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Stuff you should know. Stuff you don't even know that you wanna know, but you do. Really. If we're wrong, tell us. But if that's the only reason we give you to contact us, we won't hear from you. So you can contact us anyway. After you get caught-up. 'Cause, while some of this is thoughtful and reflective, some of it is ultra-timely. So jump right in.
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CONTENTS / IN THIS EDITION...
1) Take Part in the 35th Anniversary of Holiday Magic, Presented by Celebrities & Volunteers to Over 700 Seniors in Care Centers
2) Friday Night Screening: “The Best Democracy Money Can Buy” with Filmmaker/Journalist Greg Palast in Topanga Library
3) "Bluegrass Christmas in the Smokies Music Festival" in Pigeon Forge to Benefit Disaster Relief Efforts, Hosted by Lorraine Jordan & Carolina Road
4) Music Demographics, Simplified
5) Americana Music Chart — Perspective: What it Means & How Far We've Come
6) Americana Music Radio Airplay Chart — What's Hot Now
7) Al Shelton Memorial & Retrospective Western Art Exhibition: Saturday, Dec. 10th, at Noon, in Buena Park City Hall
8) Remembering Wayne Slater-Lunsford
9) This Weekend & Events Ahead: Tasty Treats From The Music Calendar
Let's get started!
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# 1 news feature...
TAKE PART IN THE 35th ANNIVERSARY OF HOLIDAY MAGIC, PRESENTED BY CELEBRITIES & VOLUNTEERS TO OVER 700 SENIORS IN CARE CENTERS
This is both an L.A. story AND a national story of participation and rather humbling celebration. We love to present it every year — and along with recruiting readers to join us, we look forward to lending our voices in song. It's nationwide because, wherever you are in America, you're invited to take part in one of the 21 coast-to-coast events produced by its founder. There's a good chance one of them is happening somewhere near you between now and Christmas.
HERE IN LOS ANGELES, it happens Sunday, Dec. 4th. This marks the 35th year for the annual event, where just in L.A. alone, participants will entertain over 700 seniors in local care centers. The L.A. program gets underway a little before 4 pm. Everything works on a structured schedule that allows performances by two impromptu "casts" in four assisted living / nursing home facilities. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. That's after the first stop, where all the participants assemble into small caroling groups to stroll room-to-room, singing the music of Christmas and Hanukah to bring joy to true shut-ins. Oh, and after you perform, you get to rub elbows and network with your fellow participants, because there's a dinner party for the whole cast in a nearby buffet restaurant.
VINCENT J. LEINEN is the producer of every one of these shows since the series' inception. He does this as a volunteer organizing and leading a lot of very impressive and very enthusiastic volunteers. But Vincent is an elusive character when it comes to accepting the spotlight: the day after the L.A. event, he's gone, taking the show on the road across America, recruiting local singers, instrumental performers and celebrities from actors to mayors and governors for similar events in 20 additional cities and towns.
Each year, L.A. is the flagship and the kickoff event. Here, Vincent taps the energy and enthusiasm and talent — hidden and iconic — that is Los Angeles. The prominent, the up-and-coming, the obscure, and the once-a-year singers all take part. That includes tapping the resources of Hollywood — from folks in the community to recording stars and film, TV, and stage celebrities.
This year, a few of the big names you'll be joining are:
* Actor-musician ALLEN WEISS as Santa Claus.
* PHIL CHRISTIE, Canadian singer-songwriter, Kerrville New Folk Finalist, Billboard Song Finalist. Owner/general manager of the new School of Rock in Woodland Hills.
* PRESCOTT NILES, bassist for THE KNACK, whose “My Sharona” was #1 Billboard single of 1979; played on George Harrison’s “Shanghai Surprise” album; contributed to “Miami Vice” soundtrack; currently with Missing Persons.
* NILES family musicians (son and daughter of Prescott); LIV NILES, nominated for Best female guitarist for LA Rock Music Awards; GABE NILES, drummer; both are members of the BLACK VINYL BAND.
* ROBBYN KIRMSSE, singer-songwriter, 2011 Emmy winner for vocal performance & songwriting, voice of the Rachel Ray talk show and Toyota commercial tunes; featured on “Cold Case,” “Scrubs,” Nickelodeon’s “Big Time Rush”; toured U.S. with Joe Walsh & the James Gang; duet partner with Steve Tyrell backing Frank Sinatra, Celine Dion, Ella Fitzgerald, Diana Krall, and KD Lang; performed with Macy Gray, Vonda Shephard, Eric Clapton, Dr. John, Brian McKnight, Billy Preston, Melissa Etheridge (including at Brad Pitt-Jennifer Aniston wedding), Stevie Wonder, and Slash; 2008 Hollywood Talent Quest winner.
* AYDIEE-VAUGHN DUNSON, actress-singer you've seen in “Everybody Hates Chris,” “My Wife & Kids,” “Boston Legal,” “The Shield,” & more.
* TONY JONES, drummer-vocalist, The Beach Boys, Bob Dylan, Stephen Bishop, Billy Preston, The Drifters, The Platters, The Coasters, Patty Andrews, Milton Berle, Red Buttons; grandson of Leon Rene, legendary music composer of “Rockin Robin,” “When the Swallows Come Back to Capistrano,” Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong’s theme song “When It’s Sleepy Time Down South.”
* CLARENCE WITHERSPOON, Saxophonist-vocalist whose credits include Little Anthony & the Imperials, Cuba Gooding Sr.'s Sold Gold Orchestra, USO International Tours, & more.
* CHARLENE CAPETILLO, L.A.Opera mezzo soprano who has performed all over the world.
* CHRIS ROSS, drummer for Kenny Loggins, Joe Cocker, Lisa Haley, and Three Dog Night.
* DON SWEENEY, bandleader, famed drummer and author of “Backstage at The Tonight Show,” he's worked with everybody from Johnny Carson and Jay Leno to 'The Late Late Show with James Corden" on CBS.
* GINA ECKSTINE, singer who performed worldwide with Count Basie, Sammy Davis Jr., Bill Cosby, and her father, bop-big band leader and ballad singer Billy Eckstine.
* GINGER de PARIS, Jazz tap, cabaret, and Broadway dancer and singer who has performed with Jesseye Norman, Joan Collins, Stephen Sondheim, Quentin Crisp, Lauren Bacall, & many more.
* JERRY BROWN, pianist, veteran rocker, and General Director of Center Stage Opera.
* DR. MARV ROSENBERG, songwriter, lyricist, original founding member of The Safaris, with a Gold Record and a place in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
* RICK BRUNER, singer-songwriter-musician, guitar & piano, with over 200 copyrighted songs.
* MICHELE WOOD MAROTTA, entertainer, former child actor, voice over artist, photographer.
* NOLAN PORTER, legendary Rhythm and Blues performer/recording artist.
* PATRICE ZAPPA, singer and author of "My Brother was a Mother: A Zappa Family Album."
