berkshire - The Berkshire View

Transcription

april • vOL. 4 nO. 4
day+night Plan Your Month Pages 21-23
The berkshires’ alternative newspaper
JTF: monterey wants to leave school district Page 6 • Live Music pages 31-33 • music: The Living roots trio Page 25
BERKSHIRE
THEBERKSHIREView.COM
From saving games to saving souls, a former
NFL player dedicates his life to a higher power
4/16 • 8PM
4/17 • 3PM
at The Colonial Theatre
5/11 • 8PM
at The Unicorn Theatre
A benefit for Berkshire
Festival of Women Writers
at The Garage
Presented by
Made in The Berkshires
Selected readings will be performed by:
Amber Chand Hilary Somers Deely Kate Maguire
5/26 • 8PM
Mary Mott
Barbara Sims
THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS:
LAUGH LOUNGE SERIES:
KEVIN MEANEY
MUSINGS FROM THE PENS OF
BERKSHIRE WOMEN WRITERS
6/2 • 8PM
Photo by Daniel Robinson.
BELLA’S
BARTOK
CD RELEASE MASQUERADE
Corinna May
5/28 • 8PM & 10:30PM
5/29 • 7PM
ON THE STAGE SERIES:
ON THE STAGE SERIES:
UNDIE-ROCK, COMEDY-POP DUO
LEQUEBEC
VENT
DU
NORD
FOLK MUSIC QUARTET
THE SKIVVIES
HOTEL
CALIFORNIA
A SALUTE TO THE EAGLES
2016 Summer Season
Fiorello!
June 15–July 23 • at The Unicorn Theatre
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
The Stone Witch
July 20–August 20 • at The Fitzpatrick Main Stage
Constellations
June 22–July 16 • at The Fitzpatrick Main Stage
August 3–27 • at The Unicorn Stage
Little Shop of Horrors
Beauty and The Beast
July 6–23 • at The Colonial Theatre
August 11–19 • at The Colonial Theatre
The Bakelite Masterpiece
September 29–October 23 • at The Unicorn Stage
www.BerkshireTheatreGroup.org • (413) 997-4444
2
The Berkshire View | April 2016
The Colonial Theatre • 111 South Street, Pittsfield
The Fitzpatrick Main Stage • 83 East Main Street, Stockbridge
The Unicorn Theatre • 6 East Street, Stockbridge
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3
`contents
`
BERKSHIRE
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Donna Prisendorf
Biggest
Concession
Trailer in the
Berkshires!
PUBLISHERS
Anthony Prisendorf
Alexis Prisendorf
Offering Catering
EDITORIAL
Cory Willey, ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
Kameron Spaulding, METRO EDITOR
Eoin Higgins, FILM EDITOR
Heather Meehan, MUSIC EDITOR
Alexis Prisendorf, WEBSITE EDITOR
Terry Cowgill, Julie Ruth, Mike Walsh,
Josh Sullivan, Heather Meehan, John Seven,
Jenn Smith, Gabriel Napoleon, Jesse Watkins,
Zazu Galdos, Clelia Sweeney
Try our Belly Clams!
Alan & Tracey Lussier
COPY EDITORS
Alexis Prisendorf, Anthony Prisendorf,
Heather Meehan
When it comes to finding the right property
one real estate agency always comes through.
PRODUCTION
James Grady, PRODUCTION MANAGER
Missionary Man
PAGE 11
Eric Mahl left his life as a professional player in the NFL, gave away
his money and belongings, and began life anew as a missionary.
By josh sullivan
PAGE 6 Letters
Court Beat
Town trying to leave
their school district
Day + Night
Monterey has taken steps to leave Southern
Music
Berkshire School District.
Just The Facts
Barnbrook
Right agency. Right time. Right now.
5
7
21
25
Venues28
Local Bands30
Live Music31
Vibe
36
By Julie ruth
271 Main St., Great Barrington (413) 528-4423
Art 18
David Sedaris comes to Mahaiwe
Metro
BCC receives
workforce grant
Theater
PAGE 8 Comedy Mystery Tour
First Draft
Film
Berkshire Community College has received
a grant from the Workforce Skills Capital
Grant program and plans to upgrade its
manufacturing and engineering program.
By Kameron Spaulding
deal with Old Nessacuss
The Select Board will move ahead with an
ad hoc committee to decide how to deal
with the Old Nessacuss school building
By eoin higgins
4
36
37
Batman v Superman
Eat
BHS benefit events and the Iron
Chef on North
PAGE 9 Enjoy the View
Dalton takes steps to
Classified Help Wanted
Turbulence
34
40
42
38
DESIGN
Alexis Prisendorf, COVER CONCEPT
Alexis Prisendorf, James Grady, FEATURE DESIGNS
James Grady, ART PRODUCTION / LAYOUT
ADVERTISING
Alexis Prisendorf, SALES DIRECTOR
Nancy Frisbie, SENIOR SALES REPRESENTATIVE
Nick Ricciarini, SENIOR SALES REPRESENTATIVE
BUSINESS
Jeanette Graham, BUSINESS DIRECTOR
CIRCULATION
Ken Guartha, Ward Schoonmaker, Karen
Schoonmaker, Keith Schoonmaker and John Depaoli
DISTRIBUTION
The Berkshire View is published monthly and is
available in Berkshire County, Northwest Litchfield
County, Conn. as well as Columbia and Dutchess
Counties, N.Y. at select retail and other business
locations at no charge and is limited to one (1) copy
of The Berkshire View per person per issue unless
special permission is granted by the publisher.
Additional copies of The Berkshire View may be
purchased for $1 per issue.
CONTACT
MAIN PHONE: 413-528-5380 | FAX: 413-528-9449
NEWS: 413-528-5380 EXT. 21
ADVERTISING: 413-528-5380 EXT. 38
WEBSITE: www.TheBerkshireView.com
MAILING ADDRESS
PO Box 868, Gt. Barrington, MA 01230
COPYRIGHT
The entire content of The Berkshire View is copyrighted
and may not be reproduced or transmitted in any
fashion without the expressed and written permission
of the publishers.
`Letters
`
Make Lake Mansfield
Road a one way
The Lake Mansfield recreation area
is a beautiful part of Great Barrington,
traversed by a badly deteriorated road (bits
of which repeatedly fall into the lake), a
markedly eroded shoreline with a now
nearly nonexistent buffer zone and unsafe
conditions for pedestrians, fishermen and
bicyclists.
The Boston-based KZLA design
group, hired by the town’s Lake Mansfield
Improvement Task Force, was mandated to
obtain public input and then create design
alternatives for the road, the boat launch
and the parking lot. I will address the road
alternatives.
It should be noted that KZLA met the
heads of all local emergency services —
fire, police and ambulance — and none of
them had any preference among any of the
four road alternatives listed below.
1. Least expensive — leave the road
as is, fixing potholes but not addressing
major issues of safety, run-off of water
and sediment into the lake, and continuing
deterioration of the natural environment
2. Rebuild a two-way road. The present
road originated as a dirt road, closed in the
winter. At some point it was paved, without
the necessary substructure to handle a
rising water table and freeze-thaw cycles.
Thus, to rebuild the road it would be necessary first to tear it up and then rebuild it
properly to code. Since the current road is
in places only 17 feet wide (code for a twoway road is 22 feet)a new two-way road
would in some places have to take land
from buffer zone or wetlands on either side.
It will be virtually impossible to obtain
permits for such work because of wetland
regulations. Furthermore, unlike the last
two alternatives, road-building without any
benefit to the natural environment would
be unlikely to qualify for grant support and
the great cost would have to be borne by
taxpayers.
3. Make a one-way road with adjacent
pedestrian/fisher/biker path, converting the
road into part of a linear park running the
length of the lake. If the road runs south
to north there could be a turnaround in a
reconfigured parking lot. North of the lot
the road would remain two-way. Because
of the enormous consequent improvements
to water quality, habitat, park esthetics and
public safety, this alternative is likely to
attract large grants to defray much of the
expense and be able to obtain the necessary
permits.
4. “Close” the road. There still would
need to be a one-way road kept passable in
winter for access of emergency vehicles,
abutting residents and the swim club. There
would be all the benefits of option (3) but
it would probably cause significant parking
problems at the boat launch and on all the
neighboring streets.
I believe that the one-way road option
greatly enhances the safety, beauty and
natural environment of this town jewel.
Nina Evans, M.D.
Great Barrington
Police should not post
arrests to Facebook
I am writing to express my concern about
a posting by the Otis Police Department on
its Facebook page under the guise of a “press
release.” The posting involved a detailed account of a recent incident of alleged domestic
assault and subsequent police chase and
capture of an Otis man.
I think the Otis police actions are unprofessional, pre-judgmental and obviously
designed to sway public opinion. I do not
believe the social media network is the forum
for any police department to use as their
police log.
Legislation signed into law by Gov.
Deval Patrick in August of 2014 restricts the
public release of any police records pertaining
to domestic violence and abuse. This includes
incident reports, log entries, and arrest records.
Make no mistake, I am not defending
the accused. Due to the seriousness of the
charges, a jury trial is likely to ensue.
What I am defending is every citizen’s
right of due process and the Otis police, by
their prejudicial actions, are undermining that
right.
Bill Dyer
Otis
Other people’s money
Anytime you want to get a controversial
budget passed, it is important to throw important or favorite positions under the bus. The
Berkshire Hills Regional School District is an
expert at getting parents — especially out of
district parents — very emotional. After all,
common sense never gets in a liberal’s way
of digesting numbers. So this year the art and
music departments are under fire.
Since the early 1990s the writing has
been on the wall and the last two school
renovation project discussions have pointed
to the huge white elephant in the room. It is
the shrinking population in Berkshire County.
Yet every year all the school districts
throughout the county cry, beg, ask to borrow
and toss a few favorite teachers under a bus in
hopes a few parents will cry loud enough to
save the bloated school budgets.
Oh they promise to look into working
with other districts and end up sharing pencils
and salt for the sidewalks, but when it comes
to really working together, they play hooky
that day.
Since the many school districts in
Berkshire County don’t have the stomach
to make real decisions and look out for the
children — after all, sticking them with huge
debts isn’t going to make them stay here after
they graduate — it is time to turn down the
budget. Make them all go into their bunkers
and come up with budgets that satisfy even
the district town taxpayers instead of the
tuition and choice families.
South County needs but one school dis
trict and this should have happened years ago.
Maybe when the Lanesborough Mall closes
in a few years, then they can merge the whole
county into one building. That way they don’t
have to throw a home economics teacher
under the bus. Or will it be a Latin teacher?
Patrick Fennell
Great Barrington
Enough is enough!
Enough is enough!
I never thought I would be writing a
letter out of frustration and, maybe even a
little anger, about what’s happening in Great
Barrington’s governing body.
I know this will probably fall on deaf
ears, but I need to get it off my chest. I have
lived in Great Barrington for 42 years and I
was a firefighter for 27 years. As Great Barrington fire chief, it was part of my job to give
public reports, be interviewed by media, and
sometimes even be in front of cameras from
Channels 6, 10, 13, and 22, giving statements
about some of the worst fires and terrible
tragedies that happened in our town. And yet,
we have a town manager, getting $100,000 a
year who “needs” a PR firm to do these duties
for her. Now she wants another expensive
assistant to help her do her job. You have got
to be kidding!
It’s very simple. The selectmen need to
“man-up” and inform this woman that if she
cannot do this job, they will find someone
who can. Last fall, my wife and I were informed
by Social Security that there would not be a
cost-of-living increase in 2016. If they don’t
have a problem doing that, why should the
selectmen have a problem doing what’s good
for our town? There should be no increases
in the town budget for any town department,
including the school budget, which is approximately 67% of the town’s total budget.
We should start running Great Barrington like
a business and not a bottomless money pit.
I repeat. Enough is enough!
Michael Ordyna
Great Barrington
The writer is a past chief of the Great
Barrington Fire Department.
5
`Just
`
The Facts
Town trying
to leave their
regional
school district
By Julie Ruth
I
n a dramatic appearance before the
Southern Berkshire School Committee,
Selectman Scott Jenssen announced
that the town of Monterey is taking
legal steps to withdraw from the five-town
regional district.
“Monterey has decided that we are no
longer seeking to be actively part of this
district,” said Jenssen at the School Committee’s March 10 meeting. “We shall now
go on record (that) we are in the process of
hiring lawyers…. We are seeking to withdraw from a district
that does nothing but
►► Monterey
neglect us.”
has begun
Jenssen anlegal work
grily cited multiple
frustrations with
the Southern Berkshire district, beginning
with its presentation of an increased budget
every year, coupled with a refusal to reduce
staff, make other budget cuts or aggressively
explore shared services like other districts to
address a gradual decline in student population. Meanwhile, he said, the district failed to
provide adequate support for the Monterey
School’s pre-K – Kindergarten program
over a period of years, which led enrollment
to drop to zero and eventually caused the
district to place the program on an indefinite
hiatus.
“You are asking the town of Monterey
for a million and a half dollars almost every
year. And what do you do for us?” Jenssen
asked assembled district officials and School
Committee members. “Close our school, because your administration is so over the top
that they cannot seem to find the courage to
find the cuts in their budget, and tell people
that we no longer have as many positions
available (due to a) declining population
of students … Be advised that the town of
Monterey (wants) absolutely nothing to do
with your budget, nor will it support this
district in the future.”
Jenssen had attended the committee’s
meeting that evening to discuss a brief letter
sent Feb. 26 by the Monterey select board
to Superintendent David Hastings that
formally requested $10,000 in previously
agreed-upon matching funds for the repair
of the Monterey School.
“We also wish to express our anticipation that the kindergarten program be reinstated in its entirety in the Monterey School
building for the 2016-17 school year,” the
6
letter said.
In February, Hastings had informed
the Monterey select board that enrollment
projections indicated that there could be
insufficient number of students to staff the
Monterey School again in the fall of 2016,
and the program would need to be placed on
hiatus for a second year if families did not
request the school’s program by the March
10 registration.
At the School Committee meeting,
Hastings had informed the committee that
no children had enrolled in the Monterey
School during the registration period, and
he would not be assigning a teacher to the
Monterey School for a second year.
Jenssen angrily informed the School
Committee that it was the district’s responsibility to populate a town school according
to the regional agreement, saying “you are
very close to being completely insubordinate with the agreement.”
“The problem that you’re not getting is
that it’s not Monterey’s responsibility to fill
that room,” Jenssen flatly told the School
Committee. “It’s your responsibility. Get
it through your heads. That’s the district’s
agreement. If you don’t like it, change the
agreement.”
Jenssen held a series of lengthy
exchanges with several School Committee
members who expressed their support for
the Monterey program.
“I feel that the path you have chosen
is regrettable,” said Vito Valentini of the
Buildings and Grounds Subcommittee, who
felt that the School Committee had “not for
an instant” abandoned the Monterey School. He reminded Jenssen of the unanimous
support of the School Committee during the
last budget season despite a demand by both
Sheffield and New Marlborough to close the
Monterey School.
When Monterey’s enrollment dropped
to nearly zero last year, Valentini added, a
decision was made to place the program on
hiatus rather than initiate an action to close it
“simply because we had in our hearts a hope
that there would indeed be the possibility of
a program… If there are no children, there
can’t be a program.”
When Jenssen asked if the district had
a kindergarten program, School Committee
Chairman Carl Stewart replied, “Of course
there’s a kindergarten program.”
“So there are children that are available
to be shipped,” Jenssen said, his voice rising
in anger, “just as you ship our children, they
shall also be shipped, as they always have
been shipped.”
Maria Rundle, Monterey’s representative on the School Committee, agreed
that the biggest concern of parents of the
youngest Monterey schoolchildren was the
lengthy bus trips to the Sheffield campus. She said that the district had been able to
secure places for Monterey children at the
closer New Marlborough Central School,
because the town had worked in cooperation.
She hoped that the town of Monterey
would continue to work “from a place of
cooperation” rather than adopt a divisive
Photo contributed
Massachusetts Secretary of Education Matthew Malone (center) was welcomed by
an enthusiastic crowd of Monterey School alumni, parents and community members
when he visited the school in May of 2014.
approach with the district in the future. “I also really wanted to keep the Monterey School open, and I am so sorry to the
people of Monterey, and my own family,”
said Rundle, who spoke emotionally about
the excellence of Monterey’s community
program, its benefit for her two daughters,
and her regret that her young son could not
attend the Monterey School this year.
She said she had worked very hard in partnership with the administration and School
Committee members for several years and
agreed that the district had strongly supported the Monterey School. She disagreed with Jenssen’s contention
that the other four towns would rise up and
support the Monterey School if the School
Committee instigated an action. “The reality
is that if we go down a path where we force
the towns to act, we will be going down a
divisive path and we will end up with our
school permanently closed.”
If Monterey took the other path, Rundle
said, “maybe it’s a different program” like
robotics or an after-school study lab that
finds a place in the building.
Charlie Flynn, who represents Egremont on the School Committee, spoke of
the importance of Egremont’s community
school and supported Jenssen’s contention
that the district is responsible for enrollment in the schools, citing a section of the
regional agreement.
Dennis Sears, a Sheffield representative
on the School Committee, spoke up to say
that Flynn had cited an incorrect section of
the Regional Agreement regarding the district’s responsibility to community schools,
provoking a debate that devolved into a
verbal brawl between the men until School
Committee member Art Batacchi interjected: “Hey, guys, this isn’t appropriate, OK?”
Sears told Jenssen that the district was
indeed addressing the issue of declining
enrollment and the need for shared services
with membership on several countywide
committees with similar goals. Southern Berkshire was also exploring
a merger with the Farmington River district
which would provide Monterey students
with a K-6 elementary school much closer
than the Sheffield campus.
Jenssen was unimpressed by the solution. “You’re asking a district that is almost
a whole district away from us to start joining
hands with this district,” when it made more
sense to look at the neighboring district of
Berkshire Hills, he argued.
Jenssen said it was time to stop “pussyfooting around” and put the decision to the
district’s voters. He requested that the School Committee instigate the action as required by the
regional school agreement, a long series of
hearings that would eventually lead to towns
putting an article on their warrants to decide
whether the Monterey School should be
closed.
“If (the action) passes, great for the
district; everything is settled,” said Jenssen.
“If it doesn’t, then I would expect that we
would have a school (program in Monterey).”
Should the School Committee wish to
explore that action, it will need to be placed
for discussion on a future agenda.
`Court
`
Beat
Another shoplifter
hits Price Chopper
Jeffrey Miller, 24, John St, Pittsfield, admitted to sufficient facts of shoplifting at the
Price Chopper supermarket in Lenox. On
Jan. 18 a loss prevention officer observed
a male leaving the store after concealing
items in a large red coat. Surveillance footage showed the man hiding two bottles of
baby formula valued at $15.38 and a 750 ml
bottle of Absolut vodka valued at $21.99 in
his coat.
The officer saw the man cross to the
Burger King parking lot, where he got into
the back seat of a black Infinity sedan.
Police issued an all points alert, and the vehicle was stopped on Pittsfield Road, where
police were able to recover a bottle of baby
formula from the suspect, who was wearing
the red coat. Miller was fined $50 and the
case was continued without a finding until
July 14, 2015.
Anthony R. O’Brien, 21, of Maritta
Ave, Lee, admitted to sufficient facts of
disorderly conduct and threat to commit a
crime in Lenox. A police officer patrolling
Pittsfield Road observed a vehicle idling
in the Howard Johnson’s parking lot. He
continued his patrol on Rte. 7, and saw that
the car was still idling when he passed it
again. He then pulled into the parking lot to
check on the vehicle and saw a male exit the
car with his shirt covered in blood.
The male, O’Brien, walked toward
the officer and asked, “What the h*** is
the problem?” The officer was familiar
with O’Brien because he had previously
had many dealings with Lenox police, and
radioed for assistance at the scene.
O’Brien was told to take his hands out
of his pockets and he refused, yelling that all
cops are “f*** pigs”. He continued yelling
at the officer, refused to comply with other
commands and told him to “just shoot me
like all the other cops in the country,” the
report said. Asked if he had been drinking,
O’Brien said yes. He continued yelling and
making aggressive advances toward one of
the officers saying “I should just shoot him
so he could be the next Trayvon Martin.”
When an officer arrived to assist,
O’Brien put his hands behind his back
and told the officer to arrest him. After he
was secured in a cell at the police station,
O’Brien continued yelling obscenities and
told the officer that he was “going to rip my
head off if he ever saw me out of uniform”.
O’Brien was fined $50 and ordered to pay
a monthly probation fee. The case was
continued without a finding until Sept. 8,
2016. A charge of disturbing the peace was
dismissed upon request of the Commonwealth.
Betsy L. Workman, 56, of Muirfield
Drive, Lenox, admitted to sufficient facts of
destroying property over $250 after scratching a message on the glass of the cell with
her ring when she was detained in the Lenox
police station.
