“Great F***ing Name For a Band.”

Let’s be up front about it.  We’ve debated our band name quite a bit over the past few years.  Other names have been kicked around: The Hemoglobes, Milk for Spain, The Chicago Bulls, Thooth, The Spanking McDowells, A Cat Named Arlo, and Sam Kapala and the Darlingsides.  These not-so-close runners up were often kicked around jokingly during dinners, and sometimes not-so-jokingly during business conversations.  What we all needed was a good convincing that Darlingside was the right name for us.  But who could we count on (Peter Mulvey) to do that?  Peter Mulvey.

It was a busy weekend here in Hadley.  We had a record number of visitors crashing all over our house and our house raft, and a record number of Subarus in our driveway.  The crowds gathered for one main purpose: to hear Mulvey’s set at the Iron Horse.  Consequently, a weekend of solid jams ensued in our newly appointed music-mecca of a basement.

The festivities began Friday night with the arrival of our good friends Caitlin Canty and Greg Schultz.  Caitlin is a singer-songwriter based out of New York, and Greg is a guitarist and founding member of the band Socialist (check out their websites in the sidebar).  Saturday marked the arrival of musician friends Adam, Carlos, and JT, and friends/girfriends/girfriends-of-friends Ina, Josh, Cat, Hannah, and Christina.  This stunning fall day included everything from climbing apple trees to busking on the streets of Northampton.  The benefits of such a large group of musicians coming together on the streets were two-fold: half of the group could perform while the other half could serve as the crowd.  As Paul Hindemith, the composer, once put it: “People who make music together cannot be enemies, at least while the music lasts” (Composers Datebook, 9/25/09).  We are fortunate to have so many friends with so many talents.  Whether it be the late-night acoustic sessions in the basement or noodling away at a guitar on a floating raft at 4:30 in the morning, the music made this weekend was fueled by our enjoyment of one another.

Paul Hindemith, contemplating friendship

Speaking of people who are friendly and play music and fuel our enjoyment of one another, Peter Mulvey performed at the Iron Horse Music Hall on Saturday night–a performance some of us (Dave and I and Greg and others and Dave’s parents and stuff) had all been looking forward to for the better part of a year.  Curled up on the couches and tucked snugly into the booths on the balcony of the music hall, we listened to Mulvey splay his sweet honey-suckle nectar-sound upon the audience.  Particularly of note were Mulvey’s spoken-word pieces.  He displayed his mastery of the art of performance–that is, he understood that what occurs between songs on stage is just as important as what occurs during songs.  From start to finish, the show delivered.  It left us warm, glowing, and smiling ear to ear.

After the show, we were fortunate enough to meet Mulvey.  Upon handing him our business card and informing him of our band, he glanced at our band name.  Unprompted, he shared with us his candid impression: “Great f***ing name for a band”.  Done.  No more Milk for Spain. No more Cat Named Sam Kapala and the Spanking Hemoglobes.  Darlingside it is.