NEWS FEATURES - Nov 27 edition, Acoustic Americana Music News, 2008

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"Tied to the Tracks"
ACOUSTIC AMERICANA
MUSIC NEWS
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NEWS FEATURES edition for November 27, 2008
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copyright (c) © 2008, Larry Wines. All rights reserved.
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WELCOME to the ACOUSTIC AMERICANA MUSIC NEWS, our weekly news feature companion to the ACOUSTIC AMERICANA MUSIC GUIDE (formerly called the calendar). Here, you’ll find news for artists and music fans alike, ranging from the immediately useful to the merely informative, from gig opportunities and festival deadlines to early bird discounts, from venue openings and closings to career tips, and hot tips for acoustic music fans.
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The Acoustic Americana Music Guide (formerly called the calendar) with frequently updated posts of upcoming events well into 2009, is available at http://acousticamericana.blogspot.com and various other places around the web. We post links for current editions on our Myspace page, but new editions of the calendar are no longer there. Myspace has made changes that limit the size of posts, and that makes it far too time-consuming and ponderous to post the calendar there in far too many small pieces.
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Our myspace site, www.myspace.com/laacoustic is still the place to go for news of the syndicated “Tied to the Tracks” radio show, and its new TV counterpart that launches soon.
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LATEST NEWS FEATURES always post separate from the Acoustic Americana Music Guide (formerly called the calendar).
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MOST RECENT previous News Features posted NOVEMBER 19, at
http://acousticamericana.blogspot.com/2008/11/news-features-nov-19-edition-acoustic.html
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Recent weeks and months’ editions are available on Blogspot at http://acousticamericana.blogspot.com; older archived editions are available on the myspace page (www.myspace.com/laacoustic), by using the “View All” button and scrolling, and if you don’t see what you want, then journey farther back by using the “older entries” button and scrolling, as many times as necessary. You can go all the way back to when acoustic music was made by trees crashing to the floor of the primeval forests when the dinosaurs got too rambunctious.
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COMMUNICATE WITH US about anything related to the Acoustic Music Guide & News, or “Tied to the Tracks,” at tiedtothetracks@hotmail.com.
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Please don’t send us anything through myspace email. It’s esoteric, can’t be auto-forwarded into a “real” email account, and we just can’t keep up with it. So, communicate through the above address.
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NEWS FEATURES:
November 27, 2008
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*** IF YOU’D LIKE TO RECEIVE A NOTICE when we update the Acoustic Americana Music Guide, and when we post fresh NEWS FEATURES, send your email address to tiedtothetracks@hotmail.com - don’t worry, we won’t sell or distribute your address.
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1) THANKSGIVING MORNING RADIO BROADCAST IS A “MUST-HEAR”
Thursday, Nov 27 – Thanksgiving morning – brings the first event the Acoustic Americana Music Guide has recommended as a “Show of the Week” pick that isn’t a show you can go see, performed live. So we think it’s quite significant.
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From 9 am-noon, “THE HISTORY OF McCABE’S GUITAR SHOP” is celebrated on KCRW 89.9 FM in Los Angeles, simulcast at www.kcrw.com. The 3-hour show includes lots of music and interviews. News of this has traveled organically, since that station has not broadcast folk or acoustic renaissance music in years. Rex & Nick, from the Caltech Folk Music Society, observe, “McCabe's has long kept live acoustic music alive in the L.A. area and was an inspiration to Brian Toby when he started the Caltech Folk Music Society.” They add, “Thanks to Roger, our former sound man, for the tip on this program.”
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THIS could make a HUGE difference for the future of L.A. radio. If you listen, and then email KCRW with your accolades for the program, you can encourage them to do more. You may not know that their longtime Music Director, Nic Harcourt (the sole hand who’s been hand-picking the station’s “hand-picked” music) was just replaced. The multitudes of us who have long found KCRW’s music programs unlistenable may have an opening here. So create a trail of your approval for the “McCabe’s special,” and encourage the station to broadcast more programming with acoustic Americana / acoustic folk music!
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You’ll be stunned at all the info, the scrolling timeline, and links to folk-Americana / acoustic Americana artists and their music on the station’s own page, at www.kcrw.com/music/mccabes-at-50 especially since they’re all artists who haven’t been heard on KCRW in years, if ever. Check-out the link for the info, the joy of seeing it there, AND to post a comment on the page’s dedicated blog.