* PATRICK RIDOLFI, tenor soloist, Los Angeles Master Chorale, Carnegie Hall Society of New York City, L.A. Opera, more; performed with or for Placido Domingo, Zubin Mehta, Luciano Pavarotti, Franco Zeffirelli, and Tracy Ullman; performed with Three Tenors at Dodger Stadium; sang for Pope John Paul II at the Vatican.
* PATRICK WASKIELIS, drummer for Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds, with Billboard #1 single “Fallin’In Love,” #4 single “Don’t Pull Your Love,” & more.
* SHAKEH HERBEKIAN, singer-songwriter, indie artist with 5 CDs and years of touring.
* YUKA O’DAY, longtime cast member as wife of the late ALAN O'DAY, the pop singer-songwriter of #1 hit “Undercover Angel” (sold two million copies); Alan Wrote Helen Reddy’s #1 hit “Angie Baby” and The Righteous Brothers’ #3 hit “Rock and Roll Heaven.”
* and more. Hopefully including YOU. As for WHO ELSE? In past years, our editor has sang solos backed by Supertramp lead guitarist CARL VERHEYEN. And we are, without doubt, unintentionally slighting a lot of music stars by omitting them here.
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More, from Vincent...
"This FREE and rewarding local event is open to individuals and/or community groups of all talent levels, ages and faiths. If unable to attend, you’re encouraged to take your own group or individually visit your local senior centers or shut-ins. This simple act of kindness can make a difference and add true meaning for all involved this holiday season."
Vincent says he was motivated in part by his father’s 20-year plight with Parkinson’s disease.
His quest to inspire communities to bring joy and enlightenment to seniors and care-givers has evolved through three and a half decades and is now a nationwide initiative from California to Florida involving over 800 volunteers.
Vincent tells The Guide, "History has proven that while the holiday season, for many, is 'the most wonderful time of the year,' it is our seniors who suffer from increased feelings of isolation and depression. Through music, compassion, and companionship, 'Holiday Caroling' gives seniors, care-givers and volunteers a special gift of love, time, emotional and spiritual healing.
"Bottom line: Everyone greatly benefits from the festivities!"
To REGISTER your participation or get further details, call Vincent directly. (You can just "show up" before 4 pm, at the address on the website. But it's a much better experience if you know what you're doing ahead of time.
REGISTER with Vincent J. Leinen, event producer, at:
818-342-9336
and/or:
818-429-1563
or by e-mail to:
bd754@lafn.org
Full details of ALL THE EVENTS in L.A. on Sunday and across America between now and Christmas, at:
www.reachforthestars.com/caroling/ facebook.com/HolidayCaroling4Seniors
The last word goes to Vincent: "Together we have the power to make a difference and the world a better place!"
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# 2 news feature...
FRIDAY NIGHT SCREENING: “THE BEST DEMOCRACY MONEY CAN BUY” WITH FILMMAKER/JOURNALIST GREG PALAST IN TOPANGA LIBRARY
The Guide has brought readers the news of film festivals and significant special screenings for the past several years. That's whether or not trhe films have anything overtly to do with music. Here in Southern California, the integration of the music industry (and opportunities for musicians) with the film industry is a daily ongoing set of opportunities. Plus, film as an art form doesn't receive enough attention in the media coverage that artists read, so we make it part of our mission to correct that.
Tonight at 7.30 pm is a special screening WITH THE FILMMAKER, Rolling Stone journalist GREG PALAST in attendance. It's "The Best Democracy Money Can Buy: A Tale of Billionaires and Ballot Bandits" at The Topanga Library, 122 N Topanga Canyon Bl, Topanga 90290. (That's in the heart of Topanga Canyon, so allow drive time accordingly through Friday evening traffic.)
The Guide has seen this film and we highly recommend it. But due to time constraints, the following is not a review by us. It is the promo from the presenters in Topanga.
"In person: Greg Palast, Rolling Stone/BBC investigative reporter, to premiere of his new movie, a real, live detective thriller about the upcoming theft of the 2016 election and the hunt for billionaires behind it. With Shailene Woodley, Willie Nelson, Rosario Dawson, and 'detectives' Ice-T and Richard Belzer and Robert F. Kennedy
"Here’s the trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kg2gCgFMBOg
"Are black voters at risk from becoming an endangered species? Gonzo investigative reporter Greg Palast’s (BBC, Rolling Stone) documentary detective thriller 'The Best Democracy Money Can Buy Billionaires and Ballot Bandits' busts the NEW Klux Klan – the billionaire bandits that lurk in the shadows with clear intentions to purge one million voters of color in November.
"This film reveals clandestine vote stealing trickery hatched by billionaires who are shredding the shards of our flailing democracy. It is a cautionary tale of technology, power, intended consequences, morality, and those who reap the profits from our electile dysfunction.
"Shailene Woodley, Willie Nelson, Rosario Dawson, and "detectives" Ice-T and Richard Belzer and Robert F. Kennedy, help investigative reporter Palast track down the secret billionaires and their craven addiction to power while our profit-addicted American media ignore the hard news.
"In 'The Best Democracy Money Can Buy, a Tale of Billionaires and Ballot Bandits,' all the dots are connected. Palast’s investigation takes him from the Arctic where he is clued in to the heist by a foul-mouthed Eskimo and the Koch Bros. connection, then on to a speed boat to a high class event in the Hamptons to the ballot rustler known as “The Vulture” Paul Singer, to Kansas where he finds out what is the matter with the state, (clue it is its Secretary of State and again the Kansas-based Koch Brothers) .
"Voter suppression and election fraud is a subject that lurks in the shadows. Like a computer virus, causing much harm in its wake. One reason it eludes our scrutiny is because of the media blackout that follows each election. -Our lack of information and attention compound the problem. Palast has caught America’s press puppies in delicto bedded down with their corporate patrons. Instead of covering the elections, they cover it up. Palast explains this lascivious twist in the creation of the Corporate New Entertainment complex. He shows the media has become a weapon on mass distraction for the American people.
"It was Greg Palast who busted Katherine Harris and Jeb Bush in 2000 when they swiped the Florida election by purging tens of thousands of eligible voters- mostly guilty of voting while black – using electronically generated “scrub” lists produced by a Texas firm paid millions to screen out felons, yet not required by any official to verify the accuracy of its data. With remarkable audacity and felonious foresight, the list even includes felons that will be arrested seven years in the future.
"Florida’s use of an outside firm to in effect privatize voting rights plays into Palast’ central theme of how corporate powers are riding roughshod over our democracy. From the “cash for access” scandals to the revolving door between the Koch Brothers and their trophy government henchmen, Palast lays bare patterns of corruption that have become so sadly commonplace.
