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Sunday, February 20, 2022

Americana Music Scene, & Remembering Will Ryan - Feb 20 edition 2022

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Late added item, March 1, 2022:

☆ HAPPY 95TH BIRTHDAY TODAY TO HARRY BELLAFONTE, iconic as a great American vocalist, recording star who broke racial barriers in record stores and on radio and television, and Civil Rights legend who recruited other artists to stand with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

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Here's the full February edition as originally published...

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Up-top Quickie:

TOPANGA BANJO•FIDDLE IS BACK!

Just confirmed for Sunday, May 15, 2022, is the 60th annual Topanga Banjo Fiddle Contest and Folk Festival (www.topangabanjofiddle.org). This is one of the oldest continuously held traditional music events in the U.S. It was first held in the Topanga Canyon in 1961, which is the reason for its name.

The event has long been held in, and will return to, Paramount Ranch in Agoura, CA. It predates the arrival there of its host, the National Park Service.

In spite of the devastating wildfire that destroyed part of the site before the covid shut down, the Railroad Depot and its stage survive (where our editor is the emcee). This year will feature three stages, countless jams large and small, a full spectrum of acoustic instrument competitions and, as always, dazzling performances by professional musicians.

Sign-up to compete, or buy tix and keep in touch at the web link above.


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In this edition...

■  60th annual Topanga Banjo Fiddle Contest and Folk Festival set for Sunday, May 15, 2022

■  President's Day: how bizarre

■  Music mini-profile -- Dirty Cello

■  Will Ryan: Remembering the late, great musician, songwriter, composer,  script writer, voice and character actor, unique comic genius, and humanitarian (Parts 1 & 2)

LIVE MUSIC, by venue...

■  at THE COFFEE GALLERY BACKSTAGE

■  At McCABE'S

■  at the GRAND ANNEX

■  at VARIOUS VENUES, including the HOLLYWOOD BOWL 

■  Brett Perkins next California "Songwriters Retreat / Festival" now booking

■  Indigenous people evicted for trophy hunting? An Artist & Activist Opportunity to STOP IT

And we close with

■  A lifeboat Back to the Future to save the climate


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Presidents' Day: how bizarre! 

Uhh, "-s apostrophe- ? It's ALL of 'em?"

Yes, it IS weird that George Washington, the Father of The Country, is demoted to equality on the same list with EVERY ONE of his successors. Even though historians call Washington "the indispensable man" for his central roles in the American Revolution and as the First President. Plus, he became the first head-of-state of ANY nation to peacefully relinquish power to an elected successor when his term was over. Newly-freed former slaves took his last name as their new last name more than any other. And... he's the one for whom the Nation's Capital on the East Coast and a State on the West Coast are both named. Yet, in our time, he is forced to share his birthday weekend with EVERY other American President who has come after him.

Geez, that just doesn't seem right. I mean, there have been some in that office that you wouldn't bring home to meet your mother! And some who you wouldn't want your baby sister to date! Certainly some you wouldn't want to move-in next door. Gads! Even some real scoundrels who should have done (or still should -- and might yet -- do) hard time.

"Presidents' Day" displaying portraits of ALL of them on the walls of the same gallery? That's an incongruity reaching from the sublime to the ridiculous to the full-on miserable human being! (Okay, true, you can look at who is in Congress, and suddenly it isn't as weird.)

Which all sorta sounds like a songwriting challenge, doesn't It?

As for why Lincoln's Birthday used to be a separate holiday, back when George Washington's Birthday was its own holiday, too, but neither day is a holiday anymore? 

Well, two reasons: 

•  First, because Americans are cheap, and they don't want to pay for any more holiday days off. 

•  Second, because adding Martin Luther King Day meant something else had to go, because we are so damn cheap. 

•  Third, because the only way a bunch of white Southern politicians would allow a holiday for Dr. King was to evoke their cancel culture on Abraham Lincoln, who they still hate because he wouldn't let their ancestors have a slaveocracy Confederacy after 1861. (In case you doubted some people are still fighting the Civil War, just look to the horn chatted wackos flying Confederate battle flags 157 years too late, and trashing the memories of all military veterans by smearing excrement inside the US Capitol. I mean, can anybody imagine imagine that that even the long-dead veterans who wore the GRAY uniform are honored by the cretins who did THAT on January 6th?) 

The preceding item assumes you are among the diminishing number of Americans who possess enough knowledge of our shared history to have any idea, at all, what the hell we're talking about. Which introduces the next items...


Image of Valerie Tutson
Watch Online
Monday, February 21, 2022
8 a.m. - Noon PST
In celebration of Presidents’ Day, the Kennedy Library in Boston will broadcast its 11th annual Presidents’ Day Festival. Historic guests, presidential storytelling, creative activities, and musical performances bring the past to life in new ways for all ages in this free, virtual program. All videos will be closed captioned.
Learn More

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PRESIDENTIAL PROFILES ON TV

Sunday night brings new purported biopic documentaries that co-address Black History Month:

"ABRAHAM LINCOLN" on the History Channel, with esteemed presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin as co-writer, and

"LBJ: TRIUMPH AND TRAGEDY" on CNN 

Both bring new looks at complex individuals. They held the Presidency 100 years apart, and were THE two most important Presidents in terms of Civil Rights for African Americans. We did not get media previews of either production, and we note that both are competing with televised, tape-delayed, coverage of the closing ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics. Damn that competing for audience that screws everybody.

Meanwhile, currently on web-based TV...

"Lincoln’s Dilemma," the "Apple TV+" four-part docuseries "examines how President Abraham Lincoln abolished slavery with the passage of the 13th Amendment and preserved the United States," writes the Daily Beast. They add, "Should be required viewing for every American."

