For the Sake of the Song

Rolling Stones' Exile On Main St. Tomorrow at the Middle East!

noreply@blogger.com (Patrick) — Wed, 30 May 2012 14:08:00 +0000

Last week we headed down to the Boston Herald's offices to chat with Jed Gottlieb about this week's performance of the Rolling Stones' Exile On Main St with Matt Borrello and BrownBoot. Here's an exclusive video performance to get you in the mood, and if you haven't picked up your tickets yet you can still grab them at www.mideastclub.com. Come get your Rocks Off tomorrow night! Doors at 8pm.

Exile On Main St. Show previewed in the Boston Herald!

noreply@blogger.com (Patrick) — Sat, 26 May 2012 15:32:00 +0000

From the Boston Herald:
Like A Rolling Stone

There is no Greatest Album of All Time. The idea is silly. That said, the Rolling Stones’ “Exile on Main St.” is the Greatest Album of All Time. Patrick Coman, who runs the For the Sake of the Song series, gets this. So he gathered some talented locals to do the album live at the Middle East on Thursday — BrownBoot do side one, Patrick Coman & The Lo-Fi Angels side two, Matt Borrello side three, and Exile on Elm Street side four. “The idea is that you come because you’re a Stones fan, but you go away a fan of some local musicians,” Coman said. See exclusive video of Coman performing at BostonHerald.com. Tickets ($10) and details; forthesakeofthesong.com.-

— JED GOTTLIEB

Tickets are only $10 and can be purchase online by clicking HERE.

We'll be playing this Double LP live in its entirety with four great acts each taking their favorite side from the album. Featuring BrownBoot (side 1), Patrick Coman & The Lo-Fi Angels (side 2), Matt Borrello (side 3), and Exile on Elm Street (side 4) w/Ryan Fitzsimmons, Kara Kulpa, Danielle Miraglia, Tom Bianchi, and Erik White.

Tribute To Woody Guthrie This Saturday!

noreply@blogger.com (Patrick) — Fri, 18 May 2012 18:51:00 +0000

Join us tomorrow night at the Armory Center for the Arts as we pay tribute to one of the most influential songwriters of the 20th century and celebrate 100 years of Woody Guthrie!

May 19th - Armory Center for the Arts

For the Sake of the Song: 100 Years of Woody Guthrie!

Doors at 7:30pm | Show at 8pm | $8 (Buy Tickets HERE)

For our May edition we pay tribute to one of the all time great folk songwriters and an inspiration for an entire generation of protest singers, Woody Guthrie. Hear new takes on songs like "Do Rei Me", "This Land Is Your Land" and more along with original material from our featured artists Casey Abrams, The Whiskey Boys, and Patrick Coman!

Rolling Stones Side By Side!

noreply@blogger.com (Patrick) — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 18:17:00 +0000

Very excited to announce a recently confirmed show on May 31st at the Middle East upstairs! We'll be continuing our bi-annual full album shows with one our most ambitious projects yet. This time around we've invited out some friends to help us tackle the classic Rolling Stones album Exile on Main Street.

Tribute to Ryan Adams This Saturday!

noreply@blogger.com (Patrick) — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 15:25:00 +0000

We are back in the saddle this weekend with a tribute to one the most prolific songwriters of our generation (and a personal favorite of mine!) Mr. Ryan Adams. Details below, hope you'll join us for a fantastic show on Saturday!

Apr. 14th - Armory Center for the Arts
For the Sake of the Song: A Tribute to Ryan Adams
Doors at 7:30pm | Show at 8pm | $8 (Buy Tickets HERE)

Featuring Brian Carroll, Dan Zinder, and Patrick Coman!

a primer on the series for those of you who haven't joined us before:

For the Sake of the Song on NPR!

noreply@blogger.com (Patrick) — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 16:58:00 +0000

In case you missed it last week here's a link to the segment we recorded with Anthony Brooks of Radio Boston, talking about For the Sake of the Song and our most recent St. Patrick's Day showcase. Thanks to John Colvert, Noel Coakley, and Jen Starsnic for coming along and playing some tunes!

