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CARLTONE'S CORNER February 12, 2010
To the surprise of many – including the staff here at Carltone World Headquarters – this latest action-packed Olympic-sized edition of the newsletter is actually early for a change. Maybe it had something to do with seeing US skier Lindsey Vonn being over-exposed in the media and in the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue, an edition that is always a big hit among the interns here high atop CW Headquarters. One thing is for certain – there is a veritable blizzard of bluegrass and other good music going on the rest of this month, and most of you don’t have two feet of snow outside your door as an excuse for not getting out and having some mid-winter fun!
Valentine’s weekend. Nothing says “I love you” more than bluegrass. Take your special someone out to see a show or heck, why not go to a jam? Who needs chocolate, flowers and a fancy dinner when you can have banjos, fiddles and guitars instead? Hey, why not take her to the CBA Winter Music Camp near Petaluma that starts on the 15th? Or, do you want to make your own chocolate bluegrass instruments? Then go here and see if you can get the mold sent to you overnight…
Meanwhile, as predicted here in the previous edition, the ageing sportswriters over at the SF Chronicle are indeed guffawing and falling all over themselves in their annual futile quest to get a funny quote out of comedian/actor Bill Murray as he whacks some golf balls into the sand traps at Pebble Beach this weekend. Not only was his face on the cover of the paper on the 11th and then another photo here appeared on the 12th, his name was mentioned at least four other times in reports on the event. Oh, stop them now before we bust our collective guts in feigned laughter…
The SF Bluegrass & Old-Time Festival will be taking place at various venues around the bay from to the 12th-21st, with too many acts to mention here, so go to the site for complete info.
Vote early and vote often. The young Bay Area bluegrass band known as OMGG (Obviously Minor Guys and Girl) is competing in the Livermore Talent Competition. The finals will take place on the 28th of this month and the winners will be decided by judges. In the meantime you can vote for the People’s Choice Award by going to the web link above. Go to the site now and make the “obvious” choice. Band members AJ Lee and Max Schwartz are also featured in the IBMA’s Discover Bluegrass DVD. Read about them in the Bluegrass Blog.
Bluegrass in Parade. Yeah, sure, we know that most hip Carltone readers never miss the Parade Magazine supplement that appears in most Sunday newspapers, but just in case you missed it this past weekend, there was a nice piece about a bluegrass gathering that happens every weekend in the town of Molt, Montana, and you can read the story here.
Dead news. For all you fans of the Grateful Dead there is an in depth article in an upcoming of the Atlantic titled “The Management Secrets of the Grateful Dead” that you can read here. Thanks to Mike Danese for passing this along.
A breath of fresh air. The National Public Radio show Fresh Air With Terry Gross is by far the best arts radio interview show anywhere. It is a nationally broadcast show that can be heard on most NPR stations, and in the SF area you can hear it multiple times a day (KQED, KRCB and KALW). Even better, if you miss a show you can always listen to archived interviews and reviews on your computer. Here are some recent examples: an interview with Loudon Wainwright III, reviews of CDs by the bands Galactic, Spoon and Empirical, and a story about the late African pop star Franco.
Get out your handkerchiefs. Damage control or great PR? You never would have heard of or cared about guitarist John Mayer’s off-color interview in Playboy magazine without his tearful apology for saying some things that, uh, let’s see, are a bit racist and lewd. But hey, just think of how many morons are now going to rush out and buy the magazine just to see what he has to say! “Uh, really dear, I did not buy this for the pictures of the hot babes, I bought it for the Mayer interview!”
Fishwrap roundup. Read about Bay Area bluegrass fiddler Laurie Lewis, pop singer Dionne Warwick, and producer/performer Van Dyke Parks in the SF Chronicle. Paul Liberatore in the Marin IJ wrote about The Marin Rock and Roll Museum, John Jorgenson, the Stark Ravens Historical Players, The Matt Eakle Band, and Bob Drobatz’s book about attending 288 Grateful Dead concerts.
Life’s railway to heaven. British composer, saxophonist and band leader John Dankworth died in London on the 13th after a long illness. He was 82.
Coming attractions. The Dry Branch Fire Squad in Berkeley 3/4, at Sausalito Presbyterian Church 3/5, and Redwood Bluegrass Associates in Mountain View 3/6; Boulder Creek Bluegrass & Old-Timey Festival 3/5-7; Sebastopol Documentary Film Festival 3/5-7; Bluegrass On Broadway in Redwood City 3/11-14; Sonoma County Bluegrass & Folk Festival 3/13; Lunafest Film Festival in San Pablo 3/13; Nell Robinson with The Jaybirds CD release show at the Noe Valley Ministry in SF 3/19; Joy Kills Sorrow at Redwood Bluegrass Associates in Mountain View 4/10; 11th Annual SFJAZZ Spring Season presents The Punch Brothers featuring Chris Thile at the Herbst Theatre in SF on 4/18; The Kathy Kallick Band at Redwood Bluegrass Associates in Mountain View 5/1; Doug Adamz CD release show at The Acoustic Vortex in Larkspur 5/1; the 35th Annual CBA Father’s Day Festival in Grass Valley 6/17-20.
Additions
Turn your radio on. Tune into Peter Thompson’s Bluegrass Signal radio show on KALW (91.7 FM) in SF on the 13th from 6:30-8 p.m. The show this weekend will feature a live, in-studio session with Alex Caton & Pete Winne, performing at two of the events of the San Francisco Bluegrass & Old Time Festival. Plus, more SFBOT previews, music from Laurie Lewis' new album, and music from other upcoming area shows. You can listen online on the KALW web site, and the first hour of the show is also broadcast five times each week on BluegrassCountry.org. Rhythmtown-Jive will be playing its Annual Mardi Gras Mambofest shows featuring Mike Rinta on the 13th at The Barge in Sausalito, on the 16th at the Railroad Square Parade at 5:30 p.m. and then later at the Last Day Saloon, both in Santa Rosa.
The West Coast Accordion Babes Revue will appear at Down Home Music in El Cerrito on the 13th at 3 p.m. Meet and hear the ladies of the 2010 Accordion Babes Calendar, featuring Big Lou the Accordion Princess, Nada Lewis, Salane Schultz, Renee de la Prade, Mad Mags with GDub, Marla Fibish and Sabra Daly. Free.
The Bluegrass Mix. The site called The Bluegrass Mix streams bluegrass online 24/7. Sky Powers has a show called Pacifically Bluegrass, and it airs every Saturday evening from 4-7 p.m. out here in CA. He plays a fine mix of bluegrass, both old and new, with an emphasis on new releases and he also devotes a portion of his show to playing and promoting the bluegrass bands of the Pacific West and Rockies. He also welcomes requests, so email him at sky@bluegrassmix.com. Sweethearts for SEVA is a fundraising show to benefit the SEVA Foundation. See Joan Baez & Steve Earle, David & Tracy Grisman, and Tuck & Patti. The show will be hosted by Wavy Gravy, and it will take place at Bimbo’s in SF on the 14th starting at 7:30 p.m.
Helping Haitians. The Murphy Productions show of The David Nelson Band on the 14th at the Mill Valley Masonic is also being billed as the Have a Heart for Haiti Benefit. Five dollars of every ticket sold will go to Haitian relief.
More bluegrass in/on the air. 49 Special will be appearing live on Ray Edlund's Pig in a Pen show on KPFA (94.1-FM) on the 14th at 3 p.m. There is an unconfirmed report that the Nashville Bluegrass Band will also be performing.
Lonesome time at the Mayflower. It may be a first that two bluegrass bands from LA will be playing at The Mayflower in San Rafael on the 14th starting at 4 p.m. The acts are Susi Glaze & The Hilonesome Band and Lonesome Otis.
The Mardi Gras dance will take place on the 16th with The Aux Cajunals and The Creole Belles at Ashkenaz in Berkeley. Dance lesson at 8 p.m., and the bands start at 8:30. All ages are welcome; admission is $12. Ashkenaz is located at 1317 San Pablo Ave (near Gilman) in Berkeley.
Dead Set, the acoustic Americana jam band, will be playing a free show with Planet Waves, the new Marin-based Dylan tribute band headed by Jimmy Brighton from Stackabones, on the 19th at 8 p.m. at Brown’s Binyerd, 1009 1st Street in old town Novato.
Head on out to the Tomales Barn Dance on the 20th at 7 p.m., with music led by Ingrid Noyes, with Paul Shelasky, Heidi Clare, Sue Walters, and Tawnya Kovach, and calling by Erik Hoffman. Adults $10, ages 12-18 $5, and kids under 12 are free.
Three times two. A triple bill of bluegrass/country duos will be performing on the 21st at the Velo Rouge Café in SF starting at 1 p.m. See Keystone Crossing, Jeanie & Chuck Poling, and The Courtney Janes. No cover, and extra credit given to those who ride there on red bicycles…
The Acoustic Vortex house concert series in Larkspur will be presenting Ian Dogole, Sam Bevan & John Hoy in concert on the 27th at 8 p.m. Witness the debut performance of this new jazz/world super trio, featuring Ian Dogole on global percussion, Sam Bevan on double bass, and John Hoy on guitar. They will unleash a host of original compositions, along with fresh interpretations of pieces by Thelonious Monk, Ornette Coleman and other jazz luminaries.
Reminders
Murphy’s Irish Pub in the town of Sonoma is the place to go for good music in Sonoma County, with no cover charge. See Kith & Kin on the 12th, High Country on the 13th, Misner & Smith on the 18th, The Cork Pullers on the 19th, Green String Farm Band on the 21st, The Lonesome Holler String Band on the 26th, Under the Radar on the 27th, the Greenhouse CD release party on the 28th, and lots more good stuff.
The 142 Throckmorton Theatre has a variety of entertainment on the calendar. Besides Mark Pitta’s comedy night every Tuesday see Linda Tillery on the 12th, Maria Muldaur on the 14th, Robben Ford on the 20th, and more.
Patsy Cline in Half Moon Bay. Novato bass man Pat Campbell is playing bass in the production of Always…Patsy Cline at the Coastal Repertory Theatre in Half Moon Bay and the show runs through the 27th. The lineup of musicians includes Steve Shufton on piano, Mark Holzinger on guitar, Charlie Wallace on steel, Tim Seifert on drums, Brantley Kearns on fiddle, Ross Dankin on guitar and Catie Chase as Patsy.
The Mystic in Petaluma has Loudon Wainwright III on the 12th, To Haiti With Love: A Free Benefit concert for Haiti relief on the 18th, Gallagher on the 20th, Jorma Kaukonen and GE Smith on the 24th, Benefit for Sadie's Haven Horse Rescue with music by The Jeremy Bauman Band on the 27th, and others.
Saylor’s Restaurant in Sausalito has live music in the restaurant from 7:30-10:30 p.m. on Fridays, and 7-10 on most Saturdays. See Connie Ducey & Judy Hall on the 12th, Eugene Shilin on the 13th, Lauralee Brown & Company on the 19th, Eugene Huggins on the 20th, Mindy Canter on the 26th, and Schuster Bay on the 27th.
Murphy Productions at the Mill Valley Masonic Hall will feature the Tommy Castro Blues Band on the 12th, The Tim Hockenberry Band on the 13th, and The David Nelson Band on the 14th.
Twang Ditty will be playing both country and western music at the Druid Hall in Santa Rosa on the 12th, and at The Twin Oaks Tavern in Penngrove on the 26th.
Missy Raines & The New Hip will be appearing on the 12th at 8 p.m. at the Petaluma Church Concerts at First Church of Christ Scientist, 522 B St. (corner of B & 6th). Missy was seven-time International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) bass player of the year, and her band, The New Hip, play an energetic mix of newgrass and jazz. The band consists of dobro player Michael Witcher, mandolin and guitarist Ethan Ballinger, Dillon Hodges on guitar, and Doug Belote and Tommy Giampietro on percussion.
Laura Lee Brown & Company will be playing jazz and beyond on the 12th at The Pleasure is Mine in Mill Valley from 7-10 p.m., and they also have their regular show Saylor's on the 19th.
The San Geronimo Cultural Center presents Cindy Kallet & Greg Larsen on the 12th.
Sweethearts of the Radio. Celebrate Valentine’s Day a day early on the 13th with an evening of musical pairings at KWMR’s annual Sweethearts of the Radio concert at The Dance Palace in Point Reyes Station. The evening includes folk, bluegrass and swing from Laurie Lewis & Tom Rozum, Eric & Suzy Thompson, Keith Terry & Evie Ladin, and Deep Elem. Proceeds from the event benefit KWMR, West Marin’s community radio station. Doors open at 7 p.m. for pre-show enjoyment and the concert beginning at 8 p.m. Seating is general admission. For more info contact Lance Walker at (707) 542-8995 or eclecticstage@yahoo.com.
The dark side of Poor Man’s. The Sonoma County band Poor Man’s Whiskey will be presenting their Dark Side of the Moonshine show at the Sebastopol Community Center on the 13th. Then on the 20th they’ll be playing their normal show at the Fillmore in SF, opening for a band called ALO.