Amy Goodman on Friday's "Democracy Now" said you can see ep. 1 of "...Dilemma" free on YouTube through the end of the month. Well, maybe. Our effort brought-up a screen that read, "Unable to view this video because the account has been terminated." So poke around and see if you can find it.

Plus, there are live music options on Sunday, and we cover that in this edition.


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Music mini-profile -- Dirty Cello

Rebecca Roudman leads the well-traveled, highly-rated  Blues and Americana 5-piece band Dirty Cello. Their current tour has them in California. They performed in Ventura on the 19th, play Sunday night at the Coffee Gallery Backstage, and play Feb 26 in San Diego.


If you’ve missed them so far, check out their other shows and bring yourself some delight by clicking on their band site. 


Go see them not only to be dazzled by their music-making, but to enjoy their stage banter.


Rebecca tells us, “Our band has lots of great stories, from touring Iceland to China, to losing our drummer in Budapest, to playing at a nudist resort and more.”


Combine the virtuosic wail of Jimi Hendrix, the soul of BB King, and the fire of Bill Monroe, and add a whole lot of cello, and you get the Dirty Cello band. Dirty Cello performs all over the world, from Iceland to Israel, from Scottish castles to underground caves presenting an energetic and wild show:


"Dirty Cello’s music is all over the map: funky, carnival, romantic, sexy, tangled, electric, fiercely rhythmic, and textured, and only occasionally classical." ~ Oakland Magazine.


As we said, check ‘em out.


Feb 26 - San Diego Folk Heritage, CA


March 11 & 12 - HopMonk Tavern, Sebastopol, CA


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Will Ryan:

Remembering the late, great musician, songwriter, composer, script writer, voice and character actor, unique comic genius, and humanitarian

(Part 1; part 2 follows immediately)

 


WILL RYAN image from Legacy.com

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WILL RYAN CELEBRATION OF LIFE
Sunday February 27th in Santa Monica, California; 
Estate Sale in Santa Monica the day before, Saturday February 26th
WILL RYAN spent his last few weeks of life refusing to be sad or sentimental.
...So, in the spirit of enjoying the day, please leave sadness at home, and join in a celebration of Will Ryan's gifts to your life and to the world.

All who were touched by his artistry, music, humor and humanity are invited
February 27th, 2 pm to 8 pm for THE WILL RYAN CELEBRATION OF LIFE,
and for all who are interested, a WILL RYAN ESTATE SALE IS the day before, Saturday February 26th, noon to 5 pm.
Both at the home of Jan Goodman & Jerry Manpearl, 929 San Vicente Blvd, Santa Monica, California, 90402.  (Ample free parking on San Vicente Boulevard.) 

All events will be outside, hoping for the usual perfect Santa Monica weather, and hoping any post-holiday covid 19 surge will have subsided.
☆ The generous hosts, Jan & Jerry, INSIST that every guest be duly vaccinated against covid, due to the medical fragility of some of the attendees. 
>>> FYI:  March 2020, Will Ryan was hospitalized with covid 19 and he was thankful to recover and live another 1-1/2 years, with no understanding of anyone who would not welcome the vaccine.
Therefore in 2021, Will was vaccinated against covid 19, and would have now hoped that every one of his loved ones (including you) would care enough to protect other loved ones by being vaccinated to join in this event honoring him. 

Estate sale & Auction: Will's performing & show biz memorabilia

SATURDAY FEBRUARY 26th, noon to 5 pm, will be ESTATE SALE & AUCTION:  featured are Will's new Popcorn Haiku & other books, CD's, cowboy hats, paperboy caps, shirts, scarfs, his Disney cast / featured star items, and Adventures in Odyssey souvenirs; with valuable scripts, photographs, old books on-auction, in person and virtually.
SUNDAY FEBRUARY 27th, 2 pm to 8 pm, will be the official "CELEBRATION OF LIFE".   (Remember to wear a cowboy hat or Eugene cap!)
>>> On the hour, 3 pm to 6 pm, artists and friends are invited to get on stage, to share fun memories of Will.  
Strongly-preferred are funny, happy, weird, unique, strange stories about Will; or what you do better in life because of knowing Will Ryan.
>>> The balance of each hour will be live performances of Will's music & songs with sing-along lyrics provided.  
Then when the sun sets, video clips of Will's voice characters and Biffle & Shooster on screen!
>>> The event expects to have live-streaming of the Saturday auction and Sunday celebration for virtual attendance. (No url yet.)

Donations in-lieu-of-flowers are welcome to The Will Ryan Legacy in support of Will's intention for annual grants to new contributions to animation;
or else in the name of Will Ryan to Health-Care-for-All-Los Angeles, Physicians-for-a-National-Health-Program, or The Motion-Picture-&-Television- Country-House Fund.

"We look forward to seeing you and celebrating Will!" ~  love, Nancy (Mrs. Will Ryan)


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Will Ryan:

Remembering the late, great musician, songwriter, composer,  script writer, voice and character actor, unique comic genius, and humanitarian

(Part 2)

Wikipedia has a fine tribute / retrospective of his career.We are pasting it in below for you:

