Popular local bandleader looking to make a change. Here's what he's working on now

Over the past few years, few things on the South Shore have been more certain than the Aldous Collins Band drawing a big crowd and delivering a good time. Aside from packing various local clubs with their infectious, reggae-tinged rock ‘n’ roll, the ACB turned summertime Wednesday nights on the Jones River into a destination for music fans with their residency at Roht Marine on the Scituate town line.

But the big news this spring is that Collins is taking a different path, seeking to develop his songwriting skills while focusing more on a solo career.  There are other factors, such as the blended family Collins and partner Melanie Cheskin have, with kids ranging from toddler to high school age and his desire to be able to spend more time with them. And, of course, there is Collins’ own artistic versatility, where his artwork is in high demand, with his unique portraits of musicians like Bob Marley and Jimi Hendrix , or his bright and striking abstract paintings. There’s even more of a demand on his business interests, as Renaissance Man Collins has created a new summer libation that is proving to be a hit too.

Looking back: 'People are ready': Aldous Collins Band is ready to rock your summer

One of the first big unveilings of the solo Aldous Collins was Wednesday night (May 1) when he was scheduled to headline the Lobby Series at the Spire Center in Plymouth . It’s situated in the venue's intimate 70-person outer room, and while most performers who sell more tickets than that are moved to the main room, Collins has requested that this show be limited to the cozier option. (The Spire Center is located at 25½ Court St. in downtown Plymouth. The show begins at 7:30 p.m. with Collins’ Hanover pal Adam Frates opening, and all tickets are $15. Check spirecenter.org or call 508-746-4488 for more information.)

Collins wants to write deeper songs

Collins has been writing songs for years, and the tunes were usually upbeat, dance floor-filling anthems to good times and a "we’re all in this together" vibe. He’s been gradually coming to the conclusion he wants to develop his songwriting beyond that, not to necessarily lose the uplifting tone of his work, but perhaps digging a little deeper into the human condition.  Just a few weeks back he released the single “ Visuals ,” sort of a contemplation of the beauty around us, as a sample of his solo approach.

“I guess change is human, and I’m just looking to try a different path for a while,” said Collins recently from his Hanover home. “I just want to try and express these other songs I have in me. I had never done everything on a song myself before ‘Visuals,’ and it was not easy, because I’m not a multi-instrumentalist. But I really enjoyed it, and I’m hoping to do a few more that way. This week I’m doing a little four-state mini-tour, playing the Spire, then the Press Room in Portsmouth, New Hampshire , and then Freeport, Maine, and Westerly, Rhode Island.”

Those beloved Wednesday nights at Roht Marine haven’t started for this summer yet, and Collins expects to do them as "Aldous Collins & Friends." He’s on good terms with all of his former bandmates, and we can expect most if not all of them to sit in at various times this summer. He’s also planning to perform his usual summer show at World’s End in Hingham .

Some songs weren't suitable for bands

“I’ve been writing songs for years,” said Collins, a New Hampshire native who’s fronted rock bands for decades. “But not all of my songs were appropriate for big rock bands, so we didn’t do them. I have a lot of songs like that, and I want to share them, as written. I also want to gauge the interest to see if there’s enough for me to keep pursuing this approach. But mainly, this change is about me wanting to hone my songwriting skills, something I’ve always wanted to do.”

From the archives: Hingham music festival is back - with food trucks, hula-hooping, Aldous Collins Band

Collins’ many Facebook friends know that he regularly posts solo tunes, sometimes original work and sometimes his own unique covers of other artists’ hits. (They’re also readily available on YouTube .)

“I’ve been posting (solo) videos for years,” said Collins. “I also did a thing where you post 30 songs in 30 days, as a songwriting exercise. I have hundreds of songs I’ve written. That’s part of what I’m doing, wanting to go deep into the songwriting side and try to build a recording career. That’s the direction I want to be going in, and I have a bigger catalog of songs I’ve written for me, than I have for the band. I want to maintain some ties to writing and singing with a band, but I’ve always had the itch to do more songwriting, so my goal is to achieve something in the middle. I just want to take this opportunity of getting more into my songwriting.”

