live show for Sandwich Community Television entitled Come Into The Parlor With Hogan's Goat. This is currently available for viewing here. Click on the "Performing Arts" category. Not sure how long this will be available, so we suggest you view it as soon as you can. BTW - Kathi painted the backdrops for the show as well.
Ran across another obscure cover version of Can't Find The Time by a group called Wasabi, released in 2006 on their self-titled CD. Click here to listen to a clip.
Iris Music Group has announced the release of a new CD compilation, Fire On Route 10 (Speed Of The Sound Of Loneliness), which includes Brown Arms In Houston by Orpheus. Details are here.
Our friend Edward DeFord, a.k.a. the Duke Of Uke, has just released a new self-titled CD on which he performs several of Stephen's songs. Both Stephen and Snake join him on two of the live tracks. You can access clips of these here and here. Scroll down in each case;
you'll find 'em.
We've been lucky enough to score some real treasures. Alan Lorber forwarded a picture of Eddie Smith to us - Eddie was the Engineer who recorded the first three Orpheus albums. We were also contacted by Janet Kaye, who was one of the co-founders of the Orpheus Fan Club back in 1968. Janet was kind enough to forward a whole bunch of photos to us, which we've posted. These include the only shots we have of Bob Swan, the "other half" (with Burton) of the infamous Brothers Swan roadie team, the only one we have of Ed Abramson, who was Orpheus Personal Manager, and the only ones we have of our performance at the Schaeffer Music Festival in Central Park. Thanks a million, Janet! The pics start here.
Sadly, another old friend is no longer with us. We just found out that industry great Sean LaRoche passed away in Ocala, FL on July 15th, 2009 after a long battle with cancer.
Sean worked for the Premier Talent Agency in New York for many years, and was the agent responsible for booking both the original and "second incarnation" of Orpheus. He has been in semi-retirement for the past several years, but continued to provide guidance for young artists. Sean will be missed by a lot of folks.
We just stumbled on a VERY obscure cover version of Can't Find The Time by a group called The Wits End. This was released as a 45 single on Dimension Records, apparently in 1969. This is not the original Dimension label founded and operated by Al Nevins and Don Kirshner in the early 60s; there were a lot of major hits on that label. This Dimension label appears to have been an independent effort. Click here to listen to a clip. We've ordered a copy for the archive.
Some very interesting pieces of music have recently come to light. Orpheus' original producer, Alan Lorber, has based several compositions on the orchestral scores that he wrote for certain Orpheus songs "back in the day," and recorded and released these by the Alan Lorber Orchestra. They're quite good; you can access clips from here.
IMG has announced the release of a New Edition of Orpheus Ascending, including newly remixed and remastered tracks. IMG's previous reissue of Ascending was for digital download only; physical CDs of the New Edition are already available.
IMG has also just released Here's A Song © (You Might Have Missed), Vol. 10, including Stephen's rendition of Prove My Love (Biker's Serenade). This was originally released on his indie 2000 album Oroboros. Check it out!
The Iris Music Group has announced the release of two more compilations which include some of our songs. The first, Parade Of Broken Hearts, Vol. 4, includes A Little Game (Even Smaller Game) by Barbara St. Pierre & Birdz Sessions, as well as Whiskey Waltz by Steve. The second, Mind Flowers, Vol. 2, includes Steve's Even Autumn.
Here's A Song © (You Might Have Missed), Vol. 9 (see below) has been released. Check it out here.
Snake's tune Even Smaller Game has been retitled A Little Game (Even Smaller Game), and listed as being performed by Barbara St. Pierre & Birdz Sessions. This is because it is being considered as a possible title song for the forthcoming Ang Lee film Little Game; we hope that the retitling will improve our chances. The song has also been selected for inclusion in two new IMG compilations: Here's A Song © (You Might Have Missed), Vol. 9, and Parade Of Broken Hearts, Vol. 4. Here's A Song is being pressed even as we write this (July 26, 2009); the second will follow soon after.