On Dec. 5, 2015, police responded to
a report of a heavily intoxicated woman
outside the Heritage Tavern, who had fallen
face first onto the sidewalk and was still
lying on the ground. Workman became
belligerent when police approached her, and
was placed in protective custody due to her
heavily intoxicated state. When police came back to check on her
in her cell, they found that she had scratched
‘Hello’ in the lexan glass in her cell with a
ring they were unable to remove from her
hand. No female officer was there to assist,
and when they had difficulty removing the
ring, they decided to lock her up with the
ring still on her hand. She was fined $50 and
ordered to pay a $50 monthly probation fee.
The case was continued without a finding
until July 7 2016 or upon payment of the
fine.
Elton G. Bonneville, 27, of Willow
Road, Richmond, admitted to sufficient
facts of negligent operation of a motor
vehicle and leaving the scene of property
damage in Lenox. On Jan. 1, a car crashed
into a utility pole on Richmond Mountain
Road, splitting the pole in half and causing
wires to hang low across the road.
A witness at the North Gate House at
Kripalu across the street reported hearing
a loud bang, then saw a vehicle assist a
truck stuck in the mud. The truck quickly
got out of the mud and proceeded west up
Richmond Hill Road with heavy front end
damage.
Based on the tire marks left at the scene,
police deduced that the truck had been heading up Richmond Hill Road at a high rate of
speed, failed to make a left-hand turn, then
struck the utility pole. It continued moving
approximately 10 feet before making impact
in a mound of dirt, backed down a few feet
and got stuck in the mud. Police issued an
all-points bulletin for the truck, and received
a report of a heavily damaged black Toyota
Tacoma parked at the Richmond Post Office.
A check of its plate showed that its
registered owner had recently passed away.
Police drove to the person’s residence where
they saw a male through the sliding glass
door asleep on the couch. They awoke
Bonneville, who said he did not live there,
had not been in an accident and knew nothing about it. At the post office police noticed
a sticker on the truck for Brush Hill Tree
Services, with a phone number.
Police left a voice mail at the number
for a male who identified himself as Travis.
The male soon contacted police, saying that
the truck’s owner had passed away and the
truck belongs to him. He then put Bonneville on the phone, who admitted crashing
into the pole. Bonneville was very apologetic and cooperative during the call, explaining that he got scared after the accident and
drove away. He was ordered to pay a $50
fine and a monthly $50 probation fee. The
case was continued without a finding until
July 7, 2016 or dismissed upon payment of
the fine.
April is Adult Learn to Swim Month
Learn to Swim at the Kilpatrick Athletic Center
The Kilpatrick Athletic Center is offering free individual swim
lessons in April to adults in the Berkshire tri-state region.
Trained PaceMakers Masters Swim Team volunteers will give
one-on-one instructions to adults 19 and over. Lessons will be
held Sunday afternoons and Wednesday evenings in April—
beginning Sunday, April 3, and ending Wednesday, April 27.
Registration is Required.
Call 413.528.7776
www.simonsrock.edu
7
`Metro
`
New worforce
development
plan focuses on
Berkshire CC
A
s Gov. Charlie Baker lays out
a new economic development
plan for the state that focuses
on workforce development,
Pittsfield seems to be in line for much
more assistance.
On the new Massachusetts Workforce Development Board, a group
charged with making recommenda►► BCC will
be given
tions to improve
more state
the public workfunding
force system and
align policies to
strengthen regional economies, are two
Pittsfield business leaders.
Gerard E. Burke, president and
CEO of Hillcrest Educational Centers
Inc., and Beth Mitchell, director of
engineering at General Dynamics, were
both sworn in at a Statehouse ceremony prior to the board’s first public
hearing. Mitchell was also already
involved in organizations that promote
young women’s growth, such as Girls
Incorporated and Women on TechPath
and she sits on the Pittsfield Economic
Local social
workers praise
state changes
to DCF system
A
fter a series of high profile
incidents last year calls to
reform the Department of
Children and Families (DCF)
reached a fever pitch statewide and here
in the Berkshires.
In the last six months, there has
been what Gov. Charlie Baker has
called “an intensive effort” underway to
restructure DCF. The Baker Administration was joined by members of SEIU
Local 509 to discuss updates and pledge
to move forward to implement policy
improvements, hire and train staff and
focus on the challenges that lie ahead.
The department now has five major
new policies developed in partnership
8
Development Authority; the Berkshire
Applied Technology Council; and the
local STEM Council.
Earlier this year, Baker signed legislation establishing the board to advise
the administration on policies to further coordinate services and improve
performance accountability of the
state’s One-Stop Career Centers and
regional workforce boards, building a
stronger public workforce system that
is aligned with state education policies
and economic development goals.
“The Workforce Development
Board will allow us to reimagine how
we create skill-building programs
across the state,” said Baker. “Our
administration is focused on driving
economic growth and creating new job
opportunities by designing programs
that meet the demands of businesses in
each region, and give workers the skills
they need to fill job openings.”
The board will also recommend
strategies to promote workforce participation of women, people of color,
veterans, and persons with disabilities
across industry sectors. Western Massachusetts business leaders are hoping
that the presence of those two locals
on the 17-member board will help steer
that focus to the Berkshires.
Even more good news for local workforce development professionals came this
week when Baker announced $9.3 million
in workforce skills equipment grants to
35 high schools, community colleges and
vocational training providers including
Berkshire Community College.
Berkshire Community College received $465,119 in the grant program.
with the union, including putting all
at-risk kids on the same investigation track, and the first ever medical
director who started in January. Both
Criminal Offender Record Information
(CORI) and Sexual Offender Record
Information (SORI) checks are now
required on all relevant persons in a
household, DCF workers review 911
call history and response to a home,
new case screening teams are in place
in all offices and there is a new Central
Massachusetts Regional Office up and
running.
There has also been targeted outreach to recruit and hire frontline staff,
with a record of new hires resulting in a
net increase of 170 full-time employees
since the start of fiscal year 2016. The
foster care application backlog has been
reduced, training has been rolled out
and DCF’s IT system has been upgraded
to allow for more advanced capabilities.
Last summer Massachusetts social
workers held informational pickets,
including one in Pittsfield, to protest
caseloads that they say were at crisis
levels. After those pickets the department and union have moved swiftly
photo contributed
BCC will upgrade its manufacturing and engineering program with a $465,119 grant
it has received from the state’s Workforce Skills Capital Grant program.
With the funding Berkshire Community
College will upgrade and modernize
its manufacturing and engineering program, utilizing new hydraulics, pneumatics, electrical controls, materials
testing, CNC and 3D printing equipment to train students and adult learners for careers in advanced manufacturing, engineering, and biotechnology.
“Workforce skills education and
training plays an enormous role in
economic and personal development
by helping residents acquire the skills
they need to connect with promising
careers,” said Baker.
The grant did not come easy for
BCC. The inaugural round of the
Workforce Skills Capital Grant program received 68 applications, requesting a total of $18 million in funding.
to hire and train more social workers,
social work supervisors, medical social
workers, managers, clerical staff and
attorneys. Since September, 332 positions have been posted and 201 staff
have started or will start in the next few
weeks.
“We are appreciative of the positive
working relationships we have maintained with union officials throughout this process. Most of all, we are
grateful to our workers for their efforts
to accept and move forward with reforms,” said DCF Commissioner Linda
Spears. “Our agency is more equipped
than we have ever been to protect those
who need us most – children. I thank
our staff today and every day for your
tremendous work.”
To demonstrate an ongoing commitment to the department, the Baker-Polito Administration has budgeted $938.2
million to DCF for fiscal year 2017, a
$30.5 million increase above the FY
2016 budget, and has maintained an
open dialogue with the union to address
their concerns. “Last fall we pledged, with union
leadership, to better support our social
workers who are on the front lines every day and reform a broken system of
policies,” said Governor Baker. “Today,
while we still have more work to do to
improve how the Commonwealth cares
for the most vulnerable children, the
Department of Children and Families is
making robust strides in their mission
to keep kids safe. My administration
will continue to invest in frontline
workers and continue to reform this
critical department.” Peter MacKinnon, a veteran child
protection worker and president of the
union chapter representing DCF’s 2,900
social workers and investigators said
that the recent changes are a start, but
what he called the “caseload crisis” still
needs to be addressed.
“The policy reforms announced
today are more than three decades in
the making, and critical to the work we
do,” MacKinnon said. “Now our attention must turn fully to addressing the
caseload crisis and attrition rates that
loom over our efforts to keep at-risk
children safe throughout the commonwealth.”
`Turbulence
`
Dalton takes
steps to deal
with Old
Nessacuss
By Eoin Higgins
A
discussion on the disposition of
the Old Nessacuss High School
building at the Select Board
meeting on March 28 ended with
a plan to form an ad hoc committee.
The subject was brought up during
public comment by resident Marge Nixon,
who was one of the most vociferous opponents of the affordable housing plan for the
property. Nixon, whose advocacy against
“those kinds of people” was central in
defeating the proposal, told the board that
it was time to “get
a move on.”
►► Ad hoc
Nixon said
committee
she does not beapproved at
lieve that the cost
Select Board
of demolition the
meeting
Select Board has
publicly quoted is
accurate. She said that she believed if the
project were put out to bid, it would come
in under budget. Nixon gave no further
reasoning for her belief. Finally, Nixon
gave a call to action to the board: “This has
gone on too long.”
Select Chair John Bartels used a large
notepad to present each option with its pros
and cons.
Senior housing, both standard and
Mt. Greylock
School rebuild
project
approved
By eoin higgins
O
n March 15, the town of
Lanesborough voted by an
over one hundred vote margin
to approve the debt exclusion
necessary to fund the Mount Greylock
Regional High School rebuild project.
The vote was the culmination of
months of controversy, acrimony, and
recriminations between both sides of the
issue.
But once the results were read, those
in attendance seemed ready to put the
clash behind them.
Town Clerk Ruth Knysh read out the
results after a tense ten minutes as she
Cory willey
At a Select Board meeting on March 28, the board went over the pros and cons of various options the Town has in dealing with
the Old Nessacuss building, located on First St. in Dalton. Among the options suggested were senior housing, both affordable
and standard, and demolition of the building for sale or for green space.
affordable, was first. Selectman Michael
Szklasz pointed out that any housing would
run into the same “cons” that affordable
housing did. Szklasz ticked off those concerns: sewage, drainage, traffic.
Affordable senior housing ran into
many of the problems that the scheme just
voted down did. But there is a possibility
that state funding for senior housing may
come with a rider for affordable housing.
The board mused about whether that decrease in town expenses would be enough
to sway the townspeople.
“Also, the increase in population could
be good,” said Selectman John Boyle.
“And it serves a need,” Szklasz added.
“A con is it’s a long process,” Selectwoman Mary Cherry said.
Bartels suggested demolition next.
“We could demolish for green space,
or for sale,” he said.
The building is zoned for R3, which
allows housing, education, and religious
institutions. Green space would create a
park in the downtown area.
“I’ve heard that green space is needed
and acceptable,” Bartels said.
“Yes, I’ve heard the opposite,” Cherry
said.
Boyle spoke up in favor of demolishing the building. He said that after twenty
years, it was time to tear it down.
The board discussed options to defer
some of the demolition cost, such as
salvage and extended bonds for funding
the project. Either way, no solution will be
cheap.
Cherry suggested readying the building
for sale prior to the town meeting, and
simultaneously forming an ad hoc committee to investigate the available options.
Selectman Bob Bishop volunteered
for the committee and was appointed
chair.
The idea of preparing the building for
sale ran into opposition from the crowd,
many of whom were attending to give
their opinion on the project. The attendees said they feared the board was, once
again, ignoring their concerns and moving
forward without consent.
In the end, the ad hoc committee was
approved and moving ahead while the sale
was left on the cutting room floor.
and election officials confirmed entrance
and exit numbers.
The atmosphere before the results
were announced was tense and silent,
broken only by occasional whispers and,
initially, the printing of the vote totals.
Rebuild proponents burst into cheers
as Knysh read out the numbers: 633
for the project, 499 against. Michelle
Johnson, a vocal supporter of
►► Rebuild
the project and
project
familiar face at
approved
Select Board
by over one
hundred
meetings, clapped
vote margin
and shouted with
glee as it became
apparent there would be a new school.
School Committee Chair Carrie
Greene, who had tirelessly campaigned
for the project, looked relieved. Greene,
a Williamstown resident, had been in attendance of almost every Lanesborough
Select Board meeting since the summer,
working on the regional agreement and
the school project.
The Lanesborough Select Board
Chair John Goerlach, who had been the
center of a number of disputes related to
the project, made it a point to immediately shake hands with his opponents
after the results were announced.
Goerlach and Selectman Hank Sayers were the only two publicly opposed
members of the community at Town
Hall for the results.
Finance Committee member Ray
Jones, who pleaded with the town to consider rejecting the project for almost half
an hour at a special town meeting called
to discuss the issue in February, got cold
feet and was nowhere to be seen.
Lanesborough resident Bob Barton
was seen removing signs from lawns
earlier in the evening, perhaps accounting for his absence.
In an email to The Courier, Barton
bemoaned the result, calling the rebuild
project the “tip of an iceberg of idiotic
public policies” and labeling community
leaders as “oddballs or [people] who
have a motivating self-interest.”
Barton also decried Williams College employees’ involvement in the
community. He said that the school’s
“narrow focus” on “underwriting hightoned cultural offerings, buoying the
Village Beautiful, and supporting an
elite high school” has made its employees “overly aggressive [and] even
bullies in their community leadership
roles.”
Despite the opinions of some in
town, though, one common theme
from both sides in the run up to the
election was the hope for better ties
between the two towns in the aftermath of the vote.
It looks like that is already happening. Williamstown resident Stephanie
McMahon remarked on the “Friends of
the Mount Greylock Building Project”
webpage that her third grade daughter
was happy on the way home from holding signs in support of the project at
Town Hall.
“I feel like a part of the community,” the child said.
It’s a community that hopefully will
see improved relations over the 30 year
life of the bond.
9
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The Berkshire Courier
BERKSHIRE
From saving games to saving souls,
a former NFL player dedicates his
life to a higher power
E
ric Mahl isn’t naive. He knows exactly why people are interested in his story,
the one of a missionary who abandoned his comfortable lifestyle in suburban
Cleveland, the one that began with a man who longed for something with deeper
meaning and now finds himself a missionary in Stockbridge, a man happier than
he’s ever been before. But there’s one detail that makes Mahl’s story stand out. Eric Mahl
used to play in the National Football League.
“It’s football,” he said with a smile. “I know a lot of people just want to talk to me
because of football.”
Though people might just know him because of football, he’s strayed from the game
in the past 10 years. Now it’s his work outside the sport that deserves the biggest cheer.
As a missionary based at the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy in Stockbridge, he devotes his life to others. He has lived among the homeless everywhere from New Mexico
to Cleveland to New York City. He had a cushiony job in the healthcare industry postfootball that earned him a six-figure salary and a family — and community — who loved
him. In the pursuit of something more, he gave it all up. And like many stories, this one
starts with a kid in a small town who always stood out just a little bit from the rest of the
crowd.
Mahl was born April 29, 1983 in Monroeville, Ohio, a small farm town about an hour
outside of Cleveland. Though its inhabitants live and die by football — and in another capacity, the Cleveland Browns — it had yet to produce a single Division I college football
scholarship-receiving athlete. His high school was small, Mahl graduated in 2001 with
just 40 kids, but football was big. There were about 30 boys on the team.
“Everybody played,” Mahl said. “You know? It’s like that’s what you did, you played
football. And if you played you never came off the field. Offense, defense, special teams.
Like I never knew that you could only play offense.”
Monroeville had yet to produce a single scholarship-worthy football player, but that
was before Mahl came along. His first experience with the sport was, like it is for many,
on the playground at school and outside with neighborhood friends. It was just something
fun to do, but when Mahl asked his parents to play organized football for the first time in
junior high, his father actually said no. The Mahls lived on farmland, and with the goats,
chickens and rabbits came responsibilities and chores. There was no time for football.
Yet the more he played with his friends, the more they convinced him that he didn’t
just need to need to play because it would be fun but he had to play because of how good
he was. Though he might not have known it at the time, it was a sentiment that would reappear much further down the road in his football career. Finally, his mother, Barb, talked
his father, Dave, into letting him play.
From 1998-2001 he played football at Monroeville High School and devoted nearly
all his entire life to it. When people first whispered that he might be good enough to earn a
Division I scholarship, Mahl spent all of his time making that possible. He went to camps
at college football powerhouses like Ohio State, and he spent the majority of his free time
in the weight room. His mother put together a highlight tape of his game film and sent it
off to colleges across the country. Very simply, he wanted to be the best player to leave his
hometown. In 2001, it all paid off.
Kent State University is just 90 minutes east of Monroeville. The school sits right
outside of Akron and is home to the Golden Flashes. Legendary Alabama head coach
Nick Saban played at Kent State, as did Hall of Famer Jack Lambert. Current Pittsburgh
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Photo contributed
Former New York Jets linebacker Eric Mahl watches the action on the field from the
sidelines during a preseason game at the Meadowlands in East Rutherford, N. J.
Steeler James Harrison played linebacker
there and current New England Patriots
Julian Edelman and Josh Kline once called
Kent home. Though the school is often
overlooked as far as Ohio college football
is concerned because of the dominance the
Ohio State Buckeyes have had, it holds a
reputation as a reputable college football
program, capable of churning out high
quality NFLers with long careers. And
with just one open scholarship available,
head coach Dean Pees decided to take a
chance on the big kid from a small town.
He wouldn’t be disappointed.
If there is one trait personality trait
that stands out the most with Mahl, it’s
his “all-or-nothing” mentality. Perhaps it’s
the product of being such an outstanding
athlete, or perhaps it’s what comes with being a perfectionist. When he arrived on the
Kent State campus his first day of training
camp, that didn’t change.
“I walked right up to my coach and
introduced myself to him,” Mahl said. “I
was like, Hi I’m Eric Mahl and I’m playing
for you this year. And I remember him
laughing at me, like ‘you’re barely even on
our team. Like out of a hundred guys on
our roster you’re in last place. You’re not
even supposed to be here.’”
But Mahl did see the field. In fact,
his first game as a freshman was at Iowa
in front of 80,000 people. He played an
instrumental role in the Golden Flashes
special teams play his freshman year. That
key special teams play led to an offseason
devoted to the weight room. Mahl didn’t
just want to be known as the strongest
player on his team, he wanted to be the
strongest athlete in his school. It didn’t
matter if the record was for bench press or
squats; whether it was held by a thrower on
the track team or a wrestler, Mahl wanted
to be the strongest. He eventually held that
accolade. The result was a starting spot at
inside linebacker for the Golden Flashes in
just his second season. From there, he became a captain his junior and senior year,
something that hadn’t happened in recent
school history.
mong Mahl’s college career
highlights was a 15-tackle
performance against Northern
Illinois that landed him MidAtlantic Conference Player of the Week
honors in 2001. Though he was well-spoken and level headed off the field, he was
far from that in the huddle.
“I feed off of his intensity and I think
he feeds off of other people,” said Roy
Attieh, a defensive tackle and Mahl’s teammate, in a 2002 interview with the RecordCourier. “You see him get riled up and you
think, ‘Oh man this guy is pumped’ and it
gets you going.”
The Mauler. The Animal. Eric the
Destroyer. Mahl had a whole bunch of
nicknames given to him by teammates, and
rightfully so. He was incredibly strong yet
still athletic player who instilled fear in just
about anyone who lined up against him.
“I swear, he really wants to kill some-
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13
one out there,” said Attieh. “I mean it. He
wants to tear people’s heads off.”
He didn’t want to kill anyone though.
Quite the opposite actually. “The Mahler”
was a man filled with love. And much of
that love was devoted to God.
“When no one was looking I was just
this gentle ‘I want to love you Lord,’”
Mahl said. “I think I was afraid that if I
come out and I’m like ‘Well, I love God,’
then people were going to be like ‘Well
you’re a weirdo’ and partially that is a reality. Like ‘OK, great move on. You’re not
who I thought you were.’”
And so began a severe inner struggle
for the person who professional scouts
were now saying had what it takes to make
it in the NFL. Though for nearly all of
his life he had been religious, he recently
began to feel as if he wasn’t doing enough
for God. Nobody knew it, but this massive
human being who showed no mercy on
the football field was most concerned with
helping others and carrying out the word of
his religion, and his god. The rush of playing football no longer fulfilled Mahl.
“Scripture calls that hypocrisy. I was
definitely living a very hypocritical life in
college,” he said. “That doesn’t make me
a very good Christian, but it makes me a
good football player. It got the point in my
senior year where I’m like, OK now I have
an agent, I’m doing stuff for the combine
and my numbers are really good. It’s
like, OK you’re going to be drafted. and
I wasn’t even happy. I had this goal, my
whole life. It’s all I know and I’m good.
