Arts

Malden Reads mulls book pick for 2017

The Malden Reads Book Selection Committee has been busy reading all summer as they considered the contenders for the 2017 pick. The popular One City, One Book program will be entering its seventh year of promoting literacy, encouraging a love of reading and building community in the city of Malden. The program is organized collaboratively by MATV, Malden’s Media Center, and the Malden Public Library in collaboration with a dynamic group of community volunteers. Whittled down from a long list of suggestions from the community, here are the top 10 contenders: Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates Using letters to his teenage son, Coates talks in lyrical, yet uncompromising, prose about race in America and how it has shaped our history.   A Common Struggle: A Personal Journey Through the Past and Future of Mental Illness and Addiction by Patrick J. Kennedy, Stephen Fried The youngest son of Ted Kennedy describes his personal and political struggle with addiction and the hidden damage to his famous family.   A Man Called Ove by Frederik […]

Arts

Malden Public Library’s historic gates restored

The Malden Public Library’s historic wrought-iron gates have been restored  to their original condition and returned to the Salem Street entrance where they have enclosed the walled garden, designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, at the front entrance, since 1911. They were designed by Ludvig Sandoe Ipsen, purchased in 1910 from a $1,000 donation from Mrs. Lillie A.B. Hill of Malden and produced by W.A. Snow Iron Work, Inc.  L.S. Ipsen, decorative artist, was born in Denmark and a graduate of the Academy of Architecture in Copenhagen.  He arrived in Boston around 1867 and eventually moved to Malden. Expressing himself most famously in the decorative arts and illustration, Ipsen was most noted for his book covers, book titles and book plates according to The American Bookmaker, July, 1886.  His illustrated work of “Sonnets from the Portuguese,” by E.B Browning (Tribner & Co.), was described as having been decorated “with exquisite draughtmanship and engraving and designed with taste and grace such as we rarely find surpassed” by The Athenaeum Journal of Literature, Science, The Fine Arts, Music […]

Arts

Lantern walk at Fellsmere Pond lit up Malden

Darkness leisurely replaced dusk. The pond lit up with the procession of people carrying lanterns along its banks. This was Fellsmere Pond on the evening of June 4. Friends of Fellsmere and YODA hosted an evening of family fun. The Friends of Fellsmere is a group of citizens from Malden and Medford dedicated to honoring the 100-year legacy of Malden Hospital. YODA is a group of middle and high school students also known as Young Optimistic Daring Activists. These two groups organized and advertised the lantern walk. It was a lovely evening, warm and dry. It was attended and enjoyed by men, women and children. Lanterns with candles were for sale, or attendees could make their own. There were plenty of cut off 2L bottles, glue and tissue paper. And there were volunteers to help direct the lantern makers who needed help. There were many activities for children including the lantern making. Various size cardboard boxes were on the grass which the children made into houses, built towers, and used their imaginations in many ways. […]

Arts

Never Got Caught featured on “Release the Sounds”

Wow. Feel that heat? Memorial Day, the unofficial beginning of summer, has come and gone but that’s not what I’m talking about. June’s featured artist, Never Got Caught scorched Studio A when they dropped into Release the Sounds. Brothers Bryan Hinkley and Bill Hinkley have roots in the notable Boston hardcore band Tree (all puns definitely intended) but eventually wanted to explore a darker sound. They added Dave Ward on guitar and Jesse Sherman (former Malden resident!) on bass to round out their current lineup and set off playing shows and writing more songs. Those songs grew into albums and now they have been together for over four years. After playing a loud and tight set that included exclusive songs from their upcoming third studio album, they spoke with host, Liz Taegel about the new album, gave some Malden shout-outs, and how rude looking at your phone is during an interview! Look for them at Great Scott on July 16 and they’ll even be featured in a short documentary film about the Hinkley brothers called […]

Arts

TV SHOW: “What’s New? Malden” for June 2016

Hosted by Sam Baltrusis from MATV’s Neighborhood View, the monthly program showcases Malden’s new restaurants, cutting-edge businesses and positive news emerging from the city. The June 2016 edition of Neighborhood View’s “What’s New? Malden” focuses on the booming made-in-Malden movie scene, thanks to Mark Wahlberg’s upcoming film “Patriot’s Day,” from business development officer Kevin Duffy. Get the lowdown on Ward 4 from the new councillor on the block, Ryan O’Malley. Still buzzing from the 10th anniversary of MATV’s Open House Showcase? Go behind the scenes of the annual event with our new co-host Sharon Fillyaw.