Good things are happening at Peri’s in Fairfax. Every Monday is acoustic open mic night hosted by Billy D of The Billy Boys, and every Wednesday for $10 per participant there are professional swing dance lessons from 7:30-9 p.m. See Jon Korty and Friends on the 13th, Sexy Sunday - Women Who Rock on the 14th, Michael D on the 16th, Whiskey Pills Fiasco on the 17th, Rahman's Songwriters in the Round on the 18th, Pine Hill Haints and Brothers Comatose on the 19th (San Francisco Old Time and Bluegrass Festival), Andre and Friends on the 21st, Royal Deuces on the 24th, The Rev Tones on the 25th, Tom Finch Group on the 26th, Buxter Hoot'n on the 27th, Songwriter Night on the 28th, and others.
The Marin Civic Center has Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo on the 13th, The Chieftains on the 19th, and the Marin Symphony on the 28th.
Misner & Smith have a busy month in February. They'll start out at the Heartbreak Hootenanny put on by the SF Folk Club and the SF Bluegrass & Old-Time Festival on the 13th. On the 14th they'll be up in Santa Rosa at Aroma Roasters, on the 18th they'll be playing at Murphy's Irish Pub in Sonoma. Tune in to KKUP in Cupertino at 3 p.m. on the 20th to hear them on the airwaves with Sleepy John. They'll be heading over to Alameda to play at McGrath's as part of the SF Bluegrass & Old-Time Festival on the 21st. On the 26th they'll be up in Petaluma at the Lagunitas Brewing Company and then they will finish the month off at the Bazaar Cafe in San Francisco as a part of the 2nd Annual Bazaar-Stock, a full day of music with some of the best local musicians in an intimate cafe setting.
The Nashville Bluegrass Band doesn’t get out here that much, so see them at the Redwood Bluegrass Associates in Mountain View on the 13th or at the Freight in Berkeley on the 14th.
San Rafael guitarist/singer/songwriter Kurt Huget on the 13th will be performing solo at the Aqus Cafe in Petaluma, and on the 28th Namely Us, his five-piece jazz band, returns to the Sleeping Lady Cafe in Fairfax.
Music is brewing at the Iron Springs Pub & Brewery in Fairfax. The Saturday afternoon cozy and casual winter music series takes place every Saturday from 2-4 p.m. See Matt Eakle on the 13th, Pat Nevins on the 20th, and the Courtney Janes on the 27th. Bands play on Wednesdays starting at 8 p.m. No cover, and great beer, food and music. See Viper Central on the 17th and Elliott Randall on the 24th.
Jammin’ in Sebastopol. The place to be for pickin’ bluegrass on Saturdays is the Coffee Catz from 2-5 p.m.
Adam Traum on the 13th will play solo at Landmark Vineyards in Kenwood from 1-4 p.m., on the 21st at Steiner's Tavern in Sonoma with The Traumatics at 6 p.m., and on the 26th at the Black Rose Pub in Santa Rosa at 9 p.m.
The Lagunitas Brewing Company Tap Room and Beer Sanctuary presents acoustic alt-country, Americana, bluegrass, and old timey stuff as well as acoustic Latin/jazz and World beat. See Music start times are 4:20 p.m. during the week and 3 p.m. on weekends. See Brothers Comatose on the 13th, West County Professional Tea Sippers on the 14th, Dream Farmers on the 19th, Grandpa Banana on the 20th, California Honeydrops on the 24th, Pink Sabbath on the 25th, Misner & Smith on the 26th, Elliot Randall on the 28th, and others.
The Sleeping Lady in Fairfax has a traditional Irish session every Sunday afternoon, jazz every Sunday night, and an open mic every Monday night. See Jerry Hannan on the 13th, Brindl on the 16th, Jack Irving’s Showcase on the 17th, The David Thom Bluegrass All-Stars on the 18th, Culann’s Hounds on the 19th, Drew Pearce Presents on the 24th, Lumanation on the 27th, Namely Us on the 28th, plus others.
North Bay Live on the 13th has legendary Texas singer/songwriter Butch Hancock. Shows start 8 p.m. at Studio E in Sebastopol.
San Anselmo singer/songwriter David Maloney will be performing solo again at the Bazaar Cafe on California Street in SF on the 13th at 7 p.m., playing all original material and with no cover. David is also one-half of the fabulous longtime popular duo Reilly & Maloney.
At the Black Rose Pub in Santa Rosa see Marshall, Bolt, & Harr on the 13th, Four Shillings Short on the 20th, The Traumatics on the 26th, and The Tonewoods on the 27th. There is an international jam on the first Wednesday of the month, and Celtic jams on the second and third Wednesdays.
19 Broadway in Fairfax has an open mic with Derek Smith every Monday, the Uzilevsky/Korty Duo every Tuesday, Michael Rose on the 13th, Jules Broussard at 5 p.m. on the 14th, Wonderbread 5 on the 19th, the Lonestar Retrobates on the 21st at 3 p.m. and local musicians night at 8 p.m., Diamond Ortiz on the 24th, Elvin Bishop on the 26th, Melvin Seals on the 27th, and lots more.
Front Porch Blues, featuring Ed Hance on acoustic guitar and vocals and Allen Goldberg on harmonica, will be playing on Valentine's Day the 14th at Imagery Winery in Glen Ellen, from 1:30- 4:30 p.m. This will be a special event with gourmet food and wine tasting, tickets $30.
Mill Valley gitpicker Dore Coller can be seen playing bluegrass at Amnesia in SF with Savannah Blu on the 15th for the SFBOT. The Sonoma County band Blue & Lonesome will also be on the bill.
Jamvitational has moved. The Marin Jamvitational bluegrass showcase relocated last month from the Sleeping Lady in Fairfax to Whipper Snapper (1613 4th Street, between F and G Streets) in downtown San Rafael. The restaurant offers “Cal-Caribe” food that blends Latin flavors with local farm fresh ingredients. The good news is that the music will now run from 7:30-9:30 instead of starting at the later hour of 9 p.m. Go check it out on the 16th, with Craig Fletcher on banjo, Jerry Barush on guitar, Tom Lucas on fiddle, Dan Large on mandolin, and Bruce Campbell on bass.
Live music at a bar in downtown Mill Valley. Mill Valley musician Matt Lax and bass man Joe Kyle (The Waybacks) started up a weekly Tuesday night series on January 26th at the Italian restaurant Vasco (former site of The Old Mill from days of yore), located at 106 Throckmorton, from 9-11 p.m. Special guests perform each week, with Lisa Kindred on the 16th, Erik Pearson & Sonya Hunter on the 23rd, and David T. Carter (The Trailer Park Rangers) due in on March 2nd. Go on by and support this new series. No cover.
San Anselmo’s The Craig Caffall Band (CCB) plays every Wednesday at Miss Pearl's Jam House in the Waterfront Hotel at Jack London Square in Oakland from 7-10 p.m., with an added special Mardi Gras show on the 16th from 8:30-midnight. They also we have a gig at the Presidio Yacht Club in Sausalito on the 27th starting at 8:30. Craig also plays guitar with Maria Muldaur.
Sara Winge and Bart Hopkin sing eclectic jazz and pop at the French Garden Bistro in Sebastopol on the 17th from 7-9:30 p.m. No cover.
Three At Last has a few gigs this month. They will be playing a Bread & Roses event in Novato on the 17th, at Café Flo in Chico on the 20th, at The Blue Heron in Duncan's Mills on the 27th, and at the Pine Cone in Sebastopol on the 28th.
Schoenberg Guitars. Besides being a wonderful acoustic guitar shop on Ark Row in Tiburon, Eric Schoenberg also has concerts and workshops there from time to time. See Jim Hurst on the 18th and Corinne West and Kelly Joe Phelps on the 26th starting at 8 p.m. Reservations are highly recommended, as space is limited. Call (415) 789-0846 for more info.
Jammin' in Marin. The Marin Bluegrass Jam takes place on the first and third Thursdays of every month. The next date for this month is the 18th. The address is Marin Lutheran Church at 649 Meadowsweet in Corte Madera, just off the Corte Madera exit of Highway 101. The time is 7:30-10 p.m.
Help for Haiti. At The Mystic in Petaluma on the 18th at 7 p.m. there will be the To Haiti With Love: A Free Benefit Concert for Haiti with members of Hot Buttered Rum and Poor Man’s Whiskey, Tim Eschliman, Bonnie Hayes, Jesse De Natale, Arann Harris & The Sonoma winter Roots Band (members of Brothers Comatose), Mr. December, The Easy Leaves, Toast Machine and Green String Farm Band. Proceeds benefit Doctors Without Borders.
Jim Hurst will also be playing in Sebastopol on the 19th at 7:30 p.m. The International Bluegrass Association Guitar Player of the year (2001, 2002) will do a solo performance at Subud Hall (234 Hutchins Ave., Sebastopol). He is an award-winning flat-picking guitarist but also a fabulous finger-style player in the Chet Atkins/Jerry Reed vein. Tickets are $20 general admission, and reservations and tickets can be purchases by contacting Kevin at (707) 824-1858 or krussellmft@aol.com.
Paul Knight and Friends. In a special SFBOT Friday edition of Paul Knight & Friends at the Station House in Pt. Reyes Station on the 19th at 7 p.m., Kathy Kallick & Richard Brandenburg will be teaming up for the first time in public. Both talented singer-songwriters have met up at pickin’ parties and festivals in the past and enjoyed singing together, so they decided to try it out for the SFBOT. They’ll be joined by some special guest soloists as well. The night's lineup includes Kathy Kallick (Good Old Persons), Richard Brandenburg (Last Call Quartet), Annie Staninec (Deep Elem, Kathy Kallick Band), Dave Keenan (Downtown Mt. Boys, Ranch Romance), and Paul Knight (Peter Rowan, Kleptograss).
Houston Jones plays the finest high-octane American around, and you can see them at McGrath's Alameda on the 19th, at Rancho Nicasio on the 21st, and at the San Gregorio Country Store on the 28th.
Maurice Tani and his band 77 El Deora on the 20th will play the Californicana benefit for BADRAP and Pinups for Pitbulls, which will be held at Autobody Fine Art Gallery in Alameda from 7 p.m. until midnight. Live music with special guests and live burlesque. Raffle, silent auction, scrumptious food, calendar signing booth and special appearances by Pinups for Pitbulls Calendar models. All proceeds will go to BADRAP and Pinups for Pitbulls, organizations dedicated to improving the lives of American Pit Bull Terriers. BADRAP, founded in 1999, has gained acclaim for its work in evaluating and rescuing the dogs seized from Michael Vick’s property, where a dog-fighting operation was shut down. Pinups for Pitbulls produces an annual pinup-themed calendar to raise awareness about breed bans and breed-specific abuse, and to raise money for bully-breed rescue groups throughout the country.
Caren Armstrong hosts the Celebrating Songwriters on the 20th with Storm Session and James Hurley at the Left Coast Cyclery in Berkeley starting at 8 p.m.
For a rip roarin’ good time join The Lonestar Retrobates when they play on the third Sunday of the month. See them on the 21st starting at 3 p.m. at 19 Broadway in Fairfax. They play barnyard bebop and swingin’ cowboy jazz. Johnny Cuviello, Bob Wills' drummer at 94 years young, lives in Milpitas and he often sits in on a few songs about every other month.
On the 25th The Country Squires (Maurice Tani, Misisipi Mike Wolf, Doug Blumer and Christopher Fisher) will take part in a Tribute to Johnny Cash at The Knockout in SF.
Sonoma County-based singer-guitarist Kevin Russell’s acoustic group Under the Radar will play acoustic folk/country/blues/bluegrass on the 27th at Murphy’s in Sonoma. The band is Kevin, Markie Sanders, Layne Bowen and Michael Capella.
There will be pickin’ of gospel, bluegrass and old-time music as usual up in Sebastopol on the fourth Sunday of this month, and the date is the 28th. It takes place from 2-5 p.m. at the Sebastopol Christian Church, 7433 Bodega Avenue, in Sebastopol. Bring acoustic instruments and your favorite gospel songs to sing.
Mill Valley artist and musician Kimrea plays with her band Dreamdogs play every Monday night at the no name in Sausalito, and players are invited to sit in with the band.
Andrew Freeman, besides normally performing solo on the first Saturday of every month at Murphy’s in Sonoma, continues to play Tuesday evenings at Giordano's (Columbus and Broadway) in SF at 7 p.m.
Ed Neff and Friends are playing bluegrass every Thursday at the Willowbrook Ale House in Petaluma from 6:30-9:30 p.m. There is no cover, and you get to hear some of the finest traditional bluegrass in the North Bay. The regular pickers are Ed Neff on fiddle, Mike Wilhoyte on guitar, Jeff King on bass, Paul Shelasky on fiddle, and Larry Cohea on banjo. The address is 3600 Petaluma Boulevard North. Call (707) 775-4232 for more info.
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February 4, 2010
Welcome to the 110th edition of Carltone's Corner!
It is Groundhog Day here at Carltone World Headquarters, for more reasons than one. In a replay of last month’s editions, this issue is late again, and the hope here is that we don’t keep up this trend. We don’t know about you, but the staff at CWH on the 2nd just couldn’t get enough of the moronic mass media coverage the other day of the recalcitrant hirsute underground denizen of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. This, combined with media frenzy behind the Grammy Awards and the Oscar nominations, has kept the interns mightily distracted and way beyond deadline. Throw in a contagious virus – and no, we’re not talking the cyber variety here – that waylaid the staff for three straight days (talk about a “lost weekend”!) – and there are ample reasons for the lateness of this edition.
