{"id":31899,"date":"2019-06-05T08:16:31","date_gmt":"2019-06-05T12:16:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/?p=31899"},"modified":"2019-06-05T08:16:39","modified_gmt":"2019-06-05T12:16:39","slug":"on-stage-bottle-rockets-keep-close-to-their-roots","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/?p=31899","title":{"rendered":"On Stage: Bottle Rockets keep close to their roots"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Denny Dyroff<\/strong>, <\/span>Entertainment Editor, The Times<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

The Bottle Rockets<\/p><\/div>\n

Music fans who head to the Kennett Flash (102 Sycamore Alley, Kennett Square, 484-732-8295,\u00a0http:\/\/www.kennettflash.org<\/a>) on June 5 will be in for a double treat \u2013 The Bottle Rockets and Sarah Borges. It is a show featuring two acts of headlining status\u2026acts that also interact well with each other.<\/span><\/p>\n

Last year, Borges came to Philadelphia for a show at MilkBoy Philadelphia as the opening act for The Bottle Rockets \u2013 a band with a lot of history.<\/span><\/p>\n

Formed nearly 30 years ago, the Bottle Rockets helped forge a now-popular subgenre\u2014small-town, middle-class, Midwest American roots rock\u2014part right-to-the-gut poetry, part rock \u2018n\u2019 roll, all truth. The band was unceremoniously birthed in 1992 and they very quickly became a forbearer for the new style alongside Uncle Tupelo, the Jayhawks, Old 97\u2019s, Blue Mountain and Whiskeytown.<\/span><\/p>\n

When The Bottle Rockets hit the scene in the mid \u201990s, the world wasn\u2019t quite sure what to do with them. With their punk-rock pedigrees and arena-rock energy, their tougher-than-Springsteen storytelling and their romantic hearts sewn bare on their denim sleeves, the pride of Festus, Missouri confounded musical generalities as they laid waste to clubs across the Midwest and then, soon enough, the nation.<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2018, The Bottle Rockets \u2013 Brian Henneman (guitar, vocals), Mark Ortmann (drums), John Horton (guitar), Keith Voegele (bass, vocals) — \u00a0released \u201cBit Logic,\u201d their fourth album for Bloodshot Records and their 13th LP overall.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBit Logic\u201d is a different sort of album for the St. Louis natives and shows them at their most self-aware, self-challenging, and socially alert. Recorded in St. Louis at Sawhorse Studios, engineered by Mario Viele and produced by longtime studio collaborator Eric \u201cRoscoe\u201d Ambel (The Del-Lords, Steve Earle), The Bottle Rockets\u2019 new album has them looking at their unique stylistic blend through a different lens. While one of the group\u2019s earmarks is constructing blue-collar anthems, \u201cBit Logic\u201d has the quartet focusing outside themselves — observing how change and adaptation affects the bigger picture.<\/span><\/p>\n

Now, The Bottle Rockets are touring all around the East and South on their \u201cBit Logic Tour 2019\u201d \u2013 and they\u2019re putting icing on the cake with the addition of Borges as the opener.<\/span><\/p>\n

On last year\u2019s dates with The Bottle Rockets, the Boston-based rocker was hit. She went over big-time with The Bottle Rockets\u2019 fans.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Sarah Borges<\/p><\/div>\n

When Borges straps on her guitar and starts to sing, she rocks out. There is country, punk, blues and rock in her musical DNA, but it is the rock element that stands out the most.<\/span><\/p>\n

Borges, who arrived on the national music scene in 2005 as the lead singer of the Broken Singles, has gone from frontwoman to solo act, to frontwoman again. Back in October, Sarah Borges & The Broken Singles released their sixth album \u2013 \u201cLove\u2019s Middle Name\u201d \u2014 on Blue Corn Music.<\/span><\/p>\n

The last time she played town, she was backed by her own band. This time, she will be backed by the drummer and bass player from\u00a0Bottle\u00a0Rockets — with possible other special guests.<\/span><\/p>\n

Borges\u2019 CV includes an Americana Music Awards\u00a0nomination, multiple\u00a0Boston Music Awards, and song credits on TV shows\u00a0Sons of Anarchy\u00a0and\u00a0The Night Shift. The veteran musician, who is a resident of Taunton, Massachusetts, recorded \u201cLove\u2019s Middle Name\u201d with Ambel in Brooklyn.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ambel is a highly respected performer and producer whose credits include The\u00a0Bottle Rockets\u00a0and\u00a0Steve Earle & the Dukes. He was the founding guitarist for Joan Jett & the Blackhearts.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe recorded it last year with Eric on guitar, Binky and two different drummers,\u201d said Borges, during a recent interview. \u201cAnd, I sang and played guitar. We made the album in multiple sessions at Cowboy Technical Service, which is Eric\u2019s studio in Brooklyn. I\u2019d make demos and then we\u2019d go into the studio.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere are two covers on the album and the rest are all originals. I wrote all the songs not long before we went to record them. I definitely work better when there is a deadline for writing. Usually, I come up with the music first. I try to think about what kind of songs that we didn\u2019t do yet.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThen, after the music is done, I\u2019ll add the lyrics later. With the lyrics, I\u2019m just telling a story about something that comes up in my head. There are definitely some creepy songs on this album \u2013 and some murder songs.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

