Grab your banjo, Cupid: it's the Guide's Valentine's Weekend edition, Feb 13, 2016

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Valentine's edition, with things to do this weekend, news of upcoming music events, AND we're just in time to dodge (or catch) Cupid's arrow, with the scoop on the actual, just discovered, physics of entanglements.

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Contents / In this edition...

1)  Quantum Valentine's Entanglements: Love Among Particles Brings Philosophy to Science

2)  Listen Online: 31 Alt Country / Americana Hot Tracks

3)  Still Time to Play for "The Dead Covers Project"

4)  Valentine's Contradance Saturday Brings West Virginia Musician

5)  NetteRadio and LAWIM to Team-up for Songwriter Showcase February 26

6)  "O Berkley Where Hart Thou" Returns April 9

7)  Sure We Should Practice, but Shouldn't it be... Fun, or Somehow Satisfying?

8)  Saturday Night Music with Steam Locomotive Imagery?

9)  Folkies Steve Gillette & Cindy Mangsen Coming Soon

10)  "Re-Pete" to Celebrate Pete Seeger

11)  Upcoming at Alvas Showroom: it Isn't all Jazz

12)  Valentine's Weekend & Beyond, with
Concerts / Ticket Alerts / Good Musical Miscellany...

Let's get started!

(To find a concert happening THIS WEEKEND, scroll to the final feature story.)


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# 1 news feature...

QUANTUM VALENTINE'S ENTANGLEMENTS: LOVE AMONG PARTICLES BRINGS PHILOSOPHY TO SCIENCE

Just in time for Valentine's Day, it's the ultimate science nerd story about the ultimate attraction. NASA scientists even call it "particles in love."

This is a serious relationship. It's complicated. On Friday, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena told the world, "Entangled particles influence each other instantaneously even when they are physically far apart."

"Particles in Love" are, it seems, a manifestation of Quantum Mechanics, explored and described in a just-released new study. But then, "new discoveries" in science are a bit like "overnight sensations" in music: there's a story nobody knows about a lot of toil for a lot of years before that "instant" stardom happened.

In this case, it goes way back to the 1960s, when theoretical physicist John Bell proposed that a model of reality with hidden variables must allow for this kind of entanglement — which seems both wonky and waffley — but we are talking science nerds here. People who obsess over jilted ideas for a loooong time. Then, "suddenly" in 2015, three papers were published that support Bell's old hypothesis. Sorta like seeing that old flame at your high school reunion.

And now it's a love story. And it's at the smallest scales imaginable: particles of light. But it all reads a lot more like philosophy and that old idea you had when you believed you and your first major crush were made for each other.

Brace yourself:

As it turns out, it is possible to have particles that are so intimately linked that a change to one affects the other, even when they are separated at a distance.

This idea, called "entanglement," is part of the branch of physics called quantum mechanics, a description of the way the world works at the level of atoms and particles that are even smaller. Quantum mechanics says that at these very tiny scales, some properties of particles are based entirely on probability.

In other words, nothing is certain until it happens. (I've had girlfriends like that. And we're not even to the part about "entanglement" yet.)

Even Albert Einstein did not entirely believe that the laws of quantum mechanics described reality. He and others postulated that there must be some hidden variables at work, which would allow quantum systems to be predictable.

In 1964, things got goofy. John Bell published the idea that any model of physical reality with such hidden variables also must allow for the instantaneous influence of one particle on another — that particles can still affect each other when they are far apart, according to Bell. And that's after Einstein proved that information cannot travel faster than the speed of light, Bell still maintained they influence each other at exactly the same instant, despite being far — even very far — apart.

Scientists consider Bell's theorem an important foundation for modern physics. While many experiments have taken place to try to prove his theorem, until recently, no one was able to run a full, proper test of the experiment that Bell would have needed. In 2015, three separate studies were published on the topic, all consistent with the predictions of quantum mechanics and entanglement.

"What's exciting is that in some sense, we're doing experimental philosophy," said Krister Shalm, physicist with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Boulder, Colorado. Shalm is lead author on one of the 2015 studies testing Bell's theorem.

"Humans have always had certain expectations of how the world works, and when quantum mechanics came along, it seemed to behave differently."

That gets us to "How 'Alice and Bob' Test Quantum Mechanics."

The paper by Shalm, Marsili and colleagues was published in the deep-dive journal "Physical Review Letters," with the mind-bending title "Strong Loophole-Free Test of Local Realism."

"Our paper and the other two published last year show that Bell was right: any model of the world that contains hidden variables must also allow for entangled particles to influence one another at a distance," said Francesco Marsili of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, who collaborated with Shalm.

An analogy helps to understand the experiment, which was conducted at a NIST laboratory in Boulder: Imagine that A and B are entangled photons. A is sent to Alice and B is sent to Bob, who are located 607 feet (185 meters) apart. Alice and Bob poke and prod at their photons in all kinds of ways to get a sense of their properties. Without talking to each other, they then each randomly decide how to measure their photons, using random number generators to guide their decisions.

When Alice and Bob compare notes, they are surprised to find that the results of their independent experiments are correlated. In other words, even at a distance, measuring one photon of the entangled pair affects the properties of the other photon.

"It's as if Alice and Bob try to tear the two photons apart, but their love still persists," Shalm said.

In other words, the entangled photons behave as if they are two parts of a single system, even when separated in space. Alice and Bob — representing actual photon detectors — then repeat this with many other pairs of entangled photons, and the phenomenon persists.

In reality, the photon detectors are not people, but — brace yourself — superconducting nanowire single photon detectors (SNSPDs).

