Lila Nelson (wrap-up)

By Greg Pool
Host, TreeHouseConcerts.org

Here's a wrap-up of the visit by Lila Nelson to Tree House Concerts (pictures and after-show interview/encore):

* I first saw Lila in 2006 at Ron Sandidge's house concert in Aptos. She was in Ron's back yard, too, but had to compete with some landscaping equipment nearby.

* Lila recognized lots of names on the backs of chairs, including friends and Tree House artists Brian Joseph, Kenny Edwards, Mark Erelli and Peter Mulvey.

* In his 2005 after-show interview (at 15:50 in), Brian mentioned Lila as someone "wonderful, really bizarre, quirky, beautiful, perfect."

* Kenny Edwards co-produced Lila's latest album, Letter Home. He used to play with Linda Ronstadt and still plays with Karla Bonoff a bunch.

* Was is me or was it hilarious when Lila sang the last line of Dirty Magazines ... in our back yard: "Don't you know they make it hard...for the girl next door not to be hardcore when she's in her own back yard."

* Lila is so laid back that she and tour manager Shiloh decided to head off into the sunset and camp out that night before their next show in Santa Cruz on Sunday.

* For what ever reason, we had a hard time filling the house in August. I looked back and found we had only booked August twice before (emith and Molly's Revenge) and did well. But what I failed to learn was a band that's on our own Wish List, the Duhks, played in nearby Sand City that afternoon, at the West End Celebration. I've liked them all the way back when they were Scruj MacDuhk. Hey, I would have been there, too.

* The after-show encore/interview was too much fun, probably because it included the enthusiasm of Christy, Tracy, Steve, Mike and Paul playing the part of studio audience (picture).

* Also in the encore, Mike (and Pete Seeger) was responsible for that "turn around" folk maneuver Lila used in "American Miracle." And yes, that was Mike at the end, boldly finishing Lila's lyrics (much to her delight).

* Lila's husband took a class at the Panetta Institute at CSU Monterey Bay, where our guest Steve Henderson had worked. Steve is now the Dean of Student Life at the new high school at Chartwell School.

* And another guest, Paul, and my father, Allen, both learned they had teaching overseas in common. In 1973, I lived in New Dehli, India, for a year while my father was principle of the high school at the American embassy.

* And while BBQing the tri-tip, Juliet had a bite that got stuck in her esophagus. Long story short, we ended up going to the ER at 1 a.m. and getting it taken out early the next morning. Long night, lots of napping the next day, but Sonoma never woke up the whole time. Don't try that at home, though!

WORTHY: Jason Harrod

By Greg Pool
Host, TreeHouseConcerts.org

LISTEN: Interview and encore with Jason Harrod, recorded on August 13, 2009. [ show notes ]

It was a two-fer tonight in nearby Seaside, California, as Tree House Concerts went remote to cover the birth of a brand new house concert venue and the visit of singer/songwriter Jason Harrod.

The hosts were Esther Hobbs and Dan Weinstein, who opened their doors to 25 people, many of whom had never experienced an evening of live acoustic music in one's living room.

Jason was raised in North Carolina and lives in New York City. His music touches folk, country, bluegrass, pop and rock, and tonight he played a guitar and harmonica in an hour-long set.

Esther had only heard of Jason through a Boston friend, who suggested Esther catch Jason's act on his West Coast tour. Instead, Jason was able to convince Esther that she could do a house concert. I pitched in with chairs from our concert series and the small guitar amp that we've used for outdoor concerts and indoor (e.g. Peter Mulvey in 2004).

Afterwards, I set up for a special interview and encore performance with Jason in front of the remaining crowd at Esther and Dan's house, and Jason knocked out some intimate versions of his original material.