Late night yuck fest. And we are not talking “yuks,” as in laughing at jokes. Does anyone really care about what comedian is on TV at what time after 11:30 p.m.? One carrot-topped mirth maker hosted his last show recently on NBC after getting paid a paltry $45 million dollars to go away (at least until September). Meanwhile the lantern-jawed jokester will be moving back to his old slot in March. Off to the side the erstwhile-red-headed wisecracker on CBS is having a grand old time making light of the situation. If your life revolves around watching any one of these vidiots every night, a life is something you need to get. Try reading a book to fall asleep. Better yet, wander off to dreamland listening to some good old-fashioned bluegrass or other kind of music on your iPod or CD player…
Speaking of yuks and the other “Groundhog Day” – the movie – it won’t be long now until weather-beaten tweed-jacket-wearing sportswriters from the SF Chronicle are chasing actor/comedian Bill “Har-dee-har-har” Murray around some golf course in the rain in SF for the annual golfing event that is known more for the ageing yukster’s presence than the actual pro players that play in the tournament. And each year, as with Phil the groundhog, the story is the same, over and over…
The soloist goes solo. There was a movie out last year titled The Soloist, with starred Jamie Foxx as homeless cello player Nathaniel Ayers and Robert Downey Jr. as newspaper writer Steve Lopez. Lopez befriended Ayers, who was once a student at Julliard. Ayers is about to put out his first recording with the help of Michael Balzary of the Red Hot Chili Peppers along with members of the LA Philharmonic. The recording will be titled Putting On Ayers, and you can read the story about it here.
Help for Haiti. There will be a fundraiser on the 5th at Integrated Design Studio at 2129 Shoreline Highway in Mill Valley from 6-10 p.m. Music will be provided by Close Enough and Marble Party. Iron Springs Pub & Brewery in Fairfax will be donating and pouring their award winning ales and hand crafted soda at the event, and every cent raised goes to the Red Cross to help out Haiti. $20-100 donation suggested. RSVP to amtrapp@yahoo.com. Also on the 5th at 8 p.m. at The 142 Throckmorton Theatre in Mill Valley there will be the Comedy and Concert Fundraiser for Haiti, with local performers uniting for the relief effort. Music by Mostly Dylan, comedy by Mark Pitta and Friends and entertainment by Frank Olivier. This is a benefit for Doctors Without Borders. $35 general admission. At The Mystic in Petaluma on the 18th at 7 p.m. there will be the To Haiti With Love: A Free Benefit Concert for Haiti with members of Hot Buttered Rum and Poor Man’s Whiskey, Tim Eschliman, Bonnie Hayes, Jesse De Natale, Arann Harris & The Sonoma winter Roots Band (members of Brothers Comatose), Mr. December, The Easy Leaves, Toast Machine and Green String Farm Band. Proceeds benefit Doctors Without Borders.
The House of Lester. Three decades after his passing, Lester Flatt is still making news. He was honored by the House of Representatives last week when its members voted unanimously to officially honor the bluegrass legend. You can read and listen here to a segment on National Public Radio. Some may grumble about the need for congress to be attending to more serious matters than this, but national radio and press coverage of bluegrass doesn’t happen that often, so enjoy it while it lasts.
Bluegrass star of tomorrow! Congratulations to young bluegrass pickers Angelica Grim and TJ Doerful, who are now proud parents to Jakob Doerful, who entered the bluegrass world picking and screaming on January 19th. Read the CBA Message Board thread here and look at photos here.
Copyright rumble down under. Remember the pop hit from the ‘80s titled “Down Under” by the Australian band Men at Work? Turns out that, according to a law suit that ruled in favor of the plaintiff, the flute solo from the tune was lifted from a decades-old children’s song titled "Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree." Read the details here. The long gone band may now have to go back to work in order to pay out what could be millions in royalties…
Cloverdale news. Although the official results have yet to be posted on the Cloverdale Old-Time Fiddle Contest web site, some partial news has arrived over the transom here at Carltone World Headquarters. Keystone Station and Wild Blue fiddler Kenny Blacklock and his wife Katy Bridges came in first in the twin fiddle division, he came in second in the old-time category (behind Paul Shelasky), and she came in fourth in Texas-style; their nine-year-old daughter Marika Blacklock came in ninth in the junior-junior category, while Tim Elson placed first; South Bay fiddler Danita Rast came in first in the waltz and Texas-style, and Tessa Schwartz came in fourth in the peewee group. Congrats to all! New CD, new beginning. Longtime San Francisco North Beach resident and musician Doug Blumer and his designer wife Nancy Irish have pulled up roots and moved to Sebastopol as of the first of the year. Doug was in the popular trio called The Westerleys some time back, and he also played with a few other bands besides also carving out a solo career. He recently released a greatest hits compilation called Doug Blumer Sounds Like This, a career retrospective from 1995-2009, culling material from different bands and albums. Go to his web site to get your copy.
Peter Feldmann in the news. Longtime bluegrass musician Peter Feldmann was featured last week in a story in the Santa Ynez Valley Journal. He has a band called The Very Lonesome Boys.
Portland Old-Time photos. If you missed the Portland Old-Time Music Gathering in January or if you did happen to make it up to the event, there is a wonderful photo slide show of the fest that you can enjoy looking at here.
More live music at a bar in downtown Mill Valley. Last month it was erroneously reported here that – short a produced show at the 142 Throckmorton and Mill Valley Masonic – there was no live music in downtown Mill Valley since Sweetwater closed over two years ago. It has been pointed out that restaurants Bungalow 44 and The Balboa Cafe have live music on some nights of the week. Mill Valley musician Matt Lax and bass man Joe Kyle (The Waybacks) started up a weekly Tuesday night series on January 26th at the Italian restaurant Vasco (former site of The Old Mill from days of yore), located at 106 Throckmorton, from 9-11 p.m. Special guests will perform, with Dore Coller on the 9th (who will then be joining Matt and Joe in following weeks), Lisa Kindred on the 16th, Erik Pearson & Sonya Hunter on the 23rd, and David T. Carter (The Trailer Park Rangers) due in on March 2nd. Go on by and support this new series. No cover.
Carltube. Check out these three whimsical musical videos here, here and here. Belly dancing to “Dueling Banjos”? Works for us! Also, here is a video of Glen Hansard (from the movie Once) performing on the street. Coming attractions. The Dry Branch Fire Squad in Berkeley 3/4, at Sausalito Presbyterian Church 3/5, Redwood Bluegrass Associates in Mountain View 3/6; Sebastopol Documentary Film Festival 3/5-7; Sonoma County Bluegrass & Folk Festival 3/13; Bluegrass On Broadway in Redwood City 3/11-14; Nell Robinson & Red Level at the Noe Valley Ministry in SF 3/19; Joy Kills Sorrow at Redwood Bluegrass Associates in Mountain View 4/10; 11th Annual SFJAZZ Spring Season presents The Punch Brothers featuring Chris Thile at the Herbst Theatre in SF on 4/18; The Kathy Kallick Band at Redwood Bluegrass Associates in Mountain View 5/1; Doug Adamz CD release show at The Acoustic Vortex in Larkspur 5/1; the 35th Annual CBA Father’s Day Festival in Grass Valley 6/17-20.
Onward to the calendar…
Enjoy a fabulous evening out and a dinner set with the music of Lorin Rowan (guitar/vocals) and Doug Harman (cello) on the 4th at Panama Hotel Restaurant in San Rafael from 7-10 p.m.
Maurice Tani of the band 77 El Deora has some gigs this month. On the 4th he and Deora band mates Mike Anderson and Christopher Fisher will be joined by pedal steel whiz David Phillips for an early set at Hotel Utah in SF. They're followed by Grand National and Luke Franks. On the 20th Deora plays the Californicana benefit for BADRAP and Pinups for Pitbulls, which will be held at Autobody Fine Art Gallery in Alameda from 7 p.m. until midnight. Live music with special guests and live burlesque. Raffle, silent auction, scrumptious food, calendar signing booth and special appearances by Pinups for Pitbulls Calendar models. All proceeds will go to BADRAP and Pinups for Pitbulls, organizations dedicated to improving the lives of American Pit Bull Terriers. BADRAP, founded in 1999, has gained acclaim for its work in evaluating and rescuing the dogs seized from Michael Vick’s property, where a dog-fighting operation was shut down. Pinups for Pitbulls produces an annual pinup-themed calendar to raise awareness about breed bans and breed-specific abuse, and to raise money for bully-breed rescue groups throughout the country. And then on the 25th The Country Squires (Maurice, Misisipi Mike Wolf, Doug Blumer and Christopher Fisher) will take part in a Tribute to Johnny Cash at The Knockout in SF.
The Sleeping Lady in Fairfax has a traditional Irish session every Sunday afternoon, jazz every Sunday night, and an open mic every Monday night. See The David Thom Band on the 4th, Revolver on the 5th, The Gas Men on the 6th, 49 Special on the 9th, finger-style showcase on the 10th with Adam Traum and Teja Gerken, Jerry Hannan on the 13th, Brindl on the 16th, Jack Irving’s Showcase on the 17th, The David Thom Bluegrass All-Stars on the 18th, Culann’s Hounds on the 19th, Drew Pearce Presents on the 24th, Lumanation on the 27th, Namely Us on the 28th, plus others.
Murphy’s Irish Pub in the town of Sonoma is the place to go for good music in Sonoma County, with no cover charge. See Solid Air on the 4th, The Sonoma Mountain Band on the 5th, the Celtic jam on the 7th, Kith & Kin on the 12th, High Country on the 13th, Misner & Smith on the 18th, The Cork Pullers on the 19th, Green String Farm Band on the 21st, The Lonesome Holler String Band on the 26th, Under the Radar on the 27th, the Greenhouse CD release party on the 28th, and lots more good stuff.
Jammin' in Marin. The Marin Bluegrass Jam takes place on the first and third Thursdays of every month. The dates for this month will be 4th and the 18th. The address is Marin Lutheran Church at 649 Meadowsweet in Corte Madera, just off the Corte Madera exit of Highway 101. The time is 7:30-10 p.m.
The 142 Throckmorton Theatre has a variety of entertainment on the calendar. Besides Mark Pitta’s comedy night every Tuesday see the Haiti Fundraiser on the 5th, Sammy Hagar on the 6th, International Guitar Night on the 7th, Linda Tillery on the 12th, Maria Muldaur on the 14th, Robben Ford on the 20th, and more.
Swing Tonic delivers an eclectic mix of swing, folk, country, jazz, 'round-the-world delicacies and just about anything in between. Drawing from their varied musical background, the four members blend vocal harmony with the surprisingly un-clashing sounds of accordion, trumpet, guitar, mandolin and bass. They play at the Spice Monkey Café in downtown Oakland on the first Friday of every month starting at 7:30 p.m., so see them on the 5th. No cover charge and kids are welcome.
The Lagunitas Brewing Company Tap Room and Beer Sanctuary presents acoustic alt-country, Americana, bluegrass, and old timey stuff as well as acoustic Latin/jazz and World beat. See Music start times are 4:20 p.m. during the week and 3 p.m. on weekends. See Dream Farmers on the 5th (and 19th), Rusty Evans & Ring of Fire on the 7th, Sons of Emperor Norton on the 10th, Jenny Kerr on the 11th, Brothers Comatose on the 13th, West County Professional Tea Sippers on the 14th, Grandpa Banana on the 20th, California Honeydrops on the 24th, Pink Sabbath on the 25th, Misner & Smith on the 26th, Elliot Randall on the 28th, and others.
19 Broadway in Fairfax is back from the ashes! Last year a fire damaged part of the building, and on the 5th they will be having a special concert called “19 Broadway Rises From the Ashes” with performances by Momma’s Cookin’ and Hillside Fire. Otherwise, there is an open mic with Derek Smith every Monday, the Uzilevsky/Korty Duo every Tuesday, Diamond Ortiz on the 10th (and 24th), Michael Rose on the 13th, Jules Broussard at 5 p.m. on the second Sunday of every month (the 14th), Wonderbread 5 on the 19th, the Lonestar Retrobates on the 21st at 3 p.m. and local musicians night at 8 p.m., Elvin Bishop on the 26th, Melvin Seals on the 27th, and lots more.
Roundup time in SF. The Atlas Cafe in San Francisco presents the best in live bluegrass and old-time music every Thursday night from 8-10 p.m. On the 4th you can enjoy the finest in honky-tonk and bluegrass with Jeanie & Chuck’s Country Roundup. No cover charge.
Patsy Cline in Half Moon Bay. Novato bass man Pat Campbell is playing bass in the production of Always…Patsy Cline at the Coastal Repertory Theatre in Half Moon Bay on the 5th-27th. The lineup of musicians includes Steve Shufton on piano, Mark Holzinger on guitar, Charlie Wallace on steel, Tim Seifert on drums, Brantley Kearns on fiddle, Ross Dankin on guitar and Catie Chase as Patsy.
Murphy Productions at the Mill Valley Masonic Hall will feature the Midnite Reggae Dance Party on the 5th, the Tommy Castro Blues Band on the 12th, The Tim Hockenberry Band on the 13th, and The David Nelson Band on the 14th.
North Bay Live has two fine shows this month. On the 5th it will be the LA band I See Hawks in LA with Susan James opening, and on the 13th legendary Texas singer/songwriter Butch Hancock. Shows start 8 p.m. at Studio E in Sebastopol.
