The summer of 2006 was when we first conceived of Brewster Productions. Right across the street from where this concert was happening, in the not-so-coincidentally-named Brewster Gardens, we were playing a game of “Midnight Wiffleball” when the idea of putting on a big summer concert ourselves popped into our collective heads. So here are the earliest seeds of Brewster Productions, the big August 11, 2006 Saucy Seth & the Clams of Death waterfront show:
Howdy everyone. Hopefully you’re following along with the School’s Out Summer Concert Series, which is in full swing right now in Plymouth. But in other Brewster news, we’re working on releasing “The Brewster Sessions, Vol. 1″, a collection of Storyteller-type in-studio live recordings we did with Ben Carter, Shaun Dever, Nick Amendolare, and Seth McFadyen. You can check out and download a sneak peek of the album HERE, and listen below to a recording we did with Ben on the day he came in for his Brewster Session. More for fun than anything else (it’s not a live recording like the rest of the Sessions), it’s “41″ by Dave Matthews, performed by Ben Carter:
Saucy Seth & the Clams of Death before our performance at prom May 7, 2004. From left: Jon Dorn, Seth McFadyen, Andrew Thompson, James Grinsell, Phil Hulse.
Sure, this is kind of a self-happy-birthday wishing, but that’s okay, I love my band and I figured I’d write something quick about them/us.
It’s been exactly 6 years since the band originally known as Saucy Seth & the Clams of Death took the stage Friday, May 7, 2004 at Lombardo’s in Randolph as the band for the Class of 2005 Plymouth South High School junior prom. We officially changed our name to The Eagle Hill Band in July 2008, and played our last show as the Clams of Death on December 30, 2007, but the band hasn’t changed a whole lot except for the name and a little thinning out of membership. What is now a 3-piece of Seth McFadyen, Phil Hulse, and myself (James just practiced with us yesterday, so we may be +1 this summer), was once us three, plus James Grinsell on the rhythm guitar, and the ridiculously talented Andrew Thompson on piano.
I think one of the big reasons we changed our name is that we don’t really consider ourselves Saucy Seth & the Clams of Death without the full 5-piece. It may sound weird, but to us, ‘Saucy Seth’ is a sacred name. It’s the first band I was ever in, and we achieved a pretty good amount of popularity at South HS – we had the honor of being in the long line of bands like the Skakopaths, the Leftovers, Leftout, Drive It Like You Stole It, Underage, and [our immediate predecessor] Comboguy. It’s not a lot in terms of the world of music, but it’s a pretty big deal to be the popular band in a high school for a short period of time. The big difference between us and those other bands was that we played classic rock. We all came from pop-punk and ska backgrounds, except Thompson, but we took that and decided to start a classic rock band. And it was damn fun.
And it still is damn fun. We’ve played a bunch of shows as a band over the past 6 years, sometimes with 5, 4 or 3 people, sometimes with our friend Nick Amendolare, and once as a 3-piece we called Nantucket Sleigh Ride. We’re still going strong as the EHB with Seth, Phil, and me holding down the fort all these years. We’re probably one of the more casual bands around, and I’d say that’s our best quality. We play when we want to – when we have time and when we can find a show. We’ve never once gotten too serious, or taken ourselves too seriously. We’re not a band “trying to make it” – we’ve already made it as far as I’m concerned – we’re a group of friends who can get together whenever they can and play music with incredible chemistry, and people seem to have fun watching us play.
So if I have a message to all you young musicians out there it would be: Make a band with your friends, don’t try to make friends from a band. If you’re only goal as a band is to get a record deal, chances are you’re not going to have much fun with it. If you’re looking to have fun, you’re much better off getting a group of your own friends together to play. With Brewster Productions, I’ve seen a lot of different young band scenarios, and my anecdotal evidence suggests that the laid-back attitude of my beloved EHB is the one that lasts 6 years (and counting).
Have fun with music – if you’re not having fun, what’s the point?
Shaun Dever is joined on stage by Ben Carter at Sweetwater 3/19/10.
What a show we had last night. Wow. From right before the show when Seth McFadyen and Ben Carter went outside of Sweetwater into the street and played “Semi Charmed Life” and “Island In the Sun”, to Ben unplugging his guitar and singing Jewel on a chair in the middle of the crowd, to Shaun Dever leading a group amorphous jam of “What I Got”, this show was something else.
Hero Ben Carter.
