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Concerts return in New Hampshire with Drive-In Live

RICHARD DUCKETT

People honking the horns of their cars, flashing high beams ... what does it mean?

If you’re a band performing at Drive-In Live at the Cheshire Fairgrounds in Swanzey, N.H., it means they like you.

“Obviously that’s been a bit different,” said Mike Chadinha, director of operations for Drive-In Live, of audience reaction. Drive-In Live bills itself as “New England’s largest live music series” in this unusual 2020 summer concert season. The bands are liking it. “They’re just happy to be bands at work. Everyone’s been happy to be back at work of some sort. Same with our crew members,” Chadinha said.

Drive-In Live opened July 12 and will take place every Friday and Saturday through to Oct. 10 in the south parking lot of the Cheshire Fairgrounds, adhering to the state guidelines for drive-in movie theaters as it brings in a varied array of live music acts including blues, tribute bands, country and rock.

Attendees purchase one ticket per mid-sized vehicle for up to five people, and tickets must be purchased in advance online — www.drive-in-live. com. Tickets can range between $60 and $159 per vehicle. Cars have 10 feet of space between them and will be parked in a staggered fashion for unobstructed sight lines. People will be able to bring lawn chairs and sit in the empty spot to the left of their vehicle.

Aaron Lewis probably got the horns honking and high beams flashing for his show July 25 as the former lead vocalist of the alternative metal band Staind turned country soloist performed the first sold-out show of the Drive-In Live series. Upcoming shows include a Fireworks Fest by Atlas Fireworks and Grateful Jam from 8 to 10 p.m. Aug. 7; Fireworks Fest and Tom Petty Tribute 8 p.m. Aug. 8; G. Love and Special Sauce 8 to 10 p.m. Aug. 14; Guster, 3 and 8 p.m. Aug. 15; Badfish, 8 p.m. Aug. 21; Allman Betts Band 3 and 8 p.m. Aug. 22; and Martin Sexton, 8 to 10 p.m. Aug. 28.

“We’re adding as we’re going along,” said Chadinha. “Our goal is to bring something for everyone. We try to mix it up as much as possible.”

Music fans seem to be liking it.

“I think people are glad to get out of the house and have some comfortable entertainment, Chadinha said.

The site is located just over the Massachusetts border, so a good number of those fans are from Worcester and Central Massachusetts.

“We are getting people from Central Massachusetts because we’re not that far away,”Chadinha said. People are coming to Drive-In Live from a general radius of 50 miles. “They’re coming from Worcester. It’s a pretty easy day trip. There’s not much else as far as this neck of the woods. I would drive two hours for a show anyway, but now even more so.”

Drive-In Live is produced by M.E. Productions (owned by Seth McNally), which has been presenting national level concerts for two decades in various New England venues.

As the COVID-19 pandemic unfolded shutting down most live music venues indoors and outdoors, one response to the situation was drive-ins, which first started popping up across the ocean for music shows even though drive-ins in the most traditional sense are considered uniquely American.

“We saw it happening in Europe. We thought it was a unique pivot to keep entertainment going,” Chadinha said.

The idea began to pop up Stateside as well, and Live Nation has set up several Live From the Drive-In venues around the country, but Drive-In Live is not associated with them, Chadinha said.

When New Hampshire allowed its drive-ins to open, “We worked on it to make it happen,” Chadinha said. After looking at several sites, the

Right, Mike Chadinha, director of operations for Drive-In Live.

BRETT WITTEN

Cheshire Fairgrounds seemed the most promising.

“We wanted to find a way to bring back live music with national level artists to New England but we also needed to make sure we were provid- ing a safe environment for all attend- ees, staff and artists,” Chadinha said. “With permission from the town of Swanzey, we are ecstatic to be able to bring live events to Cheshire Fairgrounds during these challeng- ing times.”

There is a big fair there every year, but the 2020 edition was cancelled because of the pandemic.

“It’s a big piece of property. For us we just needed a parking lot,” Chadinha said.

The south parking lot of the fairground can accommodate about 1,000 cars under normal circum- stances. To meet social distancing and other requirements Drive-In Live takes a maximum of 430.

“We could do 450, but there would be sight line issues. Every space is a double space — with a little private tailgating area. Parking places are staggered so you’re not surrounded by other people’s groups,” Chadinha said.

In terms of facilities, there are no concession stands, “to alleviate any over-mingling.” There are restrooms and hand washing stations. People don’t have to wear face masks in their designated space but if they leave the space they must put masks on. Food and beverages are permit- ted, but no alcohol is allowed (and no pets).

“We just want a safe environment,” Chadinha said.

Audience members can expect a full concert experience with festival sound, lights and video. The band is live on stage — people won’t be watching a virtual performance on a screen, although there are screens to the right and left of the stage for extra viewing, Chadinha said. There is an FM transmitter if people want to listen in their cars

Drive-In Live was supposed to open July 10, but poor weather de- layed matters to July 12 when Echoes of Floyd, a Pink Floyd tribute, took the stage.

