Leave all your love and your longing behind, you can't carry it with you if you want to survive...

Again and unfortunately much too soon, the McLovins have suffered a loss, as a member of this ad hoc family has passed. This loss happened just as this extended brood was again gathering for a holiday performance and the event has rocked us all; nothing could have prepared anyone for this and it still seems almost inconceivable, an insane mistake that is just so very wrong. Ashley Kozlosky cut a path through this scene, touching countless lives while leaving a vivacious spirit and an infectious smile in her wake. Life is at times joyous but viscous, completely arbitrary and immovable, things may happen for a reason, but that doesn’t make it right.

The loss of a younger person is a doubly tragic event, not only is there the physical loss, but also the potential that will never be realized. The departed become as frozen in time; a snapshot of what was and what could have been, forever green in the bloom of youth. Ashley and her best friend Eve were both in the midst of this bloom; just starting to live their lives, the path ahead was laid out for both of them, now it’s become a solitary journey.

Ashley was a soft-spoken, thoughtful soul; incredibly talented and a fiercely loyal friend. She and Eve would spend hours working on their craft, designing and baking together, though Eve would insist that Ashley was the true baker of the duo. You could always count on her and her partner in crime to show up at a show with an amazing batch of cupcakes, inspired either the season or by the band. It was so appropriate that Eve came to the show just hours after hearing of her friend, bringing with her the unfinished cupcakes that she and Ashley had worked on the night before, I couldn't have imagined a more fitting way to honor her memory. I’ve known Ashley for 2 years and we’d become unlikely friends over a shared love of music and a kindred spirit due to the joy of this band. She’s leaving behind a wealth of memories but she’s also left us with a hole in the center of this family that time will help to fill, but along with the love and the memories, a dull ache of pain that will diminish but never disappear.

You can choose what stays and what fades away

And I'd do anything to make you stay

3 Faces of Close to the Line...

This summer has been a hectic and fantic time for The McLovins. After a nearly 6 week layover, the band has stormed back with a series of concerts that has cemented their position as a band to watch. As if there's any proof needed that The McLovins have really turned a corner and aren't looking back; I offer up for your perusal, 3 performances of Close To The Line. These 3 versions were performed during three consecutive shows in a span of 4 days earlier this month. Each performance is unique, each has it's own musical arc and the jamming in each is fiercely singular. Turn these up, there is something special happening this summer.

The Mclovins Live at Mills Pond (August 4 2011)

Close to the Line, middle of the 1st set

Dropped right in the middle of the first set, wonderfuly interaction between Jason and Jeff, funky and breezy, perfect for a calm summer eve.

The McLovins at Camp Creek (August 6 2011)

Close to the Line, the set opener

Fierce and assertive, an attention grabber and a kick in the teeth. Jake sets the table and Jeff and Jason serve it up, hot and tasty.

The McLovins Live at SoNo Arts Festival (August 7, 2011)

Close To The Line, 2nd set opener

This rendition sets the tone for the entire set, an aural assault, wonderfully funky and loose. A thick jam helps lead off this set off with bang.

Newport Folk Festival - The Cave Singers

Ohdarlingdear and I traveled down to the Newport Folk Festival this past Sunday primarily to catch sets from the Civil Wars and The Head and the Heart. A few of the other acts were guaranteed pleasers; Thile & Daves, Justin Townes Earle and Brown Bird, but we were so pleasantly surprised by this intense trio of Northwesterners, The Cave Singers.

Their set was positioned smack dab in the middle of the day's Harbor Stage performances and the only thing I knew about the band was an anecdote that had been related by the day's first act Brown Bird. The story recounted a chance meeting between Brown Bird and The Cave Singers at a rest area in North or South Carolina a few years before where a small leather jacket was exchanged. The jacket was to have been signed and passed on to other bands to eventually work it's way back to Brown Bird, and earlier in the day, the jacket worked its way back to Brown Bird at Newport.

Their music is born of rust-belt americana, a darkly hypnotic roots rock stew; stomp and roll. A deep woods sound that's perfectly suited as the soundtrack for an episode of Twin Peaks.. there's something here that I can't put my finger on but oh how it works; achingly familiar fuzz guitar and sledgehammer drum rhythms focused through the lens of blast furnace vocals. This melange yields a powerfully earnest blend, equal parts folk, punk and rock; a potent potion best experienced hot and live. They played a blistering 46 minute set that had the crowd equally mesmerized and exhilarated, shock and awe indeed.



Luckily for me Ohdarlingdear had the sense to take some pictures because I was just sitting there jaw-dropped and totally into this band. NRP and Folk Alley were kind enough to make this performance available to stream or download. I can't wait to being able to see this band again.

Check their set out here, NPR, Folk Alley
and stop by their website Here

Run-up to Vibes..

So if you find yourself still on the fence about going to Gathering Of The Vibes this weekend, here's some recent McLovins media to hopefully help you make that decision a bit easier. The following photos are from the Farmington Patch Viewfinder coverage of last night's Blue Back Square performance in West Hartford. All photos are © Arthur Nazaryan of The Patch

click for The Patch article

To wet your whistle, here's a taste of what's in store for the Wake 'n Rage on Saturday morning during the McLovins Main Stage Mayhem... this is from Wednesday night's Blue Back Square performance.

Check out the audio recording from the band's last Saturdays Main Pub show

okay, now it's time to get excited...

It's a little over a week until Saturday's performance down in Bridgeport, so here's a nice article from Connecticut Magazine, Ken Hayes talks about Vibes and the memory of Jerry Garcia. The magazine was kind enough to run a feature on the break-out starts of the past couple years and their feelings on their first main-stage performance.

click on image to McLovinize

Vote for The McLovins - Grand Band Slam 2011

Now is the time to get this campaign on it's way, let's vote The McLovins as the best band in the Hartford Advocate Grand Band Slam 2011. All you have to do is click on the link, give a name and an e-mail address and vote for The McLovins as Best Band. They don't really seem to fit into any of the genres they offer, so going with Best Band category give them the best shot.

the terrible twos...

It's been two years and 80 something shows later and this train just keeps rolling on. 2 years ago I wandered into Granby Memorial High School to catch The Concert For Hope and see a band who had kept popping up on my radar for weeks. This was my review of that first show and everything I said back then still holds true, this band is lightning in a bottle. We're now just days away from the start of the summer tour season and another whirlwind run through New England, the band is hitting a number of local stops this summer as well as the usual festival stops. Catch this band while you can, they are on an upward arc, and this scene is about to blow up.