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2) THIS WEEK’S VIDEO: “PLAYING FOR CHANGE: PEACE THROUGH MUSIC”
We usually put our music video picks near the end of each edition. Not this time. This one is remarkable, and memorable, and you’ll share it all over the planet. It epitomizes the transformative power of music. The link is for a segment from the PBS series, “Bill Moyers Journal.” You’ll see the segment from the show’s October 24 edition in which Moyers interviews MARK JOHNSON, the filmmaker and co-director of the remarkable documentary, “PLAYING FOR CHANGE: PEACE THROUGH MUSIC.” Johnson is a Grammy award-winning producer and engineer and a film director who has worked with some of the most renowned musicians and producers in the field.
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When this was posted on the FolkWorks magazine web group, editor LEDA SHAPIRO wrote, “Don't ignore this video and don't stop in mid-stream. The opening sermon by Bill Moyers is fine, but once you get to the music part and interview, it's eye opening (or ear opening).”
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Someone else posted the old axiom, “Since the beginning of humankind, the hours between the coming of night and the coming of sleep belong to the tellers of tales and the makers of music.”
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We think it’s so perfect for Thanksgiving that we couldn’t have gone looking and done any better with anything else. This speaks to the heart of everyone who understands the power of music to transform, to foster instant comprehension and understanding without equivocation or negotiation or intimidation or any need to maneuver or posture for power or control or anything but the sense of unity in spirit that music can enable.
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If you don’t have tears of joy streaming down your face when you hear and watch a single, unifying piece of music performed by many artists through seamless clips from around the world, as close as Santa Monica, as far as anyplace distant you know, then we will be surprised. There are street musicians who play for the most elemental kind of change, and some far more prominent others, playing for profound change, and all of them singing “Stand By Me” as you’ve never heard it. Even if you sing that song as part of your own show, trust us, you’ve never really heard it until now.
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Following Moyers’ compelling conversation with Johnson, you’ll get another song, and we won’t spoil the surprise by telling you what that is. Of course, the entire film has a lot more music, and you can explore the site (www.playingforchange.org) built to spread the word about it, and about the developing string of little, internet-connected music schools being built because of it, around the world.
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But first, watch Moyers and Johnson and all those artistically perfect edited parts that magnify the power of the music, at www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/10242008/watch3.html
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Happy Thanksgiving.
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3) HOLIDAY EVENT BRINGS FREE MUSIC SEMINAR & FREE CONSULTATIONS
On Sat, Dec 6, from 9 am-5 pm, you can attend a FREE MUSIC SEMINAR with panels, performances, one-on-one consultations, and holiday gift shopping, at the annual “LAWIM HOLIDAY GIFT BAZAAR, BOUTIQUE SALE, & SEMINARS EVENT.” It’s sponsored by Los Angeles WoMen in Music as a LAWIM fundraiser (from the merchandise sales), at Professional Musicians Local 47, 817 Vine St (S of Willoughby Av), Hollywood 90038; www.promusic47.org/contact.htm; 323-462-2161.
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It’s a full-plate day of music workshops and panels with major industry presenters (coordinated by Just Plain Folks, www.justplainfolks.org), holiday gift shopping, networking, and raffles of prizes from the vendors, including the grand prize, a Daisy Rock Guitar. Over 60 vendors, including jewelry, books, baby clothing, scarves, art, music services, skincare, musical instruments, CDs, dolls, health services (yoga, meditation, aromatherapy), chimes, handcrafts, and more. Bring the kids and have their picture taken with Santa.
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Musicians should note the panel, “PLACING SONGS ON RADIO,” moderated by BERNARD BAUR (Music Connection magazine), with panel members ERIC J. LAWRENCE (KCRW Music Librarian), JOHN FLANAGAN (Radio Promotions), and LARRY WINES (Tied to the Tracks Radio), from 10:30-11:45 am.
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Event includes “Pitch-A-Song”™ critique of your recorded song by a professional panel, from 6-8 pm, only $15 to get that critique. More info, and downloadable submission / entry forms at www.lawim.com. A portion of all event proceeds benefits the local music community. Event includes raffles and prizes to benefit LAWIM and the Local 47 Relief Fund. Admission is FREE.
