And So It Goes

On December 24, 2017December 25, 2017 By PopeswamiLeave a comment

“I spoke to you in cautious tones. You answered me with no pretense. And still I feel I said too much. My silence is my self-defense. And every time I’ve held a rose, it seems I only felt the thorns. And so it goes, and so it goes. And so will you soon I suppose.” Billy Joel, from the album, Storm Front, 1989

If you haven’t noticed, I have been silent for nearly a year. It is not that I have had nothing to write about. I have been to several music events, and they were all uplifting and refreshing. I have also made some great purchases and acquisitions that I cannot wait to talk about. But in the first couple months after my last post, which was in January, there had been moments when I had an idea that could blossom into something to write, but the will was not there. Generally, I am not a person who suffers from depression. But the best way I can describe it is…depression. This began around November 8^th of last year, and became increasingly worse after January 20^th of this year. But I am slowly getting back to being my abnormal self.

When I finally gathered the motivation and presence of mind to write this, it was a cold and wet May day. There was nothing playing in the CD player. I heard the traffic in the distance, a few birds announcing their territorial boundaries, the hum of the fan in my PC, and the clicking of the keys as I typed. I heard my breath, sighing occasionally as I considered my words and avoided painful thoughts.

Then, just as I do now, I wanted to feel hope. I wanted to live hope. But it is difficult to hope. I think if I write, it will give me hope. But I am not so sure about that thought. I am not certain I can count on that to be true. But I must get on with it; buck up. Put one foot ahead of the other and lean forward. Press one key at a time, complete a word, hit that space bar and keep it moving. Hep, two, three, four! Hep, two, three, four!

I am thankful that there have been some awesome events to attend. And looking back I have attended quite a few. Here are some.

Music from ‘The Nutcracker’ – A Jazzy Exploration of a Holiday Classic, 2016

During the December holiday season, there was a jazzy musical event with violinist, Jamie Shadowlight, at Café Bar Europa in Pacific Beach including the usual suspects of Mikan Zlatkovich on keys, Kevin Higuchi on drums, Will Lyle on bass, and PJ Ortiz (PacificYO) on beatbox. The highlight for me was hearing Grammy nominated jazz flutist, Lori Bell. Lori’s 2016 album, Brooklyn Dreaming, has won accolades from Downbeat Magazine, Huffington Post, and others. It was a great evening of holiday jazz, fine food, and hanging with friends.

20161219_041110076_iOS — **L to R: Lori Bell, Kevin Higuchi, Jamie Shadowlight, Will Lyle, Mikan Zlatkovich**

Pre-Beatles Fair Promo Show at the Queen Bee, 2016

Between Christmas and New Year’s Eve there was a show at the Queen Bee to promote the upcoming Beatles Fair in March, 2017. The three mainstays, Dave Humphries Band, The Rollers, and The Baja Bugs performed, but in addition there were some duos and solo acts. The one that stands out for me was “Fast Heart Mart” Martin Stamper on banjo doing “Norwegian Wood”. Another great evening hanging with friends and hearing some great 60s music. That evening, the Dave Humphries Band was the expanded 5-piece consisting of Dave Humphries on guitar, Wolfgang Grasekamp on keys, Greg Gohde on electric bass, Make Alvarez on electric cello, and Todd Sander on drums.

20161231_043638762_iOS — ***Dave Humphries Band***

20161231_050129684_iOS — ***The Rollers***

20161231_060335549_iOS — ***The Baja Bugs***

Other Performances

Sometime in January we saw Cadillac Wreckers at Proud Mary’s doing many familiar songs plus some I had never heard them do before. Dana Duplan on guitar and Dane Terry on harmonica and vocals are the main Wreckers. I did not catch the names of the drummer and electric bassist. A tight bluesy band that are always enjoyable to hear.

20170115_034912300_iOS — **Cadillac Wreckers**

We have made several excursions to the Riviera Supper Club on Thursday nights to hear Liz Grace and the Swing Thing duo, consisting of Liz and guitarist, Jon Garner. Great songs from a great era, and Liz is such a versatile singer. Jon is also an exceptional jazz guitarist.

20170203_030422813_iOS — **Liz Grace & Jon Garner**

One evening in February, we went to Rebecca’s Coffee to experience a rare performance of The Flip Side / The Pink Floyd Experience. They perform B-sides of hit songs from the 60s and early 70s. Todd Sander was on drums and vocals, Wolfgang Grasekamp was on rhythm guitar (used to seeing him on keys), Tom Quinn on lead guitar and vocals and Gus Beaudoin on bass and vocals. A strong unit handling songs from a variety of 60s bands and styles. Also, Dave Humphries Band played some songs as sort of a rehearsal for the Beatles Fair, where their set would concentrate on the songs of George Harrison, including his time with the Traveling Wilburys. Todd and Wolfgang (on keys this time) were part of the band along with Mike Alvarez on cello and Tom on lead guitar.

20170223_030336415_iOS — **The Flip Side**

20170223_041044997_iOS — **Dave Humphries Band**

It was a thankfully rainy winter and the desert wildflowers were in magnificent bloom. We made it a point in March to experience this desert splendor, and coming back from Borrego Springs we stopped at Wynola Pizza to hear Plow and to get some great pizza. Dane Terry was not with them on harmonica, but recent addition, Alex Sharps, was with them on vocals and fiddle. They also had some young fiddlers, who have been students of Alex, show their stuff on what they have learned. A truly fun evening.

The Beatles Fair

Lineup at this year’s Beatles Fair at the Queen Bee in North Park included Francisco Gomez, The Phoenix Band, Mojo Working (featuring Scott Mathiasen), The Dave Humphries Band, The Baja Bugs, True Stories with a Ringo Starr tribute featuring Nico, and headliner Billy J. Kramer with Liberty DeVitto on drums on the Kaiserkeller Stage. There were three other stages, but we did not spend much time at these. All local acts did a fine job, but I was a bit partial to The Dave Humphries Band, who really knocked it out of the park with a George Harrison tribute, featuring songs “Isn’t It a Pity”, “All Things Must Pass” and “Beware of Darkness” from his first (3-LP) album and “Handle with Care” from Travelling Wilburys, including Mike Alvarez handling the Roy Orbison parts, among the highlights. They also did an assortment of 60s Beatles and British invasion tunes as well as some penned by Dave Humphries. This was an expanded band with Dave Humphries on guitar and lead vocals, Todd Sander on drums, Greg Gohde on bass, Wolfgang Grasekamp on keys, Mike Alvarez on cello and vocals, and Tom Quinn on lead guitar and lead/backing vocals. The Billy J. Kramer set started out promising, but he seemed to be having trouble with the monitor and he often moved off-key. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Billy J. Kramer, he toured with The Beatles on several occasions in the 60s and had a minor hit with “Little Children”. I got to meet him after his performance and secured an autographed copy of his recent CD. Liberty DeVitto was the drummer in Kramer’s band. He had been the tour drummer for many years backing Billy Joel, but now is touring with Kramer. My better half got a photo op with him. It was a fun evening, especially hanging with good friends.

20170325_220659436_iOS — **The Phoenix Band**

20170325_233359541_iOS — **Mojo Working featuring Scott Mathiasen**

20170326_005324640_iOS (2) — **Dave Humphries Band**

20170326_032139788_iOS — **Billy J. Kramer featuring Liberty DeVitto on drums**

20170326_041759815_iOS — **True Stories featuring Symea Solomon and Normandie Wilson**

20170326_042137038_iOS — **True Stories featuring Nico as Ringo Starr**

Baja Bugs at Riviera Supper Club

I ventured out to see The Baja Bugs at the Riviera Supper Club sometime in March (or was it April?) with friend Randall Cornish. We also met up with George Rubsamen while there. The Bugs not only covered Beatles music, but also other 60s bands such as Rolling Stones, Kinks, Zombies, plus some self-penned songs. In great form, as usual.

Revival of the Singer-Songwriter

Produced by Ken Rexrode, March 26, at the Belly Up in Solana Beach. Hosted by Whitney Shay, with performances by Whitney Shay, Wish & The Well, The Moves Collective, Mimi Zulu, Karina Frost and the Banduvloons, and Taylor John Williams. This was a great show with a variety of music styles performed by amazing people. For me, the standouts were Whitney Shay, and The Moves Collective, both of whom were winners at the 2017 San Diego Music Awards.

20170327_023848818_iOS — **Wish & The Well**

20170327_025951021_iOS — **Taylor John Williams**

20170327_032615250_iOS — **Whitney Shay**

20170327_034645026_iOS — **Karina Frost and The Banduvloons**

20170327_043518645_iOS — **The Moves Collective**

Spring Harp Fest

This was my third or fourth time to attend the harp fest, at Harry Griffen Park in La Mesa, held this year on April 4. Performers were Phillip Fauquet with Chet Cannon and the Committee, Karl Dring (replacing Jeffrey Joe Moran, who could not make it due to an injury), Billy Watson, John Clifton, Eric Von Herzen, Harmonica John Frazer, TJ Klay, and headliner Kellie Rucker accompanied by Robin Henkel on guitar. The highlights for me were the Billy Watson and Kellie Rucker sets. Kellie used to reside in San Diego but now lives in Florida. It was a beautiful day for music in the outdoors.

20170415_183348874_iOS — **Phillip Fauquet with Chet Cannon and the Committee**

20170415_200710020_iOS — **Harmonica John Frazer**

20170415_211025135_iOS — **John Clifton**

20170415_214411990_iOS — **Billy Watson**

20170415_222333215_iOS — **Eric Von Herzen**

20170415_231230841_iOS — **Kellie Rucker** accompanied by **Robin Henkel**

Mundell Lowe 95^th Birthday

Dizzy’s hosts the birthday performances for Mundell Lowe. This year, on April 21, Mundell was accompanied by Bob Magnusson and Rob Thorsen on bass, Jim Plank on drums, Bob Boss, Jaime Valle, Ron Eschete, and others on guitar. From New York City, jazz guitarist Tony DeCaprio did a solo set, and Mundell’s step-daughter, Alycia Previn, performed with him on violin. Mundell still had his chops, providing competition for all the other players. I was pleasantly surprised when Tony DeCaprio performed. I had not known about him prior to that evening and he totally knocked me out. This was an evening of jazz mastery from some of the finest players to be found anywhere on the planet.

20170422_033849130_iOS — **Tony DeCaprio with Bob Magnusson and Jim Plank**

20170422_043319923_iOS — **Mundell Lowe**

20170422_044124799_iOS — **With step-daughter Claudia Previn Stasny**

20170422_050655477_iOS — **With step-daughter Alycia Previn**

NOTE: Mundell Lowe passed away on December 2. He was one of the greats, working with such major artists as Billie Holiday, Charlie Parker, Frank Sinatra, Andre Previn, Dinah Washington, Peggy Lee, Carmen McRae, Marilyn Monroe, Sammy Davis, Jr., Marlene Dietrich, Johnny Ray, Bill Evans, Charles Mingus, Benny Goodman, the Everly Brothers…the list goes on. He was self-taught in guitar, and became a composer and arranger of movie and TV scores and a member of NBC’s staff orchestra, playing on the “Today Show” in the 50s and 60s. He appeared on the Grand Ole Opry in the 30s. He wrote music for shows such as “Hawaii Five-O”, “Starsky and Hutch”, “The Wild Wild West”, and even Woody Allen’s film “Everything You Wanted to Know About Sex (But Were Afraid to Ask)”. Adjectives used to describe him include “versatile”, “elegant”, “sophisticated”. I consider myself fortunate to meet and talk to him at his 93rd birthday performance at Dizzy’s and again to attend his 95th birthday performance.

Carlsbad Flower Fields Blues Day

This was held on April 23, at the Carlsbad Flower Fields. We had just missed Chickenbone Slim & The Biscuits, but got there in time to hear Robin Henkel with Whitney Shay, with Troy Jennings on sax, Caleb Furgatch on bass, and Marty Dodson on drums. We have seen this configuration of artists before, and they never disappoint. It was another enjoyable outdoor performance. And we got to talk to Larry Teves (Chickenbone Slim) even though we missed his set. We also spent time walking about the variety of beautiful flowers on display.

