Midnite Open Mic Jam

I sang "Never Gonna Go Easy" for Wednesday's Midnite Open Mic Jam at the Depot Brewery.   Although at the time I didn't know about the coincidence, I wrote the song a few years ago on the same night a friend was fundraising for his legal defense against accusations of herbal disobedience.   The words and melody came in like a radio wave ~~ THAT part WAS easy!

None of the other musicians had heard this song nor played it, but they made it sound great: Tim Carey grooved bass line, Jon Estrin embellished with lead guitar, James Moore kept rhythm on kit while Bob Bernards gave a beautiful hand rhythm on a djembe.   I added flute between verses.

Afterwards, long, energetic jams with Tim and Jon as Dan Gorman sat kit, James moved to conga, Tony sat keyboard, Paul Squillo joined on trumpet, and newcomer Lava Lava added his saxophone to the mix.

Super energy, awesome sound, so three hours later I'm easing off the high.  Whew!

Flute follow-up

I was sitting at a sidewalk table on North Main yesterday checking email when I saw a familiar figure walking toward me.

"Your flute sounded nice last night," he said, as I remembered that he heard me play at Late Night Open Mic at the Depot with the house band.

"Thank you!" I said, feeling happy for his kind words.

"You must have been playing for a long time?" he asked.   Maybe he was trying to gauge how long it would take for him to gain the skills he wanted.

"I learned in fifth grade, but there was a long break in there."  

He stopped to tell me a bit about himself.   Turns out that in 1972, he felt inspired to learn flute because he liked its sound.   He tried guitar instead, but the strings hurt his fingertips, and his attention was distracted by other things, and time passed.   Hearing our upbeat jazzy improv renewed his inspiration to learn how to play.

I hope he follows up on that.  

I thank him here on this blog for confirming a pattern I noticed in several conversations like this:
One way for me to empower people is by first empowering myself and then living out loud.   Lucky for me, I dig that design!

Foliba wows the crowd

Energetic and tight as a drum (ha), Foliba wowed the crowd last night with the rhythm Marakadon, also called Maraka:



From left to right, the drummers are Dave Winningham, Dan Craig, Bob Miller, and JoLynn Gates.   These rhythms are infectious and inspiring ~~ I love soaking them into my bones to get the knick and knack of what to do during band sessions when I'm banging on the djembe.

Drum circle is a week from Saturday!

The video was captured by Burt Chojnowski (YouTube handle = coolburt) at Wednesday's Open Mic at Cafe Paradiso in Fairfield, Iowa.

Giglet: Open Mic July 24

This is a reminder about our giglet tomorrow . . . .

Wednesday, July 24, 9 pm - 9:30 pm at Cafe Paradiso.

We're doing a half-hour set for Open Mic starting at 9 pm at Cafe Paradiso, featuring our new drumless* sound ~ some original, some cover, all smoky sweet.

* No drums yet, but I've been shaking the tambourine lately and snapping my fingers when I'm not singing, and I welcome you to join in, too.   As a matter of fact, snapping your fingers is the special Burnt Sugar Blues call for encore.   A snap a second ~~ that's the way we start Fever, one of the first songs we did as a group. 

A donation of $2 supports Open Mic and other musical affairs at 
Cafe Paradiso, 101 North Main St, Fairfield, Iowa

Giglet: July 24

Wednesday, July 24, 9 pm - 9:30 pm at Cafe Paradiso.

We're doing a half-hour set for Open Mic starting at 9 pm at Cafe Paradiso, featuring our new drumless* sound ~ some original, some cover, all smoky sweet.

* Maybe drumless, but not entirely percussionless:  I'll snap my fingers when I'm not singing, and I welcome you to join in, too. 

Cafe Paradiso, 101 North Main St, Fairfield, Iowa

Gigletto

Last year I gave the word "giglet" another meaning: a short performance of two songs, like 10 minutes at an Open Mic.   I decided to change it up a bit . . . so the new word for a 2-song gig will be "gigletto", a tiny little gig, while the term "giglet" is reserved for a half-hour gig, like a feature performance at Cafe Paradiso's Open Mic night.   Like the one we'll be doing on July 24.

July 3 giglet-party

Announcing our next Open Mic giglet at Cafe Paradiso:

Wednesday, July 3, a ten-minute spot between 8 pm and 9 pm.

We've been drummerless for a few weeks so we arranged songs with no drummer ~ some original, some cover, all smoky sweet.

Chocolate chips for everyone!

At our last rehearsal, Russ said, "How about we do Open Mic on Wednesday after next?"

We all agreed, and when I got home and looked at my calendar, I noticed that Wednesday was July 3, my BIRTHDAY  ~~  a happy way to celebrate!   I'll bring chocolate chips for everyone.

Cafe P is at 101 North Main Street in Fairfield, Iowa.   A $2 donation helps keep nights like this happening at the cafe.

