Sheryl Hunter

The World Has Changed is the title of singer-songwriter John Coster's excellent new rootsy folk-rock CD. This new disc was produced by Susannah Keith and co-produced by guitarist Jeff Pevar, (the "P" in David Crosby's group CPR) and keyboardist Tony Perrino. The album, Coster's first solo work in over a decade features 11 originals, as well as a jamming remake of his old Medicine Band classic "Old Stones, Broken Bones." While the recording was released in 2002, was named a top-ten album of the year by the New England Music Scrapbook, and was picked for a European radio special by CD Baby executives as one of their 10 favorite Roots/Americana recordings, it is just now starting to gain widespread attention.

Coster will perform songs off the new album when he appears at the People's Pint in Greenfield on Friday, Oct. 17 at 9:30 p.m.

If the name John Coster sounds familiar to local music fans, it's because he was a fixture on the Valley music scene back in the eighties, playing area clubs as both a solo act and with his group, the Medicine Band.

John Coster circa 1979

"Music is what led me to the Valley in the first place. I started getting gigs out there and it seemed to be a great place for musicians so I moved there in 1979," said Coster in a recent phone interview. "I lived there until 1990 when I returned to New York State."

Coster said he lived in various spots in the Valley including Northampton, Williamsburg and Lake Pleasant and recalls playing clubs like Sheehan's and Rajha's in Northampton and the Green River Café in Greenfield.

And it was also while living in the Valley that Coster began work on his second solo album, Stories in the Dark, which was released in 1986. This was an important period in Coster's life because it was while recording this album that he met vocalist, Susannah Keith who happened to be recording at the same studio in Northampton. Keith, who has an extraordinary voice ended up singing on Coster's album and then went on to become a singer for the Medicine Band.

Stories in the Dark made it onto the The Valley Advocate's list of top 10 regional albums of the eighties and the Boston Globe called it an example of Coster's "major league talent."

It was also while living in Western Mass. that Coster's work with the Medicine Band flourished and he won many fans here.

"The Medicine Band was actually an early jam band. It was me doing my songs and some traditional covers. We tended to extend tunes," recalled the singer. "We were a forerunner of a lot of the jam bands that are around today."

After a long stretch in the Valley, Coster decided to head back to New York, the state he originally hailed from. Since finishing high school, the Harvard graduate had lived all over the country dabbling in various musical projects and soaking up the sounds those different areas had to offer. While living in Novia Scotia he immersed himself in Gaelic music; and later while in San Francisco during the heyday of the sixties, he became part of that exciting musical scene. He eventually landed in New England, to do some graduate studies in Hartford, CT; and it was here that he formed the group Jacob's Reunion, another band that he performed with in the Valley. It was also around that time that he hooked up with guitarist Jeff Pevar, who would become one of his longtime musical collaborators.

When he was back in New York State in the early nineties, he and Keith decided to step back from performing and focus more on recording.

"After I left the valley, I did a lot of recording in New York City and did a lot of work with Jeff Pevar during this period. I did three different albums down there, including producing Susannah Keith's solo album; and then we also recorded a new Medicine Band album that got a lot of airplay."

The past few years Coster has been sidelined a bit due to illness in his family.

When the time was right, his musical friends urged him to record a new solo album.

"Susannah and Jeff were telling me, 'you've got to do a Coster album, it's time,'" said the singer. "Sometimes you get so involved with all the details of life that what's obvious to other people just isn't obvious to you."

The World has Changed was recorded in Saratoga, with an all star group of musicians. By this time, Pevar had become a much in demand player working with David Crosby, Graham Nash, Phil Lesh and Jazz is Dead. Yet he still found time to devote to to his old friend's project and his guitar work, particularly his solos, are an integral part of The World Has Changed. Besides Pevar, Keith and Perrino, the album included bassist extraordinaire, Dave Livolsi, guitarist Dan Toler, who took some time off from the Dickey Betts Band to work on the project, and Richard Crooks, Coster's drummer in the Medicine Band, who also has worked with Bob Dylan.

When this talented group of musicians joined forces it was like a well-oiled machine coming together.

"I'm very thankful for all the people that came together and kicked me in the butt. We had a great time recording in Saratoga, we knew each other so well for so long that it was like being on a team with players that you've played a lot of games with and you just know how to get things done. "

Considering the schedules of the musicians he records with, it's difficult to perform together. However, he did get most of them together when he returned to this area last February to appear on GCTV's Homegrown show.

"John has been one of my favorite songwriters since I was a teenager and playing his Old Stones album on WTBR on Pittsfield.," said singer-songwriter Jeff Martel, the host of Homegrown. "I used to go see him when I was 15 or 16 and was sneaking into Berkshire hilltown bars. I actually still do tons of his songs in my own show. Getting him to do Homegrown was just the perfect fit."

"As much as I enjoy the group shows, I have really enjoyed playing these solo shows, in part because of the simplicity and freedom of it," said Coster. "However, we may pull off some larger shows in the future and it would be a lot of fun."

The performance at the People's Pint will feature Coster accompanied by his eldest son, John, on percussion. He looks forward to another return trip to his one-time home and plans to spend more time in the area in the future.

"I have to say I really felt at home visiting the Valley recently, as there is a great community of writers and musicians there. I think in the near future I am going to be spending more time in the Valley for a variety of reasons, personally and professionally. It's an area that I want to reconnect with."

The People's Pint is located at 24 Federal St. in Greenfield. Admission is $5. For more information call (413) 773-0333 or visit www.johncoster.com

This column by Sheryl Hunter was first published in the Greenfield Recorder, Greenfield, Massachusetts, on Thursday, October 16, 2003.

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Copyright © 2003 by Sheryl Hunter.

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