SNSPDs are metal strips that are cooled until they become "superconducting," meaning they lose their electric resistance. A photon hitting this strip causes it to turn into a normal metal again momentarily, so the resistance of the strip jumps from zero to a finite value. This change in resistance allows the researchers to record the event.

To make this experiment happen in a laboratory, the big challenge is to avoid losing photons as they get sent to the Alice and Bob detectors through an optical fiber. JPL and NIST developed SNSPDs with world record performance, demonstrating more than 90 percent efficiency and low "jitter," or uncertainty on the time of arrival of a photon.

This experiment would not have been possible without SNSPDs.

So, like, "Why This is Useful?" Spies. 007.

The design of this experiment could potentially be used in cryptography — making information and communications secure — as it involves generating random numbers.

"The same experiment that tells us something deep about how the world is constructed also can be used for these applications that require you to keep your information safe," Shalm said.

Cryptography isn't the only application of this research. Detectors similar to those used for the experiment, which were built by JPL and NIST, could eventually also be used for deep-space optical communication. With a high efficiency and low uncertainty about the time of signal arrival, these detectors are well-suited for transmitting information with pulses of light in the optical spectrum.

"Right now we have the Deep Space Network to communicate with spacecraft around the solar system, which encodes information in radio signals. With optical communications, we could increase the data rate of that network 10- to 100-fold," Marsili said.

Deep space optical communication using technology similar to the detectors in Marsili's experiment was demonstrated with NASA's Lunar Atmosphere Dust and Environment Explorer (LADEE) mission, which orbited the moon from October 2013 to April 2014. A technology mission called the Lunar Laser Communication Demonstration, with components on LADEE and on the ground, downlinked data encoded in laser pulses, and made use of ground receivers based on SNSPDs.

Now, NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate is working on the Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD) mission. The mission proposes to revolutionize the way we send and receive data, video and other information, using lasers to encode and transmit data at rates 10 to 100 times faster than today's fastest radio-frequency systems, using significantly less mass and power.

"Information can never travel faster than the speed of light — Einstein was right about that. But through optical communications research, we can increase the amount of information we send back from space," Marsili said. "The fact that the detectors from our experiment have this application creates great synergy between the two endeavors."

And so, what began as the study of "love" between particles is contributing to innovations in communications between space and Earth.

"Love makes the world go 'round," and it may, in a sense, help us learn about other worlds. Or you could just buy her a box of chocolates. At the exact same instant that she's buying you a box of chocolates. Or that Forrest Gump is eating a box of chocolates. A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. At exactly the same time in an entanglement. Where are those chocolates?


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# 2 news feature...

LISTEN ONLINE: 31 ALT COUNTRY / AMERICANA HOT TRACKS

Rhino has 31 new tunes "to wipe away those winter blues" — presumably the slogan for those in snow country — or, since Rhino is based in Burbank, perhaps to wash away our Southern California concern over the El Niño bust of no rain.

Either way, there's some fine free music to enjoy. Those 31 tracks include music from:

• Lucinda Williams
• Buddy Miller
• Kacey Musgraves
• J.D. McPherson
• Wilco
• The Wainwright Sisters
• Joe Ely
• Son Volt
• Judy Collins
• Eilen Jewell
• Sam Gleaves
• Connie Smith
• Watkins Family Hour
• Eric Church
• Jesse Winchester
And 16 more.

Have a listen and get info on adding the music to your repertoire at:

www.rhino.com/article/new-playlist-alt-country-8


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# 3 news feature...

STILL TIME TO PLAY FOR "THE DEAD COVERS PROJECT"

Grateful Dead fans and budding musicians should enjoy the 2016 "DEAD COVERS PROJECT," in full swing right now and being promoted by Rhino Records. There's still time to show-off your own musical chops, so Rhino says, "grab your banjo and your best friend and commit your favorite Grateful Dead song to video."

Upload your video to YouTube, tag it "Dead Covers Project," and Rhino tells us, "you just might find yourself front and center on Dead.net" — and they add for anyone who is tone deaf, "Join the fun by 'liking' your favorites on YouTube.

Learn more at:

http://www.dead.net/features/dead-covers-project/dead-covers-project-2016


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# 4 news feature...

VALENTINE'S CONTRADANCE SATURDAY NIGHT BRINGS WEST VIRGINIA MUSICIAN

There’s dancing at the Womans Club in South Pasadena every month, always with a live band, a good caller, dance instruction, and some eats. This one just happens to be on Valentine's weekend. But that's not all that's special.

Jeff Spero will be calling the dances with Ben Townsend, Laura Osborn, and Steve, the event organizer, making the music.

If the name “Ben Townsend” doesn’t ring a bell, that’s because this is his first contradance since relocating to Los Angeles from his native home in West Virginia. Ben is a full-time musician and teacher, a multi-instrumentalist on fiddle, guitar, and banjo. He’s a veteran of many, many contradances as well as square dances in West Virginia and surrounding states.

With Jeff and Ben leading the way, it’s sure to a fun evening of music and dance.

It's Saturday, Feb. 13, at the Woman’s Club of South Pasadena, 1424 Fremont Av, South Pasadena 91030.

Instruction for new dancers is at 7:30 pm. Contradance is 8-11 pm.

Adults, $12. Students with ID, $8. Age 12 and under are free. CDSS members get $1 off.

More info at:

www.caldancecoop.org


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# 5 news feature...

NETTERADIO & LAWIM TO TEAM-UP FOR SONGWRITER SHOWCASE FEBRUARY 26

LAWIM — Los Angeles Women in Music — has been actively promoting women artists and women in all aspects of the music industry for many years, with a membership of both men and women. NetteRadio is a long-running web radio show that plays recorded tracks by female musicians and bands fronted by women singers. The radio show, developed and hosted by Annette Conlon (hence, 'Nette Radio), also hosts live performances.