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN

Sessions on St. Patrick's Day This Saturday!

noreply@blogger.com (Patrick) — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 19:44:00 +0000

Coming up this weekend we've got an excellent one-of-a-kind St. Patrick's Day show for you at the Armory Center for the Arts (191 Highland Ave, Somerville, MA)! Join us for Americana takes on traditional Irish and Celtic tunes as well as bluegrass, old-time, and folk standards with former For the Sake of the Songers John Colvert, Noel Coakley, Chris Hutchison-Jones, Brian Carroll, and more!

In more exciting news, this morning we were fortunate enough to join Radio Boston's Anthony Brooks for a great chat about the series and a preview of this Saturday's show. Look for the episode to air later this week on 90.9 WBUR or streaming online at www.wbur.org.

And last but not least ... check out this great St. Patrick's Day sampler featuring a number of Boston-based Americana acts including some familiar faces to fans of our series ...

<p>&amp;amp;lt;a href="http://riverviewstudios.bandcamp.com/album/everyone-is-irish"&amp;amp;gt;Everyone Is Irish by Riverview Studios&amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;gt;</p>

"Come On Up To The House" from last week's Tom Waits show!

noreply@blogger.com (Patrick) — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 16:48:00 +0000

Man we had a blast at last week's Tom Waits Tribute! Check out the closer and imminently singable (at least with this crowd!) Mule Variations tune "Come On Up To The House" below:

Weekly Dig Previews Saturday's Tom Waits Show

noreply@blogger.com (Patrick) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 16:24:00 +0000

Last week I sat down with Ryan Bray from the Weekly Dig to talk more about our 2012 kick off show and tribute to Tom Waits. Check it out below and remember advance tickets are still available so pick 'em up HERE.

FEEDBACK: PATRICK COMAN

Posted on February 10, 2012 by RYAN BRAY Email

Cover bands? Naw, son. That shit’s for the burbs! And if you don’t believe me you’ve never been to Players in Rockland.

Any group of uninspired wannabe Springsteens can walk up on stage, beer guts and AC/DC t-shirts in tow, and slop their way through a painful rendition of “Livin’ On A Prayer.” Patrick Coman recognizes this, but that hasn’t kept him from trying to free the cover song from the dreaded shackles of cheap sentiment and lazy barroom balladry. As the founder and chief organizer of Boston’s ongoing live music series For The Sake Of The Song, Coman has done the seemingly unthinkable by reinventing cover songs into something fresh and novel. By dedicating each show to a specific artist or album and allowing a slate of bands to take their best shot at reinterpreting the music,

FTSOTS manages to celebrate its music of choice with the kind of honesty and introspection you won’t find from your neighborhood rock stars playing at Chotchkies.

Coman blew up our (read: my) phone last week to talk shop in the midst of preparing maybe the most ambitious FTSOTS installment yet: a Tom Waits themed show at The Armory in Somerville on Feb. 18 alongside Ryan Fitzsimmons, Brendan Hogan and Chris Hutchison-Jones.

For The Sake Of The Song is very collaborative. Did you spend a lot of time immersing yourself in the local music community prior to launching the series?
Patrick: I moved to Boston … I guess two years ago now? I was living in Germany for a couple of years with my girlfriend, and when I came to town I was looking for ways to meet more people and more musicians. We had a house in Allston, so I started hosting house parties. It was a great way to not just hear great music, but to also become part of the scene and to get to know people around town. We did about a year of house concerts, but then it got too big for the living room, so we moved it over to the Armory. It took on more of a church format that you see now, and we’ve just been going from there.

Where did the idea of refocusing the shows around specific artists and albums come from?
Patrick: Well when we got to the Armory, we started thinking ‘Well, what else can we do?’

We sort of felt we had to kind of up the ante,

but also give people a chance to experience original local music. I think it was around Christmas 2010, we got a crazy idea to get a bunch of musicians together to play music fromBob Dylan’s Blood On The Tracks with the idea of playing all the songs in the same key. It ended up working really well. There were a lot of fans of the album, fans of Bob Dylan but also fans of the different artists we got to play.

