HAPPY MUSICAL 4th OF JULY!

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LIVE MUSIC EVENTS ON THE 4th include a pair of daytime festivalish musicalities, some "SHOW-of-the-WEEK" picks, music before fireworks, music with fireworks, and a Grammy-winning rockabilly star who performs after you've had time to catch fireworks.

We open this edition with a moving essay — an anonymous essay — on Americana Music for the Fourth of July. Get your hankie ready.

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AMERICA'S MUSIC & THE FOURTH OF JULY

If you attend a fireworks show tonight, you'll hear the annual resurrection of John Phillip Souza's rousing band music. More than likely, it'll be combined with some Aaron Copland and plenty of modern film music, the latter mostly by John Williams.

But we want to note how appropriate it is on this American National Holiday to think about, celebrate, and hear Folk-Roots-Americana music. And we mean to celebrate all of it in its broadest, most inclusive sense.

We were sent a fine essay that helps do just that. It's origins are a bit obscure. It may date to 1993, though things in it are clearly more recent cultural idioms.

An old email from Jerry Kay to Ed Pearl is as far back as we can trace it. It is supposed to have been written by "A local reporter," perhaps in Northern California, been printed, and years later, reprinted in at least one newspaper, and at one time it seems that it appeared on the now-defunct santacruzlive.com site.

Like all buried treasure, the excitement of the find only adds to its sparkle.

Here it is:

"There are, of course, many fine and meaningful ways to spend the Independence Day holiday. Spending time with the family is an admirable one, as is getting out of the house and into the woods somewhere. After all, how can you love a country if you never get out into the country?

"But one that resonates deep within me is music. Mount Rushmore is a pathetic monument indeed compared to the magnificently rich heritage of American music. Young (and not so young) people much too hip to ever profess love of their country are moved every day by musical expressions that in some deep way say something about who we are and where we came from.

"So let us, this Fourth of July, declare a new brand of patriotism that has nothing to do with flags, marching bands and bombs bursting in air; that rejects cheap 'hooray-for-our-side's' boosterism.

"What then exactly is this new love of country?

"It's the ancient sounds of Mississippi Delta blues. It's the growl of Muddy Waters, the wail of Bessie Smith. It's the primeval sound of Son House, the electric emotion of B.B. King. It's Howlin' Wolf and Big Bill Broonzy.

"It's the wandering loneliness of Leadbelly, the dusty minstrel voice of Pete Seeger, the mournful keening of the Appalachian fiddle. Utah Phillips and Doc Watson.

"It's the lost spirit of Hank Williams, the damned soul of Jerry Lee Lewis, the soft menace of Johnny Cash.

"It's Nat King Cole and Hoagy Carmichael. It's the rolling piano of Fats Waller, the Kansas City sass of Count Basie. It's the doomed artistry of Monk, Mingus, Coltrane and Bird. It's the brilliance of Miles Davis.

"But it's also the New Orleans gris-gris of Dr. John, the whiskey-tinged Texas sound of Waylon Jennings. It's church-pew gospel and street corner doo wop. It's Motown, it's rockabilly. It's Elvis and Buddy Holly.

"It's Woody Guthrie's 'Aint Got No Home,' Bob Dylan's 'With God On Our Side,' and Peter Rowan's 'Dust Bowl Children,' Otis Redding and Marvin Gaye. It's Aretha and James Brown.

"It's Janis Joplin's 'A Piece of My Heart.' It's a Dead show at the Fillmore. It's Hendrix at Monterey Pop.

"It's the rambling songs of Steve Goodman, the beautiful cynicism of Randy Newman. It's Duane Allman riding down Highway 41. It's Kate Wolf on a Sonoma County riverbank.

"It's nortenyo and tejana. It's Hawaiian slack-key. It's samba and salsa. It's Navajo wood flute. It's reggae and ska, California-style.

"It's Lou Reed in New York, Carlos Santana in San Francisco, Emmylou Harris in Nashville. It's visionary misfits like Neil Young, Frank Zappa and Brian Wilson.

"America is a noisy place. Walt Whitman recognized that more than a hundred years ago when he wrote, 'I Hear America Singing.' Yet, that singing wasn't always the clipped, efficient unison of the military marching band doing 'Stars and Stripes Forever.' It was a million-throated cacophony of voices.

"There is nothing more quintessentially American than picking up a used guitar and singing Grateful Dead tunes on the street corner for quarters. There is no greater expression of the personal freedom embodied in this great nation's mythology than dancing barefoot on the grass with an abandon of a child.

"Free speech is revered as one of the greatest guarantors of our political freedom. But free speech doesn't have to be speech at all. John Coltrane's free speech was his sax, T-Bone Walker's his guitar.

"No rational person can look at America and not see its flaws, its ugly history, its arrogances and blindness. But, for most of us, it's the only home we've ever known. And it is worth cherishing.

"So, if you're like me, you'll cherish America this Fourth of July by playing or listening to the music you love. If enough of us do that, maybe even old Walt Whitman will still be able to hear us."

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Thanks to Ed Pearl's The Ash Grove for bringing this fine essay to us so we can share it with you.

Happy Fourth of July!


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LIVE MUSIC EVENTS ON THE 4th...


