Show You Should Know: Rusted Bucket Band, Ryan Alvanos & Hailey Magee @ Middle East Upstairs, May 1st
Its time for another show you all should know. I caught up with Russ Turnquist of The Rusted Bucket Band to talk about a show he has with his band alongside Ryan Alvanos and Hailey Magee…check it out.
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1) How would you describe the sound of the Rusted Bucket Band?
RT: The Rusted Bucket Band has been described as Folk-rooted Americana Rock and Roll. Depending on the night, we can cover a lot of different grooves, feels, topics, etc., but the current line-up we have is top caliber, very cohesive and versatile, and we are psyched to be out and about sharing songs.
2) Community is a big thing for RLR. It seems like you have put together a bill of friends and folks you dig and respect. Tell us a little about those bands and why you put this particular show together.
RT: One of the most beneficial aspects of this area is the excellent musicians and the community of support around that. Ryan Alvanos and I have been friends for a few years now. I’ve been moved by Ryan’s nimble guitar playing and intelligent lyrical storylines; moreover, he’s entertaining as hell and passionate about presenting quality music. When he brings a band out to play it’s always excellent musicians from the scene up there with him. We’ve always talked about putting on a show together and when he grabbed May 1st at The Middle East Upstairs that goal was accomplished.
Ryan is also my featured local musician of the month of June at 1369 Coffeehouse Company in Cambridge, MA – a new program I just started there that is really going well (Danielle Miraglia kicked it off for us in April and Jenee Halstead is next up for May). That program is dedicated to building community awareness around the excellent local musicians we have – selling their CDs at both Central and Inman Square locations, playing their music at the shop each day they are featured (and beyond) and having an intimate in-store performance at the Inman Sq location which used to be a really cool jazz club back in the day.
Hailey Magee is new to our scene and coming out of the gate with guns a blazing. When Ryan and I talked about having another local musician as a solo act at the start of the night, she quickly came to mind. It’s inspiring when you see someone who just innately has the whole package, especially at a young age, and this gal is exactly that type of situation.
We couldn’t be happier about this line-up, and playing a room we all have enjoyed so much over the years. I’d love to see additional nights like this where we put together a shared bill there with a diverse offering of local acts from this great community.
3) So…what are you listening to lately, locally speaking? Any great new local acts you want to turn folks on to?
RT: This is kind of like asking what air am I breathing each day…but really it is…because as much as I have my regular rotation of big name artists from the past and current that are from all parts of the country and world, much of my inspiration comes from listening to people that are right here. OK, here’s some (and a fraction there of): The Ballroom Thieves are pals of mine and they just dropped their first full length record – know them. I mentioned Danielle Miraglia, Jenee Halstead and Ryan Alvanos as artists of the month at 1369, and I listen to them frequently. That brings me to mention folks like Dan Blakeslee, Amy Kucharik, Mike Hastings, Noel Smyth, Anna Rae (Hemway), Baker Thomas Band, Ryan Fitzsimmons, Mark Lipman, Mally Smith, George Woods and Heather Woods, Pesky J Nixon, Kara Kulpa, Will Dailey, Tim Gearan (exclamation point on that), and the list just keeps going… I mean, that’s what just popped out of my head as to what I’ve been listening to recently that is local. Some up and coming folks I am really excited about include Hailey Magee, Steve Nardone, Ryan Sweezey, Prateek Podder, and Julia Mark.
4) Lastly, plug as hard as you can for folks to come to the show Friday!
RT: You know when you start playing music, and you look up to people that are just excellent at their lyrical ability and can play the hell out of a clever guitar phrase that blends really well with a beautiful melody? Sometimes these people are older than you, sometimes they are younger, and sometimes they are your own age…. Well, if you had to pick two songwriters with the aforementioned talent and skill and near the absolute tops of my favorites list (granted, that’s a big group, but still)…these two are it. The Rusted Bucket Band gets to share a night of music with these all-star rock-star writer / performers….how cool is that?!? And, The Middle East Upstairs Room is one of my all-time favorite places to hear shows – the sound, the stage, the ambiance….some of my nationally touring pals from CA drop in and play there about once a year and I always enjoy seeing them at that venue. So, in short: we are super duper pumped for this night, we want you there, and you can respond to the event below and even get tix in advance online (link included in the invite), which I highly recommend doing sooner than later. Thank you, thank you! Harmoniously yours, Russ
https://www.facebook.com/events/379965478872370/
