Once an Outlaw Band to Perform at the Inn on Main

By Pamela Hance

On July 1, Once an Outlaw Band, a powerhouse, guitar-driven blues/ southern rock experience, will once again perform in the Lakes Region at the Inn on Main in Wolfeboro where a buffet dinner will be offered before the show. This is the 2nd of a fourshow “run”, from June 30 to the 3rd of July, which began in Ogunquit and will continue on to Booth Bay Harbor and Fryeburg, Maine. The band is still hot from a June run in Rhode Island and Massachusetts and will round off the first phase of the ’23 season at the Portsmouth Music Hall on July 23rd. The band full swings into autumn in mid-September with appearances in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine. An October gig is scheduled in Ontario. More information about the band and its schedule can be found at https://onceanoutlawband.com.

Besides being a consummate musician, Chuck Farrell is the designer and architect of Once an Outlaw Band (OAOB) and has long promoted music in the Lakes Region and beyond. He is often seen playing guitar with the Carolyn Ramsay Band in and around Wolfeboro, the site of the July 1concert. Farrell, a New England music promoter, made the best of a bad situation when the Covid scare resulted in the cancellation of many of his scheduled performances. Chuck used his skills, experience and imagination to turn a lemon into the sweet lemonade that has been quenching the musical thirst of their many fans around the country since 2019. His first idea was to play half-venues. When he found a responsive market, he began booking. Meanwhile, musicians from the big bands had also lost gigs when the rules imposed during the pandemic collapsed the concert market. Without the dexterity of a trimmer operation, bands such as Lynyrd Skynyrd were unable to implement a half-venue idea like Chuck’s. Not only did this idea keep his band playing, but it became a magnet for many great big band musicians.

Chuck’s admiration for another musician, Chris Anderson, gave rise to a second notion: to get in touch with Chris and share his idea for an “open-ended band”. The impulse paid off. The two men’s connections to and the long-deserved respect of the music world created a conduit for unemployed musicians, transporting them from disappointing cancelled concerts to fully booked half-venue performances. Chris, for example, had played, toured or written songs for the Outlaws, Lucinda Williams, The Allman Brothers, Bad Company, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Blackhawk, Hank Williams Jr, Steven Stills, Johnny Neel and Neil Carswell. His debut album, Old Friends, was described as one of “the 10 best albums you’ve never heard” by the New York Times, and Rolling Stone Magazine gave it Five Stars. It has been stated that vibrant guitar, emotional depth and unremitting conviction are the prominent features of this album. The same writer opines that Anderson delivers “with the authority of a veteran bluesman”. Chris has been involved with the creation, performance and production of recording sessions, CDs and commercial jingles, and has quite naturally traversed the territory between rock, pop, country, soul, R&B and blues. Traveling with the band is Chris’s old friend, Ace Collins. The two met in Florida back in their younger days. Their mutual passion for music bonded the friendship, and now Collins handles some of the basic logistics of a traveling band.

Tim Archibald provides the base behind Chris and Chuck. Born in Cleveland, Tim moved to Boston in the mid70’s. He formed his own band Urge, and toured in the South and East along with Grove Holmes, Dobie Gray and Dizzy Gillespie. Tim played with Peter Wolf from the J. Geils Band and toured with Deep Purple. Currently, Archibald is working with Michael McDonald of The Doobie Brothers and playing with Barry Goudreau’s Engine Room

A.J. Vallee rounds up the core roster of OAOB. The Boston drummer and percussionist has become a popular performer and educator on many platforms. He has toured regionally and nationally and recorded with Jon Butcher and Barry Goudreau. Most recently, he has completed a 3-month US tour with Gary Mullen & The Works performing their One Night of Queen tribute. Vallee can also boast about song placements on NBC and ABC TV with Boston’s own Starr Faithfull.

Chris Hicks, a member of the revolving players who sometimes joins OAOB, was born and took root in the land of Otis Redding, Macon, Georgia. He spent 27 years with the Marshall Tucker Band. Among his 5 albums is Best of The Outlaws: Green Grass and High Tides. His agile guitar and soulful voice complement Anderson’s lead.

Appearing with the band in Wolfeboro on July 1st, will be two special guests, Jon Butcher and Wally “Gator” Sirotich.

In the early stages of Jon Butcher’s career, he was compared to Jimi Hendrix, mostly because of Butcher’s Hendrix-like onstage appearance and mannerisms. But Butcher says that he was more influenced by Richie Havens, John Lennon, Bob Dylan and Taj Mahal than by Hendrix. “... Outside of the surface aspect, I don’t think there was much about me that was Jimi Hendrix-like, if you disregard the fact that I’m black and play a Stratocaster.”[2] Wally “Gator” Sirotich, an American composer, pianist, songwriter, and entertainer, will also be on stage in Wolfeboro on the 1st of July. “Gator’ has spent his life playing keyboard backups for some of the outstanding musicians of our time. He has performed live with Robert Plant, Bo Diddley, Mitch Ryder, Odetta, Richie Havens, the Coasters and the Mambo Brothers. Sirotich has performed all over the United States and through much of Canada. Internationally, he has performed in Italy, Sardinia, Japan, South Korea and Panama.

While the audience is emersed, battered, driven and borne aloft by the power and spirit of the music, no one may notice a virtually unseen member of the OAOB family attending to a whole other aspect of the concert. Sandy Martin, well-known in the Lake • Outlaw continued on page 29

Keep NH’s Forests Safe and Healthy – Leave Camping Firewood at Home

The N.H. Division of Forests and Lands is reminding everyone who will be camping this summer that one of the easiest ways to keep our state’s forests healthy is to leave campfire wood at home and to purchase it locally when they arrive at their destination.