Will Ryan


Ryan was born on May 21, 1949 and grew up in Cleveland, Ohio.[1][2] He became established by singing about the American West. In summer 1966, Ryan's earlier band, Wead, played a gig in Wellington, Ohio. 
In late 1970s, he teamed up with Phil Baron as Willio and Phillio.[4] They had regular gigs on television, radio and comedy clubs and universities throughout the U.S.. They later paired up again voicing characters of best friends Teddy Ruxpin (Baron) and Grubby the Octopede (Ryan) in the Teddy Ruxpin book and tape series as well as the 1986–87 television show The Adventures of Teddy Ruxpin. In August 2002, Willio and Phillio returned to Cleveland for two performances at historic Cain Park and another at the famed Beachland Ballroom. At the Cain Park show, friend Alec Nordstrom of Hudson was invited onstage. Cleveland's revered rock critic and "world's oldest teenager," Jane Scott, attended and reviewed the Beachland performance for the Cleveland Plain Dealer. The Willio and Phillio act brought Ryan back into music and after moving to California, he began to write and record songs for The Walt Disney Company.
Willio and Phillio performed "I Wish it Could Be Christmas All Year Long" on a Disney Christmas album in a voice similar to Micky Dolenz of The Monkees. 
He provided the voices of Rabbit and Tigger, and the singing voice of Eeyore, in the Disney Channel's long-running series Welcome to Pooh Corner and in many other Pooh cartoons. He also provided the voice of Barnaby the Dog on the popular series Dumbo's Circus.
In 1987, Ryan became a fixture of the radio drama Adventures in Odyssey, as Eugene Meltsner, Harlow Doyle, David Harley, Patrick O'Ryan and over 100 individual characters. He voiced Rabbit in Winnie the Pooh and a Day for Eeyore, Digit in An American Tail, Petrie in The Land Before Time, and Willie the Giant in Mickey's Christmas Carol. He continued to do voice work. In 2009, he was working on the third season of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, the 21st season of Adventures in Odyssey, and the new radio series of Will Ryan's Cactus County Round-Up which featured his band The Cactus County Cowboys. In the Family Guy episode "Road to the North Pole", he provided the voice for Winnie-the-Pooh. As a side project, with Andrew J. Lederer and Michael Rosenberg (Jackie Diamond), Will Ryan briefly performed in the '20s-style music and comedy trio The Merry Metronomes. He and Lederer also appeared from time to time as a duo, usually under the name The Natty Nabobs. He and Nick Santa Maria also performed occasionally as a vaudeville-era comedy team, Biffle & Shooster (Ryan played the latter); and in 2013 they made their first film, a faux 1930s comedy short titled It's a Frame-Up!
Beginning on January 28, 2021, until his death Will was the co-host of the "Tell Ya Later" show on YouTube with longtime friend and co-star Katie Leigh. The final episode featuring Ryan during his lifetime premiered on November 15, 2021, 4 days before his death. There is still unreleased footage recorded before he died that will air posthumously.[5][6]
Ryan died from cancer on November 19, 2021, at the age of 72.[7][8]

Sources:
External links:

Film

Radio
Television
Discography
Plus, his Western / cowboy music albums with William , and more.

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We add to that...

Coffee Gallery Backstage impresario Bob Stane told The Guide, "I just cannot believe he is gone.  He worked The Coffee Gallery Backstage so often and 'in the pink.' I thought he was immortal.  Actually, the thought that he might die never crossed my mind. I miss him so much.  He gave my place just a bit more color and variety.  What a talent."

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Our editor exchanged several messages with Bob Stane, as they shared memories of Will.

We share one here:

Larry Wines here again, Bob, responding to your latest message.

I, too, was stunned when I heard Will was gone. It was matter-of-factly on the radio today. I was listening to a show on KPFK that was a fun reminiscing with members of Firesign Theatre and The Committee — and suddenly, in the midst of their name-dropping of people with whom they had worked, one of them said he was still unable to believe Robin Williams was gone, and the other countered with, “And Will Ryan, lost to cancer so recently.”

At the moment the show was no longer a fun listen. I dropped what I was doing and put his name in the browser. Wikipedia had all that I sent you. I saw that it has been updated many times, as recently as a few days ago.

I may look into how to add things there. I would like to mention his many creatively innovative promotions for his gigs at your fine venue, and that he so often brought audience members who became surprise cameo guests.

I would need to research a lot of notes to do justice to that. Of course no one who was there could ever forget June Foray, voice of Rocky the Flying Squirrel and Natasha the Spy and so many other conic characters. We lost her just a couple years back. When she was in the audience to see Will -- get drafted by him to take the stage -- she was nearing 100 years old. And there she was, in a sparkling performance with Will and his Cactus County Cowboys. Same thing when he drafted Johnny Crawford onto your stage. Crawford was the youthful "Mark McCain" in TV's "The Rifleman."

Will knew everybody and was respected far and wide. On that note, another item should be added to the Wikipedia tribute: Will co-composed and led the performance of the entire soundtrack for the long-lost, pieced-together from global film archive fragments, and meticulously restored, first feature-length silent Western, “Covered Wagon.” I was privileged to be there at the screening when they performed that soundtrack live (the only time they ever did it). It was either in the Oscars theater or the Directors Guild theatre — again I would need to excavate notes.

Will and I shared a number of Italian dinners at a restaurant in Arcadia near where I used to live. Almost always his treat, to pick my brain for promotional possibilities (he hired me for a time to do that for him).

He told such fascinating stories, though he always tried to avoid allowing me to use anything that would reveal his age — he was obviously as old as he was, but it was that show biz “thing” of hoping to be cast by a director of a more youthful generation, or being accepted in a new musical incarnation.

Not long ago, the thought crossed my mind that I should try to contact him and see how he was faring during the pandemic-without-end. I was thinking it would be wonderful to take him to an early dinner, then take him to catch the show at your place.

I had no idea that cancer had already taken him from us.

Bob, if you remember the name of Will’s charity to which you donated, please let me know. I would like to follow your example.

And farther on down the road, when things are more like normal again, I would be glad to assist in recruiting musicians to do a Will Ryan Tribute night.


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LIVE MUSIC, by venue...

At THE COFFEE GALLERY BACKSTAGE
2029 N. Lake Altadena, CA.
Phone for Reservations, 10 am-10 pm, 7 days: 626-798-6236

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A famous New York Act. Something really, really different and exotic.

