BECCA MARX: July 9th Hoot Preview — It’s really about the love of music; live music is the spark to my flame. Over the years I’ve experienced another emotion when it comes to music: frustration. It goes like this…”Have you seen (insert local artist name here)?” Eighty percent of the time I get a blank stare in reply, and someone starts talking about how Madonna kissed some guy onstage somewhere…Old news people! She’ll kiss a toad if it keeps her in front of your face. Take offense if you want, but you know that it’s true. Read more…

JIM WALSH’S THE MAD RIPPLE HOOTENANNY THIS WEEK: “This is a brand new song…” — Dear Good People: If you’re like me, some of the most exciting words in the English language are when a songwriter says, “This is a new song, and this is the first time I’ve played it.” Read more…

BECCA MARX: Hoot Report from Harriet Brewing, May 14, 2015 — Thrilled to report that the Hoot was indeed “magical” as I’d predicted it would be! I am no soothsayer but the odds were in my favor with the line-up of Doug Collins, Katy Vernon, Jeremy Messersmith, Ananda Bates and Jillian Rae. There were some fortuitous moments as well, not the least being the pouring rain that brought us all inside, cozy-like. Read more…

JIM WALSH’S THE MAD RIPPLE HOOTENANNY THIS WEEK: “The Best Hoot Ever” — Dear Good People: Personally, one of my favorite moments from last week’s Hoot came in the moments after I sang the Alvvays tune, “Marry Me, Archie” for the very first time. I’d had my eyes closed tight so as to concentrate on the words, chords, and melody, and I got through it pretty well. For me, when I’ve just learned or written a song, that kind of concentration is supremely necessary: to shut out the rest of the world so as to hear and deliver the tune. Read more…

JIM WALSH’S THE MAD RIPPLE HOOTENANNY THIS WEEK, 5/3/15 — Dear Good People: “Music is stupid,” one frustrated local songwriter said to me a few minutes before the Hoot started last Thursday (4/30), with “stupid” being shorthand for how difficult it is to bare your soul so often and for so little validation and even less money. Read more…