FREE SAN DIEGO ROUBADOUR Alternative country, Americana, roots, folk, Tblues, gospel, jazz, and bluegrass music news January 2005 www.sandiegotroubadour.com Vol. 4, No. 4 what’s Nickel Creek: inside Living the Dream Welcome Mat ………3 Mission Statement Contributors Tales from the Trails Full Circle.. …………4 Eugene Vacher Recordially, Lou Curtiss Front Porch …………6 KKSM’s Joan Rubin Tom Boyer Parlor Showcase... …8 Nickel Creek Ramblin’... …………10 Bluegrass Corner Zen of Recording Hosing Down Radio Daze The Highway’s Song... 12 Al Kooper Of Note. ……………13 Griffin House The Taylor Harvey Band Itai ickles the horse chews February 1981, also a home grown Sean and Sara when the surf is good, Rookie Card contentedly in the prodigy raised in the Idylwild moun - and one can feel the excitement in Tom McRae small backyard pasture tains a couple of hours from Vista, it the house as they prepare for one of ‘Round About ....... …14 as the three young - is the mandolin. The three friends are their regular surf safaris to Carlsbad. January Music Calendar sters on the back already creating quite a stir at blue - Mom Karen happily shows the latest porch play their instru - grass festivals and contests. photos of the body board exploits, The Local Seen ……15 ments. It’s peaceful and Life is good in those early days. and Sean and Sara both expound on Photo Page Pbucolic in rural Vista during the mid School at home, church and church the great rides, and “getting pound - 1980s for these three home- activities, surfing, skiing, camping with ed” on the bigger days. Chris is way schooled youngsters who already the family, snowboarding, baseball, and into baseball and is a star kid pitcher. show prodigious talents on their music fill the days. Some call them Continued on page 8. musical instruments. For Sara “hothouse kids” because of the way Watkins, born in June 1981, it is the their parents home school them and fiddle, almost too big to fit under her insulate them from the vagaries of chin, that lights up the magnetic smile the outside world, but it is undeniable on her face. For older brother Sean, — these are not just great musicians, born in February 1977, it is the man - they are great kids. Normal, happy dolin and guitar. And for their pal and kids doing normal kid stuff. Body musical playmate Chris Thile, born in boarding at Tamarack is a must for RSAN ODUIEGBO ADOUR Alternative country, Americana, roots, folk, Tblues, gospel, jazz, and bluegrass music news MISSION CONTRIBUTORS To promote, encourage, and provide FOUNDERS an alternative voice for the great local Ellen and Lyle Duplessie music that is generally overlooked by Liz Abbott the mass media; namely the genres of Kent Johnson alternative country, Americana, roots, folk, blues, gospel, jazz, and bluegrass. PUBLISHERS To entertain, educate, and bring Liz Abbott together players, writers, and lovers of Kent Johnson these forms; to explore their founda - EDITORIAL/GRAPHICS tions; and to expand the audience for Liz Abbott these types of music. Chuck Schiele For advertising rates, call 619/298- ADVERTISING 8488 or e-mail [email protected]. Kent Johnson San Diego Troubadour DISTRIBUTION P.O. Box 164 Kent Johnson La Jolla, CA 92038 Brenda Villegas E-mail: [email protected]. PHOTOGRAPHY John Baldi SAN DIEGO TROUBADOUR, the local Steve Covault source for alternative country, Americana, roots, folk, blues, gospel, WEB MASTER jazz, and bluegrass music news, is Will Edwards published monthly and is free of WRITERS charge. Letters to the editor must be Lois Bach signed and may be edited for content. Lou Curtiss It is not, however, guaranteed that they Phil Harmonic will appear. David Lang All opinions expressed in SAN DIEGO Frederick Leonard TROUBADOUR, unless otherwise stat - Jim McInnes ed, are solely the opinion of the writer Tom Paine and do not represent the opinions of Sven-Erik Seaholm the staff or management. All rights Chuck Schiele reserved. José Sinatra Tim Woods ©2005 San Diego Troubadour. D. Dwight Worden Anita York WRITE TO US! We’d love to hear from you! Send your comments, feedback, and suggestions The San Diego Troubadour is by email to: [email protected] dedicated to the memory of or by snail mail to: San Diego Ellen and Lyle Duplessie , whose Troubadour, P.O. Box 164, vision inspired the creation of this La Jolla, CA 92038-0164. newspaper. Coming in February Special tribute to San Diego Troubadour founders Ellen and Lyle Duplessie. CALL FOR ARTICLES Do you have a story to share about Ellen, Lyle, or both? Please contact Liz Abbott at [email protected] to submit your story in written