December 2015

Happy December, and Yuletide (and everything else) is a comin'.

Hope your Thanksgiving was tasty and heart warming.   I was in Washington DC with family and met the younger daughter of my Durham cousins.   She is a pro DJ and I went to hear her work at RedRocks, a 3 story downtown dance club and a very different scene than I usually circulate in.   She is into African and Latin and it was a treat hearing her put together the grooves.   Here is a video of her in action, a bit different than what I saw her spinning for the dance crowd, and what a wild child!!  (Start at 30 seconds to skip the slow intro, and if you skip around make sure you see 3:20 on.  Whee !! )

Closer to home and earlier in the month, I caught Darol Anger's show at Studio 55 Marin, a fine place to hear acoustic music.   It had been awhile since I had heard Darol live, and my first time hearing him play with Emy Phelps -- lovely!!   Darol's fiddle and octave mandolin was wonderful, and Tristan Clarridge on cello was a treat.  The interplay between all the instruments and the vocals was major league.  Unfortunately no videos of that show, but here and here are two to give you an idea.  Tristan plays with Crooked Still and with the Bee Eaters -- so check out those videos too.

Also saw two shows at the Monkey House in Berkeley, another favorite venue.   Moonshine Jelly is a "celtic, gypsy, bluegrass, folk" trio of uber talented folks including Lee White, Justine Lucas and Kent Kessinger.  They play in SF a lot and are well worth your time and ears.   Here is a sample and one more a bit different.   

The other show I saw at the Monkey House was Chappell and Dave Holt with Carlos Reyes  I've posted their videos before and you can check them out on YT.  Carlos is a virtuoso violinist and harpist but played mostly Paraguayan harp that evening.  Heaven!!  Okay, I can't resist, here's one more.

And what am I up to you ask?  These days mostly moving north to my old haunts in Sonoma County.   So beautiful up here !!    And if any of you West County folks are looking for a good place to be this Friday, the 4th, join Floyd Latimer and me at Ruth McGowan's in Cloverdale.   We play 7:30 to 10:30pm for your listening pleasure.

Hope you holidays are joyous.   Merry and Happy Ho Ho Ho to all.

John

Roy Zat

Croizat

Whatever

  

November 2015

November and recovery from the October FARWest conference has been going well.  It was four days of musical bliss and little sleep, and three weeks later I am still buzzing and have so much music to tell you about !!   

Things started on Wednesday, October 14th with a showcase at the Freight & Salvage, where over twenty-five FARWest attendees each presented a song.   So much talent and variety, ranging from traditional folk music like Bay Area SEA, to powerhouse vocalist Kristin Shey visiting from Germany.   Thursday night's concert featured artists nominated by five different California venues, including newcomer Jody Mulgrew and veterans Cascada De Flores.   The music at FARWest goes into the way wee hours, and later that evening I had the pleasure of hosting Jody and his fiddler friend, John Nowel, in my hotel showcase room.   And a whole bunch of others!!

So much wonderful music over the rest of that week and weekend, how do I choose what to share with you ?!   I'll try.   If you don't know him already, listen to Severin Brown.   A couple of official showcase winners for you:  Jalan Crossland and  Berkeley Hart.  And additional discoveries from my own showcase room:  Mark & Cindy Lemaire, Ynana Rose, and for something completely different, Grego Dana !!  

And if all that weren't enough, I won the grand raffle prize, a beautiful F style mandolin by M. David McClaskey.   Wow !!   Guess I'll be looking up Sharon Gilchrist for some lessons.

This weekend, I am playing a kids party on Saturday with Michael Hanna; and on Sunday, he and I will be joined by Dennis Calloway at the Kensington Market.   The Kensington Market is such a fun place to play with quality produce, tasty prepared foods, and lots of chairs to sit and picnic while we play our hearts out for you.

Saving the best for last, amazing fiddler Darol Anger is coming to town this weekend, in Berkeley on Saturday and San Rafael on Sunday.   Don't miss him !!  

