Little John

at the Causeway
by Laura Kallio

For the past two years, I’ve been following this band called Little John in and out of local venues from Boston to Lowell. The band celebrated their newly released single, “Scared,” with a house-packing record release party at the Causeway on Thursday, October 18th. We arrived early to find out how much free food and beer we could scarf down: A lot.

Unlike many of the angst-ridden Boston rockers, Little John’s sound, a mix of folk, funk and rock – labeled by some as “cow-punk” – is an upbeat, positive one, even when Seth Freeman (lead guitar and vocals) is singing about self-doubt or getting dumped.

O.K., it’s a 7″ vinyl single and in the CD age, I know only 2 or 3 people who even own turntables, but hey, it’s packaged with a cool little glossy drawing on the cover, suitable for framing or at least taping on your wall.

For production, Little John brought in the heavy artillery with Mike Denneen of Letters to Cleo, Gigolo Aunts, and Amy Mann fame. Denneen lends the recording a major league quality just when this much-improved band is coming into its own.

Little John seemed in great spirits as they took the stage at the Causeway, a club that always seems to bring out the best in them. The crowd responded well to the songs from the single as well as their entire set. Little John was joined by Jennifer Jackson, Jennifer Trynin, and Subduing Mara, along with special surprise guests Atlas Shrugged and Brendan Haley.

One pleasant surprise was Little John’s jam session with Jonny Polonski of the Jennifer Jackson band. Hey Jonny, forget Chicago. Stay here in Boston.

Little John’s lyrics and musicianship have improved with time and they seem to get tighter and more in tune with each other every time they play. You can hear them for yourself at T.T. the Bears in Cambridge on November 18th or pick up their new single at Boston’s Tower Records, Newbury Comics, or Nuggets in Kenmore Square.