**L to R: Marty Dodson, Whitney Shay, Caleb Furgatch, Robin Henkel, Troy Jennings**

Adams Avenue Unplugged

This year at the Unplugged event on April 29, I finally got to see Marie Haddad perform, as well as Sven Eric Seaholm. Both are quite talented performers as well as capable songwriters. Marie is a very expressive quality singer and keyboardist. She did some self-penned songs as well as covers, leaving me wanting to hear much more. She will be releasing a new album later in the year and I will be in line to obtain one, for sure. Sven did an acoustic guitar set, but the environment was not conducive to a musical performance. The Adams Avenue Business Association needs to rethink using that noisy location with poor acoustics as a venue. However, we were up close to enjoy his covers of 60s and 70s songs, along with some self-penned songs. We ended the day at DiMilles’ Pizza to hear Robin Henkel doing a solo country blues set followed by the Dave Humphries Band, which was a three-piece consisting of Dave on vocals and guitar, Greg Gohde on bass, and Mike Alvarez on cello and backing vocals. I have written much about both in the past, and cannot add anything more regarding their prodigious talents. After the Dave Humphries set, we decided to leave the Unplugged event and headed over to the Riviera Supper Club to hear some twang with Three Chord Justice before calling it a night. This was the last time for me to hear the band with guitarist and long-time member, Jeff Houck. Jeff has since moved on to other ventures.

20170429_192539533_iOS — **Marie Haddad**

20170429_202344865_iOS — **Sven Eric Seaholm**

20170429_224828978_iOS — **Robin Henkel**

20170430_003445143_iOS — **L to R: Dave Humphries, Greg Gohde, Mike Alvarez**

20170430_042551915_iOS — **Three Chord Justice**

Six String Society – 27 Club

The Six String Society, at the Belly Up on April 30, presented a tribute to the artists who died at the age of 27. Among the members of the 27 Club covered in this production were Robert Johnson, Jim Morrison, Brian Jones, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Curt Cobain and Amy Winehouse. Taylor John Williams did a brief set to warm up the crowd. Then the fun began. Beginning with a tribute to country blues legend, Robert Johnson, presented by local country blues legend, Robin Henkel, a slide presentation created a multi-media environment as Robin told the mysterious story of Robert Johnson, playing some of Johnson’s classic songs as well as other country blues songs. Following this informative set, Rock n’ Roll Hall of Famer (with Steve Miller Band) guitarist Greg Douglass and singer Louis Patton performed a tribute to Brian Jones of The Rolling Stones. Then Gregory Page did a musical introduction to guitarist Jimmy Patton with a tribute to Jim Morrison of The Doors. The next 27 Club member was Janis Joplin. For this set, the phenomenal Casey Hensley sang Janis’ songs accompanied by a band fronted by Greg Douglass on guitar and Johnny Viau on sax, with Evan Caleb Yearsley on drums and Mark Campbell on bass. I kept looking up to see if the Belly Up roof was still intact after hearing Casey tearing it up. Next was a tribute to Curt Cobain of Nirvana by Canadian/San Diegan alternative band, Sister Speak, fronted by Sherri Anne on vocals and acoustic guitar, Jacob (Cubby) Miranda on bass, and Zach Guglin on drums. Greg Douglass also joined in on electric guitar. I really liked their sound. Sister Speak is another San Diego Music Awards winner. They were also joined by Jimmy Patton and Taylor John Williams on their last Nirvana song. For the Amy Winehouse tribute, Whitney Shay literally was the incarnation of Amy, with her hair style, red flower in her hair, and voice. Whitney was backed by her band, The Hustle and accompanied again for some songs by Greg Douglass. This led into the final tribute, for Jimi Hendrix, with Greg Douglass doing some pyro techniques on guitar, accompanied by Mark Campbell on bass and Evan Caleb Yearsley on drums. Vocal duties for Jimi’s songs was handled by Louis Patton. And, of course, all performers gathered on stage for the last song. It was a tremendous night of legendary music and fantastic performers.

20170501_021301434_iOS — **Taylor John Williams**

20170501_025651500_iOS — **Robin Henkel: tribute to Robert Johnson**

20170501_031712873_iOS — **Greg Douglass and Louis Patton: tribute to Brian Jones**

20170501_031855032_iOS — **Gregory Page**

20170501_032007420_iOS — **Jimmy Patton: tribute to Jim Morrison**

20170501_033629475_iOS — ***Casey Hensley with Greg Douglass (guitar), Johnny Viau (sax), Evan Caleb Yearsley (drums), Mark Campbell (bass): tribute to Janis Joplin***

20170501_040045801_iOS — **Sister Speak with Greg Douglass: tribute to Curt Cobain**

20170501_041856455_iOS — **Shay and The Hustle, featuring Whitney Shay performing a tribute to Amy Winehouse**

Mother’s Day at Urban Solace

We went to Urban Solace for their bluegrass brunch on Mother’s Day, May 13. Plow, represented by a trio of Doug Walker on bass, Jason Weiss on banjo and a guest guitarist/vocalist that I cannot recall – that’s what I get for not writing this as soon afterward as I should have. Chris Clarke, Mark Markowitz, Dane Terry and Alex Sharps were not available as they were celebrating Mother’s Day and if I recall correctly, Chris was also ill that day.

Joshua Tree Music Festival May 18-21

Prior to the music festival, Todo Mundo had mentioned via a Facebook post by Jamie Shadowlight that they were giving away two free tickets to the festival and all one had to do was to give the reasons why they thought they were deserving of the tickets. On a lark, I responded. Little did I know that I would win. I was not out of town but had not reserved those days as vacation days. I then got an email from Todo Mundo that they wanted additional information in case I won. I had not yet responded when Jamie told me I won the tickets and needed to get this info in ASAP. I had to quickly request the days off and then responded. The tickets would be at the front gate for the festival. I was amazed. These are $240 tickets each! I booked the hotel using my points. So, the only cost to us was food and gas, plus anything else we wanted to buy. It was an awesome experience with several performers from around the world. That first evening began with Canada’s Sasha Rose doing a DJ set followed by local artist, Chris Unck with his high desert band. Chris’ music reminded me of the German space rock of the 70s. It was an instrumental set, and they performed as the sun was setting. Todo Mundo, including Jamie Shadowlight, was the featured artist of the evening. This was my first time hearing them and they knocked me out of my socks! How do I explain them? World music including reggae, Caribbean, gypsy, and you name it, all with a Latin flavor; with guitars, percussion, drums, bass, sax, trombone, trumpet and violin; all this with the powerful and soulful vocals of band leader, Santiago Orozco. Their performance is high energy with a powerful message of world unity and love, and all players were dressed in white. We headed back to our hotel room musically sated but anticipating more the following day. We met up with Jamie, Santiago and his wife, and others, and relaxed to the sounds of local artist, Philip Rosenberg in the background. After checking out the merchants we settled into listening to a band from Wonder Valley, The Adobe Collective, with a psychedelic Americana style, and La Inedita from Peru, with a Latin harder edged pop-rock style throwing in a bit of Spanish rap. For the sunset performance, Kraak and Smaak from Netherlands did a disco/pop-electronica set that would be suitable for a rave, complete with light show effects. Later in the evening we heard another local artist, Gene Evaro, Jr. with a funky yet folky style including roaring guitars on some songs. While there was one more performer to go that evening, we called it a night and headed back to the hotel; the desert heat had worn on us and I wanted to be ready for the next day. Our Saturday morning’s arrival was greeted by an acoustic set by Sasha Rose, who had DJed on Thursday evening. Later we heard the wonderful acapella harmonies of Sirens of Soul, who hail from all over – three female artists with beautiful voices and one guy on bass. Their music and stories were uplifting, affirming, and for us, a great way to end our time at the music festival. As we were leaving the Desert Rhythm Project was just beginning their set. We had things we had to accomplish on Sunday, so we needed to get home. Keep in mind that the music is just one (but central) aspect of the festival. There were a variety of artisans, healers, and a place for children’s activities. This will not be the last time at the festival for us. Next time, we will plan so that we can take in all four days’ music. We also learned that there was a hotel much closer where I could still use my hotel points instead of staying in Palm Springs and driving an hour each day from the hotel to the festival.

20170519_010933260_iOS — **Sasha Rose, as opening DJ**

20170519_025844672_iOS — **Chris Unck and his High Desert Band**

20170519_051752610_iOS — **Todo Mundo, featuring Jamie Shadowlight**

20170519_193214947_iOS — **Philip Rosenberg**

20170519_194203572_iOS — **A rare photo of the Popeswami seen with Nancy Provance, Jamie Shadowlight,** **and** **another friend**

20170519_201213312_iOS — **Mt. San Jacinto as seen from the Joshua Tree Music Festival**

20170519_205157433_iOS — **The Adobe Collective**

20170519_215647422_iOS — **Visual arts at Joshua Tree Music Festival**

20170520_021333742_iOS — **Kraak and Smaak**

20170520_032604214_iOS — **Gene Evaro, Jr.**

20170520_181729615_iOS — **Sasha Rose with acoustic set**

20170520_183729699_iOS — **Sirens of Soul**

20170520_193047673_iOS — **Sirens of Soul**

Art Around Adams

Art around Adams has been reduced now to one day, which this year was Saturday, June 7. First up was a performance by True Stories, including Bart Mendoza on guitar and vocals and Dave Fleminger on keys and guitar. We then walked across the street to see the tribute to Dick Van Ransom, owner of Mariposa Ice Cream, who passed away a year ago after a car accident. Dick was a huge promoter of the arts and all the street fairs on Adams Avenue. The first artist during the tribute was George Rubsamen on acoustic guitar and mandolin, who was accompanied in part of his set by Nico Peters on percussion. George’s set was primarily 60s pop and rock with an Irish flair. Next set was by The Baja Bugs doing primarily Beatles tunes but a few other 60s artists were covered. The tribute ended with The Dave Humphries Band performing more Beatles songs as well as songs by other British invasion artists and some self-penned tunes. A presentation was made by a local government official to Dick Van Ransom’s wife. We then headed back to the other stage for The Joyelles, consisting of bandleader, Normandie Wilson, on keys and vocals, Symea Solomon and Maggie Taylor on vocals, and backed by Dave Fleminger on guitar, Danny Cress on drums, and Martin Martiarena on bass. The group are well-steeped in 60s pop and soul, covering artists such as Petula Clark, Burt Bacharach, and Dionne Warwick, and more esoteric artists of the 60s, including some French ye-ye pop stars such as France Gall. There are also many songs penned by Normandie Wilson; songs that one would be surprised to find are recent and not from the 60s. Normandie, Symea, and Maggie take turns with lead vocals. This band has a vibrant sound which got a lot of people dancing at the Blindspot stage. I was surprised at the size of the crowd gathered for their music – it gives me hope that 60s pop still rules! We then ventured over to DiMille’s for some pizza with many of our friends. After dinner we moved over to the DiMille’s Beer Garden stage to hear Alvino & The Dwells with their supersonic surf music. This power trio consists of Dave Fleminger on guitar, Tony Suarez on bass and rhythm guitar, and Didier Suarez on drums. This band is reminiscent of the great surf bands of the 60s. We also ran into visual artist/drummer extraordinaire/instrument maker, Owen Burke, enjoying their set.

20170603_200614739_iOS — **True Stories**

20170603_210705956_iOS — **George Rubsamen (mandolin) and Nico Peters (bongos)**

20170603_221609595_iOS — **The Baja Bugs**

20170603_232623534_iOS — **Dave Humphries Band**

20170604_000349870_iOS — **The Joyelles**

20170604_023207382_iOS — **Alvino & The Dwells**

Bar Pink CD Release Party for The Joyelles & Alvino & The Dwells

I attended the CD release party for The Joyelles and Alvino & The Dwells at Bar Pink on June 9th. This was a well-attended show, with The Joyelles doing the first set and Alvino & The Dwells doing the second. All that was said about these fine bands regarding their performances at Art Around Adams can be repeated here. While enjoying the music I ran into many familiar faces. We all had a great time.

