What’s New in Nevada County? Nevada City Acclaimed Americana Singer/Songwriter Grant‐Lee Phillips, March 29 at the Miners Foundry, Nevada City The Miners Foundry Cultural Center is proud to announce a special evening with acclaimed Americana singer‐songwriter and multi‐instrumentalist, Grant‐Lee Phillips. Best known for his versatile voice, intense lyrical narratives and dexterity on the acoustic twelve‐string guitar, he has been called “one of the most gifted songwriters of his generation” by ABC News and in 1995 named “Male vocalist of the year” by Rolling Stone. Phillips, a Stockton, CA native, founded the seminal LA band Shiva Burlesque with vocalist and childhood friend Jeffery Clark (Nevada City local and owner of The Magic Theatre). After releasing two albums the band broke up in 1990 and Phillips went on to form Grant Lee Buffalo. Grant Lee Buffalo released four recordings on Slash/Warner Bros. in addition to various soundtracks, live releases, and a box set retrospective. The endorsement of some of music’s biggest bands, REM, Pearl Jam and The Smashing Pumpkins (all of whom the group toured with) helped to fuel the band’s popularity. Revered for it's lyrical depth and sweeping cinematic scope, the music of Grant‐Lee Phillips extends beyond the realm of recording artist. For over a decade and a half, the music of Grant‐ Lee Phillips has added emotional richness to a diverse range of films and television shows. His music has been featured in a diverse range of films: I Still Know What You Did Last Summer, Velvet Goldmine, Mad Love, Zigzag, Easy, Arctic Tale and television shows, from Friends, The Gilmore Girls (a show where he also held a reoccurring role as the Town Troubadour) to Roswell, Six Feet Under, What About Brian, The Return of Jezebel James, House, Men In Trees and Grey's Anatomy. Phillips has been a guest performer on such popular shows as Late Show With David Lettermen, Tonight Show With Jay Leno, Late Show With Conan O’Brien, Real Time With Bill Maher to name a few. He continues to tour worldwide, and is a fixture at his second home, Largo, the prominent cabaret hosting a diverse group of musicians, and comedians such as Aimee Mann, Jon Brion, Paul F. Tompkins, Greg Proops, Patton Oswalt, Jack Black and others. For Phillips, who cut his creative teeth in childhood as a comedian, actor, singer and magician in a Stockton vaudeville revival house, “It’s all in a good days work. I grew up around old guys who played the saw, honky‐tonk piano players and escape artists. Like mercury, it stays in your blood.” Link to the making of Walking in the Green Corn http://youtu.be/c7H4tHUrNxs What: Grant‐Lee Phillips When: Friday, March 29, 2013 Doors at 7:00 p.m. / Music at 8:00 p.m. Where: Miners Foundry Cultural Center, 325 Spring Street, Nevada City Tickets: Advance $18.00, Door $22.00 Tickets are available in person at Nevada City Box Office and BriarPatch Co‐op, by phone at (530) 265‐5462 Grass Valley The English Beat will perform their timeless music for audiences at the Center for the Arts on Friday, April 5. In the 1990s, Dave Wakeling left the music industry for a time to devote five years to the organization, Greenpeace. It was Elvis Costello who encouraged him to return to the stage. “This Greenpeace and anti‐Apartheid stuff is all well and good, but your place is on the stage, Wakeling, and you know it,” Costello told him. In February 2003, the band reunited for a UK tour, culminating in a sold out performance at the prestigious Royal Festival Hall. In 2011 The English Beat performed at a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony in Cleveland, Ohio where Wakeling’s trademark teardrop‐shaped guitar is on display. The Beat hailed from late 1970s working class, industrial Birmingham, England. When they rushed on to the music scene in 1979, it was a time of social, political and musical upheaval. The original band consisted of: Dave Wakeling on vocals and guitar, Andy Cox on guitar, David Steele on bass, and Everett Morton on drums. Later a black punk named, Ranking Roger, known for his Jamaican rapping over punk tracks and First Wave Ska legend, “Saxa” (Lionel Augustus Martin) joined with his saxophone to complete the outfit. The multi‐racial band fluidly crossed over between soul, reggae, pop and punk forming an infectious dance rhythm. Along with their contemporaries, The Specials, The Selecter, and Madness, the band became an overnight sensation and one of the most popular and influential bands of the British Two Tone Ska movement. Ska is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. Ska combines elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. By Christmas of 1979, just nine