Good things are happening at Peri’s in Fairfax. Every Monday is acoustic open mic night hosted by Billy D of The Billy Boys, and every Wednesday for $10 per participant there are professional swing dance lessons from 7:30-9 p.m. See Honeydust on the 5th, Rusty Evans & Ring of Fire on the 6th, Peri's Blues Jam on the 7th, Trever Jones on the 9th, Dr Mojo on the 11th, Jon Korty and Friends on the 13th, Sexy Sunday - Women Who Rock on the 14th, Michael D on the 16th, Whiskey Pills Fiasco on the 17th, Rahman's Songwriters in the Round on the 18th, Pine Hill Haints and Brothers Comatose on the 19th (San Francisco Old Time and Bluegrass Festival), Andre and Friends on the 21st, Royal Deuces on the 24th, The Rev Tones on the 25th, Tom Finch Group on the 26th, Buxter Hoot'n on the 27th, Songwriter Night on the 28th, and others.
The Mystic in Petaluma has The Mother Hips on the 5th, The David Rawlings Machine on the 8th, Loudon Wainwright III on the 12th, To Haiti With Love: A Free Benefit concert for Haiti relief on the 18th, Gallagher on the 20th, Jorma Kaukonen and GE Smith on the 24th, Benefit for Sadie's Haven Horse Rescue with music by The Jeremy Bauman Band on the 27th, and others.
Santa Rosa singer Rory McNamara on Saturday the 6th at 2:30 p.m. will be at the San Gregorio Store with The Mild Colonial Boys.
Saylor’s Restaurant in Sausalito has live music in the restaurant from 7:30-10:30 p.m. on Fridays, and 7-10 on most Saturdays. See Al Chan on the 5th, Macy Blackman on the 6th, Connie Ducey & Judy Hall on the 12th, Eugene Shilin on the 13th, Lauralee Brown & Company on the 19th, Eugene Huggins on the 20th, Mindy Canter on the 26th, and Schuster Bay on the 27th.
The bluegrass band Redwing can be seen pickin’ bluegrass on the 6th at McGrath’s in Alameda starting at 8 p.m.
San Rafael guitarist/singer/songwriter Kurt Huget will be crossing county lines for gigs this month. Namely Us, his five-piece jazz band, returns to the Two Bird Cafe in San Geronimo on the 6th and the Sleeping Lady Cafe in Fairfax on the 28th. He'll be on the bandstand with the Ray Simpson Big Band at their monthly dance concert on the 10th at the Corte Madera Recreation Center. And on the 13th will find him performing solo at Aqus Cafe in Petaluma.
Larry Potts, award-winning Petaluma singer/songwriter, has a new album out entitled Close To Home. It is acoustic/folk with blends of Americana, country, jazz, pop, blues, and rock. He collaborated with George Merrill of the Boy Meets Girl pop duo, who wrote Whitney Houston hits "I Wanna Dance With Somebody” and “How Will I Know.” There are also many local artists on this album such Gus Garelick, Bruce Kurnow, Charlie Moller Gary Grubb, John Morton, the late Michael Whitwell, and the multi-talented multi-instrumentalist/producer and engineer Kevin Harris, with Merrill on keyboards. The CD is available on Larry’s site, at CDBaby and on iTunes. He will be having a CD release party on the 6th at the Petaluma Art Center. Call (707) 781-3272 or email babsjoj@hotmail.com for advance tickets.
Jammin’ in Sebastopol. The place to be for pickin’ bluegrass on Saturdays is the Coffee Catz from 2-5 p.m.
Adam Traum and his band The Traumatics will be at Iron Springs on the 6th at 2 p.m., he’ll play solo at the Sleeping Lady in Fairfax on the 10th for Teja Gerken's Acoustic Guitar, on the 13th he’ll play solo at Landmark Vineyards in Kenwood from 1-4 p.m., on the 21st at Steiner's Tavern in Sonoma with The Traumatics at 6 p.m., and on the 26th at the Black Rose Pub in Santa Rosa at 9 p.m.
The Marin duo Barbwyre (Jon Mitguard and Dana Rath) will be sneaking across the bridge to play at the Bazaar Café in SF on the 6th starting at 7 p.m. Also on the bill is West Marin musician Tim Weed, so there will be some serious picking to accompany your café treats. Where else are you going to go to hear pedal steel and classical banjo on the same bill?
Sebastopol’s Riggy Rackin & Jon Berger perform together again on the 6th at 7 pm at The Pinecone in Sebastopol. The Pinecone offers fine food from the Himalayas and live music. Enjoy a meal or a drink and savor tasty tunes played on English concertina and fiddle. Free admission.
Twang Ditty will be playing both country and western music at The Blackthorn Tavern in San Francisco on the 6th, at the Druid Hall in Santa Rosa on the 12th, and at The Twin Oaks Tavern in Penngrove on the 26th.
Front Porch Blues, featuring Ed Hance on acoustic guitar and vocals and Allen Goldberg on harmonica, will be playing two big Sunday shows this month. The first one is Super Bowl Sunday the 7th at the Blue Wing Saloon in Upper Lake from 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. The second one is on Valentine's Day the 14th at Imagery Winery in Glen Ellen, from 1:30- 4:30 p.m. This will be a special event with gourmet food and wine tasting, tickets $30.
The Acoustic Vortex house concert series in Larkspur will be presenting the Spirit of the Amazon (with Marin singer/songwriter Tracy Blackman, Lucia Comnes and Bittersweet) concert on the 6th and Ian Dogle on the 27th.
San Anselmo’s The Craig Caffall Band (CCB) plays every Wednesday at Miss Pearl's Jam House in the Waterfront Hotel at Jack London Square in Oakland from 7-10 p.m., with an added special Mardi Gras show on the 16th from 8:30-midnight. They also we have a gig at the Presidio Yacht Club in Sausalito on the 27th starting at 8:30. Craig also plays guitar with Maria Muldaur.
Music is brewing at the Iron Springs Pub & Brewery in Fairfax. The Saturday afternoon cozy and casual winter music series takes place every Saturday from 2-4 p.m. See the Adam Traum on the 6th, Pat Nevins on the 20th, and the Courtney Janes on the 27th. Bands play on Wednesdays starting at 8 p.m. No cover, and great beer, food and music. See Aaron Redner & Friends on the 10th, Viper Central on the 17th, and Elliott Randall on the 24th.
Help send the Analy High School Theater in Sebastopol to Carnegie Hall! The Choir will perform there on April 17th, and they are trying to raise money for their travels. A big benefit show will take place on the 11th at the high school. Joe Craven will be the Master of Ceremonies. See The Ragtime Skedaddalers, The West County Professional Tea Sippers, The Tri Tip Trio, and The Analy Honor Choir.
The SF Bluegrass & Old-Time Festival will be taking place at various venues around the bay from to the 12th-21st, with too many acts to mention here, so go to the site for complete info.
Missy Raines & The New Hip will be appearing on the 12th at 8 p.m. at the Petaluma Church Concerts at First Church of Christ Scientist, 522 B St. (corner of B & 6th). Missy was seven-time International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) bass player of the year, and her band, The New Hip, play an energetic mix of newgrass and jazz. The band consists of dobro player Michael Witcher, mandolin and guitarist Ethan Ballinger, Dillon Hodges on guitar, and Doug Belote and Tommy Giampietro on percussion.
Laura Lee Brown & Company will be playing jazz and beyond on the 12th at The Pleasure is Mine in Mill Valley from 7-10 p.m., and they also have their regular show Saylor's on the 19th.
The San Geronimo Cultural Center presents Cindy Kallet & Greg Larsen on the 12th.
Sweethearts of the Radio. Celebrate Valentine’s Day with an evening of musical pairings at KWMR’s annual Sweethearts of the Radio concert on the 13th at The Dance Palace in Point Reyes Station. The evening includes folk, bluegrass and swing from Laurie Lewis & Tom Rozum, and Eric & Suzy Thompson, Keith Terry & Evie Ladin, and Deep Elem. Proceeds from the event benefit KWMR, West Marin’s community radio station. Doors open at 7 p.m. for pre-show enjoyment and the concert beginning at 8 p.m. Seating is general admission. For more info contact Lance Walker at (707) 542-8995 or eclecticstage@yahoo.com.
The dark side of Poor Man’s. The Sonoma County band Poor Man’s Whiskey will be presenting their Dark Side of the Moonshine show at the Sebastopol Community Center on the 13th. Then on the 20h they’ll be playing their normal show at the Fillmore in SF, opening for a band called ALO.
The Marin Civic Center has Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo on the 13th, The Chieftains on the 19th, and the Marin Symphony on the 28th.
Misner & Smith have a busy month in February. They'll start out at the Heartbreak Hootenanny put on by the SF Folk Club and the SF Bluegrass & Old-Time Festival on the 13th. On the 14th they'll be up in Santa Rosa at Aroma Roasters, on the 18th they'll be playing at Murphy's Irish Pub in Sonoma. Tune in to KKUP in Cupertino at 3 p.m. on the 20th to hear them on the airwaves with Sleepy John. They'll be heading over to Alameda to play at McGrath's as part of the SF Bluegrass & Old-Time Festival on the 21st. On the 26th they'll be up in Petaluma at the Lagunitas Brewing Company and then they will finish the month off at the Bazaar Cafe in San Francisco as a part of the 2nd Annual Bazaar-Stock, a full day of music with some of the best local musicians in an intimate cafe setting.
The Nashville Bluegrass Band doesn’t get out here that much, so see them at the Redwood Bluegrass Associates in Mountain View on the 13th or at the Freight in Berkeley on the 14th.
San Anselmo singer/songwriter David Maloney will be performing solo again at the Bazaar Cafe on California Street in SF on the 13th at 7 p.m., playing all original material and with no cover. David is also one-half of the fabulous longtime popular duo Reilly & Maloney.
At the Black Rose Pub in Santa Rosa see Marshall, Bolt, & Harr on the 13th, Four Shillings Short on the 20th, The Traumatics on the 26th, and The Tonewoods on the 27th. There is an international jam on the first Wednesday of the month, and Celtic jams on the second and third Wednesdays.
Mill Valley gitpicker Dore Coller is busy as usual. He has been spending time in the studio on the long awaited Bermudagrass CD, on Tuesdays he will be at Vasco in downtown Mill Valley with Matt Lacques and Joe Kyle Jr., and he can be seen playing bluegrass at Amnesia in SF with Savannah Blu on the 15th for the SFBOT.
Jamvitational has moved. The Marin Jamvitational bluegrass showcase relocated last month from the Sleeping Lady in Fairfax to Whipper Snapper (1613 4th Street, between F and G Streets) in downtown San Rafael. The restaurant offers “Cal-Caribe” food that blends Latin flavors with local farm fresh ingredients. The good news is that the music will now run from 7:30-9:30 instead of starting at the later hour of 9 p.m. Go check it out on the 16th, with Chris Caputo on banjo, Jerry Barush on guitar, Tom Lucas on fiddle, Dan Large on mandolin, and Bruce Campbell on bass.
Sara Winge and Bart Hopkin sing eclectic jazz and pop at the French Garden Bistro in Sebastopol on the 17th from 7-9:30 p.m. No cover.
Three At Last has a few gigs this month. They will be playing a Bread & Roses event in Novato on the 17th, at Café Flo in Chico on the 20th, at The Blue Heron in Duncan's Mills on the 27th, and at the Pine Cone in Sebastopol on the 28th.
Schoenberg Guitars. Besides being a wonderful acoustic guitar shop on Ark Row in Tiburon, Eric Schoenberg also has concerts and workshops there from time to time. See Jim Hurst on the 18th and Corinne West and Kelly Joe Phelps on the 26th starting at 8 p.m. Reservations are highly recommended, as space is limited. Call (415) 789-0846 for more info.
Jim Hurst will also be playing in Sebastopol on the 19th at 7:30 p.m. The International Bluegrass Association Guitar Player of the year (2001, 2002) will do a solo performance at Subud Hall (234 Hutchins Ave., Sebastopol). He is an award-winning flat-picking guitarist but also a fabulous finger-style player in the Chet Atkins/Jerry Reed vein. Tickets are $20 general admission, and reservations and tickets can be purchases by contacting Kevin at (707) 824-1858 or krussellmft@aol.com.
Paul Knight and Friends. In a special SFBOT Friday edition of Paul Knight & Friends at the Station House in Pt. Reyes Station on the 19th at 7 p.m., Kathy Kallick & Richard Brandenburg will be teaming up for the first time in public. Both talented singer-songwriters have met up at pickin’ parties and festivals in the past and enjoyed singing together, so they decided to try it out for the SFBOT. They’ll be joined by some special guest soloists as well. The night's lineup includes Kathy Kallick (Good Old Persons), Richard Brandenburg (Last Call Quartet), Annie Staninec (Deep Elem, Kathy Kallick Band), Dave Keenan (Downtown Mt. Boys, Ranch Romance), and Paul Knight (Peter Rowan, Kleptograss).
Houston Jones plays the finest high-octane American around, and you can see them at McGrath's Alameda on the 19th, at Rancho Nicasio on the 21st, and at the San Gregorio Country Store on the 28th.
Caren Armstrong hosts the Celebrating Songwriters on the 20th with Storm Session and James Hurley at the Left Coast Cyclery in Berkeley starting at 8 p.m.
