North Adams Transcript
WILLIAMSTOWN -- What began as an effort to get local children to jam with one another at the Youth Center led to a separate initiative resulting in local adults forming a band.
The Trophy Husbands featuring the Weapons of Mass Seduction started 10 months ago after Michael Williams, assistant director of the Williamstown Youth Center, and David Edge, a town resident, began playing music together as instructors of the Youth Center’s garage band program.
As time went on, adults -- most with ties to the Youth Center -- joined Williams and Edge outside of the program to play music. The result was a nine-member band made up of six men and three women.
On Saturday, Nov. 14, the band will perform at the North Adams Elk’s Lodge at 100 Eagle St. beginning at 7 p.m. The performance is for a party the band is throwing for adults, but the money raised from it will go back to the place that brought them together.
Williams, who plays the drums, said the majority of the songs the band plays are covers of "new and old favorites," and they try to meet once a week to rehearse.
"For three of us our wives are here, which means the kids are here. Most rehearsals turn out to be family events," he said.
Williams described the decision to hold the fundraiser as a natural one.
"We were going to do something like [throw a party] anyway, so we thought why not just take the money we make and buy stuff for the Youth
He said the Youth Center needs lots of things; especially supplies for its arts programs, which are mostly incorporated into the organization’s after school programming.
"One of the things we need is some place to dry the kids’ paintings. We need art materials for the kids too. One of the things we would like to do is use some of the money to support a program in digital media," he said.
The Youth Center has much of the equipment such programming would need, but doesn’t have someone with the expertise needed to teach it, he said.
Eight of the nine band members have children participating in the Williamstown Youth Center’s programs, so agreeing to raise money for the private, non-profit organizations wasn’t a hard decision.
"A lot of our social lives revolve around the Youth Center in so many ways," said Edge, a guitarist, whose son and daughter participate in programming at the center.
He said the organization plays an important role in people’s lives, and anything that can be done to help advance its work is a good thing.
Other band members include Bernadine Williams, Sarah McNair, Rebecca Mattson, Mark McDermott, Patrick Brannan, Dave McDermott and Jason McNair.
The Burdens, a Williamstown husband-and-wife duo of Richard Scullin and Karin Stack, are expected to open for the Trophy Husbands featuring the Weapons of Mass Seduction.
Williams is hoping the party can raise at least $1,500 to $1,600 for the Williamstown Youth Center.
Tickets are $10 per person and available before the party by calling Williams at (413) 458-5925. Williams said any remaining tickets can be purchased at the Elk’s on Saturday night.
To reach Meghan Foley, e-mail mfoley@thetranscript.com.
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