Tomorrow, Hanover’s Skinny Pancake will host The Gaslight Tinkers, a popular world music group. With performances influenced by Caribbean, Latin, Celtic, Americana, reggae and funk sounds, The Gaslight Tinkers has headlined several major clubs, dances and festivals, and it combines upbeat, danceable music with traditional fiddle tunes to further increase its accessibility.
Michael Cyr, director of marketing at The Skinny Pancake, says that The Gaslight Tinkers’ multifaceted appeal is a big part of what motivated them to book the group.
“It’s kind of a good combination of all the music we try to bring in here, sort of folkier, but also they have sort of this jam band sound to them as well,” Cyr said. “Kind of like the best of all the interests we bring together.”
The band’s global sound is not something one would normally find in a group that primarily tours in the New England area, and Cyr said that this unexpectedness is another thing that enhances the band’s appeal.
“It’s sort of a thing that makes you stop and go, ‘What’s going on over there?’” Cyr said. “It’s unusual, and it’s not just an accessory to your meal. It’s something that commands a little more attention, which we like.”
The band currently has four core members: Audrey Knuth on fiddle and vocals, Jopey Fitzpatrick on drums, Garrett Sawyer on bass and Peter Siegel on vocals, guitar and banjo. Siegel formed the group in 2012 with the goal of creating a band that appeals to younger and older listeners alike. Part of the reason the group incorporates so many different sounds, he said, is to maintain this accessibility.
“One day we’ll be playing some club in New York City where people are dancing, and the next day we’ll be playing at a Unitarian church where everyone’s over 50 and sitting in their chairs,” Siegel said. “The music seems to have appeal — which was the goal — to all ages. That’s one of the reasons I find it so fantastic to play with this group of people.”
In light of its recent success, The Gaslight Tinkers is currently working on a new album, which should be completed by this summer. The group writes many of its own songs in addition to incorporating some more traditional numbers.
Siegler said that he hopes this album will have a greater number and variety of songs than the group’s eponymous first album.
The band’s name has special significance, Siegel explained.
“Like a tinker, someone that messes with something, and gaslight, like something old, so the idea of messing with the old,” Siegel said. “Tinkering with the old.”
This combination of young and old aligns perfectly with a recent push by The Skinny Pancake to attract a greater number of younger listeners to their concerts. Cyr believes that The Gaslight Tinkers will be approachable for Hanover residents and Dartmouth students alike.
“Musically, they’re pretty approachable to an older audience that’s more into folk music,” Cyr said. “But the way they look, they’re younger, hipper-looking … the sounds of the music won’t alienate younger listeners.”
Caroline Lee ’20 said that she has noticed the performances in The Skinny Pancake and thinks they look really fun. While she knows a lot of students haven’t made it to one of these concerts yet, she believes that many would really enjoy them.
“I happened to be there when one was happening,” Lee said. “It was actually very good. It was a group of three men playing country music, and it really added positivity to the ambience of the restaurant.”
As concerts at the restaurant occur more frequently, students are likely to take notice and check out this implant of the local music scene. Dartmouth student attendance at The Skinny Pancake is also likely to be up this week in particular, because the restaurant is celebrating its first birthday with various discounts and special performances. In only a year of being active in Hanover, the Skinny Pancake has already proven to be a popular attraction for students and town residents, who frequent the establishment for both the crepes and the feel-good music. The performance by The Gaslight Tinkers this Saturday will cap off a week of celebrating the beginning and the future of a successful local business.
The Gaslight Tinkers will perform tomorrow at The Skinny Pancake on Lebanon Street at 8:30 p.m.