The Here's A Song compilation also includes Proud Woman by Gregory Havrilak, which Steve wrote in 1970 and which was released as a United Artists single, no. 50818. For some reason that isn't clear to us at the moment, it's being listed as performed by Greg Harris. Same record, though.
Way back in 1969, during the recording of Orpheus' Joyful album, Snake wrote the music to a Latin song, but for some reason didn't finish the lyrics until 2008. The Birdz Sessions have just finished recording it with Barbara St. Pierre doing an amazing job on the lead. The song is called Even Smaller Game; you can access it from here.
Just below the Birdz Sessions listings you'll see two more tunes by Basic Bear. These were recorded live by Walter "Bear" Zaremba, Ed "White Wolf" Schoenaly and Snake, this past May, and have recently been released as an independent CD single. We think they're pretty good, particularly because these three guys had never played together as a unit before this night.
We've posted a live version of Left Hand Right Hand, recorded in Roslindale (MA) this past May. Give a listen here.
As some of you know, Stephen is heavily involved with the non-profit New England Wildlife Center in South Weymouth. Snake is also involved, although to a lesser degree. The duo often participates in the open mike session called the Catbird Café, held at the Center most Saturday afternoons. The Center is the only wildlife hospital and environmental learning facility in the Northeast.
As you can imagine, the down economy has had a serious impact on the Center's financial support. To help out, the Catbird Café is presenting a series of Concerts. These are taking place on the second Friday evening of every month, with a $5 donation at the door. All proceeds will go to the Center.
Where are we going with this? The next concert, scheduled for July 10 at 7 PM, will feature Stephen & the Snake. Edward DeFord, the "Duke of Uke", will also be performing. This should be a really good time, and it surely is a worthy cause. Hope to see all of you there!
Just found out that the famous Steve Kaczorowski (see below) passed away on March 17, 2009 after a lifelong battle with hemophilia. Our sympathies go out to his family and friends.
http://www2.timesreview.com/ST/Stories/T032609_Superstar_ES.
Kathi has provided drums and percussion on a bunch of new songs. Two CDs have recently been released, one by Patsy Hamel, and the other a compilation of tunes from several groups that regularly play at Sally O'Brien's in Somerville. On this second CD Kathi performs not only with the Patsy Hamel Band, but with Attention Shoppers, Tom Hagerty and Friends, and Sandy Casey as well. You can access all of these new clips from here.
As mentioned below, some time ago we discovered the existence of a version of Bob's Mick Ryan's Lament by a German ensemble called Dragseth Duo & the Backporch Stringband on their CD Songs From The Porch. The CD is currently only available in Germany, but we've been able to get a copy and have posted a clip.
There's been still another release of Bob's tune Mick Ryan's Lament. That's thirteen that we know of, including Bob's own. The new release is by a duo from Falmouth, MA called Stanley & Grimm. Click here to listen to a clip.
An acoustic group from Salisbury, MA, called Stellwagen has recorded a version of Can't Find The Time on their limited distribution CD demo. Click here to listen to a clip.
Thanks to our new friend Patrick the Lama, who runs the amazing web site http://www.lysergia.com, we now have, and have posted clips from, the Steve Kaczorowski version of Big Green Pearl and the Steve Drake (same guy) version of Rainbow Peddler. You can access them from here.
The Iris Music Group has released another new compilation, Here's A (Film) Song! (You Might Have Missed), Vol. 6. It includes several Orpheus performances; details are here.
We just discovered and obtained a copy of another cover of one of Orpheus' songs, By The Size Of My Shoes. This version is by a group called The Elders, and was released by Audio Fidelity Records on an album called Looking For The Answer, circa 1971. The original vinyl LP has become a "cult favorite" and is a tad pricey, but it was reissued on CD in 2006 by RetroDisc Records. Click here to listen to a clip.
Sandra Alexandra's version of Brown Arms In Houston has been posted.
