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