'BOOM' Looks to Connect Local Musicians
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Calling all Berkshire musicians: BOOM has arrived.
The Berkshires may be brimming with musicians, but for whatever reason, few venture far from their favorite open mic or music venue — leaving a sometimes stagnant local music scene.
"The issue with the Berkshires is it is just a spread-out area ... and there is no central place to go," BOOM co-founder Sandy McKnight said. "A lot of people are not aware of what is going on past Pittsfield if they are from South County and vice versa if they are from North County ... we want to change that mentality."
So the Berkshire Organization for Original Music was born to help connect musicians with venues throughout the county, promote local music, and act as a one stop shop for any guitar toting songster in need of information or promotion.
McKnight said the goal was to create "cohesive original music scene."
"There was a lack of information and people could not get their stuff out there and be heard so we decided to get this going," he said. "We want people to be able to play up and down the county…if you have a circuit within the county there should be the opportunity to play much more and get more exposure."
BOOM is part of the non-profit Columbia Arts Team, which was founded by McKnight and Liv Cummins when they were living in New York. Now in Lee, they joined with Tom Conklin of Pittsfield, who also felt this void in the Berkshire music scene. They were later joined by Dar Maloney, a band member of Conklin's in the Matchstick Architects, and Allison Gregory
The organizers began collecting information and spinning the initiative. They held their first information meeting in January and people were interested.
"We weren't actually sure if there was going to be a demand for this but we held the meeting ... and we had almost 50 people," he said. "We realized that we were on to something."
Powering the BOOM movement is a website that acts as the central hub for all of a Berkshire musician's needs.
"We wanted to help sort of seed things and get things going so one thing we decided on was the website," McKnight said. "We hope it can act as one place to go to find out anything related to original music whether it be advice, who does what, and where to play. We will continue to gather information and add things."
Bands and musicians and can register with BOOM, load up a profile, and even upload some sample music. Venues can also register with the website.
Also, there are various forums to tap into and a calendar with upcoming performances stringing throughout the county.
McKnight said the website also has a list of resources such as places to buy equipment, recording studios, record labels, and light and sound services.
"Some musicians want to put an album out and have to figure out everything on their own," he said. "Everyone always does their own research and it would be better if people just knew where they could find a radio station to maybe play their music or find someone to review their album ... . The website can show them the right path to take locally."
He said as the website grows, he hopes the musician directory grows as well so venues can find specific kinds of performers and music folk can hook up with other local musicians and collaborate.
McKnight said BOOM is still on its early legs and has plenty of room to grow, but is already reverberating throughout Berkshire County.
"I think we have close to 20 bands now in there and ... they are so enthusiastic," he said. "We have only been doing this for three months ... and through word of mouth it is spreading, which is what we hoped for."
McKnight said BOOM also wants to connect with the business and civic community because music has the ability to send a town or city into overdrive and create energy and jump-start growth.
"We want there to be a symbiotic relationship," McKnight said. "People should know that the growth of a music scene will also help grow the business community."
He added that in the future he would like the arms of BOOM to reach out even further and unearth the music community to truly create a thriving Berkshire music scene.
The wheels are already moving in that there are plans to host local radio shows and utilize Northern Berkshire Community Television to air live music. He added Wood Bros. Music in Pittsfield and Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts have also expressed interest in teaming up.
McKnight said BOOM will introduce itself to the county with the Big BOOM Bash on Friday night at the Whitney Center in Pittsfield.
"The idea was we need to introduce ourselves to the community and make a big statement right off the top," he said.
The Big BOOM Bash will feature local acts Jeb Barry and the Pawn Shop Saints, 8 Foot River, Robin O'Herin, Leap the Dips, The Matchstick Architects, Sherry Steiner with Paul Edelman and JT, Christine Bile, The Chain Letter, Keep Her Warm and Long Journey.
He said the event starts with a potluck dinner at 4. The music will kick off at 5 and run to 9. Smaller acoustic acts will start the night and bands will close it out. Each performance will be between 20 to 30 minutes.
"It should be a cool thing," McKnight said. "It is a free party, free food, but cash bar."
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