While dredging around on the web the other day, we ran across one of the most bizarre stories having to do with Orpheus that we've ever seen! Seems that, in 1971, a high school senior from Long Island named Steve Kaczorowski put out an album called What Time Are You? on a bogus version of the United Artists label, on which he re-recorded a few songs like Big Green Pearl and did "karaoke rock" on some others, where he electronically deleted part of the original recording and sang over the lead part in what was left - he did this with Monkey Demon. We suppose he did it to impress girls or something; he claimed he'd written the songs... you can't imagine what he pulled off! And, as if this wasn't enough, he did it again in 1975, calling himself Steve Drake, putting out an album called Cold Sweat which includes a "karaoke rock" version of Rainbow Peddler. You can read the whole story here.
Even more amazing is that we actually found this version of Monkey Demon, and have posted a clip!
The Iris Music Group has just announced the first of their new releases for 2009 - it's a new Best Of Orpheus CD! It's not in stock yet, but will be soon! Details are here.
We just found out about another cover version of Brown Arms In Houston, by a gal named Sandra Alexandra, circa 1973. We have it on order, and will post a clip as soon as we can.
Sadly, the music world has lost another great.
On Monday, December 29, Delaney Bramlett passed away in California. He had worked with a host of artists including George Harrison, Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton, written many major hits including Superstar, Let It Rain and Never Ending Song Of Love.
Delaney was also a good friend of Bob and Kathi, which is the reason for this posting. Bob played on one of Delaney's albums on a song called Free. Click on the song title to hear a clip.
We just found out about and obtained another version of Can't Find The Time, this one by the classic doo-wop group the Capris (There's A Moon Out Tonight). This was recorded by Alan Lorber in 1971, but wasn't released until 2007 when it was included on the anthology Here's A Song (You Might Have Missed): Great Record Finds Vol. 2). Click on the group name to hear a clip.
Monkey Demon has been included in the new IMG anthology Mind Flowers ...and Other Psychedelic Seductions. Details are here.
Heat Lightning by Stephen & the Snake has been selected for inclusion in the new IMG anthology Parade Of Broken Hearts Vol. 2. Details are here.
The first two tunes by Stephen & the Snake are now available for digital download from
iTunes, eMusic and Napster. Physical CDs are available from the Iris Music Group store, amazon.com and target.com. The guys are currently working on some more!
Stephen & the Snake have now joined the Iris Music Group stable of artists! The first single, comprising Heat Lightning and Left Hand Right Hand (you can listen to low-resolution versions from the Discography page) will be released shortly - we expect the songs to be available for download, world-wide, by the end of November. The guys also have a new web site under construction at http://www.stephenandthesnake.com.
"Back in the day," that is to say in 1968 and 1969, there were three weekly magazines that tracked the record industry. In addition to Billboard (which is still around today) there were also Cash Box and Record World. For the most part, Orpheus' recordings of Can't Find The Time and Brown Arms In Houston charted higher in these publications than they did in Billboard.
In addition, many radio stations published their own local weekly surveys, listing the top hits in their coverage area.
We've now established a Chart Data and Surveys page, including summaries of the national chart data for the recordings of the original Orpheus, links to the charts themselves where they are available, and a whole bunch of links to local surveys showing Orpheus' singles and albums.
Stephen & the Snake have finished another new song - give a listen to Heat Lightning !
Steve's song The Past Is Gone has been included in a new compilation from the Iris Music Group, called Parade Of Broken Hearts. Details are here.
Apparently there is a wee bit of a delay in the release of Rob Watts' book, The Sounds From Boston. We'll keep you posted once we have more details.
There's been another recording of Bob's tune Mick Ryan's Lament. This one is by Ray Doyle; click here to listen to a clip.
We've recently discovered another version, this one by the Dragseth Duo & the Backporch Stringband on their CD Songs From The Porch. It's currently only available in Germany, but we're trying to get a copy.
Another new CD release, Bailed Out by Johnnie Mac, features Kathi as session drummer on several tracks. Click here to go to Kathi's part of our Discography pages, then scroll down to "Kathi as session musician." You can access the clips from there.
Stephen & the Snake are currently working on a new CD. They've finished the first tune, Left Hand Right Hand, which you can listen to here. The powerful lyrics were inspired by a poem by Francis "Woody" Woodbridge, Jr., a poet and former Congress Alley denizen, who recently passed away. Stephen interpreted and set the words to music to produce an extraordinary song.