* * * Update: July 1
I'm now calling this kind of performance a gigletto: a tiny little gig. 

No Drummer (again) (sigh)

We have no drummer again.   (sigh)

Okay, we do have a drummer . . . for a limited engagement: Keith DeBoer is lending his hands for our upcoming Open Mic giglets.   And that's really cool because Keith has a great touch with our songs and glides right into the grooves.

We're prepping a couple songs for a 10-minute spot (maybe two) and also prepping a half-hour feature, both for Cafe Paradiso's Open Mic, hosted by {ta-da} Keith DeBoer.

* * * Update:  June 18
Keith is hugely busy this summer and bowed out of our project, so we do indeed have no drummer.   We're prepping the songs anyway, and they sound smooooth, like silky dark chocolate.

Foliba headlines Open Mic

Back during a 10-month dry spell on this blog, Foliba headlined Open Mic at Cafe Paradiso on October 10, 2012, playing traditional West African rhythms.  Dave Winningham handed me his camera to record some rhythms, so it's my fault the video is kinda shaky and beheads the players.

In the first video below, Open Mic host Keith DeBoer introduces the group and they begin with "a celebratory rhythm", Sinte.   From left to right the players are Dan Craig, David Winningham, JoLynn Gates, and Bob Miller.



Later in the set, they electrify the room with Jansa ~~ tremendous, vibrant energy swells to the ceiling and bulges the walls!   From left to right the players are Dan Craig, David Winningham, Bob Miller, and JoLynn Gates.  



These players anchor most of the drum circles in Fairfield.

Both videos were uploaded to YouTube by David Winningham.

Monster Bassist Duffy

I've been wondering how an Open Mic feature set of Burnt Sugar might sound with minimal to no drums and only core players on stage.   I got my chance to hear a really cool rock/blues/folk/country/reggae band tonight as the feature at Open Mic ~ no drum kit ~ so I checked it out.

Bassist Tim Duffy of the
Jefferson County Green Band
(and guest player with 
Burnt Sugar Blues)

Cafe Paradiso's Wednesday night Open Mic featured the Jefferson County Green Band, who promoted an "unplugged" set although each of them had at least one mic or amp, sometimes two.   They did not, however, have a drummer.   Bassist Tim Duffy held down rhythm in fine form.   Most of their songs were new, some from their latest album Great Spirit (including the title cut) and some from their next album (as yet unnamed).   Duffy spends most of his time brokering hotels while living in Cedar Rapids, 95 miles away, so he heard JCGB's newest songs for the first time at 5 pm . . . four hours before taking the stage with the band.   This man is a master!   Tim Duffy monsters the bass!

Lead singer Steve McClain sounded buoyant and the 45-minute set was full of easy, happy vibes.   Fatherhood looks good on Steve ~ radiant, actually.   His wife, Michaela, sang two songs with the band ~ one was a really beautiful calypso version of Islands in the Stream (sung in 1983 by Kenny Rogers/Dolly Parton) . . . calypso because they "had to spice it up."   Mmm, scrumptious.

The Green Band will be at the Neil Young tribute at Red Rock tavern tonight, Thursday night.

So . . . I'm excited about doing a feature set for Open Mic sans drum kit.   We have some songs that would be perfect.   :)

*** Update: Friday 12:02 am ~ I changed Tim's career info above to hotel brokering.   He handed off hotel management last summer.

Shakin' All Over

lollipop (or sucker)
first & fourth verses
photo ~ Gregory Bastien

Shakin' All Over was the name of the first song we played for Open Mic last night  ~ Russ, Mike, and me at 8:10 pm.


"Shakin' all over" also describes my initial state of nervousness on the stage.   I put a positive spin on it, thinking, Well, maybe actual physical shakes might add to the emotional authenticity of the song.   I heard my voice shaking as I sang the opening lines, but it wasn't as obvious to other listeners as it was in my ears at the time.

chocolate
second verse

Burnt Sugar Blues was the second song we played.

The second verse was inspired by a headline: women say chocolate trumps sex.   Holy cocoa, Batman, not for me!

honey
third verse

Winnie-the-Pooh was my muse for the third verse.   Really.   The honey-lovin' bear inspired wonderfully wicked ways to indulge in honey.

Writing about honey and chocolate makes my sweet tooth ache.   Lucky for me I have a jar of honey in the cupboard, so I'm dipping in and trying not to get the keyboard sticky.   Mmmm, yum...

Giglet

We're planning to take part in Open Mic again with one song from the sixties, Shakin' All Over, and our namesake song, Burnt Sugar Blues, which we played at the February party.   We'll be undrummed again with Mike, Russ, and me.

I thought "giglet" would perfectly describe such a short performance.

So I looked it up and found that "giglet" means "a giddy, playful girl".   It's obvious we need a new definition for the word.   The Urban Dictionary says it's "large quantities of something; opposite of a niblet".   That's cute, too.