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4) NO WESTERN GRAMMY, BUT TUMBLING TUMBLEWEEDS LASSO TRIFECTA
Wasn’t so long ago that the TUMBLING TUMBLEWEEDS, a Southern Cal-based western harmony quartet, was playing their first real gig at the Coffee Gallery Backstage in Altadena, with fine vocal harmonies, one guitar, and an uncanny channeling of the Sons of the Pioneers from an era long gone. Then came world-premiere tracks heard on radio’s “Tied to the Tracks” from the group’s yet-to be-released CD. Finally came the CD itself, and a stampede of nominations for the biggest awards in Western music.
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This summer in Texas, the group won the 2008 Academy of Western Artists “Western Music Duo/Group of the Year” Award. Last Saturday in Albuquerque, they won the 2008 Western Music Association “Crescendo Award,” for “Most Promising Talent.”
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NARAS still hasn’t seen fit to have even a single GRAMMY for Western music – not even one that would amalgamate the very different genres of traditional cowboy, modern western singer-songwriter, traditional and contemporary western band, and western swing – say, one patterned-after the new GRAMMY that amalgamates Cajun and zydeco all lumped-together. So, that leaves it to the AWA and the WMA to separately and collectively determine the best music from the best talent each year. Needless to say, the two entities operate independent of one another, so winning major awards from both AWA and WMA is a very big deal.
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The band is singing “Tumbleweeds” ROB WOLFSKILL, CADE PARENTI, CHRIS ACUFF (yes THAT family of Acuff’s, but distant), and fellow singer and the group’s only guitar player, R.J. MILLS, all usually joined by fiddler JEAN SUDBURY and upright bass player DAN DUNGAN. They just wrote to tell us, “It was an unforgettably exciting night as we sat during the awards show, awaiting the results, and we were so glad that all of us Tumbleweeds were able to be there together to accept the award!
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“The show itself was a star-studded event with many of Western Music's most luminous stars, and we were so deeply honored to have been presented the award by none other than Miss Juni Fisher herself! It was an evening packed with incredible performances by folks like Dave Stamey, The Texas Trailhands, R.W. Hampton, Joyce Woodson, Juni Fisher & Patty Clayton and a trio consisting of Judy Coder, Audrey McLaughlin and the legendary Marilyn Tuttle!”
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Did we say, a trifecta for them?
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They continue, “We were… named ‘Best of Show’ in the Harmony Contest in which we were presented the 2008 ‘Marilyn Tuttle Harmony Award of the Year!’ Marilyn has been a firm guiding force for us, so to receive an award that bears her name is an honor we will always cherish!”
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Marilyn is the widow of the late Wesley Tuttle, a western music icon.
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Awards are forever. There’s another distinction that’s theirs right now, for an unknown duration. They are currently #1 in “The Western Way” magazine’s Top 10 Cowboy / Western CD chart.
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More on the group and their CD at www.thetumblingtumbleweeds.com and www.myspace.com/tumbleweeds4 and www.cdbaby.com/tumblingtumbleweeds
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5) PEACE THRU MUSIC, DENISE VASQUEZ, DAISY ROCK TEAM FOR BENEFIT
On Dec 5 at 1:30 pm, the winner of an essay contest for students sponsored by “PEACE THRU MUSIC” (www.myspace.com/peacethrumusicorg) will be revealed at Portola Elementary School, 6700 Eagle St, in Ventura 93003. Singer-songwriter DENISE VASQUEZ will present the winner with a new "Butterfly Fantasy" guitar, donated by Daisy Rock Guitars. There will be performances by musicians DENISE VASQUEZ & RANDY MARTINEZ, who both attended Portola, TONY BARNES, and others.
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Denise is founder of “WO+MEN 4 A CAUSE” (www.myspace.com/women4acause) and she has, for years, worked to make a difference utilizing her music, art and spirit. For her, this is all about helping to make a difference in a child’s life.
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“Peace Thru Music” is a nonprofit, dedicated to enriching the lives of children by providing access to music educations, music appreciation and musical instruments. As Denise says, “In many schools and communities, the teaching of music has been deemed a luxury which they cannot afford. Peace Thru Music partners with school districts, communities and other nonprofits to identify their needs. They provide the children in these programs with musical instruments and music education.”
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More on Denise Vasquez at www.denisevasquez.com. To learn about the event, contact Tony Barnes of “PEACE THRU MUSIC” at tonybarnesmusic@yahoo.com.
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6) SINGER-SONGWRITER ODYSSEY TO BE A DOCUMENTARY FILM
Never Die Records of Bowie, Texas (www.neverdierecords.com), has just announced that “NEVER DIE - THE DEAN STRICKLAND STORY” will begin filming in January, 2009 on South Padre Island, Texas. The film is a project by award winning film director and writer, DEAN J. AUGUSTIN. It’s a pair of Deans in this project.
