Music News You Can Use - January 2014

Happy New Year -- we survived the December holidays !!  Pretty hectic, but fun and heart warming for me, and I hope the same for you.

Good music discoveries in December:
I continue to be impressed by the Central California music scene and Steve Key is right in the middle of it.  I was part of  Steve's tribute show for Karen Tyler, a fine blues singer songwriter from Paso Robles.  I heard and saw a wonderful parade of talented performers, some of whom like Steve,  Dulcie Taylor and Phil Lee I have mentioned in past newsletters.  Too many to list all, and unfortunately, some don't have much on the web I can point you to, but listen to a bit of Dorian Michael. Dorian led the backup band for the whole Karen Tyler show -- hot !! 

And I discovered a great venue in Paso Robles   The next time you are in the area try to see a show at D'Anbino Cellars.  You will not be disappointed.  Or, catch any of the Songwriters At Play shows that Steve runs.

On that same December trip south, I was at Brad Colerick's concert series Wine and Song at the Firefly Bistro in South Pasadena.  Brad brings in a lot of excellent musicians from all over, and I had the privilege of sharing the bill with Marc Black from New York.  A number of other fine players joined, including Brad and Chauncey Bowers - and good music was made!!   Here's a video from that night.   And, here is a video of one of my favorite Brad Colerick songs.

Closer to home, I also had a good time playing at the Ruth McGowan Pub the weekend before Christmas with my long time pal, Floyd Latimer.  Ruth's is a fun place and we'll be back there this Friday (but without the Christmas songs).     I'll be at another favorite playing spot this Sunday, the Kensington Market.  Really looking forward to that!!  Please check out my website for more info on all of this:  www.royzat.com

My resolution for 2014 is to keep doing what I am doing:  playing music, staying in touch with family and friends, hearing new music, and making new friends.   I am a lucky man !!

Best wishes to you for a great year ahead --

John
Roy Zat
Croizat
Whatever

Music News You Can Use - December 2013

Hello and Happy December.  I am still very much in a November frame of mind actually, visiting with my daughter in Washington DC, prowling the museums and parks.  What a town!!

Here are some musical discoveries for you.  And another.   There is a whole series of these sessions - search for TS5 on Youtube.   Amazing facility and amazing line up of talent !!   (Thanks to Paul Herzoff for getting me started on these.)
 
My house concert in Penngrove, earlier in November, was a great success; and we raised some money for a very good cause.   I am editing the video now.  I will be posting some highlights later this month, and hopefully get you interested in hosting a house concert to raise money for a cause you are involved in.  House concerts are the best!!

I made a lot of music in November and made some new music friends, in Maui no less!!  (Yes, I've been doing some traveling.)  It was such a treat to stay as a guest of John and Cecelia Bowman at Cecelia's family home in Wailuku.  Their hospitality and that of Cecelia's family was so warm and welcoming.  It was sure hard to leave.

Got some nice gigs coming up in December.   I'll be playing at the Firefly Bistro in South Pasadena on the 11th. The Firefly is a great place and Brad Colerick's Wine and Song Wednesday nights are excellent and well attended.  I am honored!!  I am also honored to be playing at Steve Key's Songwriters At Play shows on the 12th and 13th.  I'll wrap up my gigging at Ruth McGowan's on the 20th. Calendar details below, more info at www.royzat.com.  If you are out and about at any of these places, it is always great to see you.

Okay, guess I'd better get to the Christmas list and do my part for the economy . . . Hope you have a lovely holiday season, with lots of love and friendship surrounding you.

all the best,

John
Roy Zat
Croizat
Whatever

Music News You Can Use - November 2013

Hope you had a Happy Halloween and got more tricks than treats.  I have two neighbors who convert their front yards into graveyards and monster havens -- quite a destination for the goblins.  I gave out over 400 pieces of candy before I ran out.  Scary thought (and a lot of fun).

And OMG did I hear a lot of great music in October!!  I attended the FAR-West Music conference in Irvine, and played a number of showcases there and on the way down and back. 

Here are some links for you to check out.  

Phil Lee and here is his website, with more videos.   He is an entertainer!!

Red Moon Road a great Canadian band, with lots of videos on Youtube.  Here's one more.

JC and Laney  - Powerful vocals and songs!  I had a blast playing in their showcase room at the conference -- joining on some of their songs and having them with me on a few of mine. 

Dulcie Taylor  great songs and delivery.  Here is another.

Dan and Laurel   they play so beautifully together, and her violin playing is to die for!!  Many more videos on Youtube.

This is just a teeny tiny bit of the fabulous music I heard, and I feel guilty only listing a few folks here.   Check out the FAR-West website for more of the great musicians and bands that performed there.  And guess what, you Bay Area  folks??!!  The conference will be in Oakland the next two years, and you can come, even if you are not a performer.  There is so much excellent music to see and hear there.

