It's NOT About The Music!!!

Usually, its all about the music. But sometimes, as surprising as it may sound coming from this music lover, sometimes it has nothing to do with the music. I came home from this special concert with copious notes as to who performed with whom and what songs were played. I had every intention of writing my usual concert review, attempting to give readers a little taste of what the music was like. But when I sat at my keyboard to begin typing, I realized that this was the wrong approach this time. Because on this evening in May, that brought so many of the best musicians, singers and songwriters in Southern California together to perform, the music, as great as it was, turned out to be merely a postscript to the gathering. This event was about community and about the love this music community has for one of its own.

Ron Sarfaty may be completely unknown to the casual music fan in SoCal, but among the singer/songwriter community here, he is much beloved. Some of this is the result of decades as a devoted fan and friend to many of the best talents this area has to offer. A great deal of this goodwill comes from Ron's immense talent as a videographer of live music, a service for which he will not accept any compensation. But the real reason he is held in such high esteem in these circles is because he is just a wonderful guy, always fun and cheerful and inspirational in the way he lives his life. Free videography for most of the singer/songwriters around here is but a reflection of the sweet generosity of spirit this man exudes! I am proud and delighted to call him a dear friend.

Life threw Ron a major curve ball about nine years ago when he suffered a stroke. Ever since, he has depended on a wheelchair or electric cart for mobility and he was left unable to work at a fairly young age. His hobby of taking videos of his friends' live music performances has helped fill some of the void created by his life challenges. His musical friends have found that these great videos were invaluable in helping promote their music and in helping them to find gigs. Many and probably most of these independent musicians would not financially be able to procure such professional videos and would either have to do without them or have an amateurish one done by a friend. It is impossible to fully quantify the influence his videos have had in furthering the careers of so many artists, but there is no doubt that is considerable.

It was inevitable that Ron and I would become friends. As I got more and more involved in the SoCal independent music scene, everywhere I went to see a show, there was this jovial man in an electric cart seated behind a tripod and video camera. Often he was accompanied by his lovely wife Jean, but very often he was alone. I noticed that many houseconcert venues kept a ramp handy presumably just so he, in particular, would always have access. I also found that many of the videos I was viewing online, trying to determine if I wanted to see an act I had never seen, were shot by Ron.

Then, about a month or so ago, in a matter of seconds, life again changed radically for Ron. A motor vehicle accident only banged Ron around a bit and really shook him up, but it totalled out his specially-equipped van that had let him be independent and mobile. This van was how he was able to get to so many of those music shows that he shot videos of, and now he had to be dependent on other people to get around. Of course, his insurance offered him a tiny fraction of what it would cost to replace the van and all the special equipment necesary for him to use it, so little that even haggling with them about it would leave him nowhere near what he needed. He worried he wouldn't be able to come up with the rest and was facing extended lack of mobility and the isolation that would entail.

Well, Ron had made a "few" friends over the years! The music community in Southern California rallied around him. A bunch of good friends, most notably Sandy Ross and Lee Hirsch among many others, organized a benefit concert on Ron's behalf. All of his musician friends who were at all available offered to donate their talents to appear at The Talking Stick Coffeehouse in Venice, who provided a free location.

So last month on a Sunday, dozens of the best singer/songwriters and musicians in the SoCal area and many dozens of supporters showed up for the benefit concert. It was over four hours of spectacular music, much of it done by performers I know and have written about before, but much of it by performers I had yet to hear. There certainly is a lot I could say about all this wonderful music, but, as I have previously stated, the night was more about the music community and less about the individuals and performances. Many of the songs held special messages for Ron or were actually chosen by him as a favorite from a particular artist. The only one song that I will mention specifically here was the only prerecorded tune we heard all night.  Legendary singer/songwriter Wendy Waldman is one of Ron's oldest and dearest of friends, but obligations left her unable to attend this tribute. Wendy wrote music for lyrics that Ron had written himself,  and together they created "My Island" for Ron and Jean's 20th wedding anniversary last year. It was an extremely special emotional moment in this night when we all listened to Wendy's recording of this beautiful and touching song! The evening was made all the more poignant by Ron not only being with his beloved Jean, but also surrounded by both of his sons and his sister and her family.

In addition to all of the songs and music, there were many donated things auctioned off that night, from things like studio time and instrumental lessons to custom designer clothing and restaurant meals. I was extremely impressed by how many folks there just gave and gave. Performers who were already donating their time were stuffing the donation jar with money, donating things to be auctioned and buying auction items from other donors. And this was from musicians who typically are not the most financially secure people around!

It has become common for many of us who are part of the independent music scene to refer to "the tribe", the loosely defined group of performers and their fans who tend to show up at their shows and often the reference is meant in a somewhat humorous vein. But when people in this community are faced with crisis, be it financial or health or something else, I have marvelled at how this informal network can mobilize and actually DO something special to help out. I think because very many musicians are forced to live without the "normal" safety nets like adequate health insurance or pensions or other retirement plans, a whole lot of them spend significant time worrying about what would happen to them in the case of crisis. I am sure many in attendance had unspoken questions in their mind that night, along the lines of "If I ever need this sort of help, would the 'community' rally to my aid like this?" My thought is that for anyone with anything approaching the generosity of spirit and sweetness of nature of a Ron Sarfaty, this answer is "Of course, we will take care of our own!"

This night was a rousing success! While the money raised still will not cover all of Ron's needs, he is much closer and contributions are still coming in! My biggest hope in writing about all of this is that, just maybe, I can help spur a few others to donate and help out. Here is a link where you can make a donation, any amount will help and be supremely appreciated. www.houseconcerts.us/ron.

Here is a list of all the performers who appeared (accompanists in parentheses):

Lauren Adams (Ed Tree, Mark "Pocket" Goldberg), Joyce Woodson, Ed Tree (Mark "Pocket" Goldberg, Meritt Evan Raff, Jaynee Thorne), Arlene and Bill Kole, John M. (Chad Watson, Elyse), Fur Dixon, Ken Holm and Tom Hubbard, Tim Tedrow and Terry Vreeland, John Zipperer and Friends (Jaynee Thorne, Tara Sitser, Jime Van Booven), Tara Sitser (John Zipperer), Lisa Johnson and Earl Grey, Suzie Glaze (Rob Carlson, Mark Indictor), Dave Morrison (Chad Watson, Meritt Evan Raff), John Batdorf, James Lee Stanley, Dave Tucker, Tracy Newman, Jeff Gold, Severin Browne (Jaynee Thorne), Lisa Nemzo, Michael Wesley Hughes, Chad Watson and Pam Loe, Gary Stockdale, Ric Taylor, Jaynee Thorne, Randall Kirby

I would LOVE to be writing about ALL these performers. They include some of my very favorites from way back, as well as some exciting performers who are new to me that I will be seeking out in the future. I urge you to seek out live performances and recordings by all of them. They are quite an amazing bunch of performers as well as being incredibly generous human beings!!

And then there were all the hard-working people who planned all this out and then made it all happen. Some of these tasks were not as glamorous as getting on the stage and performing, but without them there would have been no performances!  Here are all the people that were thanked from the stage that night:

Emcee Mentions May 5th
1. The Talking Stick Coffee Lounge – Downstairs venue donation
2. Tara Sitser & Tom Hubbard – Emcees
3. All the performers – Donated Performances
4. Sandy Ross – Performance coordinator & Event Producer
5. Diana Weynand – Production Assistant
6. Greg Grueger & Pam Loe  - Sound Engineers
7. Art Brickman – Stage Manager
8. John Zipperer – Stage Grip
9. Tom Hubbard – Upstairs coordinator
10. John M. – Upstairs song-circle host
11. Jeff Gold, Holly Goldsmith, Lee Hirsch, Linda Geleris, Lois Tedrow, Julie Zipperer – Donation Collection
12. Michael Wesley Hughes – Front Door Manager
13. Ken Holme – Backdoor Manager
14. Lee Hirsch – Auction coordinator
15. All people who made donations for auctions:  Severin Browne, Chad Watson, John & Julie Zipperer, Jeff Gold, Jaynee Thorne, Ed Tree, Darryl Purpose, Lois Tedrow, Paul Zollo, Performers who donated CDs, Coco’s, Denny’s, Las Fuente’s
16. Lee Hirsch – Parking coordinator
17. Bright Now Dental, Ralphs, Staples, Chase Bank – Approved Parking for just this event
18. Lee Hirsch & Sandy Ross – Publicity
19. Russell Paris – Webpage & Flyer creation
20. House concert/venue promoters who publizied the benefit to their audiences:  Jaynee Thorne (Stardust Concerts), Julie & John Zipperer (Julie’s Joint), Bob Stane (Coffee Gallery Backstage), Jeff & Holly Goldsmith (West Valley Music Center Concert Series), Russell & Julie Paris (Russ & Julie’s House Concerts), Lois Tedrow, and Lauri Reimer, Brandon & Nickie (The Talking Stick Coffee Lounge)
21. Leda & Steve Shapiro – FolkWorks front page story and calendar listing
22. Larry Wines – Acoustic Americana Music Guide feature story
23. Roz Larman – Folkscene calendar and on-air promotion (two shows)
24. Katie Bain – L.A. Weekly story
25. Dean Kay – ASCAP Dean’s List
26. Dan Kimpel – Music Connection event mention
27. Paul Zollo – Social Media

I'm sure in all this listing and thanking, someone is being left out and I apologize if my fears are realized! Anyone in the know can send me additions or corrections and I will remedy the slight!  And I urge any of the performers reading this, leave a comment with a link to your website, so my readers (both of them!) can find you! There are just too many for me to do all at once!!! I also want to note that the picture above was blatantly stolen by yours truly! It was by far the best shot of Ron I saw after the event, and I had every intention of asking for permission and crediting the photographer, but in the ensuing weeks, I forgot who I stole it from. If its yours, I apologize for my crime and ask forgiveness. If you let me know, I will give you credit or even take it down if for some reasons it was preferred not to be used!