Lord why would you make me such a
good football player if you don’t want me
to keep doing this? You must want me to
keep doing this.”
The all-conference football player
seemed bound for NFL success. Teams in
need of youth and athleticism on the defensive side of the ball showed a lot of interest
in Mahl, and New England, Cleveland
and the Meadowlands were all possible
destinations.
Then draft day came.
On April 24, 2005 there was a draft
party held back in Monroeville at his
parents house. Local media members went
crazy over the Hollywood-like storyline;
local kid comes along and leads a small-
time high school to the second round of
the postseason. Local kid lands a Division
I scholarship, and out of nowhere becomes
a two-time captain. Local kid may get to
play at the highest level. Small time kid,
big time game the reporters used to write.
But as much as the rest of his hometown
enjoyed all of this, Mahl did not.
“It was really hard. It was like, well
this is what I’ve wanted to do, and I’ve
poured my life into and now you’re (God) asking me to do something different,” he
said. “It was very much a struggle in the
depth of my heart. I wasn’t excited.”
Mahl was not drafted, but immediately
after it ended, he received a phone call. It
was the home-town Cleveland Browns,
and they wanted to offer him a contract
and with it, the chance to play professional
football. Everyone in attendance erupted
with cheers and Barb ran out of the kitchen
sporting a Browns shirt. The entire town
seemed happy for their hometown boy,
except for the hometown boy.
“In my heart I wasn’t happy,” Mahl
said. “The goals I have in my life aren’t connecting with what God has in store for me.”
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A
nd so Mahl set off for camp
just an hour away from home.
Though his heart was no longer
into football, he couldn’t simply
give it up or quit, he had too many people
counting on him, too many people living
vicariously through him. Because of his
outstanding personality and Catholic-based
faith, he was a role model to youngsters
in Monroeville as well and a constant
reminder that even though you might just
be a kid from a small town, you can be
anything if you work hard enough. He also
couldn’t stop trying. At this point in Mahl’s
life, giving 100 percent had become part
of his character. He did the only thing he
thought would solve the issue. He prayed.
“I’m too weak to walk away, I’m too
weak to quit. I can’t do it, as much as I
want to,” he said. “That was my prayer.
Lord, allow me to be cut. I was just miserable, but I was playing and making tackles
and doing what I had to do. Everything
was going really well, but in my heart
I was so unhappy,” he said. “Which is
insane! But it’s also a beautiful example
of what I want. What the world is telling
me is the greatest thing is not really the
greatest thing because I’m not happy, I
wasn’t fulfilled. I was making money, and
had fame and was a professional football
player which in our country is like, the
greatest thing. But I wasn’t truly alive.”
Whether it was because of Mahl’s
prayers or because of how difficult it is
for an undrafted rookie to make an NFL
team out of camp, the Browns cut him. But
almost immediately after, the New York
Jets requested his services. The Jets were
one of the teams originally interested in
the inside linebacker, but lost the bidding
war to nearby Cleveland. The organization
gave him the second chance that he never
wanted, and he played in every preseason
game. His heart still not in it, Mahl was cut
right before the start of the regular season.
It was exactly what he wanted.
“I was so happy, but in my heart I was
also sad, I think I cried still because it was
this trouble that this was my life,” he said.
“It was like now what? I don’t have hobbies, I don’t have things I like to do, I don’t
have favorite foods, I don’t watch movies.
This was my life. My life was football.”
Mahl’s post-football life started with a
job selling medical equipment to doctors and hospitals — a job that he largely
believes he got because the title “NFL
player” was atop his resume. It was more
fulfilling than football because the equipment was used in operating rooms, and
helped save lives. But with the feel-goods
came a six-figure salary. That turned into
a comfortable apartment in the Cleveland
suburbs, a nice car and plenty of spending
money. And that wasn’t enough of a life
devoted to God for this particular all-ornothing individual. Any free time he had
at work was spent thinking about God,
the Bible and spreading the word of the
church.
So he gave it up. He gave it all up.
Mahl turned down a promotion, gave away
Photo contributed
Photo contributed
Mahl poses with his fiancee in church.
Mahl spends much of his time on the streets of major cities like Cleveland, Boston and New York. Beside him is a fellow missionary
and a member of the homeless community.
his car and withdrew all of his money. The
money either went to religious organizations or people on the street who seemed to
need it more than he did. Mahl donated his
suits to Goodwill. And one day after doing
some research on the internet, he up and
left Ohio for Christoval, Texas. The ferocious linebacker who was once delivered
punishing hits behind the line of scrimmage and inspired his teammates to do the
same was about to join a monastic community of Carmelite Hermits. There would be
no football there, no money. There wasn’t
even any conversation Monday through
Friday, as the hermits lived in silence. Just
men and the Bible, trying to further their
understanding of their God.
He came to the realization while sitting
in a small chapel in suburban Cleveland. He
said that he heard God tell him to give him
everything, and he was drawn to the idea of
pulling away from the world’s ideology and
its survival of the fittest, all about you mentality. His past goals and dreams all ended
in monetary rewards and it was time to pull
away. He arrived in Southwestern Texas
with nothing but a Bible and some clothes
in a backpack to the disbelief of everyone,
including his family.
“My parents think I’m nuts and crazy,
and I think they still think I am. They’re
whole idea was ‘Eric, what are you running from?’ I think that it’s hard for us to
understand that call unless you’re getting
the call,” he said. “It seems like you’ve
been running from everything you’ve been
running from your whole life. You must
be depressed, you must be crazy, you
must have lost your mind because you’re
leaving everything the world told you is so
important. But it wasn’t so much that I was
running away from something, but I was
running toward someone, which was God.”
He spent three years in a life of silence. His day began at 3 a.m. with prayer,
studying the Bible and taking care of goats,
chickens and gardens. He planted trees
in the desert year after year, and lived in
solitary in a monastery reading the Bible.
It was this lifestyle that introduced him to
his God “of infinite love and mercy” as
he calls him, in a way that he had never
experienced before.
“I played football and I had possessions and cars and money, and I gave all
that up even before I came to the monastery to figure out who this God was,” he
said. “But coming to the monastery really
led me to that encounter, and the Lord
started to speak to my heart and I felt like
he was calling me.”
ahl says it was God who led
him to the Berkshires. The kid
from Ohio had never heard
of the place before in his
life, and when he first showed up to the
Shrine of Divine Mercy, he pronounced
it Berk-shire, rhyming the last half of the
name with “hire”. But in order to help him
discover more about his God and how he
could spread his teachings, he hopped on a
train with his father, rode into Albany and
rolled up to Shrine in Stockbridge unexpected, looking for a priest to speak with.
From there, Mahl headed back to
Cleveland. He didn’t move in with his
family though, or go back to his pre-hermit
lifestyle. Instead, he lived among the
homeless, handing out money to people on
the streets and offering food to the hungry.
M
But it wasn’t until one particular moment
that he realized the importance of not just
giving physical goods to those in need, but
time and conversation as well.
While he walked down the street,
he spotted a woman digging through the
dumpster. Assuming she needed food, Mahl
walked over to her and handed her $10,
the last money he had on him. He began to
walk away, and felt good about his good
deed. But as he walked away, the woman
kept up her search through the trash. She
had children, and they needed jackets in the
Cleveland cold. It wasn’t until he asked her
what was wrong that he discovered a deeper
problem with the homeless altogether.
“That’s when I realized, that we
give the homeless our money, our food,
literally the clothes off our backs,” he
said. “But we won’t spare a minute of our
own time. And a lot of times, that’s what
people need the most.”
Most people have something to belong
to, whether it be a family, a place of
employment or even, yes, an athletic team.
It gives them a sense of value, a sense of belonging. But for many people on the street,
there’s nothing to belong to. Nobody wants
to associate with a homeless person, and if
they do it usually isn’t for long. Mahl has
seen tough things. He’s talked to people as
they shoot up heroin or snort cocaine. He’s
calmed women down immediately after being assaulted. Once, his life was threatened
by a gang’s hitman in New Mexico. These
people aren’t always welcome to conversation, and often they’re definitely not open to
a discussion about God. But when Mahl sits
and talks with them, they open up. Because
he doesn’t just talk about being a brother, he
acts like it too.
Mahl doesn’t hate football, though his
complete and abrupt abandonment from the
sport that ruled his life for so long might
make it appear that he does. He doesn’t resent
the sport he devoted his earlier life to, and
doesn’t even dislike it. But he hasn’t watched
a game since 2006, and since his work leaves
him with no access to a gym and involves a
lot of fasting, he barely resembles the physical specimen that once seemed so destined to
cause havoc in the NFL.
He’s about to be married. Fittingly
enough, he met his fiancée at the Shrine
in Stockbridge, and the two of them will
soon wed in the Berkshires. But the idea of
marriage and a family throws a whole new
aspect into his life as a missionary.
“It’s easy to live in the streets even
when people are trying to hurt you and
stab you and rob you,” he said. “But then
it’s like oh, how are we going to support
ourselves, how will we pay the bills? I don’t
know these things. I have to trust in the little
things.”
If has children and they want to play
football, he says they will play football as
he did before them. He won’t push them,
but if they have a desire to play, they will
have the opportunity. But he doesn’t miss it.
He’s too busy.
“If (God) wanted me to be a professional football player I’d have tremendous
joy doing that, but I think about how many
people and families have so little, yet have
so much joy,” he said. “You’re not interviewing them but they’re so happy. It got
to that point, (where God says) this is what
I’ve been planning for and I have to carry
that out.”
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17
47
recordings are lyrically driven and feature
only the performer’s rich contralto voice
paired with the strums of her four-string
baritone ukulele, an instrument she’s
played since 2008.
When Shanks describes her songs as
“succinct,” she’s not kidding; the longest
song is 4 minute and 5 seconds, and the
shortest is 38 seconds, by measure of the
track listing on
By Jenn Smith
►► Wolf Island Bandcamp.com.
becomes a
A writer first, and
he Berkshires’ own Sounds and
local hit
later musician,
Tones Records has been actively
she still manages
reviving the art of independently
to emote a lot of details and imagery in
producing and promoting musieach piece.
cians from across the country and several
With titles like “Insect Saintly,” “Seagull
genres.
Song” and “Fire Circle Song,” you can
Back in November, the label helped
guess that this includes some musings on
North Adams resident Francesca Shanks
release her debut full-length album, “Wolf nature, thus giving the album an inherently Berkshire vibe.
Island,” which she’s performing from this
But the lyrics themselves can at times
spring.
be gray, or evoke
Describyearning, or even
ing her sound
seem weird (a
as “Berkshire
term Shanks emUkulele Altbraces), as they’re
Folk,” Shanks’
contrasted by the
album is
signature upbeat
comprised of
staccato chords
“11 succinct
that ukes tend to
ukulele driven
produce.
folk songs,”
In the kickoff
that she wrote,
track, “Insect
performed
Saintly,” which
and recorded
clocks in at 48
herself, and
seconds, she talks
released under
about being folthe Sounds and
Courtesy of Sounds and Tones Records lowed by insects
Tones label.
“Wolf Island” is the debut full-length album by and being covered
The
singer-songwriter Francesca Shanks.
by a swarm of
stripped down
`Local
`
release
Sounds and Tones
puts out another
local album
T
àrt
`
David Sedaris
brings legendary
wit and neuroses
to the Mahaiwe
F
ew authors today are more wellknown for their reading performances than David Sedaris. The
critically-acclaimed funnyman
is currently touring the country and will
be giving a show at the Mahaiwe Theater in Great Barrington, on April 10 at
7 PM. With self-deprecating, wry humor
he writes about childhood, culture clash,
family, education, sexuality, and all the
various neuroses that come with being
such an incisive observer and thinker.
Sedaris was one of the first satiric
memoirists to gain bestseller-level popularity, paving the way for an emerging
subgenre of literature that includes Augusten Burroughs (Running with Scissors, This is How) and Mary Karr (The
18
Liar’s Club, Lit.) His most recent book
of essays, 2013’s Let’s Explore Diabetes
with Owls, was an instant bestseller and
the audiobook version was nominated
for a GRAMMY in Best Spoken Word
Album.
A born performer, Sedaris got his
start in radio and has never stopped telling stories since. He was a frequent contributor to This
American Life
►► Sedaris’
current tour with Ira Glass,
as well as writtakes him
through great ing essays for
barrington
The New Yorker
on April 10
and Esquire. His
style of storytelling is unpretentious but very witty, trenchantly observational but never snide.
People respond so well to his unique
voice that he now even reads the work
of other authors for The New Yorker;
most recently, bestseller Miranda July.
David and Amy Sedaris are products
of the same artistic family, and gave
themselves the snarky nickname, “The
Talent Family.” Amy is an actor, author,
and also very funny. They have collaborated on writing plays, including The
Book of Liz and Stump the Host, which
Alexander Butfilowski
North Adams singer-songwriter and ukulele maven, Francesca Shanks will be performing
gigs this spring based on her debut album, “Wolf Island.”
ants: “I wish the birds would eat them/
but the birds don’t want to meet me/I’m
marked/chosen/insect saintly.”
In the album’s eleventh and last track, a
lengthier 2-minute and 17-second “Freud
and Bernays,” the title nods to the notable
psychoanalyst and propagandist respectively. Then it proceeds like a modern cautionary tale for Veruca Salt, of Roald Dahl’s
“Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” fame.
She sings, “Flowers to put in your
hand in your grave/cheese for your mouth/
some brush for your mane/subconscious
fault and conscious shame/get everything
now/give it away,” before pausing to offer
the frank aside, “get everything now, keep
it, never give it away.” She then sings,
“And I know it’s all Freud and Bernays,
but I want it, want it, want it, want it,
want it anyways.”
Generally speaking, ukulele chords
and orchestrations tend to sound the same
way, but Shanks’ “Wolf Island,” in all its
brevity, manages to evoke an at once awkward yet refreshing sense of journey and
variety that makes it a worthy new album
on the indie label scene.
Learn more about the artist: www.
facebook.com/francescashanksmusic or
http://francescashanks.com/
Upcoming gig: April 7, Folk Showcase feat. Justin Hillman, Izzy Heltai,
and the Mighty Atom, Parlor Cafe North
Adams.
Learn more about the label: www.
facebook.com/soundsandtonesrecords.
photo contributed
David Sedaris has authored books such as “Me Talk Pretty One Day” and his most
recent book of essays titled, “Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls.”
have been produced in New York City.
David continues to write, balancing performance with the more solitary written
word. His books have been translated
into 29 languages and continue to make
a resonating impact. Who knows, if you
attend Sunday’s performance you may
even get to have your personal copies
signed with one of his signature, quirky
phrases or drawings.
Next stops on his 2016 tour include
Erie, Binghamton, and Savannah (GA.)
After winding his way around the country he will end up in London, to perform
“Death Knows No Season” with the
BBC Symphony Orchestra. You can
keep track of all of David’s goings-on
on tour at facebook.com/davidsedaris.
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333 Main Street
413-528-1006
333 Main Street
413-528-1006
44 Main Street
413-298-3786
333 Main Street
413-528-1006
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Tim
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Tim Donnelly
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413-298-3786
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Claudia Laslie
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Tim Donnelly
Freddy Friedman
Chuck Gillett
Douglas Goudey
Jonathan B. Hankin
Dorian Held
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The Berkshire
| April 2016
Marji Keefner-West
Claudia Laslie
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BERKSHIRE
day+night
T heater • M usic • C omedy • C oncer ts • D ance • T alks , C lasses & W orkshops • S pecial E vents • O ther
Monday, April 4
OTHER
Bird Walks at Canoe Meadows Sanctuary,
Holmes Rd., Pittsfield. 8-10 a.m. Free.
“Passover for Foodies: Wine, Charoset and
Geflite Fish Tasting.” Spirited, 444 Pittsfield
Rd., Lenox. 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.The tasting
is open to the public, and everyone is welcome and encouraged to attend, regardless
of religious affiliation or level of knowledge.
Contact Sara Volovik at (413) 499-9899 or
[email protected] for more information.
THEATER
Town Players of Pittsfield is holding auditions
at the Whitney Center for the Arts, 42 Wendell Avenue, for a fully staged production
of “Love, Loss and What I Wore” by Nora
and Delia Ephron at 6:30pm. Visit web site
for more information: www.townplayers.org.
TALKS, CLASSES &
WORKSHOPS
Saturday, April 9
Chair Yoga with Kripalu-certified instructor
Robin Seeley. 10:45 a.m. Congregation Knesset Israel, 16 Colt Rd., Pittsfield. For more
information call (413) 442-4360 ext. 10.
MUSIC
OTHER
The Lee Republican Town Committee meets
at Lee Courtroom in the Town Hall at 6:45
p.m. Republican Town Caucus 7:30-8:30 p.m.
All those wishing to run for Lee Town offices
should contact Steve Cozzaglio at 243-3204
or by e-mail at [email protected]
by Friday, April 1, 2016, stating their name
and the position they are interested in having
their name on the May ballot.
“The Past, Present and Future of America’s
Forest Birds.” Berkshire Life Insurance Co.,
700 South St., Pittsfield. Ornithologist and
Conservation Biologist, Dr. Morgan Tigley
gives a talk presented by the Hoffman Bird
Club of Berkshire County. 7 p.m.
Tuesday, April 5
THEATER
Town Players of Pittsfield is holding auditions
at the Whitney Center for the Arts, 42 Wendell Avenue, for a fully staged production
of “Love, Loss and What I Wore” by Nora
and Delia Ephron at 6:30pm. Visit web site
for more information: www.townplayers.org.
Wednesday, April 6
MUSIC
Open mic night at the Lion’s Den, 30 Main St.,
Stockbridge. 8-11 p.m. For more information
call (413) 298-5545 or visit redlioninn.com.
Pianists Orion Weiss and Anna Polonsky
perform at Williams College. 8 p.m.
COMEDY
Laugh Lounge Series: Giulia Rozzi. The Garage at the Colonial Theatre, 111 South St.,
Pittsfield. 8 p.m.
OTHER
Story Time with Miss Molly. Salisbury Congregational Church in parish hall, 30 Main
St., Salisbury, CT. 10:30 a.m. Twice a week
our 45-minute story time for toddlers and
preschool aged children focuses on a different theme through stories, singing and
crafting fun! The five early literacy practices
.
photo contributed
MASS MoCA and Jacob’s Pillow co-present Zvidance: On The Road, a multimedia dance
production which explores the Beat Generation and the general upheaval of the 60s.
are playing, talking, singing, reading and writing (scribble/draw). Bring your own snacks.
Red Cross blood donation opportunity. American Legion, 91 American Legion Drive, North
Adams. 11 a.m.-4 p.m.
The Egremont Democratic Committee will
meet at 7 p.m. on April 6, at the Egremont Town
Hall (Route 71). The purpose of the meeting
is to elect a Chair and a Secretary/Treasurer.
For further information, call (413) 528-1120.
Thursday, April 7
TALKS, CLASSES &
WORKSHOPS
“Pittsfield - A City on the Move” talk by Mayor
Linda Tyer. 10:45 a.m. For more information
call (413) 442-4360.
OTHER
Marc Scarbrough: Things That Go Bump In The
Book: Ghost Stories of Henry James and Edith
Wharton. Salisbury Congregational Church in
the parish hall, 30 Main St., Salisbury, CT. Scarbrough leads attendees through readings and
discussions of these scary short stories from
the long course of their careers, stories that
explore the supernatural, the unexplained,
and the just plain bizarre.
Friday, April 8
TALKS, CLASSES &
WORKSHOPS
Molly Johnson discusses simple steps to making your own soup. Berkshire Athenaeum, 1
Wendell Ave., Pittsfield.
MUSIC
Sean Gaskell performs West African Kora. New
Lebanon Public Library, 550 State Rte., New
Lebanon, NY. 6:30 p.m. The program, which
is free and open to the public, will feature
works for the Kora, an ancient 21-stringed
harp from West Africa. Gaskell will perform
traditional songs that are the heart and soul
of the Kora’s musical repertoire in addition to
some of his own personal compositions. For
more information call (518) 794-8844.
Karaoke Night. Spectrum Playhouse, 20
Franklin St., Lee. 6:30 p.m. sign-up, 7 p.m.
show. Snacks and beverages available for
purchase. Free admission.
Four Events That You Shouldn’t Miss Out On This Month
Storyteller, writer and
actress Giulia Rozzi
(“Girl Code,” “Silent
Library”) comes to The
Garage at the Colonial
Theater for a night of
comedy on April 6.
On April 16, Sam & Ron
celebrate two years
as a musical duo with
a performance at the
Whitney Center for
the Performing Arts at
7:30 p.m.
Close Encounters
with Music will present their program
titled “Fiddler Off
the Roof” on April 17
at the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center.
