Swapping out calendars for the new annum, the Crawler would be remiss not to mention the early Xmas present he and other card-carrying members of the KISS Army received earlier this month. Much like the plight suffered by fellow multi-platinum rockers Rush that was righted last year, the perennially snubbed “Gods of Thunder” were recently inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 2014 class. Other inductees include Nirvana, Hal and Oates, Peter Gabriel and Cat Stevens. The induction ceremony is slated for Thursday, April 10 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
“The spirit of rock and roll for me has always meant following the paths I choose regardless of what my critics and peers think,” Army general Paul Stanley told fans via the bands cyber home at kissonline.com. “For 40 years, KISS has built an army that apologizes to no one, and I’m honored to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall knowing we have remained true to ourselves and our fans.”
In yet another in a long standing series of KISS marketing masterstrokes, Stanley’s memoir-Face The Music: A Life Exposed -is slated to hit area bookstores less than two weeks after the Barclay fete, on April 22, to be exact.
While the rest of us are just taking down lights and stuffing trees back into the attic, the Dropkick Murphys are-true to form- already thinking Guinness and shamrocks. In fact, the St. Patrick’s Day holiday is so big for the Beantown-based Celtic punk rockers that these days, they plan a whole tour around it.
The Dropkicks will ship out of Boston-into Cleveland, Ohio’s House of Blues, to be specific-Feb. 18 to kick said trek off, then continue homeward for five consecutive plays at the Boston House of Blues March 13-16. As of press time, almost all of the Bay State shows were already sold out, but to purchase the scant few that are still available or learn more about the band’s March 22 headlining slot at D.C.’s Shamrockfest, kindly point your browser to dropkickmurphys.com.
And speaking of Bay State-based rockers, one of the area’s biggest names, Aaron Lewis, recently revealed the first leg of dates in support of his latest album, The Road.
That tour kicked off Dec. 11 in Vegas and continues through the Texas panhandle into Missippi, Alabama, Kentucky and more through April with the closest area play being the Starland Ballroom in Sayreville, New Jersey on April 10.
“What a year,” Lewis concluded in a recently issued release. “I performed at the Grand Ole Opry and was asked back and have been writing on the road getting ready for 2014.”
Lewis can also been seen regularly on the small screen co-hosting his outdoor lifestyle show On The Road with Rock Bordelon on The Sportsman Channel. Check local listing for more details.
Last but not least, reflecting on the year past, a fond farewell to a few of the area’s merry music men.
The first is still, of course, very much alive and well, but Northampton Arts Council Director Bob Cilman did utilize the occasion of his 60th birthday to step down from the post he has held since 1989 this past September. He continues to direct the world-renowned Young@Heart Chorus.
The local music scene did forever lose Grayson Minney and David Wertman this past year. The former was the 28-year-old frontman of Hartford Advocate Grand Band Slam winners Columbia Fields who died in a tragic car accident this May. The latter was a celebrated, seasoned jazz performer who passed away in his Northampton home in December beside fellow musicians, family, friends and his loving wife Lynne.•
Send correspondence to Nightcrawler, P.O. Box 427, Somers, CT 06071; fax to (860) 394-4262 or email garycarra@aol.com.