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Musician DEAN STRICKLAND (www.deanstrickland.com) has been hitchhiking from gig to gig in Texas, Arkansas, Tennessee, and California for more than three years. He has written twenty songs from his experiences while hitchhiking, and thirteen of them comprise his album, "Hitchhiking Guitarman."
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Strickland performed some of his originals on radio’s “Tied to the Tracks,” after characteristically hitchhiking to L.A. from Texas with his guitar case and backpack.
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Filmmaker Dean J. Augustin is an award-winning Texas-based writer and director. After winning the American Cinema Foundation Screenwriting Contest, Dean started “The Good Fight - Digital Motion Pictures” (www.mygoodfight.com) to create and promote his unique method of filmmaking. His first film, “The Secret Journal of Benny Travis,” won a Platinum Remi Award at WorldFest in Houston. Augustin’s second film, “The Enemy,” won the prestigious Golden Lion Award for Best Documentary at the 2004 UNA George Lindsey Film Festival.
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We’ll keep you posted on the project, and whether Dean Strickland hitchhikes to the film’s premiere…
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7) DEADLINE AGAIN EXTENDED FOR “INT’L SONGWRITING COMPETITION”
Back in October, we reported that the 2008 International Songwriting Competition (ISC) had extended its deadline for entries through Nov 30, 2008.
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Now, they’ve extended it again, but only slightly. It’s now Dec 1, at 11:59 pm EST. Here’s some of what we reported about it previously:
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This is a well-known annual songwriting arena, which the NY Times has called "the competition to take note of." It offers $150,000 in prizes, including $25,000 cash for the grand prize winner. It boasts “the best judges for any songwriting competition in the world.”
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This year's judges include both prominent recording artists and music industry execs. Among them are Rob Thomas (Matchbox 20); Chaka Khan; Tom Waits; KT Tunstall; Robert Smith (The Cure); Loretta Lynn; Neil Finn (Crowded House); Jon Secada; Ricky Martin; Buckcherry; T-Pain; James Cotton; Jerry Lee Lewis; Craig Morgan; Ray Davies (The Kinks); Darryl McDaniels (Run DMC); Michael W. Smith; Chris Hillman (The Byrds); John Scofield; Mario; Black Francis (The Pixies); Natalie Grant; Matt Thiessen (Relient K); Pitbull; Sandra Bernhard; David Brenner; Jeremy Camp; Angelique Kidjo ; McCoy Tyner; Youssou N'Dour; John Mayall; DJ Tiësto; "Weird Al" Yankovic; and Paul Van Dyk.
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Judges from the music industry are Monte Lipman (President, Universal Records); Nick Burgess (Head of A&R, Virgin Records UK); Renee Bell (Executive VP A&R, SONY BMG Nashville); Rick Krim (Executive VP Talant and Music Programming VH1); Angel Carrasco (Sr. VP of A&R, Latin America Sony BMG and President, Discos 605); Cameron Strang (President, New West Records); Amy Doyle (Sr. VP of Music and Talent, MTV); Kim Buie (VP of A&R, Lost Highway); Jon Pikus (Director of A&R, MySpace Records); Mitchell Cohen (VP of A&R, Verve Music Group); Bruce Iglauer (Founder/President, Alligator Records); Dan Storper (President, Putumayo World Music); Peter Strickland (Senior VP, Jack Records/Warner Bros.); Steve Lillywhite (Producer - credits include U2, The Rolling Stones, Morrissey, Peter Gabriel, and more); Douglas C. Cohn (Sr. VP, Music Marketing & Talent, Nickelodeon); Cory Robbins (Founder/President, Robbins Entertainment); Betty Pino (DJ, WAMR Miami); Paul Majors (CEO/Founder Majors Music); Leib Ostrow (CEO, Music for Little People); and Dr. Demento (Radio Host of The Dr. Demento Show).
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Info on ISC and contest entry rules are at www.songwritingcompetition.com
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8) HOLIDAY SHOWS: IT’S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE YOU-KNOW-WHAT…
At least we didn’t start talking about CHRISTMAS SHOWS right after the Halloween decorations came down. But it is time to think about getting tix before they’re sold-out.
