Words by John Powell. Photo by Kendra Merrill.

The crew of Girls Rock Vermont joined guest host Johnny Powell on Rocket Shop tonight:

I was stoked to guest host Rocket Shop again, this time with co-host Wylla Skye. We talked about our upcoming fundraiser in City Hall Park for the Solar Sister Project. We’re opening a nonprofit, solar-powered music venue and community space. The event is 2pm-8pm on Saturday, May 26th in the park. Music. Yoga. Food. Face painting. Massage. We got it all. More info is at www.solarsistervt.com

Then we met up with Christine Mathias and Naomi Gallmidi to talk about Girls Rock Vermont, a summer camp open to 8-18 year-old girls that want to learn music. It’s not just for rockers. Hip Hop, Country, and any other genre is part of this wonderful camp that helps break down stereotypes and the affects of media. It’s July 30th-August 4th and more info is at www.girlsrockvt.org.

Thanks to Christine, Naomi, Wylla, and Big Heavy World for another great Rocket Shop.

Photo by Lily Chau.

Jeremy Harple of the Aerolites with Joanne and Nick Sansone of Queen City Hot Club joined Taz and Shannon on the Taz Michaels Show tonight, playing live in the studio.

Thank you Erik Hopwood of With a K studio for producing this radio ad with Dani from Magic Hat, and thanks to Heavyfest sponsors 99.9 The Buzz and WIZN for broadcasting it! Erik also did a version that’s airing on 105.9 The Radiator.

Heavyfest Radio Ad

Words byJohn Howland. Photo by Shyne Lynn.

Hailing from Jericho, Vermont, Rough Francis, descendants of the recently rediscovered punk legends and forbearers, Death, joins the line up at this year’s 2nd annual Heavyfest at the Magic Hat Artifactory on Saturday, May 19th. Heavyfest, put on by Magic Hat with support from Halogen Media Works and many sponsors, is a  celebration of Burlington’s own non-profit music organization Big Heavy World. The festival features talented performances by Burlington greats as well as what’s sure to be a killer after party at Nectars.

After discovering Death, a Detroit punk band from the 70s comprised of their father and two uncles, Rough Francis was formed. Getting started covering the songs that pump ferociously through their bloodlines, Rough Francis is responsible for the rediscovery and resounding reemergence of Death—who has been described by Jack White as, “Ahead of punk, and ahead of their time.” A few years later, Death has been accredited for their tireless work that took place over thirty years ago and Rough Francis has moved on to their own gut-busting yet soulful ouvre of original tracks. In fact, the boys in Rough Francis are stoked to announce the release of their newest album ‘Maximum Soul Power’ which they hope to drop in the fall of 2012.

“We’re just really excited to get a chance to play with all our friends,” Bobby Hackney, the band’s vocalist and front man, said when talking about playing Heavyfest. The band couldn’t be more appreciative of all that Big Heavy has provided them—especially the van! “You get a nice sense of community when playing Heavyfest because it is a showcase of all different local sounds. It’s a cool way to do something different with some friends,” Hackney said as the boys look forward to reconnecting with many of the musicians they grew up with, while shaking things up on stage.

Be sure to check out Rough Francis and all the sensational acts that will be taking the stage at this year’s Heavyfest. For more information and access to Heavyfest’s lineup, check out: magichat.net/heavyfest or the home page of Big Heavy World. For more on Rough Francis be sure to check out: http://www.roughfrancis.com/ Don’t miss Heavyfest!!!!!

Photos by Kendra Merrill.

Bombardier to Pilot and Justin Remillard and Chris Pattison from Nexus Artist Management joined host Kelsey Hanrahan for ‘Rocket Shop’ last night

Chris Pattison & Justin Remillard from Nexus.

Hawthorne Heights

Thanks to Halogen Media Works, Big Heavy World has free tickets to Hawthorne Heights at the Rusty Nail on Tuesday, June 5 at 7pm, with local support by the awesomeness of Bombardier to Pilot as well as Life On Repeat, Forever Came Calling, Failsafe, and super prime.

Bombardier to Pilot

High School Juniors and Seniors – Get a group of four of you together and send the names of three local band names that you’ve been to see or want to see; your names/emails; and the name of the person who will be driving you to the show to info@bigheavyworld.com. Check the Big Heavy World Band Guide to explore Vermont bands you might not have heard of, http://bigheavyworld.com/bands.php . We’ll give the tickets away until they’re gone!

The Rusty Nail is at 1190 Mountain Road in Stowe (here’s the map). If you’re not a high school junior or senior but still want to go, check FlynnTix for info.

Photos by Lily Chau.

The Zach Dupont Band joined Taz and Shannon on the Taz Michaels Show tonight.

