We here at Seven Days spend a lot of time listening to local music. It often makes us wonder what the musicians who make that music tune in to. So each year we email local musicians, club owners, booking agents and other assorted scenesters to find out what music, local and otherwise, rocked their worlds over the previous 12 months. Here's what they said.
Pete Rahn, Lake Superior, Pistol Fist
Local: Boomslang, Boomslang
Nonlocal: Kaleo, Kaleo
Marc Scarano, Black Rabbit
Local: Screaming Skull, MMXIV
Nonlocal: Ex Hex, Rips
Says Scarano: Three-chord rock in the tradition of all my favorite 1970s punk and New Wave bands. Ex Hex is also my nomination for show of the year, at the Monkey House in October.
Eric Olsen, Swale
Local: Pours, Pours
Says Olsen: It's like melodic alchemy. They're level-12 wizards.
Nonlocal: Run the Jewels, Run the Jewels 2 (without kids); Ex Hex, Rips, (with kids)
Kelly Riel, Gorgon, Stickshift Records, Girls Rock Vermont
Local: Screaming Skull, MMXIV
Nonlocal: Pushin' it 2 the Limit, Pushin' it 2 the Limit
Michael Roberts, Wooden Dinosaur, the Rear Defrosters
Local: Alpenglow, Chapel EP
Nonlocal: Hiss Golden Messenger, Lateness of Dancers
Danny Coane, the Starline Rhythm Boys
Local: Barbacoa, Italian Medallion
Says Coane: Bill Mullins has the touch, tone and great melodic sense for this style of instrumental guitar music. Bill's the king around here!
Nonlocal: Noam Pikelny, Noam Pikelny Plays Kenny Baker Plays Bill Monroe
Robert Resnik, host of "All the Traditions," VPR; Seven Days contributor
Local: Bob Amos & Catamount Crossing, Sunrise Blues
Nonlocal: Yusuf Islam, Tell 'Em I'm Gone
Phil Yates, Phil Yates & the Affiliates
Local: The Vacant Lots, Departure
Says Yates: They still count as local, right?
Nonlocal: The New Mendicants, Into the Lime
Pat Ormiston, Japhy Ryder, Invisible Homes
Local: Waylon Speed, Kin
Nonlocal: The Barr Brothers, Sleeping Operator; Damon Albarn, Everyday Robots
Kyle Thompson, DJ Fattie B
Local: The Write Brothers, Take Flight
Says Thompson: Hands down the best hip-hop album ever to come out of Vermont.
(Editor's note: Yup.)
Nonlocal: Prince, Art Official Age
Ryan Ober, Ryan Ober and the Loose Ends, the Horse, Led Lo/Co
Local: Lowell Thompson, Stranger's Advice
Nonlocal: St. Vincent, St. Vincent
Scott Lavalla, the Lynguistic Civilians
Local: Smooth Antics, Smooth Antics
Nonlocal: CunninLynguists, Strange Journey Volume Three
Ryan Miller, Guster
Local: Swale, The Next Instead
Nonlocal: EDJ, EDJ
Reuben Jackson, host of "Friday Night Jazz," VPR
Local: Steve Blair Septet, Ostinato
Nonlocal: Billy Childs, Map to the Treasure: Reimagining Laura Nyro
Matt Burr, Grace Potter & the Nocturnals
Local: Caroline Rose, I Will Not Be Afraid
Nonlocal: The War on Drugs, Lost in the Dream; Sturgill Simpson, Metamodern Sounds in Country Music
Bobby Hackney jr., rough francis, seven days
Local: Swale, The Next Instead; Death, III; Screaming Skull, MMXIV
Nonlocal: Thee Oh Sees, Drop
Mark Daly, Madaila
Local: Caroline Rose, I Will Not Be Afraid
Nonlocal: Sylvan Esso, Sylvan Esso
Caroline O'Connor, Vedora
Local: Anders Parker, There's a Bluebird in My Heart; The Cush, Transcendental Heatwave.
Says O'Connor: Yeah, I know, the Cush live in Texas now. But they'll always be locals around here.