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The Acoustic Americana Music Guide is chockfull of holiday concerts and events, but, as seasonal things tend to be, they’re scattered all over December. So, we decided to prepare what we expected would be a catalog of all those shows.
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Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time. Turns out there are so many events that if we wanted to say anything at all about ‘em, it was way too much to fit here. So use this as a quick and handy reference to guide you to the detailed write-ups for each event, over in the Acoustic Americana Music Guide. Call it a road map, and start your engines.
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Here are the barest of bare-bone factoids, extracted from the Guide:
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Sat, Dec 6 in Santa Clarita (Hart Park), daytime:
“HERITAGE JUNCTION CHILDRENS CHRISTMAS KICK OFF” with JOHN BERGSTROM and others.
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Fri, Dec 5 in El Cajon, 7:30 pm:
KRUGER BROTHERS play the “HOLIDAY WEEKEND AT DEERING” concert. Workshops and tours, all weekend, at Deering’s Spring Valley factory.
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Sat, Dec 6 in Granada Hills (Blue Ridge Pickin’ Parlor), 7-10:30 pm:
“BLUE RIDGE ANNUAL HOLIDAY POTLUCK & OPEN JAM.”
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Sat, Dec 6 in Rialto, 7 pm:
KEN O’MALLEY performs his Irish-themed “SONGS BY A WINTER'S HEARTH.”
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Sat, Dec 6 in Ojai, 7:30 pm:
PATRICK BALL brings “THE CHRISTMAS ROSE” to “Performances to Grow On.”
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Sun, Dec 7 in Santa Monica, 11 am:
JACKIE BREGER plays A “HOLIDAY MATINEE KIDS SHOW” at McCabe’s.
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Sun, Dec 7 in South Pasadena, 2 pm:
“SOUTH PASADENA ARTS BENEFIT” includes BRAD COLERICK solo acoustic, and the SOUTH PASADENA STRINGS ORCHESTRA to benefit Katrina victims
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Sun, Dec 7 in Altadena, 7 pm:
“CELTIC CHRISTMAS” with DRUID at the Coffee Gallery Backstage.
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Sun, Dec 7 in North Hollywood, 7 pm:
KEN O’MALLEY performs his Irish-themed “SONGS BY A WINTER'S HEARTH.”
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Mon, Dec 8 in Lancaster, 8 pm:
“WYNONA: A CHRISTMAS CLASSIC” at the Lancaster Performing Arts Center.
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Fri, Dec 12 in L.A., 7:30 pm:
PERLA BATALLA performs “A CELEBRATION OF CHRISTMAS LATIN MUSIC.”
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Fri, Dec 12 in Pasadena (Caltech), 8 pm:
FLAMENCO VIVO CARLOTA SANTANA performs “NAVIDAD FLAMENCA.”
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Sat & Sun, Dec 13 & 14 in La Canada Flintridge (Descanso Gardens), 9 am-4:30 pm:
“WINTER WEEKEND AT DESCANSO GARDENS” with song, festivities, fun, and art.
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Sat, Dec 13 in Pasadena, 8 pm:
“CHRISTMAS WITH THE MAESTRO, AND SANTA TOO!” Cal Phil, with conductor VICTOR VENER, plus guest solo vocalists, and the California Philharmonic Chorus.
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Sat, Dec 13 in downtown L.A. (Colburn School of Performing Arts), 8 pm:
MUSICA ANGELICA BAROQUE ORCHESTRA with guests THE TÖLZER KNABENCHOR from Germany, performs “CHRISTMAS ORATORIO” by J.S. BACH.
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Sat, Dec 13 in Santa Monica (Parlor Performances), 8:30 pm:
ROY ZIMMERMAN with “HAPPY CHRISTMA-HANU-RAMA-KA-DONA-KWAANZA!”
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Sat, Dec 13 in San Pedro (Grand Annex), 9 pm:
“CHRISTMAS CONCERT” w/ I SEE HAWKS IN L.A. & CLIFF WAGNER & OLD #7.
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Sun, Dec 14 in City of Industry (Homestead Museum), 1-5 pm:
“A SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA CHRISTMAS” w/ 100 years of holiday traditions.
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Sun, Dec 14 in Griffith Park, L.A. (Autry Museum), 2 pm:
“CHRISTMAS ON THE RANGE” with TOM HIATT & THE SUNDOWN RIDERS, JOYCE WOODSON, JOE HERRINGTON, JOHN BERGSTROM, CLYDE LUCAS and “Tied to the Tracks” host LARRY WINES as the emcee, in the Wells Fargo Theatre.