“I’m Christopher Johnson a graphic design student looking to gain some experience by offering services to Big Heavy and enjoy the local music scene. I tend to spend most of my time practicing illustration and experiencing pop culture. I also am hoping to learn website development and/or Flash animation. Although I primarily listen to rap and Vermont isn’t well known for that I do enjoy other styles of music as well. I heard about Big Heavy World through another volunteer who said it was awesome.”

Photo by Lily Chau.

Dave Keller. Photo by Lily Chau.

Words by John Howland. Photo by Lily Chau.

Montpelier’s own soulful bluesman Dave Keller stopped in this week for the second hour of a heavy-hitting Tazday Twilight Blues. Fresh off his big win for the Best Self-Produced Blues Album of 2012 at the International Blues Challenge, Memphis, TN, sponsored by The Blues Foundation, Keller is pumped and ready to keep pushing his music. Armed with a solid lineup of upcoming shows, Keller is looking to keep the fire underneath ‘Where I’m Coming From’ lit while preparing to head back to Memphis to take part in some co-writing, with some of the industries best. It won’t be the first time Keller gets to work with the greats; as it was an unforeseen encounter with his idol, Ronnie Earl, at a Stevie Wonder show that lit the match underneath his carrier.

After meeting Earl in 2009, Keller appeared on Earl’s 2010 album, ‘Living in the Light.’  The album received a BMA nomination and Keller has been steadily gaining recognition since—the Mighty Sam McClain said, “He’s for REAL. Y’all check him out!” Dave is definitely for real and its about time people started tuning in to what the twenty-year blues veteran has to say. Besides the thrilling success of ‘Where I’m Coming From,’ Keller is also still promoting his first, self-produced album, ‘Play for Love,’ released in 2007.

It couldn’t be clearer that the love is what it’s all about for Keller as we talked about the long road to where he stands today. “I tried to play anywhere that would have me,” he commented, when talking about his early pursuits in the Burlington scene. Keller didn’t start playing the guitar or listening to the blues until he got hooked on Hendrix and was half way through his English degree at Wesleyan University in Connecticut. “I was allowed to not be good enough and still play live,” he said as he talked about his love for Burlington’s supportive scene and his disappointment in society’s notion that you have to be talented to play on stage. Doing what you love is what drives Keller as he said, “If you keep doing things that you love, how can you not be successful at it.” Keller’s tenfold dedication to his passion is inspiring and should be a model for how we all go about our days.

Despite being a busy father of two, Keller has got a lot on his plate in the next month as he and good friend Johnny Rawls will be touring the Green Mountain State with shows at The Black Door, in Montpelier on Thursday, May 3rd at 8:00; The River Arts Center, in Morrisville on Friday, May 4th at 6:00; Stone Church Arts in Bellows Falls on Saturday, May 5th at 6:30 and Club Metronome in Burlington on Sunday, May 6th at 6:30. After his four-show stint with Johnny, you can look for Keller at the Rum Boogie Café in Memphis, Tennessee on Wednesday, May 9th at 5:00 and at the North Atlantic Blues Fest on the 14th and 15th of July in Rockland, Maine. I know I say it all the time, but I’ve been blessed to meet some truly inspirational and highly talented musicians. So, if you’re into the blues, you’re not going to want to miss out on what Keller’s got in store. For more information on Dave Keller and his growing career as well as live tracks check out:

http://www.davekeller.com/
http://www.reverbnation.com/davekellermusic
http://www.myspace.com/davekellermusic

Other Cities. Photo by Sophia St. John-Lockridge

Interview by Andy Bruhns.

Last week on Rocket Shop we had a great time talking to Duane Carleton about topics spanning from vinyl and album art, to The Band and locally grown Vermont music.  Duane, who hales from the Killington area, came in to talk about his new album ‘Rust’, which he dedicates to Vermont family farms. He says ‘Rust’ can be looked at two different ways; first as a collection of songs, each strong enough to stand alone, and second as a complete and cohesive “full album experience.”

Talking about old record styles and techniques led to the topic of vinyl records, something everyone in the studio could chip in on and get excited about. “I miss vinyl, I miss album art” said Duane, “there’s a lot of cool things about vinyl.  Like you got stuff that came inside the album, and it was also piece of artwork. It’s hard to get the same effect on a CD cover”.

It was clear that Duane was full of great stories from the road and accounts with famous music heroes. Before we knew what happened out time was up, but we hope he returns soon (and brings his 1963 Fender Stratocaster).

Duane Carleton. Photo by Michael O'Brien.

Until then you can go see Duane and his band The Backwoods Messiahs play an acoustic show at South Station in Rutland, Vermont, on May 5th.
Also on his website at www.duanecarleton.com

The Rocket Shop playlist:
Duane Carleton, “In a Nowhere Town”
Duane Carleton, “Leaving Despair” featuring Laura Molinelli
Duane Carleton, “Take Me to Chelsea” featuring Garth Hudson (of The Band)