Nonlocal: The War on Drugs, Lost in the Dream
Alex Budney, Nectar's, Seth Yacovone Band, Family Night Band
Local: Waylon Speed, Kin
Nonlocal: Vulfpeck, Fugue State
Justin Boland, Wombaticus Rex, Seven Days contributor
Local: The Write Brothers, Take Flight
Nonlocal: That Handsome Devil, Drugs and Guns for Everyone
John Flanagan, musician, Seven Days contributor
Local: Carton, Carlton
Says Flanagan: These Windsor gents' all-systems-go energy seems to have burnt off any homespun residue that often coats — and sometimes wrecks — well-intentioned local endeavors. They throw way down and write them straight. No mercy required from the listener. I visit their Bandcamp page to stream Carlton plenty. (Dear Carton, I probably owe you some money.)
Nonlocal: Tomorrows Tulips, When
Dave Keller, Dave Keller Band
Local: Pitz Quattrone, Movin'
Nonlocal: Gregory Porter, Liquid Spirit
Craig Mitchell, DJ
Local: The DuPont Brothers, Heavy as Lead
Nonlocal: Prince, Art Official Age
Sean Witters, Invisible Homes
Local: Caroline Rose, I Will Not Be Afraid
Says Witters: The production and vibe on this album is so cool. "Blood on Your Bootheels" unites rockabilly strut with a critique of white privilege that seems impossible in the genre, but which feels completely natural. Caroline Rose speaks truth to power in surprising and necessary ways.
Nonlocal: Johnny Marr, Playland
Justin Gonyea, Doom Service, Get Stoked! Records
Local: Gorgon, Secret; Tyler Daniel Bean, Repetition Vol. 1: The New & Very Welcome
Nonlocal: Violent Sons, Nothing As It Seems; Courage Cloak, Courage Cloak
Justin Crowther, Waylon Speed, Seven Days contributorLocal: Envy, Distorted Greetings
Says Crowther: It's from 1995, so I'm not sure it counts. But I recently discovered them and thought they had some great songs. I also imagined they would've gone pretty far if they would've stayed together.
(Editor's note: They did! The key members of Envy moved to Boston and became the Red Telephone. They are still together.)
Nonlocal: Hop Along, Get Disowned
Knayte Lander, Vicious Gift, Buch Spieler Music
Local: Chalice, Chalice
Says Lander: This collection of songs stands up to almost any heavy-metal record from 1981 to the present day. Driven and executed with enough power that the album has already been picked up by Alone Records overseas. I have to mention Chalice as my favorite "local" record before the band soon finds [itself] on Top 10 lists across the world. Vermont hail!
Nonlocal: Röyksopp & Robyn, Do It Again
Brian Nagle, DJ Disco Phantom, Waking Windows Presents
Local: Swale, The Next Instead; Pours, Pours
Nonlocal: Future Islands, Singles
Bryan Parmelee, Pours
Local: Swale, The Next Instead
Nonlocal: Shabazz Palaces, Lese Majesty
Gary Lee Miller, writer, Seven Days contributor
Local: Mark LeGrand, Burn It Down
Says Miller: Favorite local album that didn't happen: The one that is inside Brett Hughes' beautiful mind waiting to come out. 2015, pretty please?
Nonlocal: Sturgill Simpson, Metamodern Sounds in Country Music
Ryan Clausen, Nectar's, Dead Set Tuesdays
Local: The Precepts, This Is How It Must Be
Nonlocal: Tauk, Collisions
Matteo Palmer, guitarist
Local: Masako, Call of the Mountains
Nonlocal: Coldplay, Ghost Stories
Jeff Margolis, Hot Neon Magic
Local: Elephants of Scotland, Execute and Breathe
Nonlocal: tUnE-yArDs, Nikki Nack
Nyiko Beguin, NYIKO
Local: Pours, Pours
Nonlocal: Future Islands, Singles
Brian Clark, Anachronist
Local: Anders Parker, There's a Bluebird in My Heart
Nonlocal: New Bums, Voices in a Rented Room
Brendan Dangelo, What Doth Life
Local: Violette Ultraviolet, Exiles
Says Dangelo: This music reminds me of Vermont. It's beautiful, well worn and lies in a crosscurrent of lonely backwoods rambling and someone waxing poetic in their smoking lounge.
Nonlocal: Liz Phair, Exile in Guyville
Alex Crothers, Higher Ground
Local: Caroline Rose, I Will Not Be Afraid; Swale, The Next Instead
Nonlocal: Hard to pinpoint. Sturgill Simpson, Sylvan Esso, Future Islands, Alt J, Mac DeMarco, Logic, the War on Drugs...
Michael Chorney, Michael Chorney & Hollar General
Local: All of them. A big hooray to those who make albums.
Nonlocal: All the ones made with no other reason than music in mind.
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