March 2006 Troubadour
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FREE SAN DIEGO ROUBADOUR Alternative country, Americana, roots, folk, Tblues, gospel, jazz, and bluegrass music news March 2006 www.sandiegotroubadour.com Vol. 5, No. 6 what’s inside Welcome Mat ………3 Radio ASB Mail Box Still on the Hill Full Circle.. …………4 The Roosters Recordially, Lou Curtiss Front Porch... ………6 Hot Java Cafe Berkley Hart Parlor Showcase …8 Chris Klich Ramblin’... …………10 Bluegrass Corner Zen of Recording Hosing Down Radio Daze Highway’s Song. …12 Muriel Anderson Of Note. ……………13 Berkley Hart The Truckee Brothers The Fenians Derren Raser Band Chuck Perrin ‘Round About ....... …14 March Music Calendar The Local Seen ……15 Photo Page RSAN ODUIEGBO ADOUR Alternative country, Americana, roots, folk, Tblues, gospel, jazz, and bluegrass music news MISSION CONTRIBUTORS To promote, encourage, and provide an alternative voice for the great local FOUNDERS music that is generally overlooked by Ellen and Lyle Duplessie the mass media; namely the genres of Liz Abbott alternative country, Americana, roots, Kent Johnson folk, blues, gospel, jazz, and bluegrass. PUBLISHERS To entertain, educate, and bring togeth - Liz Abbott er players, writers, and lovers of these Kent Johnson forms; to explore their foundations; and to expand the audience for these types EDITORIAL/GRAPHICS of music. Liz Abbott Simeon Flick Chuck Schiele SAN DIEGO TROUBADOUR, the local ADVERTISING source for alternative country, Kent Johnson Americana, roots, folk, blues, gospel, Joanna Schiele jazz, and bluegrass music news, is pub - BUSINESS MANAGER lished monthly and is free of charge. Joanna Schiele Letters to the editor must be signed and may be edited for content. It is not, DISTRIBUTION however, guaranteed that they will Kent Johnson appear. Dave Sawyer All opinions expressed in SAN DIEGO Mark Jackson TROUBADOUR, unless otherwise stat - Peter Bolland ed, are solely the opinion of the writer PHOTOGRAPHY and do not represent the opinions of the Steve Covault staff or management. All rights Gail Donnelly-Seaholm reserved. WEB MASTER Will Edwards ADVERTISING INFORMATION For advertising rates, call 619/298-8488 WRITERS or e-mail [email protected]. Mike Alvarez SUBSCRIPTIONS are available for Richard F. Burrell $30/yr. Send check payable to San Lou Curtiss Diego Troubadour to: Will Edwards Simeon Flick San Diego Troubadour Phil Harmonic P.O. Box 164 Jim McInnes La Jolla, CA 92038 E-mail: [email protected]. Bart Mendoza Chuck Schiele WHERE TO FIND US Can’t find a copy Sven-Erik Seaholm of the San Diego Troubadour? Go to José Sinatra www.sandiegotroubadour.com and D. Dwight Worden click on FIND AN ISSUE for a complete John Philip Wyllie list of locations we deliver to. Craig Yerkes ©2006 San Diego Troubadour. The San Diego Troubadour is dedicated to the memory of Ellen and Lyle Duplessie , whose vision inspired the creation of this newspaper. Phil Harmonic Sez: “To get up each morning with the resolve to be happy . is to set our own conditions to the events of each day. To do this is to condition circumstances instead of being conditioned by them.” — Ralph Waldo Trine MARCH 2006 SAN DIEGO TROUBADOUR welcome mat by Phil Harmonic ne of the most misunderstood genres in music today is the Owide open area of roots music. Roots Music Is Alive and When people think of traditional music, they usually think of Woody Guthrie and songs from 50-60 years ago. However, in reality, roots music is something that is played every day. Last month Kelley Martin Across the Internet and (Acoustic Pie) invited my wife and me Well and Still on the Hill to a house concert in North Park at the home of Carol Wilson, where we had Around the World n the pleasure of experiencing the o Mulhollan, with whom the conversa - s l delightful performance of a husband i W tion ultimately led to the topic of roots by Richard F. Burrell l o and wife duo who call themselves Still r music. I have always felt that, regard - a C on the Hill. The music they played less of the genre’s history, it is music : o Alternative country, Americana, t sounded old timey yet the tunes were o that should evolve and be kept alive by h folk, blues, gospel, jazz, and blue - P all original, which the couple had writ - grass music news. If ever there was a new generation of young people who ten. Before the concert began I had a a publication tailor-made for the are interested in carrying on the tradi - chance to talk to the husband, Kelly RadioASB audience it is the San tion. Kelly and I were definitely on the Diego Troubadour! Such were my same wave length as we talked and thoughts as I read the tag line of grew more excited about the idea of the Troubadour’s December 2005 new roots music. issue. As we talked I had no idea what The setting was the Troubadour MAIL was in store for me — as I had never Christmas party, to