LATEST WORD is that Rob Watts' book, The Sounds From Boston (scroll down for details), is scheduled for release on August 8 of 2008. Stay tuned!
CONGRATULATIONS
to Christine "Chris" Lucas of Tallahassee, Florida! Chris found the "Easter Egg" on our site (see above), and has won a complete set of Trak12 CDs! Chris was the first to discover this since October of 2005! Perseverence pays off!
Hurray! A new Orpheus Reborn song!
Click here to listen to All-Time Antique Store.
This is a studio version of a favorite from our live shows.
Celtic artist Ken O'Malley has recently released a new CD called ÓMàille, which includes a new version of Bob's tune Mick Ryan's Lament. Listen to a clip here. As you may recall, Ken had released another version on the compilation Ceiltis. Listen to a clip of that one here.
Kathi now has her own web site featuring her art works. Check it out at www.kathitaylor.com. Her material is amazing!
Our buddy Tom Zagryn has located the original master tapes of all of the Blue Echo Productions material from 1963-1965! We've had them digitized at The Gallery Studios in East Hartford, CT, and will be posting clips when they are remastered. The first of these,
Bobby Is The Boy by the Chanelles, is now up! Give a listen, and check the Change Log for further postings.
The Iris Music Group (http://store.irismusicgroup.com) has announced the release of the Stephen Martin Anthology: Even Autumn, IMG-265.
This is the first in a planned series of compilations of Steve's songs and recordings, produced by Alan Lorber. Details are here.
Read Alan Lorber's biography and listen to sound clips of a bunch of his work here.
The four original Orpheus albums are now available for digital download at Amazon.com.
Good prices, too!
As mentioned before, Snake has been a contributor to The Birdz Sessions (http://www.birdzsessions.com) since March of 2007. This is a collaboration of various Central Massachusetts musicians who get together on an informal basis, strictly for recording. The group has just completed work on another tune - Hypnotic Eyes. Give a listen!
Attention, Art Lovers!
Our own Kathi Taylor, along with another prominent Boston artist, Deborah Putnam, have collections of their works currently on exhibit in the Rotunda Gallery of the Hynes Convention Center in Boston. Stop in and check it out!
There will also be an artists' reception on Tuesday, September 18th, from 6 to 7:30.
Reserve that evening!
Kathi's brand-new web site is now up and running - check it out at http://www.kathitaylor.com. A LOT of her art work is posted here, as are details of the Hynes show and the artists' reception.
Unbelievable! Everybody and his dog seems to be recording Bob's tune Mick Ryan's Lament! Here's a clip from a version by the Blue Rock Boys.
There's been another release of Bob's tune Mick Ryan's Lament, this one by a German artist named John Shreve. Listen to a clip here.
We're making progress on the Orpheus Reborn CD. Click here to listen to our version of The Past Is Gone.
The Orpheus Reborn gig at Scullers Jazz Club, originally scheduled for November 20, 2007, has been postponed - watch this space for the new schedule and an exciting announcement to go with it!
Our show at the Scituate Heritage Days Music Festival on Saturday, August 4, 2007, was a lot of fun! Perennial favorites Bellevue Cadillac and The Fools put on their usual great performances despite the heat, and headliner Dave Mason was super! We're looking forward to next year!
Our show in Marblehead on July 3 was a blast! If you weren't able to make it, be SURE not to miss our "third anniversary" performance at the Scituate Heritage Days Music Festival on Saturday, August 4.
Those of you that weren't able to attend at least one of our recent gigs - with the Strawbs at the Regent in Arlington, at Music for Middlesex in Waltham, or the Marblehead Festival of Arts - missed some really good times. Hope you'll make it to Scituate on Saturday, August 4, for the Heritage Days Festival. We go on at 11 AM - Dave Mason is headlining the Festival.
It is with sadness that we note the untimely passing of another fellow musician,
former bandmate, and good friend. Dave Beaber (1943-2007) passed away suddenly on
Saturday, June 2. Dave was the third member (with Jack and Snake) of the folk trio variously
known as the Wanderers, the Minute Men, and the College Boys.
