By Dave Hoffenberg
updated
Wed, Feb 15, 2012 01:54 PM
The Connecticut Connection is strong in Killington this week.
You can catch two of its great acts with Kenny Mehler from
Glastonbury and Bloomer from Newington.
Kenny Mehler Band
Friday night, catch Mehler at Slopeside Bar & Grille. Saturday
afternoon he performs at the K1 Base Lodge and next Wednesday he'll
be at Jax Food & Games. Mehler has been playing in Killington
for the past 11 years and each time his shows are high energy and
very entertaining. Chris Karr, owner of Jax and the Pickle Barrel,
called Mehler "The best front man he has ever seen."
Mehler first appeared on the Killington scene back in 2001 with
his band Fivewise. They tore up Killington for five years before
they went their separate ways.
After doing the band thing since the mid 90's, Mehler decided to
take a break to write new music. He went down to Playa Del Carmen,
Mexico for a vacation and ended up staying down there for the
winter to play and write his debut album, "Now". The album
incorporates rock, blues and a fun reggae texture ready to surf the
radio waves from the first note. Taking cues from Jack Johnson, Rob
Thomas and fellow Connecticut native John Mayer, "Now" is filled to
the brim with energetic guitar riffs, catchy choruses, and melodic
harmonies.
After releasing "Now", Mehler started a grass roots internet
marketing campaign to get the album into as many hands and heard by
as many ears as possible. His effort was greatly rewarded, with
almost 2 million plays on myspace.com alone. Mehler is grateful
that so many people have taken the time to get to know him and his
music. The Kenny Mehler Band was formed in 2007 and has been
traveling and defining their musical style ever since. Mehler is a
hard-working, constantly touring singer/songwriter that plays over
300 shows a year. He has played up and down the east coast from
Maine to Florida, the mid-west with Ohio and as far west as Denver.
He even has found time to play in Guam and Toronto.
The band has a big party coming up in March where they are sailing
and playing on the Rock Boat from New Orleans to Cozumel, Mexico.
They will be splitting time on the stage with other bands including
Sister Hazel, Vertical Horizon, Carbon Leaf, Freddy Jones Band and
many more great acts. The band is no stranger to touring with
national acts as they most recently opened up for Train and played
to 10,000 people. They've also performed alongside of 311, Cake,
Everclear, Bare Naked Ladies, Dispatch, War and more.
Mehler has since released two more albums. In 2010, "Now and Then"
came out as a re-mastered version of the 2007 release "Now" and it
includes five additional bonus tracks of un-released
material.
My favorite songs are 'Moses Brown', a pop packed narrative with a
touch of country that will have you singing along the first time
you hear it and the fun and funky party song, '8th and 10'. There
is something for everyone and it is sure to make a lasting
impression on anyone within earshot of its lively, charismatic
chords and unforgettable hooks. 'Moses Brown' is currently spinning
on over 50 college radio stations across the country.
Mehler also released a live solo acoustic album in 2011 that was
recorded at the Hard Rock Café at Foxwoods where Mehler performs
periodically.
Bloomer
This Saturday night, head over to the Grist Mill to see the only
Killington performance from Bloomer, which is Brian Blumenthal on
Lead Vocals and Guitar, and Wes Bourque on Percussion and
Drums.
Bloomer has had some different variations over the years. The
original is Brian and his brother Alan, which first graced a
Killington stage back in 2003 at the Wobbly Barn Après-Ski. They
were an instant hit with their blend of cover songs and parody
songs of those hit covers. They brought the "Happy" back to Happy
Hour. They were the Friday and Saturday act for two seasons until
Alan moved to Nashville to start a solo career. Brian changed up
the band with Mike Tierney and Junior and for the next season they
were the Bloomer Trio. They were still entertaining and still fun
just with more people on the stage.
Brian Blumenthal wanted a change from the cold, snowy winters so
in 2006 he took his show on the road to Key West. Bloomer rocked
Key West as a solo act playing some of the top clubs like Irish
Kevins and the Drunken Parrot. The beaches were nice and so was
Fantasy Fest but he missed the snowboarding, so back to Killington
he went. 2007-08, the Bloomer duo of Brian and Mike played every
Friday night at Jax. Except for the stint in Key West, each one of
the winters since Blumenthal traveled back and forth from CT to
VT.
Last April he met Wes who plays a unique percussion instrument
called the Black Swan. The new Bloomer gives you the hits of old
and new with a different twist. Bloomer now plays regularly in
Boston, Nantucket and Block Island and annually in Manch-Israel, CT
for Hanukkah with his band "Rhythm and Jews". This year marked
their fifth performance as the "Chosen Band". It's an
All-Star Jew Revue that plays your favorite bar standards and
Hebrew hymns. It's a Mitzvah, at a bar.
No matter what line-up Brian has played with he just loves to
share his music. He could have taken a different route. Fourteen
years ago, fresh out of college with a degree in business, he
decided not to use it. He attended a Rusted Root/Santana concert
and knew that playing music was what he wanted to do. He bought a
guitar and taught himself how to play it. Dave Matthews Band, Bob
Marley, Snoop Dogg and Sublime are artists he covers and his
influences as well. He did six months selling copiers with playing
guitar as his side project, until one day he quit and made playing
music his full-time job.
Ski houses like "Lunchbox" love Bloomer and he loves them back.
They will be at his shows and he will be at theirs, rocking a
late-night house party. Brian loves the great music and great times
that came from Killington and that is why he is back to do it
again.
Tagged:
rockin' the region, rockin the region, Bloomer, Kenny Mehler Band