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Sun, Dec 14 in Covina (Fret House), 3 pm:
“FRET HOUSE EMPLOYEES CHRISTMAS SHOW.”
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Sun, Dec 14 in Santa Monica (Santa Monica City College), 4 pm:
MUSICA ANGELICA BAROQUE ORCHESTRA with THE TÖLZER KNABENCHOR from Germany, performs “CHRISTMAS ORATORIO” by J.S. BACH.
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Sun, Dec 14 in Victorville (Ambassador Hotel), 4-7:30 pm:
“CURLY’S COWBOY CHRISTMAS” with BELINDA GAIL & CURLY MUSGRAVE and the TUMBLING TUMBLWEEDS; benefit for the “Happy Trails Childrens Foundation.”
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Sun, Dec 14 in Burbank (Viva Cantina), 5:30-9 pm:
WESTERN MUSIC ASSOC. “CHRISTMAS PARTY & JAM” everyone welcome.
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Sun, Dec 14 in Whittier (Shannon Ctr for Performing Arts, Whittier College), 7 pm:
“NAVIDAD EN WHITTIER” benefit performance by DANZA FLORICANTO USA with guest artists CESAR CASTRO, and MARIACHI MEXICAPAN, led by RAY MEDINA.
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Sun, Dec 14 in Simi Valley (Simi Valley Cultural Art Center), 7:30-9 pm:
“HOLIDAY SEASON BLUEGRASS CONCERT” with THE BROMBIES, HIGH HILLS, KATIE NAKAMURA.
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Tue, Dec 16 in Altadena (Coffee Gallery Backstage), 8 pm:
“SABRINA & CRAIG’S ACOUSTIC L.A. LIVE! CHRISTMAS SPECTACULAR” with TRACY NEWMAN & THE REINFORCEMENTS, STEPHANIE BETTMAN.
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Wed, Dec 17 in L.A. (The Mint), 7 pm:
“SONGSALIVE! 10 YEAR ANNIV. CELEBRATION & XMAS / HOLIDAY PARTY.”
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Fri, Dec 19 in Anaheim (Honda Center), 7 pm:
SARAH BRIGHTMAN touring her first Christmas CD, “A Winter Symphony.”
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Fri, Dec 19 in Santa Monica; 7:30 pm:
“CELTIC CHRISTMAS” with MOLLY’S REVENGE and MOIRA SMILEY.
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Sat, Dec 20 in City of Industry (Homestead Museum), 4-8 pm:
“EVENING HOLIDAY TOURS” to enjoy 1840s-1920s period decorations by moonlight.
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Sat, Dec 20 in Inglewood (The Forum), 7 pm:
SARAH BRIGHTMAN touring her first Christmas CD, “A Winter Symphony.”
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Sat, Dec 20 in Pasadena, 7:30 pm:
“CELTIC CHRISTMAS” with MOLLY’S REVENGE and MOIRA SMILEY.
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Sun, Dec 21 in Venice (Venice High School), 5-8 pm:
“WINTER SOLSTICE AT THE LEARNING GARDEN,” at The Learning Garden.
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Sun, Dec 21 in San Pedro (Grand Annex), 7 pm:
“HAWAIIAN HOLIDAY CONCERT” with JIM "KIMO" WEST, & THE POLYNESIAN PARADISE DANCERS & and optional music workshops.
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Sun, Dec 21 in Altadena (Coffee Gallery Backstage), 7 pm:
RENAISSANCE performs “A CELEBRATION OF A CAPELLA CHRISTMAS.”
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Mon, Dec 22 in Ojai (Ojai Concert Series, Ojai Valley Woman's Club), 7 pm:
“CELTIC CHRISTMAS SHOW” w/ Portland’s HANZ AKARI BAND & Irish dancers.
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Sat, Dec 27 in Gardena (Elks Lodge), 8 pm-midnight:
“ZYDECO DANCE SERIES CHRISTMAS & NEW YEAR'S EVE DANCE” w/ ANDRE' THIERRY band.
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Is that all? All for now. More is bound to be revealed as more venues and acts get booked. We’ll do our best to keep you informed.
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9) ACOUSTIC AMERICANA MUSIC GUIDE BANS A WORD
It may appear to be censorship. It’s really a simple act of retiring the most annoyingly overused word of 2008. That word is “also.”