Speaking of excellent music (what a segue), I am playing with poet Marv Hiemstra this Sunday in Cotati. Marv is a unique talent and writes clever and fun poems.  It is a real pleasure accompanying his readings with my fiddle.  The following Sunday I am playing a house concert near Petaluma.  House concerts are the best way to enjoy live music!!  Details are on my website: www.royzat.com 

And oh yeah – my van quest has ended.  I got a Dodge Caravan and have already built a bed in the back.  Coming to a driveway near you...

Tis the month of being thankful, and I am very.  Hope you have a lot of blessings to count too.

All the best,
John
Roy Zat
Croizat
Whatever

Music News You Can Use - October 2013

A little slow getting my October newsletter out; I've been super busy getting ready for the annual FAR-West (Folk Alliance Region-West) Music conference down in Irvine.   I am playing showcases on the way down and back with Songwriters At Play, playing several showcases at the conference, hosting my own showcase room;  and I am stage manager for the big acts on Friday and Saturday nights.  Whew!!  I am going to be one happy and tired puppy when it is all over.

I'll be driving down in my flashy new convertible.  Well, not really new.   I broke the back window out of it last month by lowering the top with a guitar case sticking up in the back seat.  The guitar is fine, and the wallet is recovering.  The new top looked so good that I had to get the car painted too.  Like I said, I been busy getting ready for Southern California :-).

Got some good music to tell you about.  I was at the American River Music Festival up in the California gold country for the first time in September.   It is a small festival in a beautiful setting.   Trevor Green was a nice discovery - a one man band with guitar, foot board, harmonica and didgeridoos!!  Great songs and sound.   Ray Wiley Hubbard was also a nice find.   Many other good bands too -- join me there next year!!

Did quite a bit of performing myself in September, too.  First time at the Ruth McGowan Brewpub way up in Cloverdale and that was a bunch of fun.  (I'll be back there in October and December.)  Had a four show weekend starting last Friday at the Monkey House Theater with the Don't Look Back String Band, a street party on Saturday, the Cole Valley Fair on Sunday morning, and the Piedmont Harvest Fair that afternoon.   All were fun and the Monkey House in particular is a real gem of a place -- put it on your list of places to check out.  
Got several club gigs coming up and a house concert.  Please check out my calendar for dates and details.  Your interest in my music making is very much appreciated.

Hope you are enjoying a beautiful Fall.   I always like hearing from you when you get the chance.    All the best,

John
Roy Zat
Croizat
Whatever

September Music News You Can Use

September Music News You Can Use

 Hi -- Hope you had a nice August with a good picnic or two.   In the SF Bay Area, the fog season is ending and summer weather is just beginning.   I had a busy month and played a bunch, and I have a story to tell you.

Note: highlighted text here links to web pages, videos, etc.   For example, here is a lovely history of the gypsies and the path of the their music from Rajastan, through the Middle East, the Balkans, and into France and Spain.    This comes to me courtesy of Steve Strauss, an electric ukulele player and bassist.   If you live anywhere near Berkeley, come by Nabalom Bakery on Saturday morning and hear him play with his jazz combo.  Really great stuff like this one (wait for the slow video intro, it is worth it).   There are quite a few more there on YT too.

Before I get too far into this letter, I want to tell you about a show I am playing with Don't Look Back on September  27th at the MonkeyHouseTheater in Berkeley, an intimate listening room with great sound, located at 1638 University Avenue.  It has been awhile since I've done a concert in the Berkeley area and ages since Don't Look Back has -- so please mark Friday, September 27th on your calendars.   It is going to be a special night.   We'd love to see you and always appreciate your support.  (I have other fun gigs coming up too -- check out the calendar on my website.)

Now, here is the story.  I have been going down to LA quite a lot over the last six months.  This last trip, I was in the first boarding group on Southwest.  Southwest has open seating, and I was happy to see a window seat in row three, right up front.  Couldn't believe my luck as I stowed my bag and waited for the guy sitting in the aisle seat to get up and let me get in.    He was so engrossed in his cell phone I had to tap him on the shoulder, but he didn't miss a beat in his conversation as he popped up and let me scoot by him.

He had a familiar sounding, raspy voice, but didn't look like anyone I knew; and he kept yakking until he had to turn off his phone for take off.  Then he dove into a book while I dove into my nap, since my favorite way to fly is asleep.   I am good at that, and I was out until we made our final turn into LAX.  As I woke up, I heard him talking with a woman across the aisle.  They didn't know each other, but seemed to have some interests in common.

That sure was a familiar voice, and then I got it:  he sounded like Jerry Brown, our governor.   I snuck a closer look at him.  I had never seen Jerry Brown in person. This guy kind of looked like pictures I had seen, but not a lot and besides he was wearing a running suit with a shiny Cal jacket, and he had his stuff in a canvas shopping bag.  No power suit, no leather brief case, no security, no entourage. Still it was an intriguing thought,  Jerry Brown our governor, flying Southwest to LA just like a regular guy.   Nah, no way.