Does it surprise you looking back that the series has had the staying power that it has thus far?
Patrick: Yeah. It started as a way of ending the year on a high note and just doing something crazy.

But people were like yeah, I want more of that.

So at that point we thought hey, let’s just make this a regular thing. We didn’t want to run around and find 10 people to play a different album every month. It just wouldn’t work. So we focused more on monthly shows built around specific artists, where there’d be covers from that artist as well as original songs by the bands and artists playing them. Then we typically do an album-specific show once every six months.

The process of pulling these shows together must be crazy. How do you decide which albums/artists to cover? Is it tough paring everything down?
Patrick: I try to keep the suggestion format as open as possible. Some of the shows I knew I wanted to do from the very start. Bob Dylan was one, then we did a Neil Young show last March because he’s one of my all time favorites. But then there are other artists I would have never even thought of if someone hadn’t been like ‘Hey, this would be great for the series.’ The Willie Nelson show we did in November worked out that way. Someone suggested it and said he knew a few bands, and I knew him and trusted him and just kind of went with it.

It’s like they almost develop themselves.
Patrick: Yeah, sometimes they develop themselves, but other times you have to plug them in. Right now we’re finishing up our 2012 schedule, and there’s a couple of months where I’m gonna have to pick the artist first and then find people who are a good fit.

Either way it’s kind of an adventure.

There’s so much room for taking the music in different directions, do you ever find yourself reevaluating the music or seeing it in a different light when a show ends?
Patrick: Definitely. I think that’s the greatest thing about it. There’s obviously a familiar starting point for everyone, but people take the songs in so many different directions. We’ve had instrumental Neil Young songs. We had one group do a minor key version of “Shelter From The Storm.” It’s really fun to go back to an album after we’ve just done a show.

So now you’re doing a Tom Waits show….
Patrick: Yeah. Hopefully we’ll get songs from all over the Tom Waits catalogue. There’s just such a diverse number of songs he’s written over the years, it’s going to be fun to see what people pick.

His music seems almost tailor made for what you guys do. It’s so avant and off the wall that it begs for that kind of open interpretation.
Patrick: Exactly. You have to, right? Nobody can do it like Tom Waits did it, so you have to find your own path to make the song your own. I think it’ll be a good challenge, but musicians, I think they like that challenge. There’s some pressure there, like ‘I really wanna try and learn some Tom Waits tunes.’

There’s really no way to learn his songs unless you have, like, an old oil drum lying around.
Patrick: (Laughs) Right.

Or if you have a rooster in your front yard or something.

Are there any songs in particular you’re looking forward to hearing?
Patrick: I would love to hear someone do “Come On Up To The House,” that would be cool. I think anything from Rain Dogs would be great, which is my favorite Tom Waits album. I’ll probably do something from Rain Dogs, but i haven’t decided which one yet.

What’s your personal process for preparing to perform for these types of shows?
Patrick: It’s tough. Often times I’ll let our other artists pick their songs first, so I try not to get attached to anything just in case someone else slips it in. But I’ll zero in on a specific album and find a song that I can relate to personally so I can interpret it in a way that’s true to the song but also unique to me.

It also helps if I can figure out how to play the tune and sing it.

Sounds good. Anything else coming up?
Patrick: In March we’re doing a St. Patrick’s Day show, so we’re gonna do something a little different. We’re gonna do like a sessions night and have people come in and do a roundtable, which should be fun. In April we’re doing Ryan Adams. He’s kind of a newer guy but I feel like he’s definitely influenced a lot of people my age who are songwriters. I guess people have pretty strong opinions about him, but there’s certainly not a lack of songs there to pick from. We’re going to do a Van Morrison show, we’re gonna do Johnny Cash and we’ll probably do aTownes Van Zandt again in October, because For The Sake Of The Song is named for aTownes Van Zandt song.

And we don’t have a date yet, but our next full album show I think will be Exile On Main Street, which I’m pretty excited about.

It’ll be pretty epic.

