James Mulhern was the guitarist for the much beloved and sorely missed local superstar band What Laura Says. While he often stayed on guitar, he could play anything whether it was percussion or keys or sweet harmonies Mulhern could do it all. His stage presence, charm and charisma were just more factors in why What Laura Says was so popular. Watching him on stage was purely a pleasure, because it just seemed to be a completely natural environment for him and he owned it. There was something magical about that band and Mulhern contributed a great deal to that and I can’t count how many women would be starstruck by his presence at every show, but his musicianship was just as hypnotic as his looks and his mannerisms. Since the break up or loss of What Laura Says I have only seen Mulhern rarely, once with Mergence at other times just in the crowd and I had always admired his talent. I had pretty much figured he was done with the music scene until I went to Crescent Ballroom to see the debut of The Gentle Hits and there was Mulhern doing everything he’s always done perfectly. I couldn’t believe my eyes. The Gentle Hits is the new project from Ian Metzger, the former singer/songwriter for Dear And The Headlights. It is a complete departure from the psychedelic rock of What Laura Says in no uncertain terms, but it seems to my ears that it is the presence of Mulhern and his contributions that make it great. The real joy here is found in the fact that Mulhern has returned to making music and he is doing it well. At their debut show at the Crescent I once more saw the phenomena of starstruck women at the front of the stage and it brought me back to days gone by–any band that has Mulhern is damned lucky to have them.

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