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The gig yesterday at the Woodsmen's Festival was great fun. The day started off with a vicious thunderstorm and torrential rain, but cleared into a near-perfect day by the time we did the sound check at 9:30. I played with the Belles Trio, who were alternating sets with two other bands including some other friends of ours from the Philadelphia area, and it was just a great day of listening to and playing music outdoors in a pretty spot. We had a decent-sized crowd, but nothing like the chock-full bleachers around the field where the competitions were happening. The chainsaw races were loud, but the timber-felling was truly impressive. Not only do these guys bring down a sizeable tree (actually a log stood on end) with frightening dispatch, most of them land it on a small peg -- it's not just about speed, but also about accuracy. This area of Pennsylvania (we were in Potter County) once had the largest sawmill in the country, and almost all the trees in the area are less than a hundred years old since just about every tree was cut down back in the 19th century. There are tours to go see the very few old-growth trees left. Apparently one of the reasons old trees were preserved, in small groves of a dozen or so, was in case of fire. You needed to save enough logs to rebuild your house if it burned down. I spent today driving down through Pennsylvania and Maryland to West Virginia, for Old-Time Week at the Augusta Heritage Festival. In other words, I'll be surrounded by fiddles and banjos for a week. Luckily, there's at least one other harmonica player here. Time and connectivity allowing, I'm posting photos to Flickr. Tags: gigs, photos, travel
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This Friday night in Red Hook I'll be playing a very special show with Kate Giampetruzzi. Some of you may remember the wonderful shows I used to get to play as part of the Kate and Lou Band. Lou died in 2006, but as hard as it's been, Kate has been singing and playing and writing some incredible songs. She's going to perform some of them this Friday night at Sunny's, in Red Hook, on a double bill with Tone Johansen, who runs Sunny's and is also a gifted songwriter and singer (and jazz guitarist). They've assembled some of the city's best musicians to play with them (I feel very fortunate to be playing with them) and it will be a very special night of music at what, despite all the changes, remains a very special bar. Also, Sunday evening, I'll be playing a blues/rock gig at the Greenwich Village Bistro with Saboteur Tiger. I don't think it will be magical, but it'll be a heck of a lot of fun. Details are on my site. Tags: gigs
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Over the weekend I played a show at the Barrington Coffee House, in Barrington, NJ, about a half-hour east of Philadelphia. I was appearing with the Belles Trio, a vocal group including Caroline Cutroneo, a Staten Island songwriter, Mara Levine, a gifted singer from New Jersey, and Marie Elena, a songwriter and folk singer. I played harmonica on some of their songs and did a solo set as well. ( More photos below )Tags: gigs, photos
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And no I'm not talking about something I might have brought back from Hershey, PA, but about an amplifier I bought today. It's a Fender Champ 600, circa 1955 or so. It's small -- about five watts of power, and maybe 18" across (a standard diatonic harmonica would just about fit under the handle) and sounds ... amazing. Tube amps sound best when you drive them hard, but even mid-size amps are just too loud to play at top volume. This little guy, though, can be opened up to 8 or 9 without blowing anyone out of the room, and sounds hot, with just that level of tube-distortion crunch that makes for that blues harp sound. I rarely play amplified, but this will make its stage debut early next month at the Greenwich Village Bistro, with Saboteur Tiger. I'll be playing harp for two sets with them on April 3, and before that I'll be playing the Barrington Coffeehouse in Barrington, NJ, on March 29. More details to come on both shows. ( More photos )Tags: gigs, music, photos
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I'll be on the radio this afternoon doing a few songs on Radio Free Eireann, and later in the day playing as part of a wake for the closing of yet another New York City music venue, along with Mike Skliar. Rocky Sullivan's, the political Irish bar (or is it an Irish political bar?) run by Chris Byrne, formerly of Black 47, is closing this week. (At least, closing its original Lexington Avenue location; it's apparently reopening in besieged Red Hook.) Radio Free Eireann is on WBAI, 99.5 FM, from 1.30 to 3, and streams live at stream.wbai.org. The wake at Rocky's starts at 4pm, and Rocky's is on Lexington Avenue between 28th and 29th. Tags: gigs