John Batdorf and James Lee Stanley - All Wood and Stones II - CD Review

 Being the rebel that I am, I love it when I can prove the "conventional wisdom" wrong! So I therefore particularly relish the opportunity to skewer two of these "truisms" at the same time. Two such commonly held beliefs coud be stated simply as "remakes are always inferior to the originals" and "sequels are never as good as the first of the series". Well I just finished listening to a CD that is essentially a sequel to an album of remakes, a double-whammy that should doom the project to failure according the widely-held notions! I am very happy to tell you, that the new "All Wood and Stones II" CD by John Batdorf and James Lee Stanley is a such a fun concept and so perfectly executed that it is not only a wonderful exercise in nostalgia, but also a vital and new-sounding musical set in its own right.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        So here's the set-up:  Back in 2004 (can it REALLY be that long ago?), two of my  favorite singer/songwriters announced a new joint project. John Batdorf and James Lee Stanley in many ways are among the original trend-setters of  Southern California acoustic rock, guys whose careers have been contemporary with luminaries like Jackson Browne and The Eagles. While neither have enjoyed the commercial success of such acts, their original writing and recordings over the years have consistently been of world-class quality and had tremendous musical influence. So when they announced "All Wood and Stones" as a musical re imagining of the songs of the early Rolling Stones done as SoCal acoustic rock, I was pretty surprised. Songwriters of their stature rarely do "cover tunes" and certainly not whole albums of them! But the final product they came up with, eleven of the best known and most beloved Stones songs significantly rearranged, was a really interesting and fun CD that was quite popular, as were the shows they did together to support the CD.                                                     

Since then, nine years have passed and that CD remains a favorite of mine and it still sells well over the internet and at the guys' live performances. So when I heard John and James were talking about doing another album together, this time it wasn't a big surprise. I figured they would find another artist or group to cover this way; there was talk it might be a Motown album or something similar. Yet, heeding "conventional wisdom", I was really shocked that they chose to do another album of Stones material! But now that I have the new CD in hand to listen to, I understand their decision. The new CD may have fewer "hit" songs than the original, but it includes what, in my opinion, are some of greatest tunes in the Rolling Stone archive which are given the SoCal rearrangement and meticulously recorded. To my great surprise, I like it even more than the first one!

The tunes run the gamut from huge hit songs like "Honky Tonk Women" to obscure album cuts like "Before They Make Me Run" and tunes from early years, like "Time Is On My Side" to later stuff like "Miss You". Like the first CD, some songs are drastically changed and rearranged and some are fairly faithful to the original, but all feature the note-perfect musical arrangement and production skills for which both of these artists have long been known. This time around, all vocals and all guitars were done by John and James, with bass by old pros Bill Batstone and Chad Watson and drums by Tom Walsh.

I won't bore you all with note-by-note and song-by-song dissection. These tunes are mainly about having fun and fun is an elusive feeling not readily analyzed and explained. But this "fun" is not something to dismiss as unimportant! In the realm of the singer/songwriter, it is an element often under-appreciated and ignored, which can lead to some ponderous music trying too hard to be "important". John and James have never been guilty of this and this album is a genuine reflection of the fun-loving spirit within each of these artists. And how do two old musical pros have "fun"? By applying the years of perfecting their art to these tunes, finding the most interesting aspects to highlight and making some subtle comparisons to other music. I simply love the little hints of Beatles music that pop up, like the driving Beatle-esque guitar riff behind this version of "Honky Tonk Women" or the "yes it is" line of "Time Is On My Side" that evokes the old Beatles song, "Yes It Is". There are lots more of these always-subtle musical allusions lurking in the shadows of this recording; the "feel" of Steve Stills' guitar work in the Buffalo Springfield tune "Mr. Soul" pushing underneath "Jumping Jack Flash"  or the good-time, call and response "yeah,yeah" towards the end of "Get Off Of My Cloud" that sounds right out of "Hang On Sloopy" by The McCoys. It doesn't get much more fun than a chorus of  "Sloopy" !!!!

But all of this fun is not to deny the artistry John and James display here! Front and center in all these tunes are the magnificent vocals of both. It almost seems unfair to the competition to meld maybe the two best male vocalists in the acoustic music scene here on this one CD. James' full, deep voice brings a distinctive darkness to songs like "Miss You" and "Jumping Jack Flash" which make these versions even more meaningful than the originals. And while John has always been known for the sweet, higher vocals that he wields here on ballads like "Play With Fire" and "Wild Horses", his bluesier takes on tunes like "Honky Tonk Women" and "Sympathy For Devil" growl with surprising intensity! And these voices were made to be blended! These guys really know how to use them behind the lead vocals to grand effect. I wish I had the technical capacity to isolate just the background vocals on this album, picking them out of the full mix they sound simply astonishingly great and, on songs like "Get Off Of My Cloud" or "Before They Make Me Run", they stand out as the most dynamic component of the arrangements.

Then there is the guitar work! Like on the Stones' original versions, these songs are built around the framework of the guitar chording and riffs. John and James have such great voices, I think their guitar virtuosity can often be overlooked. The guitar playing is perfection everywhere on this album. Its hard for me to tell who does what where on this CD, but there are some really remarkable guitar parts played all across the CD. The lead guitar work is all done on acoustic, and I believe the guys both take turns at it, but its hard to tell. And while the acoustic guitars are able to make some songs really rock out, they can also sound almost like a harpsichord behind "Play With Fire"!

So, take a listen yourself and see if you agree that, "conventional wisdom" be damned, this is a thoroughly exciting and inspired "sequel of remakes" that are just a whole lot of fun! The ten songs on this album have already stood up to the test of time in their original versions but here they are injected with new life and added meaning in the fascinating new interpretations. As a whole album they come off as a completed work and there is a fitting irony in the closing tune, because for me, as a huge fan of these tunes back in the day and as a huge fan of  these new versions, I can truly say, "Time Is On My Side".


Here is a link to the "All Wood and Stones" website:
http://allwoodandstones.com/
and the Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=458371687576189&set=a.268778803202146.63445.216725755074118&type=1


And  links to John Batdorf's websites:
http://johnbatdorfmusic.com/

http://www.reverbnation.com/johnbatdorf

and his Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/John-Batdorf-Music/279578037051

And a link to James Lee Stanley's website:
http://www.jamesleestanley.com/

and James' Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=458371687576189&set=a.268778803202146.63445.216725755074118&type=1#!/james.l.stanley.7?fref=ts



Perla in Wonderland - Perla Batalla and Band in Concert with The Eclipse Quartet at the LACMA Bing Theatre February 4, 2012



photo by Claud Mann


There is one thing that I have learned in the few years that I have been writing music reviews. It seems that, the more you like a given performance, the harder it is to express your feelings about it and describe why you liked it so much. When we don't care for something, we can almost always cite specifics; the singing was out of tune, the lyrics were pedestrian and trite, that sort of thing. Well, last week, we attended a performance by Perla Batalla and her band, along with The Eclipse Quartet at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art's Bing Theatre as an adjunct to the current exhibit, "In Wonderland : The Surrealist Adventures of Women Artists in Mexico and the United States". I now find myself in a state I rarely experience, near speechlessness!!!! I really should end my review there, because I know words will be ineffective to communicate the transcendence and wonder of that evening's performance of old favorite gems and exciting, triumphant, newly-commissioned songs. But, as you all expect, I will persevere and attempt to share my enthusiasm in the simple hope it may spur some to investigate more fully the work of this amazing artist!

My expectations leading up to this concert were sky-high for a whole variety of reasons. First and foremost, we have been Perla fans for more than a decade and have seen many of her performances and always have found them to be pure bliss! Whether its been a night of Perla singing jazz standards or a night featuring her Latin roots or a night of her performing her own work, we have always come away exhilarated and inspired. But of all her many "reinventions", our favorite has always been the work she has cowritten with guitarist/singer/composer David Batteau. They recorded two albums of original compositions awhile back entitled "Mestiza" and "Heaven and Earth" which remain to this day two of my all-time, very favorite CDs. Then, of course, there was the fact that this concert was to be the debut of new collaborations by these two talented songwriters and that these new works were actually commissioned by as prestigious an institution as LACMA! This is nearly unheard of territory for indie singer/songwriters and yet, as amazing as it is, I am thrilled to say Perla and David have been commissioned previously to collaborate. It says a lot in these tough economic times that there are institutions that recognize the significant cultural value in the work of these two talented composers.