Arts

“Inside Malden” interviews musician Peter Moore

When asked what a song about Malden would be, singer songwriter, producer, performer Peter Moore gave the perfect answer, “It depends on who asks for it.” Peter Moore is as versatile, creative, edgy, and adaptive as artists get… able to bend styles, experiment with sound, inject quirks, and apply variety to the need. He intrigues listeners whether singing on stage with Blue Man Group or performing with his current rock band Count Zero, producing a kickstarter-funded rock opera, Heterotopia, writing songs that were picked up by video games such as Rock Band 2 or Guitar Hero, or songs like Hire a Bird that rail against the destruction of the earth and reach the Top 500 Songs of All Time on Boston radio station WFNX. There is no doubt, Peter Moore could provide a number of songs for Malden in styles to suit our colorful demographic makeup and sensibilities. His voracious creativity and addiction to keeping himself and the audience curious and intrigued is what keeps him out of any one category. Yes, he writes pop […]

Arts

Young, a luthier in Malden, creates musical magic

When walking through the front doors of 190 Main Street, one is greeted at the intersection of two worlds: A wall display of shiny guitars in varied sizes and styles and a workbench with tools that mend and build guitars. This is the studio of R. Jeff Young, known as RJ, who is a certified Luthier (maker of string instruments, particularly guitars) as well as a teacher and performer. His music workshop contains a wealth of information and experience. After a tour of his studio, we got to ask a few questions about his career of guitar playing, repair and building. Growing up in New Jersey, Young had an older brother who influenced his interest in learning to play. Young graduated to formal lessons followed by excursions to Spain where he became enamored with flamenco music that he still favors this day. His musical interest has taken him around the world to study and play along well-known musicians. Young is a student disciple of Mario Escudero, a Spanish flamenco guitar virtuoso recognized among the best […]

Arts

Shelita Burke featured on “Release the Sounds”

April’s featured artist over at Release the Sounds is international phenom, Shelita Burke. Over the past two years the Seattle-raised singer/songwriter has become a true musical citizen of the world, bringing her fresh indie folk-jazz and what she dubs “emotional art music” on self-generated world tours that hit France to Japan. In between overseas stints, she’s also done Seattle to NYC tours. She recently visited our studios at MATV during a short stint in Boston. Her debut EP Transfixed was released in November 2015 and was the No. 14 best selling album on Amazon. This kind of success was completely organic, built one fan at a time, one show at a time. Release the Sounds is so glad Shelita was able to stop by the studio to play for us.  

Arts

Scenes from a holiday bazaar

The holidays may be long over but I’m left with a memory of a special event in my neighborhood, a pop-up (private) party featuring crafts from local artists in the basement of a home transformed into a Moroccan-style bazaar. On behalf of the seven artists that banded together to create this special event, I wanted to share photos and some video highlights that have not yet been shown to the public. Local artist and community activist Elena Martinez says it all started with a “WHAT IF moment.” She and local artist Bonnie Blanchard were discussing the lack of space where artists could collectively work together. As the holiday time approached, they were looking for venues to sell their work. They decided to hold a “pop-up” event in the basement of Bonnie’s home and invite guests to attend. It would be a small neighborhood event that would offer holiday arts and crafts for a two-day stint just before the holiday shopping frenzy began. It would also be a showcase for a handful of locally renowned artists […]

Arts

Anthony Savino featured on “Release the Sounds”

Providence-based artist Anthony Savino has been playing the guitar for about 14 years, and in that time he has developed a swift, craftsman-like fingerpicking style.  He has devoted much of the past decade to making and releasing original work, though his showcase with RTS features almost exclusively as-yet unreleased material, including a song which he wrote as part of the score for Spanish short film based on Jack London’s The Call of the Wild. His approach ranges from lively, gentle and bright as in Red Bird, to pastoral folk pacings that make me somehow homesick as in What You Read. New releases are in the works and soon to be added to his already extensive collection of albums and EP’s, available for listen, streaming and download HERE. Visit the Youtube channel for Release the Sounds HERE for more behind-the-scenes clips. Release the Sounds, airing on MATV (Comcast 3, Verizon 28) every Wednesday at 10 p.m. and Saturdays at 8 p.m., spotlights regional musicians every month.