Originally from Jenkintown, PA, Dave was a graduate of Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), where he was a fraternity brother and roommate of Eric Gulliksen (a.k.a. Snake). In recent years, he had been a resident of Freedom, NH.
"Had it not been for Dave, we might never have met, and it is likely that neither Orpheus nor Orpheus Reborn would have ever existed. He was a great talent, a dedicated musician,
and a good friend. We will miss him."
---Eric Gulliksen & Jack McKennes---
Since March of 2007, Snake has been a contributor to The Birdz Sessions (http://www.birdzsessions.com). This is a collaboration of various Central Massachusetts musicians who get together on an informal basis, strictly for recording. Click here to listen to a preliminary mix of their latest tune, Paradise.
Harry and The Mods put on a reunion performance at the Viking Club in Braintree last Saturday, April 22, 2006, which was a howling success. The guys put on a full evening of vintage rock and roll, and a great time was had by all.
On Saturday evening, March 24, 2007, Harry and Dean Johnson of the Boston Globe were guests on WBZ's Jordan Rich Show. WBZ is one of the strongest terrestrial radio stations in the country, reaching 40 states with 50,000 watts of power.
On Tuesday, June 19, 2007 at 1:00 PM, Harry will be on WMBR-FM's Lost and Found with Eli Polonsky. WMBR, located in Cambridge, MA, can be found at 88.1 on your FM dial (assuming, of course,that you're somewhere in the area). This is in preparation for the show at the Regent Theatre in Arlington on Friday, June 22. We're appearing with seventies British cult favorites the Strawbs. In fact, Eli is scheduled to interview Dave Cousins of the Strawbs at noon, also on Tuesday the 19th. You can find out more about the Strawbs by checking out their article in Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Strawbs. Seats are still available; don't miss out!
Our final gig at the Seaport on March 22, 2007 was a lot of fun, as all of the others have been. We had a great crowd, and it was almost balmy outside! Among the "faces from the past" that we saw that evening was Brian Interland, who managed the Surf dance clubs back in the late 60s. It was actually Brian that put Jack and Harry together in 1967, which resulted in Harry's becoming a founding member of Orpheus. Great to see you, buddy, and we trust that this won't be the last time!
Thursday, March 22, 2007 marks the last evening of our current residency at the Seaport. Don't miss it! And it's not even supposed to be bitterly cold or snowing (will wonders never cease)! It is with great sadness that we note the passing of Charles "Chuck" Norton (1951-2007)
The show was primarily about MM/one, the Music Museum of New England, but there was also quite a bit of conversation about Orpheus and Orpheus Reborn. The show was too long for us to post in its entirety, so we edited it down to the most relevant 17+ minutes. Listen to it here.
And check out the new additions to the Trak 12 CD Catalog. The Mustangs are here!
after a long illness. Chuck was a founding member of, and lead guitarist for, the Mods,
Harry's first band.
In recent years, Chuck was a resident of East Sandwich, MA. His last appearance with
the Mods was at their reunion during the "Live At The Surf" show, held at the
Regent Theater in 2003.
"...had it not been for Chuck's
patience in the early years, I would not be the musician
that I
am today. I am grateful to have been touched by his talent and love
and wish him
the peace that he searched for..."
---Harry Sandler---
Rest In Peace, friend.
We now have a real-live MySpace page
(about time we joined the social networking revolution!).
Check it out, and sign up to be our "friend," at
http://www.myspace.com/orpheusreborn2.
And, our current residency at the Seaport is coming to a close -
the last gig of the series is Thursday, March 22, 2007.
You'll never forgive yourself if you miss it!
http://www.orpheusreborn.com/seaport.html
And we're glad to report that Harry's duck is back!
We all had a super time at the Seaport last Thursday (Feb. 22, 2007) - lots of friends, old and new, and a heck of a lot of fun. Special thanks to Michael Biblyk for sitting in on sax during Hollywood Boulevard. Michael and Harry go back a long, long way.
