Yet Another Performance Missed By This Blogger

Well, nobody's perfect, and last Monday's performance happened at the same time I teach my watercolor class at the Coffee Gallery, so I missed the Roy Zimmerman performance, but I could hear them laughing it up in the other room.  Some people have all the luck.  I had to work.  No video, but you can learn about Roy's biting satirical singing and original songwriting (with his wife as co-writer, mostly), at his own website HERE. He claims his website shows "Funny Songs About Ignorance, War, And Greed".  I have seen him at The Coffee Gallery before, and you will laugh yourself silly.

Performances I missed, and maybe so did you

Alas, I can't do everything all the time, and there were some performances I missed recently.   There is no video because I wasn't there.

On December 20th, The Coffee Gallery Backstage was host to Kamaka Brown"If Can Can. If No Can. No Can." This great storyteller sold out earlier this year, and was sold out again.  Sold Out means I don't see the show, and can't provide video.  Sold out means you have to get your reservations in earlier the next time he comes around.  If he does come around again.

On the 20th again but in the afternoon we hosted Ken O'Malley, but I was otherwise occupied, so I didn't get to see this special Christmas show.  While there is no video of this show, if you need more Ken O'Malley, you can see some of the songs he did the last time at The Coffee Gallery by following this LINK. And you can visit the gentleman's own website HERE.

Jim “Kimo” West and T Dan Hofstedt performed Hawaiian Style "Slack Key" Guitar on 12/21/09

We were lucky enough to enjoy this wonderful duo on the 21st.   The style is laid back and relaxed, with each note played for maximum beauty by itself and within the composition.  The guitars "ring" under the skilled hands of these masters. who are constantly re-tuning the guitars to provide subtle color changes to the music.  A genuine treat, not to be forgotten.  And if you forgot, or missed it, here are some video clips of just SOME of what we experienced:



Jim “Kimo” West is an award-winning Hawaiian "slack key" guitarist and a veteran of Hawaii's famed slack key festivals where he has performed alongside noted players such as Ledward Kaapana, Cyril Pahinui, Ozzie Kotani, Makana, George Kahumoku and many others. He is known not only for his exciting live performances but also for his many original instrumental slack key compositions as represented in his catalog of five solo CD's.

Thorin, Bill Burnett and Squeakin' Wheels

This turned into a three act show, and a really exceptional one at that.  All of these acts call Southern California home, so this is some of the hometown great stuff that just grows around here. 

The show started out with Thorin, a local favorite that had been assembling The Bohemian Soul Rustlers, but tonight, it was just Thorin, the Sole Rustler, maybe for the forseeable future.  Not too surprisingly, he was just plain wonderful.  He has a way of reminding you why great songs were GREAT, and sings them accordingly.  And his own songs are poignant and just plain beautiful.  Or fun. Or charming.  Depending. We expect great things from this guy in the future. Maybe he will remember us fondly in Altadena.



Bill Burnett, joined Thorin on stage to harmonize on Thorin's Christmas song, and then stayed for a his own set.   Bill is  a local favorite giant of a singer songwriter (to distinguish him from the everyday singer songwriter).  The last two collaborations of Burnett and Thorin were on our well received Greenwich Village retro show in September, and the Pete Seeger 90th birthday commemoration back in August, covered in Pasadena's Star News. Quirky, engaging songs spring from Bill Burnett's mind and we get to enjoy the rides.
He has his own unique web presence at his Song Mine - and he digs up some doozies. I suggest you visit at http://www.billburnettsongmine.com/.
 

What a great set - take a look at his wacko take on an overblown Christmas. Shaving cows? Having an appendix out while you are in town? What season? I don't know what he was drinking, but I am not sure if it is infectious.

After a break, out came The Squeakin' Wheels. Their members are accomplished musicians who weave together intricate harmonies and impressive instrumentals. Combined, they've played with musical dignitaries as Rose Maddox, David Lindley, Chris Darrow, Mary Kay Place, Walter Egan, New Christy Minstrels and Iggy Pop!
On lead vocals are David Millard and Marguerite Millard. David and Marguerite also write the original material the band performs.  They performed traditional folk material as well as some wonderful originals. 

Sixth Wave and 4 Kicks Sang Their Sox off Tuesday Night

But alas, there was no video because this show was  SOLD OUT!