LAWIM had, until recent years, the longest-running monthly singer-songwriter showcase in town, its famed "Soiree."

That brings us to the third element, the venue. MUSE on 8th is a mid-city coffeehouse serving tasty light fare and showcasing indie music, alternating with standup comics and spoken word performances, nightly.

Put the three together and you get the event on Friday, February 26, running from 7:30-10:30 pm at MUSE and going out live on the web (PST).

It's free, but the cover is a two-item purchase from the menu to support the venue. MUSE on 8th is located at 759 South La Brea Av, Los Angeles 90036.

This is a one-time team-up with LAWIM for tge web radio show's "Fourth Friday Songwriter Showcase," which runs every month here, hosted by and featuring artists hand-picked by Annette Conlon of NetteRadio.

This edition features all LAWIM pro members
Amanda Ply, Michele Vreeland, Tracy Newman & the Reinforcements, and Annette Conlon with Doug Conlon.

Arrive early to get a seat and for the LAWIM "Meet and Mingle" happening from 7:30-8 pm. The music starts promptly at 8 pm, and this is a listening-room environment (meaning go outside if you need to talk after the performances begin).

Annette tells us, "Arrive no later than 7:30 pm to allow for parking and dinner orders."

Muse on 8th is located on La Brea between at the corner of 8th (just south of Wilshire). They offer organic vegetarian / vegan fare, fair trade coffee, desserts and baked goods from local bakeries, and more (check them out at www.museon8th.com). Arrive hungry and purchase menu items to help support the venue. Annette adds, "It's all freshly made and yummy."

She adds, "Fancy a drink? The Little Bar is next door so you can pop over between sets for a quick nip. We usually have a few after-show drinks at The Little Bar."

Parking is free but limited due to construction on La Brea or side streets, so get there early for a spot. There is a $5 valet next door at the Little Bar and other establishments on La Brea. Allow plenty of time for parking as the whole area fills-up fast after 7:30 pm.

More info...
www.museon8th.com
www.netteradio.com
www.lawim.com


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# 6 news feature...

"O BERKLEY WHERE HART THOU" RETURNS APRIL 9

Jeff Berkley and Calman Hart are perennial winners of singer-songwriter awards and the top San Diego-based acoustic duo. When they first conceived "O Berkley Where Hart Thou?" as an all-star line-up of San Diego musicians to recreate the Grammy Award-winning soundtrack to “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” they were most interested in hearing and presenting the music performed “Grand Ole’ Opry style.” That was several years ago. And every year, it returns as much because the cast of musicians demands it as because the public wants to hear it. It's coming back for its single night in 2016 at the Poway Center for the Performing Arts.

It happens Saturday, April 9, at 8 pm. This year's lineup of guest stars includes Eve Selis,Marc Twang, Gregory Page, Robin Henkel, and,"of course," the return of The 7th Day Buskers, with more to come. Get your tickets promptly (these annual shows always sell-out).

Tix are available now at:

www.powayonstage.org/297/Oh-Berkley-Where-Hart-Thou/


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# 7 news feature...

SURE WE SHOULD PRACTICE, BUT SHOULDN'T IT BE... FUN, OR SOMEHOW SATISFYING?

When the monthly newsletter arrived Friday from the good folks at the Deering Banjo Company (www.deeringbanjos.com), it contained a wonderful piece on philosophy, in the guise of practicing your musical instrument. Ostensibly, the banjo. But this is transcendent. Hence, the title we imposed above. Here's the piece, and if you're expecting a dissertation on pickin' an' grinnin', think again.

Practicing Practice -Tools to Help You Learn the Banjo

By Barry Hunn, Worldwide Sales Manager, Deering Banjos

When learning to play the banjo (or learning anything for that matter) learning becomes more enjoyable when we can accept where we are at that time in our development. What is very common for most of us is that we tend to want to immediately be where we are able to perform at a very high level of skill before we have actually developed that skill.

What is needed for learning is a balance between a drive to improve and an almost complacent satisfaction with where we are at this moment. If we are too complacent, we stop reaching for new techniques, ideas, and we stop developing. On the other hand, if the drive to improve overrides our enjoyment of the moment, then playing the banjo becomes an arduous and odious task that needs to be endured, instead of enjoyed, in order to accomplish a “goal.”

This might seem really obvious, but when you’re practicing, and working toward a specific skill level or goal, it is amazingly easy to fall into a feeling that you will never arrive where you want to be unless you push yourself very forcefully. It’s so easy to fall into this, because in most cases, our desire to accomplish something overrides our ability to see where we are at that moment. Almost everybody does this: the degree to which we do this does vary from individual to individual.

For those of you who have read my articles in the past, you know that I speak about this patience and practicing idea from personal experience. I used a finger pick bluegrass banjo professionally, and during my college days I performed with friends and other performers and shared the stage with acts like Earl Scruggs and the Earl Scruggs Review.

However, I inherited the medical condition called focal dystonia, which pretty much ended my banjo picking career. Not being a person that likes to give up on anything, I ended up working with physical therapists and various doctors for more than 25 years in an effort to regain my ability to finger pick the banjo.

The knowledge gained from this experience has helped me to understand the process of learning and how difficult this process can seem to students just beginning. It has also revealed insights of how to make the learning process more enjoyable, easier, and, believe it or not, a little faster.

The Pressure of Time

We have all observed children who learn easily and seemingly quickly. While it is true that we are able to learn more easily when we are young, it is also true that most children do not bear the time constraints or emotional pressures of most adults. I have seen adults learn to play the banjo about as easily as many children. However, they always accomplish this because they have managed to control their perception of progress within the confines of the time that they have available.

