Monday, December 31, 2012

Almost 2013 !!!

Where did December go?   Into a whirl of warm gatherings with friends and family for me, and I hope, for you.  I was up in Portland over the Christmas week.  Drove up from the SF Bay Area and saw a lot of snow over the passes.  Beautiful, and brrrrr!!

And here comes January and a new year; and if you are like me, lots of thinking about resolutions, checking back on goals, recalibrating, dreaming and scheming the big plans.

Major priority is transitioning from being a capable musician to a truly engaging performer.  Not that I want to stop being a capable musician :-), but when you take the trouble to come see me play, I want it to be a good time and well worth your while.   I continue to get so much out of my performance coaching sessions with Vicki Ambinder.   I was able to squeeze in a two hour session with her in person during my visit to Portland last week.   A real treat since we usually work on Skype.  

I have signed up for a music marketing class with Bob Baker starting in mid-January.  Bob Baker has written several excellent books on music marketing, and I am looking forward to his class – even though marketing is the last thing a sensitive, creative, and very modest person (who me?) wants to do.   But to get better at playing and performing, I’ve got to expand my list of places I play and let people know about my music making. So promo, here we go!

I am particularly looking for new places to play in SF, Marin and Sonoma counties these days.  I am also going to be spending more time in Los Angeles, helping take care of my 94 year old Mom.  So, if you have any favorite places where you hear live music, thereabouts or in between, I would appreciate your ideas and suggestions.

Speaking of venues, I have been working with the Freight and Salvage in Berkeley as a board member for awhile now.  The Freight is a long established venue and does a first rate job of encouraging and supporting acoustic music.  If you haven’t come to a show since the Freight moved into their new venue, you need to!!  It is one of the best listening rooms I have been in anywhere; and one of my favorite performers, Clair Lynch will be there on January 24th – fine, fine song writing and truly superior musicianship.

In terms of my own shows: Chester’s in Berkeley is changing owners, and we don’t know how that will affect their commitment to live music; but at least for January, Dorcas Moulton and I will be playing with Sonic Boomerang on Saturday, January 5th, and we’ll be back with Randy Rood, Patty Hammond and some other talented folks on Thursday, January 17th.   I’ll be at the Kensington Farmers Market on Sunday, January 13th  with Dorcas and Patty.   And I have a children’s music gig with Michael Hanna on the 19th.  So fun!!   That’s a private party, but if you have young kids, we play a lot of kid’s songs at the Farmers Market too, so drop by.

Hope your January is full of good things and big plans too.   Happy New Year, and all best wishes for a great year ahead!!

John
Roy Zat
Croizat
Whatever

Saturday, December 1, 2012

Hello December

Well Here comes Santa Claus and Christmas music again.  (And, every songwriter’s dream is to write the next Christmas standard.)  ‘Tis the season of holiday parties, lots of music making and calorie counting.  

But let me savor November first:  three shows of   “A Celebration of the American Song”  with Chappell & Dave Holt, Bob Loomis and Dorcas Moulton (thanks to all of you who came out!!);   a great night at Chester’s with the Quake City Jug Band,  bluegrass at the Taco Jam,  singing at the Kensington Farmers Market (lot’s of kids songs and so much fun!!);  and a couple of music parties.  I was down in Santa Monica with family over Thanksgiving also – a small gathering and very nice and relaxing.   I have so much I am thankful for.   I hope the same for you.

Saw a great band at the Freight & Salvage recently,  “Le Vent du Nord”  from Quebec.  I have mentioned them before, and here is another Youtube link.   Such fun music!!  Olivier, the fiddle player, keeps a driving rhythm going with his feet as he plays.  My legs are tired after just one full-tilt fiddle tune, and he went for over an hour.  I jokingly asked him how many shoes he wears out during the year.  He said his shoes last, but he goes through five stomp boards a year.  I can believe it.

Big thing in my musical endeavors these days is that I have started working with Vicki Ambinder, a performance coach.  She is in Oregon, and we work on skype once a week, going deeply into a song, digging into the story, the point of view, the emotional trajectory, pacing, how best to present it, etc. etc.  I was skeptical that working on skype would be very productive, but it works well and Vicki has been immensely helpful.  I have been playing and performing music for forty years, and I still have so much to learn!!   One more thing that I am thankful for.

Coming up in December,  I am playing at Chester’s in Berkeley this Saturday, December 1st, with my long time music pals, “Don’t Look Back” and with Zoe Carter, Maria Kersey and Dorcas Moulton.  Music starts at 7:30 and there is no cover.  This will be a good show with glorious harmonies and some very hot picking!!  Dorcas and I will be at the Kensington Farmers Market on Sunday, December 9th from 10am to 2pm, with Patty Hammond on bass.  And back at Chester’s with Quake City Jug Band on December 20th.

Otherwise, I’ll be wrapping presents and being good.   Merry & Happy Everything to you: Bodhi Day, Christmas, Hanukah, Kwanzaa, Solstice, and Yalda.   Hope the holidays are filled with good things for you, family and friends.  

John
Roy Zat
Croizat
Whatever