which I had heard their music before — until they been invited by renowned San BOX began to play. The moment they started Diego independent jazz artist Chris I was blown away. Here was music that Klich. Being quite familiar with the was exciting and vital, with a sound Dear Troubadour, premise of RadioASB as an Internet that was fresh and new. But it also radio station, which was just a few Thanks for including me in evoked a deep cultural tradition. days away from a scheduled the article [Musings from the Kelly Mulhollan and Donna Still on the Hill’s Donna Stjerna and Kelly Mulhollan, playing a hand-made instrument Christmas Eve broadcast debut, Lesson Room]. I share the other Stjerna, who make their home in Arkansas, accompany their stunning Chris suggested that I attend the teachers’ sentiment on their vocal harmonies on traditional instru - who make their own musical instru - grass, Still on the Hill keeps traditional party so that he could introduce questions as well. Much of my ments to create an amazing a kaleido - ments and may still make their living American roots music alive by updating me to Troubadour publisher Liz effort is directed into motivating Abbott. It turned out to be an scope of musical sounds that is truly a off the land. The music of Still on the roots sounds and stories. To hear them students, as most desire the excellent suggestion. It became breath of fresh air. Kelly is a powerful Hill reflects the difficult life styles and play was an indescribable pleasu re. result sans the process. There are readily apparent that, although instrumentalist who has been voted obstacles many people still face, even in always those ‘gems’ who have engaged in different communica - Best Guitarist in Northwest Arkansas today’s fast-paced technical world. By tions media, the Troubadour and the drive, and that is the reward. several times and has developed a one- calling their music “new roots,” it is RadioASB shared a like-minded As an addend, staff notation of-a-kind fingerpicking style for the implied that it is played in the tradi - conviction regarding the signifi - is cumbersome for 6-string gui - banjo and mandolin. His amazing tal - tional style with lyrics and stories cance of the American Songbook tar, and incomplete without tab - ents were complemented by Donna, an reflecting today’s struggles and what’s catalog as a cultural art form as lature, which adds to the com - accomplished fiddle player who also happening now. Just as Nickel Creek’s played scrub board and thumb piano first CD redefined bluegrass as new - well as a concern related to the dis - plexity. It may aid learning diffi - on some of the songs. turbing absence of that genre of cult passages common in mod - At home in the Ozarks, Kelly and music in today’s fractured radio ern rock/metal. marketplace. That evening bore Donna have plenty of opportunity to Song charts are simple and witness, amid an ambience of fes - collect stories about the interesting effective in organizing and learn - tive holiday celebration, highlight - people they meet. As principal song - ing arrangements. Hear it first, ed by live “open mic” style music writer, Donna has written hundreds of performances, to the genesis of a though! songs that both inspire and delight the very exciting liaison between the I'll be teaching classes at the wide variety of people who enjoy their San Diego Troubadour and Carvin factory showroom start - music. They especially enjoy perform - RadioASB. I anticipate many collab - ing in March, and being featured ing for children. orative efforts in the days ahead! in your article really helped. This duo is a perfect example of what I would call new roots musicians The objective of RadioASB is to Thanks again. introduce attentively crafted radio because they continue the tradition of Peace, Indian Joe +---> program formats that encompass telling stories about the common man decades of creative genius and and dying breed of rural Americans musical brilliance, embracing the entire American music spectrum from big band to jazz, ragtime to rhythm and blues, country to rock, folk to indie, and much more. We share with the San Diego Troubadour a strong commitment to educational outreach by offering music that instills a deep sense of culture, heritage, and national pride. I look forward to this opportu - nity, as a San Diego Troubadour columnist, to write monthly articles that showcase the “best of the best” of American Songbook artists and events as RadioASB moves for - ward, bringing distinctly unique and elegantly sophisticated radio programming to the Internet at www.RadioASB.com . www.sandiegotroubadour.com 3 MARCH 2006 SAN DIEGO TROUBADOUR full circle The Roosters: 1960s’ Teen Dance Band by Bart Mendoza at the club, but in 1967 Smith, feeling where he’d be playing the bass with his ed to fire Raney from the group.