form. Articles can be funny, serious, short, or long. We intend to include as many different stories as space will allow. Submission deadline: January 15. San Diego Troubadour • January 2005 wweellccoommee mmaatt by Chuck Schiele state of the art. From this t’s funny where life takes you. They studio Sam say when one door closes, another Phillips not I door opens. This is always true with only precise timing. I live by it. After a crazy brought a new league year, one of my doors closed and it was of musicians to the world, including B.B. suggested that I “hit the trail,” so to speak. King, Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee And in the next instant, my new door opened. Lewis, Carl Perkins, T. Bone Walker, and a I was recently hired for an art gig on the whole bunch more, he also ushered in a mod - East Coast, specifically upstate New York, an ern music revolution, a new “sound,” a new opportunity with too many blessings to “thing.” Several years ago U2 recorded forego, so I went. And with little fussing, and “When Love Comes to Town” here with B.B. great unforeseen irony, I furthered my pur - King. I got to talking with the engineer and pose by making it a music trip as well. Early managed to book a recording session in each side by an angel playing a harp and the in a coffeehouse setting. (Imagine going to plete departure from the famous take we last November I began my drive across January as part of an eventual solo release. devil playing the fiddle, sort of a gargoyle church at Claire de Lune and then playing a know so well. Way out there — America, choosing my route to include as On Beale Street I ate bodacious ribs for sconce thing. There was an old-school gig there that night). The sound system was HeavyHeavyHeavy Hip-hop. I thought it was many music cities and landmarks along the lunch then took a cruise Molson export beer sign flickering in the win - great, the stage was huge, and a giant tree, so cool that we’re so dissimilar yet were still way as I could. By the time my journey is through B.B. King’s bar and dow. I liked it already. It was surreal inside, which was part of the architecture, served as able to collect our differences into art. And over, I will have visited Las Cruces, El Paso, Isaac Hayes’ restaurant on mysterious, unpretentious, and yet unbeliev - a stage prop. Way cool. Bands play for free how the Beatles reached a kid two genera - Dallas-Ft. Worth, Austin, Little Rock, Peabody Place. ably cool. Inside a dark and cavernous room and for $3 they record your set. The staff tions away from the day they mixed it. Memphis, Nashville, Louisville, Cincinnati, Hollywood is famous for loaded with locals, there was a unique vibe includes congregation volunteers who also FIRESIDE SESSIONS AT SPINDRIFT Columbus, Cleveland, Buffalo, Syracuse, New its Walk of Fame fea - to this room, unlike any I’ve felt thus far at work for free. Proceeds go to charity and help For me, spending the winter in a New York City, Detroit, Indianapolis, and turing sidewalks with any gig. New Yorkers stand at the bar differ - keep the church running. Probably one of the York apartment is almost equal to being on Minneapolis-St. Paul. Highlights of my trek stars commemorating ently somehow. most wholesome settings I’ve ever played in. the moon. One of the things I do to cope with are dinner at a quaint Southwestern restau - the heroes of American Since closing time isn’t until 4 a.m. in AL-EE-OOP being away from home is to write music arti - rant in Los Cruces called La Poste. I tried a film. Memphis pays tribute to its New York, gigs start late. And the later it I had a great time cles. Most of the time I’m overtime busy. The sopapilla and, of course, a real-deal chile rel - wealth of musicians in the same way, only gets, the more crowded it gets. I was up third here. Although I was other thing I do is play music. I brought my leno, which was worthy of driving a full day with eighth notes. The Gibson guitar factory and hit it at around midnight. After the first supposed to play 15 portable studio with me and as many lit - through the Mars-like terrain of Arizona and is only two blocks form Beale St., so I had to song, a friendly drunkard approached me, minutes during an tle goodies I could stuff into my suitcase. New Mexico. On the next day, after driving go there too, which was half thrill and half insisting that I play a song I never heard of so open mic, which was I’ve been working on a few songs since through the flatness of Texas, I saw my folks frustration because I am never able to avoid he could sing along.