Freak Scene #54: Storm the Ohio Return After 15 Years
Plus, new music from Mal Devisa and Reale Wolfe.
A Guide to Music in Western Mass. (and sometimes Connecticut)
This week in Freak Scene, we’ve got a few artists with a handful of tracks each. Easthampton’s Storm the Ohio finally release a three-song EP more than 15 years after recording it, Mal Devisa has a new-ish single and Connecticut’s Reale Wolfe are building an EP a track or two at a time.
The recent arrival of Storm the Ohio’s Without Your Ghost had been in the works for a long time — more than 15 years. For a while there, singer and guitarist Jerry Brookman wasn’t sure he was going to release the Easthampton band’s EP at all.
After putting out the LP Buffalo in 2007, Storm the Ohio convened at Spirit House in August 2009, before the studio moved from Northampton to Longmeadow, to record three additional songs. The session was intended to document the rootsy, Americana-leaning sound of the band playing together in a room, shortly before lead guitarist Matt Cullen moved away. When Cullen relocated to Iowa, Storm the Ohio went on hiatus.
“We couldn’t replace him, and frankly, I didn’t want to,” Brookman says by email.
If Cullen’s departure put the band on hold, the hiatus looked permanent when bassist Jimmy Elliot died suddenly in 2015.
“I was devastated,” Brookman says. “He was my bandmate, coworker and one of my best friends — he was my brother and I loved him.”
Amid the depression that overtook him, Brookman had no desire to release Storm the Ohio’s final recordings, though he knew that Elliot would have wanted the songs to be available. For Brookman, even listening to them himself proved difficult.
“They would just make me sad,” Brookman says. “It took me a long time to be at peace with it.”
Earlier this year, while working on a new EP with Joel Stroetzel, Brookman decided he was finally ready to share Without Your Ghost. The songs showcase a group of musicians attuned to each other. Opener “Let’s Not Wait” pairs Brookman’s tuneful, plaintive vocals with ringing guitars and a muscular rhythm section, while “Brothers Born” is a somber waltz-time number anchored by acoustic guitar and fleshed out with subtle piano from Thane Thompson, glimmers of electric guitar from Cullen and a bare-bones drum part by Mike Wyzik. At nearly 7 minutes, closing song “Sunday Eyes” is more than twice as long as the other two, but it glides by in drifts of atmospheric guitars and keyboards and a melody just sticky enough to linger.
“I’m proud of these songs and the recordings,” Brookman says. “I still can’t believe it was all live, except maybe for a few things Matt overdubbed on guitar. It was us at the height of our powers.”
Though Brookman figured that Storm the Ohio was finished after Elliot’s death, he’s planning to release his new EP this spring under the band’s name. Wyzik plays drums on one track, and Jason Smith and Paul Kochanski contribute bass and drums, respectively, too.
“Moving forward Storm the Ohio consists of whoever is around and I like collaborating with,” Brookman says.
Mal Devisa Sounds Hypnotic on ‘Rough and Tumble’
New music from Mal Devisa always feels like an unexpected gift left for you while you’re sleeping: one morning, it’s just there, slipping into a Mal Devisa-shaped cut-out in your soul that you didn’t even know existed. The project of Amherst’s Deja Carr, Mal Devisa’s latest is “Rough and Tumble,” a 92-second track featuring a rattling, hypnotic rhythm and vocals from the experimental Northampton art-rapper Gods Wisdom.
“Rough and Tumble” follows the February 2024 release of 99 Loops, an album consisting of, well, 99 tracks of loops that Carr described as “a culmination of many different days of solitude.” The longest track was 2 minutes and 26 seconds, but most of them were less than a minute. Together, they have a meditative quality that’s easy to get blissfully lost in.
“It's kind of like chewing on the same piece of bubble gum for hours and wondering if it's actually strengthening your jaw,” Carr wrote on Bandcamp. “I think I get a lot of peace out of making these pieces.”