Last night at Sweetwater Cafe in Boston, Shaun Dever, Ben Carter, and Seth McFadyen rocked the crowd for an incredible night of wild acoustic jams and packed-room sing-alongs. At one point, Ben even called a girl from the crowd, sat her in a chair in front of him and played a song for her – she apparently was from Switzerland, which led Ben to thank her by saying, “Welcome to America.” Seth put on a great last-minute opening set, and Shaun rounded off the night with his rad tunes and some more great sing-along jams.
Last night we were giving out little flyers for a FREE DOWNLOAD of the Brewster Sessions, Volume 1 sneak peek album. More on the actual album later. But for now, go download the 6-song album for free here: brewsterproductions.bandcamp.com.
Now, here are a multitude of photos from last night. Thanks to Shaun Dever for some of them, and for the nice settings he put in the camera for the ones of him. We’ll add some video soon.
Ben Carter performs with Darren Hawe joining him onstage for some vocals and tambourine.
Howdy everyone,
We all had an awesome time last night at Sweetwater Cafe in Boston with Ben Carter, Darren Hawe, Seth McFadyen, and a surprise acoustic appearance by The Eagle Hill Band. Everyone was dancing and singing along to some great chunes played by all. I guess I don’t have much else to write about it, except that it was wicked fun. Check out the photos!
Peace,
Jon
Seth McFadyen is accompanied by Jon and Phil of the Eagle Hill Band (bass and djembe), along with Ben Carter and Darren Hawe for a set-closing rendition of "The General" by Dispatch.
Tomorrow’s show (2/6/2010) at Sweetwater Cafe in Boston with Ben Carter, Darren Hawe, and Seth McFadyen is going to be a great one. We’ve even heard there might be an acoustic cameo from the Eagle Hill Band.
The folk-poppy stylings of Ben, Darren, and Seth are sure to get cozy downstairs of Sweetwater singing along tomorrow night, and you definitely want to be part of the show. It’s 21+ with a $5 cover, so if you can make it, do what Ernie Boch Jr. says and come on down! (awkward beckoning wave here)
In related news, Ben Carter will be recording and putting out an acoustic EP with a little help from Brewster Productions – we’re really excited about it, and you can bet he’ll be testing out some cool new stuff at the show. Ben and Darren rocked Club Passim in Cambridge the other night, and Ben was caught working on a song (see the photo) – so I’ll say it one more time: Don’t miss the show!
Shaun Dever performing at the Hedge House in 2009. A little kid named Brody wandered up to the stage to enjoy the show.
Good afternoon everyone in Brewsterland!
We’ve just added some great new songs to our FEATURED MUSIC player (look to the right –>) and we’re really excited to tell everyone. There are some of our old standby artists, plus two brand new (sort of) tracks off “The Brewster Sessions, Vol. 1″, which is a new thing we’ve been trying to launch for a while where artists come into the studio with us and do a live-recorded session. The first one we did was with Shaun Dever, Seth McFadyen, and Nick Amendolare, and it turned out to be a really fun time with each of the guys doing a few songs, then we miked the whole room with some overhead mics and had a big sing-along party (Andrew Carleen, Harry Quinn, and myself were also there). They aren’t the prettiest recordings ever, but it was a good time. Here’s what we’ve got for the new featured music:
• “Bloodshot Eyes” by Ben Carter, who will be playing at Sweetwater Cafe this Saturday 2/6/10. This is a demo of a song he’s going to be recording for an acoustic EP (more news on that soon).
• “Forget Your Name” by The Release. These guys are awesome, and you should go download their songs. You’ll likely be seeing them again this summer at the concert series.
• “Heave To” by Jake Hill. The title track off his 2008 album. This is a great song about facing death and all that, and it’s got some great horns and electric guitar. A rockin’ gritty folk song.
• “Path Of the Enemy” by The Eagle Hill Band. Another song off EHB’s 2009 release “In Cahoots”.
• “She’s A Drug” by Nick Amendolare, from “Brewster Sessions, Vol. 1″. A few swears in this one, so watch out if you have a sensitive disposition.
• “Heaven Is A Halfpipe” cover performed by Seth, Shaun, and Nick on “Brewster Sessions, Vol. 1″. This was just a fun one, with everyone singing along in the studio and making weird noises and having a good time. A few bad words in this one too.
Please enjoy the music, go to those artists’ shows, and definitely come check out the Ben Carter show this Saturday in Boston.
Keep it real,
Jon
Photo: The Okay Win at the Acoustic Nights Free Concert Series, 2011.