One common denominator in Borges\u2019 songs \u2013 they all rock hard.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIn my shows now, I\u2019m playing a lot more songs from \u2018Love\u2019s Middle Name,\u2019\u201d said Borges. \u201cWe need to do the full album cycle until we go back in the studio to record again.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Borges\u2019 old songs and new songs are all characterized by musical intensity.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe love playing good, fast rock songs,\u201d said Borges, who graduated from Emerson College with a degree in radio. \u201cWe keep evolving but we also keep playing some of the older songs. With so many songs I\u2019ve recorded, it\u2019s hard putting together a set list.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Video link for Sarah Borges \u2013 https:\/\/youtu.be\/1cL0p9sC3tA<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Video link for The Bottle Rockets — https:\/\/youtu.be\/JwXkGJo9m2g<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

The show at Kennett Flash will start at 8 p.m. Tickets are $<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Michael Fracasso<\/p><\/div>\n

Music fans who are fortunate enough to be going to Michael Fracasso\u2019s show on June 5 at the Dawson Street Pub (133 Dawson Street, Philadelphia, www.dawsonstreetpub.com<\/a>) should know that Fracasso\u2019s mini-tour came about because of the good fortune relating to several events in the past.<\/span><\/p>\n

On June 14, Fracasso will release Big Top (Lucky Hound Music), the new-old album produced by fellow Austinite Charlie Sexton. Recorded in 1999 by Fracasso, Sexton and the late bassist George Reiff, \u201cBig Top\u201d begs the question — how could such an album be left to collect dust for all these years?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cGeorge Reiff, who was a dear friend and a great bass player, passed away a few years ago,\u201d said Fracasso, during a phone interview last week. \u201cHe played with me on \u2018Big Top\u2019 along with Charlie.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBig Top\u201d was revived in 2017 when it was played at the memorial for Reiff, which Sexton, who is Bob Dylan\u2019s guitarist, directed. Lucky Hound A&R rep Michael Ramos was stunned by the music. Ramos is the third part of the trio that will be performing at the Dawson Street Pub show.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI was doing a rehearsal for the show with Charlie and we were playing a few songs from \u2018Big Top.\u2019 They caught the attention of Michael Ramos, who was an A&R guy from Lucky Hound.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMichael took it upon himself to get Charlie and me to meet the people from the record label. Michael is also a very good keyboard player.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBig Top\u201d was captured following the sessions that yielded \u201cWorld in a Drop of Water,\u201d an album made in 1998 that was Fracasso and Sexton\u2019s first collaboration. Sexton, like most of the Austin scene, had followed Fracasso\u2019s thoughtful output since the early 1990s. <\/span><\/p>\n

According to Fracasso, \u201cI called Charlie, and he showed up at [the storied Austin club] the Hole in the Wall, and that was the beginning of our relationship. He\u2019s been such a great supporter of my music. I sometimes feel overwhelmed by his generosity and spirit.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Early on in the studio, their chemistry just clicked. Despite its artistic success, however, \u201cWorld in a Drop of Water\u201d was more bust than breakout. So, \u201cBig Top\u201d went straight into the vaults, and Fracasso, who was the first member of his Italian family born in the United States, began to focus on his rising career as a chef.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Following years on the New York City folk scene, Fracasso moved to Austin in 1990 and made an auspicious debut with \u201cLove & Trust,\u201d which featured a duet with Lucinda Williams. He has released several He has released several successful albums since including \u201cSaint Monday,\u201d which was one of the two Fracasso records featuring a duet with Patty Griffin, and \u201cHere Come the Savages.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we went back to revive \u2018Big Top,\u2019 we didn\u2019t touch it at all as far as mixing and mastering,\u201d said Fracasso, who grew up in Steubenville, Ohio. \u201cThe only thing different is that we made some small changes in the sequencing. It never felt like anything was dated. When I put it on, my girlfriend was blown away. Charlie called me from the road and said \u2013 how did we do this?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Fracasso is now a proud father with a thriving cooking career that dovetails comfortably with his music — including innovative combined cooking\/singing performances. In 2013, he released a book, \u201cArtist in the Kitchen: A Brief Autobiography in Food,\u201d which details his lifelong passion for music and food.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve released 10 albums and \u2018Here Come the Savages\u2019 in 2016 was the latest,\u201d said Fracasso. \u201cI have another record written and ready to be recorded.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis tour is just a week of shows with Charlie and then he has to go back with Dylan. We\u2019re playing seven or eight songs from \u2018Big Top.\u2019 I play songs from my whole catalog \u2013back to \u2018Love and Trust.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

According to Fracasso, \u201c<\/span>Every album of mine encompasses some period in my life, and I really love that about them. But I don\u2019t mind playing any of my songs from any period.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Video link for Michael Fracasso \u2013 https:\/\/youtu.be\/T-X5KBQLvLM<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

The show at the Dawson Street Pub will start at 7:30 p.m. Ticket are $18 and $25.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times Music fans who head to the Kennett Flash (102 Sycamore Alley, Kennett Square, 484-732-8295,\u00a0http:\/\/www.kennettflash.org) on June 5 will be in for a double treat \u2013 The Bottle Rockets and Sarah Borges. It is a show featuring two acts of headlining status\u2026acts that also interact well with each other. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":31901,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7529],"tags":[6518,11272,10701,11271],"class_list":["post-31899","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-d-arts-entertainment","tag-featured","tag-michael-fracasso","tag-sarah-borges","tag-the-bottle-rockets"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31899","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=31899"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31899\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31900,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31899\/revisions\/31900"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/31901"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=31899"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=31899"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=31899"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}