In my observation over 50 years of learning and teaching banjo, (as well as learning other activities), the students who learn the quickest, ironically, are usually the students who thoroughly enjoy every moment they spend with their banjo. They don’t enjoy it if they make progress, they enjoy it whether they make progress or not… At least, that is their attitude.

The Pressure of Talent Perception

Probably the single most difficult challenge that new musicians face is the question that can float into a person’s mind, “do I have the needed talent to be able to play the banjo?”

While everyone has different innate abilities (whether in music, sports, art, analytical thinking, etc.), I have never met or seen anyone who was unable to play the banjo at least at a very basic level. (This isn’t necessarily true for other fretted stringed instruments.)

The Pressure Builds

So, here’s the problem: we have an adult who has to work for a living, possibly raising children, taking care of the home, and all of the responsibilities that accompany these wonderful daily activities. Buried inside of all of this is the desire to play the banjo. How in the world is this going to be accomplished?

There is an old story about a man who was being chased by a hungry tiger. In order to escape, he ran to a very sheer cliff, jumped over the edge, and was hanging on by his fingertips. Just when he thought he was safe, he looked down below and there was a huge hungry crocodile in the river below him. So up above him was the hungry tiger and below him was the hungry crocodile. While he looked up and below, trying to figure out how to get out of this mess, he looked straight ahead, and growing off of the cliff was a huge, ripe, red strawberry. He reached out, plucked the strawberry, took a big bite and thought to himself, "man, that’s good."

The idea of this story is that even though we have difficulties in both time and circumstance, we can decide to make the best use of and enjoy the very moment in which we are living.

When you think about it, if you enjoy the banjo, and you want to learn to play, what’s your hurry? Do you have to play like a professional by next Thursday? Or perhaps more precisely, do you ever have to play like a professional? Does every person who goes to a golf course on Saturday or Sunday have to play like a professional? Does every person who shoots a few baskets in the evenings at the local gym have to play like a professional basketball player?

Practice Practicing

What if we practiced our practicing technique?  What I mean by this, is what if we practiced clearing our mind of any expectations of accomplishing anything while were playing the banjo? Also, this would include expectations of the time we plan to spend or the level of accomplishment that we would achieve.

For example: why can’t we sit down, knowing we have 10 minutes, and just slowly, joyfully practice what we know how to do right now? Children have an easier time doing this mostly, because they have no other responsibilities. Okay… We’re not children and we do have responsibilities, but what if we could forget about that for just 10 minutes?

From what I have heard and read, we tend to improve our abilities when we practice them, regardless of what the abilities are. However, if we practice techniques that are self-defeating, then we are digging ourselves into a hole even though “we’re putting in the time.”

How many of us have worked hard to develop some sort of skill or technique, only to become frustrated and feel thwarted regardless of how much time we invest? I think, if we analyze what happened, we would very likely see that we did make progress, but our “expectations” or our “peer evaluations” did not match with the progress that we achieved.

When I was learning to play as a young man, it really was terribly disappointing when a family member or friend was rather blasé or not very encouraging when I would play the banjo in a family setting. They were often comparing me to the professionals… And they convinced me by their lack of approval to compare myself to professionals, as well.

As I got older, I began to see that everyone experienced these kinds of disappointments in feedback from friends, family, acquaintances, etc. I also began to see that while some of these “observations by interested persons” were offered innocently and without any intention of being malicious or cruel, they were rather heartbreaking, nonetheless.

On the positive side, they could also be used to spur me on to greater development: if I did not treat them as the final word of judgment, of my skill level, or innate ability.

So perhaps one of the most important techniques to practice is to practice the sheer joy that comes from playing the banjo. After all, a person who can play with magnificent technique but who is not enjoying the playing because they are “waiting for a great moment of achievement” is no happier than a beginner who is also waiting to “be able to play”.

Playing the banjo can be very simple. Playing the banjo can be very complex. But I think all of us are searching for the joy that comes from playing the banjo.

I think we would all be better off to practice the joy.

— Barry Hunn

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BARRY HUNN IS WORLDWIDE SALES MANAGER FOR DEERING BANJOS, A POSITION HE HAS HELD FOR MORE THAN 18 YEARS AS PART OF HIS MORE THAN 40 YEARS IN THE MUSIC INDUSTRY. HIS EXPERIENCE ENCOMPASSES PERFORMING WITH ARTISTS LIKE EARL SCRUGGS, DOC WATSON, THE MAMAS & THE PAPAS, AND DANNY O’KEEFE, AND TEACHING FIVE STRING FINGER PICKING BANJO AT THE UNIVERSITY OF IDAHO, BOTH IN GROUPS AND AS A SOLOIST, AND TEACHING PRIVATELY FOR OVER TWENTY YEARS. HE DEVELOPED DEERING’S “TWO FINGER METHOD” TO SHOW NON-MUSICIANS THAT THEY CAN PLAY THE BANJO. SEVERAL MUSIC INDUSTRY HISTORIANS AND BUSINESS LEADERS HAVE SAID HE HAS SOLD MORE AMERICAN-MADE BANJOS THAN ANY PERSON IN HISTORY.


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# 8 news feature...

SATURDAY NIGHT MUSIC WITH STEAM LOCOMOTIVE IMAGERY?

Okay, so we're suckers for any concert poster that portrays a steam locomotive busily augmenting the atmosphere with a billowing cloud of vapor. Even when we don't know why the longtime Thousand Oaks venue is suddenly billing itself as "the new" Four Friends Gallery.