That's the news.  Hope you have your crops in for the winter, and that your coming Thanksgiving gatherings are joyous.   I'll be heading to Washington DC for pumpkin pie with my grandson and his parents.   Yummm !!

John

Roy Zat

Croizat

Whatever

October 2015

October, the holidays just around the corner and my birthday!! I get my kicks at 66 this month.   Rites of passage: I had cataract surgery a couple of days ago, and I am a new member of the bionic tribe.  They took out the damaged lenses in my eyes and put in plastic ones; like having contact lenses inside your eyes.   It is wonderful to be seeing the world so clear and purdy without the fuss of eyeglasses or contact lenses.  Amazing times we live in.

Next week is the FARWest Conference at the Oakland Marriott hotel. Whee!! It has been a busy September wrapping up preparations and next week we are going to have some fun.   For attendees, there are workshops, radio interviews, showcases, and networking opportunities.  For the general public, there are evening concerts, starting with the Pre-Conference show at the Freight & Salvage in Berkeley on Wednesday, and followed by the Venues' Choice Concert at the hotel on Thursday (where five venues spotlight artists they feel deserves broader recognition.   On Friday and Saturday at the hotel, the Official Showcases feature the winners (seven on each night) of the 2015 performing artist competitions.   The talent level is very high and the admission prices are so cheap -- y'all come, you will not be disappointed.   Check the links for more info, or email me.

I told you about the Strawberry Music festival in my last newsletter, and a week after all that fun, I had the pleasure of playing with JC & Laney at the Monkey House in Berkeley.   We had a small but appreciative audience and had a great time.  I confess I was hoping for a packed house because they are such fine performers.  I have been posting a lot of videos from that night, so maybe next time they come to town we can bring in a bigger audience for them.   (Ah, the life of the impresario.)   Here and here are a couple of videos from that night that are hot off the video editor.

Two weeks ago, I was at a cowboy poetry celebration at Emandal, a farm retreat down a long gravel road in Mendocino county.  Heard a wonderful western singer/storyteller, Dave Stamey.   Here and here are a couple of his songs, and there are many more on Youtube.   And if you haven't heard any cowboy poetry lately here is a fun one for you.

Played a tail gate party at Sacramento State last weekend (fun!!) and have winery and fundraiser events this weekend.  My next public show is at the Hopmonk in Sonoma, on October 25th.

Life is good here and hope the same for you.   What's up?

John

Roy Zat

Croizat

Whatever

 

Music News You Can Use - September 2015

It is September, and quite toasty in the SF Bay Area.   I am just back from the Strawberry Music Festival over the Labor Day weekend.   Since the old home was burned out in the fires of 2014, this festival was held just outside of the town of Tuolomne.   It was dry and dusty, and we missed the beautiful trees, but that didn't hold back the flood of fine music, in camp and on stage.  Dave Alvin and his band, and the Brothers Comatose put on great shows; and the T - Sisters were angelic.  New to me, were the Wood Brothers. All three of them are innovative and stand-out players; and with great songs and arrangements, they were dazzling !!     Their videos are good, but live they are something special.   Put them on your list of bands to see.

Playing into the wee hours at Strawberry, and then at Labor Day jams has gotten me limbered up for this coming weekend.   By now you have hopefully heard about the JC & Laney show this coming Friday at the Monkey House in Berkeley.   JC & Laney are from Arizona and don't get out here often -- I think this is their first time performing in the Bay Area.  I have posted a number of their videos in earlier newsletters, and  here is one more.  Michael Hanna and I have some new songs to share with you too. Please join us; you will be very well entertained.  As George Zimmer says, "I guarantee it!"

The following night, and further north in Cloverdale, I will be at Ruth McGowan's with Country Floyd Latimer.  We start playing at 8pm and go to 11.  Ruth's is a wonderful place, and it has been awhile since we played there.   If you are in the area, come on by.  Good beer, good food and a bunch of fun.   And more of my dates  are here.

