Sat, 08 Sep 2007
It looks like we’re going to be playing a coffee house gig on Sept 29th at Depoe Bay in Auburn from noon to 2.Then we just got booked to the Auburn Bluegrass Festival on October 6th
Yep, the “Sierra Swing Conspiracy” is starting to develop a following.
Here we are at a recent gig for the Auburn Art Walk
We have Ethan Lewis on Fiddle (Yes, he’s blurry in real life. He moves that fast)
Mandolin maniac Sean Scott Robinson
And myself on Breedlove guitars and mandolins
We’ve been playing a cross of Django Reinhardt gypsy jazz, David Grisman “Dawg” music, celtic, bluegrass, and Brasillian Chorro music.
I can’t wait to get a recording of us to post on my web page. It really a fun band to play with.
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Wed, 07 Mar 2007
First of all, the Slow Jam is tomorrow, March 8th at 7:30 at Music & More. When we moved it to Thursday last month there were several people who I couldn’t contact to let them know. So we did a litle jam on teh first Thursday and the first Tuesday. Well, now everyone knows we’ve moved to the 2nd Thursday so I’m expecting at least 8 musicians. It should be a good jam.Our recent performances
The band (who’s name is still in limbo) has played a few benefit concerts lately. Last week we played at a benefit to raise money to help a group of High School kids go to Costa Rica. Two weeks before that we played at a dual benefit for Habitate for Humanity and the Auburn Interfaith Food Bank. I just received an email from the organizers saying that we helped raise $2870 for those 2 good causes.
Our acoustic trio always makes a great impression. We have a darn good sound for only 3 people. But we were glad to share the stage with "Dr. Bach and the Jazz Practitioners" as well as Tom Briar who’s a fantastic ragtime piano player. It’s good to see early jazz represented so well here in the gold country.
So what’s next for us?
First of all, we need to decide on a name. We’re also in discussions about doing gigs at the Auburn Art Walk and at a local renaissance fair. (We’ll have to learn a lot of celtic music for that one. But Ethan is an authority on celtic music so we have a good person to lead us down that path.)
We’re also trying to set up a 2 hour set of an eclectic mix of bluegrass, Dawg music, gypsy jazz, straight ahead jazz and celtic music. That would give us a chance to play places like The Club Car in Auburn.
Whatever happens, I’ll be sure to keep you informed right here on this blog.
Last Night’s Jam
When I was done teaching last night I drove down the hill to Loomis to the Tueday Night jam at "The Wild Chicken." I surprised myself because I taught 11 students in a 6 hour span on Monday and another 8 students yesterday in just 4 1/2 hours so I was pretty tired. But once I started playing I couldn’t wipe a big silly grin off of my face. It was so much fun.
I’m sure that part of it was the pride I felt when I looked around the room and saw 4 of my students. But a big part of it is the simple joy of making music with other people. If you can make it to the Slow Jam tomorrow night then you may feel that joy as well.
I hope to see you there.
What I’m listening to now:Tony Rice
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Thu, 01 Mar 2007
We’ll be playing at a dinner benifit on Saturday. It will be held at the First Congregational Church on Auburn Ravine Road in Overmiller Hall.We’ll be on at 6:00 to play some more gypsy jazz, swing, and Dawg music.
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Sun, 28 Jan 2007
I have a few performances to prepare for.First of all, I’m the special guest artist at the Lake of the Pines Music open mic on Feb 2nd at 7 pm. I’ll be bringing Sean Robinson with me and we might even be able to get Michael Paul (LOTP Music’s owner) to sit in with us.
Then on Feb 18 the acoustic band will playing Pioneer Methodist Church in Auburn at 2:30 as part of the Music for Humanity concert. All proceeds go to benefit Habitat for Humanity and the Interfaith Food Closet.
The only problem is that "The Band" doesn’t have a name. I have no idea what Ethan, Sean and I should call ourselves. We don’t really fit into any particular format. A typical set will include some swing tunes, a gypsy jazz tune or 2 and perhaps a couple of bluegrass tunes. Then we’ll toss in a few celtic tunes. Depending on how we feel we may some jazz standards or a few Thelonious Monk tunes.
It’s an eclectic selection of music for a band made up of acoustic guitar, mandolins and fiddle.
AND I have to return a call to KAHI radio. Apparently, they want to interview me and have me play a few tunes. I’m excited, but also a bit nervous. I really need to do some practicing to get my chops up.
AND Don’t forget that the Slow Jam will be on Feb 13th which is the 2nd Tuesday of Feb. However, starting in March we’re going to move the slow jam to the 2nd Thursday of the month so we don’t conflict with the weekly Tuesday jam at "The Wild Chicken" just down the hill in Loomis.
Lots of events to go to. I hope to see you folks there.
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Thu, 03 Aug 2006
I really need to post these earlier. But I’m going to be playing at the Grass Valley Center for the Arts tonight at 7:00. This is a continuation of the “Cherish a Child” concerts for Joel Teixeira and I’m proud to be part of it. Sean and I will be helping out in a bluegrass band (Me on guitar and Sean on mandolin) and then Sean and I will be doing a mandolin duet. Hope to see you there. This time it won’t be 114 in the theater? ;-)This story is from the
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