In any event, Steve Postell's Night Train Music Club rolls up to the station on Saturday, promising "an extraordinary musical treat."

Hey, with all the politicians clogging up your tv, you should be accustomed to promises and ambiguity by now. Oh, and in addition to that image of the steam engine, they advertise, "Enjoy terrific fine arts, a full bar and the incomparable Night Train Music Club."

The official timetable shows a layover, Sat, Feb 13, 8-10:30 pm, at Four Friends Gallery, 1408 E Thousand Oaks Bl, Thousand Oaks 91362.


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# 9 news feature...

FOLKIES STEVE GILLETTE & CINDY MANGSEN COMING SOON

They're longtime concert favorites, and when their travels pause in Southern California, loyal fans flock to their performances. Steve Gillette & Cindy Mangsen are making two passes through Southern Cal, punctuated by music-making up north. Here are the details.

Cindy tells us, "Steve and I are ready to head to California for a little sun, sea, and music-making. We'll be revisiting some of our favorite venues, as well as adding a few new ones."

Steve is offering two songwriting workshops: one an afternoon session in Los Gatos, the other their annual weekend-long gathering in Santa Cruz. Register promptly for the weekend workshop, as it's nearly full.

The busy pair are gradually adding PDFs of sheet music of their concert material at their online store. So far, Steve's originals, "When the First Leaves Fall," and "Darcy Farrow" (made famous by John Denver) are available, with chord charts and guitar tablature so you can learn to play "Darcy." They've also added Steve's 1992 album "The Ways of the World," produced by Jim Rooney, as an MP3 available for download.

Here's the concert & workshop info:

√ Sat, Feb 20 - The Living Tradition, Anaheim; 714-955-3807

√ Fri, Feb 26 - Occidental Center for the Arts,Occidental; 707-874-9392

√ Sat, Feb 27 Keith Holland Guitars, Los Gatos; 408-395-0767; songwriting workshop 2-5 pm, concert at 7:30 pm

√ Thu, Mar 3 - Socrates Coffee House,Atascadero; 805-470-9968 or email mikeandnickc@gmail.com

√ Fri, Mar 4 - Cambridge Drive Concerts, Goleta; 805-964-0436

√ Fri, Mar 11 - House Concert, Monterey; 831-373-7780 or email jhtherrien@icloud.com

√ Sat & Sun, Mar 12-13 - 12th Annual Big Sur Songwriting Workshop, Santa Cruz; 802-442-6846

√ Sat, Mar 19 - Pasadena Folk Music Society at Caltech, Pasadena; 626-395-4652;  folkmusic@caltech.edu

√ Sun, Mar 20 - Noble House Concert, Van Nuys; 818-780-5979

Sheet music, workshop registration, tour schedules, CDs, and plenty more on Cindy & Steve at:

www.compassrosemusic.com


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# 10 news feature...

"RE-PETE" TO CELEBRATE PETE SEEGER

It happens Saturday, March 12, outdoors at the lovely Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum in the heart of Topanga Canyon. But the just-announced show will sell-out long before that.

"Re-PETE Celebration 2016: The Songs and Spirit of Pete Seeger" features a fine lineup and invites the audience to sing-along, all combining in a tribute to late singer-songwriter and activist Pete Seeger. The show has become an annual tradition at the Theatricum Botanicum.

This year stars:
• the Geer Family Singers
• Peter Alsop
• Ellen Geer
• Melora Marshall
• Willow Geer
• Earnestine Phillips
• Gerald C. Rivers
special guests:
• Ross Altman
• Courtney Campbell
• Matt Cartsonis (who performed with Pete)
• Dave Crossland
• Eric Schwartz
• Topanga Cabaret Singers
• Emile Hassan Dyer & Maggie Wheeler & members of the Golden Bridge Choir
• Dan Ubick and Brian Chapman
• others, tba.

It happens Saturday, March 12, at 1 pm, at Will Geer’s Theatricum Botanicum, 1419 N Topanga Canyon Bl, Topanga 90290 (midway between Pacific Coast Highway and the Ventura Freeway).

The outdoor amphitheater at Will Geer’s Theatricum Botanicum is terraced into the hillside of the rustic canyon. Audience members are advised to dress casually and bring cushions for bench seating. Snacks are available at the Hamlet Hut, and picnickers are welcome before and after the performance.

Tix are available now at 310-455-3723 or online at www.theatricum.com

General Admission is $25; seniors & students $15; ages 6-17 $10; children age 5 and under are free.


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# 11 news feature...

UPCOMING AT ALVAS SHOWROOM: IT ISN'T ALL JAZZ

There's no "apostrophe s" on Alvas. It's just  part of the unique quirkiness that distinguishes a good music venue, especially one that gets the fundamentals right, like good sound and comfort.

The biggest quirk here? They're the venue that invites you to bring your own food and beverages, as simple or as elaborate as you like. Complimentary hot coffee, tea, cocoa, and a filtered water fountain are provided. Their full schedule is very extensive, but heavily jazz. Most shows are $20.

Alvas Showroom is located at 1417 W Eighth St, San Pedro 90732.

Make reservations for these upcoming shows at 310-519-1314:

√  "Takoma Records Guitar Masters" Lang, Ruskin, Engelhardt - Sat, Apr 2; 8 pm.

√ David Goodman & Blues Alive - Sun, Apr 3; 4 pm.

√ Akiko Tsuruga Organ Trio with Jeff Hamilton & Graham Dechter - Sun, Apr 10; 4 pm.

√  KRISTIN KORB & Friends, plus Aaron Serfaty - Sat, Apr 23; 8 pm

√  JOHN YORK (Byrds alum) - Sat, Jun 25, 8 pm.