That's a bit of my news and I hope to hear a bit of yours.  What's up?

Very best,

John

Roy Zat

Croizat

Whatever

Music News You Can Use - August 2015

School has started and August is almost gone -- how did all of that happen so fast?

My big excitement these days is the upcoming show I have with JC and Laney, a duo I met at the FARWest gathering several years ago.  They live in Mesa, Arizona and don't get out here very often.   I hope you can join us on September 11th at the Monkey House in Berkeley.   I promise you, they put on a great show and it will be quite an evening.   Some videos to tantalize you:  here, here and here.   I'll be opening with Michael Hanna.

And speaking of FARWest, preparations for the October conference in Oakland have been underway for quite awhile now.   This will be my fifth year attending and volunteering.    If you are a folky musician of any flavor and have never been, you should.   Three days of non-stop music of the highest order.  If you are fan, you can come to the evening shows which showcase the best of the best.   I'll tell you more about that next month.

That's the forward view, and now the review:  had a very fun show with Keith Alan Mitchell in Oakland a couple of weeks ago, and played a wedding and farmers' market this month also. But, I was sorry to miss Jimmy LaFave's Bay Area shows this last month.   Damn!!   Put him on your list -- a voice to run a chill up your spine and put a tear in your eye.   See what I mean.

Spending quite a bit of time up in Sonoma County these days, looking for a place to start a house concert series.   And won't that be fun !!

So that is a bit of my news, always like hearing what you have been up to.

very best,

John

Roy Zat

Croizat

Whatever

Music News You Can Use - July 2015

August is almost here -- I'd better get my July newsletter out !!

I had an amazing time at the Festival for the Eno in Durham, North Carolina over the July 4th weekend; and I have some fine music to share with you.  Top of the list is Mandolin Orange (click the play button on their website).   Oh my -- right up there with Gillian and David.  The other group that knocked me out was River Whyless.   Watch this and stay with it -- it takes off big time.   And there were lots of other great acts.  So much fine music in two days !!  Oh, I almost forgot to mention, there was also this guy.

I was staying in Durham with my newly discovered second cousin, Richard Harkrader, and his family.  We share a common great grandfather, and this was the first time we had met.   It was wonderful and a bit uncanny.  We look like brothers; definitely from the same part of the DNA pond.
 
I got back to California on July 10th, after almost 8 weeks on the East Coast.  It was an amazing trip: becoming a grandpa, meeting new family, hearing a lot of fine music, playing the Eno.   Life is pretty miraculous sometimes.

Since getting back, I have been playing parties and events pretty much every weekend -- like Teddy Bear Picnic day at the SF Zoo.  (The Berenstein Bears were even there!!)  Otherwise,  I've been working on preparations for the FARWest Folk Alliance conference in Oakland in October.   If you are a folk/roots/americana flavored musician, you want to be there.  Four days of shows, jams, workshops, networking -- like nothing on earth!!  I've been hooked on FARWest for five years now.

Mark your calendars:  I have two concert dates that I have to tell you about.  Coming up first, I am very excited to be playing with singer songwriter Keith Alan Mitchell, at the Octopus Literary Salon in Oakland on August 8th.  Check him out here.  Great songs and delivery !!

Then, on September 11th, I have a date at the Monkey House in Berkeley with JC & Laney, a powerhouse duo from Phoenix.  Listen here.  Bring your seatbelts; they will blow the roof off !!

Summer is definitely rolling and roaring along here.   I look forward to hearing what you are up to.

John
Roy Zat
Croizat
Whatever
  

Music News You Can Use - June 2015

June is almost gone !!  It has been a lovely month stepping into my grandpapa role.  Young Henry has been doing all the proper baby things and the new parents are adjusting pretty well.   I've been helping out with shopping, cooking and chores, but I have been enjoying the riches of Washington DC a lot too.  There is so much here:  parks, museums, restaurants, music and cool neighborhoods.  It is quite a candy store !!