Berkshire Music School Performathon. Taft Recital Hall, 30 Wendell Ave., Pittsfield. 9 a.m.-6
p.m. During this day long marathon of music,
students will give individual performances,
having signed up in five minute increments
and collected financial support from friends,
family members and neighbors toward their
performance time. BMS seeks prizes and gift
certificates as incentives to encourage the
students to either raise significant funds or find
the most number of contributors. A bake sale
and music shop will be offered, and audience
members are invited to come and go as they
please, or stay as long as they wish. For more
information call Tracy Wilson, BMS executive
director at (413) 442-1411.
Peter Sykes, organ and Robinson Pyle, trumpet. The “King of Instruments” meets the
“Instrument of Kings” in a concert of Baroque
& modern works by Johann Heinrich Fasch,
Kent Kennan, & J.S. Bach. Tickets $30-50,
free for students w/ID.
TALKS, CLASSES &
WORKSHOPS
“Remarkable Women of New England 1754
to 1787” book talk by Carole Owens. Selectmen’s Meeting Room, Stockbridge Town Offices, 50 Main St., Stockbridge. 4 p.m. local
historian and author Carole Owens will tell
stories from her book “Remarkable Women
of New England: Daughters, Wives, Sisters
and Mothers: The War Years 1754 to 1787.”
Free Concert and Memorial Serviec to celebrate
St. Nicholas Orthodox Church’s 100 years in
Berkshire County. Concert by St. Vladimir’s
Orthodox Theological Seminary choir and a
memorial service for all departed St. Nicholas
parishioners. 4 p.m. 1304 North St., Pittsfield.
OTHER
Saturday Book Club, “The Illuminations” by
Andrew O’Hagan. St. John’s Episcopal Church,
Main St., Salisbury, CT.
Ninth Annual Lego Build-a-thon. The Lenox
Library Welles Gallery, 18 Main St., Lenox.
Junior Engineers ages 4-14 are invited to
participate in this annual event! Building with
their own supply of Lego blocks from home,
participants will begin creating an original
creation promptly at 9:30 a.m. They’ll have
45 minutes to work on their construction, and
Eric Martin and
Karen Axelrod will
perform traditional dance music
from around the
world at the Berkshire Athenaeum
on April 28.
21
then there will be 45 minutes for everyone
to demo/ explain their creation. This year’s
theme is “OUTER SPACE”- think space travel,
aliens, other worlds.
8th annual MS Support Foundation Gala/
Fundraiser Event, “The Long Winding Road.”
Country Club of Pittsfield, 639 South St., Pittsfield. There will be a silent auction, a wine pull
and a photo booth. Our theme is “The Long
and Winding Road” it’s Beatles theme and the
DJ will be playing Beatles music. Tickets are
$150 each. A couple will be $275. For more
information call Donna Briggs at 664-2011 or
email [email protected].
Ann Conrad and Elizabeth Gourlay: Recursive
Threads exhibit curated by Anthony Kirk.
The Hotchkiss School, 11 Interlaken Rd.,
Lakeville, CT. Artists’ reception 4-6 p.m. For
more information call (860) 435-4423 or visit
hotchkiss.org/arts.
Williams Elementary School hosts annual
“Berkshire/ Southern Vermont Camp Fair” and
3rd Grade Pancake Breakfast. 9 a.m.-noon.
115 Church St., Williamstown.
Great Barrington Thursday Morning Club’s
annual local Scholarship fundraiser “Bingo A
La Mode.” Claire Teague Senior Center, 917
Main St., Great Barrington. 2 p.m. $15 donation includes pies, beverage and bingo cards.
Sunday, April 10
MUSIC
AGO presents the 1923 silent film “The
Hunchback of Notre Dame” with live organ
accompaniment. 7 p.m. Thompson Memorial Chapel, Williams College, 860 Main St.,
Williamstown. Organ accompaniment will be
provided by Peter Krasinski. The suggested
donation is $15 for adults and $10 for seniors
and students. For more information, visit
berkshirechapterago.org or contact Scott
Bailey at (413) 522-4745 or at sbailleymusic@
gmail.com.
and cheese reception, 7 p.m. screening.
REEL Friends $10, non-members $15. Films
to be screened: Pioneer High, The Gnomist,
Consolation Prize, Heebie Jeebies, Exposure.
Tuesday, April 12
TALKS, CLASSES &
WORKSHOPS
New Lebanon Doula Cari Naftali speaks about
refugee crisis in Greece. New Lebanon Public
Library, 550 State Rte. 20, New Lebanon, NY.
OTHER
Story Time at the Berkshire Athenaeum Children’s Library, 1 Wendell Ave., Pittsfield. 10 a.m.
Lessons, refreshments and first textbook
are free to new players; games will be $6,
beginning the third week. Pembury Bridge
Club is located at the South Congregational
Church, at 110 South Street in Pittsfield. For
more information, call 413-441-5934, or email
[email protected].
OTHER
preschool aged children focuses on a different theme through stories, singing and crafting fun! The five early literacy practices are
playing, talking, singing, reading and writing
Why choose Brockman?
Brockman has been a leader in Berkshire real estate as well
as luxury home sales for nearly 40 years. We work diligently
to achieve a perfect balance between ethical, honest
representation and creative, dynamic marketing.
We listen to you and will provide you with personalized service
based on knowledge and experience.
We simply give our very best to every client, every time.
Your goals are our only priority and your satisfaction is our
only measure of success.
Defining Real Estate in the Berkshires
Chapin Fish, Broker-Partner
The Berkshires Top-Selling Broker of 2013 with Highest Total Sales†
Kirsten Fredsall, Broker-Associate • Michael Mielke, Realtor® Associate • Thom Garvey, Realtor® Associate
Kevin Fish, Business Operations Manager - Realtor® Associate • Bill Brockman, Founding Partner
† according to data provided by the Berkshire County Multiple Listing Service
Members of:
OTHER
Reading and Book Signing with Katherine
Anderson, author of “Hospital Hill.” The
Bookstore & Get Lit Wine Bar, 11 Housatonic
St., Lenox. 4 p.m. For more information call
(413) 637-3390 or visit bookstoreinlenox.com.
Blue Rider Stables 25th Anniversary, Art for
Soul Connection. Blue Rider Stables, 15 Farm
Ln, Great Barrington. Taught by illustrator
Katie Atkinson and assisted by Blue Rider
instructors, students will be guided through
a creative process designed to enhance observation and perception skills.
Stockbridge Grange will serve a public roast
pork dinner, served family style, in the hall
on Church St. from 1-2 p.m. Cost is $12 for
adults and $6 for under 12. Take-out available
(413) 298-3185.
Monday, April 11
TALKS, CLASSES &
WORKSHOPS
“Meet Me at the Clark” free gallery talk
program for persons with dementia and their
caregivers. To register in pairs (persons with
dementia and their caregivers), call (413)
458-0410. Groups are welcome. The Clark
is currently closed on Mondays, providing
a safe and private atmosphere. Participants
should plan to arrive between 2–2:30 pm. This
session will be held in the Clark’s permanent
collections gallery, located in the Museum
Building. The Clark is located at 225 South
St., Williamstown.
OTHER
Red Cross blood donation opportunity. St. Joseph’s Church, 414 North St., Pittsfield. 1-6 p.m.
Selected Shorts from the BIFF. Triplex Cinema,
70 Railroad St., Great Barrington. 6 p.m. wine
22
duPont REGISTRY
berkshiresforsale.com
413-528-4859
[email protected]
at 276 main street, great barrington with
farm & home
quality American-made goods & gifts
Wednesday, April 13
MUSIC
Ted Murray Jazz Trio. Portsmitt’s Lakeway
Restaurant, 370 Pecks Rd., Pittsfield. 6-9 p.m.
THEATER
Auditions for two staged readings, “The
Seven Deadlies” by Amy Sarah LeMena and
“Double D” Jim Dalglish for Town Players of
Pittsfield at the Whitney Center for the Arts,
42 Wendell Avenue at 7 p.m. More info at
www.townplayers.org.
TALKS, CLASSES &
WORKSHOPS
Cooking demonstration by Molly Johnson
of “Back to Basics Cooking.” Berkshire
Athenaeum, 1 Wendell Ave., Pittsfield. The
subject is soup. 7 p.m. (413) 499-9480.
Free Bridge Instruction-Modern Bridge
Techniques offered by the Pembury Bridge
Club. 10:30 a.m.-noon. Following the lesson, students play in a guided novice game.
(scribble/draw). Bring your own snacks.
Thursday, April 14
THEATER
Auditions for two staged readings, “The
Seven Deadlies” by Amy Sarah LeMena and
“Double D” Jim Dalglish for Town Players of
Pittsfield at the Whitney Center for the Arts,
42 Wendell Avenue at 7 p.m. More info at
www.townplayers.org.
OTHER
Marc Scarbrough: Things That Go Bump In The
Book: Ghost Stories of Henry James and Edith
Wharton. Salisbury Congregational Church in
the parish hall, 30 Main St., Salisbury, CT. Scarbrough leads attendees through readings and
discussions of these scary short stories from
the long course of their careers, stories that
explore the supernatural, the unexplained,
and the just plain bizarre.
Business After Hours. Stone House Properties,
40 Railroad St., Suite 3, Great Barrington.
5:30-7:30 p.m. Music, fun and food by The
Market Place Kitchen.
Play & Learn with Jenn at the Berkshire Athenaeum’s Children’s Library, 1 Wendell Ave.,
Pittsfield. 10 a.m.
Friday, April 15
MUSIC
Jack Waldheim & the Criminal Hearts CD
release concert. Lee Congregational Church,
25 Park Place, Lee. 7:30 p.m. Special guests
One Part Luck.
Andy Wrba and Friends with Tracy of Misty
Blues. Hotel on North, 297 North St., Pittsfield.
7:30-10:30 p.m. No cover charge. Enjoy classics ranging from Jazz, Soul, Pop and Blues
at Eat on North.
OTHER
Red Cross blood donation opportunity. Simon’s Rock College Kipatrick Athletic Center,
84 Alford Rd., Great Barrington. 1-6 p.m.
Red Cross blood donation opportunity. Monument Mt. Regional High School, 600 Stockbridge Rd., Great Barrington. 9 a.m.-2 p.m.
Reading and book signing with poet Richard
Berlin, author of “Practice.” 7 p.m. The Bookstore & Get Lit Wine Bar, 11 Housatonic St.,
Lenox. For more information call (413) 6373390 or visit bookstoreinlenox.com.
Bird Walks at Canoe Meadows. Canoe
Meadows Wildlife Sanctuary, Lenox. Bring
binoculars, beginners welcome. 8-10 a.m.
Spring and Fall are the seasons to look for
migrants of all kinds, especially the beautiful wood-warblers. Walk past wetlands and
meadows and through woodlands observing
changes in bird species each week.
Saturday, April 16
MUSIC
Berkshire Olde Tyme Review presents Berkshire Country Jamboree at BCC, 1350 West St.,
Pittsfield. 7 p.m. Berkshire Country Jamboree
will feature music from country musics old and
new like Garth Brooks, Johnny Cash, Carrie
Underwood and more. General admission
tickets for the event are $20 or 2 for $30 and
can be purchased at UCP of Berkshire County,
Pittsfield and North Adams offices, LaPlante
Appliance in Williamstown, Wood Bros. in
Pittsfield and Alliance Appliance in Pittsfield.
For more information visit ucpberkshire.org
or call LaPlante Appliance at (413) 458-3443.
Bella’s Bartok CD Release Masquerade Show
with special guests Whiskey Treaty Roadshow
and DJ BFG. The Colonial Theatre, 111 South
St., Pittsfield. 8 p.m. For more information
call (413) 997-4444 or visit berkshiretheatregroup.org.
Sam & Ron celebrate “Two Years.” Whitney
Center for the Arts, 42 Wendell Ave., Pittsfield.
7:30 p.m. (doors open at 6:45 p.m.). Tapas
menu, along with beer, wine and soft drinks
will be available for purchase. Reservations can
be made by calling (413) 212-4459 or e-mailing
[email protected]. For more information
about Talora & Ramsay, visit samandron.com.
TALKS, CLASSES &
WORKSHOPS
“The Enigma of Desire” talk by Galit Atlas,
Ph.D. The Red Lion Inn, 30 Main St., Stockbridge. 9:30 a.m.-noon. Dr. Atlas will explore
the relation between sexuality and attachment
from a developmental perspective, as well
as patterns of distress and regulation in the
context of current infant research. She will
present two clinical cases to further illustrate
these concepts.
Lyme Disease: The current state of research
and prevention lecture by Dr. Brian Fallon.
Berkshire Botanical Garden, 5 W. Stockbridge
Earth Day River Festival visit thebeatnews.
org or hvatoday.org or call (413) 230-7321.
Great Barrington Housatonic River Walk.
9 a.m.-2 p.m. Berkshire County’s National
Recreation Trail.
Rd., Stockbridge. 10 a.m.
“The U.S. and Iran” talk given by Dr. Firoozeh
Kashani-Sabet. Salisbury School, Route 44,
Salisbury, CT. 7:30 p.m. will discuss U.S.-Iranian
relations, the current state of the Middle East,
and why things may get worse in the region
before they get better. All Salisbury Forum
programs are free and open to the public.
Sunday, April 24
TALKS, CLASSES &
WORKSHOPS
OTHER
Backyard BBQ. Hotel on North lot, 297 North
St., Pittsfield. 1-5 p.m. Celebrate Spring with
a kickoff BBQ event. $25 per person, inlcudes
DJ Dance Party, BBQ Chicken, sausage and
peppers on the grill, drink samples from local
brewers and distillers and face painting. Full
drinks will be available as well.
Playgroup with learning activities for toddlers
and early elementary age children at the
Berkshire Athenaeum’s Children’s Library,
1 Wendell Ave., Pittsfield. 10:30 a.m.-noon.
Gardening Organically & Community Gardens
Registration. Pleasant Valley Wildlife Sanctuary, Lenox. 1:30-3 p.m. To register call (413)
637-0320.
Sunday, April 17
THEATER
“The Last Wife” staged reading presented by
the WAM Theatre. No. Six Depot Roastery and
cafe, 6 Depot St., West Stockbridge. 3 p.m.
A contemporary retelling of the relationship
between Katherine Parr and Henry VIII; “The
Last Wife” invites audiences to an examination of patriarchy, sexual politics and women’s
rights. Kate is smart, poised, and passionate,
a rising star in a world of intense competition,
but her obligatory marriage to Henry is rife
with the threat of violence and deceit and her
devotion to the education of his daughters is
putting strain on her marriage.
TALKS, CLASSES &
WORKSHOPS
Reading and book signing: Poet Robert Kelly.
3 p.m. The Bookstore and Get Lit Wine Bar,
11 Housatonic St., Lenox. Poet Robert Kelly
reads from “The Hexagon” and “A Voice Full
of Cities: The collected Essays of Robert Kelly.”
For more information call (413) 637-3390 or
visit bookstoreinlenox.com.
MUSIC
Berkshire Olde Tyme Review presents Berkshire Country Jamboree at BCC, 1350 West St.,
Pittsfield. 2 p.m. Berkshire Country Jamboree
will feature music from country musics old and
new like Garth Brooks, Johnny Cash, Carrie
Underwood and more. General admission
tickets for the event are $20 or 2 for $30 and
can be purchased at UCP of Berkshire County,
Pittsfield and North Adams offices, LaPlante
Appliance in Williamstown, Wood Bros. in
Pittsfield and Alliance Appliance in Pittsfield.
For more information visit ucpberkshire.org
or call LaPlante Appliance at (413) 458-3443.
CEWM Fiddler off the Roof. Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center, 14 Castle St., Great
Barrington. 3 p.m.
Performing artists in residence announce
chamber concert. Clark Art Institute, 225
South St., Williamstown.
Tuesday, April 19
OTHER
“Tom Fooleries at Ventfort Hall.” Ventfort Hall,
104 Walker St., Lenox. Tickets for the show are
$15 for adults and $7 for children ages 4-12.
Children age 3 and under are free. Reservations are highly recommended as seating is
limited. For information or reservations call
Ventfort Hall at (413) 637-3206 or visit info@
gildedage.org.
Aubrey Atwater teaches Irish tinwhistle workshop. 7 p.m. New Lebanon Library, 550 State Rt.
20. For more information call (518) 794-8844.
MUSIC
Atwater-Donnelly Duo performs. Lee Congregational Church, 25 Park Place, Lee. 2 p.m.
Monday, April 25
TALKS, CLASSES &
WORKSHOPS
Photo Contributed
The Colonial Theater plays host to the Bella’s Bartok CD Release Masquerade Show,
featuring guests Whiskey Treaty Roadshow and DJ BFG on April 16.
Wednesday, April 20
TALKS, CLASSES &
WORKSHOPS
[email protected].
OTHER
preschool aged children focuses on a different theme through stories, singing and
crafting fun! The five early literacy practices
are playing, talking, singing, reading and writing (scribble/draw). Bring your own snacks.
Iron Chef on North. Hotel on North, 297 North
St., Pittsfield. 6-8:30 p.m. Secret ingredient
battle to be held in the dining room of Eat
on North. $35 per person gets a sample of
each chef’s dish and 2 drinks customized to
the chef’s dishes. Attendees will vote on the
best dish by ballott and best cocktail.
Thursday, April 21
THEATER
Marionette Shows Ali Baba and the Forty
Thieves. Ventfort Hall, 104 Walker St., Lenox.
3:30 p.m. Puppeteer Carl Sprague, whose
annual appearances at Ventfort Hall charm
everyone with his “behind- the-scenery” mastery, will bring to life this classic folk tale. The
audience will have the opportunity to meet
this wizard, who knows how to pull strings.
visit gildedage.org.
Friday, April 22
THEATER
Marionette Shows Ali Baba and the Forty
Thieves. Ventfort Hall, 104 Walker St., Lenox.
3:30 p.m. Puppeteer Carl Sprague, whose
annual appearances at Ventfort Hall charm
everyone with his “behind- the-scenery” mastery, will bring to life this classic folk tale. The
audience will have the opportunity to meet
this wizard, who knows how to pull strings.
visit gildedage.org.
Make Your Own Accordion Photo Album with
Valerie Caririgan. Citizens’ Hall, Stockbridge.
1-5 p.m.
Tuesday, April 26
MUSIC
Trivia Night on North. Hotel on North, 297
North St., Pittsfield. 7:30-10:30 p.m. Trivia
night on pop culture.
Musician Alice Spatz with videographer Eric
Shepherd present 5 poems by U.S. Poet
Laureate William Jay Smith. 7 p.m. Berkshire
Athenaeum, 1 Wendell Ave., Pittsfield. Alice
has set Shepherd’s poetry to music. (413)
499-9480.
Saturday, April 23
Wednesday, April 27
OTHER
THEATER
Murder Mystery Dinner Theater. Ventfort Hall,
104 Walker St., Lenox. 6 p.m. The Comical
Mystery Tour ensemble returns by popular
demand after a sold out performance last
November. This time the stage is set for a
deadly rehearsal of the soap opera, “The
Numb and the Restless.”
TALKS, CLASSES &
WORKSHOPS
Make Your Own Accordion Photo Album with
Valerie Carrigan. Citizens’ Hall, Stockbridge.
1-5 p.m.
Floral design demonstration workshop with
Garden Club of America floral designer judge
MaryEllen O’Brien. Presented by The Friends
of the Sheffield Senior Center. Sheffield Senior
Center, 25 Cook Rd., Sheffield. Three floral
arrangements will be raffled off to attendees.
Suggested door donation: $10 (includes 10
raffle tickets), $15 (includes 15 raffle tickets),
$20 (includes 20 raffle tickets). Plus light
refreshments. 10 a.m.-noon. To register call
(413) 229-7037.
TALKS, CLASSES &
WORKSHOPS
[email protected].
Thursday, April 28
MUSIC
Eric Martin (fiddle, viola, voice) and Karen
Axelrod (piano, accordion) perform traditional
dance music from round the world. Berkshire
Athenaeum, 1 Wendell Ave., Pittsfield. 7 p.m.
(413) 499-0480.
DANCE
Friday, April 29
OTHER
Antique Appraisal Night presented by The
Friends of the Sheffield Senior Center, 25 Cook
Rd., Sheffield. 7-9 p.m. Bring two items for
appraisal and experts will provide background
and estimates of value. The appraisal cost for
the first two items will be $5, additional items
$5 each. Reserve one of 25 spots, call the
Senior Center at (413) 229-7037. No coins,
no stamps and no sports collectibles.
Jacob’s Pillow and Mass MoCA co-present
Zvidance in a work-in-progress showing of
“On The Road.” Hunter Center, Mass MoCA,
North Adams. 8 p.m. An evening-length,
multimedia dance piece that contemplates
the general upheaval of the 1960s and the
Beat generation’s startling notions of social
rebellion.
Earth Day River Fest to be held at Fred Garner
Park, Pittsfield. 11 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Participate in
a park cleanup. Learn about the critters in the
river bottom. Become a water droplet and go
on a water cycle journey. Bring your old, even
stained, clean clothes for the clothing drive.
Put your name in to win a composting bin or
bulky sticker donated by the City of Pittsfield.