√  SARAH McQUAID - Sun, Sep 18, 4 pm.


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# 12 news feature...

VALENTINE'S WEEKEND & BEYOND...

CONCERTS / TICKET ALERTS /
GOOD MUSICAL MISCELLANY...

Local performances. Happening THIS VALENTINE'S DAY WEEKEND, or before tge end of February. Note there are multiple dates / venues for some artists / bands included in some listings — though we list 'em again on the later dates, too. Just don't allow yourself to get all befuddled when you see all those dates. All is still chronological...

WEEKEND & THE REST OF FEBRUARY IN THE LIVE ACOUSTIC & AMERICANA MUSIC SCENE

* Saturday's concerts, Feb 13...

√  JUDY COLLINS is playing a bunch of venues, starting Sat, Feb 13, at 6:30 pm at The Cave at Big Bear Lake; on Valentine's Day Sun, Feb 14, she plays at 9 pm at the Rose in Pasadena; Fri, Feb 26, at 9 pm, she's at the Canyon Club in Agoura Hills; Sat, Feb 27, at 8 pm, it's the Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills; Sun, Feb 28, at 7 pm, she wraps-up her local dates at the Coach House in OC (San Juan Capistrano).

√  BUGAN & CHAN of the group WE FIVE play Sat, Feb 13, at 7 pm at the Coffee Gallery Backstage in Altadena.

√  THE HOT SARDINES play an OC stand that runs through Sat & Sun, Feb 13 & 14, at 7:30 pm, at the classy Segerstrom Center for the Arts in the Samueli Theatre, in Costa Mesa; PLUS two more: on Fri, Feb 19, they play at 7:30 pm in the Poway Center for the Performing Arts in the San Diego area (Poway); they wrap it up on Sat, Feb 20, at 8 pm in a "Caltech Public Events" series concert in Beckman Auditorium ("Big Beckman") at California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.

√  THE T SISTERS play a pair of weekend gigs, Sat, Feb 13, at 7:30 pm in Laura R. Charles Theater at Sweetwater High School in National City, San Diego Co.; and Sun, Feb 14, at 7 pm at a House Concert in San Clemente.

√  STEVE POSTELL'S NIGHT TRAIN MUSIC CLUB plays Sat, Feb 13, 8-10:30 pm, at the new Four Friends Gallery in Thousand Oaks. See the feature story in this edition.

√  DENNIS G & THE ZYDECO RIDERZ play for listening and Cajun-zydeco dancing on Sat, Feb 13, at 8 pm in the Grand Annex in downtown San Pedro.

√  THE REVELERS play Sat, Feb 13, 8 pm at Rusty’s Surf Ranch on the Santa Monica Pier, and  Sun, Feb 14, at 8 pm for the "Deep End Sessions" in inland VC (Santa Paula).

√  DALE FIELDER QUARTET brings the jazz that says "Valentine's Day date" for some folks. They play Sat, Feb 13, at 8 pm, at Alvas Showroom in San Pedro. Tix, $20, with a reservation at 310-519-1314. Unique thing here is, you can cater your own meal and beverage, as elaborately as you want, and the venue charges nothing extra. Complimentary hot coffee, tea, cocoa, and a filtered water fountain are provided. As for the music: it's Dale Fielder, baritone sax; Jane Getz, piano; Bill Markus, bass; Thomas White, drums, presenting "An evening of cutting-edge jazz originals and classic jazz standards."


* Sunday's concerts — Valentine's Day shows...

√  THE T SISTERS play Sun, Feb 14, at 7 pm at a House Concert in San Clemente.

√  ★★★ THE KRUGER BROTHERS, North Carolina-based Swiss-born bluegrass wizards, finally stick around to play past the NAMM Show, doing a Valentine's Day gig on Sun, Feb 14, at 7:30 pm on the Broad Stage in Santa Monica.

√  THE HOT SARDINES play an OC stand that runs through Sun, Feb 14, at 7:30 pm, at the classy Segerstrom Center for the Arts in the Samueli Theatre, in Costa Mesa; PLUS two more: on Fri, Feb 19, they play at 7:30 pm in the Poway Center for the Performing Arts in the San Diego area (Poway); they wrap it up on Sat, Feb 20, at 8 pm in a "Caltech Public Events" series concert in Beckman Auditorium ("Big Beckman") at California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.

√  THE REVELERS play Sun, Feb 14, at 8 pm for the "Deep End Sessions" in inland VC (Santa Paula).

√  STEVE WYNN (he's played 2000 indie rock shows in more than 25 countries), with friends Robert Lloyd, Mike Mills, and Linda Pitmon, plays Sun, Feb 14, 8 pm, at McCabe's in Santa Monica.

√  JUDY COLLINS is playing a bunch of venues, continuing on Valentine's Day Sun, Feb 14, at 9 pm at the Rose in Pasadena; Fri, Feb 26, at 9 pm, she's at the Canyon Club in Agoura Hills; Sat, Feb 27, at 8 pm, it's the Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills; Sun, Feb 28, at 7 pm, she wraps-up her local dates at the Coach House in OC (San Juan Capistrano).


* Beyond this weekend... TICKET ALERTS...

Mon, Feb 15...

√  JIMMY ANGEL, with CODY BRYANT and JIMMY LEE HARRIS, ROCKIN' JOHNNY PALMER & DEVILISH DOUGLAS LIVINGSTON play Mon, Feb 15, at 8 pm, at the Coffee Gallery Backstage in Altadena. Living legend and improbable octogenarian Jimmy Angel rocks, karate chops, dances,  croons, and belts his way into your heart with '50s and '60s classics and his own songs in that style, accompanied by veteran members of the RIDERS OF THE PURPLE SAGE Cody, Jimmy, & Doug, plus Johnny Palmer.