Sat, Jul 4, in Topanga:
11 am-all day  "OLD-FASHIONED BARN DANCE & BARBEQUE" with master fiddler and dance caller EVO BLUESTEIN, at the lovely outdoor Will Geer Theatricum-Botanicum, 1419 N Topanga Canyon Bl, Topanga 90290; 310-455-3723.
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The delightful venue brings an all-ages event that includes children’s games, a pie-eating contest, a watermelon-seed-spitting contest, cake walk, horseshoes, relay races, dunk bucket, and more. Call for ticket info.

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Sat, Jul 4,
FESTIVAL "plus,"
near Temecula:
11 am-2 pm  "FRENCH VALLEY FOURTH OF JULY FESTIVAL" features the nu-folk of SHELBY & TIEG with their BAND, in Field View Park, "a fun little festival at a park" near the corner of Benton & Washington in the town of Winchester, near Temecula.
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Shelby & Tieg go on at 12:45 pm. They're freshly back from playing Anchorage, Homer and Seldovia, Alaska, and the Seldovia "Summer Solstice Music Festival."
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About today, the musical duo tells us, "It'll have food and rides and the best part is, it’s FREE! Since the event ends kind of early in the day and you might like to just spend the rest of the day in Temecula, there’s a great place you can go to have fun and view THE fireworks show of Temecula if you find yourself at a loss for what to do with the rest of the day. I’ll post the information on where each event is below. Hope we can see you there in your red, white and blue!"
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Here’s Tieg's info for the "Fun and Fireworks" after their event is over. It's just a 15 minute drive away from the festival. Festivities in Temecula start at 2 pm in Ronald Reagan Sports Park, where the Fireworks show starts at 9 pm. Full schedule and details at:
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http://temeculaevents.org/4thofjulyfireworks/

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A “SHOW-of-the-WEEK” pick:

Sat, Jul 4, in Venice:
4 pm  “OF THEE I SING: THE MAGNA CARTA AT 800,” is ROSS ALTMAN’s latest musical presentation of history and culture, and it encores tonight only at Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center, 681 Venice Bl, Venice 90292; 310-822-3006.
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Tonight’s presentation varies from the original last month on the actual 800th birthday of the Magna Carta; this is “a musical performance featuring Ross Altman with special guests Jill Fenimore & April Halprin Wayland, presented by Beyond Baroque,” and the original presentation was Ross mostly solo.
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“Of Thee I Sing: The Magna Carta @ 800” is a © production of Grey Goose Music. For more, contact Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center at 310-822-3006 or email Ross Altman at greygoosemusic@aol.com
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Admission is only $4, so this will sell-out. Call ahead and arrive early for a good seat. Light refreshments served. And you're out in time for fireworks.

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Sat, Jul 4; Fri-Sun, Jul 3-5, in Hollywood:
7:30 pm  Annual "FIREWORKS SPECTACULAR" symphony concert at the Hollywood Bowl. You may still be able to find tickets somewhere if you Google it.

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Sat, Jul 4, in OC (Costa Mesa):
7:30 pm  Annual "4th OF JULY FIREWORKS CONCERT" with Pacific Symphony at Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre. Go early to have time for food and libations from vendors or take your own picnic. Hint: if you have the best seats for the concert, you won't be able to see the fireworks. When the mass migration occurs from the seats to the meadow, be part of it to see the fireworks.
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Tix at:
www.pacificsymphony.org

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A “SHOW-of-the-WEEK” pick:

Sat, Jul 4, in Pasadena:
8 pm  DUSTBOWL REVIVAL brings its acclaimed Americana and array of acoustic instruments, including horns, to the special Fourth of July FREE CONCERT at the Levitt Pavilion for the Performing Arts in Memorial Park, 85 E Holly St (at Walnut), Pasadena 91103; 626-683-3230.
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The park affords decent viewing of the massive fireworks show above the Rose Bowl.
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Ride the Gold Line light rail to Memorial Park Station and you're right there — having avoided all that Rose Bowl traffic!
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Food vendors are on-site; some local eateries have take-out and are several blocks' walk. Or best of all, bring a picnic (but no alcohol is allowed in the park and they will cite you).
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Best of all, this is great music, fireworks after the concert, and it's FREE.

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A “SHOW-of-the-WEEK” pick:

Sat, Jul 4, in OC (Santa Ana):
8 pm  Grammy-winning rockabilly legend WANDA JACKSON, with bassist PAUL MARSHALL, headlines a night with ISAAC ROTHER & THE PHANTOMS, BIG SANDY & HIS FLY-RITE BOYS, and CUTTY FLAM, in a rather 'uge show at The Observatory, 3503 S Harbor Bl, Santa Ana 92704; 714-957-0600
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Doors at 7; Wanda is on at 11 pm. So you can watch fireworks in the sky and still get there to watch Wanda make musical fireworks on stage.
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Admission is a shockingly cheap $5. FIVE BUCKS(!)

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The Guide's wishes all our
readers — in the states, and
everyone, worldwide, who
loves Acoustic Americana
Music — a delightful and
HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!
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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, both traditional and innovative. We provide a wealth of resources, including a HUGE catalog of acoustic-friendly venues, and schedules of performances in Southern California venues large and small. We cover workshops and other events for artists and folks in the music industry, and all kids 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 pre-bluegrass Appalachian mountain music to proto blues.
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The Acoustic Americana Music Guide. Thanks for sittin' with us a spell.
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