Get composting tips and explore a restored
vernal pool. For more information about the
OTHER
Saturday, April 30
DANCE
“All the Little Things” performed by the students of the Cantarella School of Dance with
Teacher Olivia Wilber. 6 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
Free admission, suggested donation of $5.
Snacks and beverages available for purchase.
23
Ready. Set. Save on
Kubota’s B Series
Compact Tractors.
Wings • Pasta • Soups • Sandwiches • Salads
Steak • Chicken • Veal • Seafood
Full Bar & Several Beers On Tap • Gift Certificates Available
APRIL ENTERTAINMENT SCHEDULE
4/6: Glenn Boden & Vinni Brandi, 7pm
4/7: Jeannie Lauren & John Sauer, 7pm
4/8: Jack Waldheim, 8pm
4/9: Pete Boyd, 7:30pm
4/12: Jim Witherell, 7pm
4/13: Ted Murray Jazz Trio, 6pm
4/14: Trivia with Bob Heck, 7pm
4/15: Dan Gingras, 8pm
4/16: Rev Tor Solo, 7:30pm
4/21: Bruce Gregori, 7pm
4/22: Patrick Gray, 8pm
4/23: Dave Rendor, 7:30pm
4/26: Jim Witherell, 7pm
4/28: Trivia with Bob Heck, 7pm
4/29: Hotshot Hillbillies, 8pm
4/30: Jack Parker, 7:30pm
370 Pecks Rd., Pittsfield • (413) 236-5727
Tuesday–Sunday 11:30am–Close • Monday 4pm–Close
$
0 Down, 0% Financing for 60 Months
*
A.P.R.
Offer ends 6/30/16.
Columbia Tractor, Inc
841 Route 9H
Claverack, New York 12513
(518) 828-1781
*$0 down, 0% A.P.R. financing for up to 60 months on purchases of new Kubota B Series Equipment is available to qualified purchasers from participating
dealers’ in-stock inventory through 6/30/2016. Example: A 60-month monthly installment repayment term at 0% A.P.R. requires 60 payments of $16.67 per
$1,000 financed. 0% A.P.R. interest is available to customers if no dealer documentation preparation fee is charged. Dealer charge for document preparation
fee shall be in accordance with state laws. Inclusion of ineligible equipment may result in a higher blended A.P.R. 0% A.P.R. and low-rate financing may not
be available with customer instant rebate offers. Financing is available through Kubota Credit Corporation, U.S.A., 3401 Del Amo Blvd., Torrance, CA 90503;
subject to credit approval. Some exceptions apply. Offer expires 6/30/2016. See us for details on these and other low-rate options or go to www.kubota.com for
more information. Optional equipment may be shown.
VERMONT ARTS EXCHANGE
Presents the 2016 BASEMENT MUSIC SERIES
Live Music on Main Street in downtown Bennington!
SAT. APR. 2
SESSION AMERICANA
SAT. APR. 9
THE CITIZENS
“I’d give them 100 miles. That is to say, if they’re
playing anywhere within 100 miles of your home,
you drive there and are grandly rewarded for
your effort.” – David Greenberger, NPR
“A British influenced rock quartet from
NYC, not to be missed.”
SAT. APR. 16
SAT. APR. 30
Come see us soon in our new location!
126 South Main St., Lanesborough, MA
413-442-7723
WILD REEDS
“From LA, etherial folk, a hint of country twang and
some rock and roll rhythm from 3 ladies that harmonize like triplets separated at birth.”
All shows are at the
MASONIC HALL
504 MAIN ST. BENNINGTON, VT
*UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED
24
MIKE & RUTHY BAND
“They play with jubilation--as exciting and powerful
as any quintet out there, mixing up fiddle and banjo
with drums, bass, pedal steel and organ.”
Tickets at vtartxchange.org
Or call 1-800-838-3006
Music venues are accessible.
Most shows doors open at 7:00 with 8:00 show.
Libations served by Thyme Tables Catering.
Call VAE for info 802-442-5549
Please call with specific needs.
kubota.com
© Kubota Tractor Corporation, 2016
`Music
`
The Living
Roots Trio:
Growing music
from the
ground up
By heather meehan
T
he opening and title track from The
Living Roots Trio’s debut album-“To All Things,” is an intimate
and poetic unraveling, a melody
that trills and bubbles like a calm flowing
creek. “I wanna find a way/to bring love to
everything,” each chorus intones, and this
serves as a statement of purpose both for
the band and the album itself. This group
of Hudson Valley based musician/vocalists
released their debut album in January and
have been playing a number of shows in the
area recently.
When I sat down with Meaghan Witri
and Seamus Maynard (their third
►► The Living
trio-making memroots trio
brings love “to ber Seth Travins
all things”
was unfortunately
absent) to discuss
their new album and plans for the future,
they brought a calm, clear-eyed approach
to our conversation indicative of their entire
approach to art-making.
“To All Things,” aptly named, is a collection of songs that explore life, attitudes
and relationships with a patient curiosity
and a sense of wonder. It is an album with
a strong moral compass, the testament of
those striving to live lives of clarity in an
increasingly muddy world. This is not casual
listening music; it demands attentiveness,
even a little bit of patience, and does not
reveal all of its charms upon a first or cursory
listen. The band members are well aware of
this, and speak passionately about finding a
context for performing their music--venues
where its understated profundity can be
received by an audience willing to absorb it
into their hearts and minds.
The name of the band is drawn from
a line in the poet Seamus Heaney’s poem
“Digging,” where he describes the labor of
his father and father’s father--digging in the
dirt--and draws an analogy to his own, more
ephemeral digging with a pen. “Between my
finger and my thumb/The squat pen rests./I’ll
dig with it.”
The poem, Maynard explains, speaks to
“His [Heaney’s] lineage as a writer and how
his father and grandfather dug turf and he
digs with his pen for words. That seemed to
resonate with what we’re trying to do.”
What they are striving to do “Is [to]create music that rests lightly on the shoulders
of traditional, ballad driven americana folk
Photo contributed
Living Roots Trio draws inspiration from the local landscape and views their work as an act of metaphorical digging in the soil.
while still lyrically and musically upsetting
those expectations,” and creating their own
sound, Witri steps in to explain. The result
is, as Maynard describes it, “Folk-rock with
classical and jazz influences, teasing the line
of spoken word but keeping it melodic.”
Maynard is a classically trained guitarist who
plays with the Berkshire based trio Quiet
in the Head. Bandmates from that group-Jonathan Talbott (violin) and Jonah Thomas
(cello) appear on tracks of “To All Things,”
adding layers of sound to Maynard’s sparse
and intricate guitar.
Their music shares a common origin
with traditional folk in the sense that it arises
from regional specificity: all three band
members were born in New York state and
have spent a portion of their adult lives living in the Hudson Valley, which is the region
that has come to foster this project. The
trio recorded their album at Humble Abode
studios in West Hurley, NY where their
producer and engineer was Mike Merenda,
former frontman of americana band “The
Mammals.”
In a literal sense, this landscape has permeated their creation. “As these songs were
forming I lived in a barn,” Maynard recalls.
“I would go out there and write music all the
time.” Maynard, for all intents and purposes,
acts as the frontman/songwriter of the group,
but when I refer to him as such, he demurs.
“I come up with the skeleton. Ostensibly I’m
the songwriter but it is also a collaboration.”
He emphasizes how crucial input, especially
from Witri, is to his process.“When me and
Meg started hanging out, she’d overhear me
working on different ideas and we started
having a dialogue,” he remembers.“I used
to have a very hard time completing songs.
But now I share it with Meaghan and that...is
very helpful.”
Witri also describes how their shared
experience of the landscape has been
foundational to the group’s creative process.
“We spend a lot of time driving around the
Catskills, the Berkshires, and Dutchess county,” playing shows, and there is something
uniquely inspirational about the northeast.
“The mountains and the water create a
particular contemplative space, and this landscape makes certain conversations possible
between people.”
Those conversations are not limited to
one tone or dimension, much like the music
and the larger shifting of the seasons. “The
stillness and quiet of the winter, the explosion of summer. There’s a rhythm to that that
lends itself to the creative process.”
They are also quick to appreciate the
talents of their bandmate. “Seth has a lot to
offer with arranging suggestions and brings
his magic with the bass which adds a whole
dimension,” Maynard explains.
They see their work fitting in to a larger
community context which includes a lot of
farmers. “There’s a community of farmers-people who relate to what we’re doing and
want to help support it. They have made
space for us and helped get the word out
through their CSA memberships.” Meaghan
explains.
They also have an evolving, esoteric
vision of building community through the
transmission of their musical currency,
in much the same way that CSAs create communities around a particular farm
through their memberships. “If music could
work the way farming works that would
be awesome. What a CSA is doing for the
community is an ideal that I would like to
translate into a structure that makes sense
for this band.”
That vision is still evolving, but it is also
happening just by nature of what they are
doing. “I think that [the] exchange [of music]
can build community and effect change.”
Witri affirms. “Music can build community
beyond the bounds of location. To do that is
an enigmatic magical process. So far there’s
a lot of momentum and a lot support. I think
the music is finding its home.”
Maynard agrees that music is a mode
of exchange that both arises from and
transcends its particular circumstances of incubation. “When I was younger I thought the
context would find me but more and more I
realize that we as artists have to be willing
contribute a lot to the creation of context and
the people who want to help you.”
He suggests that one does not only find
the context which welcomes your creative
expression, but also help to shape it. This is
what Witri refers to as a “challenge/opportunity” and it is one they have had to grapple
with in a practical, as well as existential
sense. “We have to seek out places where
this music is accessible.” Witri explains.
Their somewhat sparse and carefully crafted
sound would not work well in a pub scene,
for instance. They have played successful
gigs at No. 6 Depot in West Stockbridge and
Helsinki in Hudson, amongst other locations,
and have begun to cultivate a strong local
following.
“Artistically you’re always trying to
stretch into the unknown,” Maynard muses.
“There is never a point of arrival.” For the
Living Roots Trio, that journey is just beginning.
You can witness the Living Roots
Trio live at the Down County Social Club
in Sheffield on April 7th at 8:00 p.m. For
upcoming shows or to purchase their new
album visit thelivingrootstrio.com.
25
48
26
new times 2015 halloween guide special section
o c t o b e r 2 9 th- n o v e m b e r 4 th 2 0 1 5
`Music
`
DJ BFG: Beats
for Geeks
and bootyfocused
grooves
By Clelia sweeney
I
n Gypsy Joynt, everyone’s favorite grunge Wonderland, DJ BFG
is strutting in place in black heels,
rocking over the technofunk wails
coming from their Serato mixer. The
fringe on the
rafters is shak►► dj bfg is a
ing but nobody
staple of the
is dancing yet,
berkshire
just sipping
music scene
their drinks and
eyeing the open
floor with feigned nonchalance. A potpourri of pop culture sounds thunders
from the speakers – hooks from classic
dance and hip-hop tracks blended
through hypnotic, winding beats. The
DJ nods and bobs their head, headphones pulsing with sound. Suddenly,
a gaggle of preteen girls leap out onto
the floor and start twirling in their Ugg
boots.
DJ BFG is in fact Gabriel Squalia, a
multi-genre DJ and fixture at all the best
Berkshires parties. Currently based in
Pittsfield, they have been working in the
area for 15 years and seem to know everyone. But they got their start at a bar
in Queens, NYC, as well as their name.
The bar is called Fatty’s, and owner
jocularly referred to everyone who
came into the bar as Fatty; so on their
first night the sandwich-board outside
read, “Tonight: Big Fat Gabriel DJ-ing.”
Gabriel says, “I looked and saw BFG,
thought of the Roald Dahl book, and
thought well, we’ll just work out what
this means later. So over the years I’ve
interpreted it to mean Beats for Geeks,
the name of my annual best-of-theyear playlist, and my personal favorite,
Booty-Focused Grooves.”
It was a case of writer’s block that
started Gabriel in becoming a DJ. They
write “dark, funny fiction in fantasy
worlds” à la Neil Gaiman or China
Mieville, and plotted their first fullfledged novel at age 10. Dead Boys
(2015) is their most recent release, and
they’re currently working on a book
called Viscera. But while living in
New York and not being able to write,
they realized that, “I would make mix
CDs for people, and I was spending
DJ BFG, aka Gabriel Squalia got their start in NYC and has been performing in the Berkshires for 15 years.
so much time doing this that it started
to seem a little odd to me. Like, I’m a
grown person and I’m still spending
so much of my life making mixes for
people.” Luckily Scratch DJ Academy
had recently opened in the city by Jam
Master Jay of Run DMC, and from one
class Gabriel knew they had hit upon
something great.
They are happy to take requests, and see
them as helpful in knowing what their
crowd wants, although it’s something
they’ve adapted to over the years. “At
a great party, there’s a moment where
everything kind of clicks into place and
everyone decides that I’m allowed to do
whatever I want, and that’s what I kind
of aim for,” they explain. “The sooner
photo contributed
DJ BFG is a writer as well, having plotted their first novel at age 10 and recently
publishing their latest novel in 2015, titled “Dead Boys.”
Close attention and a symbiotic
relationship with their crowd is what
makes Gabriel so good at what they do.
we can get that out of the way, the better. It usually takes about an hour unless
people are already very drunk; then it
photo contributed
can be foreshortened.” At their show at
Gypsy Joynt, I downed a couple “Sex
on a Surfboard” cocktails (antifreezeblue, tastes like liquid gummy bear) and
stepped out onto the empty dance-floor
with my friend. Others followed soon
after and it turned into a real dance
party, shaking hips and hair amid cheers
at each surge or beat-drop. And Gabriel
was right with us. As they say, “The
way I think about my job, I have half
my brain behind the turntables and half
my brain on the dance-floor.”
Gabriel identifies as non-binary and
genderqueer, something that has been
ongoing throughout their life but only
recently become part of their public
persona. It has been something that
feels right both for their career and
life, although slight compromises are
occasionally helpful in professional
situations. “For the moment I am happy
to do some dress-up and present as
masculine when I’m sitting down for an
initial wedding interview,” they explain.
Much of Gabriel’s work comes in the
May-October wedding and gala season.
They have performed at the Simon’s
Rock College Mayfest/Prom for nearly
a decade and are the Special Events
DJ for Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival.
They’re also a Gypsy Joynt regular, currently performing monthly and weekly
during July-August.
If you’d like to get in touch with
them to make your next bash something
unforgettable, you can email them at
[email protected].
27
`Music
`
venues
n.w. CONNECTICUT
norfolk, ct
from across the country.
425 Park Street, Housatonic
(413) 274-0020
brickhousema.com
new marlboro
gedney underground
Infinity music hall
Built in 1883 in picturesque Norfolk in
northwestern Connecticut, Infinity Hall is an
intimate music, dining and entertainment
destination. Newly renovated, the historic
building features its original proscenium
stage and wood, as well as many other
notable details. Whether it’s dinner and
a show, Infinity Music Hall & Bistro can
provide it.
20 Greenwoods Road, Norfolk, CT
(860) 542-5531
infinityhall.com
w. MASSACHUSETTS
BECKET
A complex of spectacular period architecture
with gambrel slate and cedar roofs, and
beautifully detailed dormers and cupolas.
In the renovation of Gedney Farm, the
architect aspired to integrate the most
distinctive stylistic elements and architectural
features of two different eras. As a result, the
original architectural features of the barn are
strikingly preserved within a contemporary
and adventuresome interior space. Today
Gedney Farm has been boldly transformed
into a unique lodging facility, featuring 16
elegantly appointed guest rooms and suites
in the former cattle barn, many with granite
fireplaces, some with large tiled whirlpool
tubs. Located across a courtyard is the former
horse barn, now used as an exceptional space
for weddings, special events and live musical
performances.
34 Hartsville-New Marlboro
Road, New Marlboro
(413) 229-3131
gedneyfarm.com
NORTH ADAMS
entertainment, but also can be a catalyst
for change. They host a variety of events
at various locations within the Berkshires
and neighboring counties. On the second
Thursday of every month they hold a free
event at The Parlor Café in North Adams
with the intention of providing accessible
events for the community. In addition, we
also present a free young artist series where
they bring in musicians and poets who are
in the earlier stages of their careers to
highlight up and coming regional creative
efforts. This group of young artists believes
that we all have something in common.
DOTTIE’S COFFEE LOUNGE
87 Main St, North Adams
(413) 668-4531
wearecommonfolk.blogspot.com
444 North Street, Pittsfield
(413) 443-1792
DOTTIESCOFFEELOUNGE.COM
Mass Moca
Want to grab a beer? Stop by MASS MoCA’s
beer garden. Drinks are served from the
Hunter Center and Club B. More than 80
major new works of art and more than 50
performances have been created through
fabrication and rehearsal residencies in
North Adams, making MASS MoCA perhaps
the most fertile site in the country for new
art. The museum thrives on making and
presenting work that is fresh, surprising,
and challenging.
37 Marshall Street, North Adams
(413) 662-2111
massmoca.org
pittsfield
Dottie’s is a coffee shop that loves people
and coffee. As of this past summer,
Dottie’s has made the transition to all
organic produce. Their passion is making
beautifully presented food that brings
your body the highest nutrition possible.
Serving breakfast all day Dottie’s is a
comfortable place to hear live music.
A very special feature of Dottie’s is their
Domingo Brunch series on the first Sunday of
every month. While enjoying delicious food
from the kitchen, you can also hear some
sweet sounds from local musicians.
Mission Bar + Tapas
For a relaxing intimate atmosphere to take in
a drink and hear some great music Mission
Bar and Tapas is at the top of the list. The
venue located in Pittsfield’s downtown, the
bar and music hall offers food throughout
the day and a full bar as well as a special
brunch menu. The site is host to several
house bands performing weekly as well as
special performances and a host of the areas
top musicians. The Picky Bastards and Andy
Wrba & Friends play weekly at Mission. An
open mic night is also offered every Tuesday
to showcase local undiscovered musicians.
438 North Street, Pittsfield
missionbarandtapas.com
missionbarandtapas.com
The Dream Away Lodge
The Dream Away Lodge has been a Berkshire
legend for more than 90 years. Rumored to
have been a brothel and speakeasy during
the Great Depression, this two-hundredyear-old farmhouse at the edge of October
Mountain State Forest is a great place to eat
a fantastic dinner, enjoy a glass of wine or
one of their specialty cocktails. They have
live music each week.
1342 County Road, Becket
(413) 623-8725
www.thedreamawaylodge.com
housatonic
The Parlor Cafe
Open in 2012, picking up where the former
Elf Parlor left off, The Parlor Cafe offers North
Adams residents and visitors alike affordable
light fare, quality early morning coffee, great
local beer and wines and frequent musical
and other night time performances by a range
of local artists.
303 Ashland Street, North Adams
(413) 346-4279
THEPARLORCAFE.COM
The Brick House Pub
Located in the heart of Housatonic, this bar
has an impressive mixture of great beer, great
food, and great music to make it a can’t-miss
destination. The space is also home to a series
of local artists and performances from bands
28
Common Place
Artists of Common Folk support the idea
that art not only functions as a form of
Colonial Theatre
PortSmitt’s Restaurant
111 South Street, Pittsfield
(413) 448-8084
berkshiretheatregroup.org
320 Peck Road, Pittsfield
(413) 236-5727
portssmittsrestaurant.com
Built in 1903, the theater was host to many
theater greats including George M. Cohan,
Sara Bernhardt, John Barrymore, and the
Ziegfeld Follies. Although the theater was
closed in 1951, its grandeur had been
protected through the years. The Colonial
Theater was named by Hillary Clinton as a
National Historic Treasure in 1998. Many
notable performers have since graced the
stage of this historic Berkshire landmark,
including James Taylor.
PortSmitt’s Restaurant has quickly become
a “Berkshire dining favorite” under the
guidance and expertise of local chef Mike
Lewis. For years, Chef Lewis has served
Berkshire County residents and visitors
alike. In addition to being an outstanding
restaurant, PortSmitt’s Restaurant has also
begun hosting great local music from bands
in the Berkshires. For more information, see
their website or just give them a call at the
number listed below.
Rainbow restaurant
The Rainbow Restaurant serves up live music
on a weekly basis and never requires a cover
charge. Offering a menu of American, Greek,
Meditteranean and Italian cuisine, which
includes pizza, pasta and craft beer, there’s no
better place in Pittsfield for such an excellent
combination of food and music. Stop by to
enjoy the local music of the Berkshires.
109 First St, Pittsfield
(413) 443-0002
dinerainbow.com
The Lion’s Den pub
Located downstairs at The Red Lion Inn,
the pub offers entertainment seven nights
a week, and never a cover charge. There’s
different entertainment each night, with
regular appearances by local performers
including David Grover, the Sun Mountain
Fiddler, and the Housatonic Philharmonic,
offering everything from acoustic folk to R&B,
from reggae to the blues.