Sunday, February 20. Matinee show @ 2:00 P.M. Tickets: $20

MATINEE! A new trio of powerhouses of the Yiddish music scene. The band’s new program Yiddish Songs of Resilience, presents material ranging from contemporary to early-modern that speaks...

...to finding power in the midst of catastrophe and contextualising it for the current moment. Song in general and Yiddish songin particular continues to be a lifeline when we feel lost, and now, more than ever, these these songs need to be sung and heard. While this program reaches back to the shtetls of Eastern Europe, it is by no means nostalgic or kitsch, but rather based in the tradition yet free from the shackles of ‘revivalism.’ The songs themselves have the power and the band has created fresh and evocative arrangements to keep their beauty and message center stage.

The band features Lorin Sklamberg, well-known as the lead singer of the Grammy Award-winning Yiddish American roots band The Klezmatics, as well as an accordionist, archivist and pioneer of the Yiddish revival. While audiences around the world are familiar with him in the context of this historic band, in this stripped down ensemble the magic of his voice really shines. He is joined by two Berlin-based leaders of the younger generation of Yiddish cultural activists: vocalist Sasha Lurje and fiddler Craig Judelman. Riga, Latvia native Sasha brings to the stage fire, talent and charisma, paired with a deep knowledge of European and Slavic traditions and the Yiddish culture she learned first-hand from the last of our old troubadours. Craig grew up in Seattle amid the local aftereffects of the various folk revivals and has made a name for himself as an old time as well as klezmer musician, combining a love for the raw power of down home traditional music with the honest expressivity of a modern “educated" musician.

Introductions in English, lyrics in Yiddish.

Sunday, February 20. Matinee show @ 2:00 P.M. Tickets: $20
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DIRTY CELLO (BOB STANE SAYS; PLEASE DO NOT MISS THIS SHOW. EXTREMELY FINE. I GET THEM ONLY ONCE PER 3 YEARS.) PLEASE READ THE COPY BELOW. I GUARANTEE YOU WILL CONSIDER THIS THE BEST SUNDAY EVENING CONCERT EVER.

Sunday February 20, 2022 | 7:00 PM | $20.00 (a real concert bargain).

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DIRTY CELLO

A favorite of Bob's. Very entertaining & excellent musicians. From wild gypsy music through the blues & ending with some shredding classic rock they present cello like you’ve never hear before. Think BB King meets Yo Yo Ma. So fine.

Bob Stane says: Dirty Cello is a dynamic group adored all over the world. We get them about once every four years. Here are my notes to my self after their lastperformance at The Coffee Gallery Backstage.

A hugely successful show. Every person in the room adored them. A multi member group featuring introductory high jinx by husband and wife, Rebecca Roudman, playing a big, loud cello. Exceptional. One of the best acts of the year. All played instruments and Rebecca Roudman has done move and TV work. Fabulous, big time act. Adorable, impressive and definitely a star act. Money back guarantee and a warm hug if not overjoyed. A Hollywood Bowl quality concert.

From Iceland to Italy, and all over the U.S., Dirty Cello brings the world a high energy and unique spin on blues and bluegrass. Led by vivacious cross-over cellist, Rebecca Roudman, Dirty Cello is cello like you’ve never heard before. From down home blues with a wailing cello to virtuosic stompin’ bluegrass, Dirty Cello is a band that gets your heart thumping and your toes tapping!

◇ "Dirty Cello’s music is all over the map: funky, carnival, romantic, sexy, tangled, electric, fiercely rhythmic, and textured, and only occasionally classical." ~ Oakland Magazine

◇ "The band plays every style imaginable, and does some fantastic covers. (Their rendition of “Purple Haze” is incredible.) But what is most spectacular about them is hearing the depth of soul in Roudman’s playing—it goes beyond what most people would expect from the instrument. She plays it with so much heart, you’ll wonder why more bands don’t have a cellist." ~ Good Times Santa Cruz

◇ "A four-piece string ensemble that truly pushes the envelope and breaks the barriers, they blend blues, bluegrass and world music sounds with roots in the world of European classical music in a style that is unique and refreshing." ~ Cloverdale Reveille

◇ "The group seamlessly careens from blues to bluegrass and rock in a way that really shouldn't make sense but somehow does." ~ LA Times

◇ "The ensemble plays a range of eclectic tunes in ways you won’t hear anyone else dare to attempt." ~ Argus Courier

◇ "Anyone who's been in an audience when the San Francisco Bay Area Dirty Cello takes the stage knows that something unique happens whenever cellist Rebecca Roudman and ensemble come face to face with living, breathing (and whooping and shouting) fans." ~ Strings Magazine

◇ "Dirty Cello have been hard to describe, apart from saying that a cello (played in ways you won’t quite believe) is involved, and the range of music takes the word eclectic and supercharges it to meltdown levels of energy and invention." ~ Argus Courier

⊙ YOUTUBES: Devil Went Down to Georgia, Can’t Life Live, Crossroads, Johnny B Goode. SOCIAL MEDIA: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Website

Sunday February 20, 2022 | 7:00 PM | $20.00 (a real concert bargain).

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ROD THE MOD. the best “Rod Stewart” there is. We have the best cover bands ever. The is where the past comes to be alive again.

Friday, February 25. Show @ 8:00 P.M. Tickets: $20.

ROD THE MOD” (THE VERY BEST OF ROD STEWART)

“Rod The Mod” (The Very Best of Rod Stewart) is just that! Taking you on a journey through over 50 years of Sir Rod’s brilliant career, “Rod The Mod” delivers all the big hits.

"Rod the Mod" also reaches back to bring you gems from the early days of his solo albums, to his time with Faces, and even showcasing a few songs from his time with the legendary Jeff Beck Group. Featuring Stewart Sher as “Rod”, the band also features a handpicked group of seasoned pros, who have performed and/or worked with a diverse group of superstar artists, from Bruce Hornsby, Rita Coolidge and Bobbie Gentry, to Eric Burden, Steve Vai and more! Be prepared to be blown away by Stewart’s spot on performance, as he truly captures Rod’s spirit and voice like no one you’ve seen before!

