March 10th, 2008 - 12:08 pm

I've got some new performances coming up, starting tonight:

Monday, March 10th:
Silo @ Central Perk - 7:30-ish
10086 San Pablo Ave, El Cerrito, CA  94530 (corner of Central & San Pablo) (631) 553-3841 http://www.centralperkcoffee.net/.
Dane Miller and I return to my local haunt, Central Perk Cafe. This is a great room for acoustic music, as well as a good informal setting to explore new material in the traditional folk vein. My favorite sport is heckling the laptop users until they either crack up or cry...Come on down, get a beverage, and see whether I remember any jokes. No cover!

Friday, March 14th, 7 - 9 pm: Axis of Blues acoustic duo @ Eclectix.
Eclectix presents In The Gallery: "Altarations": Art Altars, Boxes & Related Images. Eclectix is located at 7523 Fairmount Avenue.El Cerrito, CA 94530. Eclectix is a marvelous store, full of toys, delights and art for adults and possibly even children. If your tastes runs towards Boxing Nun puppets, kitschy album covers and fantastic art from local artists, go directly to Eclectix!. Or at least drop by this Friday night, when Robert HIll and I will hold forth acoustically in the mezzanine. Wine, cheeze, and witty conversation will abound, I assure you. No cover!

February 22nd, 2008 - 11:40am
Happy Birthday Mnoopie!

Thursday, March 6^th: Axis of Blues @ Central Perk - 7:30 or so10086 San Pablo Ave, El Cerrito, CA  94530 (corner of Central & San Pablo) (631) 553-3841 http://www.centralperkcoffee.net/.
Remember the Cavern Club, back in Liverpool, where The Beatles started out? It was a tiny little place, below street level, and as you came down the stairs you’d pass by the left side of the stage. Well, Central Perk is nothing like that, not at all. It’s a remarkably clean, large place with a cathedral ceiling, filled to the gills with vintage pop artifacts where you can get coffee, drinks and food…you really have to see it. But one thing it does have in common with the Cavern Club is that you can catch a major act there before they’re big. That act would be Axis of Blues, now having expanded to a 4-piece, including the redoubtable Scott Irwin on Drums and Vocals and the squirrelerrific Kristoph Klover on Electric Guitar and Vocals, as well as founders Robert Hill (guitar, vocals) and Mark Ungar (bass, vocals). We’ll be doing some of the Blues and R&B that we love (Baby Don’t You Do It, Ain’t Got You, Your Cash Ain’t Nothin’ But Trash), as well as some Originals (Love On The Rocks, Cry Now Baby) and some Folk and Miscellanea from the Wayback Machine.  

The Origins of Axis of Blues
Once upon a time, a tidal wave of rock and blues rolled across the Atlantic, breaking upon England, then rolling back, amplified, to engulf America and ultimately change music forever. Four young lads, irrevocably changed by this experience, made a pilgrimage to the seedy part of town to seek out local blues guru “Smelly” Jim Fnortner. “Tell us how to rock,” they begged – “Show us the path of soul!” Smelly Jim took a drag on his cigarette and looked reflective, his weary bloodshot eyes showing the toll of a lifetime of hard living. “Boys,” he began, “here’zh da shecrit…you gots to jus’ nah-ha-ha-huh-hugh-hack-hack-harrgh, huh, huh, know what I mean?” Spitting the results of his mid-sentence hacking fit into a tin can, he peered rheumily at the boys, who agreed they knew what he meant, though really having no idea at all.

Flash forward 40 years. In the dead of night (3:30, maybe 4 am), each of our lads, now grown up,  simultaneously wake from a dream in which Smelly Jim’s words are suddenly intelligible. Jim had said: “Ya gots to just keep on doin’ it. After a while it starts to sink in, ya know what I mean?” And they realized that they did know what he had meant long ago, because they had just kept at it, and by god, it had started to sink in! Reaching for their instruments, they raised them aloft and vowed to just keep on playing!

You can catch Axis of Blues, just keepin’ on doin’ it at Central Perk, Thursday, March 6^th.

Monday, March 10th: Silo @ Central Perk - 7:30-ish
10086 San Pablo Ave, El Cerrito, CA  94530 (corner of Central & San Pablo) (631) 553-3841 http://www.centralperkcoffee.net/.
The Silo – time was, almost every farm had one, not to mention the huge ones at the grain depot down by the railroad tracks. Used to store grain and feed, these mute monoliths are slowly fading from our once-agrarian landscape as the family farm becomes a relic of the past. Musically, Silo celebrates and conserves our rural musical heritage, breathing fresh vitality into traditional folk tunes from America, Ireland and Scotland.  

Silo was born in the summer of 2007 when grizzled veteran of the local Celtic scene Mark Ungar (acoustic and 12-string guitars, mandocello, vocal and upright bass) teamed up with Nebraskan Dane Miller, a young fiddle virtuoso with a extensive knowledge of Old-Time, Appalachian and Bluegrass source material. Together, they’ve begun to explore a compelling repertoire that ranges from irresistible foot-tappers to haunting ballads. 

Recently, they’ve added Marin native Brian Lamoreaux (banjo, guitar, and vocals), from the locally notorious duo Wagon. They hope to glean further personnel from other bands named after one-word, farm-related items. Calling all members of Plow…?

You can catch Silo on Monday, March 10^th, at Central Perk.

Saturday, March 15th, 9:30pm: Avalon Rising @ Schelly's Bar
15001 Farnsworth St., San Leandro, CA 94579 (510) 351-1222 This is our big St. Paddy’s Day Weekend Party, so get green and be seen!

Monday, March 17^th - 5:30 – 7:30 pm:
St. Paddy’s Day! Homeland Security Alert Level Emerald!!
Silo @ AJ’s Sports Pub & Grill
4633 Clayton Road, Concord, CA 94521 - 925-459-0574 http://www.ajsportspub.com/
At the site of the former Mr. Pickwick’s. Now featuring Peruvian food!

Saturday, March 22^nd, 2 pm or so:
Avalon Rising @ The San Francisco Celtic Festival
Oakland Veteran's Hall, 200 Grand Avenue, Oakland, CA (650) 326-6265 http://www.pway.com/SanFranciscoCelticFestival/index.html  

Thursday, March 27^th, half-past-7-ish: Axis of Blues @ Central Perk 10086 San Pablo Ave, El Cerrito, CA  94530 (corner of Central & San Pablo) (631) 553-3841 http://www.centralperkcoffee.net/.

To read more ramblings and rants, visit the Archives Page.