These high expectations spurred me to purchase tickets for this show on the very day that Perla first announced it publicly, so we were lucky enough to settle into our front row center seats in the Bing Theatre. This was a lovely, comfortable and classy venue for such a concert and it was filled to capacity, I presume with mainly Perla fans. Projected on a backdrop screen on stage were a series of paintings taken from the exhibition that this concert was associated with, which created an atmosphere of serious culture, but, maybe because it was surrealist art, there was nothing stuffy about the vibe at all (see above photo). Very appropriate to the evening's theme, the first half of the performance was by The Eclipse Quartet, four young female string players who presented two extremely interesting and enjoyable avant-garde modern classical works by two female composers, Meredith Monk and Ruth Crawford Seeger. Classical music criticism is WAY outside my area of any sort of expertise, so suffice it to say that this act was a great opener for Perla and her band in that the music was SO different from what we would hear in the second half, and yet so fitting as surrealism and so conducive to the aura of serious cultural significance that this night held.

After a brief intermission it was on to the main event! Perla took the stage along with the great band she had assembled just for this special evening, Pete Korpela on percussion, Perla's junior high classmate, John Beasley on piano, and, of course, David Batteau on acoustic guitar and vocals. They started out their set with a selection of songs from Perla and David's "Mestiza" collaboration. I now see in hindsight how these songs in particular were chosen for this performance: the themes and emotions they explore would be echoed in the new songs presented later, creating a building atmosphere to showcase the new work. I found it interesting that Perla mentioned that she never thought of her work as surrealism prior to being asked to compose for this exhibit. While I'm not sure I would have previously used that word in describing her work, her lyrics have always had the sort of indefinable but strong imagery that is wholly in the surrelist tradition. And the music that she and David create has always been genre-defying, at once jazzy and folky, Latin and pop, ethereal and straight-ahead. "Don't Say That You Did This To Me" started us out with its dark imagery and insistent melody. Then came "Cine de Llantos" or "Cinema of Tears" whose very title embodies the surrealist theme and I have always loved the jazzy Latin rhythms that propel this song. "Tears of the Sun" offered more poetic abstract imagery and then came one of Perla's tour-de-force vocal numbers, "Iberia", with Perla's vocals soaring high but totally under precise control, delivering the surrealistic imagery of a place where "everything runs backwards". In my mind's eye, I was seeing a Dali timepiece in the glare of a Spanish desert, I guess I really took all this surrealism to heart!

That concluded the "old favorites" portion of the show and I was finally about to hear what I really came for, the newest collaborations in the Batalla/Batteau canon! I think, though I am not certain, that Perla was commissioned to write ONE new song, or maybe a couple to accompany this exhibit. But that isn't the way Ms. Batalla does things! As she is known to do, she totally committed herself to this project, and she and David researched the exhibit and its artists and became captivated and inspired by the art and the love story of renowned artists Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera. On this evening we were treated to five new songs documenting the lives and work of these singular talents. Because I have only heard these songs just the one time, I'm short on musical details to share about them, but they are thoroughly delightful songs that are unlike anything I've heard these two come up with before and yet, totally within the musical traditions they have explored together, also. First was "Mexican in Paris" which was about Diego's years in a Paris full of artistic freedom and experimentation. This delightful waltz was made all the more special by the addition of special guest artist, the legendary Van Dyke Parks on his accordion, "Carmen"! This was an unbilled appearance that not only added to the musical spice, but also made so much sense thematically, given that Mr. Parks has long been acclaimed as a surrealistic lyricist, most notably in his collaboration with Beach Boy genius Brian Wilson on the legendary "Smile" album. Next came a song about Frida's art called "The Great Unreason" followed by a tender love song "Diego Mi Amor" which featured a masterful jazzy solo by pianist John Beasley. Through all these songs, I was so impressed by the other players, most notably David's amazing rhythmic guitar-playing and his understated background vocals, which were a perfect foil for Perla's huge voice and vocal charm. "Tell Me" was next, I jotted a note that it was a broken-hearted love ballad, but, I must confess, all I remember about it was that I loved it! But the finale song to evening, "My Blue House" which was accompanied brilliantly by The Eclipse Quartet, was probably the most memorable of the new songs, a totally charming, almost child-like melody that reminded me of abstract carousel music and turned to a chant-like repetition of "Frida/Vida" that brought the song and the show to rousing and triumphant finish!

Well for the guy who claimed to be near-speechless, I've again, not surprisingly, managed to ramble on and on! But this was such a special, special evening that I just had to do my best to describe the indescribable. Perla has mentioned that she and David hope to add to these songs and maybe even expand them into a musical, which I think is a natural for these songs and subject matter. While that is an exciting prospect, I just can't wait to hear these songs again and again and to be able to own them on CD! But until that happens, you can be sure that I will take EVERY opportunity to visit Perla in Wonderland!

Here is a link to Perla Batalla's website:

http://perla.com/home.html

And one for the LACMA exhibition this show was part of:

http://www.lacma.org/art/exhibition/in-wonderland

And one for The Eclipse Quartet:

http://www.eclipsequartet.com/

Severin Browne - "LUCKY MAN - A Songwriter's Notebook" - CD Review

At the end of every calendar year, there is always a rush by artists to get their new CDs released in time for holiday gift-giving and, this year, among my most-anticipated releases was the new Severin Browne CD, which we had purchased as a pre-order. With it now in hand and having listened to it numerous times, I notice a very apparent error!  No, the songs are all great and there are no bad notes here; my problem is with the title. While "Lucky Man" is a VERY appropriate title, being the name of the killer opening track, my beef is with the subtitle, "A Songwriter's Notebook". To me the concept of a "notebook" gives connotations of unfinishedness, a work-in-progress glimpse at the artist at work, and that certainly is not a very good description of this CD. With the well-honed perfection of these songs and the wide array of styles  and feelings they incorporate, "A Songwriter's TEXTBOOK" would have been a MUCH more apt description!!!

So, now that my ridiculously cute opening paragraph has hopefully grabbed your attention, let me tell you a bit about this wonderful collection of songs by one of the best songwriters around. For those unfamiliar with Severin and his work, he has spent the better part of four decades as a professional songwriter and was a staff writer for Motown  many years ago. The discipline he learned back in those days has given him  a real depth of musical experience to draw from in creating and arranging this remarkable bunch of tunes. The first thing that will grab you about these songs are the amazing variety of styles and feels these songs encompass. From tender ballads to uptempo rockers, from cosmic folk tunes to bouncy calypso, from Cajun raveup to bluesy soul vamps, Severin is able to find just the right voice to tell the story at hand in the most effective manner.  What always strikes me about his music, whether enjoyed live in concert or recorded on CD, is how the performances are always about the SONG, not the singer or the instrumentals. Severin's singing can be deceptive in its strength. He will never wow you with vocal fireworks, like hitting big huge notes or soaring to incredible high notes or the like. Instead the "everyman" warmth in his voice helps lend these songs a universality that would be less effective delivered in a bigger voice. But please don't misunderstand what I'm saying, I have NEVER heard the man sing a bad note in countless performances both live and recorded over many years. He has a GREAT voice that I know is capable of much more than we ever hear, but he uses restraint to serve the purpose of the tune with no distractions. Similarly, while Sev is one of the best guitarists you'll ever hear, he is content to let his incredible side musicians play the solos and provide the background coloration, while he concentrates on the message in the song.

Now that we have established that Sev is all about the songs, lets examine these great tunes a bit. I could write on and on about each and every song here, but I know I tend to get too wordy when I'm this enthused about music. I will only describe a few of my personal favorites so I won't bore any of you, but each and every song on this CD is praise-worthy in its own way and deserves your careful attention. The CD starts with the title song, "Lucky Man", a jazzy musical morality play which features Gary Popenoe's plaintive harmonica work underscoring the twists of the ironic story of the lyrics. Its a perfect opening tune to draw the audience into Severin's view of the world. The song "Calypso Rose" lets us know that we will travel the world appreciating his songs, a full-blown Calypso rocker complete with steel drums and infectious rhythms that make you want to get up and do the limbo all by yourself!!!  Some songs are more about FUN than anything else, which makes a terrific release from the "seriousness" of some of the other tunes.

"To The Light" is a song Severin penned along with Freebo, James Lee Stanley and David Roth. We have also heard Freebo and James perform this tune both live and on record, but I think Severin's version is the best of all! His breezy delivery of this "cosmic"  new-age sounding song keeps the message grounded in every-day realities, steering the song from over-blown philosophy into the realm of a much more personal universe, without sacrificing the "cosmic" feel. This a superbly crafted song that features a chord progression that is at once unusual and totally logical, which again, perfectly underscores the lyrical content.

One of the most personal songs on the CD, "I Am Not Cactus", takes a metaphor and runs free with it, comparing the walls with which we protect ourselves emotionally to the protection that the spines give a cactus. The simple melody and chord progression, the spare production and Severin's warm vocal delivery are one of the most starkly beautiful expressions of vulnerability you will ever hear!

