Curtain Society celebrate Life is Long, Still
The Worcester Phoenix, 27 September 1996
Joe Longone
Climbing up Airport Hill, Ron Mominee, Roger Lavallee, and Duncan Arsenault look over the city and beyond to a dream of becoming the world’s next big sound to hit the world. For Curtain Society, their next step closer will be this Saturday, September 28, when the trio celebrate the release of their new CD, Life is Long, Still (Bedazzled), with a performance at Foothills Theatre.
Walking into the night on a downtown street, Lavallee and I come from his band’s rehearsal space and talk about their upcoming Foothills appearance. he looks at me and says, “I hipe this happens for Worcester’s sake. We’re taking a chance doing a show at a theatre, but others in this town have to be shown you can do anything you want to do.”
I climb into my car and pop in a cassette recording of their new 13-song release. Motoring and watching the flickering reflection of passing tailights, I am suddenly covered with a thick blanket of sound. A tough, hypnotic audio dream surrounds my very being.
If I don’t write another column, I’d be satisfied to say I saw at least one local band come into their own right in front of my eyes. For eight years, in one form or another, Lavallee explored his daydreams, which started from his parent’s house in Southbridge.
A bigger, grander, more hook-driven outfit, Curtain Society are ready to rip at the big boys. The band’s new CD is glorious! A magical tour through a dreamscape, the trio is filled with explosive moments. The three have a blossoming power and determination that have brought them into this bright and brilliant musial display. Top-notch production and inspired songwriting make this one of the best new recordings in American pop.
One of the major contributing factors to a deep, more soulful Curtain Society is their new-found appreciation for the traditional instrumental. Life is Long, Still has a couple of its own vocal-less wonders. Other songs are influenced by surf or space-age instrumentals.
Stopping the car in front of my house, I go inside and think about the interview I had just had:
You guys sound bigger? “We’ve been taking steroids,” laughed Mominee as he strapped on his bass, back at his rehearsal space.
Lavallee said, “It’s a bit more of everything we’ve ever been. That’s why we’re doing this show in a theatre — we want to be able to do things we couldn’t do in a bar.”
Arsenault jumped in while reaching for one of his drums, “We’ll finally have total control over our environment,” he said.
Lavallee said, “We wanted to do something unusual, something Worcester hasn’t seen before.”
Tickets can still be got for the Foothills’ performance for $10 at Al-bums, Romo’s, and Wurlitzer Music.