Sat. Jan. 5

It's a multi-media night at the Middle East Upstairs Saturday Jan. 5. A film debut "Counting Backwards" (about the Boston rock scene of the late '80s/early '90s), a Jersey rock band, Boston vet Asa Brebner and much more. It was put together by Joe Harvard, (in photo) whose band closes the night. Harvard - co-founder/owner of the famed Boston (and later Cambridge) Fort Apache studio and a producer there (1985-1993), was a longtime fixture on the Boston scene. He played in, he says, "maybe 40, 50" bands, he wrote articles and books, he produced. "A renaissance man," he says, with a laugh. He left Boston for Asbury Park in 2000, but says, "I still consider myself part of the Boston scene."
We asked him how to describe the night and Harvard, rarely at a loss for words, e-mailed us this (we edited slightly): "At 7:30 we start with director Dan Kramer's Boston Rock version of the Quiz, which is something he does in New York and Brooklyn these days and was very eager to do, sort of unstoppable eager. At 8, we show Kramer's movie "Counting Backwards," the UK documentary about the late 80's - early 90's Boston rock scene, first time shown. Then, there's my good pal Zareena the Belly Dancer and after her. Since this is the 4th Jersey Junket - wherein I bring one of the better Jersey Shore bands with me to Boston when I play - it's Rick Barry. He's a genuine talent. Won the John Lennon Song Contest year before last, first guy in forever to have 2 songs among the top 4 finalists, also won I think it was Univision Song Contest this year. He likes to win free stuff, clearly. But his ability is impressive. We co-wrote a country song ["Goin' to Nashville" - a very daring and original title I know]  for the series "Nashville Star" or something like that, which didn't get used, but he has the skills that's for sure. He loves that Pedro the Lion guy, and Josh Ritter, and his music has that sort of simplified sophistication at times. He took a year long detour just now cuz he 'wanted to rock,' but is now back putting together a less boisterous band, which I am [at least temporarily] in. Makes it easier to produce him later, which I'm about to. I feel his singer-songwriter type writing is top notch.

 After Zareena the Belly Dancer. Hopefully her tent poles are holding up and her finger cymbals still have that special zing. Next, Asa Brebner, legendary scene starter with Mickey Clean and the Mezz, Modern Lover bassist ... verily shall he rawke. Then it's Spouse, from Western Ma. I met Jose Ayerve of Spouse when he was playing bass - and I was doing sound - for the Pernice Brothers during last Nov.'s tour. The Spouse record sounds pisser.
The Joe Harvard Band are still pioneering their country eastern sound, working various instruments such as cumbus, yayli tanbur, quatro, bazouki, pedal steel, shruti box and timbura into the recordings, and saz cumbus, coral sitar, lap steel and such in the live shows, trying to get that spot where the mix that make sense when I play at home ... arabic and indian timbres next to the 'high and lonesome' steel guitars & fiddles of country and hillbilly sounds with drone and moan: mouth harp, dulcimer, banjo, autoharp ...beautiful combinations, they fit together so well, and that's important -- that the pairing isn't strained, like some over-intellectualized 'world music' fabrication, not "exotic" sounds grafted onto rock, indie and garage song structure, but really integrated into the work, just as the sounds are in one's head when you sit on your couch at 3 a.m. and they flow out, naturally. It's more challenging than I realized, but the record we're working on now I think is pretty close. We are in transition right now, from a 5 to a 4 piece, working on adding some white space to a canvas that was getting a bit crowded, so we can fill it with more appropriate sounds later. We had a good year, 6 Asbury Music Award Nominations [zero wins!] carried the flag for the paunchy, the not so young and fresh, the no-BS rockers with love in their hearts, and played a smoking set at the awards show at the Stone Pony which was better than any award. Now we buckle down."
Doors at 7, tickets are $10.

472 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, 617-864-3278 www.mideastclub.com