Dropkick Murphys booked for Santander Arena show in February [Spotlight]

Nov. 14—The Celtic punk band Dropkick Murphys are coming to the Theater at Santander Arena on Feb. 21 with special guests The Bombpops and The Rumjacks. Tickets are on sale at ticketmaster.com.

The band — Al Barr (lead vocals), Tim Brennan (guitars, tin whistle, accordion, piano, vocals), Ken Casey (lead vocals), Jeff DaRosa (guitars, banjo, mandolin, vocals), Matt Kelly (drums, percussion, and vocals), James Lynch (guitars and vocals), plus touring members Kevin Rheault (bass) and Lee Forshner (bagpipes) — released its 10th full-length studio album, "Turn Up That Dial," on Born & Bred Records in April. It was recorded during the pandemic.

"At first, we didn't know if or when we'd ever play music again, but we found a way to do it," Casey said. "It was nice to have something to work on to keep us sane and give us a little bit of hope. We also had the time to tinker and change things we probably wouldn't have ordinarily. I wish it was under different circumstances, but the time was ultimately beneficial."

Working out of Q Division Studios in Somerville, Mass., with longtime producer Ted Hutt, they recorded in shifts with two members at a time. For the final weeks of recording, Hutt ran the sessions via video conference from his studio in Los Angeles.

For background vocals, they set up separate mics in five different rooms, so they could all simultaneously sing safely.

"We were all looking at each other out the window, at least," Casey recalled. "We went outside to do some vocals, but it gets a little crazy with the ambient sirens, wind, and all of that stuff."

The album features a string of anthems, including with the title track. The overall theme is the importance of music, and the bands that made them who they are.

Art

Studio B Art Gallery, Boyertown, has announced a $3,500 grant from Berks County Community Foundation to fund an exhibit and the release of the studio's ninth book of poetry and prose: "Transforming Moments: Finding Our Voice." The exhibit and book release are scheduled for June 2022.

"BCCF has been our VIP partner since we opened in 2008," said Jane Stahl, the gallery's director of community relations. "The Foundation has sponsored a variety of the studio's initiatives and activities involving our entire community — artists and lovers of the arts, other nonprofits, businesses, families, visitors to our community — and deserves credit for the very existence of 'the little gallery that does. We are grateful for their understanding of the importance of the arts in enhancing the quality of life and economic vitality of the Boyertown area."

The theme for the exhibit and book funded by the grant was inspired by a "Dear Abby" column headlined "Teen Is So Sorry for Unkindness" that Stahl used as a reflective writing assignment in her sophomore communications classes.

A reader calling herself "Sorry Teen in Port Ewen, N.Y." wrote of what she called a "transforming moment" in her life, a time she made a face at an overweight man riding his bicycle up a steep hill and instantly regretted her unkindness. She wrote, "I still feel terrible for what I did. ... He changed my life forever. I'm determined never again to stereotype anyone."

"We all have such moments — moments after which we are never the same," noted Stahl. "Not all moments create regret — others inspire us or remind us of what's really important. ... These moments help to define us. And so, I'm eager for our writers to share them with us and eager for our community to be inspired by them."

Stahl has plans during the three-month exhibit to invite members of the community to share their stories as part of the Human Library project. She said in Denmark, there are libraries where you can "borrow" a person instead of a book to listen to their life story for 30 minutes. The goal is to fight prejudice.

Anyone interested in participating in the project should email her at janeEstahl@comcast.net.

----The Pottstown Area Artists Guild's November Masters of Art talk will feature Amanda Condict discussing the many careers and sidelines of her art journey. It will be held Tuesday from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Those interested in attending should visit the Guild's Calendar webpage, https://paag.info/meeting-times, for information on where it will be held. This event is free and open to the public.

Condict's art journey has led her through many careers and sidelines from fashion illustrator, to a graphic design entrepreneur, to a mom supporting with art her kids activities with art, to an art educator, to conducting art parties.

"I am very content to have proved my father wrong when he told me 50 years ago that even though he believed I was talented, he worried I couldn't make a living with my art," she said. "I am here to tell you that there is always a way to make a living with your art, although sometimes in ways you might never expect."

Condict has studied at Kutztown University, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Albright College and Empire State College.

Books

Updated and revised editions of "The Paratwa Trilogy" by Lower Alsace Township resident and former Reading Eagle staffer Christopher Hinz have been released by London-based Angry Robot Books.

The original science fiction thrillers, "Liege-Killer," "Ash Ock" and "The Paratwa," achieved cult status when published in the late 1980s and 1990s. "Liege-Killer" won the Compton Crook Award for best first novel and earned a nomination for the John W. Campbell award for best new writer.

Hinz has written five other books, scripted comics for DC and Marvel and co-authored the novelette "Duchamp Versus Einstein."

The trilogy takes place hundreds of years after an apocalypse forced Earth's abandonment. Peaceful descendants of the survivors, living in massive orbiting cylinders, are overwhelmed when a Paratwa, a genetically engineered assassin existing simultaneously in two bodies, is awakened from cryogenic sleep and embarks on a killing spree.

Hoping to fight fire with fire, the colonists awaken two Paratwa hunters from the distant past. But the brilliant hacker and tormented soldier soon realize that hunting down the assassin is only the beginning, and that a cabal of fanatic Paratwa have been secretly manipulating humanity for centuries.

"Remastering" the trilogy for contemporary audiences was prompted by the extraordinary technological and social changes over the past three decades. When the original novels were written, the internet and social media were for experimenters, a primitive cell phone could cost $4,000 and streaming was what water did when it flowed downhill. The extensive update includes restructured scenes and new chapters.

"The Paratwa Trilogy" is distributed in the United States by Penguin Random House.