FOR THE SAKE OF THE SONG PRESENTS A TRIBUTE TO TOM WAITS
WITH PATRICK COMAN AND THE LO-FI ANGELS, RYAN FITZSIMMONS, BRENDAN HOGAN AND CHRIS HUTCHISON-JONES
SAT 2.18.12
THE ARMORY
191 HIGHLAND AVE SUITE 1A
617.718.2191

ARTSATTHEARMORY.ORG

2012 Winter/Spring Schedule Announced!

noreply@blogger.com (Patrick) — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 15:08:00 +0000

Gather round boys and girls, we are very excited to announce the dates and artists to kick off our 2012 season of For the Sake of the Song! We've got some good ones for you, such as ....

Feb. 18th - Tribute to Tom Waits (Buy Tickets HERE)
2012 Kick Off Show! w/Brendan Hogan, Ryan Fitzsimmons, and Dressing the Debutantes!

Mar. 17th - Special St. Patrick's Day Show
w/special guests tba, acoustic jam, and more!

Apr. 14th - A Tribute to Ryan Adams
w/Brian Carroll, Dan Zinder, and Patrick Coman

May 19th - A Tribute to Woody Guthrie

Jun. 16th - A Tribute to Johnny Cash

Hope to see you there and stay tuned for summer and fall show listings!

Weekly Dig Review of Music From Big Pink!

noreply@blogger.com (Patrick) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 17:21:00 +0000

In case you missed our excellent end-of-year event; here is a great recap from the Weekly Dig. Thanks to Ryan Bray for checking us out!

Some time back I wrote my inaugural Feedback entry, where I spieled on about the importance community plays in Boston’s local music culture. Remember? It got I think three “likes” or something on Facebook.

I could probably rewrite that whole column again when talking about For The Sake Of Song, the ongoing local live music series that brings a host of Boston musicians together to pay homage to various artists and their recorded work. The event is the embodiment of the word “communal.” From start to finish, bands jump in and out of each other’s songs, the grand finale being a big ass singalong where each of the performers take turns in front of the mic.

But it takes a special kind of record to really rally a whole host of bands and musicians to come out in service of it. I don’t care what you say, nobody’s coming out in droves to play their respects to God Shuffled His Feet by the Crash Test Dummies. But there is another Canadian band more than worthy of the reverence. When The Band recorded their 1968 debut Music From Big Pink, they didn’t make a record.

They made an album that froze itself in time, a stone cold fucking classic boasting some of the most powerful and intricate Americana, soul, folk and roots rock songs ever written.

Forty three years after its initial release, the songs still ring as true now as they did then. Evidence of such was plentiful at Great Scott, where a host of bands including Greg Klyma, Dressing The Debutantes, Autumn Hollow, John Colvert and the Great Brighton Fire, Patrick Coman and the Lo Fi Angels and Sam Otis Hill and Co. pulled together to get their Levon Helmand Rick Danko on.

Full disclosure, I’d never heard anything from any of these bands before heading over to the venue. And yet I still got the feeling I had them all pegged. When you’re part of a show playing tribute to the Band, it kind of narrows down your expectations.

I’m just saying there was no way Autumn Hollow was going to be a Scandanavian thrash metal band, ya feel me?

Part of me worried that such predictability would sour the experience, but the bands threw just enough of a monkey wrench into Big Pink’s cozy, folksy rock and roll to keep my attention from drifting. Let’s break it down song by song, shall we?

1. Tears of Rage as performed by Greg Klyma

Taking the stage with an acoustic guitar and what was presumably his finest fedora, Greg Klyma clearly didn’t spend a great deal of time orchestrating a grand production, preferring to just let the music carry itself. And because we’re dealing with some of rock music’s greatest songwriters and musicians in The Band, Klyma’s stripped down approach not only worked, but served as an appropriately warm introduction to the show and the album.

2. To Kingdom Come as performed by Chris Hutchison Jones

After explaining how a google search can prove how Robbie Robertson is an asshole andLevon Helm isn’t (personally I think you could figure that out by watching The Last Waltz), Chris Hutchison Jones of Dressing The Debutantes also went the solo acoustic route, but with a rasp-voiced punch to it. His acoustic breakdown during the chorus kind of reminded me of G Love. I’ll leave it up to you to decide if that’s a good thing or not.