30 Main Street, Stockbridge
(413) 298-5545
redlioninn.com
great barrington
The primary activity of Cricket Creek is
raising dairy cows for their good milk.
They sell raw milk and use the rest to make
into artisanal cheese in their farmstead
creamery. They also have a bakery on
site, which supplies fresh baked goods to
our farm store. We raise grass-fed beef
and whey-fed pork. We also have a small
flock of laying hens. We sell our goods
through our farm store, our diversified
year-round CSA, at local farmers markets,
and through various regional cheese
shops, food co-ops, restaurants, and other
establishments. From time to time the
farm throws stock-up parties. Live music
is played at these parties during which
the products in the farm store are offered
at a discount.
1255 Oblong Rd, Williamstown
(518) 828-4800
cricketcreekfarm.com
40 Melville Street, Pittsfield
(413) 236-9600
shirecitysessions.com
Sheffield
Down county social
club
Race Brook Lodge in Sheffield is not only a
working farm, hotel, and restaurant, it is also
home to amazing local musical talent every
Thursday night. The restaurant, Stagecoach
Tavern, is an award-winning restaurant run
by Chef Thomas John Lee. So if you’re in the
mood for a place to stay with delicious, local
food and colorful history and a variety of
musical performances, Race Brook Lodge is a
pretty safe bet. Berkshire County’s best kept
secret, the Down County Social Club features
live music every Thursday night.
864 S Undermountain Rd, Sheffield
(413) 717-7476
facebook.com/
downcountysocialclub
stockbridge
Helsinki Hudson
Get a taste of the Berkshires outside of
Massachusetts. Originally a mainstay in Great
Barrington, Helsinki crossed over to New
York and has thrived in the city of Hudson.
The venue offers both up-and- coming and
established bands as well as great dining
and drinks.
405 Columbia street, Hudson, NY
(518) 828-4800
helsinkihudson.com
Shire city sanctuary
Shire City Sanctuary is The Berkshire’s
First Makerspace. In the former Roman
Catholic Notre Dame Church in the very
heart of Pittsfield, Shire City Sanctuary
houses a screen printing shop, sewing lab,
commercial kitchen, studios, meeting space,
event space, and cyber office. Shire City
Sessions is their live music venue.
hudson, ny
Gypsy Joynt
The Joynt offers some of the best local
musicians the Berkshires have to offer, as well
as acts from across the country, and with the
stage at the center of the restaurant, seating
will put you right up in front of the acts for
an intimate fun showcase. If performing
is for you, try out your own talents with a
weekly open mic.
293 Main street, great barrington
(413) 644-8811
gypsyjoynt.com
tHE 6 hOUSE
Located in the scenic Northern Berkshires,
the 6 House Pub, an excellent opportunity
for local musicians to take the stage. With
weekly open mic and karaoke nights on
Thursdays and Sundays, the pub offers
plenty of opportunity for singers and
bands alike to get in front of a crowd and
perform. The pub also offers a wide array
of meal choices as well as a cornucopia
of drafts and other alcoholic beverages.
So, whether you are a local rising star
or simply looking to sit back and enjoy
what the area’s talent has to offer, look
no further than the 6 House Pub.
866 Cold spring Rd, Williamstown
(413) 458-1896
6housepub.com
Mahaiwe Performing Arts
Center
The Mahaiwe, an elegant theater in Great
Barrington with great acoustics and a
lush atmosphere that seats 700 audience
members, features a wide range of live
acts including many nationally renowned
musicians. It opened its doors in September
1905 and was restored in 2002 and registered
as an historical landmark. The hallways are
lined with photographs signed by the many
hallowed musicians that have graced their
stage.
14 Castle Street, Great Barrington
(413) 528-0100
Mahaiwe.org
Williamstown
Cricket creek
The half moon
This late night hang-out offers pool tables
and a variety of cocktails divided into two
categories: “shaken” and “stirred.” They
also have a selection of beers on draft and
hot dogs and chips to order at the bar. Live
music includes DJ sets as well as indie rock
and folk pop bands.
48 South Front Street, Hudson, NY
(518) 828-1562
thehalfmoonhudson.com
Pawling, NY
NEW YORK
HILLSDALE, ny
Daryl’s Restaurant
& Live Music Club
tHE mT. washington house
An historical tavern in the quiet town
of Hillsdale, NY, “ The Mount” offers
casual dining, pool tables, and weekly
entertainment. Saturday nights usually
feature a DJ or live music, and during the
week you can play pool or attend one of
their ongoing “Paint and Sip” events. These
events often have different themes such as
“Couples Paint & Sip” among others.
2627 state route 23, Hillsdale, NY
(518) 325-4631
mtwashingtonhouse.com
Owned by Daryl Hall of Hall & Oates, Daryl’s
House is the perfect place for audiences to
experience music and see musicians in a much
more relaxed setting. The venue, which is also
where the show “Live from Daryl’s House” is
filmed, is designed after Hall’s former 1770s
home in Millerton, NY. The venue serves
steaks, sandwiches, seafood and pasta and
features all kinds of musicians from cover
bands to jazz, rock, country and bluegrass
artists. Acts from all over the country come
to play at Daryl’s House; make sure you
don’t miss out.
130 Route 22, Pawling, NY
(845) 289-0185
darylshouseclub.com/shows
29
`Music
`
venues
s. vERMONT
Historic Route 7A,
782 Harwood Hill, Bennington, VT
(802) 442-7500
thepublykhouse.com
Bennington, VT
South Street Cafe
and Bakery
Performance Hub
Kevin’s Sports Pub and restaurant plays host
to live music from local bands and solo artists
alike every Friday and Saturday. Saturdays are
Open mic nights, which features area talent
as well as karaoke hosted by Ray Crosier.
Once a month, DJ Jimmy Woodard performs.
Located right in the heart of Bennington
since 1994, the South Street Cafe offers
a neighborhood cafe setting with light
breakfast and lunch food offerings. The
cafe, of course, offers coffee, roasted by the
Vermont Coffee Company. The setting, food
and coffee can be enjoyed while listening
to the live music performances they often
host. This cafe is perfect for coffee and music
lovers of all ages.
A performance venue as well as a non-profit
organization, the Hub hosts weekly open
mics that give musicians an opportunity to
showcase their talents, while ongoing events
such as the monthly songwriting and business
labs and musician’s roundtables create a
space for dialogue and mentoring amongst
artists. Open mics are every Thursday,
registration starting at 7:30 p.m. Other events
are on Tuesdays from 6-8 p.m. Email info@
performancehubusa.com to register.
27 Main Street, N. Bennington, VT
(802) 442-0122.
kevinssportspubandrestaurant.com
105 South Street, Bennington, VT
(802) 447-2433
southstreetcafe.com
45 Main Street, Torrington CT.
(860) 689-5550
performancehubusa.com
dip across the musical spectrum have vaulted
the band into regional favorites. You’re sure
to catch them at Weller’s home base, the
Gypsy Joynt, throughout the fall as well as
shows springing up across the county and
over the border in New York.
Website: jordanwellermusic.com
Phone: (413) 644-8811
Email: [email protected]
performances. You can find him working on
his solo project, Jackson Whalan, as well as
with his live band Technicolor Lenses.
Website: soundcloud.com/jackson-whalan
Kevin’s Sports Pub
and Restaurant
the Publyk House
Weekly live music events paired with a
wonderful view of the Vermont countryside
makes The Publyk House a great destination
for live music lovers. Live music is held in the
tavern every Thursday from 7-9 p.m. On the
first Friday of each month, Publyk also hosts a
Karaoke Night from 9-12 p.m. Come support
Bennington’s local music scene.
`local
`
bands
Tony Lee Thomas
Patrick Gray Jr.
Acoustic Rock
Gray comes from a musical family; he grew up
listening to his father play folk music whether it
was around a camp fire or performing on stage
to large crowds. “By 16, I was playing in local
rock bands,” Gray said. “Shortly thereafter, I was
bitten by the recording bug, after doing a few
backing tracks in a local studio.” He owns Shire
Sound, a cozy project/recording studio nestled
in the Berkshire Hills. His performances, which
have been likened to everyone from John Mayer
to Edwin McCain, can be seen throughout
northern Berkshire County.
Website: reverbnation.com/patrickgray
Indie Rock
Imagine the energetic strumming of Richie
Havens and the intricate finger work of Bert
Jansch. Add a vocal style that summons
Stevie Wonder and Martin Sexton. Then
take a songwriting vocabulary as poignant as
Ani DiFranco, playful as John Prine, and add
commanding stage presence, then you have
Tony Lee Thomas. In central Berkshire County
Thomas has become a must-see performer,
who is now catching on throughout New
England performing both intimate and
poignant solo performances and full-blown
commanding vamps with his rock band, the
Tony Lee Thomas Band.
Website: tonyleethomas.com
Phone: (413) 218-8307
Booking information: shannon@
wickedcoolproductions.com
The lucky 5
TBone Daddy Trio
Rock & Blues
Guitarist Tyler Fairbank, bassist Jeff Link and
drummer Lou Parreault form the high energy
blues, funk, reggae and rock trio that draws
from both old and new influences. Mixing
both original material and their own unique
spin on covers they have fast become a fan
favorite in the region. From contemporary
interpretations of iconic compilations to
original material, TBD pursues a tone that
is uniquely theirs. The group has produced
three albums and plays throughout the
northeast at clubs, festivals and theaters
Website: tbonedaddytrio.com
Ross jenssen
Whiskey City
Americana
This band has become a local favorite that can
fill any bar or concert with a packed crowd.
Led by front man Randy Cormier, joined by
band mates Frank Algerio, Beth Maturevich,
Dale Zavatter, Jason Webster and Tim Sears,
Whiskey City is a must-see act in the county.
Cormier’s star quality, unique, tireless voice
and infamous audience rapport have made
him a crowd favorite.
Website: whiskeycityband.com
30
Swing & Jazz
The Lucky 5 is a hard-swinging jazz band
that blends swing and gypsy jazz to
create a unique, foot-stomping blend of
music. The Lucky 5 performs both original
compositions as well as putting a new spin
on old jazz standards. The band consists of
Jonathan Talbott on violin, Don Mikkelsen
on trombone, Kip Beacco on guitar, Matt
Downing on bass, and Brian Kantor on drums.
Website: theluckyfive.com
Jordan Weller & The
Feathers
Funk/Reggae
This high-energy band meshes the laid-back
grooves and rhythm of Bob Marley with the
fun and flare of James Brown. Front man
Jordan Weller on guitar and vocals leads
the group also comprised of guitarist Rob
Sanzone, Miles Lally on bass, drummer
Jason Schulteis and organist Joe Rose. Their
original as well their own spin on covers that
Jackson whalan
Hip-Hop/Electronica
Coming up through Railroad Street Youth
Project, Whalan learned some of his skills
from local mentors in music. He seeks to
create a refreshing blend of hip-hop lyricism
with original music production, while
collaborating and engaging in frequent live
Heavy Future Groove
Ross Jenssen, brainchild of Berkshire
natives Brian Ross, Jules Jenssen, and
Sam McGaritty, creates heavy, futuristic,
instrumental music that intends to evoke
imagery akin to a wild journey through
time and space, or the cinematic score to
a dream. Ross Jenssen does this primarily
through electric bass and drums. Ross
Jenssen is here to take you there and back
and everywhere in between.
Website: rossjenssen.com
`Live
`
Music
I
Sunday, April 3
Last Fair Deal
12:00 p.m.
Daryl’s Restaurant & Live Music Club. 130
Route 22, Pawling, NY (845) 289-0185.
Immune Friction
Surf Grunge
Immune Friction started out as a pseudonym
for lead singer and guitarist Christopher
Dayton, until he met drummer and vocalist
Justine Curry, a native of Pittsfield, in 2010.
Dayton has been combining his gift for writing with his musical ability since his college
years. Curry has been sinmging since she
was four years old and picked up drumming
after she watched her older sister learn the
instrument while she was growing up. A perfect fit for one another’s musical style, the
two have been making music together ever
since. The duo play in their native Bennington as well as across the Berkshires.
Website: immunefriction.com
the picky bastards
Bluegrass
This bluegrass-centric power-duo is made
up of Chris Merendo, on banjo and vocals,
and Rob Sanzone on guitar and mandolin.
They always feature a rotating cast of allstar musicians. The Picky Bastards cover
music of all genres including old-time traditionals, modern pop hits and classic rock
and roll. They mix in their own original
music as well. All of the music they play is
performed in the guise of bluegrass. They
can be seen live at the Mission Bar + Tapas
in Pittsfield every Thursday and at the Bosquet Ski resort in Pittsfield on Saturdays.
Website:
robsanzone.com/thepickybastards
Amanda Ayala Band
7:00 p.m.
Route 22, Pawling, NY (845) 289-0185.
Rave On! A Salute to Buddy
Holly & Roy Orbison
1:30 p.m.
Infinity Hall Norfolk, 20 Greenwoods Rd. W.,
Norfolk, CT (860) 542-5531.
Local Music in the
Bistro in Norfolk
7:30 p.m.
Norfolk, CT (860) 542-5531.
Citizen Cope w/ Victoria Reed
7:30 p.m.
Infinity Hall Hartford. 32 Front Street, Hartford,
CT (860) 560-7757.
Monday, April 4
Jazz w/ Andy Wrba & Friends
Bella’s Bartok
Folk pop
Bella’s Bartok is made up of six extraordinary
musicians from Northampton. Their circusesque style and folk approach to pop make
them one of the more unique bands around.
The band is made up of Asher Putnam on
vocals, Jesse Putnam on accordion, mandolin
and guitar, Chris “Fancy” Kerrigan on guitar
and clarinet, Dan Niederhauser on bass,
Amory Drennan on trombone and Crisco
on drums and trumpet. All members of the
band sing. Daring you not to dance with their
up-tempo folk pop, they are a band you have
to see live.
Website: bellasbartok.com
dreamaholic
Indie Rock/Folk Pop
Composed of singer-songwriter Michael
Lesko, bassist and vocalist Maya Mortman
and drummer Tim Morrison, Dreamaholic
presents original songs that are atmospheric
and inviting. The trio was formed when
Michael and Maya met at the Stagecoach
Tavern and started jamming together.
Michael invited Tim to play drums and their
sound was complete. They bring individual
integrity andprofessional experience
combined with a lightheatredness and
ease that makes any audience member
or listener feel welcome. Catch the Great
Barrington-based dream team performing
around the Berkshires and look out for their
new album, being recorded this month.
Website: facebook.com/dreamaholic13
8:00 p.m.
Mission Bar and Tapas. 438 North St., Pittsfield.
Cameron Collins
8:00 p.m.
The Lion’s Den. 30 Main Street, Stockbridge.
(413) 298-5545.
Tuesday, April 5
Open Mic w/ Jordan Franklin
8:00 p.m.
Tom Carroll
8:00 p.m.
(413) 298-5545.
Wednesday, April 6
Open Mic
8:00 p.m.
(413) 298-5545.
Delta Deep
Rebel Alliance
Rock and reggae
As the Berkshires’ pre-eminent reggaeinfluenced band, Rebel Alliance preaches
the best of rock, reggae and improvisational
jam along with a whole host of other musical
genres. The Reb, as they are known to their
fans, is made up of Mike Wood on guitar and
vocals, Chris Gennari on lead guitar Michael
Wood on drums and Al Tayor on bass. The
four come from broad and diverse musical
backgrounds, each bringing their own style
and voice to the music in harmony with their
other bandmates. In a very short time they
have become one cohesive musical unit.
Website: rebelalliancemusic.com
the random concept
Rock
Originating in 1965 in western Connecticut, The Random Concept played with the
Andy Warhol group and was an active part
of the music scene in Greenwich Village
during the late Sixties. They play mainly
improvised rock music, as their band
name implies, so they thrive in live music
settings. They have even played the SXSW
stage, performing at the Austin-based festival in 2008. Gary Higgins, Dave Beaujon
and Terry Fenton remain from the original
group and joined by Dave VandeBogart.
Website: therandomconcept.com
Email: [email protected].
7:00 p.m.
Route 22, Pawling, NY (845) 289-0185.
Thursday, April 7
Picky Bastards
8:00 p.m.
Adams Brothers
8:00 p.m.
(413) 298-5545.
The Golden State Lone Star Revue
Route 22, Pawling, NY (845) 289-0185.
Open Mic Night
8:00 p.m.
Norfolk, CT (860) 542-5531.
Friday, April 8
The Transmitters
8:00 p.m.
(413) 298-5545.
Andy Styles
8:00 p.m.
Gypsy Joynt. 293 Main Street, Great Barrington (413) 644-8811.
Kris Allen w/ Seth Clier
8:00 p.m.
Route 22, Pawling, NY (845) 289-0185.
The Garcia Project
8:00 p.m.
Norfolk, CT (860) 542-5531.
Rosanne Cash
8:30 p.m.
CT (860) 560-7757.
Saturday, April 9
8 Foot River
8:00 p.m.
(413) 298-5545.
Dan Stevens
8:00 p.m.
The Hudson Valley
Jazz Ensemble
12:00 p.m.
Route 22, Pawling, NY (845) 289-0185.
Zoso - The Ultimate Led
Zeppelin Experience
8:00 p.m.
Route 22, Pawling, NY (845) 289-0185.
Rory Block-Professor
Louie & The Crowmatix
8:00 p.m.
Norfolk, CT (860) 542-5531.
The Citizens
8:00 p.m.
The Masonic Hall. 504 Main Street, Bennington, VT (802) 442-5549.
Sunday, April 10
Belle of the Fall
8:00 p.m.
(413) 298-5545.
The Wool Hats String Band
12:00 p.m.
Route 22, Pawling, NY (845) 289-0185.
8:00 p.m.
31
Shawn Mullins w/ Ellis Paul
7:00 p.m.
Route 22, Pawling, NY (845) 289-0185.
Local Music in the Bistro
7:30 p.m.
Norfolk, CT (860) 542-5531.
Experience the Best of
American & Mexican
Cuisines!
Authentic Enchiladas, Burgers,
Burritos, Homemade Jalapeno
Poppers, Ribs and More!
$6.99 • $7.99 • $8.99
Weekday Lunch Specials
All-You-Can-Eat Fish n’ Chips on Fridays
Fresh Lime Juice Margaritas & 10 Drafts
10 FLAT SCREEN TVS • DAILY SPECIALS
(413) 445-5300
Located in The Berkshire Mall, Lanesborough
Ryan Montbleau Band
7:30 p.m.
Norfolk, CT (860) 542-5531.
The Infamous Stringdusters
w/ Paper Bird
7:30 p.m.
CT (860) 560-7757.
Mockingbirds Master Motown
7:00 p.m.
Performance Hub, 45 Main Street, Torrington,
CT (860) 689-5550.
Monday, April 11
Jeff Potter
8:00 p.m.
(413) 298-5545.
8:00 p.m.
Private Room Available for Meetings & Functions!
OPEN 7 DAYS • EAT IN OR TAKE OUT • ONLINE ORDERING • SUNDAY BRUNCH BUFFET 11-3
www.dinerainbow.com • (413) 443-0002 or (413) 443-0004
109 First Street, Pittsfield, MA
32
Friday, April 15
Diva and the Dirty Boys
8:00 p.m.
(413) 298-5545.
Rocksteady!
8:00 p.m.
Mad Satta
8:00 p.m.
Route 22, Pawling, NY (845) 289-0185.
Jonathan Edwards
8:00 p.m.
Norfolk, CT (860) 542-5531.
Graham Parker Duo w/
Brinsley Schwartz
8:30 p.m.
CT (860) 560-7757.
Saturday, April 16
Bella’s Bartok: CD
Release Masquerade
8:00 p.m.
(413) 298-5545.
The Lucky 5
Tom Corrigan
8:00 p.m.
Every Wednesday
Gruppo Mondo | Best Jazz in the Berkshires | 7:30 pm | No Cover
with Special Guests Tom Major 4/6 & 4/13 Jerry Marotta 4/20 & 4/27
Every Friday
Blue Light Trio | Classical & Original Jazz | 7:30 pm | No Cover
Tuesday April 5
“California Dreamin” | Flight Beer Night | 6:30 pm
Saturday April 9
Todd McLeod | Great Acoustic Covers & More | 7:30 pm | No Cover
Tuesday April 12
Tequila Night | Flight of 4 Different Tequilas | 6:30 pm
Saturday April 16
Alyx Coe | Classic Rock Covers | 7:30 pm | No Cover
Tuesday April 19
Fetzer Wine Night | Collaboration of Amazing Food & Wine | 6:30 pm
Saturday April 23
David Bartley | Blues & Jazz Favorites | 7:30 pm | No Cover
Tuesday April 26
Rainbow Beer Club Monthly Meeting | 6:30 pm
Saturday April 30
Dan Gingras | Classic Covers & More | 7:30 pm
8:00 p.m.
CT (860) 560-7757.
