2013 Line Up

Max Creek

In those rare instances that a band reaches its fourth decade, it’s usually because of super-stardom. It’s easy enough to keep things together when each member has a jet and techs on retainer and the world tour rolls around every few years. But that’s not how Max Creek has done it. In 40+ years Max Creek has been small, big, regionally-huge, medium, and any other size one can think of; they’ve never graced the cover of Rolling Stone, but you’d be hard pressed to find a music fan in the Northeast that hadn’t heard of them. Creek lacks pretense; there is no hip style or genre-title that can define them. From the beginning they’ve mixed anything they liked-rock, country, reggae, soul, calypso-in with their own excellent songs and it’s all just come out sounding like Creek. As such they’ve never been the hot item in the flavor-of-the-year club yet they’ve also never gone out of style. Moreover, Creek exudes confidence but lacks ego; each member is an incredible musician but that’s never been what it was about.

But that is all things Creek is not, and what Creek is is far more important. The band is certainly joyous, and their stage is full of smiles and laughter, both during and between songs. All one has to do is glance into the crowd to see that the feeling is contagious. Creek is also much more engaging than the average five-guys-with-instruments, sculpting lengthy shows on-the-fly from their 200+ song catalog with rockers, ballads, deep jams and crowd sing-alongs all tucked into their perfect places. And Creek is, most definitely, a family. 40-odd years in, the audience is a multi-generational stew; it’s not uncommon to witness old-school Creek Freeks getting down with their teenage kids.

Strange Machines

Strange Machines is Ricardo Barraza and Mike MacDonald on guitars and vocals, Bill Noonan on drums and Kris Hanson on bass. Mike and Ricardo have been playing in bands together since 2006, yet 2010 marks the beginning of their songwriting venture. Blending genres such as reggae, rock, jam and funk, Strange Machines have set high standards for their musical aspirations. Combining soulful melodies and harmonies with intricate instrumentation, they have created a unique sound that radiates with listeners. Catchy hooks & choruses met with high powered improv jamming makes this band a force to be reckoned with.

Strange Machines has an impressive resume for such a new band, playing several sold out shows at popular Boston venues such as The Middle East Downstairs, Brighton Music Hall, Hard Rock Cafe and Davis Square Theatre, as well as packed venues throughout New England. In October of 2012, the band played to a full room at the famous Bitter End in New York City.

With the release of their first studio EP "Space Cadet", Strange Machines plans to take the New England music scene and the country by storm. Strange Machines already have a packed schedule for 2013, playing all over New England with popular reggae acts such as Fear Nuttin Band and The Alchemystics. Their first show of 2013 was opening for national touring reggae- rock sensation BALLYHOO! Their next big show will be at The Sinclair in Cambridge opening for Badish- A Sublime Tribute, the country's second biggest tribute band!

Background Orcs

With a sound that has been dubbed “Deep Pocket Immersive Groove”, Background Orcs formed with the goal of redefining the jam band sound and forging a new path for what is possible in the live music setting. The four musicians met their freshman year of college and from the moment they got together for a jam session in an empty classroom several years ago, none of them could deny there was something special about this particular outfit. All focused on other projects however, it would take a while before they decided to bring their unique brand of groove-based improvisation to the world stage.

With experienced and academic backgrounds in music, the four members of Background Orcs combine elements of many musical styles from around the globe to create an atmosphere of good vibes and psychedelic-trance for listeners. In 2012, Background Orcs embarked on their first summer run, making waves throughout the Northeast Region. The group made appearances in some of the area’s top venues such as The Spot Underground (Providence), Tammany Hall (Worcester), Lucky Dog Music Hall (Worcester), and The Lizard Lounge (Boston), sharing the stage with top tier acts such as Zappa Plays Zappa, Consider The Source, Timbre Coup, Otis Grove, The Hornitz, and Swift Technique. In 2013, the band will be dropping their first full- length recording and is currently lining up a busy tour schedule with a host of new venues and plans to break into the summer music festival circuit. Be on the lookout for Massachusetts’ newest groove machine as they continue to play out to ever-growing audiences.

Outlet

Jonathan Belfontaine, otherwise known as Outlet, was destined to make music from the very beginning. At a young age, Jon was given a guitar. Soon afterward, he stumbled upon a broken amp, took it apart and put it back together into working condition. Having an incredible ear for music, he was able to pick out notes, and play along with any song. Over the years, he's played in different rock bands, but his musical interest never stopped at just the guitar, always picking up a bass or a set of drumsticks. While being influenced in different genres of rock, he also became deeply integrated into the electronic scene. Soon he had a keyboard and was experimenting with making music all his own, with psychedelic melodies and hypnotic tones, empowered with heavy instrumentals. After a brief hiatus, his burning passion was reignited when he and his soul mate Elisabeth Marcoux went to Rothbury's music festival in Michigan. Hearing the mind blowing artists perform with such love and high energy, and being immersed in the unified and uplifted crowd, sparked Jon's need to make music again. They immediately went out and bought him a Juno G. The new keyboard, paired with his discovery of Ableton Live, allowed him to explode into creativity again, this time integrating the sounds of hip hop, soul, funk and trance. He has now been producing a dance oriented, groove inspired, glitchy style of music that is energetic, passionate and fun. Of course, infusing his positive vibrations and inspiring light, baked into every morsel of each tantalizing song. The concoction of organic sounds whipped and blended with original bass lines and drum patterns, along with his ability to manipulate the texture and flavor of each synthesized note will leave the listener delighted in savoring every delicious layer baked into every song!