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It’s a question musicians on Maui sometimes face when seeking to advance their careers. Can you make it while living on our little island? For Erin Smith, the former lead singer of the Throwdowns, a move to Oahu seemed like a logical step.
“I ended up moving for personal and professional reasons, and it’s been really great,” says Smith, who was born in Toronto and relocated to Maui in 2004. “Oahu affords me a bit of a broader scope. I write for the Honolulu Star Advertiser and I really like that, and I have a band of Oahu players backing me up, who I am bringing to Maui.”
Having just released an impressive new solo album, “American Boy,” Smith will perform at a CD release party Saturday at Mulligans on the Blue in Wailea.
While the Throwdowns were loved for their exuberant musicianship and mega sound, this solo work provides the talented vocalist with an opportunity to stretch out in a new creative direction.
“The album is more indie rock, but it’s still got some edge,” she explains. “It’s a little bit like Adele meets Lana Del Rey meets the Black Keys meets the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. The album allowed me to play with the full range of my vocal scope. The Throwdowns are heavier than this group. The four of us were like a wall of energy, and this crew is different, more artful in a different way. It allows me to sing differently, be more nuanced. I love the Throwdowns and how big everything is, and it’s nice to perform with some space.”
Recorded in Montreal, Canada, at Mixart Studio, where Arcade Fire made their critically acclaimed “Funeral” album, “American Boy” reflects a series of transitions in her life.
“This album is about change,” she notes. “It was brought about by change, fueled by change. Some of the themes in the writing were foreshadowing what was coming in my life, and I didn’t even know it. There were a lot of life-altering events going on. With the Throwdowns, we weren’t all really jelling creatively. Kimo (Clark) was on his way out because he started an excavation business. Things that needed to propel us forward weren’t clicking that well. And I went through a divorce.”
Reflective songs like “Blind Leading the Blind,” “Broken Down” and “Best Disaster” explore heartbreak, crushed dreams and disillusionment.
“I tend to write darker than I am in life, but it’s certainly no Alanis Morissette album,” she continues. “There are fun songs like the reggae track ‘Love Long Distance’ about my new love. The album is also about creating a path in the middle of drastic upheaval, navigating shock and disappointment and becoming the phoenix from the flames on the other side of it all. It’s called ‘American Boy’ because it symbolizes some of the struggle, and a new chapter of life, love and happiness.”
Resplendent with catchy, polished, current-sounding songs from the dynamic, anthemic “Chances” and the crunchy guitar rock of “Hardly,” to the torch ballad “One of the Boys,” and the reggae dub of “Love Long Distance,” the album could easily appeal nationally. With influences ranging from contemporary faves like Metric to No Doubt and the Pretenders, it should spark a lot of interest.
“I’m so proud of the album,” she says. “It feels really good to be putting it out.”
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Featuring four of the stars of the hit musical “Jersey Boys,” the group the Midtown Men, will make its Castle Theater debut Monday evening.
Singing favorite ’60s hits by the Beatles, the Rascals, the Turtles, Motown artists and, of course, the Four Seasons, the quartet features Tony Award winners Christian Hoff, Michael Longoria and Daniel Reichard, and Tony Award nominee J. Robert Spencer. Hoff, Reichard and Spencer were three of the original leads in “Jersey Boys,” and Longoria later reprised the Frankie Valli role.
While still in the Broadway musical, they began performing as a group in 2007, then the quartet struck out on its own in 2009.
Most recently, they released the single “All Alone On Christmas,” written and produced by rock icon and “The Sopranos” star Steven Van Zandt and backed by Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band. They performed the song at the White House for the National Tree Lighting Ceremony in Washington, D.C.
In 2011, the Midtown Men released the album “Sixties Hits.” Classic songs they covered included the Drifters’ “Up on the Roof,” the Turtles’ “Happy Together,” the Zombies’ “Time of the Season,” and a medley of Four Seasons hits.
A review in the Columbus Dispatch praised their show, saying it featured “tight harmonies, good arrangements and strong leads from each member.
“The group scored bonus points with an inspired Motown medley that featured ‘Ain’t Too Proud to Beg,’ ‘I Want You Back,’ ‘I Second That Emotion,’ ‘My Girl’ and ‘Just My Imagination.’ “
And The New York Daily News raved, “The Midtown Men sound as crisp as their Rat Pack-inspired suits. Their voices blend together so flawlessly on stage, in fact, even music maestro Paul Anka couldn’t believe his ears when he saw them live.”
A new Public Television Midtown Men concert CD and DVD will be released this holiday season.
“This started out as a little project to see if we can tell our story and sing some songs and put people in the theater,” Reichard told The Macomb Daily. “I didn’t expect it to last so long. It’s been incredible.”
“We’ve added a lot of new tunes to the mix – Smokey Robinson, Marvin Gaye, Tina Turner, the Rascals and the Beach Boys,” Spencer reported in Gettysburg’s Evening Sun. “We have an incredible seven-piece band with us, and we make every second count.”
* The Midtown Men will perform at 7:30 p.m. Monday in the Castle Theater at the MACC. Tickets are $35, $55, $75 and $125 (plus applicable fees) and are available at the box office, by calling 242-7469 or by going online to www.mauiarts.org.
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To celebrate Jimi Hendrix’s 72nd birthday, Electric Experience Maui will present a Hendrix birthday bash and ’60s costume party Nov. 29 at Three’s Bar & Grill in Kihei. Many of our best will be rocking to their Hendrix favorites.
Rolling Stone reported that two new vinyl albums of Hendrix’s rare instrumental studio recordings will be available Nov. 28 as part of Record Store Day’s Black Friday event. The music comprises the guitar icon’s “creative explorations” that he recorded in the first half of 1969, both as solo demos and as free-form group jams with the Jimi Hendrix Experience.
The birthday show will run from 9 p.m. to midnight. Tickets are $20 presale and $25 at the door, and are available from Three’s, Request Records in Wailuku, Bounty Music in Kahului, The Wine Corner in Paia and Lahaina Music. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Jimi Hendrix Foundation’s “Music for Life” program.
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Early Music Maui will present a “Harps & Horns” concert at 3 p.m. Sunday in Castle Theater at the MACC. The Festival of Harps is back, teaming with the Maui Community Band and the Maui Madrigale.
Directed by Ginny Morgan, Lisa Owen and Cameron Keys, the concert will feature the heavenly sound of six harps with voices, concert band and guest soloists as they perform music specially arranged for this unique combination. The Madrigale group will perform in the courtyard before the show. Tickets are $25, with $15 admission for seniors and $7.50 admission for students.