"White House for Sale. Cheap. Tons of buyers. Hundreds of offers. Nailing Kansas’ Secretary of State Kris Kolbach for his “I’m for Sale, thank you Koch Brothers” actions, Palast vividly shows how this self-anointed guardian of our voting rights has pocketed corporate money to pre-select candidates before even a single vote was recorded and how that has influenced the policies and platforms of his corporate sponsors, all the while denying the necessities of the American people
"Perhaps no one in history has straddled the political divide more than Greg Palast. As an investigative reporter for the BBC and the Guardian who nailed Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris’ fake felon purge that stole the election for Bush in 2000, and revealed in his bestselling book 'The Best Democracy Money Can Buy.' One might as well plant the flags of billionaires Donald Trump or Paul Singer when one 'counts' the votes. Elections now have everything to do with a ravenously greedy elite class that play with the treasure of our nation, risking our future, risking democracy itself . And all the while, our compliant and cuckolded media stand silently by.
"The venerated Palast has been called 'courageous' by Michael Moore. John Pilger says in Palast's hands, 'facts are like hand grenades.' Palast’s inimitable style is 'funnier than Michael Moore, more substantial than Naomi Klein' says the Guardian. Palast, says Jim Hightower, is a 'cross between Sam Spade and Sherlock Holmes' and this documentary investigation shows just how true that statement is. Rev. Al Sharpton likens Palast to 'an Oreo cookie: white on the outside, black on the inside.' Noam Chomsky reports, 'Palast upsets all the right people.' Michael Moore says, 'Palast’s work is funny, heartbreaking.' And, Jason Alexander thanks Palast for 'f#@king up my life with truth.'
"As an investigative journalist, he has uncovered scandal, corruption and vast lies in the highest seats of power from the White House to corporate America. Known and respected in Britain as 'The most important investigative journalist of our time' (Tribune Magazine) Palast has broken some of the biggest stories including:
"* How Bush killed the FBI’s investigation of the bin Laden family prior and after 9/11
"* How the Bush Family stole the 2000 Election.
"* How Enron cheated, lied and swindled its way into an energy monopoly
"These provocative exposes are pure Palast territory- as well as grounding breaking reports on the World Bank, the IMF, the World Trade Organization, Wal-Mart and much, much more.
"Screened with Palast’s gutsy in-your-face style with animation by Keith Tucker ('Who Framed Roger Rabbit,') and photography by Academy Award nominee Richard Rowley, this is not just a documentary – it is a REAL-LIVE AS-IT-HAPPENS DETECTIVE STORY. Joined by his sidekick Ms. Badpenny, Palast names the major ballot bandits and shines a light on the shadowy tactics employed by their trophy GOP officials who do their blind bidding.
"He is the dogged outsider, a former working class gumshoe from Los Angeles who has gained his fame through multiple best sellers with his revelations about Corporate America for the BBC and The Guardian.
"Palast’s disturbing indictment of the major media as purveyors of corporatized infotainment must serve as a wake-up call to journalists, and everyone who cares about a well-informed citizenry as a basis for democracy.
"With 'The Best Democracy Money Can Buy, a Tale of Billionaires and Ballot Bandits,' Palast breaks ground on the debate before we become 'No Country for Black Voters.' Or for Hispanic voters. Or Muslim Voters. Or Women voters. Or YOU.
"See this Film. Act Accordingly. Our country is in the midst of a civil war between the alarmingly uninformed and the just plain alarmed because they are informed. Greg Palast’s documentary asks questions the media/propaganda machine purposefully don’t ask. In typical Palast style, he details in pull-no-punches Palastian prose how the assault on our entire voting system is widespread and relentless. Determining our actions today can move us towards either a stronger, more positive future, or a future shrouded in fear, poverty, war. This film should act as a primer for people of all ages, all classes who want answers and solutions. Viewer beware. Ignore the facts at your own peril!
A nominal donation is expected. No one is turned away for lack of funds. But the room will reach capacity, so don't be late.
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# 3 news feature...
"BLUEGRASS CHRISTMAS IN THE SMOKIES MUSIC FESTIVAL" IN PIGEON FORGE TO BENEFIT DISASTER RELIEF EFFORTS, HOSTED BY LORRAINE JORDAN & CAROLINA ROAD
Festival Aligns with the Dollywood Foundation's Smokey Mountain "My People" Fund
Pigeon Forge, Tenn. (December 2, 2016) - The fires didn't stop it, and now the fire victims will be the beneficiaries of the annual "Bluegrass Christmas in the Smokies Music Festival." It will be held as scheduled, December 7-10 at the Ramada Inn & Smoky Mountain Convention Center in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Hosted by LORRAINE JORDAN & CAROLINA ROAD, the festival brings together many traditional bluegrass and gospel bands for an early Christmas celebration. This year, the festival will go on with no interruption to the musical program or accommodations due to the wildfires. Now, the festival has been given the opportunity to help local residents who have been impacted by the ongoing devastating fire that has ravaged the area.
"We are blessed that the fires have been contained and that the area where we host the festival is free of any problems. As the promoter, I feel that the best way to help the community is through Dolly Parton's My People Fund. Please join us in helping out the victims of this terrible experience by coming to the festival and supporting the area economy with your tourism dollars and your ticket donation." said Lorraine Jordan.
By aligning with the Dollywood Foundation's unprecedented support of east Tennessee, Bluegrass Christmas in the Smokies Music Festival created a special, $15 general admission ticket for Friday and Saturday night. All proceeds from these tickets will be donated to the Dollywood Foundation's Smokey Mountain "My People" fund.
Scheduled to perform throughout the festival produced by Jordan Entertainment include DOYLE LAWSON & QUICKSILVER, LORRAINE JORDAN & CAROLINA ROAD, LONESOME RIVER BAND, GOLDWING EXPRESS, RALPH STANLEY II, RONNIE RENO & RENO TRADITION, PAUL WILLIAMS AND VICTORY TRIO, THE BLUEGRASS MOUNTAINEERS, GARRETT NEWTON BAND, BALSAM RANGE, WILLIAMSON BRANCH, JIMBO WHALEY & GREENBRIER, MALPASS BROTHERS, SALT & LIGHT and THE DEAN OSBORNE BAND, THE GRASCALS, SMOKY MTN ALL-STARS: TIM WHITE, JERRY BUTLER, MATT LEADBETTER, MATT WALLACE, JOSH GOFORTH, LARRY STEPHENSON BAND, EDGAR LOUDERMILK BAND FEATURING JEFF AUTRY, SIDELINE, MARK TEMPLETON, DEEPER SHADE OF BLUE and THE MOORE FAMILY.
This was just announced today. We do not yet know if a television taping for future airing, or an online pay-per-view live webcast will be available.
Full info on the festival, including purchase of special Disaster Relief tickets, is at:
www.BluegrassChristmasInSmokies.com
or call 919-779-5672
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# 4 news feature...
MUSIC DEMOGRAPHICS, SIMPLIFIED
"All you need to know to understand demographics is something you can teach yourself at a music festival.
"If the only people under 30 are little kids kept close by their parents, the music will do well on CD, but not online. If the kids in tow are in the 9-12 age group, and all you see is the tops of their heads during the performance, it's either (a) 'over' for that band in a couple of years, or (b) that band is the next global phenom. It depends on whether the kids were telling cyberia how great that act is, or telling cyberkidland they were bohh-ring in between zapping scary aliens or collecting Japanese anime characters.