20170610_044530634_iOS — **The Joyelles**

20170610_065239381_iOS — **Alvino and The Dwells**

Other Shows Attended in June

Once again, we made our pilgrimage to Rebecca’s Coffee in South Park on Sunday morning, June 11, to hear The Dave Humphries Band. On Thursday, June 15, we celebrated Mark Markowitz’ birthday at the Riviera Supper Club listening to Mark play drums for Liz Grace & The Swing Thing, which was a four piece that evening with Mark on drums, Liz Grace on guitar and vocals, Jon Garner on electric guitar, and Doug Walker on bass. Later, on June 17, my son and his girlfriend accompanied us to Wynola Pizza to hear Three Chord Justice with an acoustic set, featuring their new lead guitarist, Alex Watts. Alex has played with the band on many occasions when Jeff Houck was not available, but since Jeff has left the band Alex has become a full member. Another fun evening with great music.

20170602_014008797_iOS — **Liz Grace & The Swing Thing**

20170611_055454041_iOS — **True Stories**

20170618_012023368_iOS — **Three Chord Justice**

The Music Box

We had an opportunity to hear Todo Mundo at The Music Box on June 16. When we found out that The Moves Collective would also be playing we just had to go. We had dinner at Buon Appetito, just a few blocks away from The Music Box. While standing in line to get in we ran into Carmelia Toot Bell. Little did we know that Carmelia would be performing later that evening. Soul Brigade opened the show with some high energy electric blues and funk. They were followed by The Moves Collective performing some high voltage Americana. Todo Mundo, featuring Jamie Shadowlight on electric violin and on a few songs Carmelia Toot Bell on vocals. It was another uplifting evening, with Todo Mundo bringing it to a beautiful conclusion.

20170617_041500595_iOS — **Soul Brigade**

20170617_051746593_iOS — **The Moves Collective**

Revival of the Singer Songwriter

June 18 at the Belly Up in Solana Beach, Shay and The Hustle, Greg Douglass, Israel Maldonado with Dante, Patric Petrie and Jillian Calkins, Shane J Hall Trio, and Steph Johnson with Rob Thorsen put their talents out there to bring on another wonderful evening with a variety of music styles. Patric Petrie and Jillian Calkins have joined forces to present a world folk music duo with an emphasis on Irish and French styles and culture. Their voices blend beautifully. They are now going by the name, J’Adore. They are planning a musical tour of France sometime next year. Shay and the Hustle, with vocalist Whitney Shay, provided a set of funky electric blues that was truly invigorating. There were some great guitarists at this event: Greg Douglass, Israel Maldonado and Steph Johnson. Douglass presented more of a hard-edged blues rock style reminiscent of Clapton, Page, and Hendrix. Maldonado provided acoustic stylings with a Latin flair. Johnson played a funky jazz set of originals with an uplifting, socially conscious theme. Shane J Hall Trio was a new treat for me, with a bluesy Americana style. It was an enjoyable evening of music.

A bit about the Six String Society/Revival of the Singer Songwriter events at the Belly Up, and now the Wednesday night events at Tio Leo’s near Old Town as well as the long-standing Fallbrook open mic events. These are organized and produced by Ken Rexrode. Ken has put tons of time and energy into promoting and supporting music and musicians in San Diego County. I highly recommend any of these events as well worth your time to experience.

20170619_021649507_iOS — **Greg Douglass**

20170619_023712256_iOS — **Patric Petrie (l) and Jillian Calkins (r), aka J’Adore**

20170619_024415033_iOS — **Israel Maldonado (l) with Dante (r)**

20170619_031604063_iOS — **Steph Johnson and Rob Thorsen**

20170619_035410438_iOS — **Shane J. Hall Trio**

20170619_043006629_iOS — **Shay and The Hustle**

Cirque Du Soleil Beatles Love, June 22

The Beatles. The Mirage Hotel, Las Vegas. Cirque du Soleil. Breathtaking. The Beatles’ music and the wizardry of George Martin. Superior talent and skill. What more is there to say? We attended this for my wife, Nancy’s birthday, which was June 22. It was Love. 20170622_232151490_iOS

The Hollywood Project prerelease party at Rebecca’s Coffee, June 25

Representing The Hollywood Project were Dave Humphries, Greg Gohde, Mike Alvarez, and Wolfgang Grasekamp. This was the San Diego prerelease party for Olympic Boulevard, the second album by The Hollywood Project. If this appears to be an iteration of the Dave Humphries Band, you are correct. There were others involved in the production of this release, however, who were not available for this performance. Stephen Kalinich wrote the lyrics for many of the songs, Tom Quinn played guitar on many of the tracks, Sven Eric Seaholm played on the album as well as providing production and engineering along with Wolfgang. There are others I am probably missing, but these are the primary individuals responsible for this excellent release. After the performance, Dave Humphries and his wife Robbie Taylor, along with many of us regulars at Rebecca’s ventured down to The Station for lunch and tasty conversation.

20170625_183823227_iOS — **The Hollywood Project/Dave Humphries Band**

20170625_191025179_iOS — **L to R: Mike Alvarez, Wolfgang Grasekamp, Dave Humphries, Greg Gohde**

20170625_210040863_iOS — **At The Station, l to r: Randall Cornish, Popeswami, Nancy, Katy Allen, Robbie Taylor, Dave Humphries, Molly Lynn McClendon**

The Garners at Riviera Supper Club, August 3

The Garners, formerly known as The Strivers, are Jon Garner and his wife, Lorelei Musique. Jon plays guitar and sings, and is an essential part of Liz Grace and The Swing Thing. Lorelei plays ukulele, guitalele, and sings. Together they dig into the music of the 20s through the 50s, with songs from Tin Pan Alley, classic pop and jazz, including a good dose of Django Reinhart and other early guitar greats. Lorelei is an accomplished vocalist with an expressive vocal style reminiscent of Billie Holiday, with a touch of Ella Fitzgerald. And, her work on ukulele and guitar compliments Jon’s playing nicely. I’ve written earlier about Jon’s excellent guitar work – he stays true to the early masters while adding his own unique twist to classic guitar jazz. It was another evening of great food and great sounds.

20170804_021011383_iOS — **The Garners: Lorelei Musique and Jon Garner**

August through December

We visited the places we regularly frequent such as Wynola Pizza, the Alano Club in South Park, Riviera Supper Club, and Rebecca’s Coffee to see the bands we like to see such as Plow, Three Chord Justice, Liz Grace and The Swing Thing, and the Dave Humphries Band.

20171015_020502706_iOS — **Cadillac Wreckers at Proud Mary’s**

Dave Humphries at Rebecca’s

Dave Humphries & Mike Alvarez with friends Mike Evans (left circle) and Will LaFond (right circle), last time at Rebecca’s Coffee on Sunday morning before they close

20171210_033140904_iOS — **Plow at Wynola Pizza: Doug Walker, Jason Weiss, Alex Sharps, Chris Clarke, Dane Terry**

Lestat’s West on Adams Avenue, October 13

We attended a performance by Marie Haddad at Lestat’s West where she played songs from her latest album, “Stories from Atlantis.” I consider this album to be an all-time favorite of mine. While over the years I have thought highly of many releases by many local artists, this year there were three that were in my opinion jaw-dropping excellent, and this is one of the three. I will have more to say about the three albums in a later post. Of course, the songs sounded different at Lestat’s because it was just Marie on her keyboard, but her beautifully emotive voice and the exceptional lyrics and songwriting made for an enjoyable performance. Following Marie was Isaac Cheong on solo voice and guitar. His self-deprecating humor and sensitive songwriting has left me wanting to hear more. Isaac was followed by a husband and wife duo from Tucson, Arizona (originally from Chapel Hill, North Carolina) calling themselves Birds & Arrows. This was a guitar and drums performance with Pete Connolly on drums and backing vocals and Andrea Connolly on guitar and lead vocals. They wrote their own music, which was a mix of Americana and hard-edged alternative rock. Andrea was amazing how she held up the rhythm and lead to make this performance sound like a full band. In talking with them at the break, they said they really like playing in San Diego and plan more gigs here in the future. I surely hope so. We did not stay for the other two artists performing that evening, Lisa Sanders and Mary Scholz. I am sure they would have been worth our time, but it was getting late after a tiring day.

20171014_034038456_iOS — **Marie Haddad**

20171014_040114283_iOS — **Isaac Cheong**

20171014_043443551_iOS — **Birds & Arrows**

Rebecca’s Coffee Farewell Concert, December 16

On a sad note, after more than 25 years providing coffee, scones, and a venue for music and poetry as well as promotion for animal rescue, Rebecca’s Coffee is closing at the end of the year due to new ownership of the building and a doubling of the rent. A farewell concert was held at Rebecca’s on December 16. This featured several artists who had been regulars performing at the coffee shop over the years. Included were Dave Humphries accompanied by Mike Alvarez, and Tom Baird and Friends. A bittersweet evening.

San Diego Troubadour Holiday Party and Fundraiser 2017, Grassroots Oasis, December 17

While my better half suffered from the flu, I attended the Troubadour Holiday Party meeting up with friends and enjoying the music of Bayou Brothers, Tom Baird and Friends, Dave Humphries and Mike Alvarez (and featuring Owen Burke on drums, and with Liz Abbott on vocals on “Bluebird”), Robin Henkel with Whitney Shay, Asspocket of Whiskey, Nina Francis, among others too many to mention. All were in the holiday spirit and it was great seeing everyone and hearing some wonderful music.

The Nutcracker: A Jazz Exploration, Café Bar Europa, December 22

And here we are full circle. Performed by Jamie Shadowlight on electric violin, Mikan Zlatkovich on keys, Will Lyle on string bass, Monette Marino on percussion, Russell Bizzett on drums, with special guests PacificYO on beatbox, Carmelia Toot Bell on vocals, and Albert Lin throat singing. It is exactly as described, Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker put into a jazz format with tons of wild improvisation and experimentation; much was done impromptu by super talents who can pull this off with ease. Plus, it is always a joyful event to be with Jamie. It is beginning to feel a lot like Christmas.

In Conclusion

Despite the flu and other infirmities, despite a government gone insane, despite a monstrous work load this past year, and despite fighting a downer regarding the uncertainty of our future and retirement under the current American leadership, this has been a good year for music and for experiencing music in San Diego. In fact, the music is what has kept me going. I have made many friends in the music community, and many of those friendships have grown deeper in the past year. As we look to 2018, I can know that despite what natural or human disasters occur in the next twelve months, and despite what calamities our government throws at us, we have the joy of music and of friendship, and that will get us through.

Before we leave 2017 I will be writing a second and hopefully shorter post regarding some recorded music discoveries during the year that I would like to share with everyone. In the meantime, try to avoid this nasty flu that is going around and value one another! Happy Holidays!

BEFORE AND AFTER THE FLOOD

On September 11, 2016September 11, 2016 By Popeswami1 Comment

This entry will be in three parts, to signify what was happening between my last post and before I was caught in the flood in southern Louisiana, and what has happened since.

Before the Flood

“You walk into the room

With your pencil in your hand

You see somebody naked

And you say, “Who is that man?”

You try so hard

But you don’t understand

Just what you’ll say

When you get home

Because something is happening here

But you don’t know what it is

Do you, Mister Jones?…”

Bob Dylan, from “Ballad of a Thin Man” from Highway 61 Revisited (1965) and Before the Flood (1974)

It has been quite some time between posts, and I hope that this does not become a habit. I really really really want to post more often but Time Won’t Let Me; makes me feel like an Outsider.