3. In A Station as performed by Autumn Hollow

Finally, a full band steps up to take a crack at shit. Equipped with an upright bass, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, drums and vocals, Autumn Hollow’s take on In a Station was by and large pretty faithful to the original. But considering that the original is pretty tight, there’s no use trying to find any fault in playing it straight.

4. Caladonia Mission as performed by John Colvert and the Great Brighton Fire

Not a lot to say here about the song/performance itself, but I have to address the elephant in the room and say I don’t remember anything about some great fire that may or may not have happened in Brighton. Or am I crazy? This one looks like it did some damage, but I doubt it’s the same fire they’re talking about.

5. The Weight as performed by John Colvert and the Great Brighton Fire

Ok, now we’re talking. There had to be one band on the bill ready to shoulder the burden of carrying not only the best song on the album, but arguably the best song in The Band’s epic catalogue, and Colvert and co. stepped up to carry the weight (wordplay!). Colvert’s country rock sound carries the album’s most timeless and resonant track, and at points they almost made it look easy. They also weren’t shy about deviating from the scirpt, drawing out the song by filling in the middle parts with ample fiddle, guitar and even organ solos. Take that Garth Hudson.

6. We Can Talk as performed by Greg Klyma

On to side two, and back to Greg Klyma, who once again took to the stage with little more than an acoustic guitar and the vocal backing of Amy Kucharik (who also did a kick ass job designing the event’s Big Pink-themed program). As one of my favorite tunes from the disc, I would have probably preferred to see We Can Talk get the full band treatment, but oh well. Klyma also dished out a sweet story about trying to call Levon Helm and accidentally phoning Rick Danko.

7. Long Black Veil as performed by Patrick Coman and Autumn Hollow

For The Sake Of Song founder Patrick Coman, not content with simply emceeing the festivities, took the stage to pay his musical respects himself. Backed by the fine fellows in Autumn Hollow, Coman helped deliver one of the more amped up performances of the night, giving the easy going sounds of Long Black Veil a healthy dose of shitkicking alt-country. Probably the best performance of the night thus far….

8. Chest Fever as performed by Patrick Coman and the Lo-Fi Angels

…that is until Coman tooled on Chest Fever. Admitting the song to be his favorite from the album, Coman, now backed by his own band mates in the Lo-Fi Angels, did the song justice by rubbing its nose in some angsty roots rock. It might have just become one of my favorites too.

9. Lonesome Suzie as performed by Sam Otis Hill & Co.

Sam Otis Hill made his turn at the mic count, leading things off with a suitably rootsy cover ofLonesome Suzie. Admittedly it’s not one of my favorite tracks on the record, so it didn’t quite do it for me the way some other songs did. But that’s hardly Hill & Co.’s fault. Dude’s voice slips into a pretty sweet Rick Danko impression at times.

10. This Wheel’s On Fire as performed by Sam Otis Hill & Co.

Hill makes a bold move and decides to play the song in a lower key than the original. Hey man, whatever you want. It’s your world I just live in it. Backed by Coman and Jones on vocals, Hill & Co. stretched the tune out some, leaving plenty of room for solos and improvisation in the middle.

11. I Shall Be Released as performed by , uh, well, everybody.

I realize they’re playing the album in sequence, so of course I Shall Be Released will cap everything off. Even still, it really is the perfect song to stand as a finale. Everything from the song’s tempo to the dynamics work, and it fits the mood for a farewell song perfectly. With everyone jumping up onstage and belting out the lyrics, it was a fitting way to wrap up the night.