"How do you know which? If the kids took selfies with the stage behind them, the band's social media page will be yuge by morning.
"Next factor: if there are hipster bands booked, like the Lumineers, Mumford & Sons, or Salty Suites — or hipster ensembles like Shovels & Rope or The Licata Brothers — festival attendees are automatically heavily inclusive of an upper-teens/twenties audience. Those are the fans who pull out their earbuds just before the band goes on, then dance just as enthusiastically to tunes from the 1920s as to the bands' new originals; they'll buy-out all the overpriced screenprinted tie-dye T-shirts, but not the CDs.
"Whatever your demographic, you may have to wait 'til spring to test all this. Unless you shot enough videos this year on your phone. Maybe they're still in there, or lost in some cloud you don't remember how to access. Along with all those selfies and cat pictures from 'friends' you've never laid eyes on, but whose images are clogging up your phone memory. With those 5,000 songs people sent you that you never listen to, but are afraid to delete in case you see them somewhere."
— from The Guide Editor's "Guide to Everything."
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# 5 news feature...
AMERICANA MUSIC CHART — PERSPECTIVE: WHAT IT MEANS & HOW FAR WE'VE COME
The week Roz Larman died, sales of Americana Music exceeded sales in every other genre of recorded music with physical and cyber sales in America. Of huge significance, that included the week's total sales of Nashville-pop that has come to be identified as "the" modern Country Music. It marked the first time, ever, that has happened, and it's a big reason for a lot of celebrations. We quietly saw that fact as a victory for Roz and her late husband Howard. It was the Larmans who had, for decades, kept the radio listening public aware of the vitality and continuing relevance of American Folk Music.
Our brief exploration of perspective warrants a couple of additional points.
Of course, you can start an argument if you attempt to define the overlapping spheres of "Folk" and "Americana." A few years back, The Guide's editor got in multiple rounds of just such an argument, online and in print in another music journal — and that argument was with the Larman's. With their influence in mind, we have consistently maintained that there are countless arenas of "folk" that properly belong in "world music," and those have precious little in common with "Folk-Americana." But combining those two words into a single term is too much of an unholy marriage for some dyed-in-the-wool "folkies." Those folks will not make room at the inn for certain kinds of Americana music, any more than they'll accept jazz as folk music. Even the traditional New Orleans Jazz, Dixieland Jazz, American-based Djangostyle and other traditional blues-jazz forms that we often cover. All that is just anathema to some Folk Music purists, and they, or others in the fold, reject honky-tonk music or anything played with a pedal steel guitar as being outside the bounds. Curiously, the Dobro is always okay. But some of the things done with the banjo? Those aren't. And there are emphatic opinions about all of it.
This lil' dialog may already have gotten the hair up on somebody's back. So let's bring our perspective back to the string-based music that's less likely to foment argument.
The US really does not have a "Folk Chart" that matters. This country hasn't had one for decades. Even as the Canadian Juno Awards have expanded to recognize all that nation's genres and the artists who write and perform in them, the US-based GRAMMYS have expanded within pop, rap, and hip-hop categories and reduced or chosen to neglect many genres of music with deep roots is America.
The "Americana Music Chart" is thus doubly important — covering the absence of a meaningful American Folk Music chart, and operating as an important measure of music the GRAMMYS largely neglect. The chart isn't based on sales. It tracks radio stations — both terrestrial and internet — with entire full-time formats or individual shows dedicated to the Americana music genre. As Americana and Folk-Americana have a proven and growing acceptance, preference, and popularity, the chart clearly matters.
The Guide has, for the past few years, brought you the Top 40 Americana Music Airplay Chart on an irregular basis. We've always thought it important to keep it in mind as a touchstone. Especially since the Los Angeles radio market has NO stations with a Folk-Americana format, and is almost devoid of individual Americana music shows.
We hasten to add that comment is NOT intended as a slight to the few shows that the collective "we" do have on broadcast airwaves in Southern California, or to the stalwarts that lovingly produce, choose the playlists, and host those shows. Indeed, those shows are of high quality and would do well in any other market where they would compete with established Americana / Folk-Americana music programming.
But in L.A., the fact is, the overwhelming share of Folk-Americana music on our local airwaves isn't on radio. It's on TV, mostly on KLCS, the PBS affiliate owned and operated by the L.A. Unified School District. (For which they are our heroes, especially on Friday evenings, when they are frequently celebrated in our cyber pages, and have been, over a long period of time.)
Finally, with holiday gift-buying an inevitability for our conspicuous-consumption-obsessed society, it doesn't hurt to know what's likely to bring a "Wow, thanks!" instead of an "Oh."
The following feature story is the most current chart and the most-added tracks for the week it reports.
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# 6 news feature...
AMERICANA MUSIC RADIO AIRPLAY CHART — WHAT'S HOT NOW
The Americana Airplay chart represents the reported play of terrestrial radio stations, nationally syndicated radio shows, satellite radio and internet stations who have agreed to submit weekly spin counts. There's more information about the chart at: www.americanamusic.org.