“It went well. It was such a quick thing. We announced the show two weeks earlier. We announced the series two weeks earlier. It wasn’t sold out, but it went really well,” Chadinha said.

“The following weekend we had the Ghost of Paul Revere (Portland folk trio) the 17th, and Blue Oyster Cult (classic rock icons) the 18th. They went great, each show having more attendance and more and more great feedback.”

Then came Almost Queen (Queen tribute), and the sold out Aaron Lewis show.

Asked what’s surprised him so far in this version of the new normal, Chadinha replied “One the biggest surprises is the parking. It’s really important they go into a specific spot. It takes time. It’s not something that people are used to.”

The technical side of putting on concerts has been fairly straightfor- ward. “We’ve done shows. Every- thing’s gone well. It’s really the parking that’s been the biggest challenge, but it’s gotten better and better each time,” Chadinha said.

The crew have to wear masks at all times. “It’s pretty easy to keep social distance when they’re doing their job,” Chadinha said.

The band has its own green room. “We’re hyper-vigilant,” Chadinha said, and the green room gets dis- infected after each visit. “We try to get the musicians to bring their own microphones,” he added.

Chadinha knows what it’s like from the musician’s side of things. He was a touring drummer with Roots of Creation and had stints with Bad- fish. He has recorded with Stephen Marley, Melvin Seals, Marlon Asher and G Love, and worked with Bob Marley producer Errol Brown. He is also the executive director of Uplift Music Festival, a community driven non-profit that raises money for vari- ous local charities.

“I did it for a very long time. I really do feel for them. Their lifestyle before all this was hard. It’s hard enough. Never mind that the music these days is playing live concerts, it’s not records. To have it crashing down, I really feel for them,” Chad- inha said.

Will there be a Drive-In Live in 2021? What will it mean if there is still a need for one?

“Next year I don’t know. I do won- der if this drive-in concept is here to stay,” Chadinha said. “I don’t know how comfortable people are going to be going shoulder to shoulder again. This idea of being able to tailgate with your friends, for me that’s preferable. Who knows where it’s gonna go?”

Upcoming showing include, from top, G. Love and Special Sauce on Aug. 14, Guster on Aug. 15, and The Allman Betts Band on Aug. 22.

Caitlin McCarthy film ‘Wonder Drug’ set to be made by Rhino Films

RICHARD DUCKETT

After plenty of persistence and patience, Caitlin McCarthy of Worcester, a school teacher by day and a screenplay writer by night, is going to see her “passion project” come to life.

McCarthy’s screenplay “Wonder Drug” will be made into a movie by Rhino Films, the acclaimed independent film company, with Stephen Nemeth the producer and Tom Gilroy directing. Shooting may begin in February, Nemeth said.

“Wonder Drug” is one of several screenplays that McCarthy, who teaches English at Worcester Technical High School, has written and won awards for. It will be the first to generate the words “Lights, camera, action.”

“It’s been a long road. I’m excited,” McCarthy said.

“She is going to be a force to be reckoned with as a screenplay writer. I just have this intense admiration for her, her work ethic, and her art,” said Nemeth.

Nemeth formed and heads up Rhino Films which originated as a division of iconoclastic record label Rhino Records. He has produced and executive produced dozens of films including “The Sessions” (Sundance 2012 Audience Award, 2013 Academy Award nomination for Helen Hunt).

He became a mentor for McCarthy when they were both at the 2013 Squaw Valley Screenwriters Conference. “I read the script. I told her I would do anything I could for her,” Nemeth said.

Gilroy, a writer/director/producer/actor from New York, has also been a mentor to McCarthy since “Wonder Drug” was an Alfred P. Foundation script at the Hamptons Screenwriters Lab in 2007. Gilroy went on to direct two live staged readings of “Wonder Drug” at the Hamptons International Film Festival, starring Steve Guttenberg and Alysia Reiner, and at the Manhattan Theatre Club, starring Alysia Reiner and David Alan Basche.

“Wonder Drug” is described as “a scientific drama about the DES (diethylstilbestrol) drug disaster.” From about the 1940s to the early ’70s, DES, initially regarded as a groundbreaking form of synthetic estrogen, was given to pregnant women to prevent miscarriages. However, it has since been found to cause cancer and fertility problems in daughters and mothers who took it. “It’s a passion project. I’m a DES daughter,” McCarthy said of the screenplay and story.

McCarthy worked closely with the offices of former U.S. Senators John Kerry and Scott Brown on securing an apology from the FDA for the DES drug disaster. Thanks to this campaign, the FDA finally acknowledged DES as a “tragedy” in 2011, after 40 years of silence. McCarthy’s DES activism earned her two nominations (in 2011 and 2012) for a Presidential Citizens Medal; a Human and Civil Rights Award from the Massachusetts Teachers Association, and the “Service to Community” Alumni Award from Regis College in Weston, MA.