After experiencing the Beatles Fair, and other great shows in the spring of 2016, I truly considered I had seen the highlight of the year before the halfway mark. Well I was wrong. Here is why:

June 24: Jamie Shadowlight’s String Theory – Going to California, a fusion exploration of Led Zeppelin, at 98 Bottles in Little Italy. The band consisted of Jamie Shadowlight on violin, Caitlin Evanson on violin and vocals, Mikan Zlatkovich on keys, Antar Martin on bass, Kevin Higuchi on drums, Pedro Talarico on guitar, and special guests Lorraine Castellanos (guitar), P.J. Ortiz (beat box), Carmelia “Toot” Bell (vocals). What a fun evening! It began with a long drone that evolved into “Kashmir”, then followed by Caitlin’s plaintive vocals on “Black Dog”, and things just kept going, from dueling violins to fantastic drum solos, and jazzy instrumentals featuring Mikan, Antar, Kevin, and Pedro. Lorraine Castellanos was featured with solo acoustic guitar for one song. Then there was the most unusual take on “Whole Lotta Love” featuring Carmelia “Toot” Bell on vocals, transforming the song’s lyrics into a cosmic love fest. Jamie’s shows are always entertaining, uplifting, and a bit transcendent.

20160625_033651166_ios — Jamie Shadowlight’s String Theory, L to R: Caitlin Evanson, Kevin Higuchi, Jamie Shadowlight, Antar Martin, Pedro Talarico, Mikan Zlatkovich

20160625_040117527_ios — String Theory featuring P.J. Ortiz at far left

20160625_040757457_ios — Lorraine Castellanos

20160625_042110815_ios — String Theory with Carmelia “Toot” Bell

June 25: Dave Humphries, Wolfgang Grasekamp, Mike Alvarez – Rebecca’s Coffee Shop, South Park. The last Sunday of the month Dave Humphries performs his original tunes as well as British invasion standards from the 60s at Rebecca’s. As usual, he was accompanied by Wolfgang Grasekamp and Mike Alvarez. It is always a good time hanging out and watching them perform these classics and originals.

L to R: Mike Alvarez, Dave Humphries, Wolfgang Grasekamp

June 25: Dave & Normandie’s Excellent Wedding Celebration Bash at Bar Pink in North Park. Normandie Wilson and Dave Fleminger were married on the 24^th, but wanted to invite all their friends to a musical celebration the following day. It was a fun evening of music and dance, and meeting lots of new people as well as old friends. First up musically were Alvino and The Dwells with some great surf tunes and Dave Fleminger’s guitar pyromania. They were followed by The Amandas who did some excellent alternative pop/rock with Dave Fleminger on guitar again. The Joyelles were up next featuring Normandie Wilson on vocals and keys, Symea Solomon on vocals, and Maggie Taylor on vocals. Backing them up was Dave Fleminger on guitar, and Bart Mendoza stepped in on vocals while Maggie took a break – which created the old Casino Royale lineup. This was my first time hearing this new band and they were great with beautiful blending vocal harmonies on a mix of obscure and popular tunes reaching back to the pop 60s. Following The Joyelles was Manual Scan, with Bart Mendoza on guitar, Dave Fleminger (does he ever rest?) on keys, Kevin Donaker-Ring on lead guitar, but unfortunately I cannot recall the drummer nor bassist (Tim Blankenship?) that evening. But I do know that the original Manual Scan drummer from the early 80s, Paul Kaufman?, was there and sat in for one song. Lots of originals as well as 60s mod and psychedelic rock. Two other bands were going to be playing, Bitchin’ Seahorse, and The Gargoyles, but it was getting very late and I had to work the next day so we left after Manual Scan’s set. It was too bad because Bitchin’ Seahorse was described as a bit avant-garde, which is right down one of my back alleys. It was a memorable evening of excellent music and good friends.

The Joyelles minus Maggie Taylor, featuring Bart Mendoza

20160627_060406661_ios — Manual Scan with original 80s drummer

July 8: Steph Johnson Band – Pre-CD-Release Show at 98 Bottles, Little Italy. Steph’s band played music from her soon-to-be-released CD. The show featured Steph on guitar and vocals, Rob Thorsen on string bass, Fernando Gomez on drums, Curtis Taylor on trumpet and ??? on keys. Funky jazz with some great sounds from all. Steph’s lyrics show a social and transcendent consciousness that brings a message of hope, unity, and oneness. I call it holistic healing music. Beautiful. Beautiful.

July 23: Three Chord Justice – Summer Concert Series, Bird Park, near Balboa Park. This fabulous country band consists of Liz Grace on vocals and guitar, Mark Markowitz on drums, Dave Preston on bass, and Jeff Houck on lead guitar. I have written about them before. And this time it is no different. They are great performers and lots of fun. This open air concert was well attended as evidenced by the fact that we had to park several streets away, but the walk to the park was well worth it! One thing I noticed about this performance is that they only played original songs – no covers. Songs were penned by either Liz or by Dave and were all well-crafted compositions. The last time I saw them Jeff was absent and Alex Watts was filling in on guitar. Both players are excellent but a bit different in style, with Jeff having a harder-edged rocky style. But both players fit perfectly with the others in the TCJ sound.

July 24: Dave Humphries at Rebecca’s. If it’s Sunday its Meet the….no, not press. Press play. Time to hear Dave Humphries play his mix of 60s British rock standards and his self-penned compositions. This time, in addition to Wolfgang Grasekamp on keyboard and Mike Alvarez on cello, we had Greg Gohde on electric bass. Now, Mike and Greg perform together as Bass Clef Experiment. So for a bit of the show, Dave and Wolfgang stepped aside to let Mike and Greg, as Bass Clef Experiment, perform some of their songs. So this Sunday we got two-for-one, and a cup of Joe to go with them. Not a bad deal at all.

July 24: Robin Henkel with Horns at Lestat’s in Normal Heights. Robin has a standing gig at Lestat’s on the last or next to last Sunday of the month, with his horn band. These performances are free, and well worth the money. Seriously, if there was a fee I would gladly pay. This time we had Robin on guitars, Jodie Hill on string bass, Erdis Maxhelaku on cello, Troy Jennings on soprano and bari sax, David Castel de Oro on sax and clarinet, and Gary Nieves on drums. This was the first time I had seen Robin with a cello in the band and it worked very nicely. All these players are highly skilled professionals so what you hear is a top notch performance of early American jazz and country blues with a bit of country swing, and sometimes even the avant-garde mixed in. Robin also provides a narrative on many of these songs and the players who made them famous, as well as how his own compositions were birthed. Every song has a story, and Robin makes those stories fun.

August 2: Woodstock, 2016, Bethel, New York. No, there was no Woodstock event this year, but I was working 10 miles down the road in Monticello, New York so it would have been unthinkable for me to miss this opportunity to visit the location of one of the greatest events in rock music history. The farm is no longer owned by Max Yasgur or his family. It is now part of a historic park owned by the community. There is a huge museum containing videos, photos, and mementos from the event and the era. There was information regarding the planning and development as well as the event itself and what became of some of the key players in making this event happen. There was even a full-scale replica of the bus, Further, by which The Merry Pranksters led by Ken Babbs and Ken Kesey arrived. It took me two full hours to peruse the museum before going outside to check out the grounds where the 1969 event occurred. There is a memorial stone and plaque close to where the original stage was located, overlooking the basin and hillside where everyone watched. It was a far out experience being there. I was 16 when Woodstock was going on. During the event I listened to ham operators on my shortwave radio talking about the thruway being blocked with cars and what a big mess it was for this area of upstate New York.

August 11: Sam Broussard, Blue Dog Café, Lafayette, Louisiana. I had a decision to make that Thursday night – whether to go to another venue I had been told had great Cajun music and dancing, or to go to this quieter café where I could hear a jazz/rock guitarist with a Cajun flavor perform while I had a delicious meal of catfish smothered with crawfish etouffee. I chose the latter. Broussard used two guitars. One was a hollow body with a pickup and the other was a solid body electric. He used a loop so that he could build a song with both guitars and sing. Every loop artist I’ve seen makes it look so easy to do – it makes me wonder if it is that easy or if they have to practice for hours to get the timing down. I put my money on the latter. I talked to Sam afterward and purchased a couple of his CDs. He has a Facebook page and I tried messaging him when I returned to San Diego, but got no response. I am hoping he did not lose his home or livelihood in the big flood. His site shows no current postings. The flood was just beginning that evening. When I left the café to return to my hotel, it had started to rain.

The Flood

August 11 – 14: Lafayette, Louisiana. I had arrived in Lafayette on Sunday, August 7. The weather was beautiful all week, until Thursday evening when it began to rain. I thought nothing of it. When I got up Friday morning I noted that it was still raining, and it was a hard rain. When I arrived at the work site, I noted there were some parts of the streets where water was beginning to pond big time. After my work was done that afternoon I headed straight to the airport, only to find that my flight was cancelled. The situation had begun to get serious. I made a call back to the Doubletree Hotel, where I had been staying all week on the 13^th floor. They had a room so they sent the hotel shuttle to get me. My flight had been rebooked for Saturday morning. While not happy that I was not getting home that night, at least I had a nice hotel and all my luggage. They put me on the 12^th floor this time. I had a nice dinner and went to bed thinking I will be home by mid-afternoon Saturday. However, Come Saturday Morning (sorry for that) I learned that my flight had been cancelled again and was rescheduled for Sunday morning. All day Saturday I watched out my 12^th floor guest room window as the water kept rising, covering the street, and going up the walls of the Outback Steakhouse, the Fairfield Inn, and the Comfort Suites across the street. Later, they evacuated guests of those two hotels by boat and brought them to us. We were on a little higher ground but we were right next to the Vermillion River. The water had reached the deck and pool that were outside my window, 12 stories down. Sunday morning, I received a call from American Airlines informing that my flight had been cancelled once again, and it was now not leaving until 5:30 pm on Monday. The rain appeared to be slowing but when I looked out the window, the water was halfway up the wall of the Outback Steakhouse. When I went down for breakfast I learned that water had got into the area where the food was stored. While the hotel salvaged some, they would run out after breakfast and the hotel was now relatively full with people stranded like me due to the flood. The guests from Fairfield Inn and Comfort Suites were now at this hotel. I had a big breakfast and was not hungry until early afternoon, but when I went down to the pantry next to the registration counter, there was nothing there. Someone or several people had cleaned out the snacks since there was no lunch and no way to get anywhere else.

Luckily the rain stopped by noon. I actually watched the waters recede rather quickly. The street became visible again, and traffic, while sparse, began to be seen. There was a food delivery before dinner time, but dinner was still quite limited. At least it was food. Monday morning was sunny. Breakfast was available, and I checked out at noon – the latest I could stay. My flight was not for another five and a half hours. However, as the five o’clock hour approached I received a call from American Airlines. My flight was delayed. It would now be a 6:30 departure. Then another call – delayed until 7, then 7:30. Finally, we were in the air sometime after 9 pm, headed for Dallas. I was sure I had missed my connecting flight but I didn’t because it, too, was delayed. But it was not due to weather. They were working on this 2-week old jet due to an oil leak. Finally, they said we were not leaving that night. They put me up at a Q Inn and Tuesday morning I was on another jet, and in first class. I got home by noon on Tuesday.

After the Flood

“Sang soulless loud

Herding step on flesh

And nothing else

To well

To drown & drown

Sleight of reason

How they come

Cain in number…”

From “After the Flood” by Talk Talk, from Laughing Stock, 1991

Since the great flood, I’ve been on the road from Hartford, Connecticut to Eugene, Oregon. I was hoping to see Haley Loren perform live, since she is from Eugene and was not out of town, but we only connected after I had returned to San Diego – perhaps someday. And, I hope it is soon.

Since I do more than simply work and write, I had other things occupying my time throughout this past week, passing up some local performances that I am sure would have been worth my while. I did learn of some promising weekend activities, but with so many going on I had to be selective. Since I want to get this out before I leave Sunday for Los Angeles, I will end it with last night’s performance.