TOP 5 MOST ADDED for the Week
(There are seven this week, due to ties)
Artist - Title - Label
GILLIAN WELCH - Boots No. 1: The Official Revival Bootleg" - Acony
KACEY MUSGRAVES - "A Very Kacey Christmas" - Mercury Nashville
PAUL THORN - "Best Of Paul Thorn" - Perpetual Obscurity/Thirty Tigers
VARIOUS - "The Life & Songs Of Emmylou Harris An All-Star Concert Celebration" - Rounder/Concord
MICHAEL MARTIN MURPHEY - "High Stakes" - Murphy Kinship Recordings
DON DiLEGO - "Magnificent Ram" - Velvet Elk
NEIL YOUNG - "Peace Trail" - Reprise
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AMERICANA TOP 40 RADIO AIRPLAY CHART
Most recent playlist, for the week of Monday, November 28, 2016
RANK this week (1-40) - ARTIST - (Stations Playing | Stations Added) - "SONG TITLE" - LABEL
1 JOHN PRINE (66|1) "For Better, Or Worse" Oh Boy/Thirty Tigers
2 DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS (58|1) "American Band" ATO
3 WILCO (54|0) "Schmilco" Anti-Epitaph
4 ALEJANDRO ESCOVEDO (63|3) "Burn Something Beautiful" Fantasy/Concord
5 JAMESTOWN REVIVAL (55|4) "The Education Of A Wandering Man" Republic
6 DWIGHT YOAKAM (62|0) "Swimmin' Pools, Movie Stars..." Sugar Hill/Concord
7 TODD SNIDER (54|1) "Eastside Bulldog" Aimless/Thirty Tigers
8 BRENT COBB (48|3) "Shine On Rainy Day" LCS/Elektra
9 RECKLESS KELLY (53|0) "Sunset Motel" No Big Deal/Thirty Tigers
10 BLACKBERRY SMOKE (51|3) "Like An Arrow" 3 Legged/Thirty Tigers
11 AMANDA SHIRES (56|0) "My Piece Of Land" Silver Knife/BMG
12 JESSE DAYTON (29|2) "The Revealer" Blue Elan Records
13 BOB WEIR (55|0) "Blue Mountain" Legacy
14 JIM LAUDERDALE (47|1) "This Changes Everything" Sky Crunch Records
15 AVETT BROTHERS (38|0) "True Sadness" American/Republic
16 SETH WALKER (39|0) "Gotta Get Back" Royal Potato Family
17 JACK INGRAM (42|3) "Midnight Motel" Rounder/Concord
18 ROBERT EARL KEEN (43|4) "Live Dinner Reunion" Dualtone
19 WAYNE HANCOCK (44|3) "Slingin' Rhythm" Bloodshot
20 VARIOUS (46|6) "THE LIFE & SONGS OF EMMYLOU HARRIS - An All-Star Concert Celebration" Rounder/Concord
21 SHOVELS & ROPE (55|1) "Little Seeds" New West
22 SOUTHERN CULTURE ON THE SKIDS (43|0) "The Electric Pinecones" KUDZU
23 VARIOUS ARTISTS (49|1) "The Musical Mojo Of Dr. John Celebrating Mac..." Concord
24 AARON LEE TASJAN (45|2) "Silver Tears" New West
25 BILLY BRAGG & JOE HENRY (43|0) "Shine A Light" Cooking Vinyl
26 DAVID BROMBERG (46|0) "The Blues, The Whole Blues, & Nothing But..." Red House
27 BILL KIRCHEN & AUSTIN DE LONE (33|0) "Transatlanticana" Red House
28 DEVIL MAKES THREE (40|1) "Redemption & Ruin" New West
29 VARIOUS (42|4) "Highway Prayer: A Tribute To Adam Carroll" eight30records
30 HISS GOLDEN MESSENGER (45|0) "Heart Like A Levee" Merge
31 PAUL CAUTHEN (33|2) "My Gospel" Lightning Rod/Thirty Tigers
32 WHISKEY MYERS (24|1) "Mud Wiggy" Thump/Thirty Tigers
33 PAPER BIRD (36|0) "Paper Bird" Sons Of Thunder/Thirty Tigers
Debut at # 34 BLUE RODEO (41|4) "1000 Arms" Telesoul
Debut at # 35 CHELLE ROSE (37|3) "Blue Ridge Blood" Lil' Damsel
36 MAVERICKS (39|1) "All Night Live Volume 1" Mono Mundo/Thirty Tigers
37 MANDOLIN ORANGE (35|2) "Blindfaller" Yep Roc
38 MARCUS KING BAND (29|0) "The Marcus King Band" Fantasy
39 GREENSKY BLUEGRASS (34|0) "Shouted, Written Down & Quoted" Big Blue Zoo/Thirty Tigers
40 TIM EASTON (41|0) "American Fork" Last Chance
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There's more information about the chart, the most current stats on radio airplay, 1-40 rankings for the previous two weeks, and more, at: www.americanamusic.org
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# 7 news feature...
AL SHELTON MEMORIAL & RETROSPECTIVE WESTERN ART EXHIBITION: SATURDAY, DEC. 10th, AT NOON, IN BUENA PARK CITY HALL
Al Shelton, globally renowned "Artist to the Western stars," has died after a long and remarkably productive life. Even into recent years, he was still getting national radio and TV interviews.
Worldwide, many are familiar with Al's dazzling leathercraft, or with his many paintings that are in the collections of famous people, or with his meticulously detailed metalcraft. Some of our readers know him as a Western singer-songwriter who carried on for small audiences well past his years of being a crowd draw at art shows and festivals. There is so much to remember about Al Shelton.
One of his most dazzling hand-tooled leather guitar cases has a prominent place on permanent view in the collection of the Martin Guitar Museum. His leatherwork is enshrined in the Tandy Leather Museum. Another guitar case, one that Al did many years ago for Gene Autry — who was still performing Western songs at the time — is displayed in the Autry Museum of the American West in L.A.'s Griffith Park. The Autry, about five years ago, did a nice retrospective tribute exhibit of a variety of Al's work that featured paintings, metalcraft, leathercraft and Al's Western music, with a live performance by Al and an ensemble band of Western music luminaries at the dedication.
Al's original oil painting, entitled "Thinking of You," was purchased by actor Jack Palance and hung above his ranch fireplace in Tehachapi, CA for over forty years. That's just one example. When you visited his shop, it was a crowded hall of wonders. You found scraps of paper and old invoices pairing phone numbers with names like John Wayne, Jimmy Stewart, Efraim Zimbalist Jr., Henry Fonda, Ward Bond, Michael Landon, and more.
Al handcrafted the molds for numerous "official" cast metal belt buckles for many TV Western shows. As you followed him around the shop, he would describe things that warranted documenting bin a book. He would hand you a finely-crafted cowboy belt buckle to examine just to see you enjoy the surprise. If you took your eyes away from the scrupulous fine detail and looked up, you'd catch him smiling at you.
Not that he didn't have the artist's temperament and a temper to match. We never experienced it, but we knew better than to trigger it. Al really liked people, and it was easy to like him, as well as to admire his work. And it never took much to get invited to pull up a nail keg or a beat-up old chair and make music with him. That was a big deal, since it was the only place most of us could hope to keep up with his talent as an artist.
We should expect this event, in Buena Park, to be the last opportunity to see a broadly-based exhibition of his work in multiple mediums of art. And to appreciate that all those things were his principle identity, in addition to Al's "accesiible" sideline as a cowboy singer-songwriter.
Al Shelton's longtime friend, fine guitarist and all-around good guy, Greg Atkin has organized this final art exhibition of Al's work to accompany what promises to be a fitting and nice memorial.
You are invited. And we want to alert all our saddle pals. The full info, with Greg's email address to rsvp for the December 10th event, follows.
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The City of Buena Park Fine Arts Presents "Al Shelton Art Exhibition – Cowboy Artist to the Stars," Saturday, December 10th, 2016. It's a reception and memorial celebration of the life of western artist Al Shelton (1920 - 2016). The venue is the City of Buena Park Council Chamber, 6650 Beach Bl, Buena Park, CA 90622.
The event runs Noon to 2 pm. Please RSVP to Greg M. Atkin, at 714-663-0071 or by email to gatkin@artisanstudioworks.com
There will be several historic video presentations to enjoy, along with vintage musical recordings of Al Shelton singing his western songs and reading his poetry. Also, refreshments, good company, and a chance to view the Al Shelton retrospective art exhibition that will be on display.
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You can learn more about western artist Al Shelton and his many artistic accomplishments at:
www.artisanstudioworks.com
The site has links for the NPR national radio feature on "All Things Considered" and the KCET "Life and Times" television episode on Al Shelton. Both are recommended.
You can read the Los Angeles Times article on Al written in 2004 by Hugh Hart. It's at:
http://articles.latimes.com/2004/nov/07/entertainment/ca-cowboy7
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# 8 news feature...