It is good to know that all of you guys are helping out by coming out to these LIVE SHOWS happening at The Coffee Gallery Backstage.  Those of you who missed out by not making your reservations soon enough, well maybe they will be back in the future. 

Sixth Wave...Los Angeles' own six-voice, a cappella, jazz, pop, rock group is a nationally acclaimed, award-winning 6-voice vocal collective. What is a vocal collective? It is what happens when you bring a group of singers together who all have extensive resumes ranging in everything from opera to rock and roll, from jazz clubs in NYC to recording studios in LA. All of these elements come together to form the creative soup that is Sixth Wave.

 "Just 4 Kicks is an a cappella vocal jazz quartet." That's kind of like saying the Empire State Building is a skyscraper. Its true, but it doesn't begin to describe the experience of hearing this amazing wacky, virtuoso vocal jazz ensemble for the first time. Four uniquely talented and musically successful vocalists from the West Coast, each with independent careers in the music industry, were thrust together at several Northwest jazz festivals in 1993, and a quartet emerged! Kirby Shaw, from Ashland, Oregon, is one of the most well known choral and vocal jazz composer/arrangers of our time. Randy Crenshaw is among the first-call studio singers and arrangers in Los Angeles. Four Freshmen alumnus Kirk Marcy directs the internationally-acclaimed vocal jazz ensemble Soundsation at Edmonds Community College, just north of Seattle. Vijay Singh (not the golfer!), widely known for his versatility as a composer, arranger, soloist, and director of the vocal jazz program at Central Washington University in Ellensburg, Washington, rounds out the quartet. With all four singers doing scat solos, vocalese, tight harmonies and impersonations of various instruments, this is one a cappella vocal group where the listener never "misses the band!"

JANET KLEIN & The Parlor Boys Wowed them on Sunday evening 12/13/09

JANET KLEIN & The Parlor Boys........

Ukulele Chanteuse Janet Klein & Her Parlor Boys gave a spirited, wiggling performance tonight (yep, she sure does like to wiggle and giggle). Janet and her distinctive musician pals bring to life "Obscure, Naughty and Lovely tunes of the 1910s, 20s & 30s, delivering a bundle of spirited and inspired renditions of cleverly fun but forgotten Tin Pan Alley, early hot jazz, saucy bits and late ragtime gems. These merrymakers zestfully branch into obscure vaudeville and Vitaphone numbers, Hawaiian, Yiddish novelty tunes, French and Italian knock-out ballads.



The Parlor Boys feature Ian Whitcomb, on accordion and ukulele (A Backstage favorite) , as well as the astonishing guitar,banjo and whistling talents of John Reynolds and Tom Marion on guitar, banjo & mandolin, alumni of R. Crumb's Cheap Suit Serenaders, along with a bevy of hot musicians on violin, cornet, trombone and slap-happy bass.

Watch out for the Charming and Alarming Ms. Klein!  And visit her webiste HERE.

Sligo Rags Performed 12/12/09 - I was not there but video will follow

Alas, I could not make this show, but all is not lost - Sligo Rags has their own videomaker attached to their act and she will be posting soon - I will provide a link to these so you can see - you shoulda been there!


SLIGO RAGS...

Named among the top acoustic bands in LA (by Folkworks Magazine) and two-time winners of the Orange County Music Award for Best Folk Band, this dynamic ensemble presents Celtic Folk with a decidedly bluegrass attitude. Sligo Rags is taking the local and not-so-local Folk and Celtic music scenes by storm with a unique blend of eclectic musical influences. Dan Miller of Flatpicking Guitar Magazine says “These guys have it all--great vocals, lots of energy, captivating songs, well executed arrangements, and tasteful solos.” Their debut studio recording, "The Night Before the Morning After", was called "the best I've heard from a stateside band" by Celtic Beat Magazine, while their sophomore effort, “The Whiskey Never Lies,” (called “the best from the West Coast Celts in many years” by Shay Clark of the Irish-American News), was named one of the top 10 of 2007 by Folkworks. Don’t be surprised if elements of country, gypsy jazz and swing manage to sneak their way into the act as well. Award-winning flatpicking and fingerstyle guitarist David Burns (recently featured in Flatpicking Guitar Magazine), fiddler extraordinaire Michael Kelly, world-renowned bassist Gordon Rustvold, and percussion whiz-kid Andy Reilly (8 years on the road with the original Riverdance company) are guaranteed to fill the room and your lives with electricity. They may give you a good laugh or two along the way as well.