Friday February 25, 2022 | 8:00 PM | $20.00

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Venue policy...

Bob Stane says: 

"All patrons/customers and acts to have a vaccination card. All shots. Wear masks. No exceptions.

"If any cast member, or patron, does not have a vaccination, and card to prove it, too bad. They stay home.

"Cards on phones are fine. I will not gamble with the health or lives of my entertainers or audience."


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■  At the the famous concert hall in back of McCabe's Guitar Shop

3101 Pico Blvd, Santa Monica, CA 90405
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ROBBIE FULKS
Fri, Feb 25th at 8:00 pm
    Robbie Fulks is a singer, recording artist, instrumentalist, composer, and songwriter. His most recent release, 2017’s Upland Stories, earned year’s-best recognition from NPR and Rolling Stone among many others, as well as two Grammy® nominations, for folk album and American roots song (“Alabama At Night”).
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GRIFFIN HOUSE
Thur, Mar 3rd at 8:00 pm
    “Rising Star” is not a phrase one would normally use to describe an artist like Griffin House, who has been touring for over 15 years and has recorded 12 studio albums.
    Although House has enjoyed plenty of success as national headliner for over a decade and has earned a great deal of respect as a well-known performer and singer-songwriter, he seems to not take himself or his career in the music industry too seriously. Now married, sober, and a father, House has learned to balance his career by making his family and his sobriety his first priority. He pays tribute to his wife and children (with) “When the Kids are Gone,” a song about watching his daughters grow up and imagining he and his wife as empty-nesters.
    Just when you think you have House’s album pegged, there seems to be a surprise around every corner. Each song is distinct in its own own way.
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JULIE CHRISTENSEN
opening the show
Rick Shea
Sun, Mar 6th at 8
    Julie Christensen’s story is woven into decades of American Roots Rock music. She co-fronts post-punk rockers Divine Horsemen, who have rebooted to release a new album August 27, 2021 on In The Red. She sang with Leonard Cohen’s bands (and in the documentary I’m Your Man.)
    Christensen has released 7 of her own independent albums to date and on her birthday in January 2021, she will release a new album of East Nashville friend Kevin Gordon’s songs.
    Julie spent time as a jazz chanteuse and roots rocker, and has vocal coaching in her resume (Teddy Thompson, Amelia White…) She has been a premier showcase artist at Folk Alliance, and has performed and recorded with Steve Wynn, Van Dyke Parks, John Doe, Alejandro Escovedo, and Exene Cervenka.
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Rick Shea
    Opening and Playing with Julie, longtime Southern California singer-songwriter Rick Shea got his early musical education in the bars and honky-tonks of San Bernardino, his songs reflect the folk, country, rock and Mexican influences he grew up with.
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Rick Holmstrom Band
w/special guest
David Hidalgo
Sun, Mar 20th, 8 pm
    Rick Holmstrom has stories. Thirty-three years of hurtling around the globe in metal tubes will do that. From his early days with blues and soul artists like Smokey Wilson, William Clarke, Johnny Dyer and Booker T., to his 15 year run as gospel/soul/civil rights legend Mavis Staples’ guitarist/bandleader, a conversation with Holmstrom quickly turns to road stories. With Staples’ bandmates Steve Mugalian (Lucinda Williams, Harry Dean Stanton, Chuck Prophet) joining him on drums and Gregory Boaz (Dave Alvin, Mick Taylor, John Mayall) on bass, this is a band with a deep feel for blues, soul, gospel and roots music. Bob Boilen of NPR raved; ”...the band is crucial, discerning and supportive. Rick Holmstrom is her soulful guitarist -- Staples called him 'Pops Jr.’…"
    Joining Rick and the boys for this night only will be David Hidalgo. It has been decades since David played an all acoustic set with Los Lobos at McCabe's, and we welcome him back.
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Upcoming Shows at McCabes

JANIS IAN
Fri 3-11
SOLD OUT

JANIS IAN
Sat 3-12
SOLD OUT

Loudon Wainwright III
Mon 3-21

Loudon Wainwright III
Tue 3-22

Chris Smither
Sat 3-26

Slaid Cleaves
Sat 4-2

TOM RUSH
w/Mat Nokoa
Thur 4-7

Eliza Gilkyson
w/Nina Gerber
Fri 4-8

Rob Ickes &
Trey Hensley
Sat 4-9

Jeffrey Martin
w/ opener
Kassi Valazza
Sun 4-10

Pierre Bensusan
Fri 4-15

DEAD ROCK WEST
Sat 4-16

Jake Blount
Zac Sokolow
Fri 4-22

Sarah Harmer
w/ opener
Suzie Ungerleider
Sat 4-23

Missy Raines
Thur 4-28

Sam Baker
Fri 4-29

Josh Rouse
Sat 4-30

Jason Anick Trio
Fri 5-6

Jim Kweskin
Sat 5-7

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Venue policy...

VACCINATIONS REQUIRED: We’re very pleased to have you return to McCabe’s for a live performance. We are requiring all attendees, as well as performers, staff and volunteers, to be vaccinated against COVID-19. For the safety of the group, we are not making exceptions for children or for people unable to be vaccinated for medical reasons. We do not accept same-day tests in lieu of vaccination. So that we can properly enforce this policy, please have your CDC COVID-19 Vaccine Card, a phone photo or photocopy of the card and a photo I.D. to show as you enter.
MASKS: In keeping with guidance from Santa Monica and the CDC, McCabe's will be Masks-On for the foreseeable future. Wear it when you arrive, and the entire time you're in the venue. By working together, we can prevent infections at concerts, and that means we're all helping to keep live music alive.