And, talk about going back a long way, Dr. Bill Wolk showed up with wife Linda and their two grandsons. Bill recorded the original Orpheus demo at Emerson College during the summer of 1967.
BTW, if anybody picked up Harry's duck, be sure to bring it to the next gig - that'll be Thursday, March 8.
We're pleased to announce that physical CDs of the first Orpheus album are now available on the web, from the Iris Music Group store. The rest will be coming soon!
Okay! We're back!
As many of you know, our web site has been down for a while. That's not a good thing. It was caused by an unprecedented and, frankly, totally unexpected, increase in the number of "hits" to the site, which totally overwhelmed the server and caused it to crash. That's not necessarily a bad thing - or it wouldn't have been, if we had been prepared for it.
Now we are.
So, we apologize for the inconvenience, and hope you'll keep coming back.
Speaking of coming back, January 25, 2007 at the Seaport was a lot of fun, despite the bitter cold (let me tell you NOW it was nasty toting that equipment out at the end of the evening)! The sound system is now "up to snuff", and we're back there TONIGHT (February 8). That's a good thing. The bad thing is that we're gonna freeze our little butts off again. But you know what they say: "the show must go on," and we're very glad to be there and to play for you (click here for details). See you tonight!
Just wanted to say that we had a GREAT time playing for you folks at the Seaport last Thursday, January 11, 2007 despite some "growing pains" with the sound system. Saw a lot of old friends, and made a bunch of new ones. We'll be back on January 25th, and hope to see all of you there. (Click here for more).
We've also discovered that the Minute Men folk album from 1963 was not only released on the Gladwynne label as previously reported, but was also released on the Strand label as had been originally planned and scheduled before their run-in with the IRS. We have obtained a copy for our archive.
We're taking on a sort of "Residency" at the Seaport Bar & Grille, 150 Northern Ave, Boston, (617)-357-8121), starting on Thursday, January 11, 2007 at 8 PM. We'll be there on the second and fourth Thursdays of every month for the next several months. We'll be presenting "An Informal Evening with Orpheus Reborn" where, in addition to performing songs from our normal repertoire, we'll be showcasing new material and featuring performances by different combinations of group personnel. We also plan to have an occasional invited special guest sit in for a song or two. This should be a lot of fun, and we're really looking forward to it!
Click here for more.
The first evening we'll also be celebrating the release of Bob Dunlap's new solo CD,
Notes From Home. Check it out here.
Worcester Magazine has rerun their series on the History of Worcester Rock in their 30th Anniversary Edition, available October 26. The series, which includes coverage of the Blue Echoes and Orpheus, with mention of the Wanderers and Congress Alley, can be viewed online. See our Links page.
There's been another release of Bob's tune Mick Ryan's Lament, this one by a Seattle artist named Martin Nyberg. This song is becoming a classic (which is well deserved!). Listen to a clip here.
For those of you that don't buy stuff from iTunes (yes, there are some that don't!) the original four Orpheus albums are now available for digital download from several more outlets. See our Merch page!
$10,000 for the LAKOTA KIDZ!
We're very pleased to announce that last Saturday's (Sept. 30, 2006) sold-out concert generated almost $10,000 for the Lakota Kidz! Many thanks to all of the fine people that attended. We're also pleased that our box set of 9 CD's, comprising the entire current Trak12 catalog, went down at auction for $210 after some frenzied bidding. The set included the Limited Distribution Orpheus Reborn demo, the Authorized Limited Reissues of the original four Orpheus albums, Steve's Oroboros CD, Recipe by Martin, MacKay & Schell, the first volume of our new series of Orpheus Precursors, featuring folk music by the Wanderers, the Minute Men and the College Boys, and Harry's Troubadour CD. We saw a lot of old friends and made a lot of new ones, and a great time was had by all.
Click here to browse the Trak12 catalog.