REMEMBERING WAYNE SLATER-LUNSFORD
By Larry Wines
We aren't starting this in "obituary style" with all the usual stuff, like when he was born. Even a rudimentary obit would cover his years of essential contributions to key annual events, where most people in music knew him. Our approach may stray from conventions, but we won't let it get disorienting. We'll get to all the factual particulars. What we really want to do is remember a talented man from our music community for the essence of who he was, and afford a chance to get to know him for those who didn't have that privilege.
It took a while to be able to write this. It has been a tough year for music makers and bringers of words and music, and for those who knew or loved them and anxiously awaited the product of their creative endeavors. Because far too many resonant voices have been forever silenced by death during this tumultuous 2016. Each of us carries their names in our own creative conscience.
Bearing the pall passes quickly, and human resilience discards the crepe and black lace and keeps their songs resounding through the passages of our minds. That's true for the mega-famous names on this year's list. But fame is not a requirement for leaving a void. It's just as true for an artist whose influence imparts meaning on all who knew them. Whether famous, or never-quite-famous, the power of an influential artist leaves us with the same need to hear their voice and guitar again.
Wayne Slater-Lunsford qualifies. His passing left us with the sense of all that. His body of work is outstanding, if woefully "under known." That includes his songwriting, recorded performances, storytelling, and creative writing. It includes his organizational and logistical skills as a stalwart in festival and concert planning and production.
It prominently includes his electronic wizardry in what he always called "sound reinforcement." He gently insisted on that term to take the attention away from the mics and amplifiers and mixers and speakers, to return it to the essential reason for being there — the performance by the artist. Wayne owned a lot of gear for many years, was the sound engineer of record for countless festivals, and was a crowd-pleaser at the ones that scheduled stage time for him to do his own set. The late, great California Traditional Music Society (CTMS) was one of his annual clients and a beneficiary of his artistry on and behind the stages.
Wayne had played the coffeehouse circuit in Florida long before any of us knew him. He had opened there for big names in the folk world, being just old enough to cross paths with most of the giants of the late '60s. And there in Florida, as he developed his performing craft, he did his share of headlining. Even if you thought you knew pretty well, you didn't know that unless you engage him in conversation about it. Wayne didn't have the kind of ego that led him to dispense impressive answers to simple questions. He wasn't bashful, but he didn't keep the reed wet on a back-pocket trumpet. But you knew, if you took the time to know.
That was elemental to an important part of his personality. It manifested in many ways. Like his bear hugs that put his chin over your shoulder and told you he really was happy you were there. Whether you had time for a conversation or just a smile and nod before one of you went on stage or led a song circle or presented a plan for the next festival. If you were on Wayne's extensive list of friends, he made you feel it.
Part of that was his elemental to his expression of religious values. Which were more centered in humanism than anybody else you know with religious values. Peace — not just anti-war — aligned with social justice and racial justice, and love for people and creatures great and small, were all themes in his life, his writing and his music. Plus a regard, best described as respectful awe, for the natural systems and processes of the Earth and all its abundant expressions of life. All were what he celebrated and implored with his music — and central to knowing Wayne Slater-Lunsford.
That crazily verbose last name was the product of his marriage to Charlotte, an expression of his respect for who she is. Deprive her of her name? Part was the spirit of the times, the rest was the two of them.
Others earned Wayne's respect with some determination to make a difference, no matter how big or small. He was happy to lend his talents in support or to lead when the situation called for it.
In 2004, I envisioned an acoustic Folk-Americana music festival for charity in the California desert. Two friends with heavy-duty CTMS credentials signed-on instantly as co-producers. They were Wayne Slater-Lunsford (of course) and Chris Hingley. She left us all in 2007. Chris owned Rancho Raviri, the last of the almond orchards and only one turned confectionery in Quartz Hill, California. Immediately, I had a desk, a computer, and a bunk for work nights that went too late at "the rancho." I knew that Wayne was behind that, because I didn't know Chris very well. He did things like that.
Their work became ever more important, because I found myself working in Seattle that summer. (In fact, I returned only because of the festival, or I'd still be in Seattle now.) Chris secured Antelope Valley College in Lancaster as the venue, prepared all the contracts, and set-up the financials. I booked the acts — eventually topping 70, both full acoustic bands and solo musicians, from deep traditional roots music to the innovative performers of the then-burgeoning Acoustic Renaissance. FolkWorks co-editor Steve Shapiro played it with his Irish band. The hottest acoustic acts in L.A. all played it, and acts came from as far as Colorado. At the time, it had more featured performances than any one-day festival in California history.
Somehow, Wayne arranged all the sound. Contacts and charisma got it done. Artist Joan Enguita signed-on as a planning/production supernumerary for Wayne and Chris. And, well, Wayne did everything that needed doing. I drove him crazy, and he was slow to realize that his own enthusiasm fueled the manifest destiny to keep adding more and more acts. The Desert Song Music Festival benefitted Project Hope, a top-rated charity that operated the S.S. Hope hospital ship.
In typical Wayne fashion, he sought to make it an annual event. He produced a necessarily smaller version the following year, before the college's price tag precluded continuing. Nonetheless, Wayne assumed the mantle as guru of Desert Song Productions, doing a series of concerts and house concerts over the next several years, with all the money going to the artists or to charities.
Professionally, Wayne was a man of many talents. He was happiest when his writing earned his paycheck. Of course, that meant writing in non-artistic settings.
That brought the best job he had during the years I knew him. Wayne was then in aerospace, writing proposals and tech manuals and marketing materials, things usually requiring a team to cover all the specialties. But they had Wayne. The company was developing large "UAVs" — Unmanned Aerial Vehicles. Today we call them drones. When all that was about flying platforms for cameras and instrumentation that could stay aloft a long time and cover vast distances to assess conditions on the ground — like measuring watershed resources or how many dangerously dead trees were standing in the forests, or what kind of horrific damage was being by surface mining in some obscure place — Wayne was proud of his role.
Things changed. It became the era of near exclusivity for military applications of drones. When "his" drones were re-designated as aerial weapons platforms, Wayne lost it. His willingness to participate and his job were both gone in a single moment when he reaffirmed his values and lost his career.
He would share that he paid the price for a lot of decisions. Some were scars he wore like stars, as with ending his last "paycheck" career. Others were deep regrets that informed his writing and songwriting, as in his song, "Best Quit Messin' Up," which he recorded and in which he plays a nice guitar solo. (The link to listen is near the end of the feature.)
Wayne became a struggling freelancer in a bad economy. Still, he made time for his art. Then came the cancer diagnosis. He didn't have long unless he accepted the textbook regimen of toxic treatments. So he did.
Wayne's son, Michael, says, "My dad was a fighter, and he gave cancer the best fight he could. He tried radiation and chemotherapy, but a year ago, the cancer returned and he underwent another round of chemotherapy. Finally they gave him an immune suppressant which also failed. He spent his last year fighting and living and giving. He left behind a lot of love, work, music, family, and friends. I still remember two months ago when he was worrying about everyone else. He always gave his heart and his mind to be fully invested in those he loved."
We'll get to that treasure-trove legacy of his art and music.