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■  At the GRAND ANNEX / Warner Grand

434 W 6th St, San Pedro, CA 90731

Box Office: 310-833-4813, 10 am–5 pm, M-F

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Friday, February 25 / 7pm (6 pm reception)
"Saving the Oceans and Ourselves"

In conjunction with Grand Vision's concert, Small Island Big Song (April 27), Grand Vision, the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, AltaSea & the Marine Mammal Care Center are partnering together to present world-renowned ocean scientist, Dr. Gregory Stone. Join the conversation about some of the best ways to heal and protect our planet.

RSVP Required to Attend
You can attend this free event in person at the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium or online via Zoom.

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Saturday, February 26 / 8pm
MARA KAYE

Kaye delivers old-style acoustic blues specializing in the songs of Bessie Smith, the Smith Sisters and more. With boogie-woogie piano legend, Carl Sonny Leyland, Jon Atkinson and Tim McNalley.

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Saturday, March 5, 2022 / 8pm
GILL LANDRY

Former Grammy-winning Old Crow Medicine Show member plays a mix of bluesy Americana. His critically acclaimed albums have featured Americana stars Laura Marling and Brandi Carlile.

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2nd Thursdays, March 10 / 7pm
OPEN MIC NIGHT

Calling all Musicians and Poets!

Enjoy some great performances and meet other music makers! Performer sign-ups start at 6:30pm, first 10 sign-ups are guaranteed to perform. $5 cash $6.25 card, cover charge comes with stage time and 1 drink ticket.

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Friday, March 18, 2022 / 8:30pm
JOHN KRAUS & THE GOERS
Sea Shanty Sing-along 7-7:45pm / Beer Tasting 7:45pm / Concert 8:30pm
Captain John and the band deliver tunes and ballads with Celtic rock and vintage sea shanty
swagger.

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Grand Vision presents
SMALL ISLAND BIG SONG
Wed, April 27 / 7:30pm

Celebrating 5,000 years of Pacific Island culture, this concert is a joyous presentation uniting the communities of the Pacific and Indian Oceans, while also raising awareness about climate change and rising seas.

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Venue policy...

COVID-19 SAFETY AT THE GRAND ANNEX & WARNER GRAND THEATRE

For everyone's safety and health, and in compliance with City of LA protocols, face masks are required for all attendees during all events. All attendees ages 2+ must show proof of full Covid-19 vaccination, a negative PCR test taken within 48 hours, or a negative antigen test taken within 24 hours. Attendees ages 18+ must show a valid ID along with proof of vaccination. Please see their website for the latest safety rules and regulations for the event you wish to attend.


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Various venues...

... get tix while you can...

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Ray LaMontagne, Monovision Tour
May 7
Hollywood Pantages Theatre
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Lila Downs
May 5
Arlington Theatre, Santa Barbara
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Steve Martin & Martin Short // All Ages
June 17
Santa Barbara Bowl
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Bonnie Raitt w/ Mavis Staples // All Ages
September 22
Santa Barbara Bowl
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Tix alert: The new Besame Mucho festival at Dodger Stadium isn’t ‘til December, but if it appeals to you, jump on it now — it’ll sell-out early.

    The multigenerational Latin music fest is the first of its kind and tickets just went on sale Friday:

www.besamemuchofestival.com

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Pretty Woman: The Musical
June 15 - July 3, 2022
Dolby Theatre
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Fleet Foxes, Shore Tour
July 8
Greek Theatre
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Bonnie Raitt, "just like that" tour
w/ special guest Mavis Staples
September 24
Greek Theatre
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Bonnie Raitt, "just like that" tour
w/ special guest Mavis Staples
September 20
Vina Robles Amphitheatre
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Kansas
May 1
Bank of America Performing Arts Center
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Tix alert: The new Besame Mucho festival at Dodger Stadium isn’t ‘til December, but if it appeals to you, jump on it now — it’ll sell-out early.

    The multigenerational Latin music fest is the first of its kind and tickets just went on sale Friday:

www.besamemuchofestival.com

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Hollywood Bowl season (https://www.hollywoodbowl.com/events/performances?Category=Events+presented+by+LA+Phil&Venue=Hollywood+Bowl&Season)

includes...

Hollywood Bowl Jazz Festival
June 25 & 26

July 4th Fireworks Spectacular with Steve Martin & Martin Short
July 2, 3, 4

The music of Leonard Bernstein
July 12 & 14

Kenny Loggins with Jim Messina: Sittin' In
July 15 & 16

John Fogerty
July 30

Sheryl Crow with Keb' Mo'
Aug 3

Trombone Shorty's Voodoo Threauxdoen
Aug 10

Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats
with Durand Jones and the Indicators
Aug 14

The Gipsy Kings
Aug 19 & 20

Diana Ross
Aug 26 & 27

Beethoven's Ninth
Sep 1

Maestro of the Movies: celebrating John Williams at 90
Sep 2, 3, 4

Mozart under the stars
Sep 6


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Brett Perkins next California "Songwriters Retreat / Festival" now booking

Plus, the globetrotting Brett has a couple of West Coast gigs while he's here, before returning to Europe for his Tuscany Musicians Retreat...

March 25 The Monkey House, Berkeley, CA
March 27th Puffer's of Pismo, CA
April 2nd Idyllwild Songwriters Festival


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An Artist & Activist Opportunity

Indigenous people evicted by trophy hunting? Help STOP IT

“We are Maasai Elders from Northern Tanzania. Any day now, tens of thousands of our community could be evicted from our ancestral lands to make way for tourism and trophy hunting.”

The Guide joins the esteemed, 69-million-member global organization Avaaz in calling for your help to support — WITH YOUR SIGNATURE, not your money — these proud indigenous people.




