Later this week, Mr. Michael Paz (who seems to be on a first-name basis with every musician that’s ever come through New Orleans) is hosting Pazfest II, a tribute to Joni Mitchell featuring some of the Big Easy’s finest musicians… and l’il ole moi. Funds raised will help the Ruth Paz Foundation to provide life-changing medical care and support to underprivileged Honduran children and their families.
This show will mark the 10-year anniversary of the original Pazfest in 2000, a glorious event captured for posterity on a two-CD set. How did 10 years go by so quickly? Thanks again to the great Paz for having me.
Thursday, Sep. 2, 2010. 6 pm
Pazfest Preview
Ogden Museum of Southern Art
925 Camp Street New Orleans, LA
I’m flying solo this time, but last time I had a heluva band backing me up: Matthew Loiacono and Taylor Price (on loan from Troy Pohl). Here’s a quick clip from the set:
Also, for my money, this was the best performance of the night: Susan Cowsill with Robert Mache performing “Chelsea Morning.” Mercy.
Nona Hendryx graciously poses for a photo moments after blowing me off the stage. (Courtesy Rudy Lu)
Thanks to everyone who came out, thanks to Nona and her band for a great night of music and special thanks to Sara Hill and Michael Eck for inviting me to join in the fun. Be sure to check out the photos from Matt Mac Haffie and Hidden City.
When a boy jumped up to dance, during his solo opener [for funk rocker Nona Hendryx], soul-rock troubadour Bryan Thomas challenged, “What you got?” and danced himself, all this is a deep, politically sophisticated song about race and sex that everybody got at their own level. He sang about Schenectady’s underworld, gender, hope and despair. Hope won, but it was close.
In a betrayal lament, he sang, “You can tell him I said that” with such towering force that everybody applauded, even if its message zoomed past some. Later, he warned about “the boomerang of history,” advised “keep a steel helmet handy” and consoled “truth is light.” His “Babylon” had the apocalyptic punch Rastas give the term, and he made the political personal and vice versa with tremendous grace and aplomb through his too-short set.”
And then Nona and her band took the stage and blew it up.
Delmar singer-songwriter Bryan Thomas boldly opened the show armed only with an acoustic guitar, but he quickly won over the crowd with an all-too-short, six-song set that included gems from his latest album, “One Three Six Nine Lights.” And he left the crowd wanting more when he wrapped it all up with “Jennifer” from his ‘02 album, “Ones and Zeros,” singing, “You think you’re too big for Schenectady? You ain’t big enough.”
And then Nona and her band took the stage and blew it up.
“The legendary diva Nona Hendryx started out singing 60s doo-wop and came to fame in a big way with LaBelle’s “Lady Marmalade” in 1975, but she’s has been creating her own pioneering, bold brand of music all along — a fearless mix of funk, art and proud, proud soul.”
Thursday, June 10, 2010. 7 pm.
WAMC Linda Morris Auditorium, 339 Central Ave, Albany
Albany Poets’ Poets Speak Loud
Jim Gaudet & the Railroad Boys
MotherJudge & the Best Damn Open Mic EVER! Band
Keith Pray’s Big Soul Ensemble
Ramblin Jug Stompers
With special guest Bryan Thomas. No, seriously.
Admission is $15 at the door, and all proceeds go directly to Tess Collins and the staff of Tess’ Lark Tavern.
Tess let us take over the Lark Tavern Labor Day weekend of 2005 to shoot the music video for “Babylon.” What did she charge us? Nothing. Nada. Zilcho. And she fed us, too. So this was the video thank-you card we created at the end of the shoot.
In the wake of this morning’s fire, the sentiment still applies. Several times over.
Boom: here’s a couple quick goofy demos for new songs up on the YouTube, recorded in January and February and all but forgotten about until a few glasses of wine on a Sunday night in April. Let’s call these transitional tunes – the kind of songs I write between album projects to remind myself that I’m not dead yet. So quick-and-dirty that they usually never see the light of day. Kickstarter songs. The double novelty here is that 1) I’ve recorded the songs on my iPhone and 2) I’ve captured the recording session on the camcorder. That’s right: the iPhone is in the shots below because that’s the recording studio. The app is FourTrack by Sonoma Wire Works, and all sounds were captured live with the iPhone’s internal mic, working overtime to capture every little flaw in my performance. And so it goes.
Demo for ‘Cake’
This song is dedicated to the United States of Have Our Cake and Eat It Too. So I’m gettin’ my falsetto on. And yes, I am the worst drummer in the world. For god’s sake, my finger is the kick drum. PS: Did I mention that I am the worst drummer in the world? [See 'Cake' on YouTube]
Demo for ‘Parts’
Recording the demo of a song about recording the demo of a song. Warts and all. The beat here is canned: it came with the FourTrack app. I should note that the song didn’t sound quite so pop-bland-smooth in my head when I wrote it. But songs can smash to pieces. [See 'Parts' on YouTube]
Live excerpt of solo-acoustic ‘Parts’
You can hear how the song has mellowed in the month or two since recording the iPhone demo. A minor key chorus, even. From the show at Bread and Jam in March with Julia Brown. Songs can smash to pieces, indeed. [See solo-acoustic 'Parts' on YouTube]
More on the way, old and new
In the near future I’ll be pulling some footage from the archives and shooting video for some of the newer, post-transitional transition songs. And by “near future” I mean sometime between now and 2014. Thanks.
A long overdue show with the great Julia Brown in a great room for music: Bread & Jam Cafe in lovely Cohoes, Friday, March 19 at 8 pm. They’re at 130 Remsen St. See ya there?
The Neighborhoods returned to Albany after a seventeen year absence to rock your face off with special guests Charlie Watts Riots and John Powhida International Effin’ Airport.
Later this week, Mr. Michael Paz (who seems to be on a first-name basis with every musician that’s ever come through New Orleans) is hosting Pazfest II, a tribute to Joni Mitchell featuring some of the Big Easy’s finest musicians… and l’il ole moi. Funds raised will help the Ruth Paz Foundation to provide life-changing medical care and support to underprivileged Honduran children and their families.
Cake