Tue, Feb 16...

√  BRAD COLERICK (widely acclaimed performing songwriter), plus ESCAPING PAVEMENT (Detroit-based duo, Emily Burns & Aaron Markovitz), and BOB CHEEVERS (globetrotting acoustic bluesy musician) play Tue, Feb 16, at 7:30 pm at the Coffee Gallery Backstage in Altadena.  A night of country, folk, Americana, and rock.

Thu, Feb 18...

√  SALTY SUITES (marvelous acoustic band with Scott Gates, Chelsea Williams, Chuck Hailes, & Elaine Gregston), plus guest artist HELEN HUMMEL (from the Green Mountains of Vermont), play Thu, Feb 18, 8 pm at the Coffee Gallery Backstage in Altadena.

Fri, Feb 19...

√  BEPPE GAMBETTA, a formidable guitar wizard, plays Fri, Feb 19, at 7 pm at Boulevard Music in Culver City, then on Sat, Feb 20, at 8 pm for the Pasadena Folk Music Society's series at  Caltech, in Beckman Institute Auditorium ("Little Beckman")  in Pasadena.

√  SIDEWINDER plus the BAJA BLUES BOYS play Fri, Feb 19, at 7:30 pm at Templars Hall in Old Poway Park (N of San Diego).

√  THE HOT SARDINES play two more local shows: on Fri, Feb 19, they're on at 7:30 pm in the Poway Center for the Performing Arts in the San Diego area (Poway); they wrap it up on Sat, Feb 20, at 8 pm in a "Caltech Public Events" series concert in Beckman Auditorium ("Big Beckman") at California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.

√  TIZER TRIO (2011 “Jazz Group of the Year” nominees, with a 3x Grammy-nominated member) play Fri, Feb 19, 8 pm at the Coffee Gallery Backstage in Altadena.

√  AL STEWART ("Time Passages," "Year of the Cat") plays Fri & Sat, Feb 19 & 20, 8 pm, at McCabe's in Santa Monica.

Sat, Feb 20...

√  JANET KLEIN & HER PARLOR BOYS masterfully play the charming music of the nineteen-teens, '20s, & early '30s, Sat, Feb 20, 7 pm at the Coffee Gallery Backstage in Altadena.

√  JIM KWESKIN, founding pioneer of the '60s jug band revival, plays Sat, Feb 20, at 8 pm at Russ & Julie’s House Concerts series in Oak Park, in the Agoura Hills / Westlake Village area, past T.O.

√  STEVE GILLETTE & CINDY MANGSEN play Sat, Feb 20, at 8 pm at the "Living Tradition" concert series in the Downtown Community Center in Anaheim; see the news feature in this edition on this fine duo.

√  NATHAN McEUEN & NATALIE GELMAN play Sat, Feb 20, at 8 pm at Boulevard Music in Culver City.

√  AL STEWART ("Time Passages," "Year of the Cat") plays Sat, Feb 20, 8 pm, at McCabe's in Santa Monica.

√  BEPPE GAMBETTA, a formidable guitar wizard, plays Sat, Feb 20, at 8 pm for the Pasadena Folk Music Society's series at  Caltech, in Beckman Institute Auditorium ("Little Beckman") in Pasadena. (Go early; two simultaneous shows on campus will make parking tough.)

√  THE HOT SARDINES play one final local show, Sat, Feb 20, at 8 pm in a "Caltech Public Events" series concert in Beckman Auditorium ("Big Beckman") at California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.  (Go early; two simultaneous shows on campus will make parking tough.)

Sun, Feb 21...

√  HEIDI SWEDBERG & The Sukey Jump Band play the "Matinee Kids' Show" series on Sun, Feb 21, at 11 am, at McCabe's in Santa Monica.

√  KATHY CRAIG, with TOM CORBETT, BILL KNOPF, & MIKE MULLINS, plays a matinee on Sun, Feb 21, at 2:30 pm in the Old Town Music Hall in El Segundo.

√  ERIC RIGLER & DIRK FREYMUTH, formidable music-makers, Eric of "Titanic" soundtrack fame, play a matinee on Sun, Feb 21, at 3 pm at the Coffee Gallery Backstage in Altadena.

√  DROPKICK MICKEYS play OC on Sun, Feb 21, 5 pm, at Macallans Public House in Brea.

√  DOWNHOME TIME (BC Cameron, Dennis C. “Tennessee” Brown, & Simeon Pillich, all accomplished makers of rootsy music for tv soundtracks) play Sun, Feb 21, 7 pm, at the Coffee Gallery Backstage in Altadena.

√  STEVE POLTZ plays Sun, Feb 21, at 8 pm, at McCabe's in Santa Monica.

Mon, Feb 22...

√  DANI JOY & THE BOYS (touring acoustic pop / jazz group similar in style to Peggy Lee, Norah Jones, Suzanne Vega) plays Mon, Feb 22, 8 pm, at the Coffee Gallery Backstage in Altadena.

√  BONNIE RAITT plus MAIA SHARP are SOLD OUT on Mon, Feb 22, at 8 pm in the SFV at the Valley Performing Arts Center in Northridge.

Wed, Feb 24...

√  HOMEMADE JAM (Tom Fehrer aka Tom Fair, Samantha Elin, Rob Sandiford, & Steve Reid, doing all-acoustic jazzy blues, jug band tunes, hits of the '20s and '30s) plays Wed, Feb 24, 8 pm, at the Coffee Gallery Backstage in Altadena.

