So, if you couldn’t make it out to any of the shows on the ‘09 summer main-land tour, here’s a bit of an idea of what you might have missed, or not missed as the case may be. Thanks to my good buddy Nathan Bryant for the footage.
peace, hope and love
Alright, so this is a glimpse into the hilarious work of Antsy McClain. I really can’t say more… you just have to check him out if you get the chance.
Anthony Snape, an Aussie freshly moved over to Nashville, with a wicked right hand, intensely meaningful lyrics and a huge set of pipes. Throughout the night The Endless Road String Quartet would jump up and play with various artists. They rocked a couple with Anthony on his last two songs.
Of course the great Antsy McClain and the Trailor Park Troubadors was a crowd pleaser. He rocked for about an hour and a half with the crowd dancing the whole time. On lead he had the master guitarist Bobby Cochran from Steppenwolf.
Pauly Zarb is a good friend of mine as well as a world class musician. He plays every instrument in the book (he plays in Antsy’s band, The Trailor Park Troubadors as well). He and his brother, Matt Zarb, started the street concert seven years ago as a way to give back to the community they had transplanted to. Here are a couple of shots of him playing a couple of the instruments he pulled out during the night.
He plays with a variety of drummers but typically has as his primary band Chris Bradley, a true southern-blues-rocker, on the electric guitar, and Stevie Hewlett, who plays a beast of a seven string Bass .
During the night my mind was never so blown as it was during Michael Kelsey’s set. I can’t even describe to you the explosion of sounds that come out of this guys guitar. Josh Brown described it to me best. He said, “it’s like a tornado whipping around the guitar”.
At one point he called up Pauly, Bobby Cochran and some of the other guys to play behind him as he free flowed a rap about everything that was going on around us. He did it to “that’s the way uh huh, uh huh, I like it”.
There other top acts as well that I didn’t get pictures of, like Pat Kirtley, Rick Price and James Dean Hicks. This was, in my opinion, by far the best line up Pauly has put together. And I must say, I am really glad he put me in as the kick-off act simply because I wouldn’t have wanted to follow any of those guys.
Peace, hope and love
So, a couple days back I was passing through Mountain View Arkansas. I actually stopped off there for a day to see my old pals Adrian and Joel (who are SilverService). They just moved out there and had been telling me about what a music loving town it is. So we took a walk downtown Monday evening. This is what we saw. The park was jam-packed with folks in lawn chairs set up around various little pockets of musicians. It was all impromtu I come to find out. That’s what the town does for entertainment. They either play music in the park or they listen to it. I absolutely loved it! I mean, it was all bluegrass/country/southern gospel; but it was awesome ’cause it was the real deal. That’s where the music was born and that’s where it’s living on. Check out this fiddle player. He’s got all his fingers chopped off on his left hand but he was still spot on. Beautiful little town tucked away in the Ozarks… if you’re ever around, drop by the park or the town square and have a listen.
Peace, hope and love.
So, I had a pretty lame gig out in Springfield Mo Tuesday night. The promoter and I got our wires crossed and so it was promoted for the night before. I’m not sure how that happened… it was most likely my fault. Anyway, no one was there for the music. Don’t get me wrong, there were people there, they just were there for other things. I was kinda incidental. After a couple hours of feeling slightly invisible and inaudible I jumped on the road heading towards Kentucky. About half way between Springfield and St. Louis I pulled over for the night. After spending way too much on a room, I tossed and turned for hours. Then the alarm went off telling me I needed to hit the road again. I drove all morning and in to the afternoon, finally pulling in to Elizabethtown Kentucky around 4:30ish.
Now, I’ve come to know that life is a roller coaster, a spinning series of ups and downs. If Springfield (and the whole last 24 hours) was a bit of a downer, Valley Creek Baptist Church in Elizabethtown Kentucky was definitely an upper. They welcomed me from the gate and bent over backwards to make me feel comfortable and taken care of. Josh Brown, their music minister (and a super hip cat who plays about fifty instruments) had gone out of his way to make sure I had the right things to eat and drink before the show. There was a guy named Jason with a huge smile who kept assuring me, if I needed anything at all, he was the guy to get it for me. And there were beautiful children running around everywhere. It was like a little oasis on this dry spell of a tour.
