The Maple Street Project: Band News

If it seems like nothing much has been happening in the world of The Maple Street Project it is because... nothing much has been happening!

Mel has been promoting his solo CD. Bob, George and Eric have occasionally been performing in a cover band called "Side Street". Jim has been off doing Jim things.

To be honest, it isn't clear what will become of The Maple Street Project. In the meantime, our CDs are still available at CDBaby.com and I-Tunes. And we're still reachable at MSPContact@Yahoo.com

Thanks for checking it!

Side Street will perform its 2nd public gig tonight (December 23rd) at the Gaff on Moody Street in Waltham.

Side Street features Maple Street Project members George Pultz on lead vocals and guitar, Eric Luskin on guitar and vocals and Bob Littman on fiddle, mandolin and vocals.

We are on around 9:30 and will play until we run through the repertoire.  Or until we're asked to stop.   The Gaff is an awesome venue with a specialty in craft beer and great ambiance. We will be offering up some new original songs and a some covers.

For info and directions visit thegaffbar.com

We're at Club Bohemia at the Cantab the Friday after Thanksgiving.  And on the radio (WICN) in mid December for The Folk Revival's Holiday special.  That's on Thursday, December 16th from 7P - 10P streamed on www.wicn.org or on 90.5 FM in the Worcester area.   We'll be sharing the bill with Jolly Beggars.

Side Street will perform its first public gig tonight at the Gaff on Moody Street in Waltham. Side Street features Maple Street Project members George Pultz on lead vocals and guitar, Eric Luskin on guitar and vocals and Bob Littman on fiddle, mandolin and vocals.

We are on at 9:30 for a 30 minute set. The Gaff is an awesome venue with a specialty in craft beer and great ambiance. We will be offering up some new original songs and a some covers.

For info and directions visit thegaffbar.com

 

Last night's debut performance of "the Mel Green Band" went well (at the Lincoln Library). The event was well-attended despite an evening downpour, and we had a good time playing the songs for the first time in this 5-piece setting. Thanks to all who came, and thanks especially to organizer Rich Eilbert, his wife Nancy Abrams and to sound man sound system, indefatigable Brad Meyer! All of the Open Mic performances were entertaining... Future performances listed at www.melgreensings.com

For those who are keeping track, it's happened again!   You'd think we'd use the 2nd half of August as a marketing platform for our song "Running Out of August" off the "Kick Back On Maple Street" CD.  But somehow we never quite get around to it!  Anyhow - check it out on our Music & Lyrics page...  There's a live version (paired with "Summer Sailing") as well as the studio version.  Enjoy.

The members of The Maple Street Project join with the Needham community in mourning the loss of our friend Joe Burstein.  It was an honor for us to perform at a benefit for Joe last spring.

 

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/bostonglobe/obituary.aspx?n=joseph-s-burstein&pid=144678401

Mel's long awaited solo project "I'm Taking My Time" is now available!  

To order your copy, please get in touch via mel_green_1@hotmail.com and take advantage of the early-release discount!.   $13.50 includes S+H (USA only) Overseas orders: please inquire about shipping costs.

Also: Visit www.melgreensings.com

There are a number of live performances planned so, if you're in the area, please keep these dates in mind!

The gigs so far are ...

9/13 Mon. Lincoln Library Open Mic Feature 

10/25 Mon. TCAN Open Mic Feature (Natick) 

11/ 15 Emerson Umbrella Open Mic Feature (Concord)

1/9/11 PCA Open Mic Feature ( Westford, Parish Center for the Arts)

Go to the links section to see some fan generated clips from our May 2010 show at The Cantab.  Thanks to Oneringus's Channel for shooting and posting.

Several of the songs from our performance at the Joe Burstein benefit in Needham are now posted on our music page and on our Jukebox. Enjoy!

When we took the stage a little after 5P on July 3rd, the rains were comin' down and it looked rather ominous. But the sounds of The Maple Street Project quickly drove the clouds away - the sun finally came out and the people began streaming into Memorial Park for the Reminisants concert and the fireworks show to follow.

Check out the photos posted on our Photo Gallery.

Thanks to The Reminisants and the sound guys for allowing us to share the stage and sound equipment! Given the weather, two separate stages would not have been a good idea!

Check out George's "Fathers and Daughters" and Bob's "Long Way Back" on our music streaming page.

"Fathers and Daughters" is a softer ballad complete with piano, mando, and trademark MSP harmonies. Producer/drummer Dave Franz plays percussion on this track.

"Long Way Back" has a much harder edge than previous MSP tunes, owing in part to Dave's drumming. The track features Bob on vocals and electric violin, George on electric guitar and (if you listen closely) Eric on slide guitar.

You're now among the first to know! MSP has been asked to play for the gathering crowd at the town's July 3rd fireworks. We'll be performing at the Gazebo from 5P - 7P. Best of all - it's free!

More info to follow as we get closer. Think it'll be warm by July? (As I write this, it is 33 degrees out).

We've begun a round of fast paced recording with producer Dave Franz - trying to cram in as much productive time as we can access before he relocates to LA. If you want to follow our progress, join Maple Street Project Fans on Facebook where Eric has been posting commentary at the end of each of our evenings at Underground Sun Studio. Photos from a recent session are now posted. Click on the photo link in the left hand column to see us in our studio glory.