September 9: Gramophone Gregory Page at Java Joe’s in Normal Heights. The evening began with Gregory playing early 78s on a 1928 His Master’s Voice gramophone. He would put one on, then leave the stage, come back and put on another. The setting was interesting, with a heat lamp above the gramophone. The bulb was partially coated in blue with part of the blue missing. There was a lit “On The Air” sign, a 1950s black telephone, and a digital recorder containing several songs taken from 78s. There was a stack of 78s on a nearby chair, some of which Gregory played on the gramophone. Finally, he greeted the audience, and went into his typically humorous story-telling and singing of songs from his voluminous recording output. Gregory performed on his acoustic guitar with pickup, and also with old 78 recordings. He then introduced his drummer, Josh Hermsmeier, who operated solely on a snare (mostly with brushes), assorted child toy shakers and noisemakers, and a cowbell. The assorted toys were resting on the side of an old beat-up leather covered suitcase. Leaning against the suitcase were assorted drumsticks and mallets. One must understand that a Gregory Page performance is an unpredictable thing, and it is more like performance art with a musical predominance. There is humor, sometimes ridiculous, sometimes poignant, sometimes subtle, but always interesting and often endearing. Story-telling is an essential part of his performance. The music is a mix of folk and modern Americana style, Irish folk, and popular music from the great depression era and earlier. His fingerpicking style includes elements of Southern Appalachian picking. Another part of a Gregory Page performance is educational, luring the audience into an appreciation of songs and singers long lost to history. His demeanor is gentle and often slightly self-deprecating in a humorous manner. The quality of his performance is impeccable as is his recorded output. Another drummer, Owen Burke, was in the audience. Owen is a multi-talented artist, hand-crafting guitars, ukuleles, and other string instruments, as well as displaying his art at Art on 30^th Gallery. For the last selection of the evening, Gregory coaxed Owen to come on stage and perform on the snare. With two drummers on stage, Josh picked up the various toys he brought to the show, plus pulling off the wall some of the string instruments on display (made by Owen) and for sale. Owen, as usual did not limit his playing to the snare, tapping out rhythm with a variety of pitch on chairs, signs, walls and even the instruments Josh was playing. It was free form organized lunacy without deteriorating into cacophony. It was a relaxing yet stimulating evening.

Tonight we are headed to a house concert entitled “Strings of Thought”, performed by Caitlin Evanson, Pedro Talarico, Jamie Shadowlight, and Nico Hueso. And tomorrow morning we are going to Urban Solace for breakfast where we will hear Plow, including Mark Markowitz and Dane Terry. I will say more about these in my next blog post.

In Other News

Within my collection of recorded works are many spoken word albums covering a variety of subjects. One thing anyone who knows the Popeswami should know by now is that I have a perverted interest in the drug culture as it developed and influenced society, especially the arts, from the 40s through the present. Some of this includes “scare tactic” recordings issued by various religious and political groups and passed-off as educational albums in the late 60s and early 70s. There will be more about those in a later post. Right now I want to focus on those recordings from the scientific, philosophical, and artistic communities regarding such matters.

Albert Hofmann – LSD: My Problem Child. We begin with the Swiss chemist who accidentally discovered the psychoactive powers of d-lysergic acid diethylamide tartrate-25, better known as LSD, in the Basel, Switzerland-based Sandoz Laboratories in 1943. He had first synthesized LSD on November 16, 1938, but had done nothing with this 25^th lysergic acid derivative until April 16, 1943, when he accidentally had some of the drug absorbed through his fingertips. So by accident, he discovered the wild effects of this drug. On April 19^th he conducted an experiment, this time purposefully dosing himself with 250 micrograms of LSD, and then riding his bicycle home. That famed bicycle ride has been the subject of many psychedelic rock bands from the 1960s, as well as by the proponents of the use of LSD who have declared April 19 as “Bicycle Day”. Here is what Hofmann reported after the accidental exposure to LSD on April 16, 1943:

“…affected by a remarkable restlessness, combined with a slight dizziness. At home I lay down and sank into a not unpleasant intoxicated-like condition, characterized by an extremely stimulated imagination. In a dreamlike state, with eyes closed (I found the daylight to be unpleasantly glaring), I perceived an uninterrupted stream of fantastic pictures, extraordinary shapes with intense, kaleidoscopic play of colors. After about two hours this condition faded away.”

This is a quote from his 1980 book, “LSD, My Problem Child.” Hofmann gave a talk at the 1983 Psychedelics Conference in Santa Barbara, with the same title. That talk has been recorded for posterity. I was able to find and purchase a CDr copy of this recording which is quite illuminating. Dr. Albert Hofmann died in 2008, at the age of 102.

Humphrey Osmond – The Early Days: Mescaline Opens Huxley’s Doors of Perception. This talk was also from the 1983 Psychedelics Conference in Santa Barbara and was issued on cassette, with a very limited CDr release. I was fortunate to purchase a copy of the CDr. Dr. Osmond was a British psychiatrist who was working in Saskatchewan, Canada in the early 1950s at a psychiatric hospital where, looking for a cure to schizophrenia, he performed experiments on schizophrenic patients with LSD and other hallucinogenic drugs. In 1953 Aldous Huxley initiated a correspondence with Osmond with regard to his experiments. Osmond met Huxley later that year in Los Angeles where he supplied Huxley with a requested dose of mescaline and supervised Huxley’s trip. Huxley later wrote a book about his mescaline experience titled “The Doors of Perception”. Osmond is credited with the invention of the word “psychedelic” to describe hallucinogenic drugs. This happened through his correspondence with Huxley on creating a term worthy of these hallucinogens. Huxley wrote, “To make this trivial world sublime, take half a gram of phanerothyme.” Osmond responded with his own rhyme, “To fathom Hell or soar angelic, just take a pinch of psychedelic.” Osmond first used the term “psychedelic” in public in a talk he gave at the New York Academy of Sciences in 1957. The term means “mind manifesting” based on the Greek words “psyche” and “delos”. In the recording, Osmond recalls those early days and his associations with Huxley.
Aldous Huxley – The Human Situation, Volume Two: Visionary Experience. A rare CD of this lecture from 1961 in Los Alamos which discuses psychedelics as well as other concerns. It was not released until 1969, and was later reissued on CDr. Huxley, who as a novelist was famous for “Brave New World,” also wrote of his experience with mescaline in his book, “The Doors of Perception.” This book was the basis for the name of the rock group, The Doors. The Elektra record label insisted that the band shorten their name from Doors of Perception to simply The Doors, which they did and the rest is history.

Gerald Heard – Rebirth, from the 3-LP set “Explorations Volume 2, Survival, Growth & Re-birth,” from 1961. Heard was a philosopher, historian, and science writer who advocated for the use of LSD. On this recording he deals with psychedelics, invoking the Tibetan Book of the Dead amidst organ interludes. I obtained a digitized copy on CDr from The Barrie Family Trust which owns all of Heard’s illustrious output. I would love to obtain a copy of the two original 3-LP box sets he produced in 1957 and 1961 respectively.

Alan Watts – This Is IT. This is a 1962 recording by British philosopher and writer, Alan Watts and assorted friends. Many consider this to be the first authentically psychedelic music album. Watts has many spoken word recordings, but this is not one of them. This is a music album, consisting of free form improvisation using drums, French horn, piano, lujon, and bass marimba as well as vocals consisting largely of wild cacophonous chanting. Watts was fascinated by Eastern religion and culture, and this comes out in his lectures as well as his recordings. This album relates directly to his book “The Joyous Cosmology.” It is a tough listen, but once you get into it, is quite inspiring. I was lucky to get a CD version of this before the price went out of reach.

Timothy Leary, Ph.D., Ralph Metzner, Ph.D., and Richard Alpert, Ph.D. – The Psychedelic Experience: Readings from the Book “The Psychedelic Experience: A Manual Based on The Tibetan Book of the Dead.” Recorded in 1966. This is the first appearance of any of these three famed psychologists on a commercial recording. Timothy Leary was soon to record several more albums in 1966, and a lecture by then Richard Alpert at the 1966 LSD conference was released many years later. Ralph Metzner did not release recordings on his own until decades later. This recording is exactly what it says. Timothy Leary does the reading. Someone rings the bell signifying the change in phases of the trip, and who knows what the third person does. Maybe it was their trip. Note that it has been claimed that this was the first time the Tibetan Book of the Dead was associated with LSD, but as stated above, Gerald Heard beat them to the punch by three years.

John C. Lilly – E.C.C.O. Earth•Coincidence•Control•Office, from 1993. John C. Lilly was a physician, neuroscientist, psychoanalyst, philosopher, writer, and inventor. He is known for his consciousness research using isolation tanks. In the early 1970s, he was introduced to the psychoactive drug, ketamine. He had been introduced to LSD in the 60s. During this time, he was in contact with Timothy Leary and Ram Dass (aka Richard Alpert). In 1974 his research using these drugs led him to conclude there was a certain hierarchical group of cosmic entities, with the lowest being the E.C.C.O. Out of these studies, Lilly concluded “For the first time I began to consider that God really existed in me and that there is a guiding intelligence in the universe.” The E.C.C.O. recording from 1993 incorporates electronic and ambient music with dolphin sounds and Lilly’s voice. Music was provided by P.B.C., Spice Barons, and Heavenly Music Corporation. The CD is credited to Lilly but it is not known how much involvement he had in its creation. Much of the spoken word snippets on this recording come from a 1988 cassette-only release, “The Cogitate Tape” by Lilly. The dolphin sounds most likely come from a 1973 Lilly release “Sounds and the Ultra-Sounds of the Bottle-Nose Dolphin.” This is one of the most unusual albums in my collection and is very authentically psychedelic.

Timothy Leary, Ph.D. – LSD with Bonus Tracks, from 1966. The bonus tracks are from a later time, including the infamous dinner party attended by Leary and G. Gordon Liddy, and Leary being interviewed in 1967 at the height of the hippie movement. In the title recording, which is broken into 13 segments in the CD version, Leary poses frequently asked questions about LSD and gives his “authorized” answers. Actually I find the bonus tracks to be much more interesting but it is an historical recording and Leary was in some respects accurate regarding the use of LSD.

Richard Alpert, Ph.D. – 1966 LSD Conference, University of California, San Francisco. As a gift for providing a copy of “Love Serve Remember” to the Ram Dass Tape Library, I received cassette copies of “From Bindu to Ojas” as well as this rare copy of a lecture given by Richard Alpert before his trip to India where he took on the name, Ram Dass. It is quite interesting, as this includes pre-India stories as well as his thoughts on the potential use of the drug for autism and artistic enhancement. I copied it to CDr, but then sent the tape to electronic music artist, J.D. Emmanuel, who was more than happy to professionally transfer it to CD for me since he had never heard it before, himself.

Ram Dass – Here We All Are (1969) with bonus “From Bindu to Ojas” (1970) which accompanied the first edition of the book “Be Here Now”. This is a four CD set. Here We All Are was the first recording of Ram Dass lectures after his return to the USA in 1969. First pressings were unauthorized and had speeded-up audio so they could fit the lecture onto three LPs, giving Ram Dass almost a chipmunk sound to his voice, but was later released by Ram Dass as a 3-LP box set (still with sped-up voice). The CD version brings his voice back to normal. This is straight lecture for three CDs. The fourth, bonus CD contains music from various artists associated with Ram Dass as well as chanting and lecture. The bonus CD is simply titled “Be Here Now” and has no division between selections and no credits to the music, unlike the original LP.

Love Serve Remember – Ram Dass and Various Artists, from 1973. This is a 6-LP box set and I was lucky to purchase a near mint copy. I transferred this to CDr, and made a copy for the Ram Dass Tape Library since at that time they did not have a copy. Later I noted they obtained the masters from the ZBS Foundation, which first issued the set, and they were offering the collection as a download at minimal cost. This contains radio station call-ins to station guest Ram Dass, as well as readings from Christian, Hindu, and Buddhist holy scriptures by Ram Dass, music by both Krishna Das and Bhagavan Das, as well as by Amazing Grace, The Sufi Choir, Mirabai, Guru Blanket, Sarada and Rabindranath, Berkeley Community Theatre, The Brothers of Mount Savior Monastery, and an uncredited Buddhist monastic chant. This is one of my favorite sets.

Ralph Metzner, Ph.D. – Bardo Blues and other songs of liberation, from 2005. While Ralph Metzner was part of the Harvard University psychology team researching psychedelic drugs, along with Timothy Leary and Richard Alpert, he primarily stayed behind the scene rather than release recordings of his lectures. There are some unauthorized releases from the 1983 LSD Conference, and a few others, but nothing authorized until 2005 when he tried his hand at music. Here we have simple songs that subtly lay the foundation for mapping consciousness, and teaching us about our human incarnation, from birth to the beyond. A hidden gem.

