Havin’ a Ball FeverDream; plus, 75orless, Atwater-Donnelly, more! BY BOB GULLA

Their CD has been out since October, and FeverDream has finally gotten around to throwing a release party for it at the Green Room. The gig’s called the Cupid Basher’s Ball and everybody through the door will get a copy of Fourgone Guitars (named after an unfortunate event at a UMass Dartmouth show), along with other unnamed surprises. We can only imagine the swag! And if that’s not enough excitement, a film crew will capture the whole night on celluloid. You might even get on camera!

FeverDream, which formed more than a year ago, is a promising band out of southeastern Massachusetts, a five-piece crew made up of Matthew Schricker on vocals and guitar, Jessie Green on the nasty harp, guitarist Zach Kahn, Brendan Hodge on percussion, and Matt Quesada thumping the bass. They have a rootsy, modern pop-rock sound that bridges the gap between Blues Traveler and the Chili Peppers, with a healthy nod to classic rock and a little Phish phunk thrown in for good measure. The guitars are lush, power chords are few but choice, and melodies are plentiful. Songs like "Live Another Lie" and "Call You Out" have an angry edge, but with a sweet, chewy center, while others, like the opening "Enemy," demonstrates the band can rock with confidence and passion. You can stream a few of their tunes at www.thisisfeverdream.com.

The FeverDream CD release party is on Friday, February 13 at the Green Room, with special guests Path of Logic and the Problem. The show starts at 9:30, admission is $7, and it’s an 18-plus event.

GET A WORD IN. Have you been to www.75orless.com? If you have, you know it’s worth the trip. If you haven’t, well, it’s a nice little Rhode Island-based music Website specializing in capsule music reviews of 75 words or less. It’s run by M. MacDougall and Jon Buonaccorsi, who started the site back in 2001. They operate it out of their Warren and Providence locations, and there is currently a crew of more than a dozen writers spread throughout the country and beyond.

"We started the site because we both felt that music reviews have become unbearably long," says MacDougall. "The point of how the music sounded and whether or not it was good was lost in an overlong mess of lyric quotes and personal anecdotes, which always sound like a desperate attempt to fulfill a word count. The best part about our limit is its reversal of typical music reviews. Our writers are not required to reach a number."

Their philosophy has been generously rewarded with accolades from various media outlets, including Yahoo! and USA Today. The site has been nominated for Best Weblog About Music at the 2004 Bloggies.

Beyond a little local recognition, 75orless would love to have more involvement with local writers and performers. If you’re in a local band and would like exposure, send your music to the site for review. Or if you’ve been wanting to write music reviews and didn’t know where to begin, submit some to the site. Either way, it’s free national exposure.

"When we first started the site," says MacDougall, "we weren’t sure how long it would last. But after this long, we’ve won some national recognition without ever notifying local musicians that we exist. That’s what we want to do now."

SOMETHING TO CROW ABOUT. Last week, Rabbit Island Music announced the release of Aubrey Atwater and Elwood Donnelly’s eighth recording, The Blackest Crow, a treasury of traditional American and Celtic folk songs and a few original pieces. The two have made a living mining this turf, with the resourcefulness of researchers and the enthusiasm of inventors. Together they combined to present an array of terrific tunes performed on guitar, mountain dulcimer, old-time banjo, tin whistle, mandolin, fiddle, piano, harmonica, bones, bodhran, wooden spoons, and feet. You get the picture, right?

The songs featured on The Blackest Crow were collected during many years of performing throughout Appalachia, as well as other places in the US where traditional folk music still melds with daily life. Aubrey and Elwood haven’t let us down yet, especially if folk and acoustic music lights your fire. To order your copy, visit www.atwater-donnelly.com or e-mail info@atwater-donnelly.com.

Atwater-Donnelly will perform on Saturday, February 14 at the Greenwich Odeum, 59 Main Street, East Greenwich. Admission is $15. Call (401) 885-9119.

WANDERING EYE. Rhody is disproportionately represented among the top finalists in the Unsigned Band Contest of 2003, according to Buzzplay.com. Transparent, the StereoBirds, Illustrious Day, and Monty’s Fan Club are all among the site’s top 25 unsigned bands in the country. As you know, M-80 won it last year, so with a little luck a Rhode Island crew will continue the string with another crown.

Beyond Blonde rocks Overflo’s in Middletown this Friday (the 13th). Also on Friday, Grandevolution plays AS220 with Three Speed Amplifier, Aberdeen City, and National Eye. The cover is $5 and doors open at 8 p.m. Industrial Creepshow 2004 takes place at the Living Room on Friday. It’s an all-ages show beginning at 8 p.m. with a $10 price tag. Bands include Bile, More.Machine. Than.Man, Absynthe, Tragedie Ann, and Coldread. In related Absynthe news, the band is in pre-production for their new CD. The anticipated release date is early spring. Stay tuned for updates. On Friday over at Cats, Pete Rock presents Q, Train of Thought, Stoic, and Final Hour for a night of rockin’ guitars, etc. Swelling local heroes ZOX play Lupo’s on Saturday in what amounts to one of the bigger local gigs at the venue since it moved to the Strand, as well as one of the band’s most prominent gigs. They’ve been on tour in support of their debut Take Me Home for what seems like forever. But it’s been paying off, with crowds gathering wherever the band sets up. This is an all-ages show and costs $10. Start time is early: 6 p.m. Joining Zox is State Radio with Chad from Dispatch and Stephen Kellogg. For more information, call (401) 272-5876. Also check out Zox at www.zoxband.com.

E-mail me with your music news at big.daddy1@cox.net. The exposure would be pretty damned good for your band, don’t you agree?