We worked with Dave on "Elephants" and "Red Blues" last summer, both of which you can hear on www.myspace.com/maplestreetproject

We're sad to note the passing of Daisy Littman - the official dog of The Maple Street Project. Daisy died after a long illness in January at the age of 11. She witnessed many a rehearsal and recording session, and - unlike the band members - was never judgmental. When she whined, it was always to go "out". She was always the first to bark with glee when band members arrived at the house and was a constant presence in rehearsals. Whether wagging her tail to the beat, nosing an unsuspecting band member in the crotch, or begging for a biscuit (which Mel inevitably had on his person somewhere), Daisy was the consumate band friend. She will be missed.

Our friend Nick Noble, host of WICN-FM's "Folk Revival" show asked us to come in to the studio to share our Chanukah music with listeners. Braving the insane traffic from Boston out to the wilds of Worcester, we played live for about an hour, chatting between songs about our seasonal CD called "Chanukah on Maple Street".

WICN is located at 90.5 FM in the Worcester area and can also be streamed by visiting www.wicn.org We're told it is accessible outside of the USA so... give it a shot! Nick's show is on Thursdays from 7P - 11P EST.

Eric has known Nick since the late '70s (they sang together in The Trinity Pipes of Trinity College) and has been great about playing MSP music as well as Mel Mel & Julian songs on his radio shows. We're delighted to have had this opportunity. It was a blast!

Visit our Music page (in the left hand column) or go to www.myspace.com/maplestreetproject to be among the first to hear "Elephants" and "Red Blues"! These are songs that were recorded for the... political season. Let us know what you think.

MSP recorded these two new tracks working with an outside producer, Dave Franz (of the terrific band midatlantic) who provided valuable advice and technical support. Dave and our friend Rob Sutherland also added various percussion bits.

Last year it was The Maple Street Project opening the Arts In the Park series. This year it was Ben Wilmott. But MSP wasn't forgotten! Read all about it by clicking on the link below.
http://www.wickedlocal.com/needham/fun/x379994770

Both of our CDs are available on I-Tunes and CDbaby. There are links to each here on our web site - just click on the "products" link in the left hand menu.

If you want the actual CD, click on the CDBaby icon which will take you to a very cool web site devoted to the sale of independent music. You'll love the new songs on our most recent release "Kick Back on Maple Street" - and the eco-friendly cardboard packaging!

If you're into the whole digital music thing, click on I-Tunes and download individual songs or the entire album. The choice is up to you!

Our music is also available at many of the more popular digital download sites.

We're just back from a band retreat weekend where we spent some quality time rehearsing, writing, and working on new and old tunes. And - low and behold - we've got at least a dozen new songs. MSP fans will be pleased to know we've started recording demos and so it won't be long (ha!) until we've got new music for you. We expect to premiere a bunch of the newer material at our Cantab gig on November 23rd (see our "Calendar" page for more info). Meanwhile... we'll keep on doin' our thing!

Two great pieces of news!

"Running Out Of August" from our CD Kick Back on Maple Street has been selected for international play via a cool internet streaming service called Kickradio - with listeners in more than 120 countries worldwide.

Tune into the show at www.Kickradio.com and scroll down to Episode Thirteen. We're about 40 minutes into the one hour show - you can scroll forward to it if you'd like.

And... we're featured in the e-magazine called Indie Islands. Go to www.indieislands.net and - for all artists - you get pictures, music, and information plus... you can click links to get more information and tunes. It's fantastic!

We're in the new Autumn Country and Bluegrass edition, along with some really great artists - including Reba McEntire.

You can get to the MSP article from the index (just click on the MSP blurb and the pages will start turning
automatically). Or you can browse by "turning" the pages yourself - just left-click your mouse, hold, and move the page to the left or right. Don't worry, it's easier to do than it is to explain.

We're thrilled to be in Indie Islands and on Kickradio.

Steven Ryan of The Needham Times shot a short clip of the band performing at "Kickin' Back on the Common". Check it out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnA36BQZCOM

Since October 2006 when we went live with our new web site, we've had many visitors from around the world. This we find truly amazing!! So many, in fact, that we now list them in alphabetical order. The stats show that we've had hits from:

Algeria, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovinia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, China, Columbia, Costa Rica, Colombia, Cote D’Ivoire (Ivory Coast), Croatia, Cyprus, Czeck Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Estonia, Fiji, Finland, France, Ghana, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Guatamala, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Korea (South), Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Latvia, Lithuanea, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Moldova, Montserrat, Morocco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Nive, Norway, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Phillipines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, Singapore, Slovak Republic, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Taiwan, Thailand, Togo, Tonga, Turkey, Turks and Caicos Islands, Tuvalu, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, Venezuela, Vietnam, and Yugoslavia.


Whether you're local or a visitor from afar, please leave us a message on our Guestbook and tell us what you think.

Top of page 15 in Friday, April 6th Boston Metro... Melanie's Pick for our gig at The Middle East Downstairs on Saturday night. Melanie has great taste!

The Needham Times and The Hometown News ran feature stories on the band recently in advance of our CD release party! Please check out the Press/Comments section of our site for links to the articles.