For a rip roarin’ good time join The Lonestar Retrobates when they play on the third Sunday of the month. See them on the 21st starting at 3 p.m. at 19 Broadway in Fairfax. They play barnyard bebop and swingin’ cowboy jazz. Johnny Cuviello, Bob Wills' drummer at 94 years young, lives in Milpitas and he often sits in on a few songs about every other month.
Sonoma County-based singer-guitarist Kevin Russell’s acoustic group Under the Radar will play acoustic folk/country/blues/bluegrass on the 27th at Murphy’s in Sonoma. The band is Kevin, Markie Sanders, Layne Bowen and Michael Capella.
There will be pickin’ of gospel, bluegrass and old-time music as usual up in Sebastopol on the fourth Sunday of this month, and the date is the 28th. It takes place from 2-5 p.m. at the Sebastopol Christian Church, 7433 Bodega Avenue, in Sebastopol. Bring acoustic instruments and your favorite gospel songs to sing.
Mill Valley artist and musician Kimrea plays with her band Dreamdogs play every Monday night at the no name in Sausalito, and players are invited to sit in with the band.
Andrew Freeman, besides normally performing solo on the first Saturday of every month at Murphy’s in Sonoma, continues to play Tuesday evenings at Giordano's (Columbus and Broadway) in SF at 7 p.m.
Ed Neff and Friends are playing bluegrass every Thursday at the Willowbrook Ale House in Petaluma from 6:30-9:30 p.m. There is no cover, and you get to hear some of the finest traditional bluegrass in the North Bay. The regular pickers are Ed Neff on fiddle, Mike Wilhoyte on guitar, Jeff King on bass, Paul Shelasky on fiddle, and Larry Cohea on banjo. The address is 3600 Petaluma Boulevard North. Call (707) 775-4232 for more info. *******************************************************************
January 20, 2010
In keeping with the now firmly-established Carltone’s Corner tradition, this newsletter is a few days late too, just like the previous one. Is it possible to restart this new year of 2010? With all of the calamity in the world right now – Jay Leno and Conan O’Brien duking it out on late night TV (as ratings skyrocket), Simon Cowell retiring from the TV game show American Idle, and baseball behemoth Mark McGwire stunning no one by admitting that he used steroids so he could get a job back in the sport – it is harder and harder to get the interns to concentrate on North Bay music news. There is a lot going on the rest of this month, so grab your bumbershoot and get out and enjoy some live music. Don’t let every one else have all of the fun for you!
Grascals RV Park. How many bands can claim that they have an RV park named after them? This past weekend The Grascals Bluegrass Hollow RV Park in Dothan, Alabama, was officially named after the band while they played a concert there. The Grascals, besides winning the IBMA Entertainer of the Year Award in 2006 and 2007, are one of the hottest bands on the bluegrass circuit right now. They were Dolly Parton’s bluegrass band, and they have a great sound on their own. Their banjo player, Kristen Scott Benson, won the IBMA Banjo Player of the Year Award in 2008 and 2009. They are headed this way, and you can see them playing at the Great American Music Hall in SF on the 26th with the Marin County bluegrass band Keystone Station opening. And what else is Dothan, AL, known for? Well, it was also the birthplace of the Bay Area’s own bluegrass singer Nell Robinson!
Bluegrass hair. How many California bluegrass pickers have great "bluegrass hair"? Chuck Poling, David Grisman and Peter Rowan come to mind. According to a posting on the Bluegrass Blog last week, Ricky Skaggs talked at length about his long locks and some cool dos of other bluegrass pickers of yore. Read the story here.
Experienced Melnyk. Ace CBA photographer Mike Melnyk was at the Freight & Salvage in Berkeley on the 3rd, snapping away shots of the David Grisman Bluegrass Experience. You should look at his wonderful slide show here.
Winter music camp. The new CBA Winter Music Camp, taking place February 15th-18th in western Marin County, is starting to fill up, but there is still some room left. A finger-style guitar class, taught by Steve Baughman, has also been added for the first time. Go to the web page above more info.
Live music at a bar in downtown Mill Valley? Wow, what a new concept! Ever since Sweetwater closed over two years ago there has been no live music at a bar or restaurant in the downtown – save for the Murphy Production concerts at the Masonic Hall and shows at the 142 Throckmorton. But neither of these venues are casual drop-in establishments. Mill Valley musician Matt Lax and bass man Joe Kyle (The Waybacks) will be starting up a weekly series on the 26th at the Italian restaurant Vasco (former site of The Old Mill from days of yore), located at 106 Throckmorton, from 9-11 p.m. Special guests will be invited to perform as well. No cover.
Strawberry alarm clock. For those of you thinking about attending the Strawberry Music Festivals near Yosemite on Memorial and Labor Day Weekends, amazingly so the fest has lowered the price of the all-festival pass to $340, which is $20 less than last year. The deadline for purchasing the cheapest tickets is January 29th.
A breath of fresh air. The National Public Radio show Fresh Air With Terry Gross is by far the best arts radio interview show anywhere. It is a nationally broadcast show that can be heard on most NPR stations, and in the SF area you can hear it multiple times a day (KQED, KRCB and KALW). Even better, if you miss a show you can always listen to archived interviews and reviews on your computer. Here are some recent examples: an interview with punk icon Patti Smith about her new book titled Just Kids about her relationship with the late photographer Robert Mapplethorpe; memorial interviews with later singers Vic Chestnutt, Teddy Pendergrass and producer Willie Mitchell; the aforementioned interview with T-Bone Burnett; and a review of the new CD by Mary J. Blige.
Get out your handkerchiefs. How easy is it to lose a million dollars? Pretty dang simple, in some cases. Rapper Usher apparently had one mil worth of jewels, computers, etc., in his SUV when he stopped at a store in Atlanta on December 14th. When he came out to his car he found that it had been broken into. Needless to say, the betting here is that his Christmas was not a very merry one…
Life’s railway to heaven. Bobby Charles, the singer/songwriter who wrote such monster hits as "Walking to New Orleans" and "See You Later Alligator" died on the 14th in Louisiana after being in remission from kidney cancer and suffering from diabetes. He was 71. He also wrote the classic song “Tennessee Blues” that was recorded by many and is one of Geoff Muldaur’s signature songs. Rhythm and blues singer Teddy Pendergrass, who was one of the most successful figures in music until a car crash 28 years ago left him in a wheelchair, died of colon cancer on the 14th in Philadelphia. He was 59. Some of his hits were "Close the Door," "It Don't Hurt Now" and "Love T.K.O." Carl Smith, country singer from the ‘50s who had many hits, was married for a few years to June Carter and was the father of Carlene Carter, died in Franklin, TN, on the 16th. He was 82. Canadian folk singer and songwriter Kate McGarrigle, best known for performing with her sister Anna, died of cancer in Montreal on the 18th. She was 63. She was the mother of performers Martha and Rufus Wainwright, and she was once married to folk singer Loudon Wainwright III. Sean Bohannon passed away on December 8th in Eureka, CA, at the age of 51, but the news only made it this way recently via Mark Hogan. Sean was a mandolin player and a former partner in Wildwood Music in Arcata for 15 years. For ten years he played in the bluegrass band The Compost Mountain Boys. There will be a memorial for him on Sunday the January 24th at the Bayside Grange in Humboldt County from 2-7 p.m.
Coming attractions. I See Hawks In LA at Studio E in Sebastopol 2/5; Larry Potts CD release party at the Petaluma Art Center 2/6; SF Bluegrass & Old-Time Festival 2/12-21; Missy Raines & The New Hip at Petaluma Church Concerts 2/12; Murphy Productions in Mill Valley presents Tommy Castro 2/12, Tim Hockenberry 2/13, and David Nelson 2/14 at the Masonic Hall; The Nashville Bluegrass Band at Redwood Bluegrass Associates in Mountain View 2/13; Sweethearts of the Radio show in Point Reyes Station 2/13; CBA Winter Music Camp 2/15-18; Jim Hurst at Schoenberg Guitars in Tiburon 2/18, in Sebastopol 2/19, and in Redding 2/20;; The Dry Branch Fire Squad in Berkeley 3/4, at Sausalito Presbyterian Church 3/5, Redwood Bluegrass Associates in Mountain View 3/6; Sonoma County Bluegrass & Folk Festival 3/13; Bluegrass On Broadway in Redwood City 3/11-14; Joy Kills Sorrow at Redwood Bluegrass Associates in Mountain View 4/10; 11th Annual SFJAZZ Spring Season presents The Punch Brothers featuring Chris Thile at the Herbst Theatre in SF on 4/18; The Kathy Kallick Band at Redwood Bluegrass Associates in Mountain View 5/1; Doug Adamz CD release show at The Acoustic Vortex in Larkspur 5/1; the 35th Annual CBA Father’s Day Festival in Grass Valley 6/17-20.
Additions
Crowing in San Francisco. The Atlas Cafe presents the best in live bluegrass, old-time and Americana music every Thursday night from 8-10 p.m., and on the 21st enjoy the bluegrass of The Mighty Crows.
Marin singer/songwriter Tracy Blackman will be opening for Sarah Eden Davis on the 22nd at The Sleeping Lady in Fairfax starting at 9 p.m., and then on February 7th she will be part of the Benefit for the Amazon Women's Collective along with Lucia Comnes and Bittersweet at The Acoustic Vortex in Larkspur.
The Redwing Bluegrass Band (Redrick Horlick, Alan Dreyfuss, Bob Johnson, and Polly Frizzell) will be making music for you on the 22nd at Armando's in Martinez.
The Mountain River Valley Boys can be seen playing at the Aqus Cafe in Petaluma on the 23rd at 7 p.m. with no cover charge. The band is Jon Myers on guitar, Chris Caputo on banjo, Ed Neff on mandolin and Sue Walters on bass.
The Acoustic Vortex house concert series in Larkspur is now presenting phenomenal Marin guitarist Walter Strauss at 7 p.m. on the 29th instead of on the 23rd.
Sweetie Pie & The Doughboys has a special rockin’ show lined up for the 29th at Peri’s in Fairfax. Chief Doughboy, lead guitarist and coincidentally, booker for Peri's, Mike McShea, will be celebrating his birthday that night. A host of musicians are expected to join in the fun and make for a memorable musical extravaganza. The band is made up of some of Fairfax's finest musicians, including Cathleen "Sweetie Pie" Riddley, an award winning stage actress and guest singer with many local bands including Vinyl, Jon Korty and Friends, Honeydust; Tim Bush, longtime bassist with Chuck Day and the Burning Sensations, current member of (W + T) J2 and Rusty Evans; Wendy Fitz, keyboardist in (W + T) J2; Wailin' Sam Watson, harmonica, also from Chuck Day, as well as his own Wailin' Sam and the Screamin' Nighthawks; Crisco Janda on drums, who is seen often with bands like the Ed Earley Band, Ruckus, and Dave Sparks Band; and of course Mike, who also plays in Ruckus, was longtime host of Peri's open mic on Mondays, and has played in a bunch of bands over the last decade. Showtime is 9:30 p.m. Cover $5.
Triple bill in Menlo Park. The Cowlicks, 49 Special and Jeanie & Chuck's Country Roundup will be whooping it up on the 30th at the British Bankers Club in Menlo Park starting at 8:30 p.m. $6 cover. In these tough economic times where else are you going to get to see three great bands for $2 each?
40 Years in Your Ears. Tune into Cuzin' Al's 40th Anniversary Bluegrass Show live on the 31st on KPIG 107.5 FM in Freedom (also on 1510 AM in Piedmont/SF) with bands Lone Prairie, Black Crown Stringband and Bean Creek from 6-9 p.m.
Reminders
The Craig Caffall Band (CCB) is now playing every Wednesday at Miss Pearl’s Jam House in the Waterfront Hotel at Jack London Square in Oakland. No cover charge and they play from 7-10 p.m. When not leading his own band, San Anselmo’s Caffall is Maria Muldaur’s guitarist.
Music is brewing at the Iron Springs Pub & Brewery in Fairfax. Bands play on Wednesdays starting at 8 p.m. and Saturdays at 2 p.m. No cover, and great beer, food and music. The Wednesday night music series has Family Lines on the 20th and Grandpa Banana on the 27th. The Saturday afternoon cozy and casual winter music series takes place every Saturday from 2-4 p.m. See Dore & Matt on the 23rd and Gayle Schmitt & Friends on the 30th. No cover.
The Lagunitas Brewing Company Tap Room and Beer Sanctuary presents acoustic alt-country, Americana, bluegrass, and old timey stuff as well as acoustic Latin/jazz and World beat. Music start times are 4:20 p.m. (this is not a misprint!) during the week and 3 p.m. on weekends. See the Incubators 20th, Dave Gleason on the 21st, Dream Farmers on the 22nd, Danny Uzilevsky on the 27th, Jeb Brady Trio on the 29th, The Moonshiners on the 30th, the David Thom Band on the 31st, and more.
Good things are happening at Peri’s in Fairfax. Every Monday is acoustic open mic night hosted by Billy D of The Billy Boys, and every Wednesday for $10 per participant there are professional swing dance lessons from 7:30-9 p.m. See Whiskey Pills Fiasco on the 20th, Rahman's Songwriters in the Round on the 21st, Rusty Evans & Ring of Fire on the 22nd, Key Lime Pie on the 26th, Royal Deuces on the 27th, Sweetie Pie & The Doughboys on the 29th, Danny Montana & the Bar Association on the 30th with the Dogtown Ramblers opening, Peri's Songwriters' Night on the 31st, and more.
