Booking for 2006

With our early August arrival of Sonoma Breckenridge Pool, we'll close the Tree House for concerts and consider opening back up either in the November, if we get our "sea legs," or more likely in January 2006.


THE SHORT LIST
I saw John Weed of Molly's Revenge at the Funhouse house concert in March and asked him if he wanted to do at least a set. Joe busks down along Cannery Row, usually in front of the Aquarium.

Mike Beck wants to come by. I met him up at KPIG while Greg Tannen played, and then saw Mike again at Arden's Garden when Larry Hosford played. He's local (Carmel Valley?), so I'll have a pretty good chance to squeeze him this Winter.

Erica Wheeler contacted us about coming out this winter. She's on the Signature Sounds label, and they've been good to us with Mark Erelli, Peter Mulvey, and Jeffrey Foucault.

And there's this ringing endorsement from my good friend and fellow Strawberrian, Mary Ellen Kane:

"...there is a performer I would love to see in the area. [Sleepy] John had him open for Peter Rowan a number of years ago and I absolutely became his #1 fan! His name is David Nachmanoff and he is a little dynamo. High energy, excellent singer/songwriter...I just love him. If you have him come down, I would be the first to sign up (even before you and Juliet)."

Anyone else you are thinking about? Let us know at info at treehouseconcerts dot org (like my anti-spam technique?).


THE LONG LIST
Other artists I had in mind for 2005 but never contacted included:

• Anne Heaton *
• Brian Joseph *
  
• Billy Jonas *
• Emory Joseph
• Johnsmith *
• Kenny White (thanks Mary Ellen!)
• Martyn Joseph
• Paul Curreri & Devon Sproule (friends of Jeffrey Foucault!)
  
• Small Potatoes
• Vienna Tang *

* I got these from reading the House Concerts Yahoo group.


WHO ELSE?
Then there's the Tree House Concert's Wish List, many of whom will never play a house concert or have moved on to exclusive gigs at Heaven's Bar and Grill.

Peninsula Acoustic Music Scene

The local promoters of these quaint, tucked away concerts you've been attending have teamed together to create a clearinghouse of all the events.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/peninsulamusic/

BACKGROUND
I went to Marc & Sue Rush's first house concert and had serveral people ask about all the other events they had only heard about. I realized they were missing out and there was just too much to tell.

It was a problem begging for a solution, so I created a group over at Yahoo, where I've created a bunch in the past, most notably the Mark Erelli group.

Each promoter will contact the folks on the email list they've kept for their shows, and encourage them to opt-in if they want to know more about other events.

Then they announce new shows not just to their own list but to the PAMS list as well.


BIG PICTURE
At the very least, the promoters will begin to fill the few empty seats left at their shows, maybe even have to hire a bouncer for the waiting list.

But in the long run, it will be a true measure of interest for live acoustic music in this area. That might mean this community grows to a point where we might
individually or collectively promote shows at larger venues.

Wish us luck! Actually, wish you luck!!

Santa Cruz Music Scene in SJ Mercury News

Wow! I was just at Arden's Garden on Friday to see Larry Hosford, and today he shows up on the front page of the A+E section of the Sunday San Jose Mercury News.

The article was "Live From Santa Cruz: While Silicon Valley sleeps, a vibrant scene serves Surf City's vast array of musical tastes" by David Beck.

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/entertainment/music/11155901.htm
(free subscription required)


FIRST LOOK
All the Santa Cruz promoters are mentioned, including John Sandidge of Snazzy Productions, who makes it clear that bands love playing where there's good local radio support. Amen.

There are also 10 great photographs that went with the article and are available at the website, too, including a first look at the new Don Quixote's in Felton, where the Henfling's music series has moved.

Unfortunately, the best image of Don Quixote's is only in the newspaper. It's of a small, raised stage holding six band members with very colorful murals on either side walls. Folks are dancing in front or dine at tables, each lit with candles. Can't wait to experience it in person!


TREE HOUSE CARPOOL?
Which reminds me, the first time Juliet and I will be heading up to Don Quixote's for sure will be May 2nd for Redbird, which is made up of not only Kris Delmhorst but Tree House performers Peter Mulvey (last June) and Jeffrey Foucault (last October).

But we might make it up earlier for Vance Gilbert (April 7) or the South Austin Jug Band (April 12).

Tree House Radio 1.2

Today was my second guest spot on Steve Zmak's "The Dark Side of the Dune" on the OtterStream at CSU Monterey Bay, and in fine Irish tradition for St. Patrick's Day, I wore the Irish national soccer jersey and played a bunch of upbeat Celtic stuff.

Today's playlist featured:

Siucra - Without You
from Here Among Strangers
They're American but that just adds a good kick to the traditional arrangments. Two of the members, Matt & Shannon, have played the Tree House twice (pictures).

Tim O'Brien - The Crossing
from The Crossing
This is Tim's "going home" album, when he visited and played with Irish musicians. This tune has a lot of great energy, but there's a lot more to Tim than his Irish stuff.

Molly's Revenge - The Whistle Reels
from Revenge Is Sweet
This local Monterey Bay band has so much energy and talent. They played the Tree House last August (pictures).

