Ready, set, go! The local scene starts summer with a bang, and never lets up BY SAM PFEIFLE

It’s the job of this here column to preview the big news of the local music scene’s summer, but much of the big stuff is happening right this minute, so there’s barely time to ramp up to it. In fact, one of the biggest things to look forward to this summer already happened — the opening of the revamped State Theatre, with the Mindless Self Indulgence show that went off June 3 and featured locals the Horror opening. Reports on the sound have it as "very loud" (not noticeably different), but aesthetically much improved.

Hardwood floors have been laid down in the pit area in front of the stage, the columns in the outer hallway have been wrapped with some kind of gold foil (stylee), and the bathrooms have been revamped (thank god). Tea Party Concerts’ (Clear Channel’s) Lauren Wayne also reports that the ceiling over the stage has been pimped out, so no more ceiling tiles on performers’ heads. There are further plans to build a new box office out front, and there will be new concert-hall specific carpeting as well. Overall, it should be a better concert-going experience, which is great considering the boffo lineup they’ve got on tap for summer.

Yes, the State may have been quiet this winter and spring, but Clear Channel are back with a vengeance and they’re not resting easy with their lease to control the entire building. Already, they’ve got Modest Mouse booked for June 23. Wait, sorry, that should have read: "Already, they’ve got Modest Fucking Mouse booked for June 23!" That’s right, the underground darlings who made it big with "Float On" — still in my heavy regular rotation — visit our fair burg, supported by Triumph of Lethargy. If this show isn’t sold out, you’re all on crack.

Only slightly less of a big deal is Ja Rule, later that week on June 28. Supported by Heiruspecs, who recently graced the SPACE stage, Rule isn’t much removed from being the most commercially successful rap artist in the world (50 Cent holds that title now, I suspect), and he’s certainly a good score for the State. Also pretty neat is the landing of Ray LaMontagne for his big return-home show of the summer, August 7. LaMontagne once told me he found the State’s green rooms too foul to stand — hopefully they got a new paint job along with the rest of the joint. If that show sells out, you can catch LaMontagne down at the Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom two days later, August 9. Sarah Blasko opens both shows.

The Ballroom has another sweet show coming up this week, too: Trio!, comprising Stanley Clarke, Bela Fleck, and Jean-Luc Ponty, on June 15. This bass, banjo, fiddle combo is just plain nasty with the jazz.

But enough with the national acts. The locals are getting things going in a hurry, too. This Saturday, June 11, sees the release of two much-awaited discs in the Portland area, with Twisted Roots dropping Seed (hmm, that kind of sounds gross) at the Big Easy and Jon Nolan debuting When the Summers Lasted Long at SPACE.

Okay, this isn’t the new Twisted Roots full-length. The band say they may just continue releasing EPs to tide teaming fans over until they can get the scratch together for something really big-time. No matter — fans of the Roots’ intellectual hair metal will be plenty happy with the five tunes they find on Seed. They’ll also find a softer side to the Roots. There are a couple of ballads here, sure, but even the rockers have a warm and fuzzy side. Lines like "this is just a test to see if you are worthy of my daughter" and "I’ve got an itch in my brain, it will not disappear" are the kinds of thoughtful, reserved sentiments one likes to hear from a band who are no longer young and impressionable. The latter line is from "Earworms," probably the single here, sounding a lot like the brand-new Audioslave. I think that’s a good thing.

As for Nolan’s Summers, they’re seasons I’d like to spend a lot of time in. Fans — and there are a lot of you — of Say ZuZu will find themselves transported. The heart-felt purity of Nolan’s voice comes through in waves of warm sunshine, and even the packaging captures that hint of nostalgia his songs engender even in their first listen. You ever hear a Smiths song and tear up just a bit over the first girl in Doc Martens you fell for? "Mary (Won’t You Come Along)" had me swooning similarly at the two-minute mark.