Jim Curry Christmas Favorite Tribute to John Denver Matinee was on 12/12/09

I am sorry I missed Jim Curry's performance, but some of this show was videoed by another, and here is a video - more will be added in the next few days -  as soon as they are available. Jim was joined by his wife, Anne. Special guest, Flautist Diane Ireland.



Husband and wife team, Jim and Anne Curry, deliver the multi-platinum hits of the great John Denver in a fun-filled evening of singing and stories. Jim plays the guitar and sings John’s songs in a crystal clear tenor that will take your breath away. Anne, his wife and musical partner, plays guitar and mandolin and sings harmony in all the right places. Diane Ireland masterfully plays the flute, truly the ‘soul’ of John’s music. Together, the trio will treat you to an afternoon of John Denver songs, including his Christmas music.

Tribute artist Jim Curry, who's voice was heard in the CBS-TV movie Take Me Home: The John Denver Story, has performed Denver's music in sold out shows throughout the country and has emerged as today's top performer of Denver's vast legacy of multi-platinum hits. Jim's uncanny ability to mirror John's voice and clean-cut look takes you back to the time when "Rocky Mountain High" "Sunshine" "Calypso" and "Annie's Song" topped the charts, and his popular music had the heartfelt message of caring for the earth and caring for each other.

PHIL LEE with SEVERIN BROWNE as the Opening act 12/11/09 Friday Night

Phil Lee was a surprise to me. If you weren't there, you missed his Altadena stop on his official "I Saw Him Before He Died" Tour. I have never seen him before, and I am now officially a fan. What a fun, rocking, poignant, irreverent Americana / Roots performer.



His new CD, "So Long, It's Been Good to Know You," hit # 1 on the Euro-Americana radio chart and #4 on FAR (freeform American roots) radio chart.

You can visit his website HERE.

Associated Press describes Lee as "combining the social conscience of Woody Guthrie with the twisted fury of Jerry Lee Lewis." Singing with no apologies -- and certainly no regrets -- Lee moves seamlessly from the gut-bucket blues of "Jemima James" to the poignant Beatles-influenced "We Cannot Be Friends Anymore." And the Nashville Scene said if there were a Music City Mount Rushmore "to save the fourth head for Phil Lee," the other heads being John Prine, Guy Clark and Lucinda Williams. That's sure good company for the singer-songwriter based in Nashville.

Lee's music is "irreverent, ragged and beautiful in its simplicity." Lee crafts songs that are home to a cast of social misfits, outcasts, petty criminals and people living on the fringe. When music journalist Peter Cooper at the Nashville Tennesean wrote that Lee is the "Don Rickles of disenfranchised Nashwang," he captures somewhat the essence of Lee. Truly, Lee is a man who has lived much of the colorful life about which he writes and sings.

Plus....SEVERIN BROWNE....“When Severin Browne makes music, the room comes alive. His excellent musicianship are exciting and infectious. You will be brought to the heights of joy and back again to take an inward journey. The music delights and amazes, gratifies and surprises. His banter will keep you laughing, the music will make you soar, and by the end of their performance, you will have grown.




You can visit Severin's website HERE.

Odds Bodkin Complete with Gothic and Klingon? was on 12/08/09

Boy, can you say eclectic? And fun? This trio often plays at the Renaissance Faires (all over), plus gothic festivals, and other weird venues, which informs them - they've got a wild lot of repertoire, plus are funny to boot. Bianca also performs a Klingon Drinking Song (do you notice that she wears a Star Trek Communicator at her neck?). If it's pagan, old, or just irreverant - it is their cup of fur.



Now there, that didn't hurt at all, did it. Just make sure you show up the next time they come around at The Coffee Gallery Backstage.

To see their website, go HERE and their MySpace is HERE

Hugo Duarte Eclectic Singer-Songwriter from Here and There 12/09/09

HUGO DUARTE... Listen to "We've Got Dreams" a wonderful song penned by Hugo Duarte - I see this being sung at a wedding reception with no dry eyes.






Trying to define Hugo Duarte’s music is a bit like trying to define good Cuban food to someone who’s never experienced its satisfying, mouth-watering sensations. Throw in a creamy, caramel colored flan for dessert; top it all off with a shot of kick-in-the pants, revive-the-dead Café Cubano, and there you have it. A Hugo Duarte fan...”I heard a lot of people play some really good songs. The difference was, I never heard Hugo Duarte play a bad one.”

