Wheel to the Storm

February 4, 2025
Dead Night, Bishop's Lounge

 

Acoustic Dead Night opener, February 4, 2025; Win Close on cajon, Brian Hell on banjo

Events

Tuesday, March 25, 6pm: Wheel hosts Liberal Arts Open Mic
At Bishop's: Mark Paradis guitar, Parker McQueeney keys, Mark Kinghorn (Shakedown CT) bass, Rob Lovett (Lobsters from Marz) drums

Liberal Arts Open Mic Info

Drum master and Dead Night organizer Kade Parkin sits in, 12/10/24 (photo: Win Close)

Wheel to the Storm hosts a weekly informal open mic on Tuesdays from about 6:00 - 8:00pm at Liberal Arts, 236 Pleasant Street in Northampton. We generally play two or three 20-30 minute sets.

The open mic immediately precedes our beloved Dead Night at Bishop's. Dead Night musicians and audience! Stop by if you have time, and watch or sit in!

Contact Wheel to the Storm

Contact us at info@wheeltothestorm.band if you are interested in having us play at your event. We are available in electric and acoustic format.

Dead Night

One-time string band combo at Dead Night, October 15, 2024

Bishops Lounge hosts a Dead Night Tuesdays from 9-12pm. Many of the local Dead musicians and bands rotate through. Drummer Kade Parkin organizes it. The better-known full bands that appear regularly are Owsley's Owls, Dead Collective, and Shakedown CT. Regular and one-time combos have come and gone with the likes of lead guitarist and Jerry sound-alike Mark Paradis, keyboardist Parker McQueeney, rhythm guitarist and young Bob look-alike Mike Parham, and bassist Brian O'Connell. All of the above-mentioned musicians have helped teach Wheel to the Storm, as have the nonstop weekly Dead Night performances.

Wheel to the Storm's first and only original, Little Dark Bar, is a tribute to Dead Night.

About Wheel to the Storm

We are the Pioneer Valley's newest Grateful Dead band. Our first full show was November 1, 2024: Day of the Dead. Four days later America voted to end its democracy. We were the Last Rose of Summer.

Our genesis was a Grateful Dead rock band class our drummer asked Downtown Sounds to organize. Garrett at DS got local Dead band keyboardist Parker McQueeney to teach, and the magic began. Over 24 weeks, our technique improved and our fervor for playing and being together became undeniable, and we left the nest as Wheel to the Storm.

Wheel to the Storm is:

Win, Lurene, Connor, Brian at Liberal Arts

Lurene Grenier: 
Lead vocals, lead guitar
Connor Grenier: 
Bass guitar
Brian Hell:
Rhythm guitar*, vocals
Win Close:
Drums*, vocals

* Close-as-Hell sets: Win and Brian tend to forget which instruments they play, and sometimes end up playing a set with their instruments switched.

Special thanks to Ferd for doing the sound when he can. And huge thanks to Liberal Arts for the opportunity to play weekly as the open mic host band.