So we land and get to the gate.  "Jerry" finishes his conversation and stands and waits for the folks in the aisles ahead of us, shuffling their bags and starting for the door.  It is our turn, and I am behind him as he walks off.   Just outside the plane, the door down from the ramp to the tarmack is open.  I hear "Jerry Brown" being called from below, and Governor Jerry Brown goes through the door, down to his ride.   I continue up the ramp to the airport lobby with the rest of the passengers, thinking how cool is that!!   Jerry Brown, governor of California, riding with us regular frugal folks.   And me just about sleeping through the whole thing.

Hope your life has a few fun surprises in it every now and then too.

John
Roy Zat
Croizat
Whatever

August Music News for John Roy Zat

Hello, Hello -- Hope you all had a fun 4th and a great July. I did, and I have some wonderful music discoveries to share with you. (Note: highlighted text below links to web pages, videos, etc.)

I was at a retreat in the redwoods last week, and heard some of the best. Raul Reynoso is a superior guitarist so below the radar that it is hard to find him on the web. Here and here are a couple of videos from long ago that give you a sense of his skills which are even better now. (He's the guy on the right.) Here is a more recent video of Raul with bassist David P. Jackson (read his resume !!). Not a great recording, but pay attention to the words because the song is hilarious. That's Paul Shelasky on fiddle, Raul next to him on lead guitar, and Mike Fleming on rhythm guitar. And one more with David and some long-time pals having fun. That cool bass David plays is an Ernie Ball Earthwood, and it sounds amazing.

Many of you know that I wrote words to Midnight On The Water years ago and had the pleasure of playing fiddle on Kate Wolf's recording of it. I recently had the honor of singing it with this guy. His version is in E, a full step up from where I usually sing it. Yikes !!! Neat tuning he uses on the fiddle: EEBE -- very bagpipe-ish.

At the end of the month, I had the pleasure of playing fiddle to the poetry of Marvin Hiemstra. Marv's poetry is witty and off beat, and I had so much fun being his music soundtrack. Unfortunately, no video to share of this event, but here is video of Marv with another poet, Steve Kopel.

August is a busy month for me. In addition to playing my favorite farmers' market, I am playing two private events, a fund raiser in Healdsburg and two Sundays at the Milk Bar in San Francisco. Oh boy !! All details are on my website, www.royzat.com and if you are in the neighborhood, I hope you can come by.

One last thing. I love playing house concerts and I would like to do more of them. IMHO it is the very best way to hear live music. If you have a cause you would like to support, let's talk about putting on a house concert together in your or a friend's home. It will be fun, and all proceeds will go to your cause (as long as it is not the NRA :-)

That's a bit of news I hope you can use. Always love to hear yours.

John
Roy Zat
Croizat
Whatever

Music News You Can Use - July 2013

I am a little slow getting out my July newsletter 'cause I am just back from the Kate Wolf music festival. (Note: highlighted text here links to web pages, videos, etc.) The festival setting is beautiful, and with four stages, you hear so much music!!  Yes it is hot, but you can sit in the river or wear a wet shirt during the heat of the day.  And kudos to the sound folks, the staff and volunteers who make this festival such a gem.

 

The artist line-up was a nice balance of veterans and up-and-comers, and a lot of variety of styles.   Taj Mahal closed Saturday night and John Prine closed Sunday.  Both made you feel that you were sitting in their living room sharing songs -- and what a legacy of songs they draw from!!   Artists I had not heard before that caught my ear include Sam Chase  (This is a studio video.  He had a seven piece band with him at the festival - fiddle, cello, sax, banjo, bass, drums, back up singer, plus Sam on acoustic guitar - and he sure got the crowd going. A wild man !!),  Rani Arbo & Daisy Mayhem  (great players with a lot of fun songs.  Here is their website; check out the homemade drum kit in the photos),  Achilles Wheel (this was shot at the KW festival last year at one of the smaller stages, great boogie band with two drummers),  Alice Di Micele (she has a fabulous voice and had a great fiddler with her at the festival, Crystal Reeves).   There were many other great bands too, quite a number of which I did not get a chance to hear because I was jamming or recovering :-)

 

At the beginning of June, I played a Steve Key Songwriters At Play showcase in Paso Robles.  Steve's showcases are a treat because you get to hear such a cross section of music.   There was a young band, Sawmill Joe, that arrived late having driven in from Denver and they were a stand out.  Old time music with Tom Waits style: raw passion and great delivery.  Here is a video.  I also played three kids music shows with Michael Hanna at library events in June.   Such a pleasure sharing music with kids and parents.   Here is one you might remember.

 

I was at a private party last month and got a chance to play with my fiddle teacher, Chad Manning (who I told you about last month) and some of his associates.  Oh my!!  Heard some truly world class playing up close, a bit like this.   I am a lucky man.

 

Coming up in July, I have a couple of  farmers market shows I am looking forward to, and I am playing the Napa Porchfest at the end of the month.   That is a fun event, where you stroll old town Napa listening to great bands playing on the porches of Victorian houses.

 

Hope you are well into enjoying a good summer.   Love to hear from you always.

 

John

Roy Zat

Croizat

Whatever