October 01 2024 at Se7ens, Easthampton MA by Jimm O’D
The last time I saw Nate “Outer Stylie” Martel do his Black Sabbath thing was probably five years ago. For that show, he actually called the band Planet Caravan, and they did the whole Paranoid album for their first set, with Nate strictly singing; and the second set was made up of so many Sabbath numbers that there were a couple (two, maybe) that I didn’t know well.
This time out, it was less a tribute and more the normal band show, but being a Halloween event- as in, right on the very night of- Sabbath was perfect for the main focus, with the rest (40%, perhaps) being Nate’s own originals. We all call the band Outer Stylie; it is indeed the name on the marquis or the album cover. These four have been together for so long that the symbiosis is totally unencumbered by any clashes of any kind. Each of the members has enough going on around the area that they are all happy in their roles, and Nate himself is what they call a force of nature. He is worthy of his own Artist Spotlight here in LMNR (coming soon), as he is constantly in motion at one venue or another with one of his bands or doing solo sets.
To keep it brief- first noting that he is much better than ‘good’ at each of these, Nate Martel is: a singer/songwriter, a front-man, a group guy, a hell of a guitar player and a major presence in the scene. There is absolutely no limit to his repertoire; one couldn’t possibly say he does a mix of this and/or that. He is apt to come out with any song from any genre and honor the original while putting a thoroughly compelling twist of his own on it, and so it is with his own material as well.
Prime example: watch this band doing Black Sabbath’s “Black Sabbath” and then imagine (in another time and place, that is) Michael Jackson’s “Rock With You” popping up by surprise, with the vocal pretty damn fine and an instrumental break that is… choose one: mind-blowing, face-melting, or just plain freakin’ amazing. That particular escapade was a few years ago too; that may have been my first exposure- there are those times when you know that you will now be watching out for whatever an artist does.
Houses are packed like Twiddle at Nectar’s, throbbing walls and all, and with the way he constantly smiles, the fun and joy is palpable, exciting, and contagious. Nobody’s yawning when Nate Martel performs. We have another video of the costume contest at Se7ens that will show his personality and charisma, emcee-style. And a future feature will further show Nate’s charm as a guest singer, called up to the stage at the gig of another.
It was crowded, even for a weeknight; my only regret was that the band started on time and I didn’t, so ordering my burger and fries was quite an ordeal- it took a few tries (“can ya hear me now?”). A while later, the same scenario for a soda was so similar that the barkeep and I actually got annoyed with each other. This was soon and skillfully (not so much on my part) allayed with a few friendly words of renewal.
And what a pleasure to see the rest of the band, too! I haven’t happened to run into bassist Chris Ball in a while, and Monte Amstam even longer. Guitarist John Duffy is a perfect compliment to Nate’s “Outer Stylie” style, as the attached videos show. This is ‘hard rock’ at least, and I can’t imagine a hard-core metal-head having any disappointments here. Beast Mode is pretty heavy too; Nate’s manner in that band was so different at Mount Snow a couple of years ago that I didn’t realize till later who the dude was.
Which brings us to another interesting thing about Mister Martel. Part of the reason I didn’t know him right off is that he looked a lot different than he had before then,up until the time when he must have undergone a spiritual awakening of some sort. This is what I really want to get into with him. Fascinating!
Stay tuned….
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