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There are other candidates – candidates for words and phrases, that is – from which all of us desperately need a break. For example, musicians are always distributing bios and one-sheets that list others with whom they have performed, and too often their otherwise helpful, sometimes dazzling, lists end with that oops-can’t-think-of-anything-else phrase, “to name a few.” It’s silly, and it’s overused. So, stop it.
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Still, by far the single most annoying, most generically applied and ubiquitous word of 2008 is the word, “also.” And we (all of us) can identify the solitary mega-violator, the one who killed the continued use of the word for everyone else. Of course, that person is the Alaska Governor and former candidate on the Republican ticket as the GOP choice for Vice President of the United States. And we are being careful not to include her name in the same sentence with the title of that national office.
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Her name is Sarah Palin.
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It would be easy to write something here, like “Alaska Governor and also former Vice-Presidential candidate,” or “Clothes horse who also cooked for Matt Lauer while wearing swag far too expensive to expose to the kitchen,” or “picked by McCain in a last-minute act of desperation because the Religious Right wing of the Republican base rejected his choices of Mitt Romney and also Joe Lieberman, and did so with open hostility,” or best of all, “Tina Fey, in addition to her writing and acting duties on ’30 Rock,’ also made appearances on SNL as Palin’s doppelganger, in the best political parodies in decades.” Certainly, we could find myriad opportunities to continue to use the word, “also,” and to use it in ways that could contribute to actual communication.
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But we just can’t take it anymore. The word has been ruined. We reviewed two hours of taped TV coverage of Palin on the campaign trail, and she said “also” 63 times in those various news pieces. No, that was not inclusive of any compilation that may have been made for Comedy Central or Jay Leno or David Letterman or Jimmy Kimmel. That count was simply the result of a score sheet to keep track of how many times Palin used the word over the course of two hours of campaign trail and post-campaign utterances with cameras running (including the infamous turkey interview). The two hours’ worth of recordings were simply played back without editing, in random selections of what had been recorded from TV and cable TV news, including MSNBC, CNN, and Fox News. A simple count was kept of Palin’s use of her trademark, usually-appended-to-the-end-to-connect-to-something-else-that’s-wholly-incongruous word, “also.”
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The sound of that word – you know the one – is now as toxic to us as that thug noise that masquerades as music. The last straw came the week before Thanksgiving, when Sarah Palin pardoned a turkey from becoming someone’s holiday banquet. That was goofy enough, considering she chose the scruffiest and dirtiest turkey there, a fowl so foul she didn’t want to touch it.
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But then Palin babbled on and on and on in a rather aimless and characteristic exercise of oral diarrhea. That happened with the TV cameras running and turkeys being slaughtered close behind her throughout her endless babble. Palin continued to apply the word “also” to connect a disconnected series of unrelated quips, ad nauseum. So, we have compiled a “Best and Worst Also of Sarah Palin Alsos,” as our final use, for a long time to come, of the word, “also.” Here it is:
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“Well, there ya go again also, gosh darn it… pointing fingers backward at Bush and John McCain also… doncha know and also how he talks there also… and Joe the Plumber and Tito the builder also said it sounds like socialism to them also… and gee, I'm cooking dinner for Thanksgiving and it’s a turkey also after I pardoned this turkey here...”
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Certainlt, it’s one more reason to feel good about the pardon the rest of us received on November 4. By the way, if you send us something as a news item, and it contains a quote with that offending word in it, and we use that quote, expect to see “…” in place of that offending word. We have purged it from this and future editions.
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That’s it, for this edition of News Features. We’ve heard that some of you print it out and read it on the light rail or the bus, and some of you read it on those itty bitty PDA screens. While we don’t know how anybody can do the latter, we do appreciate that you include us in your quest to be informed and entertained. Drop us a note, and let us know what you like and don’t like about what’s here or in past editions. (Email address below.)
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NEXT WEEK, we’ll bring lots more news and features.
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copyright (c) © 2008, Larry Wines. All rights reserved.
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Be sure to check EVERY WEEK for
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+ the extensive and always huge ACOUSTIC AMERICANA MUSIC GUIDE’s event listings at http://acousticamericana.blogspot.com, or at www.myspace.com/laacoustic.
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+ news of the “TIED TO THE TRACKS” radio & TV shows coming soon in syndication.
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+ the latest NEWS FEATURES from the acoustic music universe!
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WANT TO CONTACT US?
tiedtothetracks@hotmail.com
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