I have discovered some very fun open mikes in the DC area, including the Vinyl Lounge, the New Deal Cafe, and the Modern Times Coffeehouse.  A lot of talent and variety out here, and friendly folks.   If you are looking for open mikes to play or to listen wherever, check out www.openmic.us and openmikes.org -- both are comprehensive and up-to-date.

Music to share with you -- I caught a feature set at the Iota Cafe open mike by Eric Sommer.  Here is a representative video of his show.   Quite a wild man on the bottle neck guitar, and that arsenal of guitars and amps is all his.   My, my!!

Big weekend for me coming up.  I'll be playing at the Borjo Coffeehouse on Thursday, the Front Street Public House on Friday, and the Eno River Festival on Saturday.  Details on my website as usual, here.

And I'll be meeting my cousins in Durham for the first time, and seeing one of my high school pals who now lives in Williamsburg. The following week, I'll be flying back to the West Coast with a lot of happy memories, and looking forward to catching up with friends and family back home.

That's a bit of my news and I always enjoy hearing yours.

very best,

John
Roy Zat
Croizat
Whatever

Music News You Can Use - May 2015

Happy Memorial Day --  Strawberry Music Festival is this weekend in Grass Valley and I am going to miss it because I am in Washington DC about to become a grandpa.  How exciting is that !?!

I heard some pretty good music in May and (I like to think) made some too.   Teresa Tudury has a Sunday afternoon jam at her little shop, Such Fine Things, in Occidental, CA when she is not on the road.   I dropped in the last couple of Sundays, and had such a fine time !!    I wrote about Teresa way back in Februay 2013:  "Here is a fun video to give you a sense of Teresa, but she is so much more in person.   She has a background in musical theater, including many years with Beach Blanket Babylon; and she can be a riot one moment and so poignant the next."   All so still true !!   Here is another one of her fine songs.  ROFLOL as we say on FB. Excuse me, that should be AWSOFB.
 
Steve Harr was at the jam, and what a pleasure hearing and playing along with him.   This guy cranks out great songs !!  An old song for Steve is a couple of years old - for me that is one of my more recent songs.   Steve has a rich country voice, like a blend of Merle H, Randy T., and John A.   Here is a video, with Gary Grubb, a fine player in his own right; and here are some tracks on Steve's CD.

What else can I tell you about?   First time at theGenoa Cowboy Festival in Genoa, NV this month.   What a gem of a town and fun little festival, just over the hill from Lake Tahoe in the Carson Valley.  Took advantage of being there, to visit some long time friends who have settled in the Smith Valley about an hour further into the desert.   Man, what a beautiful country we live in !!!



The next few weeks promise to be pretty transformative with little baby Zat due any day now.   I had better learn some lullabies.
 
That is my news.   Your turn -- always love hearing what you are up to.




John
Roy Zat
Croizat
Whatever

Music News You Can Use - April 2015

Well if I am going to get out an April newsletter, I had better get to it.    Been down with a bad cold but I am finally back in action.

 

First, musical discoveries to share with you:   I met and heard Doug Gill and Lynn Langham last month when I was at Steve Key’s Songwriters At Play show at Sculpterra Winery in Paso Robles.   Doug and Lynn  are veteran writers and performers from the Nashville area with impressive credentials, and it was a treat to hear such pros.   Here is one of Doug’s songs.   I take inspiration from Doug’s comments at the beginning of this video.  It is a long and sometimes rough road winding.  And here is one of Lynn’s songs.   You’ll find more of them on Youtube, of course.    Wonderful writers and very nice people.

I mentioned that I have been starting to use a looper pedal so that I can put down a guitar part and then play fiddle.    Sort of like this only more hillbilly.

