By Francesca Farruggio Everyone uses the term “don’t judge a book by it’s cover” in different contexts… Food for thought: your sweet and innocent granny can totally shred on guitar. Let that sink in for a moment. I know, it’s weird to imagine grandma rockin’ out (at...
by Ben Rudnick As a songwriter, I aim to be like my good friend Jeff, who plays harmonica and mandolin in an internationally famous Canadian rock band. The band had a big hit in the late 1980s and my pal is now a “micro celebrity.” Inspired by...
by Marisa Torrieri Bloom I don't know about you, but I'm over the moon that it's Halloween! While I normally don't spend hours on social media (though my husband would probably disagree), Halloween is one of those days when I'm entrenched in it. I love seeing...
by Marisa Torrieri Bloom I've been in bands easily half my life. Much of the time, they're formed out of friendships, work/school connections or circumstance, plus being in the right place at the right time. That's how Grandma's Mini, my longest-running Washington, D.C., rock band with my...
by Marisa Torrieri Bloom Music is all about timing. Quarter notes, eighth notes, sixteenth notes, and so on. But so is pretty much everything else. I’ve been thinking a lot about timing lately, as I always feel like I’m running out of time, between working, mothering, sleeping,...
by Marisa Torrieri Bloom October is a gorgeous month in so many parts of the country, especially New England and the Mid-Atlantic, with tapestries of changing leaves and tree filled landscapes, as pumpkin mania takes hold. Guitars aren’t necessarily seasonal, but as parents of young children...
by Marisa Torrieri Bloom Laurie Berkner is no fly-by-night children’s music artist. My sons, who have loved her since they were toddlers, still regularly sing along to her tunes, particularly “We Are Dinosaurs” and “Monster Boogie.” The latter may just be their favorite, as evidenced by...