Collins received lots of positive feedback in just a couple weeks of “Visuals’ being released, and noted he’s also done a single, “ Innocence ,” with Boston mandolin virtuoso Jimmy Ryan . He and Ryan and some other acoustic, traditional folk-aligned players did a whole album last year, Aldous Collins and the Like Minded Folk , and it was a stylistic diversion he enjoyed tremendously.  Collins has another single “South Shore,” saluting his many friends and experiences in the area, due to arrive soon. (There’s already a rudimentary version online, but a finished version will be part of a forthcoming Collins album.)

Working on a new album

“It is hard to get much traction for new music on Facebook and so on, and I do have enough material for a record,” Collins noted. “I did the full, folk album with Jimmy last winter. I loved Morphine and Jimmy had played with them, and he’s on a couple cuts on this next one I’m doing.”

Collins pointed out that he’s always done a certain amount of solo shows, usually for fundraisers, and even if he’s booking now without a band, all the same venues have been welcoming. His artwork has taken a temporary back seat amid all his musical striving, but his business side has also come to the fore. Seeing a tanker truck dubbed "pool water" last year got Collins thinking it’d be a terrific name for a cool summer beverage choice. He got together with his friends at Vitamin Sea Brewing , and they began designing something new and refreshing.

“Pool Water is a malted seltzer, a craft seltzer with lemon, lime, and orange flavors and a hint of jasmine,” Collins explained. “The first few batches have been popular in a few local places, and we have cans of it coming in three weeks. It’s 4% alcohol, so it is a light, summery drink that we are excited about launching.”

Meanwhile, Collins works at putting a full album together, but is shifting to the idea of a four-song EP first, to include "Visuals," "Innocence," "South Shore" and a love song, "Bluest Eyes."

“I still want to make music that is light and happy,” he said. “There is something about writing and playing a song and how people listen and react to it that is like nothing else. The Spire Center is a superb listening room, so I’m excited to get the chance to perform there and bring more of my music out.”

Block party at The Paradise a hit

There may have been a record set for the number of sparkly cowboy boots at one show Saturday night, when fast-rising country songwriter Priscilla Block played Boston’s Paradise Rock Club before a near sellout crowd of 900 mostly female fans. Block and her four-piece backing band provided a vibrant 90-minutes of contemporary country chartbusters – which is to say everything from delicate acoustic numbers to arena-rocking anthems. Block’s songwriting echoes Taylor Swift’s in some respects, in that it generally deals with overcoming obstacles and preconceptions. “ Peaked in High School ,” for example, is kind of an autobiographical tune that looks at a young woman ignored and insulted by classmates, but who has the last laugh. “Sorry to hear you got divorced,” the singer tells the BMOC guy who dissed her, “but this week I signed my first (record) deal…”  That kind of resilience scored high with Saturday’s crowd, as the tune became a lusty anthem, with the even better tag line “to all the girls who made me cry, thank you for being here tonight …”

Block did an intimate acoustic cover of Tim McGraw ’s “ Live Like You Were Dying ,” but the late set emphasis was definitely on rockin’ out, with the edgy power of “ Good on You ” turning into a mass singalong, the duet with opening act Ryan Larkins on “ You, Me and Whiskey ” a rollicking delight, and her self-deprecating banger “ Thick Thighs ” nearly blowing the roof off the club. The encore segment kept the energy at a peak, with the viscerally potent “ Fake Names ,” and another massive communal singalong for the cathartic “ Just About Over You .”  The merchandise table did a brisk business in those "Block Party" tee shirts and sweatshirts, and she’s definitely on a fast track to the top.

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Popular local bandleader looking to make a change. Here's what he's working on now