Lunasa - The Merry Sisters of Fate
from The Merry Sisters of Fate
One of my favorite Celtic bands, because they combine such a great upbeat style with traditional sounds. Thanks to Andrew Porter for the tip on this band a few years ago!

Lunasa - Morning Nightcap
from The Merry Sisters of Fate
Thanks to Clay for letting me know Lunasa was mention on NPR's "Morning Edition" this morning, and they were featured live on NPR's Studio 4A (listen to that 30 minute show).

Lunasa - Taylor Bay, 4 a.m.
from Otherworld


NEXT SHOW
My next show will be a full two-hour fill-in for the 6-8 p.m Thursday, April 7 slot on the OtterStream. I get to do the same thing on Thursday, April 28!

Greg Tannen (wrap-up)

Here's a wrap-up of Greg Tannen's visit to the Tree House (pictures of that night):

• Greg first contacted us in January about coming out. When I looked him up on CD Baby and started listening to music clips, liking what I heard, I realized I was listening to his brother, Steve! It only got better when I realized my mistake and found Greg's stuff.


• Greg was a wonderful story-teller and showman. He told great stories, even mixing story into song about meeting a woman in North Carolina and driving all the way to New York City that same night ("October," which will be on the next album). He went from quiet to soul to rock and back again, all with a very rich voice to match.


• Greg and I spent this morning at KPIG on "Please Stand By." He got to play three songs (including "Vegas Baby") and did pretty well at the small-talk with "Sleepy" John Sandidge of Snazzy Productions.
  
  
• Prior to Greg going on, they interviewed someone for agricultural questions, but they didn't have any. I offered up "What's the difference between sweet potatoes and yams?" only because I thought Juliet might be listening. BabyCenter.com says at 18 weeks the fetus is the size of a small sweet potato. She wasn't listening, but thought it was funny anyways.
  
  
• After Greg's performance, we both watched recent Grammy-winner Laurence Juber in the KPIG studios, and he was simply stunning. Laurence played with Paul McCartney in Wings in the 70's. Today he was playing acoustic stuff but was all over the fretboard. He ended with an amzing "Strawberry Fields." The following Monday Laurence was sold-out at Don Quixote's in Felton.
  
  
• While hanging around the KPIG studios, I met and talked to local singer/songwriter, Mike Beck. He really wants to come down to the Tree House. After listening to his CD on the drive home, I really want to book him! Nevertheless, I had to let him know we had booked through August, and after the delivery well see if we can pull off a house concert in the Winter.
  
  
• I had lunch afterwards with KPIG DJ, Arden Eaton, and we talked about the Peninsula Acoustic Music Scene mailing list I want to start.
  
  
• The song Greg sang in the first set at the Tree House, about the woman he met in North Carolina that ended up hating October in NYC? That's coming out on his next album.
  
  
• Greg's shirt was a limited edition cartoon from a group of artists in San Francisco called Gama-Go. They think streetwear fashion lacks a sense of humor. Greg's was a picture of a TV set with the Yeti beating Deathbot in a wrestling match.
  
  
• I had my good friend and best man, Steve Zmak, hang four of his black-and-white photographs on our walls. My favorite is the Andrew Molera Dinosaurs.
  
  
• Greg's good friend, Dan, came up from L.A. and was the inspiration for all the heckling in the back of the room. He was responsible for Greg's amazing try at a song titled something like "Existential Superhero." Dan said that Greg probably hadn't played it live in 10 years!
  
  
• Greg's last song in the second set? Bruce Springsteen's "Open All Night" from Bruce's worst selling album, Nebraska. Don't get me started on how influential that album is to me.
  
  
• The next day, Juliet took Greg and Dan to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Both of them dive but never on the West Coast, so they seemed awe-struck by it all. Our plan worked. (insert evil laugh here)
  
  
• Greg's on his way to L.A. after this for some kind of award for a song that appears in a show on the ABC Family channel. All that "Dawson's Creek" stuff he talked about is in addition to songs that have appeared on "Party of Five," too.
  

Tree House Radio 1.0

Today marked the first time I've been able to DJ a radio show, at least for thirty minutes.

CSU Monterey Bay has run the OtterStream since 1997 as an Internet-only radio show, under the mentorship of Prof. Steven Levinson and his TAT 338 class.

My good friend, photographer, and best man Steve Zmak has had the Thursday noon to 2 p.m. slot since 2004. As "The Zmaker" on the Dark Side of the Dune, he plays "the full spectrum of rock."

Last week he started to let his friends guest DJ for a half-hour.

Today's playlist included:

Fruit - Alameda
Jonatha Brooke - Linger
Kathleen Edwards - Back to Me
Mark Erelli - Free Ride
Peter Mulvey - 29 Cent Head
Jeffrey Foucault - Tulane

That last one you can still download from Jeffrey's site!


NEXT SHOWS?
Steve is going to let me guest DJ again on Thursday, March 16 starting around 1 p.m. PT.

Then I have the good fortune of being able to fill-in twice for another DJ in April. Tune in to the Thursday 6 - 8 p.m. slot on April 7th and 28th. I'll have the full two hours to play a great assortment of Americana, folks, blues, country, and Celtic.