Winter Hill's Tin Thistles have a new EP coming on 6/26

From Tin Thistles Facebook page:

"Boston’s own Tin Thistles have somehow found a way to combine elements of Oi! and folk music into a rambunctious-yet-rootsy blend that’ll get your boot stomping and your beer spilling all over the place as you can’t help but throw a fist into the air."

— Bryan, Playground Boston


"Get your elbows swinging and your beer glasses clinking! New to the scene, The Tin Thistles are here to invite you to put an arm around a stranger and join in on the pub-style music you just won’t get anywhere else. The Midway Café in Jamaica Plain invited us in out of the cold Monday night as The Tin Thistles’ boisterous tone echoed down the street with the hearty chants of “Mutiny” and “Young Ambitious Women” cutting through the stale night air. The smooth and steady sound of the cello was missed, but songs mixed with heavy strumming guitars, and a few blows on the harmonica between verses, filled us with a sense of camaraderie and an energetic swagger within this cozy bar.."

— Haley Waugh, Boston Night Life (read less)

"Boston’s own Tin Thistles have somehow found a way to combine elements of Oi! and folk music into a rambunctious-yet-rootsy blend that’ll get your boot stomping and your beer spilling all over the place as you can’t help but throw a fist into the air."

The good news is that they will be releasing a new EP, We Were Promised Better, on June 26th.
The even better news is you don't have to wait to get a taste. A preview of 'Accidents Happen' awaits you right now, online. It's a rocker, in the good way:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Tin-Thistles/197641027935?ref=ts

They've got a couple of shows coming up too, so you can go out and show your love for your neighbors :)

2 upcoming shows/events

• Jun 25

  Flask Lounge

  Portland, Maine , US

• Jun 26

  Middle East Upstairs

  Cambridge, Massachuse, US

Where to go for live music in Winter Hill or East Somerville?

I think that it was somewhere in Somerville Scout that I recently read something about only New York having more artists per capita than the City of Somerville. Music is no small part of the artistic contributions throughout the city. Somerville has plenty of places to see local and visiting musicians play, Precinct, Johnny D's, The Burren, PA's Lounge, Sally O'Briens to name a few; and that's not even to mention the various local house, studio, and loft shows that happen around town. And don't forget the live mariachi at at El Potro in Union Square! A search on myspace gives me about 2400 hits for bands claiming Somerville as their home (ok, I'm not sure if I did that right, but you get the point).

That said, I am not aware of too many places in Winter Hill or East Somerville to see live music. If places exist, please let us all know! If they don't exist, what current establishments might make the best live music venues?

Looking forward to your responses!

And let's hear it for some of the locals (click picture to see more):

Musical Photographique: Kingsley Flood at Viva la Vinal

Kingsley Flood at Viva la Vinal.

Winter Hill has a Posse!

Welcome to the new Safe Digression spinoff, Your Winter Hill, 'a community blog for people to share media, links, thoughts and other content about our neighborhood'. Now get in there and submit something.

Maybe I'll submit this now. Kind of like an infinity mirror.

Photo credit to 16 Miles of String

Down the Hill: Richard Buckner at Johnny D's

Ok, I have to admit. Occasionally I leave Winter Hill.

This weekend, Richard Buckner will be playing at Johnny D's in Davis.

If you're not familiar with his music, Richard Buckner plays a range of Americana spanning the most beautiful acoustic ballads, to alt-country rock, to complex looping experimental soundscapes. Past performances at Johnny D's have been more solo and the latter style.

Not much video to poach from the web for him, but here's a nice middle-ground that may give you an idea of what to expect:

Songs about Somerville: Pernice Brothers

Ok, I'm not sure what part of Somerville Joe Pernice might be referring to here. Let's just pretend that the action is taking place somewhere along the Winter Hill/East Somerville axis for now.

If this is new to you and you like the songs below, you might want to check out one of the Pernice Brothers stellar albums (Overcome by Happiness, for example, is a great place to start). And if you know of any other Somerville-centric music, please do let us know.



This one was used in a a Shewin-Williams commercial several months back:

Papercut Zine Library

Clarification: As noted in the comment below, the Papercut Zine Library will be re-opening on March 14 and having a grand opening event on APRIL 18

Photo from papercutzinelibrary.org.
Just outside of Winter Hill, on Peral St., the Papercut Zine Library will move into Somerville with expectations of re-opening on Sunday, March 18th. March 14 and having a grand opening event on APRIL 18

Description from their site:
Papercut is A fully-functioning lending library which serves over 1,000 members, free of charge. Our collection of nearly 13,000 independently published works includes everything from the all-familiar photocopied punk rock zines from the 80's, to hand-crafted personal zines bound together with yarn. Although our main focus is print, we also carry a selection of other independent media, including DVDs, VHS and cassette tapes.

In addition to the library function, he group has hosted some events including musical performances at their prior location in Harvard Square. They've been around for a while, and have been covered by media including the Phoenix. They have myspace and facebook sites.


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Music in Winter Hill: Temple B'nai Brith

Temple B'nai Brith is on Central Street. They will be having a coffeehouse concert on 3/13. Here's the info from their site:

Come hear two fabulous musical performances as TBB presents its second coffeehouse concert, featuring Big Fuzzy (lyrical music from many genres) and Avi Jacob (gospel/melodramatic popular song/folk) on Saturday, March 13, at 8:00 pm.

Big Fuzzy is the gifted guitar/vocal duo of Anneke Reich and Max Kennedy. They are talented young local musicians who who have been making beautiful music for several years in and around the Boston area. Anneke and Max are about to release their first full-length album.

Avi Jacob is an exciting young singer/songwriter living in Providence who performs in and around Providence and Boston. He is about to release a new album.
Join us for a special evening of music and socializing. Suggested donation is $10; refreshments will be available.


Photo from Big Fuzzy myspace.