Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Here Comes June !!


Here Comes June !!

In the San Francisco Bay Area, we say "June gloom" because the cold foggy summer is coming, but it is still pretty lovely these days.

This Saturday, June 2nd, should be a very fun night at Chester's with JRZ and Friends. I will playing the first set starting at 7:30, with Randy Rood on guitar and Reed Cooper on bass. Randy is a very fine guitar picker (toured/played with Tex Williams, Merle Haggard, Tiny Moore and many others); and with Reed's solid foundation there will be some good music made. The second set will feature Michael Hanna and his new band, Sonic Boomerang playing blues and roots rock. (Bring your dancing shoes!!) As if that weren't enough, Dorcas Moulton and Chappell and Dave Holt may sit in for a song or two. And, please put June 21st on your calendars also, when I'll be back at Chester's with Don't Look Back.

I got some very nice news about internet radio airplay in May. My CD "Solo" hit # 1 on the Roots Music Report Top 50 Internet Radio Airplay Folk chart, and "Collaborations" hit #39 on their Roots Country chart. I also charted at #35 on the Roots 66 report. I had an interview on KC Cafe Radio in Kansas City and a nice feature on their website (here). I love the internet !!

School is out, and my animation class with Pam Stalker is over. It was so excellent, I may sign up for another next Fall. In the meantime, I am continuing to work on video and put up several on Youtube recently: two from the Donkey & Goat Winery show (here and here), a couple from a Chester's gig (here and here), and one with the band Who's On Top (here). I have a back log of video editing to do and will let you know when I put more up on Youtube. I would love to hear any feed back you have - likes, dislikes, suggestions.

I have started working on a new CD too, which I want to have ready in time for the FARWest conference in October. I have ten songs to record and just completed words to one of my favorite fiddle waltzes, My Old Home. It is such a pretty tune and I had been fooling around with ideas for a long time and not quite getting there. But finally, I got something that fits the feeling of the melody well. Getting a new song to come together is such a thrill !! Maybe we'll do a sneak preview at Chester's this Saturday.

The Razzberry festival over Memorial Day was sure a ton of fun, and I know the Kate Wolf Festival at the end of June is going to be too. Oh boy !!

The sun is shining on my front door, and I hope on yours too.

John

Friday, May 4, 2012

Happy May

Cinco de Mayo, Mother’s Day, Memorial Day coming up.  I am down in Santa Monica celebrating my mom’s birthday. German chocolate cake and red wine – mmmmmm. She is still spunky and stirring things up for us at 94.

The timing of my visit to LA was serendipitous as Bob Baker, music marketing guru extraordinaire, was in town and had invited folks to drop in for informal conversation at the Makai Lounge happy hour. It was a small group and very nice for chatting and indie artist shop talk. Thank you, Bob. I learned “the scale that will change your life” from Adrian Galysh.  And this important tip which I would have liked back when I was starting out .

Went to the Two Day Town music festival this last weekend at the Del Valle reservoir in Livermore. My first time there, and what a lovely gathering !! Much smaller than events like Strawberry or Grass Valley, but still lot’s of good music both on and off stage. And you can have camp fires !! (A very big thank you to Rich Chamberlain for his fine camp hospitality. ) It was good seeing and playing with long time friends and making new ones. Sure whetted my appetite for Razzberry and for the Kate Wolf festival.

Speaking of appetite and going back to the German chocolate cake (which I went back to several times actually), I have been thinking a lot about cake and pie lately. Here’s why: This was my mid-term project for the class I am taking at Berkeley City College. The assignment was to make an animation inspired by a painting. Wayne Thiebaud called to me, and it was a fun and tasty project.

Other video activities: I finished editing the videos of kid’s music I did with Michael Hanna, and have put a couple up on Youtube. Here’s one.  I sure don’t watch videos like I used to. I see camera angles, notice zooms and pans, scene transitions, etc. etc. I have a couple of video shoots this month, and I am learning more all the time.

And I have some fun gigs coming up. The first is at Chester’s Bay View CafĂ© in Berkeley this Saturday night, May 5th. I’ll be playing with Don’t Look Back which is always a treat. Come by if you can. The next day, I’ll be at the Kensington Farmer’s Market (at the Colusa Circle) from 11am to 1pm. I had been hesitant to get involved with playing out in the harsh elements of Northern California, but I am a convert now. I played there last month, with my friend Patty Hammond on bass, and we had so much fun!! This time, Dorcas Moulton will be joining me with her accordion. John Roy Zat and Friends will be back at Chester’s on Thursday, May 17th.

Don’t recall if I mentioned I have been learning Zydeco dancing. There are dances twice a week to live bands in my ‘hood with hot loud music and loads of style. A lot more fun than running on a treadmill for exercise.  

Hope you are doing great and that your toes are tapping too.