Carr says “Rough and Tumble” is a one-off track, though in the same Bandcamp write-up for 99 Loops, she hinted that she might have a new album in the works. In the meantime, she performs a stand-up set tonight, Friday, Feb. 21, at the Marigold Theater in Easthampton on a bill topped by the Classicals, along with Club Casualties and Gods Wisdom (tickets). She’s also opening for the Taxidermists March 21 at the Iron Horse (tickets).
Reale Wolfe Keep Moving with ‘I’m Not Standing Still’
When Roger C. Reale isn’t rubbing elbows in Nashville with the likes of Steve Cropper, Brian May and Billy F. Gibbons, the Branford, Conn., singer is ripping it up with Reale Wolfe, his project with guitarist Brian Wolfe and drummer Rich Suarez.
The trio has recently added a pair of songs to what has become an ever-growing EP online. After putting out the single “Dirty Pool” last fall, Reale Wolfe doubled the fun last month with “I’m Not Standing Still,” a gritty blues jam built around scabrous guitar and Reale’s resonant vocals. “I’m Not Standing Still” fits neatly alongside “Dirty Pool,” a scuzz-rock marvel featuring only Wolfe’s skinned-knee guitar, Reale’s growling voice and a tambourine to keep the beat.
The latest track, “Hideaway,” is not the Freddie King classic but a sultry showcase for Reale’s blues-shouter vocals and slinky bassline, creating an ad-hoc three-song EP they’re calling Dirty Pool.
Upcoming Concerts
After severe weather disrupted last year’s version, Riverfront Recapture’s Hartbeat Music Festival returns June 14 to Mortensen Riverfront Plaza in Hartford, with 20 area musicians performing on three stages from 11 a.m.-9 p.m. The acts: Alpaca Gnomes, Always Morning, Big Joe & the Stolen Hearts, Chris Walton, DJ Late Night, Hip Hop for the Homeless, Hitch & the Giddyup, Hook Gawdess, Kev Lyrikz, Kirk Scully & Friends, Lee Totten, Michael Sanford Day & the Hard Feelings, Moonrise Cartel, Nadabutvibes, the New Brew, the Professors of Sweet, Sweet Music, Roost, Shame Penguin, Solgyres and Trashing Violet. The festival is free.
Gary Clark Jr. performs June 30-July 1 outdoors at Tree House Brewing in South Deerfield (tickets).
With a new album due in April, Samia performs May 22 at the Academy of Music in Northampton, with Rafaella (tickets). The Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes show there scheduled for April 4 has been canceled; same goes for an April 25 performance at Infinity Hall Hartford. Ticketholders should automatically receive refunds. According to a statement on his website, Johnny has retired from touring to “manage ongoing health issues.”
Coming to the Iron Horse: Popa Chubby April 18 (tickets), Jerry’s Middle Finger (tastefully named after Jerry Garcia’s missing digit) May 16 (tickets), the Weight Band May 18 (tickets), Jill Sobule May 31 (tickets) and “ukulele marvel” Jake Shimabukuro Aug. 25 (tickets).
Shimabukuro also performs Aug. 26 in Fairfield at the Warehouse at FTC (tickets). The Samples are there May 3 (tickets).
Lake Street Dive play Sept. 5 with Lawrence at the Westville Music Bowl in New Haven (tickets).
Coming to Infinity Hall Hartford: Ripe April 16 (tickets), Buckethead April 17 (tickets) and Sister Sparrow & the Dirty Birds May 10 (tickets). The Norfolk outpost hosts Roomful of Blues June 21 (tickets) and the High Kings July 26 (tickets). Guess who’s there Aug. 30? Jake Shimabukuro! Truly you’ve never had so many local opportunities to see a guy play ukulele (tickets).
If you really want to get weird, Poppy, a performance artist/musician/YouTuber who often resembles an automaton in her surreal music videos, plays Toad’s Place in New Haven March 31 (tickets).
Freak Scene is always seeking submissions. You can send music for coverage consideration to erdanton at gmail or reply to this email. Check out these guidelines first.
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