Michael tells us, "My dad passed peacefully with me and my mom at his side on November 4, 2016. He was peaceful and comfortable and in his own home. We laid his body to rest with a green shroud burial in Twenty-Nine Palms at Joshua Tree Memorial Park on November 11. His memorial was held at AV Reach in Quartz Hill on November 12."
Whether anyone else makes the connection of Wayne's chosen resting place with that of Gram Parsons, we feel the need to note it.
An untold number of his friends, especially his many friends in music, did not know of his passing, or of the arrangements in time to attend. Hence, this lengthy tribute.
Michael speaks to all of us in that regard, saying, "We would have loved to see you there, but we understand. We wish we had done more to reach out to others not on Facebook.
Michael continues, "He left behind a family with his wife Charlotte, his kids Michael Slater-Lunsford, Christopher Slater-Lunsford, and Jessica 'Avery' Callenback as well as four grandkids, Samuel, William, Alexander, and Jeremy Callenback."
Lyndsay Ortiz, a fellow writer and friend of Wayne’s, wrote a memorial for the Butler’s Coffee website. It was a venue Wayne had played many times, and which, in an added note of poignancy, hosted its own final performance just after Wayne's death; it is closing its doors this weekend.
Lindsay covers the needs of an obituary and conveys much more:
"WAYNE SLATER-LUNSFORD. February 14, 1951 – November 4, 2016. Wayne was the main man behind Desert Song Productions, and was also a 'ringtailed raconteur' (his words) and an accomplished musician in his own right, with an encyclopedic knowledge of all things music, and really, all things in general. But then, what do you expect of a U.S. Air Force brat with a brain about two sizes too big? Wayne was born in Georgia, and raised in a dozen locations across the US and England, eventually graduating from high school in Jacksonville Florida, where he learned to sight-read choral music. A rambling kinda guy, Wayne worked a wide assortment of jobs, including stints in electronics, truck driving, wood working, shipyard sheet metal and a couple of years playing guitar and singing before joining the Navy for the G.I. bill. He worked as a technical writer, a pilot, digital photographer, [college teacher - ed.] and ran Desert Song Productions. When presented with new technology, he didn’t begrudgingly take it on; he learned it inside and out. This would include the science behind his own chemotherapy and radiation treatments, which he kept detailed journals of, found in his cancer blog, at: http://waynesl.me/zombie/
"His passion for life didn’t stop at music and his writing wasn’t always technical, as Wayne wrote sensual and thought-provoking poetry and at the urging of a muse, some memoirs of his colorful adventures.
"Take a look into the mind of an impassioned man to truly understand who it was that we lost, even if he was often late, and a mischievous whirlwind of energy wherever he went. Wayne, your booming voice is missed."
That brings us to the point we promised, Wayne's legacy in his art and music.
All the proof is there: the former college teacher worked diligently and lovingly, knowing the time was growing short, to produce a website of astonishing depth with labyrinthine depths of artistic merit. His poetry is there. There are thoughtfully entertaining ruminations on technology — he once observed, "We are a juggernaut with a loose rudder." His stories read like tales told around a campfire. You can share journeys through the mind of that "mischievous whirlwind of energy." His original song lyrics are there, with links to studio-quality recordings of his music. Therein is proof of his sound wizardry: he produced the recordings himself, in his living room, and some of them sound like the basement studio at Columbia Records. He left us these as his parting statement, and they are parting gifts to us all.
Explore this remarkable man's remarkable website, the last of several he had, going back to the early days of the internet. His final site, and a delightful omnibus of his writing, songwriting, and music performances, is at: http://waynesl.me/
If you want to share any of what you find there, you can. You'll likely want to learn some of his songs. If you want to record them or attempt economic gain from his work, the copyright is a creative commons license and the details are on the site.
Finally, in addition to encouraging those online ruminations, we specifically direct you to the following listening experiences. Hear these songs once, and we 'spect you'll be back.
So, thank you, Wayne, for taking time to share and to leave us with something meaningful. As your son Michael said of you, "He left behind a lot of love, work, music, family, and friends... he was worrying about everyone else. He always gave his heart and his mind to be fully invested in those he loved."
High quality audio tracks are at Soundcloud:
His thoughtful song on what divides us resonates especially well post-election. It's called "Rigid Isms." It's at: https://soundcloud.com/waynesl/rigid-isms
One link brings four more tracks, selectable individually, with a total time of 12:02. He chose these well. You'll hear, at: https://soundcloud.com/waynesl/sets/waynesl-demo2
1. "Dark Money" (2:47)
2. "Rigid Isms" (earlier version, 2:26)
3. "Stand Your Ground" (2:58)
4. "Best Quit Messin' Up" (3:49; he plays a nice guitar solo at 2:20)
He also has material on Reverb Nation, at:
https://www.reverbnation.com/label/desertsongproductions
Wayne added more links on his site and on Soundcloud. Get to know him. Because every bit as much as Leonard Cohen, Leon Russell, Merle Haggard, Glenn Frey, Pete Huttlinger, Roz Larman, and the other musicians and gurus of Folk-Americana we have lost in 2016, Wayne is still with us through the magic of his recorded art. And as with as those famous others, that art deserves to be heard and shared.
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# 9 news feature...
THIS WEEKEND & EVENTS AHEAD: TASTY TREATS FROM THE MUSIC CALENDAR
The Guide no longer adds to this, being that we're returning to concentrating on MUSIC NEWS. BUT there are still things queued-up — THINGS THAT HAVEN'T HAPPENED YET. The Guide, for many years, published its trademark amazing annotated music calendar, L.A.'s best, hands-down. But we stopped, back on Oct. 28th. There were still events listed, and we continue to list them until the last one happens. Here they are.
Festivals, Concerts, whatever else that's appealing — stuff we've already rounded-up for a look ahead
Continuing shows with multiple-performance dates are listed first. Following are the festivals, the concerts, and everything else, listed chronologically.
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Fri, Sat, Sun, ongoing...
11 am-All day "LOS ANGELES FINE ART SHOW" is a new event running every Fri, Sat, & Sun, at the Los Angeles Convention Center, 1201 S Figueroa St, Los Angeles 90015; 213-741-1151; www.lacclink.com.
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It brings Art Galleries - Art Museums - Arts & Culture. The Los Angeles Fine Art Show, a new art fair dedicated to historic and contemporary traditional works, has just launched in conjunction with the LA Art Show.
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Tix: $20 at the door, or advance at: www.losangelesfineartshow.com
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...through Dec 11:
World premiere engagement of "HANSEL & GRETEL BLUEGRASS." Show runs Oct 29-Dec 11 at 24th St Theatre in L.A. It's Bluegrass as a classic fairy tale, narrated by distinguished actor BRADLEY WHITFORD ("The West Wing"), and features music of THE GET DOWN BOYS. Tix now available. Tix & info, 213-745-6516 or www.24thstreet.org.