And that is it for now. Some of these recordings are easily available at your favorite online music store, but others may not be so easy to find. I will share more as time goes by. As for now, I am back on the road again, but will make an effort to post more often as work allows. Aloha.

The Yend of the Ear

On January 1, 2016January 1, 2016 By PopeswamiLeave a comment

“He had been walking for a long time, ever since dark in fact, and dark falls soon in December.”
Charlotte Riddell, aka Mrs. J.H. Riddell (1832 – 1906), “The Old House in Vauxhall Walk,” 1882

Endings

This is now the last day of December. I have not posted anything since early November. Yes, I have been quite busy, as I usually am, however there have been stretches of time where I could have been writing but had no inspiration to do so.

The holiday season is seldom cooperative with my plans. Due to this fact, I find myself making fewer and fewer plans every year. I simply “go with it”. Many unexpected delays due to home repairs, auto repairs, and computer repairs have consumed my time and money like voracious aardvarks gobbling up baskets of garbanzos.

But let me move out of the self-pity department and into the musical high points of the past year. I will put these into a series of lists – which is something I seem to do with many things.

The Listings Begin

Three artists of renown I met this year but did not get to hear perform were:

1. Buddy Guy – blues guitar legend and Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Famer, at his 79th birthday celebration and CD release party
2. KC and The Sunshine Band – 70s disco hit makers, on an American Airlines jet from San Diego to Charlotte
3. Johnny “V” Vernazza – Blues and slide guitar great and gold record legend at the Blindspot Records anniversary party

There were other famous artists I had the good fortune to hear and meet this year:

1. Kawehi – loop artist, singer, guitarist, keyboards
2. Kenny Blake – jazz saxophonist with two Billboard top 20 albums
3. Roger Humphries – legendary jazz drummer who has played with all the greats
4. Mundell Lowe – internationally known jazz guitar maestro, at his 93rd birthday performance
5. Larry Mitchell – Grammy award winning producer and guitarist
6. Cindy Lee Berryhill – recording artist with roots in the early L.A. punk rock scene.
7. Kimm Rogers – singer songwriter and recording artist
8. Patric Petrie – internationally known Celtic fiddle player and vocalist
9. Dave Humphries – singer songwriter originally from Durham, UK
10. Gregory Page – American and Irish singer songwriter
11. Steph Johnson –jazz/funk guitarist
12. Allison Adams Tucker – jazz and pop singer
13. Ellen Weller –jazz and experimental flute, saxes

I also had the great fortune to add the following bands to the list of I’ve seen perform:

1. Manual Scan – five-piece mod rock style I had the pleasure of hearing for the first time at the Casbah just a week ago. Manual Scan began its existence in 1980 and became inactive in 1991, reuniting only occasionally in recent years. They had just come back from a tour in Spain a few weeks ago, and the Casbah event was also a release party for their new EP/CD, “The Pyles Sessions”. The tour and Casbah event reunited Bart Mendoza and David Fleminger with Kevin Ring, Tim Blankenship and Jarrod Lucas. Two other bands performed at the Casbah event, The Bassics and Alvino & The Dwells.
2. Alvino & The Dwells – Due to my work schedule I kept missing their performances over and over again, but finally got to hear them for the first time at Demille’s during an Adams Avenue event and then again at the Casbah, as mentioned above. This band is an instrumental surf/power trio consisting of Manual Scan alumni Didier Suarez and David Fleminger, and Tony Suarez. If you love surf music in the style of Dick Dale and the Del Tones, The Ventures, or Jerry Cole, this is a must-hear band.
3. The Bassics – They are an exciting young mod rock band with a punkish flair, who won the Best New Artist award at the San Diego Music Awards this year. Their drummer, Juan Carlos Mendez, is a total animal on the skins. And frontman/rhythm guitarist Sam Martinez is full of raw, yet controlled power. Vino Martinez on bass consistently augments the “bassic” rhythm. They have an accomplished lead guitarist but I did not catch his name and a search of the band online did not help.
4. Liz Grace and The Swing Thing – Liz is a great singer, fronting Three Chord Justice in a country vein, and using The Swing Thing as a platform for performing classic swing, pop, and torch songs. Jon Garner is a stand-out guitarist in this unit.
5. HM3 – This is the Harley Magsino Trio, featuring the incredible jazz keyboardist Joshua White, Charles Weller on drums, and Harley on bass. I saw them on the sidewalk outside Folk Arts Rare Records. They were joined by DJ Teelynn and Nina. This was a great performance, and I certainly want to hear more of them in 2016.
6. Missy Andersen – Excellent, excellent blues vocalist with a backing band that includes her amazing guitarist husband, Heine Andersen. This was an evening of soulful blues at Proud Mary’s. We totally enjoyed that evening.
7. Chet Cannon & The Committee – Chet is one of the great blues harpists in San Diego and was a founder of the annual Spring Harp Fest, where I met him. He is a powerful singer as well as a harmonica genius.
8. True Stories – This is another band that is currently lead by Bart Mendoza and includes David Fleminger on keyboards and guitar, Danny Cress on drums, and Orrick Smith on bass. Occasionally Normandie Wilson joins them on keys and vocals. I first saw them at the Air Conditioned Lounge, and then again at another Adams Avenue event. They played some of Bart’s originals as well as 60s mod and British invasion rock standards.
9. Plow – This is a quasi-blue grass and Americana band lead by Chris Clarke, who perform at Urban Solace every second Sunday of the month. Always an enjoyable treat while enjoying a great breakfast.
10. Podunk Nowhere – They are another country/folk/Americana band that we saw at an Adams Avenue event and want to see again in the coming year
11. Whitney Shay Trio – Had heard Whitney many times with Robin Henkel but never with her own trio, singing pop and jazz standards from the swing era.
12. The Zicas – Brazilian folk performed at Java Joes during the Adams Avenue Street Fair.

Standout Live Events of 2015 Mentioned in Previous Posts

1. A Jazz Exploration of The Beatles – Jamie Shadowlight, violin; Mikan Zlatkovich, keyboards; Mackenzie Leighton, contrabass; Richard Sellers, drums; Carmelia “Toot” Bell, vocals; Arnessa Rickett, vocals – at 98 Bottles
2. Songs of the Seeker: A Journey into Wonder – Shadowlight and !ZeuqsaV! – this was a multimedia experimental performance with Jamie Shadowlight on electric violin, Xavier Vasquez on visual projection and laptop with assistance from Mikan Zlatkovich. At the Moxie Theatre.
3. 6th Annual Women in Jazz – Allison Adams Tucker, vocals; Steph Johnson, vocals and guitar; Ellen Weller, flute and saxes; Melonie Grinnell, piano; Jodie Hill, string bass; Laurel Grinnell, drums – at 98 Bottles.
4. Mundell Lowe’s 93rd Birthday Celebration – Mundell Lowe, guitar; Bob Magnussen, string bass; Jim Plank, drums; Jaime Valle, guitar; Bob Boss, guitar; Alicia Previn, violin. At Dizzy’s.
5. Kawehi – at The Loft. Opening acts were: Tojou, On Fifth, and Zoya Music.
6. Across the Street at Mueller College, May 1, 2015 – with Connor Correll and Q Ortiz, Red Willow Waltz, and Jamie Shadowlight
7. Randi Driscoll and Friends at Java Joes – Including Noah Heldman, Randi Driscoll, Larry Mitchell, Jamie Shadowlight, Shawn Rohlf, Monette Marino, and the John Martin Davis Band.
8. Blindspot Records Anniversary Party – at the home of Patric Petrie, with performances by Casino Royale, Patric Petrie with David Lally, Tim Foley, and Ron Wild, and a solo performance by Sierra West. After we left, Marie Haddad performed a set. We will have to catch Marie in 2016.
9. Pulse of Life: Melodies and Rhythms – featuring Nacho Arimany and Monette Marino on percussion and Jamie Shadowlight on violin and singing bowl
10. Jamie Shadowlight and Naganuma Dance: (sub)merge – featuring Jamie Shadowlight on violin, maracas, and singing bowl, Anita Weedmark on piano, Erdis Maxhelaku on cello and djembe, and John Noble on modular synth. Dancers were Darcy Naganuma and Aurora Lagattuta.
11. An Evening with Songwriters – at Java Joes, featuring Bart Mendoza, Dave Humphries, and Kimm Rogers as well as Mike Alvarez, Mark DeCerbo, Samuel Martinez, Patric Petrie, and Beezie Gerber.
12. Cindy Lee Berryhill and Kimm Rogers – at Grassroots Oasis. Kimm performed a solo set, followed by Cindy Lee’s set and then they teamed up to do some additional songs, ending with Velvet Underground’s “Femme Fatale”. Beyond cool!
13. Manual Scan Reunion and EP/CD Release Party – at the Casbah, the evening began with The Bassics, followed by Alvino & The Dwells, followed by Manual Scan. The was an amazing evening of mod rock and surf. Kind of reminds me of surf and turf.
14. A JazzMikan Christmas – at 98 Bottles featuring Mikan Zlatkovich on keyboards, Jamie Shadowlight on violin, Katie Thiroux on string bass, Matt Witek on drums, and Carmelia ‘Toot’ Bell and Arnessa Rickett on vocals.

If anything jumps out at you in the list above, it should be the name Jamie Shadowlight. She seemed to be everywhere this past year with the most interesting groups of performers in every conceivable musical style and beyond. And I left some of her performances we saw this year off the above lists!

So, it was a very musically rewarding year in live performance for me.

Music Acquisitions

I have to say that this year has been very fortuitous and very propitious based upon the department of redundancy department. Some highlights include:

1. The Velvet Underground – Re-Loaded, 45th Anniversary Edition with 5 CDs and 1 DVD.
2. Bob Dylan – The Mono Box with 9 CDs spanning his first 8 albums
3. John Gilbert / Meade River – s/t – rarity pressed as a memorial to 17-year-old rocker – super rare
4. Your Navy Presents: The Strawberry Alarm Clock, Dick Clark, M.C. Only one known copy remains and I now own it.
5. The Thunderbirds – Introducing the Fabulous Thunderbirds – not the more recent band but a group of Native American teen rockers from New Mexico in 1965
6. Mistress Mary, Housewife – weird self-penned country rock rumored to include Roger McGuinn’s assistance as well as other members of The Byrds. Limited quantity LP vanity press from the late 1960s.
7. Royalaires – a mid-60s prep rock rarity
8. Johnny’s World – a rare recording from the St. John Catholic Youth Organization in the late 60s.
9. Aeron – Paltareon: The Far Memory of Elves – psychedelic avant-garde
10. Jimmy Carter & Dallas County Green – Summer Brings the Sunshine
11. Jaim – Prophecy Fulfilled
12. Steve Drake – Cold Sweat
13. The B. Toff Band – Golden Greats
14. Butch – The Bitch of Rock and Roll
15. J. Teal Band – Cooks
16. 15-60-75 (The Numbers Band)
17. Tripping Out – Drug Education – scare tactic record that is hilarious, from the early 70s.
18. The Pied Piper – of drugs; another scare tactic drug education album. I love these old albums of weird misinformation about drug abuse.
19. Easy Chair – reissue of recordings by Jeff Simmons old band from the late 60s
20. Arcesia – this is a weird early 70s crooner in a rock format – a private press vanity album
21. Walkenhorst Brothers – a great 70s rock group gone totally unnoticed
22. T Kail – another early 70s rock band that went unnoticed.
23. The Toads – another prep school classic from the mid-60s
24. Sage and Seer – folk rock in Simon & Garfunkel style but very rare
25. The Mam’selles – Bubble Gum World – this is a lounge act, another soft spot with me, from late 60s.
26. Mississippi – Velvet Sandpaper – weird real people crooner from the 70s
27. Michael Angelo – finally, his Guinn album was redone right and now I own everything he has recorded and released.
28. Cincinnati Joe and Mad Lydia – soul/r&b in a weird mix – completely crazy. Mid 70s
29. The Ali Baba Revue – with classic “Rats in My Room” lounge rock act from the late 60s.
30. Steve Kaczorokowski – What Time Are You. This is ultra-rare from the first person (unintentionally) to record karaoke fashion. Actually not bad, since the music was stolen from recordings of other artists.
31. McKinney – rare folk rock album from mid-70s with a Johnathan Edwards connection.
32. The Grapes of Rathe – Glory. Not a religious album, as you might be led to believe from the LP title. This was a late 60s pop rock band with a killer psychedelic opening track.