months after the band formed, The Beat had a Top 10 hit with their first single, a reworking of the Smokey Robinson classic, “Tears of a Clown.” Upon the realization that there was already a band called The Beat in America, the band changed its name to The English Beat. Over the course of the next five years The English Beat toured relentlessly and released three studio albums: “I Just Can’t Stop It,” “Wh’appen,” and “Special Beat Service.” The band toured the world with big names like David Bowie, The Police, REM, The Clash, The Talking Heads, The Pretenders, and The Specials. The English Beat produced hits like, “Mirror in the Bathroom,” “Save it for Later,” “I Confess, Stand Down Margaret,” and the cover of “Can’t Get Used To Losing You.” Producer Bob Sargeant opposed the use of synthesizers, and because of that, The English Beat has maintained a timeless sound, say fans. A string quartet from the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London performed, “Save It for Later.” “They were serious professional classical musicians. Now the proof is in the pudding. The songs don’t sound particularly dated and they don’t sound as old as the songs that were trying to be terribly modern at the time,” said Wakeling. Some of The English Beat songs were turned into music videos during the formative years of MTV, a venue that helped the band get recognized in the U.S. Wakeling would go on to form General Public with his mate Roger Bueno. Andy Cox and David Steele placed an ad for a singer on MTV and Roland Gift replied – the Fine Young Cannibals were born. Saxa and Everett Morton put together their own band, International Beat, a blend of modern pop and traditional Jamaican rhythms. Combined, all these bands scored multi‐ platinum record sales and sold out shows all over the world. Now living in California, The English Beat is experiencing a resurgence playing for enthusiastic fans and building a new audience for their lively and enduring music. WHO: The Center for the Arts presents WHAT: The English Beat DANCE CONCERT – Limited Theater Seating WHEN: Friday, April 5, 8:00PM WHERE: The Center for the Arts 314 W Main Street, Grass Valley, CA 95945 TICKETS: $35 members, $40 non‐member The Center Box Office ‐ 530‐274‐8384 ext 14 BriarPatch Co‐op Community Market ‐ 530‐272‐5333 Tickets online at www.thecenterforthearts.org Truckee Truckee named one of America’s Best Ski Towns by Travel + Leisure Magazine Truckee continues to earn accolades as one of the world’s top ski destinations, most recently named by the editors of Travel + Leisure as one of America’s best ski towns. The article, which appeared in the December, 2012 issue of Travel + Leisure magazine, recognized 12 ski towns not only for their world‐class skiing, bars, restaurants and winter adventures, but also for their “small‐town appeal, a sense of history, and the carefree vibe that brought downhillers there in the first place.” “The single thing that makes a ski town is authenticity,” notes Dan Sherman, managing director of marketing for Ski.com. “We’ve set our sights on the towns that prove ski vacations aren’t just about the slopes or mega‐resorts or chic chalets. They are about embracing a lifestyle – and they are just plain fun.” The editors at Travel + Leisure note the 12 downhill and eight cross‐country ski resorts that are within about 10 miles of Truckee, the excellent weather with an average 275 days of sunshine annually, along with 400 inches of snowfall in an average year. The diversity of activities such as ice skating, guided astronomy snowshoe hikes, paddleboarding (in wetsuits) on Lake Tahoe, and winter lake cruises add to the appeal. The article only touches on a couple of the many great dining options available in Truckee, urging readers to “pay your respects to the old‐time Truckee Hotel, a local institution with hearty dishes served on‐site at Moody’s Bistro,” also recommending Cottonwood Restaurant for fine dining in one of the nation’s oldest ski lodges, overlooking downtown Truckee. Historic Town of Truckee celebrates Significant Milestones This year, Truckee will celebrate 150 years since its establishment and 20 years as an incorporated town. Originally established in 1863 as Gray’s Toll Station and later changed to Coburn’s Station, residents of the quaint mountain town called for a change of the town’s name to Truckee in 1868. Truckee has since been known as a logging town, for its significance along the transcontinental railroad, and a mecca for outdoors enthusiasts. With year‐round recreation such as world‐class skiing and snowboarding, hiking, biking, golf, and water sports, it’s no wonder that Truckee developed into a thriving destination.