Born of Cuban, Chinese, and Scots-Irish ancestry, Hugo’s music is as diverse as his origins. Searching for a connection to his Cuban heritage, he arrived in the Florida Keys and immediately fell in love with the area. It was in those early Key West years that Hugo met and developed a professional friendship with the Calypso Poet, Jimmy Buffett.

Over the years Buffett would call or stop by when he was in town, often sitting in with Hugo and the band. They occasionally shared the stage at a locally owned bar called Del Rios where Hugo was performing, and which today is the original Margaritaville Bar and Restaurant.

HOUSTON JONES -California based high octane Americana quintet

A wonderful evening was enjoyed by those wise enough to come on down to The Coffee Gallery Backstage on a Sunday evening.



Bob Says: What an incredible display of
musicianship last time. The audience left absolutely stunned
and glassy eyed. You “must” see and hear Houston Jones.

HOUSTON JONES.... is a California based high octane Americana quintet. Formed in 2001, the band performs a mostly original repertoire that ranges from bluegrass and folk to blues and gospel. The band features Glenn Houston (lead guitar), Travis Jones (lead vocal, rhythm guitar), Henry Salvia (keyboard, accordion), Chris Kee (standup bass, cello, acoustic guitar), and Peter Tucker (drums).

“A wonderful gem of a band…truly exceptional music…wonderful original tunes…some brought tears to our eyes. These guys are a rare treat!” – Billboard.com

"No one delivers the goods quite like Houston Jones....Houston Jones remains one of the West Coast's most talented and entertaining bands." - Dirty Linen Magazine

It's worth noting that Chris, Peter and Glenn are all alumni of the Waybacks. The band was voted as “best discovery” and Travis Jones voted as “best vocalist” of the Fall 2005 Strawberry Music Festival. Glenn has been given the award "Best Guitarist” for 2009 by the Northern California Bluegrass Society.

Tiki Gods brought the Tiki Bar AllStars to the Coffee Gallery Backstage Friday, 12/04/09

A wonderful night was missed by most of you with The Tiki Bar Allstars - with Joe Rathburn, Jerry Gontang, Gary Seiler & Rob Mehl.




A night of 6-string Trop-rock music on a Panamanian coffee wharf. It is so handy that The Coffee Gallery Backstage has been lovingly painted to resemble such a coffee wharf by Altadena artist Gary Thomas. And there they were, as if washed up by fortuitous circumstance - 4 lush voices, 4 mellow guitars (and occasional bass guitar), complete with tropical laid back attitude. Almost a full house, and they will be back. Sign up early next time.

What would happen if you invited four very popular San Diego area trop-rock band leader/songwriter/performers, who are old friends, to put together a super-group to play your wedding? The result would be The Tiki Bar Allstars. That's exactly how they came to be. They had so much fun playing that wedding together, and were so well received, they decided to approach the San Diego Parrot Head Club to book them at their mega fundraiser anniversary event. The results were magical and they've already been invited back again in 2010.

http://www.coffeegallery.com/images/tikibar.jpg

Thursday Night brought Stephanie Bettman with Luke Halpin, 12/03/09

What a great act, and I swear they get better every time I see them. I think they get more relaxed and comfortable in their own skin. This time they were joined by Brian their bass player, so they could do some occasional 3 part harmonies.

Cody Bryant and The Riders of the Purple Sage with Evan J Marshall were here Monday and Tuesday, Video from Tuesday, 12/01/09

Back for two shows, THE RIDERS OF THE PURPLE SAGE....with mandolin phenom...EVAN MARSHALL...I was there for the Tuesday show, and am including video from this great performance.



These guys are one of, if not "the" most historical Western bands in the world. The Riders Of The Purple Sage starred in films and radio from the pre-war days to today... Today's Riders, under the leadership of Cody Bryant, put on a show rich with old and new music. While keeping alive the tradition of the original Riders' sound, they continue to write and perform new material that carries on and builds upon their signature style. Adding a strong swing influence (ala Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys), their performances appeal to listeners and dancers of all ages.

Today’s Riders bring together hot swing riffs with smooth harmonies that, at the end of the show, leave the audience wanting more. Their sound and show makes you feel that all is well in the West. They are “etherial” and “Orchestral.” They exceeded musicianship. They exceeded their genre.