Sara Winge and Bart Hopkin will be playing eclectic jazz and pop on the 20th at the French Garden Bistro in Sebastopol. No cover.
Murphy’s Irish Pub in the town of Sonoma is the place to go for good music in Sonoma County, with no cover charge. See Kimrea & Dreamdogs on the 21st, The David Thom Band on the 22nd, Adam Traum & The Traumatics on the 23rd, Dr. Elmo & Wild Blue on the 30th, and lots more good stuff.
Mill Valley artist and musician Kimrea plays with her band Dreamdogs also play every Monday night at the no name in Sausalito, and players are invited to sit in with the band.
Bay Area bluegrass guitarist, singer and producer Jim Nunally, who plays with John Reischman & The Jaybirds and in the David Grisman Bluegrass Experience, will also be singing with Keith Little on the 21st at The First Street Cafe Upstairs in Benicia from 7-10 p.m. Then on the 30th he will be there with his wife and singing partner Judy Forrest from 8-11 p.m. Bring an appetite with you as First Street Cafe has an extensive appetizer and dessert menu, and beer and wine are offered as well.
Jammin' in Marin. The Marin Bluegrass Jam takes place on the first and third Thursdays of every month. The next date for this month will be on the 21st. The address is Marin Lutheran Church at 649 Meadowsweet in Corte Madera, just off the Corte Madera exit of Highway 101. The time is 7:30-10 p.m.
Out at the Dance Palace in Point Reyes Station you can see Catherine David on the 21st, The John Jorgenson Quintet on the 23rd, and Mark McCray on the 31st.
Don’t miss The Bee Eaters on the 22nd when they play at Petaluma Church Concerts at First Church of Christ Scientist starting at 8 p.m. The Bee Eaters consists four of the most accomplished, creative young talents of the new generation of acoustic musicians. The quartet combines the strong, striking music of hammered dulcimer virtuoso Simon Chrisman and banjo phenomenon Wes Corbett with the inimitable sound of brother-sister fiddle duo Tristan and Tashina Clarridge. The result of the foursome's collaboration is an elegant fusion of tradition and innovation.
The Mystic in Petaluma has Chuck Prophet on the 22nd, Greg Brown on the 30th, and others.
The Sleeping Lady in Fairfax has a traditional Irish session every Sunday afternoon, jazz every Sunday night, and an open mic every Monday night. See Women Who Rock on the 22nd, Namely Us on the 24th, String Sessions on the 27th, and more.
Saylor’s Restaurant in Sausalito has live music in the restaurant from 7:30-10:30 p.m. on Fridays, and 7-10 on most Saturdays. See Lauralee Brown & Company on the 22nd, Debra Clawson & Paul Seaward on the 23rd, Tom Bowers Duo on the 29th, and The Jon Rubin Band on the 30th.
The Marin Civic Center has The Jackie Payne-Steve Edmonson Band on the 22nd and other fine shows.
The 142 Throckmorton Theatre has a variety of entertainment on the calendar. Besides Mark Pitta’s comedy night every Tuesday see Dick Gregory and Mort Sahl on the 22nd and 23rd, Birds of Paradise on the 24th, and The English Beat on the 29th.
Schoenberg Guitars. Besides being a wonderful acoustic guitar shop on Ark Row in Tiburon, Eric Schoenberg also has concerts and workshops there from time to time. See Mike Dowling on the 22nd starting at 8 p.m. Reservations are highly recommended, as space is limited. Call (415) 789-0846 for more info.
Mike Dowling in Sebastopol. He will also be playing bottleneck blues, vintage swing, ragtime and more on the 23rd at the Sebastopol Center for the Arts starting at 7:30 p.m., and on the 24th he will be holding a guitar workshop there. For info contact Kevin at (707) 824-1858 or krussellmft@aol.com.
The Tuttles with AJ Lee will be playing bluegrass at Redwood Bluegrass Associates in Mountain View on the 23rd. See the young future stars of the genre before they become the next Taylor Swifts…
Murphy Productions at the Mill Valley Masonic Hall will feature David Lindley on the 23rd.
At the Black Rose Pub in Santa Rosa see Pladdohg on the 23rd and The Tonewoods on the 30th. There is an international jam on the first Wednesday of the month, and Celtic jams on the second and third Wednesdays.
Mill Valley gitpicker Dore Coller and Matt Lax are at Iron Springs on the 23rd and the Hot Club of Marin Gypsy Jazz Jam will take place on the 25th at Taste of Rome in Sausalito.
Jammin’ in Sebastopol. The place to be for pickin’ bluegrass on Saturdays is the Coffee Catz from 2-5 p.m.
Resin up that bow! The 37th Annual Cloverdale Old-Time Fiddle Contest will be taking place on the 23rd and 24th in downtown Cloverdale.
“Fill As Desired” is a show worth checking out at the San Geronimo Valley Community Center on the 23rd at 8 p.m. The show features a cappella champions Solstice and award-winning avant-pop composer, vocalist and looping artist Amy X Neuburg. She was commissioned by the Jewish Music Festival to create music based on recipes exchanged by prisoners at the Terezin concentration camp. Prepare to be surprised by some impressively original, affecting, funny and important music.
North Bay Live on the 23rd presents Chris Webster and Nina Gerber at Studio E in Sebastopol starting at 8 p.m. Then on the 30th you can see Lucy Kaplansky playing there.
There will be pickin’ of gospel, bluegrass and old-time music as usual up in Sebastopol on the fourth Sunday of this month, and the date is the 24th. It takes place from 2-5 p.m. at the Sebastopol Christian Church, 7433 Bodega Avenue, in Sebastopol. Bring acoustic instruments and your favorite gospel songs to sing.
San Rafael guitarist/singer/songwriter Kurt Huget and Namely Us, his five-piece jazz band, returns to the Sleeping Lady on the 24th.
Grandpa Banana from Inverness and his band can be seen playing at Iron Springs on the 27th, and they will be having a CD release party at the San Geronimo Valley Community Center on the 30th.
Three extraordinary solo guitarists – Doug Adamz, Teja Gerken and Patrick O'Connell – will all be performing at the Bazaar Cafe in San Francisco on the 27th at 7 p.m.
The Honky Tonk Dreamers will be gigging on the 28th at the Cafe Royale in SF from 8-10 p.m. The Dreamers are Julay Brooks on guitar, Tony Marcus on guitar and fiddle, Charlie Wallace on pedal steel, lap steel, Telecaster and dobro, and Jerry Logan on bass. No cover.
Jesse Kincaid & The New Rising Sons with Boudeeka will be serving up some fine Americana music at the Sausalito Cruising Club (this is a private club with a full bar and large dance floor, so you must be on the band guest list to attend) on the 24th from 6:30-9:30 p.m., and at Servino's in Tiburon on the 28th from 6-9 p.m.
Twang Ditty will be crooning both country and western music on the 29th at the Druid Hall (members and prospective members are welcome) in Santa Rosa.
Dr. Elmo & Wild Blue will be pickin’ traditional bluegrass at Murphy’s in Sonoma on the 30th. Marin County's longest running bluegrass band is led by the entertaining Dr. Elmo ("Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer") on banjo. The group also consists of John Pierson on guitar, Dana Rath on mandolin, Kenny Blacklock on fiddle, and Carltone on bass. For 19 years this band has been playing traditional bluegrass with a few of Elmo’s original songs thrown into the mix. The band released their new recording Wild Blue Grass some months back.
Three At Last will be at The Blue Heron in Duncan Mills on the 30th, and then they will be making their East Bay debut at the Freight and Salvage on 31st playing on a bill with Misner & Smith and Family Lines. If you haven't seen these bands perform live yet, the show at The Freight is highly recommended. You can also read a review of their CD by Paul Liberatore here.
Andrew Freeman, besides performing solo on the first Saturday of every month at Murphy’s in Sonoma, continues to play Tuesday evenings at Giordano's (Columbus and Broadway) in SF at 7 p.m.
Ed Neff and Friends are playing bluegrass every Thursday at the Willowbrook Ale House in Petaluma from 6:30-9:30 p.m. There is no cover, and you get to hear some of the finest traditional bluegrass in the North Bay. The regular pickers are Ed Neff on fiddle, Mike Wilhoyte on guitar, Jeff King on bass, Paul Shelasky on fiddle, and Larry Cohea on banjo. The address is 3600 Petaluma Boulevard North. Call (707) 775-4232 for more info. ******************************************************************* January 7, 2010
Welcome to the (very tardy) 109th edition of Carltone's Corner!
So much for New Year’s resolutions! And apologies to those who had shows already come and go. This is the latest-ever publication of the Carltone news, and we hope this is not a bad omen (are there “good” omens?) for this future. The plan for ’10 was to get these newsletters done and sent on time every month, but heck, as we begin our 10th year of writing these things, why change now? It is hard to keep to a schedule when holidays get in the way, and even harder to find good interns to keep the presses rolling, as they were too busy de-decking the halls of boughs of holly, standing in line to see Avatar, tweeting their fellow twittiots, and watching Taylor Swift videos…
Decade end. Not only have we come to the end of another year, but also to the Aughts Decade. 2009 was another interesting, if not at times trying, year. The housing and stock market crises are slowly getting worked out, wars in far off lands continue seemingly without end, and the passing of some good music people was inevitable and sad. Lucky for us music fans, we still have live music to get us through the difficult times, whether it is going to jams, concerts and festivals, listening to CDs/iPods/etc., or just picking up an instrument and playing some.
Life’s railway to heaven in 2009. The media was saturated last week with year-end best/worst lists, along with predictions for 2010. Instead of jumping on that trite journalist band wagon, we’re just going to mention a brief list of some noted musical folks who went on to Glory Land during the past year. Rather than go into detail with each name, if you want more info simply click on the links. Apologies to those who may have been inadvertently overlooked: Liam Clancy, Rick Hendricks, Mary Travers, Jack Cooke, Bess Lomax Hawes, Allen Shelton, Norton Buffalo, Mike Seeger , John "Marmaduke" Dawson, Bill Harrell, Archie Green, Vern Gosdin, Timothy Wright, Hank Locklin, Jimmy Boyd, Lance McCollum , Molly Bee, Tom Brumley, Tim Hart, Yodeling Lady Lolita, Butch Baldassari, Steve Bruton and David Ross Boots. Oh yeah, and a singer named Michael Jackson.
Weapons of mass destruction. Not only is the oft maligned banjo painful to the ears of the uninitiated, who knew that it had also been deemed a “deadly weapon” under Colorado state law? Denver banjo player Joseph Stancato faces second-degree assault charges after allegedly hitting another man “upside the head with his banjo” on New Year's Eve. Read the story here. And in Palo Alto on New Year's Eve Allison Garcia was arrested after smashing a guitar over her boyfriend's head in the manner of El Kabong of yore. He apparently turned down her offer to do a striptease, and, well, one thing led to another. It won’t be long now before instruments will not be allowed on airplanes…
Grascals and Keystone in SF. The Grascals, besides winning the IBMA Entertainer of the Year Award in 2006 and 2007, are one of the hottest bands on the bluegrass circuit right now. They were Dolly Parton’s bluegrass band, and they have a great sound on their own. Their banjo player, Kristen Scott Benson, won the IBMA Banjo Player of the Year Award in 2008 and 2009. They will be playing at the Great American Music Hall in SF on the 26th, and opening the show will be the Marin County bluegrass band Keystone Station, which includes your Carltone editor on bass and vocals.
Winter music camp. So you got a new guitar (mandolin, banjo, fiddle, etc.) for Christmas and your resolution for the New Year is to play some more. But you could sure use some classes to get you going? Well, then music camp is just right place for you! The new CBA Winter Music Camp, taking place February 15th-18th in western Marin County, is starting to fill up, but there is still some room left. A finger-style guitar class, taught by Steve Baughman, has also been added for the first time. Go to the web page above more info.
“Mill Valley” turned 40. You know the song. It was a huge hit for Marin songwriter Rita Abrams back in 1970, and she wrote the tune while sitting on a bench by the Book Depot in Mill Valley on Christmas Day in 1969. Watch the recent ABC-TV report about her here.
Banjo-less man. Everybody knows banjo player Stacy Samuels. You don’t recognize the name? Think beanie-propeller hat, big bushy beard and red cape at 49er and A’s games. Remember that loud pickin’ at 4 a.m. at the Strawberry Music Festivals. Yes, that guy! Stacy lost his prized Gibson Mastertone banjo some weeks back in Fairfax when he left it on the sidewalk after a gig. He has a backup banjo, but he is really saddened by the loss of the axe that he has been using for the past 25 years. You can read a story about the lost instrument here, and here is a story about his playing his banjo at football and baseball games. And you can watch a segment about him on KPIX-TV in San Francisco here.
Charlie Poole on the tube. On CBS-TV songwriters Loudon Wainwright III and Dick Connette talk about High Wide & Handsome, a country/bluegrass journey evoking the rambling, tragically short life of the 1920s banjo player Charlie Pooled, who had a hit with his song “Don’t Let Your Deal Go Down.” Watch the piece here.