Music From Big Pink Tonight at Great Scott!

noreply@blogger.com (Patrick) — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 03:09:00 +0000

Full Line Up Below!
Tickets: $10/Advance (Purchase HERE) or $12/Day of Show

Side I

1. Tears of Rage - Greg Klyma

2. To Kingdom Come - Dressing The Debutantes

3. In A Station - Autumn Hollow

4. Caledonia Mission - John Colvert and the Great Brighton Fire

5. The Weight - John Colvert and the Great Brighton Fire

Side II

1. We Can Talk - Greg Klyma

2. Long Black Veil - Patrick Coman and the Lo-Fi Angels

3. Chest Fever - Patrick Coman and the Lo-Fi Angels

4. Lonesome Suzie - Sam Otis Hill & Co.

5. This Wheel's On Fire - Sam Otis Hill & Co.

6. I Shall Be Released - All of the above

New Show Announced - The Band's Music From Big Pink!

noreply@blogger.com (Patrick) — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 21:32:00 +0000

We are very excited to announce a special end of the year show coming up Wednesday Dec. 21st at Great Scott! We'll be presenting The Band's classic album Music From Big Pink live in its entirety, with proceeds benefiting local nonprofit Music Speaks.

Over the last year we have teamed up with local charities to put on some special one-off full album shows. Maybe you caught our Blood on the Tracks show last December or our Harvest show in May? Or maybe you just read about it in the Globe. Well we're at it again, with one of our biggest lineups yet! Including previous FTSOTS performers like John Colvert and the Great Brighton Fire, Sam Otis Hill & Co., Greg Klyma, Samantha Farrell, Autumn Hollow, Dressing the Debutantes and more!

Show starts at 9pm/ Tickets $10/adv, $12/day of show (buy them in advance here)
Proceeds benefit Music Speaks!

Tickets Still Available for this Saturday's Tribute to Willie Nelson!

noreply@blogger.com (Patrick) — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 14:56:00 +0000

Mamas don't let your babies grow up to be cowboys, but do let 'em join us this Saturday for For the Sake of the Song: A Tribute to Willie Nelson. We're excited for another stellar show featuring Susan Cattaeno, Glenn Yoder, and Highway Ghosts!

Tickets still available through Brown Paper Tickets w/no service charge or fees:

For the Sake of the Song Promo Video!

noreply@blogger.com (Patrick) — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 14:32:00 +0000

Exciting times for For the Sake of the Song-ers, we just wrapped our excellent 2nd Anniversary Bob Dylan Tribute and now we're very excited to share this fantastic promo video featuring footage from the show. Thanks so much to Chris DeSanty with DeSant Productions for filming and producing, he does great work so check 'em out if you're in need!

'For the Sake of the Song' Promo from DeSant Productions on Vimeo.

Thanks For Joining Us!

noreply@blogger.com (Patrick) — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 18:43:00 +0000

Thanks to all who joined us for our 2nd Anniversary celebration and tribute to Bob Dylan, especially the fine folks at Local Music 101 and DeSant Productions who recorded and filmed the show. Keep your eyes peeled for video and audio from the show soon!

Catch Us on WMBR This Thursday!

noreply@blogger.com (Patrick) — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 02:43:00 +0000

This Thursday we'll be on WMBRs "Droppin' Knowledge" to talk about our 2nd anniversary show and Tribute to Bob Dylan! Tune in on 88.1 FM in the Cambridge-area or catch it streaming online at http://wmbr.mit.edu! Show airs at 4pm and John Colvert will join us to play some tunes and talk Dylan, can't wait!

2nd Anniversary Show and Tribute to Bob Dylan This Saturday!

noreply@blogger.com (Patrick) — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 13:47:00 +0000

Can't wait for our 2nd Anniversary Show and Tribute to Bob Dylan this Saturday with Ryan Fitzsimmons, James Houlahan, and John Colvert! Here's a preview from The Somerville News and remember you can still pre-order tickets through Brown Paper Tickets here:

Passing around the Dylan

On October 9, 2011, in Latest News, by The News Staff

Patrick Coman.

BySanjeev Selvarajah

To quote For the Sake of the Song’sPatrick Coman, “[Bob] Dylan has been such an iconoclast throughout his career. If you, like me, consider a patriot to be someone who questions authority, someone who seeks truth even when it is inconvenient, and someone who confronts the powers that be on behalf of the downtrodden and underprivileged, then I think you have to admire Dylan as someone who, without a doubt, embodies those characteristics.”