Tuesday, April 12
ENTERTAINMENT & EVENTS
Robert Randolph and
the Family Band
Wednesday, April 13
8:00 p.m.
The Colonial Theatre, 111 South Street,
Pittsfield (413) 448-8084.
8:00 p.m.
(413) 298-5545.
The B.T.U.’s
Dan Stevens
8:00 p.m.
Jesse Dee
12:00 p.m.
Route 22, Pawling, NY (845) 289-0185.
8:00 p.m.
(413) 298-5545.
7:00 p.m.
Route 22, Pawling, NY (845) 289-0185.
Thursday, April 14
Two Bit Cowboys
8:00 p.m.
(413) 298-5545.
Walter Trout
8:00 p.m.
Route 22, Pawling, NY (845) 289-0185.
Picky Bastards
8:00 p.m.
Open Mic Night at the Bistro
8:00 p.m.
Norfolk, CT (860) 542-5531.
Mike Casey & Friends
Greg Brown
8:00 p.m.
Route 22, Pawling, NY (845) 289-0185.
Water Trout
8:00 p.m.
Norfolk, CT (860) 542-5531.
Howie Day w/ Brian Jarvis
8:00 p.m.
CT (860) 560-7757.
Wild Reeds
8:00 p.m.
Sunday, April 17
Rakish Paddy
8:00 p.m.
(413) 298-5545.
The Shoe String Band
12:00 p.m.
Route 22, Pawling, NY (845) 289-0185.
Picky Bastards
8:00 p.m.
Jimmie Vaughan & The
Tilt-A-Whirl Band
8:00 p.m.
Norfolk, CT (860) 542-5531.
8:00 p.m.
Norfolk, CT (860) 542-5531.
7:00 p.m.
Route 22, Pawling, NY (845) 289-0185.
7:30 p.m.
Norfolk, CT (860) 542-5531.
Stick Men
7:30 p.m.
Norfolk, CT (860) 542-5531.
Curtis Brothers Quartet
& Orice Jenkins
7:30 p.m.
CT (860) 560-7757.
Monday, April 18
Pat Metheny & Ron Carter
Jethro Tull’s Martin
Barre Band
8:00 p.m.
CT (860) 560-7757.
Friday, April 22
Rock Steady!
8:00 p.m.
(413) 298-5545.
Wes Buckley
Christopher John
8:00 p.m.
8:00 p.m.
Route 22, Pawling, NY (845) 289-0185.
8:00 p.m.
(413) 298-5545.
8:00 p.m.
Tuesday, April 19
Gary Jones
8:00 p.m.
(413) 298-5545.
8:00 p.m.
Wednesday, April 20
Chris Merenda
8:00 p.m.
(413) 298-5545.
Stick Men w/ Tony Levin
and Pat Mastelotto
7:00 p.m.
Route 22, Pawling, NY (845) 289-0185.
Pat Metheny & Ron Carter
8:00 p.m.
Norfolk, CT (860) 542-5531.
Thursday, April 21
TuTu Much
8:00 p.m.
(413) 298-5545.
Kawehi
8:00 p.m.
Route 22, Pawling, NY (845) 289-0185.
David Lindley
Parsonsfield
8:00 p.m.
Norfolk, CT (860) 542-5531.
Masters of the Telecaster
w/ Jim Weider & G.E.
Smith & Tom Principato
8:30 p.m.
CT (860) 560-7757.
Saturday, April 23
Small Town Reunion
8:00 p.m.
(413) 298-5545.
Jordan Weller & The Feathers
8:00 p.m.
The Shovel Ready String Band
Sunday, April 24
Rob Sanzone Duo
8:00 p.m.
(413) 298-5545.
Alexis P. Suter & The
Ministers of Sound
12:00 p.m.
Route 22, Pawling, NY (845) 289-0185.
Mutlu - EP Release Party
7:00 p.m.
Route 22, Pawling, NY (845) 289-0185.
7:30 p.m.
Norfolk, CT (860) 542-5531.
The Jackie McLean
Institute of Jazz
7:30 p.m.
CT (860) 560-7757.
Monday, April 25
Sandy & Sandy
8:00 p.m.
(413) 298-5545.
8:00 p.m.
Tuesday, April 26
Tony Bernardo
8:00 p.m.
(413) 298-5545.
8:00 p.m.
8:00 p.m.
CT (860) 560-7757.
8:00 p.m.
Norfolk, CT (860) 542-5531.
Spyro Gyra
8:00 p.m.
CT (860) 560-7757.
Friday, April 29
Lady Di and the Dukes
8:00 p.m.
(413) 298-5545.
Willie Nelson Birthday Tribute
8:00 p.m.
Rhett Miller w/ Belle
of The Fall
8:00 p.m.
Route 22, Pawling, NY (845) 289-0185.
Backyard Music Series
8:00 p.m.
Norfolk, CT (860) 542-5531.
Peter Wolf
8:30 p.m.
CT (860) 560-7757.
Saturday, April 30
Bigger Boat
8:00 p.m.
(413) 298-5545.
Hack Monet
12:00 p.m.
Route 22, Pawling, NY (845) 289-0185.
Alan Doyle & The
Beautiful Gypsies
Thursday, April 28
Beau Bolero Steely
Dan Tribute Band
8:00 p.m.
(413) 298-5545.
Rev Tor
Andy McKee
8:00 p.m.
Norfolk, CT (860) 542-5531.
8:00 p.m.
Wednesday, April 27
7:00 p.m.
Route 22, Pawling, NY (845) 289-0185.
The Smithereens
Picky Bastards
8:00 p.m.
12:00 p.m.
Route 22, Pawling, NY (845) 289-0185.
8:00 p.m.
Route 22, Pawling, NY (845) 289-0185.
Route 22, Pawling, NY (845) 289-0185.
Sweet Neon
8:00 p.m.
(413) 298-5545.
DJ BFG
8:00 p.m.
Jethro Tull’s Martin Barre
8:00 p.m.
The Bob Stump Band
Leon Russell
8:00 p.m.
Norfolk, CT (860) 542-5531.
D.A. Foster & The Shaboo AllStars w/ Duke & The Esoterics
8:00 p.m.
CT (860) 560-7757.
The Mike + Ruthy Band w/ Will
Mosheim & Carlin Berkhout
8:00 p.m.
J. Cherry & The Strawberries
8:00 p.m.
Performance Hub, 45 Main Street, Torrington,
CT (860) 689-5550.
33
`Theater
`
Murder
mystery with
a twist
Comical Mystery Tour
comes to Ventfort Hall
C
ome be an armchair detective
for the evening and watch The
Comical Mystery Tour present
The Killer Script, a hilariously
off-kilter murder mystery dinner theatre
show. They will be storming Ventford
Hall on April 23, at 6 PM. Their shows
are known for being interactive (if you’re
game!) and end►► comical
lessly entertaining.
mystery
If you ask, you will
tour offers even be given lines
attendees
and included in a
the
conversation on
opportunity
“stage.” Whether
to become
you prefer to dive
armchair
into the action or sit
detectives
back to watch the
madness unfold, you’re in for a raucous
and fun-filled evening.
Here is The Killer Script’s zany
premise: Producer RE Mote is working
on a soap opera called “The Numb and
the Breathless,” when he is permanently
canceled. Was it the director and ill-treated
brother-in-law, Frank Lee? The muchabused stage manager, Shanel Surfer? The
fatally over-acting player Foster Granite?
Or maybe it was the obsessive, chirpy
young actress, Sunny Delight. Only time –
and the audience – will be able to tell.
In production since 1995, The Comical Mystery Tour has had over 50,000
audience members viewing and/or participating in their programs. The troupe is
based in Western Massachusetts and has a
strong local following. Their spontaneous,
quick-witted style and adept improvisational skills create an infectious energy
that makes for an amazing evening. They
only have two rules for their audiences:
(1) Have fun and (2) Pay attention to
everything that happens and watch each of
the characters to see if you can figure out
whodunnit; but, if that is too much work,
go back to rule #1.
This show is not only guaranteed to
make you laugh, but the food served along
with it will tickle your taste buds in the
best possible way. Dinner will be a salad
course followed by Chicken Marsala. Dessert, coffee, and tea will also be served,
along with a cash bar serving beer and
wine. Tickets are $30 and seating is limited. Reservations to this unique theatrical
experience are required by April 15, so be
sure to snag some before it’s too late. Call
(413) 637-3206 to make your reservation.
34
Photos contributed
Top photo: The Comical Mystery Tour cast for the upcoming show, “Killer Script,” coming to Ventfort Hall on April 23. Bottom
photo: ZviDance’s multimedia dance program, “On The Road” is co-presented by Jacob’s Pillow and MASS MoCA.
Rebellion in motion: ZviDance comes to MASS MoCA
Z
viDance, a contemporary dance company based in
New York City, is offering a showing of their workin-progress rendition of the classic Beat generation
novel, On the Road, April 23 at 8 PM in the Hunter
Center. Jacob’s Pillow Dance and MASS MoCA are teaming up
to present the unique event, made possible by the Irene Hunter
Fund for Dance.
It will be an evening-length, multimedia dance piece that
explores cultural tensions of the 1950s and the riotous artistic
movement of the Beats, leading to the social upheaval of the
‘60s. Jack Kerouac’s novel On the Road earned him the reputation of being the defining voice of a generation of disaffected
youth, yearning for meaning and freedom.
Artistic Director Azi Gotheiner has been described as,
“as much sociologist as dance-maker” by Alastair Macaulay
(chief dance critic for The New York Times.) His company
was founded in 1991, and their work melds genres of dance
and performance design to create multimedia works exploring relationships and social community in the modern age.
Naomi Abrahami of Dance Magazine describes the company’s
performance style as, “a sensual, organic world of movement,
language, and images where one is pulled along by currents
unseen and inevitable.”
“Zvi’s On the Road is part of the secret sub-series we’ve
had this season about the 1960s,” says MASS MoCA Director
Joseph Thompson. “Alloy Orchestra’s scored a Jimi HendrixGrateful Dead concert video, Mikael Jorgensen’s Trimbin band
performed a concert of music they composed for lost Fred
Engleberg films, and now we wrap it up with Zvi choreographing for Jack Kerouac’s On the Road. Our co presentations with
Jacob’s Pillow are often highlights of the season. We’re looking
forward to this one, a journey with the Beats.”
TT
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RANSPORT
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EOPLE Inc.
Operating
24 hours a day ,
365 days a year.
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35
`vibe
`
Lee Meeting
House Concert
Series debuts
Series will showcase a
wide variety of local talent
Y
ou don’t have to wait until
a sunny weekend in June at
the Berkshire Gateway Jazz
Festival to enjoy quality local
music in Lee. The newly-launched Lee
Meeting House Concert Series, held
at the Congregational Church, has an
April concert line-up to titillate a variety of tastes.
Jack Waldheim and the Criminal
Hearts, a Hinsdale-based band of five,
blend their easy-going alt-country vibe
with rockabilly beats and heartfelt
lyrics. It’s the perfect soundtrack for
drinking beer in the bed of a pick-up
truck or a low-key backyard party of
close friends.
The show on April 15, 7:30 PM, is
an album release party for Love Tigers,
with a performance featuring One Part
Luck. It’s been a highly-anticipated release among their fans, funded partially
by an online donation campaign.
photo contributed
Atwater-Donnelly, shown above, is made up of married couple Aubrey Atwater (left)
and Elwood Donnelly (right) will perform at the Lee Congregational Church as part of
the Lee Meeting House concert series on April 24.
The second concert in the series
is Atwater-Donnelly, originally from
Rhode Island. The duo perform a staggering variety of instruments and songs
from many traditions, especially Celtic
and traditional American.
They have been married since 1989
and harmonize as beautifully as Simon
& Garfunkel. They’re famous for their
rapport with audiences, and even some
surprise Appalachian clog-dancing!
They’re coming to Lee on April 24, for
a relaxed afternoon show at 2 PM.
Another album release party happening at the Meeting House is that for
Paul Green’s Music Coming Together,
with a performance featuring Two
Worlds.
Green studied with noted clarinet
pedagogue Leon Russianoff; Keith Wilson
at Yale, where he received a bachelor’s
degree in theory and composition; and Joseph Allard at the Juilliard School, where
he received a master’s in clarinet performance. In 2009, he received an additional
master’s degree in jazz performance at
Florida International University.
The virtuosic jazz clarinetist
explores his roots by incorporating
klezmer and other traditional Jewish
music into his pieces, although he has
also released a classical album.
Green is a well-known lecturer and
expert on Jewish music, and is on a
continual quest to explore the interesting connections between klezmer and
jazz forms. Come and experience it for
yourself at 7:30 PM on April 30.
The Lee Meeting House Concert
Series is yearlong and ongoing, and
shows for the months ahead will be announced soon.
Expect a smorgasbord of classical,
folk, pop, and rock music, segueing
seamlessly into the Berkshire Gateway
Jazz Festival in June.
The concert series’ shows will
be hosted in the Lee Congregational
Church, located at 25 Park Place in
Lee.
Tickets for these shows can be
purchased at the Lee Chamber of Commerce Info Booth in downtown Lee,
the Lee Congregational Church or at
Wood Bros. Music, 5 Cheshire Rd.,
Pittsfield.
`First
`
draft
Lawson’s strikes
liquid gold
By Jesse Watkins
S
o we meet again, over yet another
fine beer. I am pumped that the
cold weather outside finally
started to break and the
warmth is peeking its head in for
brief moments. Bring on summer! Thankfully a close friend
of mine picked up a 4 pack of
“Lawson’s Finest Liquids: Sip
of Sunshine IPA”, the other
day and it just seemed right to
review it this month. These
guys are based out of Warren,
Vermont and brew in a couple
different locations in the Northeast. They are fairly new to the
beer scene but they have made
their mark. In this short period
of time they have managed to
brew some of the most amazing
beers on the market. Enough
talk, let’s enjoy this puppy!
Upon cracking this sucker open and
pouring it into my glass, I am instantly
hit with crazy aromas; very tropical fruit
tones, with hints of citrus peel, peaches,
and biscuits. A few fingers of fluffy foam
36
settle to the top of this very well carbonated golden elixir. As I take my first sip the
smells from before got much stronger but
are still very pleasant. My taste buds are
instantly in nirvana the moment the beers
flows over them. This beer reminds me of
summer on a tropical island every time I
drink it. Well balanced notes of passion
fruit, mango, peaches, citrus fruit/rind
and light caramel play very well
with the bitterness of the hops.
The booze is there but mingles
very well with the rest of the
beer. Coming in around 8 %
ABV you can easily put back a
4-pack with no issues and catch
a proper buzz.
All in all, they crushed it with
this beer! Unfortunately I have
to crush your hearts’ a little;
Lawson’s has been one of the
hardest beers to find in the
North East for years. It does exist in the area from time to time
but you just need to ask around
to find it. You might even get
lucky walking into a local package store and see it on the shelf
but beware, it will go FAST. I can’t
recommend this beer enough and if you are
lucky enough to taste it, you will realize
why. Thanks for joining me and get outside
and drink some beer!
CRYSTAL BOWERSOX
SAT APR 9 9PM
RAYLAND BAXTER
FRI APR 22 9PM
SEAN ROWE
SUN APR 24 8PM
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`Film
`
Knockout
blow to a
franchise
`Must
`
See
With ‘Batman v
Superman,’ everyone
loses
Hardcore Henry
(April 8)
There may come a time
in the future when this
first person action film
will be considered the
precursor to VR films.
Go see it. Enjoy history.
By eoin higgins
T
here’s a good movie lurking in
the shadows of Batman v Superman. Every once in a while
in this bloated, overly complicated, boring movie, you get a glimpse
of the potential that was squandered by
director Zack Snyder.
Snyder is really the problem here.
The director has a paradoxical inability
to compliment
►► Somehow
the visual
Some coked up
beauty of his
Warner bros.
films with
executive
actual story or
looked at
decent acting.
Snyder’s oeuvre
Somehow
and handed
some coked
the director
up Warner
the keys to
Brothers executhe superman
tive looked at
franchise
Snyder’s ouvre
and handed the director the keys to the
Superman franchise.
Man of Steel has been torn to
shreds so many times since its release
that it doesn’t serve much of a purpose
to go over its myriad failings other than
how they apply to BvS. The important
ones in that context are:
The destruction of half of a city and
countless lives during the super-fight at
the movie’s climax
Henry Cavill
Snyder’s joyless monochrome palate
The climatic super-fight at the end
of Man of Steel is a spectacle. It also
destroys half of a city the size of New
York and kills thousands of people. This
was criticized by reviewers for showing
such over the top super violence with
little consequences.
But really, that’s not a good criticism, is it? If there were a Supermanand-other-superpowered-being fight
in a major… metropolis… then the
destruction would be widespread and
many, many lives would be lost. This is
on balance a good point for a superhero
movie to make.
BvS, on the other hand, took the
criticism over its handling of innocent
lives lost in a clash between uninterested god-aliens and went so far in the
opposite direction that the movie has
no stakes. Every explosive battle is
Photo contributed
Henry Cavill (Superman, sort of) delivers another bland turn as the Man of Steel,
further dragging down a movie that was seemingly doomed from the start.
presented with the caveat, said by a media talking head or military personnel,
that there are no civilians in the path
of destruction. What could have been a
consequential rumination on the nature
of gods walking amongst us turns into
an easy out.
Henry Cavill couldn’t carry Man
of Steel, which is why the film begs for
distraction whenever Kevin Costner or
Michael Shannon isn’t onscreen (Amy
Adams’ Lois Lane is fine but she’s not
given enough to work with). BvS solves
this problem by essentially giving the
film over to Ben Affleck’s Batman.
Affleck saves the movie from being a complete disaster. He portrays a
decent Batman, less of the brooding
over-dramatizations of Christian Bale
and more of the hyper-violent insanity
that the character needs. Affleck is a
decent actor, BvS reminds us, and when
compared to the bland nothingness that
is the void also known as Henry Cavill,
this becomes ever more apparent.
But even Affleck can’t save the
movie from Snyder’s grimdark pretensions. The director’s unfortunate obsession with unnecessary grey tones and
endless rain in this world doesn’t serve
a Superman story well at all. While that
kind of gloomy atmosphere works with
Batman, it fails with Superman. Snyder
should have found a balance between
the two palates, but he doesn’t.
It’s as if the director watched Michael
Mann’s filmography before beginning
production and decided that grey-blue
color schemes were the main takeaway
from the Californian chronicler’s work,
and ignored the attention to character
development and story. This adherence
to color palate combines with Snyder’s
desire to recreate comic panels and Renaissance paintings in a visual style that is
beautiful but devoid of meaning.
Batman v Superman could have been
a very good movie in the hands of a better
director with a better vision. DC chose
Snyder. That was the wrong choice.
Still…. It’s Batman and Superman
fighting each other and Wonder Woman
is in it too. So let’s be completely honest with each other- nothing I say is going to stop you from watching this film
if you’ve already decided to. Nothing
stopped me from watching it either, and
I could have chosen any number of films
to review this month. So, go see it. Just
don’t expect much.
Everybody Wants
Some
(April 15)
This sports nostalgia
film focuses on the
1980s and a group of
ne’er do well freshmen
on sports scholarships.
Doesn’t sound like
much but it’s getting
accolades from all
corners.
A Hologram for the
King
(April 22)
I read the source material in a book club a few
years ago - and I don’t get
why this is being presented as a light hearted
comedy. This movie will
be bad. Don’t watch it.
37
3mortgages & equity loans
3community investment
Classifieds413-528-5380 Ext. 38
To place your classified ad(s), please call
YOUR CONNECTION TO BERKSHIRE County buyers & sellers
Fax: 413-528-9449 • Email: [email protected]
`help
`
wanted
• Deadlines
15th of the month before that month’s issue
• Submitting your ad
EMAIL: [email protected]
FAX: Fax copy to 413-528-9449
MAIL: P.O. Box 868, Great Barrington, MA 01230
Salisbury Trust
Wealth Advisory
Services
SWIM INSTRUCTOR
Otis Rec Center is seeking a certified American Red Cross, A personal investment
Swim America (or equivalent) instructor for July & August plan created with
in mind.
swim lessons at the Town Beach. you
Please contact 413/269‐4541 or [email protected] Securities and investment products offered through Salisbury Trust Wealth
Advisory Services, a division of Salisbury Bank and Trust Company are not
insured by the FDIC or any other government agency of the United States and
are not deposits or obligations of, nor guaranteed or insured by, any bank
or bank affiliate. These products are subject to investment risk, including
the possible loss of value.
www.noticeotis.com
SPRING HIRING EVENT
Bank Tellers
Connecticut
Thursday, April 14th • 9am - 2pm
860.435.9801
Massachusetts
413.528.1201
New York
845.877.9850
Full
and Part Time
salisburybank.com
Apply online and call to schedule your time slot.
Offering a $100 sign on bonus!
We have positions for assemblers, warehouse,
customer service, accounting & material handlers.