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One of our big supporters in Toronto, Marcel, posted a very nice review of our show Saturday night, including some MP3s. I have no photos to post yet, but did take a few of Mike Ford at the beginning of his set. Mike, who was part of the great Canadian rock band Moxy Fruvous, now writes songs about Canadian history and performs them in schools. His guitar is covered with pictures of historical people and places. Also, I have available on my web site recordings of the two traditional songs that I did during my solo set, which Marcel mentions: " Angeline the Baker," which is not the Stephen Foster song "Angelina Baker," but a later derivative; and " Si Bheag Si Mhor," an Irish traditional tune. ( Photos under the cut )Tags: gigs, music, photos
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Last night at Sunny's we did a run-through of some of the songs for the tribute to Louis Giampetruzzi on Sunday afternoon. Tone Johansen followed with two sets of marvelous jazz songs. It was a quiet, intimate, wonderful night. Sunday won't be as quiet, but I think it will be magical. Please join us for this great event paying tribute to a wonderful musician: Sunday, March 11, 6pm, at the Parkside Lounge, 317 E. Houston Street. ( In the back room at Sunny's last night... )I'll also be playing tonight, with the Y'all Stars, at Googie's, and on Monday night, again at the Parkside, with Fresh Baked. Details on my site. Tags: gigs, music, photos
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Sunny's, my favorite Red Hook bar, has been having art exhibits in the back room, the same spot where we play bluegrass on Saturday nights. A new exhibit just opened, which is really more of an installation: Glass discs, cast glass blocks full of clock parts, a beautiful grandfather clock made entirely of glass, and mirrors on the walls. It changes the space completely; Sunny's is an old bar, all wood and earth tones and age and whiskey, but the installation is bright and shiny and cold (not in a bad way). It made for a different feel, playing in between endless reflections in the mirrors, which I tried to capture with my point&shoot. (I need a real digital camera.) I'm also happy to say that I've got some gigs coming up. On Friday, the 15th, I'll be playing on Staten Island with Caroline Cutroneo, and the following night, Saturday, I'll be doing a few songs with the Y'All Stars at Banjo Jim's, formerly known as 9C, in the East Village. The Y'All Stars are one of the best bands to have come out of the Brooklyn jam scene recently and I'm looking forward to seeing the show and more so to being part of some of it. And on Christmas Eve, I'll be back at Nolita House with Fresh Baked for the bluegrass brunch. Details, as always, are on my site. ( Saturday Night at Sunny's )Tags: gigs, music, photos
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Mike Skliar and I will be back at the Underground Lounge on Thursday, September 21. I'll be starting off with a half-hour solo set of original songs, including some brand-new ones, at 8 pm. Mike will do a solo set of his own and at 9 we'll do a duo show. It's our first show there in almost six months, and if we get a good turnout, there'll be more. So come on down! I'll also be at the Parkside Lounge, one of the best homes for bluegrass in New York City, on Monday, September 18, with Fresh Baked. Great bluegrass, great bar. We start at 9.30, following Blue Harvest. In other news, a Staten Island show has been cancelled: I will not be playing as planned with Caroline Cutroneo this Friday night, but Staten Islanders can look forward to an exciting show with Caroline, Mara Levine, me, and many others, on Saturday, September 23. ( Details below )And as always, check my site for downloadable songs, the mailing list, details on shows, and more. Tags: gigs
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steelbrassnwood's journal
I'm beginning to make a habit of closing down bars on Murray Street. In January 2005, Mike Skliar and I played the infamous Orange Bear (47 Murray St) the night it closed down -- they were taking the bar apart during the last set -- and last night with Saboteur Tiger I played the A&M Road House (57 Murray St), which will close its doors on Saturday. With signs saying "CASH ONLY!" and "LIMITED MENU" over the bar, a very short supply of beer ("How many Heinekens do you want? I have two left."), and a funereal atmosphere, it was a strange night. My song "
Tonight at the Roadhouse in Tribeca I played my first show with a new band, Saboteur Tiger. The players are people I've met playing on Staten Island: James Brennan on guitar, Al Sklar on bass, and a drummer named Don I've never played with before. Gordon Linzer sang lead vocals, and while there was a time when I swore I'd never played amplified blues again, it was a great time. Even Little Red Riding Hood showed up! 
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