My gig at the Monkey House last month went well, though we missed Dulcie Taylor who came down with the flu the day before the show.  (Every performers worst nightmare!)  Michael Hanna, my playing partner in Born Lucky, stepped in to help and with Aireene Espiritu and Ira Marlowe, a good time was had by all.   Here is a video of one of Michael’s songs.  

Gigs coming up:   This Sunday the 26^th, I’ll be at the Hopmonk Tavern in Sonoma with Michael Hanna.    And I’ll be at Ruth McGowan’s in Cloverdale on May 16^th.   Some private events  too, and then I am on my way to Washington DC to become a grandpa.

Yes,  you read that right:  I am going to be a grandpa.   The little fiddler-to-be is due on May 22^nd.  How exciting is that !!??

Hope you are doing well too, and always love to hear your news.

John

Roy Zat

Croizat

Whatever

Music News You Can Use - March 2015

Chilly blow the winds of March.  Ha!!   Not in LA.  You would think it is May or June.

I've been here the last week or so, and had the pleasure of performing at four different venues.  Heard a lot of talented players, and I have a lot to share with you.   But first, a big thank you to Chappell and Dave Holt for inviting me to join them and share their tour.  We had fun and made some pretty good music together, I think.

Put Kulak's Woodshed on your radar screen.  Very fun, intimate club with a fully pro, six camera set-up and video crew.   The quality is excellent and the talent level is high.  You can see shows live on the web, and there is an archive of past shows too.  Here is a clip from our Friday show.  We opened for Severin Browne and his powerhouse band.  Here they are in action.  Yes, what an honor to play at Kulak's!   

On Tuesday, we were at JC Hyke's Songwriter Serenade, and had the pleasure of hearing JC, David Joy, Brooks Taylor and ourselves.  JC has a song that every itinerate singer songwriter needs to know. (And what a bunch of pickers he rounded up!!) JC doesn't have a video facility so you will just have to attend in person next time you are in the Pasadena area. 

Wednesday, I was at Brad Colerick's Wine & Song, another well known songwriter showcase you need to attend.  Anna Tivel and Justin Farren did fine performances, and both are very worth some of your screen time.  Watch this and this   I also sat in some, and played a couple of my own songs.  At the end of the evening, we played "Will The Circle Be Unbroken" in memory of Billy Block, one of the founders of the Americana music scene in LA, who had died that day.  This picture shows a ray of light shining down across the stage onto Ed Tree, one of Billy's good friends and former band mate.  A very moving and spiritual moment.

What is particularly wonderful about the folk scene here, beyond the high level of talent, is the welcoming and supportive community.  Shows are well attended and I've seen many familiar faces, some at all three of the shows above.  I like to think the same thing exists in some corner of the Bay Area but I haven't found it.  Can anyone set me straight?  Or maybe, I need to help start it -- hmm.

This Saturday, I will be at the Coffee Gallery Backstage, another well regarded folk club, to see John Zipperer and Friends, and JC & Laney.  I have a hunch it is going to be another great night of music, like this and this. 

Sunday I am back on the road north.  I will stop over on the Central Coast, where I'll play in Steve Key's Songwriters At Play showcase at Sculpterra Winery.  Steve and I co-wrote a song last January (here) and Monday we are going to see if the Muse is with us again.  If we're lucky, we'll perform it Monday night at Steve's showcase at Bang The Drum Brewery.  And then I'll be headed home.

I have the feeling next week will be a quieter one for me.  Catching up on the home scene, and working on my March 28th show with Dulcie Taylor and Aireene Espiritu at the Monkey House in Berkeley.  That's on your calendar already, right?   Other dates are below and on my website.  

Hope life is good over your way.   Always like hearing about what you are up to and listening to. 

John
Roy Zat
Croizat
Whatever

Music News You Can Use - February 2015

Happy almost Valentine's Day. It has been a busy few weeks since my last newsletter. Main priority has been wrapping up my CD -- it will be out at the end of February. Yay!! Here are a couple more songs for your listening pleasure: Cluck Old Hen and Back To The Mountains.