Employing the wonders of the studio expertly, Nolan furnishes layered vocals, guitars, and that bit of piano to class up the joint, all in proper proportion. The percussion is pure Beach Boys, bright and shiny, and Nolan’s got plenty of Don McLean in him, too. If there’s any drawback here, it’s the same criticism to be leveled at Twisted Roots: not nearly enough. At nine songs and a total of 33 minutes, I was definitely left wanting more.

As if that wasn’t enough for releases, Monday June 13 sees Scott King release his brand-new Portrait at Slate’s, in Hallowell. King may not be totally familiar, but he’s got lots of familiar friends: drummer extraordinaire Ginger Cote, Strangefolk’s Erik Glockler, Cactus Highway’s Rob Duquette and Andrea Wollstadt, and guitar-man Steve Jones all make a slew of appearances here. It fills out King’s singer/songwriter fare nicely, supporting some solid song constructions. Some of the lyrics might be a bit touchy-feely for the cynical, but the arrangements and production might pull King through.

What, you thought that was it for releases over the next 10 days? You’re cracked. A pair of high-level fiddlers are set to release discs next weekend. First, Andy Happel drops Dreaming by the Sea at the Big Easy on June 18; then Maine ex-pat Lissa Schneckenburger returns to the St. Lawrence to celebrate her brand-spanking self-titled full-length on June 19. More on both releases in next week’s "Beat Report."

Also, though the information is a bit sketchy, June should see EP releases from Phantom Buffalo and the Outsiders. The Buffalo boys say they’ve just recorded five tunes over at Tsunami Sound, to be released in the next few weeks on Time-Lag, before heading off for more studio time with Jon Wyman. The Outsiders say they’ve just recorded an EP for indie Forever True Records, for "mid-late June" release, and that they’ll follow that up with a split 12" with New Hampshire’s Genuine Rust. With indie-pop-perfect Buffalo a year removed from their last release, and the rockin’ side of Rockabilly Outsiders making their recording debut, both releases should be of great interest.

Then, as July rolls around, heavy rockin’ Blue Collar Product get things off with a bang on July 1 with the release of their Jon Wyman–recorded debut disc at the Asylum. BCP have been heavily marketing themselves online (check out their www.myspace.com/bluecollarproduct for sneak peeks) and toiling in the trenches like the band of brothers they are, so expect that show to go off big.

Also on the heavy side, By Blood Alone have announced plans for an EP release of Eternally, with a show July 16 at the new Geno’s. This is also a big deal in the making, as By Blood Alone will have been on the shelf for a month by the time this show hits, drumming up anticipation by the coffin load.

Staying heavy, but reaching further into the summer, Dead Season have announced they’ll also be keeping Wyman busy this coming weekend, loading up for their full-length debut, The Fight, which will come out in August. If you’ve worn out the grooves in their self-titled EP and can’t wait another minute longer for new material, don’t worry: They’ll have a new single ready for July, which they’ll use to defend their WTOS Battle of the Bands title.

And, hey, what about that As Fast As debut on Octone, or the Paranoid Social Club debut on ON Entertainment? PSC say August for their big release. As Fast As frontman Spencer Albee travels to LA next week to finish up some tracks before being joined by the rest of the band later in the month. Then AFA go off to support a 2 Skinnee Js reunion tour (they and Rustic played together a few times), for which Albee will also be holding down Skinnee J keyboard duties in place of retired member Stevie Spice. If you’re looking for AFA locally, don’t miss June 24 at the Big Easy for their third annual Beatles night.

Wrapping things up for a busy summer, it’s important to mention a lovely Sunday distraction. Soul Shakedown Party, Portland’s most durable reggae outfit, featuring Portland’s hardest-working bassist Scott Girouard, have changed their name to the I-Rates and are working on a double album of material that (PSC-style) will feature more rocking stuff on one disc, more traditional stuff on the other. Plus, they’ll be holding down the Inn on the Blues every Sunday this summer from 3 to 6 p.m. And you just can’t beat reggae and beer on a sunny summer afternoon.

Sam Pfeifle can be reached at sam@phx.com