Join Hat on, Drinking Wine as we return to Beatnik’s on Park Avenue in Worcester.
Funky 2-room bar with good food and a commitment to local live music.
Our friends have really enjoyed this place at our past couple of shows here.
February 6, 2010
$5 cover charge
3 sets starting at 9pm!
Hey All:
Here are some updates on what we’re up to and what we have coming up. First, we are working to develop a series of acoustic, live-from-a-living-room videos of some of our favorite covers and our originals. We did some test pressings last week, and you can check them out on our YouTube channel–but for your ease, here are links to our cover of Alex Chilton’s song “Thirteen”:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfUNGECliLc
and Son Volt’s “Tear-Stained Eye”:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWLykzUjMmw
We will work on developing these videos further and update you when we do.
Recording continues. Last month we went in and recorded our seventh tune for the CD, a folk song called “Come Into My Bed.” I had written nine out of ten stories for what I had envisioned as an interconnected book of short stories, and then decided that the project was not working as I had envisioned, and put it on the shelf. But before it left my mind completely, I wrote a song from one character to another, a lament about the falling-apart marriage depicted in the book. In the recording studio we kept it pretty stripped down, with some great guitar and harmonica work by Matt, Ed on vocals and mandolin, Jared on bass, and me on piano. We’ll add some percussion and that will put us over the halfway mark for the CD. Another four or five songs to go, and still looking for a late spring release date.
In the meantime, we are playing out, and you have plenty of opportunities to check out our evolving live show. Rock and roots instruments abound these days, with electric guitar and bass and drums sharing time with harmonica, accordion, mandolin, tin whistle, tambourine, and lap steel. On Sunday, January 17th, we are playing a stripped-down, acoustic show at the Greyhound Pub in Kelley Square. That show will feature acoustic versions of our originals as well as a broader range of covers from folk, blues, reggae, and even traditional music. We will have some guest singers, so please come down and join the fun. On Friday, January 22nd, we are back at Biagio’s on Park Ave. in Worcester. Then on February 6th, we are back at one of our new favorite places, Beatnik’s on Park Ave. in Worcester. One more new development–we have t-shirts! These are great shirts in a variety of colors with the HODW flower logo, hand-screened in his home studio by Matt. They retail at $10, and you can pick one up at any show. Sometime soon we will post a rough mix or two here so you can hear what we’ve been doing in the studio–in the meantime, we hope to see you out at a show! Jim
Thursday, March 18, 2010
5:30 PM-8:00 PM
Enjoy music, tastings and art during Third Thursdays @ WAM. In March listen to alternative pop/rock with Hat on, Drinking Wine, tastings with Dr. Gonzo’s Uncommon Condiments, and a tour of the exhibition Who Shot Rock. Always great company, cash bar. This event will be held in the Renaissance Court.
“Worcester’s answer to Wilco”-Craig Semon Worcester Telegram and Gazette
Hat On, Drinking Wine first appeared on the Worcester music scene in April of 2007, performing a two-hour set of original music at a tiny coffee shop on the west side of the city. Since then, the band’s repertoire of songs has expanded exponentially, and they have appeared all over the city and region, performing at bars, music clubs, private functions and benefits, and outdoor festivals. From May of 2008 until September of 2009, the band played a weekly show on Wednesday nights at Nick’s Bar and Restaurant on Millbury St., just off Worcester’s famous Kelley Square. The band’s lineup consists of Jarrett Conner on drums; Jared Forgues on bass and mandolin; Jim Lang on piano, accordion, and tin whistle; Matt Robert on electric and acoustic guitar, harmonica, and vocals; and Ed Whalen on acoustic guitar and vocals. HODW writes and plays as a true ensemble, with all members of the band contributing to the writing and arranging of the songs, and with instruments and lead vocals swapping around from song to song. The sound is American roots, with traces of blues, folk, reggae, and traditional Irish music. The band’s self-titled debut is available on itunes, Rhapsody, CD Baby, Amazon, and pretty much wherever else you buy your music.
In September 2009, the band began recording again with Roger Lavallee at The Tremolo Lounge, in West Boylston Massachusetts.
Hey Everyone:
This past Saturday night we had the pleasure to play at one of Worcester’s best new music venues–Beatnik’s, on Park Ave. here in Worcester. Formerly the Foo Bar, Beatnik’s has been renovated into a beautiful and hip new bar. There are two rooms inside–one features a stage and a back bar, and the other features the main bar and seating around the edges of the room. They have great beers on tap and food as well.
We started around 9:00 pm on Saturday night, and played three ten-song sets. It was one of our most enjoyable gigs as a full five-piece band, the first–we hope–of many to come. We had a terrific crowd, so thanks to everyone who came out to support us and this great venue. We saw plenty of familiar faces from our fans at Nick’s, and it was great to see people making the effort to check us out in this new space.
We will be back there in early December, but you should check their schedule and get out to a show sometime before that. It has a similar setup to our longtime home, Nick’s, in that you can sit and listen to the music in the stage room or you can go hang out and chat in the other room if that’s what you prefer.
Our next live performance will on October 30th at Nick’s. We are excited to play on a weekend night, and I am really looking forward to getting my hands back on that piano after two months away.
In the meantime, we headed back into the studio last month and are close to finishing up the first three tracks of our next CD. If you’ve heard us live, you might recognize the song names: “Practical in Love,” “Makes Me Spin,” and “(Sadie) You’re Leaving Me.” We are working with Roger again at the Tremolo Lounge and he has us sounding great on these first mixes. We will return in early November to clean up these first tracks and begin the next three songs. We are shooting for a twelve-song release in the spring of 2010, so stay tuned.
With our rhythm section now locked firmly in place (Jarrett on drums and Jared on bass), and our array of roots instruments finding their way into many of our songs–accordion, tin whistle, harmonica, mandolin, lap steel–we have come a long way from the days when Matt and Ed and Jim played our dozen originals in the local coffee shop. We are offering a show these days that we want you to come see, and that we know you will enjoy. If you’ve seen us before, come check us out now in full band-and-instrument mode; if you haven’t seen us yet, now is the time!
JL
Show Schedule
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