If you happened to be working in City Hall on last Friday afternoon, you might have heard John Jerome, aka The Island Cowboy, performing his new single, “I’m on My Way to Somewhere,” strumming alongside Gloucester guitarist Geoff Small.
The music came streaming from Mayor Greg Verga’s office, as the pair were the inaugural guests on Verga’s new show for 1623 Studios, “Music with the Mayor.” The taping of the first episode, which Verga said may appear monthly, took place that afternoon.
With City Hall closed as it usually is on Friday afternoons, Verga, an accomplished bass and guitar player in his own right, hosted the show which he wants to use to feature the talents of musicians in Gloucester, Cape Ann and the North Shore.
Verga is also part of a music project called Paulzon Fire, a band featuring Paul Catania, Frank Paul Brancaleone and Verga, whose middle name also happens to be Paul, that has released a couple of songs recently on streaming services.
Before being sworn in as mayor on Jan. 1, Verga hosted a live web radio show called “Unfinished Music” which focused on the regional music scene with interviews and in-studio performances straight from Beechbrook Studio in West Gloucester, which happens to be Vega’s unfinished basement.
With the bully pulpit of being Gloucester’s mayor, he thought it would be “cool” to do something similar out of the mayor’s office. Verga floated the idea of the show to Erich Archer, executive director of 1623 Studios. They scoped out the office and felt it was doable, said Verga, who has a guitar hanging on the wall in back of his desk.
1623 Studios production coordinator Tyler Hrynyszyn, a former editor/producer at Salem Access Television Corp., and operations coordinator Emily Games came by to video the first episode.
“Today, this will be pre-recorded,” Verga said. “Eventually we will get to the point where we can stream it live and we just give this a try first.” The idea is to feature local musicians with their original music and give them a platform. Jerome had performed at Verga’s inaugural in City Hall’s Kyrouz Auditorium, but this was the first time he had ever played in the mayor’s office.
“Greg’s a friend of mine and he has been for a long time. I played his daughter’s wedding,” said Jerome, who appreciated being invited as one of Verga’s first guests.
“Nobody else would be on the list first but you,” Verga said.
“You are the best, man,” Jerome said.
“I think it is one of the best things I’ve ever heard of in my whole entire life,” Jerome said of the mayor promoting the local music scene from his office.
“I’ll tell you why, because there is a multitude of talent in this town, so much you can’t even imagine and it’s such a small town it’s hard for anybody to kind of hear about it or get it out there but a guy like him, the platform now, and to use that platform to give us all our own platform is much appreciated, it really is.”
Jerome said he has an album coming out in the fall with his new single, which he said has gotten more than 35,000 views on Spotify in one month. After an introduction by Verga, Jerome and Small performed the single, standing in a corner of the office by a credenza. Verga noted he has played alongside both performers and was in a band with Small.
Jerome, an East Gloucester resident and a carpenter by trade who performs regularly at The Rhumb Line on Railroad Avenue on Wednesdays, also performed a new tune he wrote for Gloucester’s 400th anniversary next year called “My Town.”
“This is my town,” Jerome sung.
“This is my home. This who I am and where I’m from. This is my life. These are my friends. It ain’t where I’m going, but it’s where I’ve been.”
At the end of the show, Verga strummed alongside Small and Jerome and urged those watching if they are interested in coming on the show to call the mayor’s office.
Hrynyszyn, reached Thursday, said he was editing the episode, and that it should air next week or the week after. So stay tuned.
Ethan Forman may be contacted at 978-675-2714,or at eforman@northofboston.com.