Salisbury Bank and Trust is seeking dynamic individuals who desire a career in banking.
We are looking for a few good part time Tellers to support our Massachusetts branches, and a
full time Floating Teller to support our©growing
retail operations. While previous retail banking
Member FDIC
Salisbury Bank and Trust Company
Equal Housing Lender
experience is preferred, we will consider strong customer service and cash handling skills.
Must be flexible with hours, and Saturdays are required.
Backed by a dedicated support staff, our Tellers perform a wide variety of customer service
operations and general clerical duties, including transactions for checking, savings, loans, and
other assigned services. As the Bank’s main point of customer contact, our Tellers take pride in
building positive customer relationships by protecting their assets, understanding their needs,
and offering products and services that are right for them.
76 North Street, Pittsfield, MA 01201
PHONE: (413) 499-5050 • FAX: (413) 449-5058
www.unitedpersonnel.com
If you’re ready to work for an organization that takes as much pride in its employees as it does in
its customers, then you’re ready to work at Salisbury Bank and Trust! Please bring your resume
into one of our convenient locations, or send your resume and letter of interest to:
[email protected] or fax resume: 860-435-5106.
Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.
Town of Sandisfield
Highway Department
EMTs Wanted
The Town of Sandisfield is accepting applications for the
position of Equipment Operator/Laborer.
The applicant must be able to lift a minimum of 50 pounds, have construction and
mechanical knowledge. The applicant must be willing to do labor work, drive truck
and plow snow. Must be able to follow written and verbal instructions and have
knowledge of various types of construction equipment. A CDL Class B license,
Hydraulic Class 2A and a 4G Mowing License are required within 90 days of hire date.
Think you have what it takes to work at a fast paced 9-1-1 EMS
service? County Ambulance Service currently has openings in their
ambulance division for highly motivated EMTs. Full and part time
opportunities are available for all level EMTs.
Please submit resume and 3 references to the
Town Hall Annex, 66 Sandisfield Rd., P.O. Box 90, Sandisfield, MA 01255.
Phone 413-258-4711 or email to [email protected].
Review of resumes will begin April 4, 2016 at 2:00 p.m. and continue until position is filled.
County Ambulance is a busy 9-1-1 and paramedic service
serving Berkshire County.
Please apply at 185 Wahconah St., Pittsfield, MA
or email [email protected]
The town of Sandisfield is an EEO/AA employer.
Board of Selectmen • Alice Boyd, Jeffrey Gray, John Skrip
HOW GREAT PEOPLE GET TO WORK
SPRINGFIELD
38
|
PITTSFIELD
|
EASTHAMPTION
Bash Bish Brewing
AUTO TECH
REPAIR
BEER BBQ PIZZA
Barbecue may not be the road
to world peace, but it's a start
-Anthony Bourdain
bashbishbrewing.com
facebook.com/bashbishbrewing
Brake Jobs • Suspension Work • Rust Work
Engine/Transmission Replacement & More
Used Auto Sales at Affordable Prices
Raul H. Villalobos, Owner
Office: (413) 464-7013 • Cell: (413) 329-5978
E-Mail: [email protected]
Open 7 days a week
Computer Repair
High Speed DSL
Web Hosting
Seasonal DSL
No Landline Required
1 East Hoosac Street
413-743-7044
Adams, MA
www.BCN.net
39
Èat
`
Berkshire
Humane Society
benefit events
and Iron Chef at
Hotel on North
BHS hosts benefits
Lasagna dinner, whiskey,
wine and whiskers
D
o your delicious part to help
a good cause by joining the
Berkshire Humane Society
(BHS) at Crissey Farm, 426
Stockbridge Rd. in Great Barrington for
its annual lasagna dinner on Thursday,
April 14, 4:30-8:00 PM. Meat and
vegetarian lasagna will be served, along
with delicious garlic bread and salad. A
cash bar will also be available, to keep
the party going.
A new feature this year is a special
Early Bird Special: from 4:30-5:30 PM,
dinner will be only $10. After 5:30,
adults will be $12 and children $6. After
`Book
`
review
Scott Hawkins’
‘The Library at
Mount Char’
By zazu Galdos
L
et’s set the scene: you’re home
after a long day’s work, your
shoes are off, your food is hot,
your couch is soft. Now, do you
pick up a new book by
an author you’ve never
heard of, or just click play
on a movie from your
favorite director? “The
Library at Mount Char”
by Scott Hawkins solves
this dilemma once and for
all—or at least, for as long
as it takes to finish this
incredibly compelling and
unique book.
A blend of Guillermo
del Toro, Quentin Tarantino, and the Coen brothers’, this page-turner juxtaposes the everyday and
mundane with the twisted,
bizarre, and extraordinary. The tone is set
from page one, as our protagonist appears
on the side of a highway, clothes drenched
40
dinner, you can try your luck at the
50/50 raffle. All proceeds from this event will
benefit the Purradise Feline Adoption
Center. Please help support the wonderful cats of our community, while also
enjoying an evening of fabulous food
and company. For more information,
call Purradise at 413-717-4244.
Later in the month, step out to Methuselah Bar and Lounge on Monday,
April 11 for a cocktail party to benefit
the Berkshire Humane Society (BHS). The festivities start at 5:00 PM. Tickets
are $25 and include two drinks, hors
d’oeuvres, and a night of music and
dancing with The Picky Bastards, a local bluegrass/Americana favorite. Late
arrivals are welcome, so don’t worry
about skipping dinner. Come to just
dance after 7:00 PM, when the suggested donation at the door is $10. All proceeds will benefit our homeless animal friends at BHS. Methuselah
Bar and Lounge is located at 391 North
St in Pittsfield, MA. Seating is limited,
so don’t miss your chance! To reserve
your tickets, email yukicohen@gmail.
com.
You can also purchase tickets
by stopping by BHS in Pittsfield or
Purradise Feline Adoption Center in
Great Barrington. For any more information, call 413-447-7878, ext. 131.
in blood, fantasizing about eating some
really good tacos. Her name is Carolyn,
and she’s been raised with her eleven fellow orphans in a place referred to as The
Library and by a person called Father, but
of course, as with all the best mysteries,
not everything, or everyone, is quite what
it seems. Those unaccustomed to nonlinear narratives may need to hold on to their
metaphorical hats for the first few chapters
as the reader is dropped in seemingly midplot. Flashbacks slowly and artfully pull
back the curtains on the tantalizing mystery, just to reveal more and more layers
of allegorical ingenuity.
When Father disappears, ostensibly dooming
humankind, the couldn’tbe-more-ordinary Steve is
roped into Carolyn’s macabre and machiavellian
world and all bets are off.
Will what they accomplish
together in a dying world
be better or worse than not
trying anything at all?
This engrossing book,
with its weird, funny
dialogue countering a
constant undercurrent of
bone-chilling eeriness,
will unite readers of all
major genres. It is now
available in paperback at your local independent bookstore.
photo contributed
Hotel on North will host the event, “Iron Chef on North” on April 20. Attendees will
each get a sample of each chef’s dish and two drinks customized to the dishes.
Iron Chef on North
Hotel on North hosts an
Iron Chef competition
W
itness some great culinary talent duke it out at an upcoming Iron Chef event at Eat
on North, held on April 20,
6-8:30 PM. It promises to be a thrilling and
delicious evening, with steep competition
from chefs hailing from Allium, HON, Main
Street Hospitality, and of course Eat on
North. The secret ingredient battle will be
held in dining room of the luxurious Hotel
on North in Pittsfield, MA.
Tickets are $35 per person and will get
you a sample of each chef’s dish, as well as
two drinks customized to the chef’s dishes.
Attendees will vote on best dish and cocktail
by ballot and we will crown the triumphant
winner of Iron Chef on North.
Participants will include Sean Corcoran
of Eat on North versus Jim Corcoran of Allium, in a Battle of the Brothers. Also competing will be Auron Stark of HON, versus
Dan Thomas of Main Street Hospitality in
a booze slam. There will be plenty of liquor
and beer, provided by Berkshire Mountain
Distillers, Big Elm, and Wandering Star
MC’s by Brian Alberg and Darie Rooney.
check out
THE Berkshire View’s
NEW weBSITE
THEBERKSHIREVIEW.COM
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And stay informed...
BERKSHIRE
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ShriBREAKFAST
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Camarones al Mojo. . . . . . . . . . . . 15.95
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Mon-Fri:
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Sat:Sat:
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Panchos
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lettuce.
Side dishes
Side dishes
($4.50 each)
6.95
• Chicken or Ground Beef Taco, Rice, Beans
• Chicken or Steak Quasadilla, Rice & Beans
Tamal Plate
Lettuce, tomato,
avocado, refried
beans, queso fresco,
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6.95
Empanadas.......................................5.95
3 puffed corn masa patties filled with seasoned ground beef and potato.
Chile Relleno
Homemade
Tamal topped
with lettuce,
guacamole,
pico de gallo &
crema, served
with rice and
beans.
Poblano Pepper
stuffed with beef, potato & cheese.
6.95
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3 Sopes Combo
Picadino, Steak
Chicken Mole.
FRIDAY
Soup
and
Salad
Ceasar
or Tossed
Salad &
your choice
of soup.
6.95
Flautas..............................................7.95
5 crispy taquitos filled w/meat, topped
w/guacamole, crema, lettuce, green sauce
& cotija cheese.
Tostadas (chicken or steak)..........7.95
2 crispy corn tortilla topped w/refried
beans, lettuce, tomato, salsa, Mexican
cream, guacamole and cheese.
Cocktail de Camaron.. . . . . . . . . .10.95 Quesadil a. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7.95
Shimp Cocktail Mexican Style w/ cilantro, Chicken, Steak, Veggie or Cactus.
SALADS
onions, special tomato sauce & avocado. Flautas.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7.95
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Rebosos con Molefacebook.com/theberkshireview
. . . . . . . . . . .burgers
. . 6.50 5 crispy taquitos fil ed w/meat, topped
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2 corn tortil as fil ed w/plantain, topped
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w/Mole Poblano & Sesame seeds w/cheese.
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3 puffed corn masa patties fil ed with sea- beans, let uce, tomato, salsa, Mexican41
Tamal....4.50
Cheese Nachos....5.95
Jalapeño Poppers..4.95
Fr. Fries..4.50
Sopes (Pork, Chicken or Steak)...8.95
3 corn patties topped with beans, lettuce,
Mexican cream, salsa and guacamole.
‘like us’
Nachos w/Steak, Chicken, Chili or
Ground Beef.......................................7.75
THURSDAY
Quesadilla.................................7.95
Chicken, Steak, Veggie or Cactus.
APPETIZERS
Rebosos con Mole..........................6.50
2 corn tortillas filled w/plantain, topped
w/Mole Poblano & Sesame seeds w/cheese.
Mozzarella Sticks..............................4.95
WEDNESDAY
413.499.2266
Voted “Best Margarita”
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• Cup of Soup & Taco
• Homemade Fries with Melted Cheese
•
APPETIZERS
Cocktail de Camaron....................10.95
Shimp Cocktail Mexican Style w/ cilantro,
onions, special tomato sauce & avocado.
• Rice, Beans topped w/ Cheese & Tortillas
(all day)
Pork Torta (Mexican Sandwich)
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‘Taco Day’
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1 5 6 N O R T H S T R E E T, P I T T S F I E L D , M A
Chikids
ps & Salmeals
sa.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2.50
Chips & Salsa Guacamole. . . . . . 4.50
lunch specials
Salsa or Jalapeños.. . . . . . . . . . . . .0.95
Sour Cream.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .0.95
Full gluten-free menu
Pico de everyone!
Gallo. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.50
Something for
Family-friendly
Rice or Beans..dining
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2.00
451 Dalton Ave., Pittsfield, MA
Fried Plantain. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.00
413-448-8112
Tortil as.. . . 1.50 Mole Sauce.. . .1.95
MONDAY
Mon-Fri 6:30am-2:30pm
Sat 7am-2:30pm • Sun 7am-1:30pm
156 NORTH STREET, PITTSFIELD, MA • 413.499.2266
Chips & Salsa..................................2.50
Chips & Salsa Guacamole............4.50
Salsa or Jalapeños..........................0.95
Sour Cream......................................0.95
543 SouthPico
Main
Street
de Gallo....................................1.50
Lanesborough,
01237
Rice MA
or Beans..................................2.00
Fried Plantain..................................2.00
Tues-Fri 7:30–12:00
• Sat & SunMole
7:00-2:00
Tortillas.......1.50
Sauce......1.95
Flan................................................4.95
Bailey’s Chocolate Cheesecake...4.95
Churros with Ice Cream.................4.95
Churro...............................................2.95
Dulce de Leche Cheesecake.........5.50
Mosaic Jello.....................................4.95
413.442.3567
~ Open 7 Days a Week for Lunch & Dinner ~
Pescado a la Veracruzana.............15.95
Fish fillet with sautéed vegetables.
Tasty breakfast,
& lunch
Camarones a la Veracruzana........15.95
Shrimp sautéed with vegetables.
options, all
Camarones Rancheros..................15.95
Shrimp cooked in our delicious Ranchera salsa.
made in-house
and fresh.
desserts
1245 West Housatonic St.
Route 20, Pittsfield
Pescado a la Mexicana.................15.95
Fish cooked in Mexican spicy sauce.
Camarones al Mojo........................15.95
Shrimp sautéed with garlic tequila sauce.
Hours:
370 Pecks Rd., Pittsfield
(413) 236-5727
Open Daily 11 am - Midnight
A U T H E N T I C
Served with Rice, your choice of Black Beans & Salad
Sopa de Mariscos...........................16.95
Mixed Seafood Vegetable Soup served with
rice & salad.
Happy
Holidays!
Daily Breakfast & Lunch Specials
Look for Daily Specials at
facebook.com/freddiesplace
berkshiremenus.com
& iberkshires.com
Panchos Mariscada........................18.95
Mixed seafood cooked with vegetables
served over rice with a garden salad.
Wings • Pasta • Soups • Sandwiches • Salads
Steak • Chicken • Veal • Pasta • Seafood
Breakfast Served All Day
Daily Specials
Try our Corned Beef Hash
Caesar Salad or Tossed Salad........5.95
Taco Salad (Chicken, Steak or Chorizo) 9.95
Lettuce, tomato, cheese, pico de gallo, guacamole, sour cream, salsa, beans served in
a tortilla shell.
Add Chicken or Shrimp...................2.95
Panchos Sampler............................30.00
3 empanadas, 2 tamal, 1 fried plantain, 3
quesadillas, 2 chorizos, 2 flautas, guacamole, pico de galo, salsa, sour cream.
Acapulco Salad...................................8.95
Lettuce, tomato, pico de gallo, avocado,
cheese & chips.
Mexican Salad....................................8.95
Lettuce, Avocado, tomato, cactus, scallions,
onions, Mexican cheese w/homemade dressing.
Panchos Burger Guacamole, Mexican cream,
queso fresco, lettuce, tomato, onions............8.95
(Served w/ home made French fries)
Cheeseburger......7.95
Hamburger............6.95
BERKSHIRE
ènjoy
`
the view
W
elcome to The View’s selfie
page where you can enjoy
views from View readers
throughout the county just
like you. Send us your best selfies: funny
selfies, celebration selfies, photo booth
selfies, animal/pet selfies, workout selfies,
mirror selfies, game selfies, celebrity
selfies, sunrise or sunset selfies, weather
selfies, photobomb selfies, family selfies,
team selfies or even selfie stick selfies.
To submit your selfie(s), send images(s)
to [email protected]. Include your
name(s), location and any other important
information.
Big Ben takes a break at Jake’s Variety to
see what’s going on in the Berkshires.
24 R
U
O
H
Moses of Berkshire Bio, a budding
sustainable-gardening business, relaxes
after chopping wood for the day.
New Marlborough Fire and Rescue
Cornell Griffin checks out the Berkshire
View on North
Street in Pittsfield.
Supporting “Team
Boults”
Bethany reads through last month’s Berkshire View cover story before taking a drive
in her brand new car.
TOWING
JUNK CARS WANTED
ROAD SERVICE
• Jump starts
• Change tires
WE BUY SCRAP METAL
• Container Service
SAYER’S AUTO WRECKING
Potter Mountain Road • Pittsfield 01201
• Serving Berkshire County •
New Marlborough Fire and Rescue
NewMarlborough
Marlborough Fire
and
New
Fire
& Rescue
Rescue
Supporting
“Team
Boults”
Supporting “Team Boults”
Supporting “Team Boults”
Chris Boults, a longtime resident of New Marlborough and great
friend to many, is currently receiving treatment for Lymphoma.
Chris Boults, a longtime resident of New Marlborough and great
Chris,friend
a dedicated
with
both NMFD
formerly with
to many, is EMT
currently
receiving
treatmentand
for Lymphoma.
Chris Boults,
longtime
resident
of NMFD
New Marlborough
and
great
Chris,
aadedicated
EMT
withAmbulance
both
and
formerlyhas
with
Southern
Berkshire
Volunteer
Squad,
taken
on
friend
to
many,
is
currently
receiving
treatment
for
Lymphoma.
Southern
Berkshire
Volunteer
Ambulance
Squad,
has
taken
on
this battle enduring multiple trips a week for treatments.
battle enduring
multiple
trips aNMFD
week forand
treatments.
Chris, this
a dedicated
EMT
with both
formerly with
Chris and
his
Boults”
are
notonly
only
facing
thistaken
battleon
Southern
Berkshire
Volunteer
Squad,
Chris
and“Team
his “Team
Boults”Ambulance
are not
facing
this has
battle
butthe
also
the transportation
expenses
during
histreatments.
fight.
but
transportation
during
his fight.
thisalso
battle
enduring
multiple expenses
trips a week
for
Tel. 443-1635
42
Craig Zatorski of Lakewood Tree Service
looks for through the music venue section.
Tohis
help
and show
yourare
support,
please
visit:
Chris
and
“Team
Boults”
not only
facing
this
battle
To help
and
show
your
support,
please
visit:
but also https://www.gofundme.com/4rm5yqsg
the transportation expenses during his fight.
https://www.gofundme.com/4rm5yqsg
QR CODE
HERE
To help and show
your support,
please visit:
QR CODE HERE
Thank you from
Chris and Janice “Team Boults” and New Marlborough Fire and Rescue.
Thank you from
QR CODE
Chris and Janice “Team Boults”
and NewHERE
Marlborough Fire and Rescue.
Thank you from
Chris and Janice “Team Boults” and New Marlborough Fire and Rescue.
Check us out online:
ShopStandardFurniture.com
66 Summer Street Adams
413.743.0960
Get what you really want with
your tax refund...we’ll help.
0%
Interest
or
for
36 Months
*
20%
Off
Extra
Furniture
*
Limited time offer...Shop and Save TODAY!
50% off Beautyrest
Mattresses Sets
* WAC. Some restrictions apply. See store for details.
Take the short drive and SAVE!!!
43
Mattress
Mattress Sale
Sale
Full Set
Queen Set
King Set
$299
$349
$n/a
Full Set
Queen Set
King Set
Avalon
Debonaire
s
ttres
a
M
Twin arting
StTwin
at
Set
99 Set
Full
$
Twin Set
Full Set
Queen Set
$469
King Set
$579
Queen Set
King Set
$249
$299
$349
N/A
$399
$449
$699
Backsense
Buckingham
Twin Set
$329
Full Set
$399
Queen Set
$449
King Set
$699
$599
Full Set
Queen Set
King Set
Kensington Euro
Twin Set
MemoryTouch
$399
Sunset Qu
Full Set
$449
QueenTwin
Set
$499
Set
King Set
$799
een
Start Sets
ing at
$499
299
$
Full Set
$599
Queen Set
$699
KingPT
Set
Elcombe
Denton
$899Euro
$449
$499
$799
Twin Set
$429
Twin Set
$499
Full Set
$579
Full Set
$679
Queen Set
$599
Queen Set
$699
King Set
$799
King Set
$899
King Set
$1199
King Set
$1799
$999
Anniversary
Hybrid Trust
Steinback Euro
Silver Euro
$999
$699 Twin Set
12 Mo
Twin
$649 Twin Set
&Set
y
r
Anniversary
e
No In nths
Deliv ovel
t
Everham
Destiny
Gold
See S rest*
Full Set
$1099
Silver
Euro Full Set
$799
m blSet
$749
tore F
e
ReFull
a
or
Detai
$899 Twin Set
$999
Twin Set
$749 Twin Set
avail
ls
Queen
Set $1299
Queen
Set $949
$849
Queen SetFull Set$799 $849
Full Set
Full Set
$1099
Queen
QueenKing
Set $1299
Set
$1799
Set
$899
King
SetSet $999
$1149
King Set Queen
$1099
King Set
$1299
bedding • furniture
home entertainment
Berkshire Mall, Lanesboro, MA • 413-445-8800
44
Mon - Sat 10am - 9pm • Sunday 11am - 6pm

berkshire - The Berkshire View

Transcription

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