Then I played the show. Now, Josh had warned me that they might not show too much emotion or really be that responsive at all; so, I was sort of prepared for it. Sure enough, although I got the appropriate claps after songs I got very little else. They were all looking at me but you couldn’t tell if they were listening or not. Josh had mentioned that this would probably be the experience but assured me that they would be paying close attention. So, as I said, I was prepared for it. It wasn’t awkward or anything it was just… different. Afterwards, the people came up and talked with me and one after another mentioned various things I had said or sung throughout the night, thanking me for coming and for saying what I had. The result was an overwhelming sense of peace, joy, love… purpose even. God bless the people out at Valley Creek Baptist.
Peace, hope and love.
Tonight I’m playing the hippest little venue in Colorado… or anywhere, for that matter. Wildwood Sounds, a teeny-tiny listening room in Del Norte, Southern Colorado. The town of Del Norte is super small itself. Wildwood only seats about 35-40 people. So, needless to say, it’s never a big “money maker”. Stephan and Connie, a couple of super lovely people, run it. Stephan makes really sweet furniture out of 100 year old barns and cool stuff like that. He’s got a big shop behind the venue; and they live above that shop in a sweet little flat. The reasons I love it and always try to play it when I come through are as follows:
- The acoustics are amazing! It has this hardwood floor that resonates not unlike the top of guitar. The result: awesome sound.
- Everyone that comes is there just to hear you. I’ve never had one Free Bird request while playing Wildwood.
- BYOB! Any venue that encourages that amazing custom is alright in my book. Just remember to BETSWN (bring enough to share with Nathan)
- There’s never a “fourth wall” between me and the audience. We inevitably talk between most songs… you know, discussing the whys and the what fors of any given song.
- They have, what they call, a “snacky-treaty pot luck” in between sets. Essentially, a “everyone bring some kind of a snack to share” kind of an event.
I’m going to be setting up a little camcorder in the corner tonight, so I’ll try and post some video up for ya’ll shortly.
Peace, hope and love.
“>
The 7th Annual Zarb Brothers Bardstown Street Concert will set up a huge
stage in the middle of Bardstown’s main street for its 2009 event on
Saturday, June 27th. It’s a fantastic FREE musical event for all ages and
will bring a range of performers in diverse musical styles — something for
everyone. The music begins at 6:00 pm, and seating is open — bring your
lawn chairs and come early for a good spot. Food and beverage vendors will
be set up on site.
The festival was conceived and developed by.Australian brothers
Matt and Pauly Zarb, who became residents of Bardstown in 2003. Award-
winning performers in their home country down under, they immediately began
building a following in Kentucky and surrounding areas. Pauly says “Growing
up in Australia, my brothers and I would put on neighborhood get-togethers
with good music, food, and friendship. When I moved to Bardstown, looking
out the window of our apartment overlooking main street, I thought about a
way to bring that excitement and musical experience to my new community. My
brother Matt and I had the vision of putting a big stage right there in the
middle of street, so you might say doing this is our dream come true.
Thanks to generous support from the community and our local sponsors, this
mini-festival of music is a reality.”
This year’s performers represent a dynamic mix of folk-rock,
country, pop, instrumental, Americana, and Australian soul. Performers for
the 2009 street concert include Australian singing star Rick Price, whose
career spans two decades of performing and recording. He is currently in
the U.S. promoting his latest album “Revisited” and he has included the
street concert in his tour.
Anthony Snape is an emerging Australian singing
talent who’s been recognized with such accolades as MusicOz and the
Australian Rising Star Award. Anthony will be performing songs from his new
album “Disappearing Day.”
James Dean Hicks, with a voice as smooth as
Kentucky bourbon, is a favorite son of Nelson County Kentucky, having
brought home honors from his career successes in performing and
songwriting. Hicks has scored No. 1 chart hits again and again for artists
such as Kenny Chesney, Jessica Simpson, Bryan White, and the Oak Ridge
Boys.
Bringing melodic and memorable guitar stylings in the tradition of
Chet Atkins and Merle Travis is Kentucky’s own National Fingerstyle guitar
champion and recording artist Pat Kirtley. From a musical childhood in
Nelson county, he’s gone on to tour the world with his distinctive guitar
playing and award-winning compositions. Pat will be joined by the Endless
Road Strings, from Lexington Kentucky. Classicaly trained members of the
Lexington Philharmonic, the quartet has boldly crossed over from the
classics to all varieties of pop and contemporary music. The ERS will also
contribute their orchestral flair to back up several of the other
performers at the show.
Coming to us from the island of Hawaii is The Art
of Whimsy. Nathan returns with his music for a fourth appearance at the
street concert. With fresh acoustic delivery and compelling lyrics, he
retells age-old stories of the human drama of life and love.
