Cliffs Riffs - Stuph n Nonsense

  Originally published in Lowell's First Look Cindy wowed the crowd with her Sax-A-Kzoo There is (almost) nothing as fun as a Sax-a-kazoo solo for simplicity and musical fun. No one can pull off a Sax-a-kazoo solo like Cindy Knopf. At the other end of the musical spectrum how about the unbeatable sound and energy of a blistering guitar solo by Ryder Jones or the public debut of a new piano piece by Roger MacNaughton. What do these musical events have in common? The full house crowd at Sound Check got to hear all of these musical treats and a whole lot more last Friday at the Dave Jones Scholarship Fundraiser. Unlike most Sound Check events, tickets for this evening of musical fun were not available for purchase before the event, so organizers had no indication of a potential audience. People of all ages filled the room and were rewarded with an evening of Lowell based musical talent who gathered to honor one of their own, Dave Jones. As many of you know, Dave passed away last Oct...

Originally published in Lowell's First Look.   Ryne Clarke Releases a CD, “Cheers” at Sound Check. Disclaimer #1: Yours truly has been a fan of Ryne Clarke and all of his musical permutations for many years. Lowell faculty member Lindsay Bredin gave me a copy of one of the CDs he recorded with his first band, The Preservers to prime the pump. My musical mind was blown when I first heard them perform on the Riverwalk – three juniors (Clarke-vocals and guitar, Jeremy Kargl-lead guitar, Corinna Wenger-bass) with a freshman (Patrick Kargl) on the drums. Just when I was considering hanging up my jewelry hat and becoming a full time manager of the band to take the world by storm, college broke them up. Ryne Clarke onstage with Jeremy Kargl, bass; Clarke; Cole Smith, drums; Kristine Clarke, Flute; Joe Schimmelmann, keyboards. The Preservers are no longer an item, but Clarke has not slowed down a bit in his pursuit of indie rock star status (inside joke referencing one of his songs). Th...