Do you know what is the most recognizable song in the English language? "Happy Birthday To You" has generated a huge amount of royalties over the years and is maybe the song most firmly entrenched in our Western culture. So who would be able to replace this song for us?  Sometimes the most simple, straight-forward sentiments are the hardest to express. No worries, Severin Browne is on the job and more than up to the task! "Britta's Birthday Song" is a brave attempt to come up with an a grown up song to celebrate our personal milestones in song and it succeeds on every level:

"The longer it steeps, the better the tea, the more time that the sauce can slowly simmer naturally, Today we celebrate another year, Happy birthday!"

Wow! This is simply ASTOUNDING songwriting! I hope that this eloquent expression of the upside of aging and the celebration of the lives of our loved ones will replace the old standard at future parties in my circle of family and friends!

The next highlight is a stop at the back alleys of New Orleans for a Cajun rocker, "Cat Woman", with its tales of love and fast food and felines, this song has been a crowd-pleasing staple  of Sev's live act for years. Its another tune that is just a lot of fun, from a serious songwriter who never takes himself all that seriously. On songs like this or "Calypso Rose" you can hear Sev's years of experience as a bandleader and these songs have a "live" feel and immediacy to their groove that only hundreds of live gigs can impart to a tune. I need to stop and mention the great musicians and background vocalists that Severin has assembled to add some serious polish to some already gleaming songs. There are too many different players here for me to mention them all, but the list of names resembles a Who's-Who in SoCal music circles and includes some players that are particularly favorite to me. In a business climate that lends itself to down-sizing and do-it-yourself technologies, it is a singularly refreshing and wise decision that Severin made in bringing in all these pros and it has a wonderful effect on every moment on this CD.

The next song on the CD, "Dear Ruthie", could very well be my favorite Severin Browne song and maybe just one of my favorite songs by anyone! Another seemingly simple tune that is utterly perfect in its construction and starkly beautiful in its execution, and whose emotional  "pay-off" at the end avoids over-the-top sentimentality mainly by virtue of Severin's perfect vocal delivery and the inevitabilities built into the structure of the song. The same tune written by less of a craftsman would never work, but this gem never fails to bring a tear to this jaded, cynical reviewer's eye! I am being purposely vague on the "story" of this song, since it is best experienced for the first time without knowing where the story is headed. I remember Sev saying once in a live show that that night was the first time in years that he had performed it, and it still blows me away that a songwriter could discard a tune of this magnitude! In a review of that live show, I wrote that, to me, that was "like Michelangelo leaving the Sistine Chapel out of his portfolio"!

Well, hitting just these seven "highlights" has left me neglecting some really great songs, because this CD has no filler at all. The remaining six songs, stated as succinctly as I can, include the nostalgic drinking song "Enough For Us", the blue-eyed soul of "Is It Really True" seems to hearken back to Sev's Motown days, "Don't Give Up On Me Virginia" with its bluesy boozy vibe, "The Other Man" a beautifully dark, minor key ballad with its wonderful "pirate" metaphors, "When It's Right It's Right", another gorgeous simple melody with wonderfully optimistic lyrics and finally "Lessons" a heart-felt finale of a tune with its child-like questioning and questing.

So there you have it, thirteen exquisitely crafted tunes that embrace  an amazing breadth of styles and feels and are recorded with all the love and care they deserve by some of the greatest musicians around! Like I said originally, a veritable "Songwriter's Textbook"  delivered by the old master himself, Severin Browne!  There is a lot to be learned here, please get yourself a "textbook" and see what lessons YOU can learn!

Here is a link to Severin Browne's website where you can learn more and purchase the CD directly from the artist!

http://www.severinbrowne.com/

And here is a link to a video I shot of Severin accompanied by Ed Tree  doing "Lucky Man" at Russ and Julie's House Concerts on 11/11/11


http://youtu.be/N_QnB0TEbZw

The Koles and John Batdorf In Concert at the Simi Vallety Cultural Arts Center Saturday, February 18, 2012

So, normally this blog is about reviewing shows after they happen or CDs after they are released, maybe a music festival overview, that sort of thing. But sometimes events and circumstances are more important than formats! Besides, my readers are few enough that there will hardly be a public outcry that I'm  stepping over lines, and I write what I want here anyways. So today I am taking the time to help promote a show, (and hopefully a whole concert series!) that is VERY dear to my heart. On February 18th, 2012 at 7:00 pm there will be a concert at the Simi Valley Cultural Arts Center featuring The Koles with special guest, John Batdorf.

With all the great music we are blessed with the opportunity to see in person here in SoCal, its hard to single out individual shows as extra-special. But the combination of a super-strong co-billing and some special considerations has prompted me to support this show with all the gusto I can muster and with whatever meager influence I might be able to generate.

If you have read the reviews I have posted on this blog, you will notice that the name John Batdorf shows up more than any other name. I have been a fan of John's since the Batdorf and Rodney days in the early 70's, when they were thought of in same light as the earliest releases of folks like The Eagles, America and Jackson Browne. To give you an idea, yesterday an old friend back on the east coast, who I recently became Facebook friends with, saw a post I put up on Facebook about John Batdorf. Her comment was    "as in Batdorf and Rodney? I loved those guys. May be worth a trip to the west coast!" After 4 decades without hearing any of John's new music, she is ready to fly cross country for a chance to hear him now!!!!  I would find that astounding if I didn't relate to it so much!  For me, finding John out here in California and becoming acquainted with his new music has reignited my passions for live music and spurred me to become more involved the SoCal music scene.  Talking about music being "life-changing" may sound a bit over the top to some, but John's music is THAT good. And he is only one half of this co-billing!

Knowing how much I esteem John Batdorf as a musician, you might imagine how I felt a couple of years ago when he told me about this new act he had heard, a singer/songwriter named Arlene Kole who performed with her husband and daughter. He told me that their CD was the BEST new album he had heard in years and that it not only had some great songs but it also just SOUNDED great! Well, if you have heard me describe John's talents as a masterful producer, arranger and engineer of his own albums in addition to his singing,songwriting and guitar-playing, you would understand what this endorsement meant to me! And when I jumped at my earliest opportunity to go see The Koles live and buy their CD, I totally understood John's enthusiasm!

Unfortunately, due mainly to my neglect at times of this blog, I have yet to review The Koles in concert, so I'd like to give you taste of what the experience of seeing them live is like. The first thing that will strike you are the voices!! All five members of the band have amazing voices and four of them take turns at singing lead, though the bulk of the repertoire is fronted by either Arlene or her daughter Skyeler. Their harmonies are amazingly beautiful adornment to some really transcendent soaring lead vocals. Then you will notice the virtuosity on their instruments, not to mention that they swap around instruments on almost every song (they each play more than one instrument with lots of skill). This ability to swap instruments makes an infinite variety of musical coloration possible, providing each song with just the right sound to make it fully effective. The key to the sound of The Koles is husband and father Bill Kole, another wizard of the recording studio and a guy who I swear has never met a musical instrument he couldn't master. In the course of an evening with The Koles, you will hear Bill play guitar, bass, keyboards, mandolin, banjo, drums and Lord knows what else, and he plays all these expertly and with taste. With the recent addition of young virtuoso Wyatt Stone, a child prodigy we heard years ago playing with Rickie Lee Jones and now grown up, the band has even more instrumental variation. Wyatt is a KILLER on guitars, fiddle and keyboards, pedal steel and any other instrument he lays his hands on and he is contributing some surprisingly mature songwriting. And with the always tasteful "Uncle" Jim Rolfe playing spot-on-perfect guitar flavors, as well as taking turns at bass or mandolin, the depth of varied musical sound this band is capable of is virtually limitless. Then, most importantly, there are the songs! With at least four incredibly talented songwriters in the group, the songs also vary greatly stylistically, from angelic ballads to stinging blues wails, from bluegrass rave-ups to indie rockers with stops at all points in between! And I must particularly note how much I love the songs penned by daughter Skyeler Kole, her songs have a unique quirky indie feel that make me think this is where the band might really take off with commercial success!  This "share the spotlight" ethic is a key ingredient in experiencing The Koles live and also, from what I'm told, on the new CD!

Hopefully my words have at least begun to convey how excited I am at the prospect of seeing two of my most favorite acts appearing together and hopefully, maybe, I have transferred a little bit of that excitement to you. But there is another important reason this show is so important to me and again, maybe I can convince you of its importance to YOU.  Arlene Kole is promoting this show herself, in the beautful, intimate and comfortable confines of the Simi Valley Cultural Arts Center. For us, this is quite a different setting than we are used to frequenting to hear live indie acoustic music! Usually these sorts of shows happen in someone's living room as a houseconcert or in the basement of church on folding chairs, or out in a field at a festival, or, even worse, in a noisy nightclub where most of the folks ignore the music as they get obnoxiously inebriated. It is quite rare to get to hear this music in a real theatre setting, with comfortable seats, great sightlines, pro sound and lights and a real stage!!! Arlene is trying to show the powers that be in Simi Valley that this music will draw people and she hopes to promote lots more shows of this nature with other indie talent. If this show does well, it can lead to all sorts of other shows in this great venue or others like it!!! So I have given Arlene my FULL support on this, as I think it to be of MAJOR importance to the SoCal music scene. I am BEGGING all my friends, acquaintances and readers to buy tickets NOW and support this show!!  I would also encourage any performers who are without gigs that evening to buy tickets and show up also, you folks have a vested interest in this show's success!!!!

