Music
The best kept secret in music
Press
The Northampton band Bathtub Mary performs tonight at the Iron Horse.
NORTHAMPTON - Change They Want To See, the CD released last summer by the local band Bathtub Mary, is well titled: The disc shows exactly the kind of musical growth loyal listeners might hope to hear in a band that harbors hopes of wider exposure.
Bathtub Mary's first CD was good; this one is very, very good.
After months of playing regular gigs at Bishop's Lounge in Northampton, Bathtub Mary moves across Center Street tonight to play a long-awaited gig at the Iron Horse. Long awaited by the band's members and their friends, since the Horse booking means a significant broker in the industry is now rating their stock high. Long awaited, too, by anyone who thinks it's about time another Valley band got launched onto the larger national stage.
This music could provide the escape velocity. Track after track on ''Change,'' Bathtub Mary demonstrates a well-practiced ability to combine backgrounds in classical guitar and jazz with a smooth (not ''soft'') rock sensibility. Previous comparisons of this band to Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, or to Jethro Tull, are not utterly far-fetched, but even better might be a comparison to the samba-influenced jazz of Antonio Carlos Jobim, Stan Getz or Charlie Byrd.
The music glides, dances, floats - pick any metaphor for a mid-speed rhythm underlying gentle melodies with deft percussive punctuation.
On some tracks it kicks a few doors out, too. This isn't rock that depends on half-deaf soundmen to crank the volume up until the windows rattle, but it is definitely rock, as Jackson Smith's hopped-up bass and the sometimes wailing guitars of Philip daRosa and Jonathan Wearn attest.
Since the CD's recording, longtime drummer/guitarist Jeremy Milligan has left the band - he got a gig playing jazz guitar on a cruise ship in the Caribbean - but Keith Laudieri took over for him at the stroke of midnight last New Year's Eve and little else has changed.
Tonight's show is a big push forward, a fine opportunity to see a band that may be about to become famous but at any rate is already extremely easy to listen to for a long time. 7 p.m.
By the way, another young group with some jazz knowledge and a local base, the Mobius Band, plays the late show at the Horse as the opening act for the Montreal quartet The Stars, so you might stick around for the 10 p.m. show too. - BY JOHN STIFLER, The Daily Hampshire Gazette
04/01/04
Bathtub Mary's Change They Want to Sess showcases some great musicianship on the jam side of the songs. The clean and acoustic guitars and prominent bass give the tracks and upbeat folkish feel with melodies and harmonies twisting throughout. While the lyrics have a clear message, Change They Want to See is at its best when the band lets the music speak. Sharp layout and design on the CD, too. Bathtub Mary is out of Northampton, MA, but they'll be at the Blue Mermaid Saturday, Dec. 20. - by THE WIRE, Portsmouth, NH 11/03
Bathtub Mary founder Phillip Darosa and I both went to the same college: Keene State.
We both studied guitar there -- with the same professor, Ted Mann, in fact.
But since he saw it through and obtained a music major while I settled for a minor and switched to journalism, it was either destiny -- or the fact that his CD release party will be on April Fools Day -- that I find myself writing about his music today.
Give any cut on the band's new disc Change They Want To See 30 seconds of your time, however, and it's easy to see why so many people have been listening to the now-Noho-based quartet lately.
Brilliant rhythmic interplay ("Going Down") gives way to hopped up, John Mayer-esque grooves ("All This Time") -- ah, and that dazzling fretwork (pick one).
The real mystery here is how this hometown band tailor-made for the intimate confines of The Iron Horse has eluded the prestigious venue until this, its April 1 CD release party -- well, that and the story behind the imagery on the cover that reminded me of 911.
Concerning the latter observation, Darosa commented, "Change They Want To See has to do with our political views on what's been going on in our government the past few years. There has to be some enhancements on how things are done."
Couldn't have put it better myself.
Visit www.bathtubmary.com for more information about the band, the disc and the show. - BY GARRY CARRA, The Valley Advocate
04/01/04
Discography
2002 - The Ubiquitous Demo (10 track mix of live, acoustic & studio work)
2003 - Change They Want to See (11 Track Studio Album) Multiple Tracks recieving airplay on WUMB Boston, WTCC Springfield, WAMU Amherst, WTBU Boston, WMVY Martha's Vineyard and multiple online radio stations.
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
With roots entwined in the soil fertilized by Mozart and Bach, Bathtub Mary brings the precision of classical technique to the ear of the groovy concert goer. The fusion of orchestral theory into folk-music bred lyricism and jazz-rock instrumentals breeds the musical equivalent of genetic engineering. This musical melange defines what can only be described as a musical super-genre, enabling the band to free itself of stylistic limitations and create some of the most expressive, creative and original music in the market today.
We've heard it compared to Jethro Tull, Dave Matthews Band and Crosby Stills &Nash. We’ve boiled it down to “Classically bred groove-rock with some jazz-funk love.”
Stretching beyond the typical “Jam Band” persona, lyrical inspirations are often cultivated from a frustration with society’s status-quo. Utilizing their full breadth of scope, acoustic melodies twisted with throwbacks to the glory days of classic rock become an unmistakable signpost that this band has found the link between musicality and originality.
By the end of their first full year as a band, Bathtub Mary had shared the stage with Max Creek, Psychedelic Breakfast, Ekoostik Hookah, members of Strangefolk, and many more. During the summer of 2003, BTM found themselves at a couple of the best festivals of the season, touring from Martha’s Vineyard to Pittsburgh, and from Rhode Island to Northern Maine. Bathtub Mary has made consistent appearances at Boston’s Harpers Ferry and M.V.’s The Hot Tin Roof (where they played to a crowd of nearly 400), and has played at NYCs historic Le Bar Bat and Tobacco Road (may they both rest in peace).
Bathtub Mary currently sells out every one of their monthly shows in their hometown of Northampton, MA and is currently approaching their first appearance at the famed Iron Horse Music Hall.
BTM’s debut album “Change They Want to See” was released in July, 2003 - and is receiving airtime on Boston’s WUMB & WTBU, Springfield's WTCC, WAMU Amherst, WOZQ Northampton and a multitude of Online radio networks.
2 classically trained guitarists, one completely original bassist, and a drummer who will knock the funk out of your dirtiest socks are reinventing the classic rock sound and bringing it back as a whole new beast.
Bathtub Mary, through influences and ingenuity, has connected the best of folk, funk, classic rock, jazz and classical in a way that can be appreciated by both the stern music critic and the screaming fan. Bathtub Mary is currently touring and collecting live tracks for their next release through Tight Records™, the band-owned independent label.
Links