I am sure there are others I am missing, but this just gives you some stand-outs for me, especially in the rarities department from decades ago.

And with that, I will close out the year’s blogging. I will be back next year, perhaps with expanded features.

Due to prior computer problems this is going out quick and I may post photos, etc. next time with regard to what I am posting here.

The Friendship Communication Church (FCC)

On October 2, 2015October 2, 2015 By PopeswamiLeave a comment

“And the voice said ‘Daddy, there’s a million pigeons
Ready to be hooked on new religions.
Hit the road, Daddy.
Leave your common law wife,
Spread the religion of the rhythm of life.’”
From the musical, Sweet Charity, song “The Rhythm of Life”
Music by Cy Coleman, Lyrics by Dorothy Fields

Someone once said (I think it was me) that when you think you are “playing the system”, the system is actually playing you. Essentially we are all playing each other. In 1969, Timothy Leary said, “You can be anyone this time around.” In the same year Firesign Theatre said “How can you be two places at once when you’re not anywhere at all.” They were also known to say “We are all bozos on this bus.” I’m not afraid to admit my bozoness. So what does that have to do with anything? Well, to begin with, we are not who we think we are. We are a weird (or unique; take your pick) conglomeration of experiences we have had with our environment, and especially the people with whom we have associated over our lifetime. I am you; you are me; and there we be… musical tastes included. The music I have grown to love and appreciate is to a degree the result of people in my life sharing music they love to listen to. Radio and television have also been contributors – again, the result of disc jockeys, program directors, and others who decided what to air. But not all of it comes from these interactions. In the past 2 decades I have become obsessive about surfing the Internet, in search of the lost chord. I search out music to satisfy my curiosity. I read books about music and then search it out – testing the waters to see if it is something I want to add to my library. But again, some person had to write that book or post that article. On a local level, I search out artists to watch and hear perform, and out of this have sprung friendships as well as opportunities to experience even more music. As a matter of fact, this blog is the result of my sharing ideas about doing this with a local artist who enthusiastically encouraged me to get started. I bet she regrets encouraging me!!!

So let me share with you some of my most recent experiences regarding the local music scene….roll the film.

September 18, at 98 Bottles, Jamie Shadowlight and Naganuma Dance: (sub)merge
We had no idea what to expect but knew this performance was going to be a combination of music and dance, and would be profoundly unique. I will try my best to objectively describe what took place. Performing musically: Jamie Shadowlight on violin, maracas, and singing bowl, Anita Weedmark on piano, Erdis Maxhelaku on cello and djembe, and John Noble on modular synth. Primary dancers were Darcy Naganuma and Aurora Lagattuta. Sometimes they, too, contributed to the sound with maracas and other items. Plus, Darcy read a few paragraphs from what appeared to be a dairy or biography. Many in the audience were from Naganuma Dance and Aurora’s classes. At one point Darcy and Aurora went into the audience, gave a light kiss and whispered something to certain people (from their classes), and then brought them onto the stage area to participate in a free-form dance. But I am getting ahead of myself; let me begin at the beginning. Right before the performance began Jamie, Darcy, and Aurora brought pen and paper to each table instructing us to write ideas that come to mind as the performance progressed. It was a way for the audience to participate. Instructions were intentionally vague to leave open any inspiration that we experienced. Then it began, with Jamie shaking a maraca and Erdis on djembe while Anita created a rumbling, rolling sound with the piano. The performers were yelling and stomping their feet and encouraged the audience to do likewise. Then come the dancers, marching in like little toy soldiers with limited movement. From there they evolved into puppet-like movements, and then broke free of the strings. By this time Jamie had transitioned to violin and Erdis to cello, part droning, part improvisational jamming, playing off the dancers and the dancers playing off the musicians. The dancing and music seemed to flow in patterns like ocean waves and it was impossible to anticipate the next thing to hit the senses. The performance continued in this manner, with the audience never knowing what to expect. Once it was over, they collected the papers. Only two people (I was one of them) had written anything. Aurora read what we wrote for the audience to hear. It was explained that everything we experienced was improvised, in-the-moment, feeding off each other. This included what we, the audience, wrote…or didn’t write. Silence can speak volumes. This stream-of-consciousness expression of self, artistry, and love was nearly overwhelming and left us a bit lighter as we found our way back to the car. As we walked past the Casbah and the sound of loud, raucous rock, I smiled and considered even that and the sound of the traffic to be part of the experience. We were all, indeed, submerged in ourselves and each other that evening and it was spellbinding.

L to R: Erdis Maxhelaku, Aurora Lagattuta, Jamie Shadowlight, Darcy Naganuma, Anita Weedmark, and John Noble

Adams Avenue 34th Street Fair – September 26 & 27
The turnout at this event was huge considering the unbearable heat. Walking about the Street Fair I felt like I was being microwaved. I quickly turned my attention away from the heat, kept hydrated with water, and focused on the music. First up, on Saturday, we headed for Java Joe’s where The Zicas were performing. The Zicas play the music of Brazil. Three performers played percussion, guitar, and cavaquinho (a small Brazilian/Portuguese guitar-like instrument). They were great players and fun to watch, with their little antics. They reaffirm my love of the Brazilian culture and music.

Next up we ventured over to the Hawley Blues Stage to hear The BlueFrog Band. While rooted in Chicago electric blues, there is a definite mix of r&b and 70s rock for good measure. Blue Frog is Patrick Ellis, who sings, plays a mean blues harp and electric guitar. Dave Keefer was on lead guitar and took lead vocals on some songs. There was also a bass player and drummer but I didn’t catch their names. The big surprise was that Sue Palmer was on keyboards. Sue has her own band (Motel Swing Orchestra) and is quite renowned in San Diego as a great jazz keyboardist. The mix was heaven. Sue added a boogie woogie element to some songs that worked perfectly.

We returned to Java Joe’s to hear Shawn Rohlf & The 7th Day Buskers, with the added treat of Joey Harris from Beat Farmers/Farmers fame playing guitar and doing backing vocals. This is an Americana/old time music band with string bass, drums (consisting of snare, high hat and a suitcase replacing bass drum), and two guitarists – Shawn Rohlf and Joey Harris. Songs were all written by Shawn. They are a fun group to watch; great showmen all. The expressions on Joey’s face are priceless.

We took a break to eat lunch at Demille’s and caught the end of Steve Poltz’ performance at the Demilles Stage. Then back to Java Joe’s, where we have another entertaining and talented performer. Gregory Page presented an impeccable performance of music both from and in a style of a bygone era, when old hand-cranked Victrolas were all the rage. He also read some of his poems. Gregory has such a peaceful and warm aura about him. I always walk away with a sublime feeling after seeing him perform. Owen Burke joined Gregory on homemade percussion for some songs.

We ended the day at the Demilles Stage with Bass Clef Experiment, consisting of Greg Gohde on bass, Mike Alvarez on electric cello, and Owen Burke on drums. They did some of their own music as well as popular 60s tunes like “Mercy, Mercy, Mercy” and an impressive version of The Beatles’ “I Am the Walrus”. Half way through their set, Dave Humphries joined them on guitar and vocals, performing some of his own songs as well as many 60s hits, ending the set with a totally mind-blowing version of The Beatles’ “Tomorrow Never Knows”. Dave told some stories about working with Tony Sheridan as well as the surviving member of Badfinger, Joey Mulland. He performed the Badfinger hit “Day After Day”. We are lucky to have Dave living and performing in San Diego.

Sunday we arrived later due to the heat. Late afternoon we saw Gregory Page again, followed by country/Americana band, Podunk Nowhere. Great songwriting, guitar picking, and singing from Heather and Johnny Janiga who performed with a bass player (who also played high hat) but I did not catch his name. Heather has to be from Texas or somewhere in the south with her subtle twang – something that is not native to San Diego, but charming. She has a beautifully expressive delivery. Johnny is very laid back but a very articulate player and even added a little dissonance to the chord arrangements to wise effect on one of the songs.

Closing out the Street Fair at the Adams Park Groove, we saw Tori Roze and The Hot Mess with a funky, jazz/rock set. Tori’s singing will knock you right out of your shoes! She can go from gentle and angelic to powerful and gutsy in a matter of seconds. Her mother was on flute and backing vocals. I can tell where Tori’s angelic vocals come from. Bass and drums held down the funky rhythms while the trombone and guitar took things off into a jazz universe. Tori occasionally played trumpet, augmenting the jazzier side of things. They are fun to watch and even more enjoyable to listen to. What a great band to close out the Street Fair.

We missed many bands we would have liked to have heard, such as Blue Largo (with special guest Taryn Donath), The Rugburns, 22 Kings, Lion Cut, Billy Watson & The Submariners, Robin Henkel. But strategic decisions had to be made. The Popeswami consulted the stars and I-Ching to decide on the perfect solution to a perfect weekend.Travelling home we witnessed the beginning of a full moon lunar eclipse, and continued watching from our back deck at home. It will probably be the last one in my lifetime.
In my next installment, I will not be discussing local bands. Let’s just say it will be interesting and keep it at that for the moment. Happy October!

A Slice of My Life Working Backwards

On May 4, 2015May 4, 2015 By PopeswamiLeave a comment

“If the doors of perception were cleansed
Every thing would appear to man as it is,
Infinite.”
William Blake

“There are things known
and there are things unknown,
and in between are the doors.”
Jim Morrison

“Between thought and expression
lies a lifetime.”
Lou Reed

We keep going to music events and I then get caught up in the weeds and do not have time to write about them, let alone all the other things I’ve planned to write about. But there’s a lot swimming about in this old head that needs to come out. I will dispense with recent events and then move on to other important matters.

Across the Street at Mueller College – May 1, 2015

Friday night we went to the Across the Street music event at Mueller College to see Connor Correll with Q Ortiz, Red Willow Waltz, and Jamie Shadowlight. It was an evening of peaceful, spiritually uplifting, and thought provoking acoustic music. And it was the first time I had seen Jamie play guitar and sing! In fact, seeing her play guitar and sing her songs was my original motivation for going.

Jamie Shadowlight with Mandi Griggs and Jasmine Commerce

Jamie was up first. For the first few songs she had a friend, Jasmine Commerce, accompanying her on violin, and Mandi Griggs (a member of Red Willow Waltz) kept rhythm on cajon, while Jamie played acoustic guitar and sang. Then Jamie went solo voice and guitar for the remainder of her set. While Jamie is noted for her artistry on violin I don’t understand why she has not done more with vocals. She has a breathy, ethereal, sensual alto vocal style. The lyrics to her songs are pensive, a bit metaphysical, and observant. While she claimed to be just learning guitar, she is obviously a quick learner. The mood was relaxed, with a room full of loving friends, so everything built upon everything else to create a resplendent ambiance.

Connor Correll with Q Ortiz

After Jamie’s set, Connor Correll with Q Rich Ortiz was up. Connor played guitar and sang while Q played cajon. Connor continued the mood with songs of a spiritual nature, some of which pondered our purpose in life, some bearing much soul searching, and some full of joy. They were beautifully written, and beautifully sung. Q’s rhythm patterns complimented the rhythm guitar; a very enjoyable duo.

Red Willow Waltz with Jamie Shadowlight

The final set was Red Willow Waltz, consisting of Vanessa Contopulos on vocals, guitar, and ukulele, Mandi Griggs on cajon, and Laura Rose Anderson on vocals, ukulele, guitar, and harmonium. Jamie joined them on violin. This set was of a lighter, more exuberant nature. Vanessa’s clear, sweet vocals blended perfectly with Laura’s robust, emotive singing style. Both did solo vocals that were outstanding. I noted a bit of country twang to some of Laura’s vocals, especially when she played guitar. It made me wonder whether she had ever fronted a country band at some point. Vanessa and Laura switched back and forth from guitar to ukulele, depending on the song. For the final two songs Laura played harmonium and Vanessa played guitar. All songs were originals, penned by either Laura or Vanessa, with one dedicated to what was happening in Baltimore this past week. Vanessa and Laura are music therapists by profession and some of their songs tapped into that experience.