I sincerely hope to see you all there that night!!!!!!!

Here is a link to John Batdorf's website

http://www.johnbatdorfmusic.com/index.html

and to The Koles' website

http://www.arlenekole.com/home.html

and to the event Facebook page

https://www.facebook.com/events/312116545499771/

and for the Simi Valley Cultural Arts Center to buy tickets and get directions

http://www.simi-arts.org/

"One Last Wish" by John Batdorf

"The new phone books are here!". I have always remembered this innocent expression of exuberance by Steve Martin's character in "The Jerk" and that's exactly my feeling with the arrival of the latest CD by John Batdorf, "One Last Wish". It reminds me of my youth, being maybe 12 or so, and oh so anxiously awaiting the latest release by The Beatles or the The Stones. The anticipation was heightened by my unshakable conviction that, not only would these albums not possibly disappoint, but that they'd be different than anything I've heard before and somehow IMPORTANT. That importance, seemingly laughable to my folks at the time, has certainly been proven with time and what once seemed like an oxymoron, "important pop music", is now a very meaningful expression. "One Last Wish" is John Batdorf's latest offering of important pop music!!

Okay, now I know at least a few of you are thinking, "Come on, Peter, I know you're enthusiastic about music, and this Batdorf guy's name is vaguely familiar, but to mention this guy in the same breath as The Beatles????" A logical response and I'm the first to admit there will NEVER again be acts like those legends, mainly due to changes in the times and in the music business. That being said, I have been a fan of John's since his days in Batdorf and Rodney, fully four decades ago, and he has been writing and recording "important pop music" ever since, with a decade or so break when he was employed writing and scoring some very successful TV series. A great deal of his work has already stood up to the test of time and, in my view, his work just keeps getting better.

But my purpose here is not a testimonial, but instead a brief overview of a wonderful new CD. It is late enough in the year to state definitively, "One Last Wish" by John Batdorf is the "Album of the Year" in independent music for 2011, a year that has seen some great new releases! It's a collection of twelve meticulously crafted songs that run the gamut of happy and sad, uptempo and reflective and all points in between. Many of the songs in some manner cover some new ground for John, in ways I will attempt to describe. But if John, along with his long-time co writer Michael McLean, had one stand-out feature to his writing (he actually has many!) it would be his remarkable ear for melody and his extraordinary gift for devising melodies that are at once totally unique, but with a feeling of timeless familiarity. All of these songs are testament to that melodic talent. As for stylistic departures, I have come to believe these are due to a couple of changes in the way John wrote many of these tunes, as opposed to his previous work. Some of the differences could come from a forced hiatus from performing due to vocal issues (since rectified, I'm glad to say!) that let John write many of these songs in a more condensed time frame than usual. Its difficult to assess how that effected these songs, but the other difference in how many of these songs were written I think is more telling. Last year John got a new Martin Baritone acoustic guitar (I want one!) which is pitched substantially lower than a standard guitar. Many of these songs were first conceived and written on that instrument, and I'm certain that it has brought out new melodies and harmonies, just as a function of how the notes are laid out on that new instrument.

"One Last Wish" as a whole, is John's most consistent album start to finish. While there have been no "bad" or "throwaway" songs on John's previous CDs, there have always been a song or two or three per album that have stood out greatly as the cream of the album. After listening to this group of songs dozens of times, my favorites change day to day. Every song stands out in some way, there is absolutely no "filler" material there. And as considerable as John's talents are as a songwriter, vocalist and guitarist, one of his greatest skills has become his mastery of the recording process. The production on this CD is note perfect, down to the last handclap and tambourine shake. With the revolution in digital recording, EVERYONE records themselves and self-produces these days, but almost none of them will sound as good as this. Trust me, I have personally spent a ton of money on guitars, only to ultimately learn it's not the tool, it's the hands of the artist using it that creates great art. John has also hired some of the best professional musicians and vocalists around to help him on the CD, cutting no corners on the road to artistic triumph.

I could go on and on in detail about each song on the album, but I realize that becomes "look how smart I am" and I'd rather not go there. But I can't resist at least brief reflection on each song.

"Don't Give Up On Dreams" is in many ways a quintessential John Batdorf song, full of contradictions musically and lyrically, but ultimately totally logical in both regards. This a perfect example of music and lyrics working in tandem and reinforcing each other, a seemingly simple tune that reveals more and more depth the more it is examined, a finely crafted device that does its job with beauty and grace.

"Real Life" follows in a long tradition of pop music and film being tied together. The lyrics are a poignant reminder that reality rarely gives us the "happy endings" that films seem to promise us,

"I can't control in real life the way the story goes, Cause in real life sometimes the girl says no"

A wonderful lyric in one of the best AND most hooky choruses John has ever written, this sounds ready for a mainstream radio breakthrough!

"Mama's Comin' Home Tonight" is somewhat of a change for John, an uptempo bluegrass-gospel rave-up that makes you want to stomp your feet and features great background vocals by Dan Navarro, a singer/songwriter legend here in SoCal.

"Heaven Help Me" this time a major departure, a full-blown gospel hymn that almost has you waiting for the choir, but background vocals again by Dan Navarro along with Bill Batstone, fill the bill nicely! This one I know we owe to that new baritone guitar that it was written on. It is the first John Batdorf song I have heard that sounded like it might have been written by someone else, and to me, its an adventurous step that only adds to John's songwriting chops.

"Life Is Good" Wow, I could go on and on about this one, a small musical miracle of a tune! Funny thing is, on first listening I thought "nice little song, but incessantly cheery and sing-songy, I will tire of it quickly!" I couldn't have been more wrong! The melody went around my head for days after one listening! This is one of those songs that sounds like you've heard it a thousand times and also sounds different from anything you've EVER heard and if I could figure out how John did that, well I wouldn't be here talking, I'd be out writing my own miraculous songs. Wonderfully playful lyrics delivered with some really clever rhyme schemes just make this song Fun with a capital F. And how great is a "serious" songwriter who doesn't take himself TOO seriously?? Somebody in the TV world should scoop up this song as a perfect theme song for a sit-com! I have drunk the kool-aid and I will NEVER tire of this song because, you know what? Life IS good!

"I Feel Loved" This one is pure John Batdorf! A hauntingly beautiful love ballad with angelic background vocals by Arlene and Bill Kole, this is another one ready for some mainstream airplay.

"Can You Hear Me" Another stunner that's a real different song for John, this is nothing if not a power ballad that could have been written by the aforementioned Dan Navarro, who has penned several major hits for others. This sounds to me like a potential Top 40 type hit!

"Forgotten" Every album needs a change-of-pace song and the quiet, reflective and spare arrangement of this little,wistful, tender teardrop of a song fills the bill in lovely fashion.

"If You Could See Me Now" Many of John's songs are stories, written in character. I don't know for sure, but this one sure feels like John singing from his heart, a personal inquiry into what one's life has meant and how it would be viewed by those who meant the most to us. If I'm wrong then he sure sells the idea with his heart-felt vocal melodies.

"You Just Left Me" A song that could only come from John Batdorf and his songwriting partner Michael McLean. It has all the earmarks, the rhythmic acoustic guitar underpinning implying the melody of John's soaring vocals, and an ironic lyrical twist at the end. On a lesser album, this would be the highlight song, here its just another killer tune.

"One Last Wish" There's a reason this is the CDs title track, for sure, but again its a very different sound for John. This one has to be the most straight-forward rock song John has ever made, with a driving ride-out ending. Its also one in a long line of "home" songs that John has written, that theme not surprising from a guy who left his midwest roots for fame and fortune in the music biz in California as a teenager. This is another song that could play on mainstream radio. It also has the feel of closing off the album, that "taking it home" feeling only making the next astounding song stick out even more.

"Revolution" Okay, I dare to say it! This is an "Important" song. It was written as a response to the Arab Spring uprising and has achieved new resonance with the Occupy movement around the world. But this is no call to arms, much to the contrary, it's a prayer for peaceful change.

Revolution by John Batdorf/Michael McLean

Heard the news ...yesterday... Revolution is on it's way
There's a nation that's stirred..... millions of voices are finally heard
Will it go where it's meant to go?
Will it be what it's meant to be?
Will that great uprisin' on the far horizon
Do it peacefully? All the world will see

Let it rain, let it shine......do those voices echo mine
Where they stand... is where they'll fall
And they are willing to risk it all
May they change what they need to change
May they say what they have to say
At that great uprisin' on the far horizon
Going on today... May the world pray
May they find their way
To that brave new day

What an inspired masterpiece of songwriting and recording this song is, serene yet passionate, drifting yet insistent, spare yet detailed. This is a song like John Batdorf himself, a timeless classic that will be around inspiring people for a very long time! There is a wonderful video for this song, put together by a talented videographer named Ron Sarfaty, and I will include a link to it below, please watch it and listen to this amazing song, because the words elude me to describe it adequately!

