The Local Spin: Chad Hollister, Groovicus, The Vegas Brothers and more music hits

Tonight, do not pass go, just head to the Lakehouse out on Bomoseen and catch my good friend Chad Hollister, doing “The Chad Thing”. Chad jokingly “scolded” me for still spinning his old CD entitled, “Life”, which I still love and listen to. So I dug through my CD collection and found “Spirits”, his more recent release, and gave it a listen. “Oh yeah,” I thought, “This is even better!” You can see the man himself in person tonight and I’m sure he’ll have a CD or two if you want your own copy.

You’ll find No Mercy, if you stop by Chaser’s Friday night — the band that is. Saturday night is all about Groovicus, a local all-star band for sure. I remember seeing members of this band, back in the day, at a pig roast out in Castleton. Kasey Franzoni can still belt out the tunes like nobody’s business, and the rest of the band definitely lay down what is appropriately called a groove. The groove is an underappreciated and rarely understood term, but when a band has got it — they’ve got it. Groovicus does, so go check it out for yourself.

The Vegas Brothers, Boys, Band is at Sidelines this Friday night. These good ole’ boys know how to rock’n'roll and are always entertaining. If you’re lookin’ to have a good time on a Friday night — they’re your band. While I’ve never heard of the band Face Plant, I have to applaud them for taking on a name that guarantees success … Think about it, if they do fall on their face, they are just living up to their name. Everything else is uphill. Rock on, dudes.

The Proctor Connection will be at Two Brothers on Friday, from 9 to12 a.m. in Middlebury. I haven’t been to Two Brothers since its recent renovations, but I’ve always enjoyed playing there and they definitely support local bands, so buck up and pay the couple bucks for gas and take a trip “up north” to see The Connection.

Speaking of up north, not so far up the road in Brandon there’s a band I just got a hot tip on, Bread & Bones, who are playing this Friday at 7 p.m. You can check out Richard Ruane on guitar and lead vocals, Mitch Barron on bass and vocals, and Beth Duquette on vocals at the Ball & Chain Café at the bookstore and let me know what you think.

This Saturday, Mr. Charlie from Blues For Breakfast has asked to borrow my drummer, Gary Miller-Wade for “The 13th Annual Jerry Fest” at Higher Ground. I said sure, as long as he was back for next weekend, when George’s Back Pocket kicks off The Rutland Long Trail Fest, downtown on Center Street at 6 p.m. For more information on Jerry Fest, go to www.highergroundmusic.com. And if you don’t have it already bookmarked, www.longtrailfestivalvt.com.

Well, personally I ain’t getting any younger, but I still love getting out and playing music. Way back when, armed with three chords and a voice like Lou Reed’s, I started playing open mics. Thank whoever-you-believe-in for open mics, because they are such a great way to learn the art of performing on stage and a way to test out new material. They are also just lots of fun. All that leads me up to the announcement that I will be snagging the only remaining weeknight, Monday, and hosting an open mic at Chaser’s on Evelyn Street. A couple of things will hopefully make this Monday night event noteworthy. First, I am starting (and ending) earlier, playing from 7 to 11 p.m. Second, I plan on changing up the format to keep it interesting and try to pull in a wider range of both listeners and performers. Come on down next Monday, Aug. 11 and find out more for yourself — and don’t forget to bring an instrument, a joke, or something to read …

This week’s “Local Song In My Head” is “Spirit’s Water” by Chad Hollister and trust me, it’s stuck (in a good way). Visit Chad’s Web site www.chadmusic.com or see him in person tonight at the Lakehouse.

… and by George, keep supporting live, local music!

George Nostrand is a local singer/songwriter, shameless promoter, and is still booking bands last-minute for the Rutland Long Trail Festival — stay tuned!

Give me some Spin! What’s going on with your band, your venue, or your cousin’s uncle’s brother’s band? If it’s musical and it’s happening in the Rutland area I want to hear about it. Send me an e-mail at localspin@gmail.com.