These are the sentiments of the man behind For the Sake of the Song, which features Coman along with James Houlahan, Ryan Fitzsimmons and John Colvert. The group performs the songs of their favorite musicians, one by one. Earlier this year, Coman and company covered the works of Bruce Springsteen and they are now preparing a show featuring some of the larger than life tunes by Bob Dylan at the Armory for the Arts on Saturday, October 15, at 7:30 p.m.

Alongside Springsteen, Dylan represents a significant cross-section on the great American musical totem pole. He has influenced so many artists, from the Beatles to present day singer/songwriters who share a love for Dylan’s style and grace.

As these newer balladeers sit and swoon in your favorite bar and download to your child’s iTunes play list, consider taking a loved one who is moved by the styles of these developing musicians to a For the Sake of the Song show and allow them to reflect on the origins of this machinery of hip-ness.

Dylan himself has had conflicting feelings about being pigeonholed into the folk genre. “Clearly, he is an excellent performer and curator for traditional folk music. His early work is full of topical ballads that draw directly from people like Woody Guthrie, Peter Seeger, and Dave Van Ronk,” says Coman. But he has also kept up stylistically with his contemporaries and his songs are so well crafted musically, they strike a delicate balance between cynicism and a love for the common man. There is an aura of a defeated fatalism in Don’t Think Twice It’s Allright. It signifies an individual’s right to question fate, and Coman alludes to its purpose as the retort of a jilted lover. “Yes, I love that song! It is so snide and it has one of the greatest put downs of all time”

Knocking on Heaven’s Door is definitely multilayered, according to Coman. Like many of the earthy themes of early folk, you take of it what you bring with you. It might be about a drug overdose, a general reflection on death, or the relationship between an artist and a muse.

“I was inspired to start this series when I moved to Boston a couple years ago. Being new in town I wanted to have a way to reach out to fellow musicians in the area and get to know people, and one good way to do that is to find songs in common with people,” says Coman. Death, rejection, and gaining blessed love. This Dylan has passed down for all to share. For the Sake of the Song is sharing it with us, too.

Tribute to Steve Earle This Saturday!

noreply@blogger.com (Patrick) — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 17:39:00 +0000

As a reminder our September edition of For the Sake of the Song is coming up this Saturday September 17th! We'll be playing this song but we will not be dressed like this (oh Late 80s what were you thinking?)

September 17th - Armory Center for the Arts
For the Sake of the Song: A Tribute to Steve Earle
Doors at 7:30pm | Show at 8pm | $8
For the Sake of the Song brings together local musicians to perform their own material and pay tribute the songwriters who have influenced them. In our September edition, songwriters Sam Otis Hill, Mark Stepakoff, and Thea Hopkins perform classic Steve Earle songs, as well as discuss her influence on their own material.

Greg Klyma Live Rust Belt DVD Release This Friday!

noreply@blogger.com (Patrick) — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 14:23:00 +0000

Those of you who have seen Mr. Klyma perform at our Blood on the Tracks show last December (the "Buckets of Rain" guy, you remember ...) know he is master craftsman as a songwriter and live performer and he is absolutely in his element in a great listening room like the Armory. That's why I hope you'll take the opportunity to join us Friday for Greg's Live Rust Belt DVD Release party. Along with live performances by Greg and special guest Samantha Farrell we'll also be showing a special sneak preview DVD!

Tickets are $9/advance and $12/day of show, so get 'em early while you can (advance sales end Thursday at midnight)

Here's a great preview in this week's Somerville News:

Greg Klyma takes Somerville by storm

By Michelle Cooper

Greg Klyma has been playing the guitar since he was an early teenager around 13 years old.
It was something that just came natural to him. His mother had a friend whose daughters took guitar lessons and she saw the talent in her son to do the same.