Our buddy Tom Zagryn has unearthed the fact that Blue Bell Bounce by the Blue Echoes (see our Discography) has been included in another compilation, Rockin' Guitars and Lightnin' Fingers on Remember Records. Not long ago, Tom also discovered that the Minute Men album from 1963, that we had thought was lost, had actually been released on Gladwynne Records, and we were able to obtain a pristine copy! Many thanks, Tom!
We're looking for pics from Johnny D's, March 16, 2006 to post in our scrapbook. If you have any, please be so kind as to e-mail them to orpheusreborn2@aol.com or one of the other addresses on our Contact page. If we post 'em, we'll give you credit as we have done with others.
Iris Properties, Inc. has made the original four Orpheus albums available for digital download! Details (and links) are on our Merch page. Additional outlets will be added soon!
We have added sound clips of the complete recorded works of Kathi's former group, the Mustangs, to our Discography pages. Some of the best country music ever heard! Check it out!
HOLD OPEN SEPTEMBER 30!
That Saturday evening is an event that is very important to us; it's the Fall Fundraiser for Lakota Kidz (www.lakotakidz.org).
If the Lakota Sioux Nation were recognized as a country, it would be one of the poorest countries in the world. In the Western hemisphere it would be second only to Haiti. South Dakotas Pine Ridge reservation is home to 40,000 Lakota Americans. 63% live below the poverty level and 65% are children under the age of sixteen. The poorest town on the reservation is Wanblee. Many homes have no insulation, heat, running water or even flooring. Winter temperatures dip to 40 degrees below zero.
Lakota Kidz is a 501(c) (3) non-profit that raises funds to support their Head Start program, a Fuel Assistance program and an "adopt a child for the holidays" program. Lakota Kidz has no salaries or administrative costs - 100% of all donations go to helping these impoverished people.
The Fundraiser, which includes a concert by Orpheus Reborn as well as a BBQ dinner, cash bar, silent auction and a guided tour of the brand new facility will take place from 5 to 9 PM at the New England Wildlife Center, 500 Columbian St., South Weymouth, MA. Your donation of $25 (per person) is tax-deductible.
Be sure to check out the Lakota Kidz website.
SEE YOU THERE!
Obviously we can't - or shouldn't - publicize performances of Orpheus Reborn that aren't open to the public. However, there are a couple coming up that ARE open. Here are the essentials:
Friday evening, August 4, 2006, 7PM we will be doing a show on the Maynard (Massachusetts) Memorial Park. This is a town-wide summer celebration, admission is free.
Saturday afternoon, August 5, 2006, 12 noon we'll be appearing at the Scituate (Massachusetts) Heritage Days Music Festival. The event starts at 10AM, we go on at noon, and will be followed by rock greats Mountain and Leon Russell. Sunday's lineup includes, among others, Ten Years After, Johnny Maestro & the Brooklyn Bridge, and Edgar Winter with Rick Derringer. Quite a festival and it, too, is free!
Join us for one or, even better, for both of these shows and a great weekend of live music!
For those who enjoy getting out to see art, Wednesday night, June 21st is the Summer Street Solstice II at the new Boston Convention & Exhibition Center. This event is from 6pm to 9pm, and is open to the general public. There are several organizations and individuals included in the exhibition, including the South Boston Arts Association... and our own Kathi Taylor is proud to have her latest work (see our Scrapbook) included with the SBAA part of the show. Please come and get a look at the new convention center and support the local art scene. Bring comfortable walking shows, though. The exhibition is spread throughout the center and it's a big place!
Just found out that Dorian Michaels' Cinders Blues Band has recorded and released Bob's song Circus Time, on their CD Rooms On Fire. Listen to a clip here.
In the past couple of months, two more renditions of Bob's tune Mick Ryan's Lament have been released. The first is by Kevin Burke and Ged Foley on their album In Tandem, and the other is by a duo called only "Andy and Ryan" on an independent release called Pot O'Gold Sessions. Give a listen!
We've posted an interesting historical document - the results of the 1969 Playboy magazine Jazz & Pop Readers' Poll, Best Vocal Album. Check it out here.