I often get excited about new music and I'm known to go on and on about just about anything, but with this new John Batdorf CD "One Last Wish", its a whole different case. This incredible collection of humble pop songs has fully risen to and even exceeded my admittedly high expectations, has made me fondly remember my younger days and has me upbeat and optimistic about the future! That's a lot to get from a dozen songs, a sure sign of Important music and a sure sign that, as John sings in "Life Is Good", "Today life got a little better"!

Here's a link to John Batdorf's website:

http://johnbatdorfmusic.com/index.html

and a link to the "Revolution" video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFQKE370XPI&feature=share

A Community of Song - Palm Loft Gallery First Friday Songwriter's Circle Open Mic - Featuring Paull E. Rubin and Friends - March 4, 2011

Its funny how perspective changes with time! When I started this blog almost two years ago, it was from the perspective of a fan, but relative outsider to the realm of independent music. But with time and my presence at countless shows and the connections this blog has created in its own quiet way, all of a sudden, I find myself being somewhat of an insider. And while I admit, that may cost me a wee bit of objectivity, the payoff in access and insight is well worth that, not even mentioning the richness this adds to my life!

All of the above philosophizing is my convoluted way of introducing the theme of this weekend's entertainment - Community! While many enterprises cause people to develop a sense of community, it seems to me that this is especially so in the realm of independent music. And in the somewhat small and insular area of Santa Barbara County the community feel of the independent music scene is even more apparent. We got a glimpse of this spirit recently when we visited the Palm Loft Gallery in Carpenteria, CA for their First Friday Songwriter's Circle Open Mic Night, which on this occasion featured as headliner Paull E. Rubin and Friends.

This was our second visit to an Open Mic Night at the Palm Loft Gallery. We had visited the previous month, mostly to see the ever-delightful Rebecca Troon, a long-time favorite performer.  Sitting in with Rebecca that evening was a guitarist I had never heard before, one Paull E. Rubin, who played some really tasty guitar and Dobro with like no rehearsal, just winging it and sounding great. We really enjoyed that night, so when I heard that he would be headlining the following month, my calendar was instantly marked!

Like our last visit, we arrived at the Palm Loft Gallery, just up from the beach in Carpenteria, in time to enjoy a marvelous California beach sunset at the early, pre-daylight savings time of 6 pm and just in time for the start of the Open Mic. The Palm Loft Gallery is an art gallery that hosts these events either the first Friday or the Saturday after the first Friday. The format is an hour of open mic by sign up, an hour of the headliner, and then another hour of open mic.  There is a table of appetizer snacks and beverages that  are brought by visitors and the whole thing is FREE! Contributions are accepted to help the headliners defray travel costs.

The gallery and the event are run by a gentleman named Arturo, who is a songwriter himself and performs in the open mic portion. Arturo, as well as most of the other open mic performers and many of the headliners, are participants in a program called Summersongs West, a twice a year workshop for aspiring songwriters, with one camp on the west coast and another on the east coast. I have been hearing a lot of wonderful things about this program for many years and many favorite artists have been on staff there or been campers themselves.  It is very obviously a wonderfully supportive atmosphere for nurturing songwriting and it has a lot to do with sense of community of the independent songwriters up and down the Central Coast of California. One of these days, I'll get to attend myself! And though the performers during the open mic portion of the evening run the gamut from very professional sounding to fairly amateur, they all exhibit the spirit of Summersongs, the openness that comes from that sense of community and they are all warmly received by the audience.

From there we got to the heart of the evening, a set by guitarist/songwriter/vocalist Paull E. Rubin and Friends.  Paull will tell you himself, he really is mainly a band guy and not used to doing solo acoustic stuff, so he was thrilled by the last-minute arrival of his friend and musical compatriot, Marc Mann as well as drummer Ken "Snake" Farmer to help him out. With Marc on guitar and vocals and Paullie switching between guitar and Dobro and singing, with Snake on borrowed house drums and an occasional added background vocal by Lisa Bialec-Jehle,  it certainly was full "band" sound. Paullie and Marc traded songs,  each providing tasty counterpoint to the other's tune. Paull and Marc especially are long-time musical collaborators, playing together as the Bear Bros. and Marc produced and played on Paull's  new CD, Proof, which is a wonderful retro-yet-fresh-sounding album.  So the spirit of musical community  came through loud and clear in their set as well.

Unfortunately, other commitments made us leave after the headlining set and we couldn't stay for the final open mic portion, though as we left there was some discussion if anyone still wanted to perform after such an exhilarating set. But I did stick around long enough to buy us a copy of Paull's previously mentioned CD, "Proof" and get it signed. It was a very fun evening and we left feeling we were a part of a really special musical community!!

Here are links for the Palm Loft Gallery :

http://www.thesoulgroup.com/PalmLoftGallery/index.htm

and a Facebook page for their Songwriters Circle:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Palm-Loft-Songwriters-Circle/179322751447?ref=ts#!/pages/Palm-Loft-Songwriters-Circle/179322751447?sk=info

and a link for Paull E. Rubin:

http://www.rubinhood.com/

and a link for Summersongs:

http://summersongs.com/

Photo at top of page blatantly stolen from Paull E. Rubin's Facebook page!!!!!!

I'm Back

I can't believe its almost a year since I've posted!  A few of you have asked about it. I apologize that I haven't been able to keep things rolling, but I hope that, going forward, I can stay current.  I hope to be making some changes too, expanding my scope from just houseconcerts to live independent music in general.  And hopefully I will be going from this free blog site to a full-blown website where I can pontificate on other subjects as well and get exposure for some of my artistic pursuits and other interests. I will keep you all posted on these changes as they occur. Until then, I have some reviews to share with you!  Its good to be back, I hope you enjoy what's coming!!!!

BLAME SALLY - Houseconcert Review - Bodie Houseconcerts at the Thousand Oaks Library - May 1, 2010

 Memory can be a funny thing, especially at my age. We had seen the group Blame Sally a couple of times back a few years ago, once at a houseconcert and once at a festival. I do remember liking them and that I found their instrumentation interesting, but, other than a general positive feeling towards them, I remembered little else. And, in what I always call the ultimate review, we hadn't bought any of their CDs at either event. So when this concert was announced somewhat late, since we had nothing else planned, we decided to go see them again, but with somewhat muted expectations. And now I feel VERY lucky making that choice, because, as I have suggested, either my memory of them was very faulty or this band has gotten WAY better in the last few years or maybe there is a combination of both at work!

 We arrived at the Thousand Oak Library for this concert very early because we were worried about traffic, with Conejo Valley Days going on right across the street. But we had no trouble getting there, so we were some of the first inside. We settled into some front row seats in front of the percussion set up because we remembered that the band had a very interesting percussionist and, with Becky studying hand percussion, we wanted a good view of both technique and equipment. The room quickly filled up behind us, not a sell-out but a real nice large crowd especially considering the somewhat short notice that this show was happening.

 The traditional opening announcements and introductions were done by our hostess, Renee Bodie and Library Director Steve Brogden. The band then took the stage and launched into their first number, "I'm Waiting", a haunting dark tune with a rolling rhythm and some great electric guitar licks by Jeri Jones that were very reminiscent of the playing of Mark Knopfler, which is a HUGE compliment in my book! My thought when it was over was that many groups would use a song this great as an encore, a real good sign for the rest of the show! The second song was a total change of pace and feel. "Trouble" was a uptempo rockabilly workout that featured a kick-ass guitar solo by Jeri.

 A pause is in order here to introduce the band a bit. Blame Sally are a quartet of female singer/songwriter/musicians from the Bay Area of California who have been playing together for at least a decade. They all are great singers. The bulk of the songwriting is done by Renee Harcourt or Monica Pasqual. Renee plays a whole variety of guitars along with bass, harmonica, banjo, mandolin, lap steel and lord knows what else. Monica plays a variety of keyboards and accordion and probably a lot of other instruments. They both are VERY accomplished, prolific songwriters and both have done multiple solo albums while still members of the group. Percussionist/guitarist Pam Delgado also contributes some great songs though she's not as prolific as Monica or Renee. Their latest CD includes two of Pam's songs, the rest are by either Renee or Monica. The final member of the band, Jeri Jones, plays guitars, mandolin, bass, and dobro and is quite adept at providing the songs with the sonic ornamentation that fully fleshes out their themes and meanings. Pam and Jeri also play sometimes as a duo, called "The Pam and Jeri Show". On this night, as well as the previous times we've seen them, the ladies were augmented by rock-solid 5 string bassist Rob Strom, who has what I consider one of the best sideman jobs in the music business! I will have more to say about each of them as this review progresses. ( above picture left - right, Monica, Jeri, Renee, Rob and Pam ).

