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