Since then Greg has been playing and writing his own songs. His inspiration is described as “everywhere and everyone.” He could be playing a game of basketball and come up with a song and go write it down.
At 18 he released his first song and by the age of 21 he had written over 100 songs. He has written mostly about family and friends. From 1993 to 1997 Greg was part of a band, but eventually decided that the time had come to break up the band and go solo at almost the same time he was fired from his job. That was what ultimately put him in the position to pursue his talent to the fullest. He dove headlong into playing guitar and writing songs.
Now he is releasing a DVD that contains a full set of live performances, a music video, and guitar lessons which are “quite entertaining whether you play guitar or not,” Greg says. He is releasing Live Belt DVD on September 2 at the Armory Center for the Arts. The event begins at 7:30 p.m. Friday night and will also feature a special guest, Samantha Farrell, who also plays guitar and offers great vocals. Tickets are available for purchase at the door for $12 or online: www.forthesakeofthesong.com for $9.

Tribute to Patty Griffin This Saturday!

noreply@blogger.com (Patrick) — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 18:08:00 +0000

Wow what a great show this is going to be! Come join us this Saturday at the Armory (191 Highland Ave, Somerville, MA) for our August edition of For the Sake of the Song, with Kara Kulpa, Jess Baggia, and Ariel Rubin!

August 13th - Armory Center for the Arts
For the Sake of the Song: A Tribute to Patty Griffin
Doors at 7:30pm | Show at 8pm | $8 (buy advance tickets here)

For the Sake of the Song brings together local musicians to perform their own material and pay tribute the songwriters who have influenced them. In our August edition, songwriters Kara Kulpa, Jess Baggia, and Ariel Rubin, perform classic Patty Griffin songs, as well as discuss her influence on their own material. Visit www.forthesakeofthesong.com for more info.

"East Meets West" This Saturday at the Armory!

noreply@blogger.com (Patrick) — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 16:36:00 +0000

"East Meets West" w/Heather Maloney
Tickets $8/advance, $10/door (order advance tickets here)
Doors 7:30pm | Show 8pm | Armory Center for the Arts (191 Highland Ave)

In this special double bill songwriters Patrick Coman (Boston, MA) and Heather Maloney (Turners Falls, MA) team up for "East Meets West": A Massachusetts Songwriter Showcase.
Maloney (www.heathermaloney.com) has toured the country in support of her sophomore release "Time & Pocket Change" which the Portland Phoenix dubbed "richly orchestrated post-coffeeshop pop held together by pipes and lyrics well beyond her years," and about which WUMB's Jason Moberg raved "this album is incredible, I'm blown away."

Meanwhile Boston resident Patrick Coman's (www.patrickcoman.com) debut album "Southern Storms" has also received critical praise being called "one of the strongest local albums of the year" by The Noise and "a great album chock full of stellar songs" by Call It Folk.

2nd Anniversary Show Announced - October 15th!

noreply@blogger.com (Patrick) — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 18:11:00 +0000

We're excited to announce that we have confirmed details for our 2nd Anniversary Show on October 15th at the Armory Center for the Arts! It's going to be a great night with a killer line up, free ticket and CD giveaways, and to top it all off we are paying tribute to the best of the best - Mr. Bob Dylan! Read on for more info ...

October 15th - Armory Center for the Arts

For the Sake of the Song: A Tribute to BOB DYLAN

Doors at 7:30pm | Show at 8pm | Tickets $8

For our October edition we celebrate our 2nd Anniversary by paying tribute to perhaps the most influential singer/songwriter of all time, Bob Dylan! Featuring Sarah Blacker, Ryan Fitzsimmons, and John Colvert, this special concert will feature tunes from throughout Dylan's career as well as original music inspired by the master himself.

In addition to the music we will be raffling off prizes, free CDs, and much more! Please join us to help celebrate two years of amazing For the Sake of the Song concerts!

A Tribute to John Prine This Saturday!

noreply@blogger.com (Patrick) — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 20:30:00 +0000

July 16th - Armory Center for the Arts
For the Sake of the Song: A Tribute to John Prine
Doors at 7:30pm | Show at 8pm | $8 (buy advance tickets here)

Our monthly concert series continues at the Armory Center for the Arts with our July tribute to John Prine! Come hear classics tunes like "Angel From Montgomery" and "Illegal Smile" plus original music from Brian Carroll, Dan Baker, Patrick Coman!