 The set continued with one of Renee's songs, the very poignant "All Rise",  which she told us was written during and about her cancer treatment which I'm glad to report was successful. Its a really beautiful and moving song about confronting your fears of the unknown. And then came a new one, "Bird In Hand", a song of love gone wrong that had Pam playing her djembe drum with brushes and Jeri's rhythmic guitar figure reminding me of "Ghost Riders in the Sky"!Once more the mood and pace were changed, with Monica taking a solo turn with just her piano and beautiful voice for "I Knew You When"  written for a loved one dealing with Multiple Sclerosis. Then Renee and Jeri took the stage as a duo with Renee on acoustic guitar and Jeri on mandolin doing Renee's song, "Carnival Ride" which she wrote as a love song to her friends and family on the occasion of her 50th birthday. It was a bouncy happy ditty which was perfect for its sentiment.

 The whole band retook the stage with Monica playing accordion for the next tune, another of Renee's and one of my favorites, "Jump Start". With its driving, insistent rhythm as the perfect background, it delivered a wonderful description of the obsessive passion of new love,
                                " I stood out in left field watching
                                  You snuck up on me like a wildfire
                                  Sparks and flames flashing and flying
                                  And I felt the light inside jumpstart"
Another powerfully moving song came next, Monica's "Night of 1000 Stars", the story of a soldier returning from war with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder that drives him to domestic violence. This song is the title track to Blame Sally's latest album and its beautiful vocal melodies ran counter to the otherworldly sounds of Jeri's bottleneck guitar creating a dreamlike atmosphere. It was just one more example of the stunning subtlety of Jeri's understated guitar playing and, as we gave them an ovation as they left for intermission, I couldn't help but marvel at how GREAT this band had become or how flawed my memory of them was!

 Intermission brought the usual sugar-rush snacks, some socializing with our hosts and other friends in the audience and of course a CD purchase and signing. Trying to economize in the face of an unpaid furlough at work, before the show I was determined not to spend the money, but this band was just too good to let the opportunity pass! I was very anxious to hear what else they had in store for us.

 The band returned to the stage and began the second set with the straight-ahead folk-rocker "Fillmore Street". This song again made great use of Jeri's bottleneck guitar work and also Renee's harmonica solo, while playing on the similar lyrical sounds of  "Fillmore" and "feel more". The next song was probably my favorite Blame Sally song and seems to be one of the band's "signature" tunes. With a jangly mandolin rhythm and Monica's bouncy accordion, Renee's song "Pass the Buddha" gave a humorous peek at the New Age and Eastern therapies that the world threw in her direction during her cancer treatments. "Please, pass the Buddha,  a hit of Mr. B, open eye number three"  is just part of one of the coolest lyrics I've heard in ages! This was one song I had remembered from hearing the band previously! After that came a slow love ballad, "Same Space" and then a stripped down, slowed down cover of Aretha's "Chain of Fools", with Pam delivering the soulful lead vocals.  Another cover headed in a more country direction, Emmy Lou Harris and Rodney Crowell's "Tulsa Queen".

 The night was headed into the home stretch but there were still some gems in store for us. Monica's "Pajaro Sin Allas" had the sound of a traditional latin folk song. Then came Pam's tour de force from the latest album, "Hurricane", a bluesy rave-up comparing a woman's rising passion to an impending storm. Another major crowd-pleaser, it featured Jeri's bottleneck National Steel guitar and a great accordion solo from Monica. Then came the show closer, "Dead Horse", a haunting bluesy ballad of the love-gone-wrong variety that sounded like it was written by Renee ( I haven't been able to verify this ). It used a great bottleneck solo by Jeri to help it build in intensity as the finale. And, of course, the crowd was wild as the ladies left the stage! We all wanted more, and of course we were rewarded with an encore.

The band came back and played the traditional Mexican folk song, "La Llorona", which sounded very different than the song we've heard Perla Batalla sing many times. But it was also  a great tune and we got a chance at one last great piano solo by Monica and I got to hear one last tasty guitar solo by Jeri, who impressed me all night with the talent and taste in her understated playing. It was a  really pleasing end to an exciting night of really great songs and musicianship and we were very glad to have been there to experience it!
So here's one last try at my question.  As I finally finish this review, I've had the benefit of a few weeks to ponder some of this. Had I really forgotten how great this band was? Had they really made great improvements in a few years? I'll probably never totally figure it out, but one thing seems relevant. Most of the songs we heard on this night were songs we had previously heard a few years earlier. Clearly their material has  been this good for a while! So while I allow that their playing of these songs may have improved some in the ensuing years, I personally think that I previously was just not in the right space to totally get them or had forgotten how GREAT they really were. And of course none of this really matters, the important thing is that I am now a huge Blame Sally fan and I hope you will soon be one, too!

Here's a link for Blame Sally :

http://blamesally.com/

and one for the Bodie Houseconcerts :

http://www.jrp-graphics.com/bodiehouse/index.html

Incendio - Russ and Julie's House Concerts -April 24, 2010

Being quite a fan of world music, I have seen many Latin guitar instrumental groups. I find I tend to either really like them a lot or  really dislike them a lot. Because I play guitar myself, I'm generally predisposed to enjoying these sorts of groups but I  have heard many that I find bland, unexciting and self-indulgent. I'd compare it to how I feel about most "Smooth Jazz", pleasant in the short-term, but with no edge, passion or real emotion being conveyed. The lack of vocals also can contribute to this coldness. There may be some excellent playing, but if there's no emotional connection, there's no point to it all. So when I heard that the group "Incendio"  was a replacement booking at Russ and Julie's House Concerts, and that they played "World Fusion Guitar", I wasn't sure what to think. But because Becky likes this kind of music even more than I do and because Russ and Julie's glowing recommendation is something I know I always can trust, I decided we should go check out "Incendio". What a good move!

So we arrived at the concert just as the doors opened, with our treats in hand for the potluck appetizer/dessert table as always. The room was already almost full but we found a couple of pretty good seats, greeted our hosts and nibbled a bit. The crowd seemed to skew even older than usual, hardly anyone looked under 40. "Incendio" took the stage. I later found out that the band sometimes plays with a drummer and a percussionist, but in this intimate setting they consisted of the core trio, acoustic guitarists Jim Stubblefield and JP Durand and 5 string electric bassist Liza Carbe, who also played classical acoustic guitar on several songs. As the band launched into its first number a couple of things were immediately apparent. These guys could really play and their sound was anything but stereotypical Latin guitar noodling. And, while the other players were excellent, JP Durand seemed to be the "straw that stirs the drink", so to speak.

The opening numbers were inspired by visits to Barcelona and Edinborough. The Barcelona song, whose name I never heard, was Latin-sounding as you might expect but featured a guitar solo by JP where his guitar sounded just like a piano. Now that by itself is hardly noteworthy, these days junior high kids can afford the gizmos that make this possible. But never have I heard a guitar player adjust his technique to the extent that the attack and decay, and the voicings all sounded like a piano would. Its hard for me to convey just how difficult what he did was! The Edinborough inspired song, "St. Margaret's Tears", was more Celtic in flavor and the next tune, "Illumination", written by Jim, was Middle Eastern sounding and had a solo by JP that this time recreated the sound of an organ.

The set continued with Liza putting down her bass and playing a classical acoustic guitar on a couple of numbers. First a Peruvian waltz, whose different meter was a change of pace and then "Lightdancer", a bouncy, jazzy song. From there we were treated to a very classical medieval sounding piece that was very contrapuntal and whose name I missed. The band closed the set with a Venezuelan inspired "Malaga Sunset" which was quiet and very pretty and then "Rhythm of the Heart" which reminded me of the California Guitar Trio, a favorite act of ours and a wonderful band to be compared to.

Well here we were at intermission, and we had already "travelled the world" while sitting in Russ and Julie's living room! And intermission at Russ and Julie's means eating as much chocolate as our consciences would allow and mingling with some very friendly people. It can be almost as much fun as the music and we made the most of it!

The second set began with another light bouncy tune, "Rambla Pacifica", which featured some very syncopated riffs. The next tune,a tango whose name I also never caught, featured an "accordion" sound on JP's first solo, an impressive bass solo by Lisa, and then another "piano" sounding solo that was very tasty. Lisa again made the switch from bass to classical acoustic guitar for the next tune, another slow beautiful waltz called "Haunted".

The night was beginning to wind down but we still had some musical "traveling" in store for us, first "One Night in Monaco" for more of the European taste followed by the classical-sounding "Espiritu". Lisa then moved back to bass for the closing "Temple of the Sun", a samba that featured an excellent jazzy "piano" sounding solo from JP and the only sound effect that I thought didn't really work well, a "steel drum" sound that was a little bit hokey-sounding. But that was only a minor "bump in the road" in a night of amazing guitar work with a real variety of sound and flavors from around the world. The crowd loved it all, responding with a standing ovation. And I ended up going home that night VERY glad I had chosen to see "Incendio" and chalked up another great success to Russ and Julie. These folks never let us down!