Sam Cooke documentary. Mark your calendars now for 11th at 9 p.m. to watch the new documentary Sam Cooke: Crossing Over on KQED-TV in SF. The film was made by Mill Valley Film Group director John Antonelli. This documentary includes original interviews with Lou Rawls, James Brown, Sam Moore, Bobby Womack, Smokey Robinson, Mel Carter, Herb Alpert, Lou Adler and James Carter, among others. You can watch a preview now at the link above, and you can also listen to a Podcast here of Antonelli’s interview with Michael Krasny's on KQED-FM’s Forum show on January 4th.
Strawberry alarm clock. For those of you thinking about attending the Strawberry Music Festivals near Yosemite on Memorial and Labor Day Weekends, amazingly so the fest has lowered the price of the all-festival pass to $340, which is $20 less than last year. The deadline for purchasing the cheapest tickets is January 29th.
Jamvitational on the move. The Marin Jamvitational bluegrass showcase, which used to be held on the third Tuesday of the month in Fairfax, will be moving this month to Whipper Snapper (1613 4th Street, between F and G Streets) in downtown San Rafael on the 19th. The restaurant offers “Cal-Caribe” food that blends Latin flavors with local farm fresh ingredients. The good news about the move is that the new venue is not as hard to get to from the freeway, and the music will run from 7:30-9:30 instead of starting at the later hour of 9 p.m.
Social no more. The betting here is that few readers of this newsletter ever even heard of the erstwhile punk and metal music venue known as Annie’s Social Club (formerly the Covered Wagon Saloon) in San Francisco, let alone knew where it was. Whatever the case, Annie’s closed its doors on the 31st of December, effectively assuring that auld acquaintance will, indeed, soon be forgot…
Adam Fourman, RIP. This news came in over the transom from longtime Sausalito musician Joe Tate: “Adam Fourman died of natural causes in late December at age 69. He grew up in Mill Valley and started playing piano and guitar professional while still in high school. He played with John Cipollino in the Deacons, which was a forerunner to the Quicksilver Messenger Service. Adam formed his own band, the Custom Keys, along with Michael Aragon and Charlie Deal. Adam also put on many dance parties at Browns Hall in Mill Valley in the ‘60s. Usually holding forth with the Custom Keys, he occasionally brought in others including Jerry Lee lewis and John T. Hooker. He played with The Redlegs for a few years in the ‘70s. He later became a recluse, living alone in the woods near Medford, Oregon, where he passed away. He traveled to Sausalito last May to play a Redlegs reunion at the Sausalito Cruising Club. A wake will be held at the No Name Bar in Sausalito on the 9th starting at 6 PM. If you have stories about Adam, we would like to hear them.”
New music books, for those that still read. When Giants Walked The Earth: A Biography of Led Zeppelin by Mick Wall and The Replacements: It’s All Over But The Shouting by Jim Walsh
A breath of fresh air. The National Public Radio show Fresh Air With Terry Gross is by far the best arts radio interview show anywhere. It is a nationally broadcast show that can be heard on most NPR stations, and in the SF area you can hear it multiple times a day (KQED, KRCB and KALW). Even better, if you miss a show you can always listen to archived interviews and reviews on your computer. Here are some recent examples: the alleged top ten recordings of 2009, interviews with Irish musician and folklorist Mick Maloney and rock singer Jon Bon Jovi, and replays of interviews with John Doe, Rosanne Cash and Geoff Muldaur.
Notes from the road. Bill Evans & Megan Lynch are in Virginia this week, filming a new instructional DVD to be called Play It Like A Pro: Bluegrass Band and Jam Survival Guide for AcuTab Publications with Adam Steffey, Tim Stafford and David Thomas. Bill is a Bay Area banjo player and Megan, who grew up here, now lives in Nashville. The dynamic duo also made some noise on a couple of year-end charts. Their song "Rocks and Water" was tied for number for #7 as Top Songs of The Year on the FOLKDJ-L list, and their CD let's do something... was #33 for Top Folk Albums of the Year on the same list. They will be touring in Washington and Oregon later this month, with a show in California on the 24th at the Stage Door in Mt. Shasta. More NorCal shows will be coming in March.
Grandpa Van? Ixnay, says the reclusive pop singer Van Morrison. Morrison said on December 31st that a computer hacker planted a false report on Van’s web site claiming that he had fathered a fourth child at the age of 64 with a new partner. The false report was disseminated by a Los Angeles-based publicist for Morrison. The publicist was quoted by an unidentified associate as getting the report from the Morrison site. The false report was picked up by several news agencies, including The Associated Press, as well as celebrity sites and British newspapers.
Larry Potts, award-winning Petaluma singer/songwriter, has a new album out entitled Close To Home. It is acoustic/folk with blends of Americana, country, jazz, pop, blues, and rock. He collaborated with George Merrill of the Boy Meets Girl pop duo, who wrote Whitney Houston hits "I Wanna Dance With Somebody” and “How Will I Know.” There are also many local artists on this album such Gus Garelick, Bruce Kurnow, Charlie Moller Gary Grubb, John Morton, the late Michael Whitwell, and the multi-talented multi-instrumentalist/producer and engineer Kevin Harris, with Merrill on keyboards. The CD is available on Larry’s site, at CDBaby and on iTunes. He will also be having a CD release party on February 6th at the Petaluma Art Center. Call (707) 781-3272 or email babsjoj@hotmail.com for advance tickets.
Police log. Out with the old, in with the old: Carltone’s Corner’s favorite big-haired, multi-tattooed diva Amy Winehouse, is – surprise, surprise! – in trouble with the law again. She was charged in connection with an assault at a theater outside of London a couple of weeks back after she allegedly struggled with a member of the theater's staff after heckling at a performance…Unhappy New Year: Demetrius Lee Stewart, a.k.a. producer Shawty Redd, who received a Grammy nomination for his work on Snoop Dogg's Sensual Seduction, was arrested on the 1st on murder charges in Georgia. Police said Stewart was involved in a dispute at his home with an acquaintance, a 35-year-old man named Damon Martin of Detroit. The confrontation turned physical and Stewart shot and allegedly killed Martin…’Twas the season to be jolly: KISS bass player Gene Simmons is being sued by a couple who said they were assaulted by Simmons a few days before Christmas. Nathan Marlowe and his wife Cynthia Manzo said Simmons attacked them, threatened them and took their video camera at the upscale The Grove mall in LA after they started filming the rocker. Hey, this is a free country, isn’t it? Aren’t we allowed to video anyone, anywhere, anytime?
Get out your handkerchiefs. No more back flips from stage, man! Steven Tyler, the 61-year-old toothy lead singer in the band Aerosmith, checked into rehab recently to try, ahem, try to get himself off of painkillers that he’s been taking for a decade as a result of injuries. Wow, a rock and roll singer in rehab? What a surprise…Can’t wait for the comeback tour! Dwayne Carter, a.k.a. rapper Lil Wayne, pleaded guilty in October to a weapons possession charge and will be sentenced February 9th. His plea deal calls for a year in jail. On December 28th he returned to his hometown of New Orleans for a performance on what he's calling his “farewell tour”…Still trying to light up lives: 71-year-old songwriter Joseph Brooks, who wrote the song “You Light Up My Life,” is already awaiting trial on rape, sexual abuse and other charges (he's accused of sexually assaulting 11 women who came to his Manhattan apartment to audition for supposed movie roles). Last week he reached a financial settlement with his 23-year-old ex-fiancée, who he claimed lied to him about her, uh, already being married. She says that last June he was helping her arrange for her divorce, something the judge apparently agreed with. The guess here is that the ex was one of the women who “auditioned for a movie role” and ended up getting more than she bargained for…
Sick bay. Artie Lange, the oft-substance-abusing comedian sidekick on the Howard Stern Show, is in the hospital after a reported suicide attempt. Donnie Carver, longtime sound man for the bluegrass band IIIrd Tyme Out, is in the infirmary after suffering a heart attack last weekend. He is 48-years-old.
Life’s railway to heaven. Tim Hart, founding member of the British folk/rock group Steeleye Span, died on December 24th in the Canary Islands of lung cancer. He was 61. Singer/songwriter Vic Chesnutt died of an apparent intentional overdose of muscle relaxants in Georgia on Christmas Day. He was 45. Willie Mitchell, producer of soul singer Al Green and many others, died on January 5th in Memphis two weeks after suffering a heart attack. He was 81.
Coming attractions. I See Hawks In LA at Studio E in Sebastopol 2/5; CBA Winter Music Camp 2/15-18; SF Bluegrass & Old-Time Festival 2/12-21; The Nashville Bluegrass Band at Redwood Bluegrass Associates in Mountain View 2/13; Jim Hurst 2/18 at Schoenberg Guitars in Tiburon; The Dry Branch Fire Squad in Berkeley 3/4, at Sausalito Presbyterian Church 3/5, Redwood Bluegrass Associates in Mountain View 3/6; Sonoma County Bluegrass & Folk Festival 3/13; Joy Kills Sorrow at Redwood Bluegrass Associates in Mountain View 4/10; The Kathy Kallick Band at Redwood Bluegrass Associates in Mountain View 5/1; Doug Adamz CD release show at The Acoustic Vortex in Larkspur 5/1; the 35th Annual CBA Father’s Day Festival in Grass Valley 6/17-20.
Onward to the calendar…
The Sleeping Lady in Fairfax has a traditional Irish session every Sunday afternoon, jazz every Sunday night, and an open mic every Monday night. See on Claudia Russell (details below) on the 7th, Courtney Janes on the 8th, Jack Irving on the 12th, Finger-Style Guitar Showcase on the 13th, Culann’s Hounds on the 14th, Women Who Rock on the 22nd, Namely Us on the 24th, String Sessions on the 27th, plus others.
The Lagunitas Brewing Company Tap Room and Beer Sanctuary presents acoustic alt-country, Americana, bluegrass, and old timey stuff as well as acoustic Latin/jazz and World beat. Music start times are 4:20 p.m. (this is not a misprint!) during the week and 3 p.m. on weekends. See JL Stiles on the 7th, Dream Farmers on the 8th, THUGZ on the 9th, Disorderly House Band on the 10th, The Rivereens with Tracy Grisman on the 13th, The Horse You Rode in On on the 14th, Dore Coller on the 16th, D. McGee and the Serenity Breakers on the 17th, Incubators 20th, Dave Gleason on the 21st, Dream Farmers on the 22nd, Danny Uzilevsky on the 27th, Jeb Brady Trio on the 29th, The Moonshiners on the 30th, the David Thom Band on the 31st, and more.
Jammin' in Marin. The Marin Bluegrass Jam takes place on the first and third Thursdays of every month. The dates for this month will be 7th and the 20th. The address is Marin Lutheran Church at 649 Meadowsweet in Corte Madera, just off the Corte Madera exit of Highway 101. The time is 7:30-10 p.m.
Folk diva Claudia Russell performs at the Sleeping Lady on the 7th starting at 9 p.m., joined by her band, the Folk Unlimited Orchestra. Russell is an award-winning singer/songwriter and was named Best Musician in the 2006 East Bay Express Reader’s Poll, Best New Artist by Boston Radio station WUMB in 2001, and nominated in 2008 for Best Song by the Texas Music Awards. She and her band play an eclectic blend of folk that is woven from blues, country, pop, Western swing and traditional music to form a unique and compelling sound. The band consists of Bruce Kaplan on mandolin and guitar, Mark Petrella on acoustic bass, and Russell on acoustic guitar and vocals.
The Honky Tonk Dreamers have a couple of shows coming up this month. The first one is on the 7th at the Atlas Café in SF from 8-10 p.m., and the second show is on the 28th at the Cafe Royale in SF, also 8-10 p.m. No cover at either venue. The Dreamers are Julay Brooks on guitar, Tony Marcus on guitar and fiddle, Charlie Wallace on pedal steel, lap steel, Telecaster and dobro, and Jerry Logan on bass.
Good things are happening at Peri’s in Fairfax. Every Monday is acoustic open mic night hosted by Billy D of The Billy Boys, and every Wednesday for $10 per participant there are professional swing dance lessons from 7:30-9 p.m. See Jinx Jones on the 8th, The Eldon Brown Band on the 9th, Sexy Sunday on the 10th, The 85's on the 15th, Sacred Profanities on the 16th, Andre & Friends on the 17th, Whiskey Pills Fiasco on the 20th, Rahman's Songwriters in the Round on the 21st, Rusty Evans & Ring of Fire on the 22nd, Key Lime Pie on the 26th, Royal Deuces on the 27th, Danny Montana & the Bar Association on the 30th with the Dogtown Ramblers opening, Peri's Songwriters' Night on the 30th, and more.
Bluegrass jammin’ in Bakersfield. The California Bluegrass Association is hosting the 48 Hour Jam in Bakersfield on the weekend of the 8th and 9th at the Doubletree Hotel. Take part in the first big bluegrass event of the New Year!
Twang Ditty will be playing both country and western music on the 8th at the Twin Oaks Tavern in Penngrove, on the 9th at The Blackthorn Tavern in SF, and on the 29th at the Druid Hall (members and prospective members are welcome) in Santa Rosa.
Kevin Russell’s acoustic bluegrass/swing/blues quartet Under the Radar will have the Redwood Cafe on Main Street in Cotati jumping on the 8th from 8-10 p.m. No cover. The band is Kevin Russell, Michael Capella, Layne Bowen and Markie Sanders.