Direct from Lafayette Indiana, Michael Kelsey’s dynamic guitar and voice will grab you
and absolutely refuse to let go. A thoroughly original guitarist and
performance artist who brews soul, funk and even a little bit of the blues,
Michael is a former finalist in Guitar Player Magazine’s national
competition, and winner of the “Guitarmaggedon” contest in California,
where he competed against heavy metal rockers with only an acoustic guitar!
Antsy McClain is an American original — a singer-songwriter and
performer who can be heartrendingly serious one minute, and a have you
laughing uncontrollably the next with his wit and comedy. He returns for
his third appearance at the street concert, bringing musical stories from
all over, including tales from his wellspring of inspiration, the Pine View
Heights Trailer Park.
Multi-instrumentalist Pauly Zarb will appear
with his band, including ace guitarist and singer Chris Bradley. Pauly came
to us from the music scene of Sydney, via music festivals across Australia,
to a resort island on the Great Barrier Reef, to the green landscape of
central Kentucky. Through his memorable songs like ” Have a Little Faith,
and “Forgiven Past”, Pauly’s music brings people together and heals our souls.
The street concert is made possible with cooperation of the City of
Bardstown, the Main Street Program, Pauly Zarb, and our many fine sponsors.
For further information, contact the Bardstown – Nelson County Tourism
office at 800-638-4877.
(check out the poster at the link below… it’s rad)
4POSTER_ZARB_Concert_june27_09[1]
The 7th Annual Zarb Brothers Bardstown Street Concert will set up a huge
stage in the middle of Bardstown’s main street for its 2009 event on
Saturday, June 27th. It’s a fantastic FREE musical event for all ages and
will bring a range of performers in diverse musical styles — something for
everyone. The music begins at 6:00 pm, and seating is open — bring your
lawn chairs and come early for a good spot. Food and beverage vendors will
be set up on site.
The festival was conceived and developed by.Australian brothers
Matt and Pauly Zarb, who became residents of Bardstown in 2003. Award-
winning performers in their home country down under, they immediately began
building a following in Kentucky and surrounding areas. Pauly says “Growing
up in Australia, my brothers and I would put on neighborhood get-togethers
with good music, food, and friendship. When I moved to Bardstown, looking
out the window of our apartment overlooking main street, I thought about a
way to bring that excitement and musical experience to my new community. My
brother Matt and I had the vision of putting a big stage right there in the
middle of street, so you might say doing this is our dream come true.
Thanks to generous support from the community and our local sponsors, this
mini-festival of music is a reality.”
This year’s performers represent a dynamic mix of folk-rock,
country, pop, instrumental, Americana, and Australian soul. Performers for
the 2009 street concert include Australian singing star Rick Price, whose
career spans two decades of performing and recording. He is currently in
the U.S. promoting his latest album “Revisited” and he has included the
street concert in his tour.
Anthony Snape is an emerging Australian singing
talent who’s been recognized with such accolades as MusicOz and the
Australian Rising Star Award. Anthony will be performing songs from his new
album “Disappearing Day.”
James Dean Hicks, with a voice as smooth as
Kentucky bourbon, is a favorite son of Nelson County Kentucky, having
brought home honors from his career successes in performing and
songwriting. Hicks has scored No. 1 chart hits again and again for artists
such as Kenny Chesney, Jessica Simpson, Bryan White, and the Oak Ridge
Boys.
Bringing melodic and memorable guitar stylings in the tradition of
Chet Atkins and Merle Travis is Kentucky’s own National Fingerstyle guitar
champion and recording artist Pat Kirtley. From a musical childhood in
Nelson county, he’s gone on to tour the world with his distinctive guitar
playing and award-winning compositions. Pat will be joined by the Endless
Road Strings, from Lexington Kentucky. Classicaly trained members of the
Lexington Philharmonic, the quartet has boldly crossed over from the
classics to all varieties of pop and contemporary music. The ERS will also
contribute their orchestral flair to back up several of the other
performers at the show.
Coming to us from the island of Hawaii is The Art
of Whimsy. Nathan returns with his music for a fourth appearance at the
street concert. With fresh acoustic delivery and compelling lyrics, he
retells age-old stories of the human drama of life and love.
Direct from Lafayette Indiana, Michael Kelsey’s dynamic guitar and voice will grab you
and absolutely refuse to let go. A thoroughly original guitarist and
performance artist who brews soul, funk and even a little bit of the blues,
Michael is a former finalist in Guitar Player Magazine’s national
competition, and winner of the “Guitarmaggedon” contest in California,
where he competed against heavy metal rockers with only an acoustic guitar!