Here's a link for "Incendio":

http://www.incendioband.com/

Earthmother's Day - Perla Batalla - Grand Annex, San Pedro,CA - May 8, 2010

 So at the risk of being branded the aging hippie that I actually am, I am declaring a new holiday! The day before Mother's Day every year will hereby be known as Earthmother's Day! To find out why just keep reading.

Last night we had the real pleasure of seeing one of our most favorite performers, Perla Batalla, and her band, at the Grand Annex, adjacent to the Warner Grand Theatre in San Pedro, CA. Well it wasn't a houseconcert, but it was in a houseconcert-sized venue, cost a houseconcert-type price and really was very much like a houseconcert in intimate atmosphere, so I felt I could include a review on my blog without really changing my focus. I have been waiting a long time for a chance to include Perla with the acts I have reviewed here, so I will jump at the chance!

 We had planned weeks ago to drive to Culver City to see some other favorite performers, John Batdorf and James Lee Stanley performing together on this night. But when Perla's  show was announced a couple of weeks ago (or at least when I heard about it), we decided to change plans. This was no slight to John, who we get to see quite often, or James, who we at least see regularly, but we don't get that many chances to see Perla live. And I am still trying to get over the fact that she had to cancel her UCLA Valentine's show while recovering from a bout of pneumonia from which, I'm happy to say, she has made a complete recovery.  We had second row center seats to that show that never happened! I figured a Perla show would be a perfect Mother's Day gift for Becky. So we decided the drive of at least an hour and half each way to San Pedro and back and the change in plans were minor obstacles at most. And because the show was only $15 per ticket if bought in advance, it was doable financially in these tough times. And, because those very reasonable tickets were for general admission seating, I made sure we were there nice and early to get good seats in a venue I had never been to before. And wouldn't you know it, we snagged seats in the second row, right in the center! Funny watching karma in action, especially if its your own good karma!

A quick word about the venue. The Grand Annex is a storefront several doors down from the Warner Grand Theatre which I gather is an old movie palace theatre in downtown San Pedro that has an on-going restoration in process. I have never been inside that theatre. This concert was part of the Annex's Latin music series which is done as fund-raising for the foundation that is making the restoration happen. The Annex space is pretty small and unassuming, with a riser-type stage, adequately large, but not roomy, and about 70 to 80 folding chairs arranged in rows in front for the audience. The seats were arranged tightly and were uncomfortable at first but there was plenty of space in the room to spread them a bit and with time that's what everyone did. The lights and the sound system appeared to me to be what I'd call semi-pro, but experience told me Perla would soon make them irrelevant anyways. The room soon filled to at least near-capacity and there was an air of expectation in the crowd. Perla fans tend to be very loyal and I'm sure the room contained few if any casual or first-time fans.

After the perfunctory opening announcements and introduction, Perla and her band took the stage. We were thrilled to see she had the rhythm section we have seen with her most, who have played with her, off and on for many years. This excellent band consisted of drummer/percussionist/vocalist Debra Dobkin, bassist Mike Velasquez and pianist/vocalist Karen Hammack.  I will have  more to say about all of these great musicians later! The first tune began with Debra playing a near-military roll with brushes on her snare and then Perla's gorgeous a capella voice launching into the very spiritual Leonard Cohen anthem, "If It Be Your Will".  For those who are unfamiliar with Perla, she toured as a backup singer with the legendary poet/songwriter/singer for many years and has recorded a CD of her interpretations of his songs. She has an obvious special connection to the man and his songs and I always find them extremely inspirational.  And this night would be no exception!  For many singers this song and its rendition would be material  for a climatic encore, but Perla was just using it to get warm!

Up next was the infectious bouncy rhythm of "Moliendo Cafe" whose Spanish lyrics are about "grinding coffee", which I've always taken as a double entendre but with my feeble Spanish skills, I may be mistaken. Nevertheless, its a great tune that this band really has a feel for and Karen's piano chops, always outstanding, kept it swinging. At this point the band was joined by Claud Mann on congas, who not only is a great musician and a fellow chef, but happens to be Perla's husband of many years. He often augments the band, particularly on the more rhythmic Latin numbers and the next song, "Mas y Mas", certainly fell into that category, with the band sizzling once more.

After that was a change of pace song, beginning with Perla telling us about "La Llarona", the Mexican version of The Bogeyman, used to scare young children into obedience. Perla's haunting vocals emphasized her interpretation of the legend as more of a mystical/spiritual story than a horror story, with her singing "the meek... will reach for the stars and inherit the earth". A very interesting percussive arrangement had Claud playing congas, Perla tapping a rhythm on a musical gourd, and Debra, having covered her share with an "outboard" conga type head, playing her drum kit with her hands!

The standard introduction to the next song always makes me smile, no matter how many times I've heard it. It was particularly meaningful on this Mother's Day Eve. Perla says that we all think our children are the most special things on earth....... but hers really is. Before you write that off as hyperbole, I happen to know she's right! I've had occasion to meet her daughter Eva several times as she's grown up and I've always been quite impressed with her ability to converse with adults she's just met. She's obviously mature beyond her years and I hear she's quite a student.  This led into one of my favorite Perla songs, written with guitarist David Batteau, called "Holy Roses", a musical tribute to Perla's pregnancy and Eva's birth and early childhood. It is quite poingnant lyrically and beautiful musically. It's obviously a special song for Perla and her vocal delivery was soulful and full of personality, a signature song and performance!

Our next treat was Perla's special surprise guest, jazz vocalist Melanie Jackson. In one of the most generous and courageous acts a singer could make, Perla left the stage and turned it and her band over to her friend Melanie, who was obviously touched by the gesture. Melanie did a stunning jazz take on "Somewhere Over The Rainbow", taking a somewhat tired standard and turning it back into the transcendant number it must have once originally been. Karen played a great jazzy solo on piano and by the final verse Melanie had left the original melody so far behind that the song had a whole different feel. Not many singers on this earth  other than Perla would have the self-confidence and generosity to leave the stage in the middle of her act and let a vocalist of such considerable talent take over!

And then came a song which featured an impressive solo introduction on bass by Mike Velasquez. He displayed great technique in a style called "popping", using the right or "plucking" hand to rhythmically strike the strings percussively while fingering notes with the left, a common technique of funk and soul bassists. He then switched to a "tapping" technique I have never seen a bassist use. He used his right or plucking hand to instead finger frets in a tapping motion making them sound while tapping and sounding with his left hand also.  Its something many six string electric and acoustic guitarists have been using in the past decade or so but he is the first I've seen use it on a bass. These "tricks" created a very inventive rhythmic intro to "El Cascabel", a song with a haunting rhythm and a fun audience participation singalong ending.

Another signature tune for Perla came next, the oft-requested traditional Mexican tear-inducer "Cucurrucucu Paloma". This was a perfect example of  Perla's amazing talent and her ability to make a song her own.  As sung by many, this song can be the type of over-the-top sentimental fluff that would make me cringe, but Perla has an uncanny ability to get "inside" a song emotionally and then convey that to the audience. It always feels "real", never like an actress playing a role. Its difficult to figure out how exactly she does this, much less describe it, but there is definitely magic at work!

I could call each of the remaining songs "one of my favorites" because I guess I have a lot of them! The show "closer" was "Gracias a la Vida", a song made popular by Mercedes Sosa, but rapidly its becoming owned by Perla.  This song features the band at its best, Mike's driving bass line popping with Debra's percussion to create the foundation, Karen's syncopated chords and fills giving it shape and substance and of course Perla's vocals making it soar! Its a totally joyous song of thanks and the band obviously has a blast playing it and the audience gave their own thanks by joyously demanding an encore. And they were rewarded with a pair of Leonard Cohen classics. First was by request, "Dance Me to the End of Love" a beautiful love song that begins soft and with a tango-like rhythm and builds into an almost klezmer Eastern European-sounding singalong. Perla has written a beautiful, poetic Spanish translation that she traded-off with the English verses increasing the exotic flavors of this great song.Then came the spiritual plea for redemption, "Bird On The Wire", one of the most loved songs from the Cohen canon as well as one of the most covered.  It was another great example of Perla inhabitting a song fully and extracting every last emotional nuance from it. The night concluded with Perla and Melanie leading the audience on a singalong of the classic "Guantanamera". A thoroughly delightful ending to great evening of world-class music!

So this wonderful night left me remaining with one question nagging at me. What is it that makes Perla such a great singer? Well sure, she hits all the notes with great range and power, but to me that's expected from a professional singer. Her talent runs much deeper than that but its difficult to pin down the particulars. As I've mentioned previously, I have never encountered another singer who is so able to totally get inside of a song emotionally and convey that to an audience. Part of that is choice of material, she has a great wealth of originals and covers that are obviously very dear to her, many of which she has been doing for years. But the most amazing ability she has as a performer is how open she is with an audience, how much of herself she shares with a roomful of relative strangers, including her personal and family life. There is an integrity and realness that is very very rare in performers and this totally comes through to an audience. Many performers can make you leave their show in a better mood than when you came in. Perla makes you feel like  you leave as a better person! And that incredible ability is the best definition of an Earthmother I could ever come up with. Happy Earthmother's Day everyone!

Here's a link to Perla's website:

http://www.perla.com/