√  AOIFE O'DONOVAN has a pair of dates: Wed, Feb 24, at 8:30 pm at the Largo at the Coronet series in West Hollywood; then Fri, Feb 26, at 8 pm in the Lobero Theatre in Santa Barbara.

Thu, Feb 25...

√ THE INFAMOUS STRINGDUSTERS play Thu, Feb 25, at 8 pm at the Troubadour in West Hollywood; and Fri, Feb 26, 9 pm at the Belly Up Tavern in Solana Beach, San Diego area.

√  ANI DiFRANCO plus RUPA & THE APRIL FISHES are SOLD OUT on Thu, Feb 25, at 8 pm at the Belly Up Tavern in Solana Beach, San Diego area.

√  TRACY NEWMAN & THE REINFORCEMENTS play Thu, Feb 25, at 8 pm, at the E Spot Lounge in Studio City.

Fri, Feb 26...

√  SALTY SUITES tunefully hit the South Bay on Fri, Feb 26, at 8 pm at the Grand Annex in downtown San Pedro.

√  DWIGHT TWILLEY, plus Jorgensen Tagg, plays Fri, Feb 26, at 8 pm, at McCabe's in Santa Monica.

√  MICHAEL McGINNIS (Original New Christy Minstrels) & FRIENDS (Stephen Geyer, David P. Jackson, plus a mystery guest or two) play Michael's annual B-day show, Fri, Feb 26, 8 pm, at the Coffee Gallery Backstage in Altadena.

√  ASHLEY MAHER plus CATINA DeLUNA and FISH TO BIRDS bring a world music flavor to musically solid stuff on Fri, Feb 26, 8 pm, at the E Spot Lounge in Studio City.

√  AOIFE O'DONOVAN plays Fri, Feb 26, at 8 pm in the Lobero Theatre in Santa Barbara.

√  DAVID WILCOX arrives this month for three geographically distributed gigs; first is Fri, Feb 26, at 8 pm in the Laura R. Charles Theater at Sweetwater High School in National City (San Diego Co.); then, Sat, Feb 27, at 8 pm at McCabe’s in Santa Monica; and finally, Sun, Feb 28, at 8 pm at SOHo Restaurant & Music Club in Santa Barbara.

√  JUDY COLLINS continues to play a bunch of venues: Fri, Feb 26, at 9 pm, she's at the Canyon Club in Agoura Hills; Sat, Feb 27, at 8 pm, it's the Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills; Sun, Feb 28, at 7 pm, she wraps-up her local dates at the Coach House in OC (San Juan Capistrano).

√ THE INFAMOUS STRINGDUSTERS play Fri, Feb 26, 9 pm at the Belly Up Tavern in Solana Beach, San Diego area.

Sat, Feb 27...

√  TAYLOR MADE (James Taylor Tribute Band) plays Sat, Feb 27, 7 pm, at the Coffee Gallery Backstage in Altadena.

√  JUDY COLLINS continues to play a bunch of venues: Sat, Feb 27, at 8 pm, it's the Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills.

√  JIM & MORNING NICHOLS play Sat, Feb 27, at 8 pm at Boulevard Music in Culver City.

√  DAVID WILCOX plays Sat, Feb 27, 8 pm, at McCabe's in Santa Monica.

Sun, Feb 28...

√  BEETHOVEN'S WIG plays the "Matinee Kids' Show" series on Sun, Feb 28, at 11 am, at McCabe's in Santa Monica.

√  AEDAN MacDONNELL plus the DROPKICK MICKEYS and LYONS ACADEMY IRISH DANCERS get you ready for St. Patrick's Day a 2-1/2 weeks early with a matinee on Sun, Feb 28, at 1 pm at the Dalmatian American Club in San Pedro.

√  MAURA KENNEDY (one-half of East Coast Americana/Folk duo The Kennedys) and B.D. LOVE (widely-published poet and lyricist), play a Sun matinee, Feb 28, 3 pm, at the Coffee Gallery Backstage in Altadena.

√  MICHAEL CLEVELAND & FLAMEKEEPER play Sun, Feb 28, at 7 pm at Pickwick Gardens, inside the Pickwick Bowl, across from Cody's Viva Cantina, in Burbank.

√  BURNING HEART BLUEGRASS BAND, plus SUGAR IN THE GOURD, team-up (folk melodies, foot-stomping fiddle tunes, Appalachian murder ballads, hard-driving bluegrass) on Sun, Feb 28, at 7 pm, at the Coffee Gallery Backstage in Altadena.

√  JUDY COLLINS wraps-up a bunch of local shows on Sun, Feb 28, at 7 pm, at the Coach House in OC (San Juan Capistrano).

√  THE WAINWRIGHT SISTERS play Sun, Feb 28, 8 pm, at McCabe’s in Santa Monica.

√  DAVID WILCOX finishes his SoCal tour on Sun, Feb 28, at 8 pm at SOHo Restaurant & Music Club in Santa Barbara.

Mon, Feb 29...

√  WENDOLEE THE MEXICANA (Wendolee Ayala, Latin American singing star, brings Mexico's most traditional mariachi songs with projected English subtitles) for a "Leap Day" show on Mon, Feb 29, at 8 pm, at the Coffee Gallery Backstage in Altadena.


* Certainly not all the possibilities, but that's all we can fit in this format and edition.


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The Guide brings you frequent editions covering MUSIC NEWS and ticket alerts, published separately, and always available right here on the Guide's Blogspot site.

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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 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, and schedules and inside info on FESTIVALS and select performances in Southern California in venues monumentally large and intimately small and cozy. We cover workshops 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 roots of the blues and where the music is headed now.
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The Acoustic Americana Music Guide. Thanks for sittin' a spell.
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