“Last time Avaaz raised the alarm, the President [of Tanzania] shelved the plan. So we urgently need you to stand with us again! Global public pressure can change our new President's mind, but time is running out. Sign now to help us protect our lands!


“We urgently need your support.


“The last time we faced these threats, more than 2 million Avaaz members rallied behind our call! Together, we created such a storm that the President promised never to evict us from our lands.


“But now, there’s a new head of state and plans are being revived! President Samia Suluhu Hassan may not listen to us, but we know she’ll respond to media and public pressure – to all of you! Join us now – and show her the world is standing with the Maasai!

“Our Indigenous Maasai communities have looked after East Africa's land, and wildlife, for centuries, co-existing peacefully. But successive governments have tried to kick us out of our homes under the guise of tourism and conservation.


“We’ve tried everything, even taking the government to court for violating our rights. But now, public attention has waned and we fear an eviction could happen any moment – destroying our culture, leaving us homeless, and putting our wildlife at risk. Politicians are promising to find a ‘solution,’ but losing our land could mean the extinction of our community.


“So we’re looking to you for hope. We know our new President wants to engage in dialogue with the international community – that’s why she’s travelled to France to meet President Macron. It’s the perfect moment to show her that evicting us Maasai would be a global PR nightmare. We can change her mind with your support, but time’s running out – sign now.


“Some in our community have said they’d rather die than leave their homes. But this is a choice no-one should have to make. We know that together we’re stronger - after all, we’ve changed the course of history before. Let’s do it again and reimagine a world where humans and nature can co-exist together.  


~ With hope and determination, the Maasai elders of Ngorongoro District, with the whole Avaaz team


P.S. The image used is not connected to the Maasai elders sending this appeal, in the interests of their security and safety.


TO SIGN THE PETITION TO HELP THE MASAI, click below:


https://secure.avaaz.org/campaign/en/stop_the_maasai_evictions_loc/?cbfCMab



More information:

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Avaaz is a 69-million-person global campaign network that works to ensure that the views and values of the world's people shape global decision-making. ("Avaaz" means "voice" or "song" in many languages.) Avaaz members live in every nation of the world; our team is spread across 18 countries on 6 continents and operates in 17 languages. Learn about some of Avaaz's biggest campaigns here, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.


To contact Avaaz, write to them at www.avaaz.org/en/contact 

Or

Avaaz

27 Union Square West

Suite 500

New York, NY 10003


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A lifeboat Back to the Future to save the climate

by Larry Wines

We're featuring a video that will surprise you, and it bests any music vid you've seen all week. It portrays a global system of clean energy for every nation and society and the key infrastructure to bring it about. The title will seem to be about something else, but it's what I just told you. It is titled, "Star Raker Massive SSTO."

Wonky title, certainly.

"SSTO" means Single Stage to Orbit. The concept surfaces from time to time. It means using a space launch system that doesn't shed stages on its way up. If you fly the whole thing up and back like a big-ass cargo-hauling airplane, land and refuel it and go again, engineers of the concept hold that it would be affordable. More affordable than the Space-X vehicles whose lower stages return and land autonomously to be refurbished and reused as part of a vertically-launched rocket "stack."

"But you're getting lost in the tall weeds of space stuff, and this is supposed to be about global clean energy!" you say. It is about clean energy, with a couple reasons why all the context is necessary.

First, you need a handle on what it would take to do it.

Second, you need to be prepared for a wholly unexpected shock: we can start on this tomorrow. We know that because this was already worked-out in detail, before bought-and-paid-for fossil-fueled politics abandoned it the first time around.

Here was a vision of an all-electric clean-energy future based upon a ring of globe-girding orbiting solar power satellites.

It had issues, primarily the effects of columns of microwave energy beamed down to conversion stations on Earth's surface. Well, we already have "no fly zones" for other purposes, and we can build the receivers away from migratory bird routes. And those microwaves would bring immensely less atmospheric heating than fossil fuel addiction AND produce no greenhouse gases, neither CO2 nor methane.

So, why don't we have what we're about to see here, in this Rockwell International animation? Well, because "austerity" brought about by Ayn Rand Republicans under Ronald Reagan replaced a visionary future all of us could have shared. Instead we got glorification of profit motives for those who could manipulate money.

It was the same "Pay-no-taxes!" "Drown the government in the bathtub!" austerity that finally brought us to the point of having no choice but to pass a massive infrastructure bill -- because everything we inherited as public investment from our parents and grandparents, after being deprived for forty years of basic repair and renewal, is literally collapsing.

It was the same "pay-no-taxes!" austerity that starved public education so it no longer can offer music and art education for every student; no longer has high school drivers ed; or shop classes; or a home ec curriculum; or chem lab or biology that gave heartburn to the GOP's cadre of creationists; no longer allows the "expense" of teaching high school physics, government and economics -- courses that, by educating with content for critical thinking, would have relegated Harry Potter only to fun flights of fantasy. Instead, we see those starved of education easily embrace a conspiracy-based system of beliefs that promotes susceptibility to magical, corporate, and bloviating political charlatans who proclaim that only they can fix things -- despite their utter lack of credentials to be in the room when solutions are discussed.

And so our world is now one of cyber / media-manipulating megabuck banksters maintaining their vested interests by perpetuating a status quo they created for their own gain. It's an unsustainable but short-term-profit-taking world based on fossil fuel addiction; on data-harvested, target-marketed, distraction / diversion / obfuscation; on systematic vilification and discrediting of all who challenge their supremacy; on image, not substance; on fomenting cults of those whose harvested data reveals will do their bidding, often based on cleaving to leaders whose expertise consists strictly of media / social media generated charisma and nothing more than being famous for being famous.