In 2013 Caitlin and and her mother, Ann McCarthy, appeared on WBZTV and WCVB-TV during the DES breast cancer trial in Boston. Ann McCarthy died last year. The death was not DES-related, but she had spoken about being a DES mother. She was unaware of the damage DES posed when she took it, like all mothers involved, but not many have been willing to talk about it. “My mother was very brave,” Caitlin McCarthy said at the time.

Caitlin McCarthy was was born in Tampa, Florida, (her father, Albert, was in the Air Force) but raised in Worcester, where her parents had deep roots. She graduated from Worcester Academy, Regis College with a degree in English, and earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in creative writing from Emerson College in Boston.

Teaching is in the blood. McCarthy’s mother was a special education teacher at what is now Worcester Technical High School.

Also last year, McCarthy entered “Wonder Drug” in the prestigious Academy Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting competition. The competition is administered by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences — home of the Oscars. The screenplay was a Top 50 script/Top 10 female writer ( for McCarthy).

“Of anybody I’ve ever known, she’s earned the right to get this movie made,” Nemeth said of McCarthy. “She’s a super teacher and her heart is in it. She’s got a big heart, she cares ... This particularly hideous situation (DES) and cover up is finally getting some attention,” Nemeth said.

Over the past two or three months, Nemeth said “We had this conversation. I went to her and said ‘I think I’m of added value. Let’s go make it for whatever we can ... If you don’t object, I would like to be the person.’ “

McCarthy said, “He’s been mentoring me about my overall screenplay writing career. When ‘Wonder Drug’ did very well in the competition, Stephen (Nemeth) said ‘You know we should do this.’ The conversation became more specific.”

She suggested Gilroy as the director. His directorial credits include “Spring Forward” starring Liev Schreiber, Ned Beatty, and Campbell Scott, and “The Cold Lands” starring Lili Taylor, Peter Scanavino, and Silas Yelich.

That was fine with Nemeth.

“The director has earned the right to direct this movie. He’s been men

toring her. He’s made it clear to her that this is something he’d like to di- rect. This particular director deserves it. He’s good,” Nemeth said.

So McCarthy has two mentors for “Wonder Drug,” and it feels “fated” for an additional reason.

“In another example of fate, I first met Stephen (Nemeth) at Game 2 of the 1984 NBA Playoffs between the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers – only I thought Stephen was Andy Gibb at the time,” McCarthy said. “I was an eighth grader and totally convinced that the rock star and his friend, Timothy Hutton, were sitting down the row from me. I was right about Tim being the Oscarwinning actor; he kindly autographed my program. And you could say I was right about Stephen. He is a rock star in his own right, as a producer, men- tor, and feminist gentleman.”

When McCarthy mentioned to Nemeth in 2018 about the time she met Hutton and the friend, Nemeth remembered what had happened.

But his reasons for shooting “Won- der Drug” are down to Earth.

“In the movie business most mov- ies are (expletive), they just are,” he said. “Our intentions are fabulous, but you must start with a great piece of material. This (‘Wonder Drug’), is a particularly good piece of material ... It’s meaningful. The script has a reason to be made. Which is my kind of litmus test.”

“Wonder Drug” has three inter- secting story lines over three decades and they’re all connected, McCarthy said. “It’s structured to be made in the age of COVID,” said Nemeth. “It’s fairly compartmentalized with three different stories.”

The script is currently with actors’ agents. Nemeth said that from Sep- tember to November “we can prob- ably put our cast together, ideally prep in December and January, and start shooting in February.” The film is likely to be made in New York City.

“He’s just such a great person. That’s just who he is. I completely trust him with it,” McCarthy said of Nemeth.

From left, Tom Gilroy, Caitlin McCarthy and Steve Gutten- berg after the live staged reading of “Wonder Drug” at the Hamptons International Film Festival

PHOTO COURTESY OF CAITLIN MCCARTHY

With Nemeth and Gilroy, “I really do feel that we are part of a team and very respectful of each other. I’m very comfortable. It’s going to be a beauti- ful film when it’s done.”

McCarthy’s other screenwriting includes “Resistance,” a featurelength historical drama; “Pass/Fail,” intended as a TV drama co-written with Jim Forbes; “Free Skate,” a onehour TV dramedy/series; “Virtual Vida,” a half-hour TV dramedy; and “Cape Cod Light,” a one-hour TV dramedy. In February she won the Best Feature Screenplay award at the 2020 George Lindsey UNA Film Fes- tival for her thriller “A Native Land.” McCarthy said she has spent the last few months writing/creating a TV pi- lot called “Gaels” with Scottish writer Lynsey Murdoch via Zoom sessions.

But none of these numerous endeavors had received the coveted green light until now.

“We all would like things to hap- pen faster than they do, but I feel this is an example of it happening when it should happen,” McCarthy said.

“I’m still a teacher by day, screenwriter by night. It’s real. It’s happening. It happened here from Worcester.”