Antsy McClain is an American original — a singer-songwriter and
performer who can be heartrendingly serious one minute, and a have you
laughing uncontrollably the next with his wit and comedy. He returns for
his third appearance at the street concert, bringing musical stories from
all over, including tales from his wellspring of inspiration, the Pine View
Heights Trailer Park.
Multi-instrumentalist Pauly Zarb will appear
with his band, including ace guitarist and singer Chris Bradley. Pauly came
to us from the music scene of Sydney, via music festivals across Australia,
to a resort island on the Great Barrier Reef, to the green landscape of
central Kentucky. Through his memorable songs like ” Have a Little Faith,
and “Forgiven Past”, Pauly’s music brings people together and heals our souls.
The street concert is made possible with cooperation of the City of
Bardstown, the Main Street Program, Pauly Zarb, and our many fine sponsors.
For further information, contact the Bardstown – Nelson County Tourism
office at 800-638-4877.
“Who”, you might axe, “is this ‘man/myth/legend’, this shadowy man, sitting next to a box of chocolates, on a park bench, seemingly strumming a guitar.” Well I’ll tell you. I’m speaking of none other than Auburn California’s own, Mike Madden. You might remember, I had begun recording an album with KyleRay at Mike’s home studio right before Jess and I moved the clan over to the ol’ Islands. Now, I consider Mike a good friend. We’ve spent a boat load of hours philosophizing over glasses of Merlot on his back patio, or brainstorming in his cozy studio, tucked away in the back of his 100+ year old home downtown Auburn. However, I also consider him one of Auburn’s hidden treasures. See, Mike is an amazingly talented musician. He plays pretty much anything with string, including: guitar, bass, mandolin, violin, piano, banjo, dobro, pedal steel and the dulcimer. But he doesn’t just play them, he tears ‘em up. Anyway, while out in afore mentioned Islands about a month or two ago, I wrote a song for my newest munchkin, Sophia Jean. It’s a straight folk-rock song, with a sweet little groove. So, before I left Auburn for the mid-west, I made sure I cruised by Mike’s for a quick session, to lay down the essentials of Sophi’s tune (it’s called Sweet Sophia). Now, Mike has the next couple of weeks to lay down, well… pretty much whatever he thinks might sound good. I can’t wait to see what he comes up with. I’ll be sure to post it up on the website when it is done.
Peace, hope and love.
I’m sitting in a hip little restaurant in Manitou Springs Colorado called The Mate Factor, eating an amazing chef’s salad. Tomorrow night I’m playing a neat venue called HMS Ancient Mariner. (ok, honestly I don’t remember the last chef’s salad I’ve had that is this amazing!) Manitou Springs is an artsy little town, tucked away at the foot of the rockies, directly above Colorado Springs. I always enjoy playing here because of the copious amounts of artists, actors, musicians and seekers wandering around. Even the people that run The Mate Factor are part of a commune called The Twelve Tribes, an interesting protestant movement started back in the 70s. Everyone lives together, works together and seems to have “everything in common.” Apparently, they’re worldwide as well.
Anyway, the funny story of the day: I picked up four hitchhikers today just outside of Salt Lake City. Just look at them, they’re awesome. First off, their “handles” are (from left to right) Zero, James, The Beast and EO. I subsequently renamed James to Jimmy-Pop, and EO to Captain EO. They’re apparently doing a federally subsidized hitch-hiking trip across the states. Every time they stop off at a homeless shelter for youth, the federal government donates $500 to it. I don’t think I really believe them; but it was a great story so I said hop in. But first, before I let them in the truck, I made them put all their weapons in their bags and their bags in the back of the truck. Yes, that’s right, I said weapons. You can kind of see the machette hanging off the back of Captain EO’s bag, right by the frying pan. They each had a few knives each hanging off their belts. It was hilarious. The next few hours across Wyoming I attempted to impart all my hitch-hiking wisdom. For instance, “don’t carry big weapons on your belt” and, “don’t dress like the trenchcoat mafia.” They were super cool though: just a bunch of buddies wanting to see America together. I let ‘em off in Cheyanne, Wyoming. They’re headed North up to Gillette in case anyone’s headed that way and see four kids who look like they’re SWAT.
If you remember, drop a prayer or two for them. They’ve only been on the road a couple of weeks and they’ve already had all their money stolen along with three out of four of their wallets. (I dropped them off at a truckstop and watched them dump their bags against the wall and all of them go traipsing on inside… leaving all their earthly possesions outside.)
Peace, hope and love.