I also have redone my website and put up a new website for the Born Lucky Band, my collaboration with Michael Hanna. This was in response to very helpful input from Kyle Weber at Indie On The Move, mentioned last month. Already have one more date booked on the East Coast and a number of possibilities brewing as a result of working with him. Exciting!

I have not been much of an open mike fan in the past, but a post from Ari's Take inspired me, and I got out and had a good time at a couple of them this last week: the Ivy Room in Albany, run by Burke Trieschmann, and the First Street Cafe in Benicia run by Chris Bryant. Both are well attended and have a good mix of styles and level of talent. 

Speaking of talent, I heard an excellent gypsy jazz guitarist and singer at the Benicia open mike. David Pendleton lives in Athens (the Greek one) and was visiting his dad. No links to share with you because David doesn't have a website, no Youtube videos, no Facebook page, no CD -- he just plays music full time on the street and in clubs, and supports himself doing it. Sounds like another era, doesn't it. Nice to hear that this is still possible. Maybe if I spent more time playing and less time on the computer . . . hmmmmm.

Going to be rehearsing with Chappell and Dave Holt over the next few weeks getting ready for our trip down to Los Angeles at the beginning of March. Dates are on my calendar below; if you are in the neighborhood would love to see you. 

I want to mention another date. On March 28th,I'll be opening a show, Songs From The Heart For The Heart, with Dulcie Taylor and Aireene Espiritu. This will be at the Monkey House Theater in Berkeley. I suppose it would have been more ideal to have it on Valentine's Day but heartfelt music is right any time, right?

And on that note, I hope you get lots of love on your Valentine's Day.

John

Roy Zat

Croizat

Whatever

Music News You Can Use - January 2015

Happy 2015!!  I am a bit slow getting out my January newsletter, and this could be the start of a new trend. A mid-month newsletter? Or quarterly? We'll see. Hope you had good holidays and are recovering okay from all the fun your wallet had.
  The first part of January, I was at my first ever songwriter retreat put on by Brett Perkins, a Californian who makes his home in Denmark.  Here is one of his fine songs.  We gathered near Santa Cruz, and about half the participants were from Sweden or Denmark.  Here is a video from Annette Bjergfeldt who has had quite a musical career in Denmark.  Don't know what she is saying but what a voice!!  Five days of co-writing, each day with a different partner -- stimulating and exhausting!!  Got seven songs out of it, in various stages of completion. Here is a co-write with Steve Key, performed at our finale concert.  What a treat to work with him!!
   

Not gigging much in January or February, working on my craft: learning Ableton Live looping (Here is a great video on that for you serious music geeks), and digging deeper into drop D tuning, among other stuff.     

More stuff for you musicians. If you haven't already, sign up for Ari's Take. It is a great blog on current trends in the music business, which is changing daily if not hourly. Another good site I just learned about is Indie On The Move, with help for the hardest job of all:  booking!! I need some dates around the Eno River Festival in Durham, North Carolina on the July 4th weekend. (Washington DC down to Durham -- hint, hint :-)
   

Other news: I am hot on the trail of finishing my third CD.  All the tracking, mixing and mastering is FINALLY done -- about a two year process.  I hopefully will have "product on the shelves" in a month.   Here is one of the more rocking songs and here's a quieter one, with Aireene Espiritu helping me on the vocal.  I am doing a show with Aireene at the Monkey House in Berkeley on March 28th.  Dulcie Taylor will be playing also.  Mark your calendars!!
   

I am going to be tagging along with Chappell and Dave Holt on their tour down to LA in early March and I am looking forward to that.  It will be fun to play a bit of the "jazzier side of Americana" with them, and to pitch my new CD too.  Details on my website calendar.
   

Your turn -- what have you been up to?   Love to hear from you!! 

John

Roy Zat
Croizat
Whatever