Studies by the NHDFL have shown that all untreated campfire wood carries insects and averages 35 insects in each stick. When this wood is transported from one region to another, it increases the chances of spreading invasive insects that have “hitchhiked,” heightening risks to forest health in places where those pests had not yet been present.

“Firewood is a major vector of new pests spreading to healthy forests,” said Kyle Lombard, program director for the NHDFL’s Forest Health Program. “Harmful species from the smallest flies to the largest longhorn beetles can be found in firewood.”

Campers are encouraged to look for firewood that has been harvested and gathered locally once they arrive at their destination. Most N.H. State Parks sell wood for campfires that has been kiln-dried, which eliminates all pests.

“Packing for a camping trip can be overwhelming, so give yourself a break by making that task – and your load – lighter: don’t bring firewood with you,” said Lombard. “That opens up more room in your vehicle for s’mores, games and other items that will make your trip one to remember for all the right reasons.”

To find a local provider of firewood, visit firewoodscout.org. For more information about insects and firewood, visit NHBugs.org.

New Hampshire’s Division of Forests and Lands is part of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. NHDFL’s mission is to protect and promote the values provided by trees, forests and natural communities. This mission is accomplished through responsible management of the state’s forested resources; by providing forest resource information and education to the public; and through the protection of these resources for the continuing benefit of the state’s citizens, visitors, and forest industry. Learn more at nh. gov/nhdf

• Outlaw continued from page 28

Area for her oil paintings and watercolors, will haul at least 25 pounds of camera equipment from one perspective to the next and back again throughout the concert. She will make videos and take more than 5000 photos of the musicians in action. She will preserve the images for enjoyment and marketing way after the crowd at The Inn on Main has dispersed. Back in her Wolfeboro studio, she will import all the photos into Lightroom, then she and Chuck will sort them before choosing the ones to edit. With the eye of an artist and the know-how of a techie, Sandy develops their choices for white balance, exposure, contrast, shadows, highlights, vibrancy, clarity and saturation. Next, she sharpens, reduces noise and adjusts the color before refining the photo even further on specific areas like faces or background. Finishing touches are added in Photoshop for more fine tuning and her signature. From there, the photo is ready for making posters, banners, ads and publicity photos for the venues. Additional work is done on the website, social media and, for the most part, Facebook. The photos will provide publicity, legacy and revenue for the growing success of the band. Their countless fans know that Once an Outlaw Band will deliver hearty music with great exuberance wherever and whenever they appear. Never to be confused with a tribute band, Once an Outlaw Band is an alumni act paying homage to the genre of beloved music known as Southern Rock. Tickets for the July 1 event in Wolfeboro are going fast, as are the reservations for overnight accommodations in the vicinity. The band is looking for a full house of rollicking, rock and roll blues lovers. For more information about upcoming appearances, visit https://onceanoutlawband.com.

CELEBRATING OUR BUILDERS!

SAVE THE DATES & JOIN US IN: NEWPORT on JUNE 21ST FOR BREAKFAST from 7AM - 9AM WEST LEBANON on JULY 12TH FOR LUNCH from 10AM - 2PM MEREDITH on JULY 13TH FOR LUNCH from 10AM - 2PM HAMPTON on JULY 26TH FOR BREAKFAST from 7AM - 9AM

Needlefelt Your Own Loon on July 12 in Center Sandwich

The Center Sandwich Fine Craft Gallery, which is a founding member of the League of NH Craftsmen, is offering a class on Wednesday, July 12 for students to learn how to needlefelt and create their own loon.

Needlefelting is the process of transforming wool into 3D objects using a barbed needle. It’s easy, fun and anyone can do it! In this class, you’ll first learn how to wrap and felt the loon shape and then you’ll add the distinctive flourishes that distinguish the common loons that you see on NH lakes and ponds.

This 3-hour class (10 am-1 pm) is being taught by Patsy Frasier, a juried member of the League of NH Craftsmen. Details on tuition plus materials and online registration can be found on our website (centersandwich.nhcrafts. org), or by stopping by or calling the gallery (32 Main Street in Center Sandwich, 603-284-6831).

It is part of the Sandwich Home Industries’ mission to provide a variety of affordable craft workshops for our community. In order to help students with the cost of our classes we are offering scholarships of up to $50, or half the class tuition, whichever is less. The Gallery is now open through Mid-October from 10-5 on Monday through Saturday and 12-5 on Sunday.

The Wholly Rollers to Perform at Canterbury Shaker Village

A Concord-based band that performs bluegrass, old time, string band, and gospel music, The Wholly Rollers returns to Canterbury Shaker Village’s Music on the Green on Sunday, July 9 at 4:00 p.m.

“We are thrilled to welcome The Wholly Rollers back to the Village,” noted Executive Director Leslie Nolan “Their unique blend of bluegrass and gospel, combined with the historic ambiance of the Village, promises to create an extraordinary afternoon of music and entertainment.”

Music on the Green is sponsored by CCA Global Partners, New Hampshire Dance Collaborative (NHDC), and Kathleen Belko, Trustee. “We could not host this series without their amazing support,” added Nolan. Held outside in a natural, intimate setting, the Music on the Green series features various types of music for all ages and runs every Sunday, 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., from July 2 – September 17. Admission is free with a suggested donation of $20.

Before Music on the Green performances, Village tours are available with a reservation, while visitors are encouraged to explore the extensive trail system on the nearly 700-acre property. “We gave trail maps that can guide you, and there is no charge to explore our trails,” said Nolan. “We kindly welcome you.”

To purchase tour tickets or learn more about the Village, which interprets Shaker life through tours, exhibits, buildings, gardens, and programs, visit shakers.org.

Canterbury Shaker Village is a member of the NH Heritage Museum Trail, which connects the public with cultur-

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