Jazz musicians started using the word "gig" in the 1920s for paid performances.   Well, I guess the audience pays attention, and Fairfield audiences are famous for paying exquisitely conscientious attention.

Having stated for my own edification the wherefors and whereases, I therefore now declare with all due pomp and one true circumstance:

Yes, we got us a giglet!

Our First Open Mic

We (Russ, Mike, me) did our first Open Mic last night:  "undrummed" was our theme for two songs.   Here's the audio file.



Things We Said Today is an early Beatles tune.   Mike played the intro twice because the mic was off when I was supposed to start singing.   I wrote Would You Catch Me in December and Mike and Russ made chords for it in February.   After our set, Keith DeBoer, the MC, introduced my son Shane for the next act.   Shane wrote the first tune, and the second is Stand By Me.



Topping off the night as the featured act was Global Cooling led by chanter Chandra Das, who filled in on a few hours' notice for Jonas Magram who'd had an accident and couldn't make the show (he's doing okay).   Global Cooling's bass player didn't make it, so Russ joined in to fill out the bottom end.

Update:   Jonas supplied the "news report" of his injury ~

Undrummed

We're doing a new sound for our first appearance at Open Mic this Wednesday, April 4.   "Undrummed" is softer and more relaxed, and a whole different sound than what we did in February.     Only the core songwriters will be on stage ~ Russ, Mike, and me ~ so we can get on and off the stage in the 10 minutes allotted per group.   That leaves a lot of space between the notes in these three songs.

We'd love to share these with you at Open Mic in Cafe Paradiso.   Don't know exactly when we'll be on stage; performances start at 8 pm.

Awesome pickin'

The pickin' was AWESOME, as awesome as a pint of summer on the ides of March.   Fresh as green grass and clear as a quick brook, the low notes kept time as the trebles cascaded, slow and sweet, then faster, and faster.   Wheee!

Permanent sitters on the southwest bench

We both thought he was a student when he asked our go-ahead to play banjo on a bench northwest of the gazebo.   We were relaxing in the shade on the northeast bench after a late afternoon lunch.   The other shady bench, southwest and under the trees, was occupied by more than the bronze statue of a man and boy when we arrived.   A woman sat on the southeast corner ~ each of us held our own sweet slice of space on that perfect afternoon.

"Sure, yes, that would be great," we said, happy for a fellow musician to garnish the air with his music.   Then we continued our conversation about skateboards and their riders, trying to define the elusive quality of skateboarders that bothered authorities enough to target them for special persecution.   We figured it must be the "cool" factor, the 'tude.

"At least here it's not like Iowa City," I told my daughter.   "That ped mall has prohibitions posted on signs and painted on sidewalks, against skateboards and bikes, skates, and other stuff, too.   It's ugly, and it's a constant reminder of how controlled it is."

Wheels are outlawed on Fairfield's downtown sidewalks, too (unfortunately), but not strictly enforced.   From where I sat, I could see two bicyclists and three skateboarders wheeling around the sidewalks, bothering no one, and chatting with their friends on foot.

But back to the music.   The banjo player was no beginner, and although it sounded a little like bluegrass, it was more than that.   More glide, maybe, more dynamism.

A couple walked by, dropped some bills in his open case, and I heard the player ask what they wanted to hear.   They stood and listened.   I had been listening carefully all along, too, because the pickin' was just AWESOME.

His name is Jon Eric, he lives in Iowa City, and he had something to add to the ped mall convo.

"They don't allow this kind of thing, playing music outside like this ~ they have an anti-busking law."   (No open cases or coffee cans, but public pianos?)

I told him that our Open Mic might give him an audience of 50+ local music lovers (like the night before) as an introduction to our scene.   It's a long drive from Iowa City .... but Fairfield has a draw.

"I love this," he swept his arm over the square, "playing in the open air, sharing the love of music.   Bless you all for keeping the music free.   It's all about sharing the love."

Lo-Cal taste of Sugar Blues

the West African drumming group Foliba
played at the February 22 Open Mic

Coolio musicians meet friendly audiences at Open Mic in Fairfield.   I enjoyed three of these after they started up again in January at Cafe Paradiso.   That alchemy combined with Tuesday's practice when we were developing a new Celtic-bardic-ballad-sounding song and somebody said it might sound nice with just guitar and voice.   The cauldron brewed until Wednesday evening when a new idea wafted up, so I emailed Mike about Open Mic and the notion that he and I could duo as a low-tech taste of our band.

Open Mic that night was beautiful and touching with storytelling, poetry, and singer/songwriter sounds.   Mike liked it and we're getting songs ready for some time soon.

Update, March 12, 2013: We did perform that Celtic-bardic-ballad-sounding song at Open Mic on April 4, 2012.   We call it Would You Catch Me.