Many thanks to all of our fans that came to see our performance at Johnny D's in Somerville, Thursday night (March 16, 2006). Many thanks also to WORC-FM's Mark Veau, who was kind enough to make the trek from Worcester to introduce us. As those who were there will tell you, the show went great! And, speaking of treks, people came from as far away as central Connecticut, Rhode Island, Cape Cod and Maine. Among those folks that we hadn't seen in a long time was Richard Nese, former bassist from Ultimate Spinach. This group was a contemporary of the original Orpheus, stablemates of ours at MGM and Alan Lorber Productions. Great of you to come, Rich!
For those that didn't make it, we missed you and hope to see you at one of our upcoming shows. Watch this space. Again, thanks to all of our fans for your support and loyalty. You folks are the main reason we came back!
You can now listen to Steve's March 14, 2006 interview with WORC-FM's Mark Veau. Click here.
More press coverage: nice article entitled "(Re-)Striking Up The Band" in the Brookline and Newton editions of the TAB newspapers on Thursday, March 9, 2006, thanks to Ed Symkus. Read it here.
Orpheus Reborn was featured in a very nice article entitled "Silver Age of Rock" in the Boston Sunday Globe (Globe West edition) on February 5, 2006, thanks to Susan Lebovits. Read it here.
Also, we got an interesting e-mail from our friend Steve Nelson, which reads:
"Please join me at the "opening" today of my new photo "exhibit" at www.snpix.com. Since it's online, you can come whenever you want, and bring your friends -- there's plenty of room in a cyberspace gallery, it's always open, and you don't have to find a parking space, climb any stairs or take a dingy freight elevator to get there. Sorry I won't see you, but drop me a note if you like after you've seen the show. Oh, and one more thing -- you'll have to provide your own wine and cheese."
Unseen Boston
THE SOUTH END AND ROXBURY, 1968
COLOR PHOTOGRAPHS BY STEVE NELSON
Jack discovered something very interesting the other day - Can't Find The Time was voted Number 25 in the Year 2000 WABC Musicradio 77 "All Time Favorite Hits" poll. Check it out here
Love it or hate it, the Boston Sound phenomenon of the late 60s was undeniably a significant event in the music business. We were there. A lot of folks have written about it since then, but many of these authors weren't even born in 1968. We've gone to the source, Alan Lorber, the architect and creator of the Boston Sound, to get his take on it, which he was kind enough to provide for us. Read his account here
An Claidheamh Soluis, the Celtic Arts Center's presence in Los Angeles, has recently released an independent compilation of Celtic music called Ceiltis. One of the cuts on this CD, performed by L.A. artist Ken O'Malley, is Mick Ryan's Lament, written by our own Bob Dunlap.
CONGRATS to Russell D. Brown of Detroit, MI -
the first person to find the Easter Egg (we've now moved it, yo-ho!)
Bob Dunlap will be the featured guest at the Crump McCole Gallery's Thursday Night at the Gallery on December 8, 2005. Stop by and hear Bob do some of his tunes, and chat a bit about his music. Details of the invitation are below:
Please join us for our next
"Thursday Night at the Gallery" event
December 8th from 5 to 8
(music starts about 6)
featuring South Boston singer, songwriter
Robert Emmet Dunlap
performing and discussing songs
from his upcoming CD
"Notes from Home"
Crump McCole Gallery
200 Seaport Boulevard, Boston, MA
(at the World Trade Center)
Call 617-330-1133 for more information
MEET THE ARTIST
As you may have seen on our BAND MEMBERS page, our own Kathi Taylor is not only a musician, but a fine artist as well. There is now an exhibition of her art at Java Jo's Coffee House, 556 Adams Street, Milton, MA . And for sure don't miss Meet The Artist Night on Thursday, October 20, 2005, from 4 to 8 PM. Details are on the poster pictured below, which you can find in our Scrapbook.)
Click here to read more about Kathi's art.
The name "Orpheus Reborn" and the associated logo are trademarks of Orpheus Reborn.
The logo design depicted above is copyright 2004 by Orpheus Reborn.
"Orpheus" ® is a Registered Trade Mark of the Iris Music Group; Reg. No. 3,466,258
All rights reserved.