Midday Records to Host Local Music Showcase Sept 20

Davey Moore and Midday Records, the label he started with his Satellites Fall bandmate Mark Charron, are like the Tom Joad of the Providence music scene. If there’s a band hungry for a gig, they’ll be there.

“A few years ago it was basically you playing in front of the bartender and the other bands. We were discovering all these acts we didn’t know about. For me it was a crime that some of these great bands were just grinding out and struggling.”

Having come up through the ranks in the mid-‘90s, Davey recalls the halcyon days of packed shows at The Living Room and the old Met – “it didn’t matter who was on the bill, people just went to shows” – but by the time he got to college the scene had changed.

“It seemed like things had just slowed down. Local music was so under appreciated, it’s a crime,” he says, but adds happily, “now there’s definitely an uptick. You go to Dusk on a weekday, there’s 67 people in the room. On a weekday.”

Trying to pin the ups and downs of the scene to any one thing really eludes any kind of concrete science, but the fact that Providence has such a supportive arts community can certainly be attributed to the constant emergence of new, exciting talent, even when there’s a dry spell in opportunity for it to flourish. For its part, Midday Records deserves a lot of credit for seeing that talent and doing everything it can to nurture it.

Take the Midday Social, a quarterly get together where musicians rub elbows with one another and local promoters, radio personalities and journalists. Or last month’s Music for Paws, an all day charity event that raised money for the Bristol Animal Shelter and featured an all-star line up of local talent including B. Dolan, VulGarrity, Gertrude Atherton and Satellites Fall.

This month will see the first of what Davey’s hoping will be a recurring Midday event, a two-day showcase featuring all-new material by local performers. His idea is that by packing all of these bands and multiple record release shows into one bill, that artists will find themselves with an in- creased fanbase.

“People always come out to support a CD release, so if four bands are doing that you’re playing for a whole new crowd because all of those other bands are bringing people.”

The bands lined up run the gamut from seasoned talent to raw, primordial newbies. Opening will be The Can’t Nots, a band who sit somewhere in the middle. Since 2010 the band has been carving a niche out of the local scene for themselves. Creating a sound that sits comfortably between The Yeah Yeah Yeahs and The Talking Heads, lead singer Naomi Wilkinson describes the group as “in your face rock and roll, but with a dance backbone.”

On the more battle-hardened side of things are SEXCoffee, who will be debuting their latest EP, Nothing Personal. After more than a decade of kicking all kinds of ass on stage and only looking back to chuck their victims the bird, Nothing Personal is a bit of a departure for the group. Though not lacking for any amount of driving, petal to the metal rock and roll, the EP is a more mature cup of SEXCoffee as age, experience and some personal tragedy have forced them to take a long, introspective look in the mirror. “Life creeps in,” says guitarist Bobby Dumont. “It’s a lot more emotional as far as rock record goes.”

Then there’s The Sweet Release, a pack of wild smart asses from North Attleboro who have been cutting their teeth in the Providence scene. “We call ourselves sarcastic, rude rock and roll,” says bass player Jimmy James. With a ‘70s punk attitude and a sleazy, party rock sound, their new EP, We’re Coming, certainly lives up to that description.

While their sounds might vary, these and the other bands on the lineup all agree that having someone like Davey in the scene is vital. The fact that he finds time for all of this in addition to playing in his own successful band is even more impressive.

“Working with Davey is awesome,” says Bobby from SEXCoffee. “He recognizes what’s out there and that the Providence scene is amazing.”

“Because I’m in a band and I’ve been through it all I’m always thinking like a musician,” says Davey. “My goal with Midday is to give local artists as many opportunities as we can give them.”

Midday Records Showcase featuring The Can’t Nots, SEXCoffee, The Sweet Release, BROS, and more September 20, 21 $10; Doors at 4pm

Fete. 103 Dike Street .383-1112