By CHRISTOPHER KAZARIAN
Nearly two years ago, Brian Kerins of Falmouth underwent chemotherapy to treat a cancerous lymph node in his stomach. The diagnosis put his musical career on hold as he focused on his health. That time away allowed for meaningful introspection, which became useful during this year’s pandemic.
Cape Cod’s Beatles cover band, Walrus Gumboot, regularly performs at the British Beer Company.
“In general, it made me calmer about life,” he said. “Any day your number could be called so I guess it kind of put me at ease. It relaxed me. We’re all here on borrowed time… We should all do what we love to do and what makes us happy and try to do what you can to the best of your abilities.”
Since he could remember what has made him happiest is playing music, serving as a form of therapy after he lost his father, brother and a grandparent at a young age. “It has been a source of refuge for me,” he said. “I absolutely don’t know what I would do without music.”
And so Kerins, who performs solo as well as with the band Flydown, used the quarantine as a way to entertain his family, friends, and fans with several virtual concerts, all to raise money for several local charities that provided direct assistance during the pandemic, including the Falmouth Service Center, St. Joseph’s Shelter in Hyannis and the Police Athletic League of Cape Cod.
While the concerts offered him an opportunity to continue pursuing his passion, he had to temporarily shelve his first-ever album of original music as well as live gigs, including several shows at British Beer Company, where he has performed regularly for nearly two decades.
Fans of Kerins know him from his Sunday evening performances at the Falmouth Heights BBC as well as the annual Lennon Fest concert headlined by his Beatles cover band Walrus Gumboot.
KYLE NORMANDIN
A great place to catch Crooked Coast is at Grumpy’s Pub. The band consists of Ben Elder (left), Shaqed Druyan, John McNamara and Luke Vose.
“I’ve always maintained the hallmark of Flydown’s tenure would have to be the Sunday night acoustic rager at the Falmouth BBC,” he said. “That show holds particular significance because we’ve been doing it since around 2006… We’re not in Nashville, we’re not in LA and we’re not in New York City. To be on Cape Cod with our winters and the seasonal tourism, it can be a lot harder for an everyday musician to hold down a weekly gig for an extended period of time.”
While he has a special place in his heart for the BBC, he listed several venues, from Dino’s Sports Bar in Mashpee to Jack’s Restaurant in Falmouth to the Sandwich Taverna, that make the Upper Cape a perfect spot for catching a live show.
“I hear a lot of people talk about how much musical talent there is on the Cape and I absolutely agree,” he said. “It is a great scene.”
It hasn’t always been that way.
David Fenstermaker remembers when he purchased Grumpy’s Pub in 1998 that aside from Liam Maguire’s Irish Pub on Falmouth’s Main Street, which has traditional Irish music, and the now-defunct Nimrod on Dillingham Avenue in Falmouth, which had jazz, there was little in the way of musical offerings.
“There wasn’t much of a live music scene in Falmouth,” he said. “Now there is music everywhere.”
At Grumpy’s it’s a gritty scene, a true dive bar, complete with vintage signs of local businesses of long ago hanging on the walls and ceiling.
JARED CHARNEY
If you get the chance be sure to catch a performance by Johnny Hoy and the Bluefish.
“Jeremy Berlin, the keyboard player for Johnny Hoy and the Bluefish, said places like ours have stopped existing,” Fenstermaker said. “They are not around. He calls us a roadhouse and he’s not wrong. Most of them are gone, but it works for us.”
While its pool tables and dart boards add to the ambiance, it’s the live music—from the rock sounds of Crooked Coast to the reggae soul of the Dirty Water Dance Band—that make Grumpy’s a unique venue on the Cape.
“Seeing a live show, you forget all your troubles for a while,” Fenstermaker said in the midst of the pandemic. “Watching an artist perform live is kind of magical to me. I’m really bummed out because the coronavirus has cancelled all of these live shows I’m not going to see, not just at Grumpy’s, but my wife and I go to a couple of music festivals a summer.”
That love of music is one shared by Naukabout co-founder and CEO Peter Murner, whose Mashpee brewery originally started as a music festival in 2008. When Naukabout opened two years ago, Murner finally had a year-round establishment where he could offer an intimate space to listen to popular local musicians that have included Andrew Lowenstein, Schuyler Grant and Brian Sances.
It has also drawn national acts, including Edwin McCain; Sean Kelly, the lead singer of The Samples; and O.A.R. frontman Marc Roberge.
“In one setting, they can enjoy a cold beer, great food from a local food truck and listen to some great music,” Murner said of Naukabout. “At the end of the day, music is a great excuse to get together with people you love and people you don’t know and experience something that everyone can share in together.”
That communal experience is something that can be found in a number of venues throughout the Upper Cape, from the Landfall’s epic summer dance parties to the more laid-back vibe at both the Quicks Hole Taqueria and West Falmouth Market, which feature live acoustic music outdoors.
Over the past decade, owners Debbie and Kevin Ross have tried to provide a similar vibe at The Bog Pub on MacArthur Boulevard in Pocasset, with live music on Thursday and Saturday evenings throughout the year.
“We have always loved music,” said Ms. Ross. “We decided it was important for us to support local musicians and give our patrons a little more than just dinner.”
Typically, the entertainment consists of one or two musicians performing acoustically. In the summer, it can accommodate larger acts on their outdoor deck.
While they split their time between Fairfield County, Connecticut, and Cape Cod, the Rosses know there is no comparison when it comes to live music. “I think the live music scene here is amazing,” said Ms. Ross. “In Connecticut, there is restaurant after restaurant with very little live music… I think it makes for a nice evening out when you sit and listen to live music.”
Especially with the pandemic, Ms. Ross said, it will be more important than ever for restaurants like hers to support local musicians and give them a place to entertain the public. “I know how hard it is for them to not have these gigs. Many of them rely on it,” she said. “When this is over, people are going to need something like that. They’re going to need to have a nice dinner with live music and just be able to relax and not worry about anything else.”