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Sat, Dec 3:
5-8 pm 6th annual “HOLIDAYS ON THE HOMESTEAD” brings Cowboy Songs, a Chili Cook-off, Crafters, and more, at the Antelope Valley Indian Museum, a California State Park, at 15701 East Avenue M; a Lancaster address that's 20 miles from that town, and near Lake Los Angeles. Info, www.AVIM.parks.ca.gov; 661-946-3055.
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Stay warm around the blazing bonfire while cowboy-singer MICHAEL TCHERKASSKY, “The Saddle Serenader”, croons the romantic poetry about life on the range that cattlemen composed by day during their journeys across the old west, and then shared around the campfire when the sun went down. Michael has performed traditional cowboy songs and poetry for many years at the Santa Clarita Cowboy Festival and other events around the country.
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Featuring live acoustic music around a campfire, the museum, originally a 1930’s homestead, and its historic grounds, will be decorated in vintage holiday style. A chili cook-off, tours of the grounds, a country craft boutique, real cowboy coffee brewed over the fire, and hot chocolate or cider for the kids make for a nice evening. Explore the unique hand-built museum and whimsical grounds at night, with soft lighting and the smell of fresh greenery, and the wintery sky sparkling over the desert.
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The country craft boutique features unique gift ideas, made by local artists. The crafters carry on the artistic tradition of Howard Arden Edwards, who built the Indian Museum to display his collection of American Indian artifacts. The Craftsman-style building is decorated with his colorful representations of Indian culture and creative hand-made furniture.
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Rose Edwards was known for her tasty rib-sticking chili and cornbread feasts at their holiday celebrations. Try the chili cook-off entries and Rose’s original 1930 Christmas Chili recipe, complemented by delicious cornbread generously provided by The Lemon Leaf Café.
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The Chili Cook-off is still open to competitor sign-ups, and vendors are still being accepted. Contact Jean Rhyne at 661-946-6900 or Jean.Rhyne@parks.ca.gov for information.
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This event is a fundraiser for the non-profit Friends of the Antelope Valley Indian Museum, which provides funding to help keep the museum open. Event is rain or shine to support the museum!
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Event admission is $10 for adults, $5 for ages 6-12, and ages 5 and under are free.
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Cell phones are iffy out there, so here are directions. From Fwy 14, take Avenue K east 17 miles, turn right on 150th Street East for two miles, then left on East Avenue M. The museum is on the left, at the foot of the big rocky butte.
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Sat, Dec 3:
8 pm WITCHER, RECUPIDO, AND LEVITT, featuring the nucleus of the Witcher Brothers, Dennis Witcher and Tony Recupido, joined by the fine banjo of Dan Levitt, play the Pasadena Folk Music Society series at Caltech in Pasadena. Park free in either lot at the S end of Michigan Av, S off Del Mar. Call the Caltech Ticket Office Monday through Friday, 9 am-4 pm, at 626-395-4652, or buy tickets online or at the door (if any remain). www.Pasadenafolkmusicsociety.org.
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Sat, Dec 3:
9 pm: THE COUNT BASIE SEPTET, presented by The World Stage Performance Gallery on The World Stage, 4321 Degnan, Leimert Park (Los Angeles). Tix $15-$20. The Count Basie Orchestra, founded over 80 years ago, is widely regarded as the greatest jazz orchestra in the world. The orchestra continues to tour the world spreading its unique brand of swing. In early December The Count Basie Orchestra will be in Los Angeles to record its latest collection of music. During their stint at Capitol Records several of the band members will break from the recording to "stretch out" at the venerable World Stage Performance Gallery co-founded by master drummer Billy Higgins and consummate poet Kamau Daaood. This is a historic, limited engagement. One night only. ** Presale tickets are $15, available before Nov 1.
** General Admission tix are $20 thru Dec 2, 2016. Tickets at the door, subject to availability.
** Because seating for this historic, limited engagement is limited, patrons are advised to purchase tickets in advance, at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-count-basie-septet-the-world-stage-tickets-27344172155?aff=erellivmlt
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Sun, Dec 4:
ANDREA BOCELLI plays the Honda Center in Anaheim.
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Tue, Dec 27:
3:30 & 7:30 pm TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA plays two Southern Cal shows during its annual national holiday tour, both at Citizens Business Bank Arena, Ontario. Trans-Siberian Orchestra (TSO) is an American progressive rock band founded in 1996 by Paul O'Neill. The Washington Post has called them "an arena-rock juggernaut", describing their music as "Pink Floyd meets The Who and Andrew Lloyd Weber." 2014 marks the first time they will be touring their all new live rock opera “The Christmas Attic”. This new show features songs that have never been performed live as well as fan favorites including 'Wizards In Winter, 'Requiem' and 'Christmas Eve/ Sarajevo 12/24'". TSO has played more than 1,600 shows for more than 13 million fans, cementing itself as one of the world's biggest rock acts. Tix at: http://www.ticketmaster.com/artist/780815?wt.mc_id=EML_NTF1038455_4
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Mar 7 & 8, 2017:
RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS with TROMBONE SHORTY & ORLEANS AVENUE play Staples Center.
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May 27, 2017:
2nd show added: "BRIAN WILSON PRESENTS PET SOUNDS: The Final Performances with special guests AL JARDINE and BLONDIE CHAPLIN," at the Hollywood Pantages."
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Tix available now. You nay get some advantage by using the password: PETSOUNDS
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LEGALESE, CONTACTING US, 'N SUCH...
Boilerplate? Where's the main pressure gauge? And the firebox?
What "boilerplate"? Who came up with that goofy term for the basic essential informational stuff...
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Pssst — Hey, kid. Yeah, YOU: It won't be so "basic" when we add all the links for the global network of music news / music education sites that we're joining; THAT'LL be here very soon, as an ESSENTIAL COMPONENT of the Guide returning to being a MUSIC NEWS journal!
Direct to the Guide's current editions /
MOBILE-DEVICE-FRIENDLY
editions load quickly at
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www.acousticamericana.blogspot.com
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Tiedtothetracks (at) Hotmail (dot) com
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Contents copyright © 2016,
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♪ The ACOUSTIC AMERICANA MUSIC GUIDE endeavors to bring you NEWS — and views of interest to artists everywhere — more specifically to musicians and the creative community and music makers and fans of acoustic and Folk-Americana music. That includes both traditional and innovative forms. From the deepest roots to today’s acoustic renaissance, that’s our beat. We provide a wealth of resources, including a HUGE catalog of acoustic-friendly venues (now undergoing a major update), and inside info on FESTIVALS and select performances in Southern California in venues from the monumentally large to the intimately small and cozy. We cover workshops, conferences, and other events for artists and folks in the music industry, and all kinds o’ things in the world of acoustic and Americana and accessible classical music. From washtub bass to musical spoons to oboe to viola to banjo to squeezebox, from Djangostyle to new-fangled-old-time string band music, from sweet Cajun fiddle to bluegrass and pre-bluegrass Appalachian mountain music to all the swamp water roots of the blues and the bright lights of where the music is headed now.
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The Acoustic Americana Music Guide. Thanks for sittin' a spell. The porch'll be here anytime you come back from the road.
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