Bluegrass at Utunes. The Circle ‘R Boys will be pickin’ some bluegrass at the Utunes Coffee House in Oakland on the 8th starting at 8 p.m. The Boys play traditional bluegrass music in the style of Bill Monroe, Flatt & Scruggs, and the Kentucky Colonels.
At the Black Rose Pub in Santa Rosa see Caliban on the 8th, Dusty Rhoads & Her Handsome Cowboys on the 9th, The Farallons on the 16th, Pladdohg on the 23rd, and The Tonewoods on the 30th. There is an international jam on the first Wednesday of the month, and Celtic jams on the second and third Wednesdays.
Saylor’s Restaurant in Sausalito has live music in the restaurant from 7:30-10:30 p.m. on Fridays, and 7-10 on most Saturdays. See Jazz Philosophy on the 8th, Jeff Labes on the 9th, Lisa Kindred & Chris Goddard on the 15th, Eugene Huggins on the 16th, Lauralee Brown & Company on the 22nd, Debra Clawson & Paul Seaward on the 23rd, Tom Bowers Duo on the 29th, and The Jon Rubin Band on the 30th.
Mill Valley gitpicker Dore Coller is busy as usual. On the 8th Caribbean R & B plays the Presidio Yacht Club in Sausalito, it will be bluegrass with Savannah Blu at the Plough and Stars in SF on the 9th and 15th, on the 16th his band Bermudagrass is at the Lagunitas Taproom, Dore and Matt Lax are at Iron Springs on the 23rd, and the Hot Club of Marin Gypsy Jazz Jam will take place on the 25th at Taste of Rome in Sausalito.
Music is brewing at the Iron Springs Pub & Brewery in Fairfax. Bands play on Wednesdays starting at 8 p.m. No cover, and great beer, food and music. The Saturday afternoon cozy and casual winter music series takes place every Saturday from 2-4 p.m. See Barbwyre on the 9th, Ain't Misbehavin' Trio on the 16th, Dore & Matt on the 23rd, and Gayle Schmitt & Friends on the 30th. Otherwise, the normal Wednesday night music series has Supernaculum on the 13th, Family Lines on the 20th, and Grandpa Banana on the 27th. No cover.
The Marin Civic Center has the Bay Area World Guitar Show on the 9th and 10th, The Best of Doo-Wop 2 on the 16th, The Jackie Payne-Steve Edmonson Band on the 22nd, and more fine shows.
San Rafael guitarist/singer/songwriter Kurt Huget begins another year of local gigs. Namely Us, his five-piece jazz band, returns to the Two Bird Cafe in San Geronimo on the 9th and the Sleeping Lady on the 24th. He'll also be on the bandstand with the Ray Simpson Big Band at their monthly dance concert on the 13th at the Corte Madera Recreation Center.
Murphy’s Irish Pub in the town of Sonoma is the place to go for good music in Sonoma County, with no cover charge. See Carolina Special on the 9th, The David Thom Band on the 22nd, Adam Traum & The Traumatics on the 23rd, Dr. Elmo & Wild Blue on the 30th, and lots more good stuff.
Palm Wine Boys on the air. Tune into the radio show West Coast Live (KALW 91.7-FM) in SF at 10 a.m. on the 9th to hear The Palm Wine Boys (featuring Mill Valley’s Matt Lax) playing live. They'll be singing songs from their new CD Old Stories.
The 142 Throckmorton Theatre has a variety of entertainment on the calendar. Besides Mark Pitta’s comedy night every Tuesday see Further on the 10th, House Jacks on the 15th, House of Floyd on the 16th, Dick Gregory and Mort Sahl on the 22nd and 23rd, Birds of Paradise on the 24th, The English Beat on the 29th, and more.
Legendary folk singer John McCutcheon will be making his annual appearance at the Freight in Berkeley on the 10th and at the Sebastiani Theatre in Sonoma on Monday the 11th.
On stage and on the air. Misner & Smith will be making their KPIG debut on the Please Stand By show on the 10th. Tune in at 10 a.m. on the dial 1510 AM in the Bay area, at 107.5 in Santa Cruz, or online. They will also be playing at the Freight & Salvage on the 31st. The show starts at 8 p.m. and will be a triple bill featuring sets by Family Lines and Three At Last. It will be a night of original music filled to the brim with vocal harmonies.
Grandpa Banana from Inverness and his band (The Peels?) can be heard singing live on The David Gans Show on KPFA (94.1 FM) around 9 p.m. on the 13th, seen playing at Iron Springs on the 27th, and they will be having a CD release party at the San Geronimo Valley Community Center on the 30th.
The Craig Caffall Band (CCB) is now playing every Wednesday at Miss Pearl’s Jam House in the Waterfront Hotel at Jack London Square in Oakland. No cover charge and they play from 7-10 p.m. When not leading his own band, San Anselmo’s Caffall is Maria Muldaur’s guitarist.
Sebastopol’s Riggy Rackin and Jon Berger will be performing together on the 14th at 7 p.m. at The Pinecone in Sebastopol. The Pinecone offers fine food from the Himalayas and live music. Enjoy a meal or a drink and savor tasty tunes played on English concertina and fiddle. Free admission.
Out at the Dance Palace in Point Reyes Station you can see Dave Lippman on the 15th, George Winston on the 16th, Catherine David on the 21st, The John Jorgenson Quintet on the 23rd, and Mark McCray on the 31st.
Jammin’ in Sebastopol. The place to be for pickin’ bluegrass on Saturdays is the Coffee Catz from 2-5 p.m.
Seskin and friends in Petaluma. East Bay singer/songwriter Steve Seskin, along with Craig Carrothers and Don Henry, will be doing a songwriter-in-the-round show at the new Petaluma Art Center (corner Washington and Lakeville, next to the visitor's center) on the 16th starting at 7 p.m. For advance tickets and info, please call Barbara at (707) 781-3272 or email babsjoj@hotmail.com.
Jesse Kincaid & The New Rising Sons can see seen playing at the Presidio Yacht Club in Sausalito on the 16th from 8:30 p.m.-12, and the band will also be at Servino's in Tiburon on the 28th from 6-9 p.m.
Sara and friends in Sebastopol. On the 16th see Sara Winge, Carlo Calabi, and Bill Foss at the Pinecone Cafe in Sebastopol singing old- time and classic country duets from 7-9 p.m. Then on the 20th it will be Sara with Bart Hopkin playing eclectic jazz and pop at the French Garden Bistro. No cover at either venue.
Caren Armstrong hosts the Celebrating Songwriters on the 16th with John Batdorf & Davis Jones at the Left Coast Cyclery in Berkeley starting at 8 p.m. Then on the 23rd see Caren with Joshua Zucker at the San Gregorio General Store from 11 a.m.-2 p.m.
For a rip roarin’ good time join The Lonestar Retrobates when they play on the third Sunday of every month starting at 3 p.m. at 19 Broadway in Fairfax. On the 17th they’ll be playing barnyard bebop and swingin’ cowboy jazz. Johnny Cuviello, Bob Wills' drummer at 94 years young, lives in Milpitas and he often sits in on a few songs about every other month.
Mill Valley artist and musician Kimrea plays with her band Dreamdogs play every Monday night at the no name in Sausalito, and players are invited to sit in with the band. You can also see them on the 21st at Murphy’s in Sonoma.
Bay Area bluegrass guitarist, singer and producer Jim Nunally, who plays with John Reischman & The Jaybirds and in the David Grisman Bluegrass Experience, will also be singing with Keith Little on the 21st at The First Street Cafe Upstairs in Benicia from 7-10 p.m. Then on the 30th he will be there with his wife and singing partner Judy Forrest from 8-11 p.m. Bring an appetite with you as First Street Cafe has an extensive appetizer and dessert menu, and beer and wine are offered as well.
Schoenberg Guitars. Besides being a wonderful acoustic guitar shop on Ark Row in Tiburon, Eric Schoenberg also has concerts and workshops there from time to time. See Mike Dowling on the 22nd starting at 8 p.m. Reservations are highly recommended, as space is limited. Call (415) 789-0846 for more info.
Mike Dowling in Sebastopol. He will also be playing bottleneck blues, vintage swing, ragtime and more on the 23rd at the Sebastopol Center for the Arts starting at 7:30 p.m., and on the 24th he will be holding a guitar workshop there. For info contact Kevin at (707) 824-1858 or krussellmft@aol.com.
Don’t miss The Bee Eaters on the 22nd when they play at Petaluma Church Concerts at First Church of Christ Scientist starting at 8 p.m. The Bee Eaters boasts four of the most accomplished, creative young talents of the new generation of acoustic musicians. The quartet combines the strong, striking music of hammered dulcimer virtuoso Simon Chrisman and banjo phenomenon Wes Corbett with the inimitable sound of brother-sister fiddle duo Tristan and Tashina Clarridge. The result of the foursome's collaboration is an elegant fusion of tradition and innovation.
The Mystic in Petaluma has Chuck Prophet on the 22nd, Greg Brown on the 30th, and others.
The Tuttles with AJ Lee will be playing bluegrass at Redwood Bluegrass Associates in Mountain View on the 23rd. See the young future stars of the genre before they become the next Taylor Swifts…
Murphy Productions at the Mill Valley Masonic Hall will feature David Lindley on the 23rd.
Resin up that bow! The 37th Annual Cloverdale Old-Time Fiddle Contest will be taking place on the 23rd and 24th in downtown Cloverdale, so start practicing now.
“Fill As Desired ” is a show worth checking out at the San Geronimo Valley Community Center on the 23rd at 8 p.m. The show features a cappella champions Solstice and award-winning avant-pop composer, vocalist and looping artist Amy X Neuburg. She was commissioned by the Jewish Music Festival to create music based on recipes exchanged by prisoners at the Terezin concentration camp. Prepare to be surprised by some impressively original, affecting, funny and important music.
The Acoustic Vortex house concert series in Larkspur is presenting phenomenal Marin guitarist Walter Strauss at 7 p.m. on the 23rd.
North Bay Live on the 23rd presents Chris Webster and Nina Gerber at Studio E in Sebastopol starting at 8 p.m. Then on the 30th you can see Lucy Kaplansky playing there.
There will be pickin’ of gospel, bluegrass and old-time music as usual up in Sebastopol on the fourth Sunday of this month, and the date is the 24th. It takes place from 2-5 p.m. at the Sebastopol Christian Church, 7433 Bodega Avenue, in Sebastopol. Bring acoustic instruments and your favorite gospel songs to sing.
Three extraordinary solo guitarists – Doug Adamz, Teja Gerken and Patrick O'Connell – will all be playing at the Bazaar Cafe in San Francisco on the 27th at 7 p.m.
Dr. Elmo & Wild Blue will be pickin’ traditional bluegrass at Murphy’s in Sonoma on the 30th. Marin County's longest running bluegrass band is led by the entertaining Dr. Elmo ("Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer") on banjo. The group also consists of John Pierson on guitar, Dana Rath on mandolin, Kenny Blacklock on fiddle, and Carltone on bass. For 19 years this band has been playing traditional bluegrass with a few of Elmo’s original songs thrown into the mix. The band released their new recording Wild Blue Grass some months back.
Three At Last will be at The Blue Heron in Duncan Mills on the 30th, and then they will be making their East Bay debut at the Freight and Salvage on 31st. If you haven't seen the band perform live yet, the show at The Freight is highly recommended!
Andrew Freeman, besides performing solo on the first Saturday of every month at Murphy’s in Sonoma, continues to play Tuesday evenings at Giordano's (Columbus and Broadway) in SF at 7 p.m.
Ed Neff and Friends are playing bluegrass every Thursday at the Willowbrook Ale House in Petaluma from 6:30-9:30 p.m. There is no cover, and you get to hear some of the finest traditional bluegrass in the North Bay. The regular pickers are Ed Neff on fiddle, Mike Wilhoyte on guitar, Jeff King on bass, Paul Shelasky on fiddle, and Larry Cohea on banjo. The address is 3600 Petaluma Boulevard North. Call (707) 775-4232 for more info.
For up to date state-wide bluegrass news three times a week, read my Almost Daily News column on the California Bluegrass Association web site.
As always, shows, dates and times are subject to change. Please contact any venue listed above to confirm appearances.
Cheers!
Larry
Resources
Marin Bluegrass Jam, Northern California Bluegrass Society, California Bluegrass Association, Murphy Productions, Hicks With Sticks Twang Newsletter, North Bay Music Listings, North Bay Concerts, Schoenberg Guitars, Murphy’s Irish Pub, Country Music Television, Rancho Nicasio, The Alpha Acoustic Concert Series,The Black Rose, San Francisco Folk Club, SF Bay Area Radio Stations, SF Celtic Music, 19 Broadway, Peri’s Silver Dollar Saloon, Iron Springs Pub, Rocker Oysterfeller’s, Marin Local Music Scene
Links
Dave Wellhausen Recording, Allen Lam/Professional Audio, Sound Reinforcement and Location Recording, Lou Judson Intuitive Audio Live Sound and Recording Perfection, Hot Buttered Rum, Kimrea, Poor Man’s Whiskey, Amazing Grace Music, Bay Area Bluegrass Radio Shows, Lauralee Brown & Company, Bread and Roses |
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Sweetwater
Premier folk & acoustic venue |
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