NOT THAT PROFOUND
By Nathan Graziano
One of the perks of my work is that I’m able to interview some excellent musicians and attend some excellent shows with some excellent people playing excellent music.
Oh, and I get paid for it.
But of all the venues I’ve attended with my pen and reporter’s notebook in hand, “The Slow Cooker Sessions” at The Stone Church Music Club in Newmarket is one of the most uniquely excellent.
I went to The Stone Church on Sunday afternoon —“The Slow Cooker Sessions” are held the first Sunday of the month from November to March — to interview musician Jon Nolan, who organizes the sessions, for a piece that I’m writing about him for New Hampshire Magazine.
Nolan, who was a founding member of Say ZuZu, released a new album in September with his band, Good Co., titled “Slow Cooker,” and I had arranged to sit down with him for a short interview before the gig.
I figured while I was there that I would take in a little of the show and get a feel for the vibe, where the musicians sit in a circle — a concept used often with Irish music — on the second floor of The Stone Church and play for a few hours while their friends and family and neighbors gather to watch them jam.
Being a fan of The Grateful Dead, I figured I would appreciate it. And I did. In fact, I stayed until the last song.
Each month, a new musical guest is invited to join the circle, and February’s guest was Dan Blakeslee. I had a feeling that I recognized the name, and then it dawned on me: my wife and I once bought his Halloween album for our kids when they were little. The kids are all adults now.
The aspect of “The Slow Cooker Session” that really impressed me was an emphasis on community. They also served soup, and a handful of children were playing in the room. It is seldom these days that a stranger can walk into a place knowing no one and feel welcomed, but this was exactly my experience.
“It’s just friends playing together, trying some new stuff,” said Geoff Taylor, the bassist for Good Co. and a part of the session musicians.
The musicians moved around, switched instruments, and took turns playing songs. A few members from the audience jumped in the circle and grabbed a guitar or a harmonica, without missing a beat. The music was largely Americana tunes with some cover songs sprinkled throughout — the two I recognized were The Band’s “Up on Cripple Creek” and The Stones’ “Wild Horses.”
But Nolan, a natural showman, also invited the audience into the session as well, playing a round of “Name That Tune” and inviting the crowd to rewrite some lyrics of a song Nolan once wrote while dancing in the kitchen with his kids.
For Nolan, establishing this sense of community is paramount.
“I am focusing on community and connection, being with my friends and doing fun things,” Nolan said. “I want to create experiences that are felt, with less playing music at people and more playing music in the presence of people, with people. I want the things that I do to feel like an invitation.”
Let’s face it: There is a lot of nastiness and noise in the world right now, and for one afternoon and evening, it was nice to slow cook and share in the music.
You can reach Nate Graziano at ngrazio5@yahoo.com. Nate Maplethorp has no time for fans. He’s very important.