This was an uplifting way to spend Friday evening after a hectic work week.

Adams Avenue Unplugged

Going back a week, we had planned to spend the entire weekend of April 25 and 26 at Adams Avenue Unplugged. As fate would have it, our first destination was to the veterinarian’s office where we unexpectedly had to drop off our little doggie for observation and treatment. Once that was taken care of we headed to the event. With 25 stages and over 170 performances it was hard to decide who to see, but prior to the event I had planned to see HarpO first, and that was nixed because of our dog’s situation. (Due to HIPPA laws I cannot reveal her illness, … or is that just for people?). The day was unseasonably cool and windy. It was overcast and it tried to rain for a few seconds here and there throughout the day.

MohaviSoul

So next on the agenda was the bluegrass band, MohaviSoul. This was our first time seeing this group. It was a very enjoyable set with a mix of covers and originals. I really liked their cover of “Midnight Train” but unfortunately it is not on either of their CDs. Talking with the band afterward I found that the fiddle player, Dan Sankey, is from Connellsville, PA, which is close to where my ancestors settled before my grandfather moved to the Washington, PA area. And, the guitarist, Mark Miller, was originally from Wheeling, WV, where my oldest brother now lives and within minutes of where I grew up in PA. Small world. Other members include Randy Hanson, Jason Weiss, Orion Boucher, and Will Jaffe.
During the MohaviSoul performance, we got a call from the vet that our dog, Sandy, was ready to go home. So, we rushed to the vet’s, then home, and then back to Adams Avenue. We parked close to where we had parked earlier. We were so lucky to find this space!

Joe Marillo

We were hungry, so we headed to the end of the block from Kensington Park where MohaviSoul had played, to The Haven Pizzeria for lunch, where Joe Marillo would be performing. After getting seated, Joe spotted us and came over to talk. He will be celebrating his 82nd birthday in late May. We chatted about aging, keeping a positive perspective, and some of the books he was reading. Somehow we got on to the subject of MSNBC and the fact that we both loved to watch the Rachel Maddow Show. Joe is known as “the Godfather of the jazz scene in San Diego”. He has won several awards, including one for lifetime achievement and another from the NAACP for his efforts in hiring African-American musicians. In the 60s he worked with Stan Getz among others. I am told that in the 50s he once bought Charlie Parker a drink at a bar next to Birdland.
Joe was performing solo tenor sax and flute that day, with a backing tape of a variety of standards including a few by one of his favorites, Antonio Carlos Jobim. His improvisational skills on tenor sax are without equal. He did not play his flute until the end of his set when he realized he had not played it, and so he did one more song with flute. There will be a musical birthday celebration featuring Joe at Dizzy’s later in May and we hope to attend.

Dead Rock West

We then headed down to Java Joe’s to catch Dead Rock West. It was packed but we were lucky to find a couple seats together. We got there in the middle of their set. They were an acoustic duo for this performance, consisting of Frank Lee Drennen on vocals and guitar and Cindy Wasserman on vocals. All songs we heard were originals. Frank has a dynamic presence and plays his acoustic guitar hard, and loud! Both Frank and Cindy are commanding vocalists and their harmonies are awesome. I would love to hear their full band some time.

Gregory Page

We stayed at Java Joe’s for the next performer, Gregory Page. I found it curious when this sharply dressed gentleman set up a gramophone and placed a 78 rpm on the spindle. Gregory played guitar, “gramophone”, sang, read poetry and told stories. Smooth is a word that keeps coming up in my mind when I try to find words to describe his performance. Although many of the songs were penned by Gregory, they were done in styles from before WWII. He played the gramophone while reading his poetry, and on one song he segued to the gramophone, incorporating it into the song – all seamlessly done. He told stories about his family, about his visit to the hinterlands of Australia, and tied them in with his music. He was accompanied by a drummer, with only a snare and high hat. Musically, the style moved from early 1900s to more modern folk and pop styles. His guitar playing was subtle and refined, and he actually did some slide work on one song, all with masterful execution.
I had planned to see Joey Harris after this, but we had to get home to take care of the dog, so this was the last set for us that day.

The Western Collective

We returned Sunday to a much warmer and sunnier day. And our dog appeared to be much better. Western Collective was first on the list, at Adams Park at 35th Street. I have written about Western Collective before. They are: “Fast Heart” Martin Stamper on guitar, banjo, and vocals; Justin Werner on guitar, harmonica, and vocals; Trent Hancock on bass and vocals; Chad Farran on cajon; and Jamie Shadowlight on violin. To call them simply a bluegrass band would be myopic. The group embraces a variety of styles, penned by several of the band’s members who bring with them their own unique musical and life experiences. There was one cover, which also happens to be the only cover song on their CD, Leonard Cohen’s “Anthem”. There is always a happy, relaxed vibe when they play.

Caitlin Ashley

After hearing The Western Collective, we dived into El Zarape for some tasty Mexican cuisine. They were packed, so it took a bit longer than we expected. However, the next group on our agenda was Robin Henkel and Whitney Shay, and Lestat’s was running a little off-schedule, so when we arrived there Robin, Whitney, and Caleb were still outside, taking selfies. It was another packed house, listening to Caitlin Ashley. Just as we did at Java Joe’s we watched for someone to leave and then snatched-up their seats. So, we got a chance to hear this young and relatively new singer, with a distinct style and interesting lyrics. I was glad to see so many in the packed room being supportive. Caitlin was accompanied by Mason James on acoustic guitar, and three unknown persons on electric bass, cajon, and ukulele. She sang and occasionally accompanied herself on ukulele. She has a very nice stage presence, great song writing and a pleasant vocal style. I think this event was a terrific boost to her ego. She appeared to be authentically amazed at the positive response to her songs. Sorry for the horrible photos of Caitlin Ashley and Robin Henkel & Whitney Shay – just haven’t got the hang of taking them at Lestat’s.

Robin Henkel with Whitney Shay

We stayed right where we were to hear the next group …someone who we have seen and enjoyed on a multitude of occasions…the peerless Robin Henkel with the lovely and dynamic Whitney Shay, accompanied on double bass by the entertaining Caleb Furgatch. Either I have a very short memory or this was the best performance I have seen by these three. While a lot of the songs we have heard them do before, there was something about them that sounded fresh and new. Perhaps subtly different arrangements or maybe it was just the improvisation was exceptionally hot? All I can say is that this was an exciting performance. Caleb is so much fun to watch on bass as he closes his eyes and gets deep into the music and keeps everything moving in the right direction. Robin continues to convince me that he is thee authority on Delta/country blues guitar. And how Whitney can make gutsy, gritty blues and r&b singing sound pretty and nasty all at once is inspiring. We walked out at the end, totally energized.

Blue Frog Trio

Left to right: Dave Keefer, Patrick “Blue Frog” Ellis, Jackson Patrick

Next stop was the Air Conditioned Lounge. I love names like this. At one time I considered writing a novella titled “My Generic World”, and the Air Conditioned Lounge would fit right in. However, what we heard there was not generic. I had first heard Blue Frog Ellis in an electric blues band at the 2014 Spring Harp Fest. He is a dynamite blues harpist. What I didn’t realize is that he is just as good on guitar. Since Lestat’s schedule was running late and it was a bit of a walk to the AC Lounge, we did not see the beginning of the set. But what we saw confirmed my memory from the Harp Fest. What we had was Patrick “Blue Frog” Ellis on vocals, guitar and harmonica, Dave Keefer on vocals, acoustic guitar and resonator, and Jackson Patrick on bass and vocals. They played a mix of 70s rock standards such as the Allman Brothers’ “Midnight Rambler” and “Melissa”, as well as some originals and blues standards. All three sang, and Dave and Blue Frog took turns with rhythm and lead – both being accomplished players. After their set we got to talk to the guys. I know that Patrick “Blue Frog” Ellis and Jackson Patrick are US Navy Vets; Blue Frog was a Seal. Not sure if Dave Keefer is a Vet, but the band was promoting their work with the Wounded Warriors Project, in helping to teach music to disabled Vets. Some great guys, there. The Blue Frog Band will be performing at “Gator by the Bay” at Spanish Landing Park in San Diego later this month.

Bart Mendoza & True Stories

I have wanted to see True Stories for a long time, but it never seemed to work out with my crazy work schedule taking me out of San Diego whenever they were playing. Finally, I got to see what I have been missing – staying in our spot at the AC Lounge. True Stories’ lineup consists of: Bart Mendoza on vocals and guitar; David Fleminger on vocals, guitar, and keyboard; Danny Cress on drums; Orrick Smith on bass; and latest addition Normandie Wilson on vocals and keyboard. Now, I have seen Normandie, Bart, and David in Casino Royale and in other musical arrangements, but I had never realized that they could rock out like they did! This was such a pleasant surprise. They covered many songs from great 60s bands like The Beatles, The Byrds, The Yardbirds, The Zombies, The Who, and others. They also did some originals that were arranged in a style much like the mid-60s rockers. In fact, I tried wracking my brain to figure out who they were covering only to find they were covering themselves. I never realized David played keyboards, and could play in such a wicked 60s psychedelic style, akin to Ian Bruce-Douglas of Ultimate Spinach. His guitar lead work was also quite impressive. Bart took most of the lead singing parts and was right at home whether covering The Who, The Beatles, or anyone else.

Blue Frog Ellis stuck around to hear them. He was quite impressed, also. They really kicked some ass and got people dancing! Suddenly I was transported to The Aftermath coffee house near Claysville, PA circa 1969 and my teenage years.
Now, I understand this event is titled “unplugged” and with the exception of some amplification for electric bass and vocals, most of the acts we saw complied with the “unplugged” concept. So how did True Stories sneak onto the roster with a fully electric band? In my mind it is exactly what 60s rock was all about – defying the rules! So if I was asked about this, my response would be, “The kids are alright”.

Other Thoughts – Bits and Pieces

To balance out my musical experience, I have obtained a couple new prog metal releases on the Sensory CD label, Iris Divine – “Karma Sown” and Jaded Star – “Memories from the Future”. Iris Divine is from northern Virginia, playing in a metal style similar to Pantera, Alice in Chains, and even a hint of Dream Theater. They seem to reach beyond just heavy metal to more of a progressive synth-based metal style that is edgy and exciting with a fantastic male vocalist who actually sings. Jaded Star is a Swedish prog metal band with an amazing female vocalist, Maxi Nil, and virtuoso guitarist, Kosta Vreto. This is a strong debut album with lots of power and emotion.

I also landed a near mint copy of Nat Freedland’s double LP documentary “The Occult Explosion” from 1973. It will fit nicely with my other LPs in the same genre by Barbara the Gray Witch, Louise Huebner, Anton LaVey, Coven, Jacula, Antonius Rex, Abiogenesi, Paul Chain, Aleister Crowley, Charles Manson, The Manson Family Jams, and Lucifer/Black Mass (Mort Garson). I guess Will Jima also fits into this category with his two spoken word albums about “the UFO people” and the end times, with electronic sounds as background. All make for a lovely trip into the dark side of human imagination. Nothing you would want to have as a steady diet. Some of these are definitely not for the faint of heart. Others are as funny as Hell (no pun intended). Note that these recordings are not in any way like the death metal and black metal groups that flourished in the late 80s and continue to spread a very depressing or destructive message, often tied to various hate groups.
This leads nicely as an introduction, or advertisement, for the future blog entry I have planned to do for several months on “The World of Wyrd”. I plan to discuss the area of pagan folk, wyrd folk, and perhaps some other musical phenomena that are related tangentially.

mappinghappenings

Tag: Gregory Page

And So It Goes

BEFORE AND AFTER THE FLOOD

The Yend of the Ear

The Friendship Communication Church (FCC)

A Slice of My Life Working Backwards

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