By Heather Matthews
Staff Writer

Rock band Crazy Jane performed at “Catch the Vibe Live” on Saturday. The show can be seen on Manchester’s channel 23. A new episode is aired each month. Crazy Jane features frontman Christopher Enus; Corey Padford on bass; Joe Warf on guitar; and Paul Miller on drums.

There is an energy to a live performance. The lights, audience and musicians all contribute to the vibe of a show, and that feeling can never be replicated. However, according to Art Murphy, of Thumbprint Productions, while that vibe can’t be replicated, it can be captured.

Music has always been Murphy’s passion. Whether it was performing, listening to a favorite CD, or being a part of the production process, he said he always wanted to surround himself with music. Murphy sings and plays guitar and grew up in a very musical family. All five of his siblings play an instrument, and his mother would always sing around the house, and his sister would accompany her on piano.

He grew up listening to the classics like the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, but also appreciates bands like Nirvana and Pearl Jam, and local bands like the New Hampshire-based Gray Davies and Boston’s Reverse. While he doesn’t have a favorite genre, there are qualities he looks for in the music he listens to, and captures on film and CD.

“I listen to music that has a good emotional quality,” he said. “Whether it is happy, or sad, angry, mad – music runs a whole gamut of feeling, and I’m all about capturing that.”

The small, Epping-based production company and recording studio got its start in 1998, when Murphy recorded an album with his band, Stone Soup, under the label Thumbprint Records. The band and Murphy have since parted ways, but the production company has been “picking up steam” since, he said.

“With the steam we have been getting we might be dealing on the national level in the future,” he said.

In the beginning, Murphy used his band Blue Matter as a vehicle to help Thumbprint Productions grow by filming the group’s performances and recording their albums at his studio. But now the production company promotes and features a large roster of local bands including Blue Matter, Soup Bone, Throne, Betterman’s Rule, and Nimbus 9, through the group’s television show “Catch the Vibe Live.”

“Support local bands and support local music, that’s really what this is all about,” he said.

Featured on Manchester‘s Community Access Media Public Access Television (MCAM), channel 23, and the Seacoast’s channel 22, the television show produces a new episode each month that shows a night of performances by local bands from venues across the state. On Friday, March 31, and Saturday, April 1, Thumbprint Productions filmed two episodes of the show at Manchester’s Milly’s Tavern.

Each night of live performances is unique, said Murphy. Even if the same bands play in the same venue two nights in a row, the feeling of a show can never be repeated.

“It’s never the same,” said Murphy. “Each room, each crowd has it’s own sound.”

But through “Catch the Vibe Live,” an audience member can relive the show, or a fan can experience it for the first time.

“We are capturing that moment the band is playing live,” he said. “It’s when bands are at their best because they are feeding off the energies of the audience.”

While the show is a way to promote local bands, Murphy said it is also a way to promote and showcase the venues.

“Live venues seem to be disappearing,” he said.

“I want people to catch a glimpse of what they missed when they download (the show), stream it or watch it on TV. I want them to wish that they had been there. The more people go to shows, the more venues and the more live music you have. I want people to shut the computer or TV off, and come out and watch the bands.”

In order to capture the moment of the performance, Murphy said his show also includes the background noises from, and shots of, the audiences.

“We capture the sound of the room, the chatter, the glasses clinking, the talking,” he said. “You need it all to catch the vibe live.”

Live performances, said Murphy, are difficult to capture on film. The low lights, the noisy environment, and the spontaneity of the band and the audience make filming a live performance hard, but it’s that unpredictability that makes the filming process so exciting.

“You get one chance to do it, so it’s go, go, go,” he said. “You get one chance and one shot to make it work.”

While they never make it to the television screen, Murphy said his crew is just as critical to the live performance experience as the bands. On a standard film shoot, the crew is made up of between 10 and 12 people – four camera operators, sound technicians, and lighting directors.

“There’s a whole slew of people behind the scenes,” he said. “There’s my business partner, Peter Peloquin, who has worked with the Pixies, the Hives, Interpol, Government Mule, and other live bands in live settings. There are the camera guys, and the sound guys down to the lighting guys. They bring the whole thing to life.”

Thumbprint Productions has also filmed shows at the Dover Brick House, Harlow’s Pub in Peterborough, the Paradise Lounge in Boston, the Red Hook Brewery In Portsmouth, and The Stone Church in Newmarket. This summer, Murphy said Thumbprint Productions would be filming a few shows and promotional videos of the Isles of Shoals Steamship Company.

For more information, visit the Thumbprint Productions Web site at www.thumbprintproductions. net. For a schedule of programs on Manchester’s community television, visit www.mcam.org.