To think, it all derives from austerity. The siren song of being cheap, getting out of paying taxes. But, saving us from spending ourselves into crippling debt? How's that been workin' for ya, America? Now we'll spend immeasurably more protecting ourselves -- and the jewelbox investment properties of the tax-averse rich -- from sea level rise. Before we even get to dealing with drought, a twelve-month wildfire season, and rebuilding from far more frequent and numerous hurricanes and tornadoes.

It didn't need to be this way. Not then, not now, not into a future that remains increasingly unsustainable due to perpetuating fossil oligarchs' status quo.

As shocking as it seems, the video we have for you, with its soaring vision of a clean, sustainable future, is from 1979. 

That was the year before Ronald Reagan was elected. The world just before he set about abandoning renewable energy. Just before he put us on an unbroken course that scrapped New Deal Keynesian Economics that had built the American Middle Class. Just before he replaced that with austerity, with Trickle-Down Reaganomics that spread poverty, wealth disparity worse than medieval Europe, and corporate billionaires and trillionaires who continue to assert their right to free rides for the rich. 

So, what has soared instead is the wealth of the few, at the expense of the many.

It all could have been different. It still can be. If we are to have a civilization with freedoms and opportunities for creativity, universally shared participation in the arts, and healthy, sustainable living in the face of climate apocalypse? Our reckoning must reevaluate where we are and how we got here.

We must be ready to facilitate, embrace and legislate support for clean, sustainable small solutions for individual homes, office buildings, and remote villages. 

That must come alongside industrial-scale clean, sustainable solutions for factories and entire towns and the largest cities and transportation grids large and small -- and now, it seems, for the immense electric power needs of data mining, harvesting, and block chain pursuits of non-fungible, absolutely nonexistent "faith-based" wealth. 

Thing is, THIS back-to-the-future vision has always allowed big, fat-cat investment! But it has always challenged the status quo. And that is the chief enemy of change, always.

Did you know that other ships could have reached the stricken Titanic before she sank? Indeed, the captains of other ships of several nations offered, and clearly wanted to come. Turns out they were turned-down by corporate pride and greed, and by the poisonous ethnocentricity of Nationalism. Only another British ship was allowed to steam toward the sinking Titanic, and unlike other ships of other nations, it was too far away to get there in time.

Watching the ineffectual political machinations of COP-26, and the obstructionist politics of power-at-any-price saboteurs in the U.S. Senate, seems a perfect invocation of the cliche of re-arranging deck chairs on the Titanic. Climate catastrophes arrive one upon another, take lives, ruin futures, and demand rescue and rebuilding costs that outstrip the local and state budgets where they happen.

If our civilization is indeed a behemoth plunging blindly into darkness while reveling in its artificial luxuries, that alone does much to explain why it insists on ramming the iceberg. (Ironically, before the people partying in First Class can melt all the icebergs.) Given that our human history seems, indeed, to rhyme, it means that all of us -- whose cheaper accommodations pay for the operation of the ship -- must now look to finding anything that floats, and to calling for the big ships that just might arrive in time. Which brings us to the video.

Watch "Star Raker Massive SSTO Space Plane" and what it does:


https://youtu.be/kdZ645Bve-o


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More, SOON, to help you navigate your 2022. 

So remember to CHECK THIS LIL' ALLEY THROUGH CYBER SPACE, where the sounds of string instruments and melodic voices waft down from the windows above.

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Resources / Navigation / Contacting us / finding what you want in current, recent, or archived Guide editions 


MOBILE-DEVICE-FRIENDLY

editions load quickly at


Or at

 
On mobile devices, click "view web edition" to bring-up the left side bar with navigation tools. That gives you direct access to click your way to all recent editions. It's easy to bring-up month-by-month archives to everything last year, so far this year, and each previous year.

It's all there, since we first moved The Guide (with its former name) to Blogspot. 

Does that mean you need to find Marty and Doc's DeLorean time machine? 

Because, geez, THAT was back when Rin-Tin-Tin hadn't gotten his second "tin" from Tin Pan Alley

... and you watched TV on a big box that bombarded you with non-ionizing radiation if you sat close to it, instead of getting your inescapable non-ionizing radiation from 5g

... and you watched movies on reels of film aimed at a screen that bounced-back the light projected onto it, instead of only-ever seeing everything in glowing postage-stamp mode on your phone

... and "the pandemic" meant 1918

... and Rudy Giuliani was "America's Mayor" instead of a babbling portable meltdown of brown ooze

... and "trump" was something that only happened in a card game, instead of being garishly emblazoned on buildings that go bankrupt (before it became a synonym for grifter college, grifter steaks, cultist wackos, deadly violent attempted coups at the Capitol, and banishment from polite society)

... anyway, The Guide has been around a LOOOOONNNNNGGGG time! So you can escape into the musical wonderments of this current edition, AND/OR you can go far enough back to escape whatever is the current lunacy du jour, and explore MANY THOUSANDS of feature stories and fascinating items we have published throigh the years for your perusal and enjoyment.

HINT: We often get feedback like this regarding the archive:

"We just couldn't remember when the first [or the last] time was that we saw _____ perform live. Thanks to you preserving all your old listings, we figured out when, who we were with, and we even remembered joining the musicians for a late snack after the show! Thank you!!!"
 
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CONTACT US -- Post Comments / Send Questions / say Howdy at:

Tiedtothetracks (at) Hotmail (dot) com

OR USE THE COMMENTS FUNCTION on the Blogspot site.

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Entire contents copyright © 2022

Lawrence Wines & Tied to the Tracks.

All rights reserved.

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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 cyber porch'll be here anytime you come back from a masked safari to fetch your groceries, or get a hankerin' for a real or a virtual tuneful sojourn at a quality venue, or the latter version of hittin' the road for the festival circuit or a concert tour.
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