J and Do were pretty brilliant Sunday Night. I'm not just saying that because I was threatened with bodily harm. They really were.
They actually added more to the energy of the night than most performers in that, in addition to providing a keyboard for my brilliant niece (all of my nieces and nephews are brilliant by the way), but they performed a wonderful ditty about a woman who wears a tinfoil hat to protect her brain from all of the little voices. She actually created and wore a hat made of tinfoil.
This guy who followed them made the comment that he could use a tinfoil hat to help ward off his voices and Do gave him her hat, which he wore through his song. Looked good on him.
I think they have become sensitive to the fact that they bring an electric keyboard to the show. I don't know why. Yes, there seems to be one person every month who asks if its folkmusically kosher. But, hey, it's supposed to be about community-people creating music for people. Also, every act that shows up has to depend on technology to perform their "acoustic" music. That is, everyone either plugs in to an amp or steps up to a microphone. A few people even bring full-on electric guitars with whammy bars. Both of them are good performers-better than most.
Anyway, J and Do, I hope you keep doing what you do.
Going to the Dave Alvin concert at the Folk Center this Sunday. Yahoo!
Dave Alvin is the former guitarist/song-writer for the Blasters, as well as a member of the Knitters, that X/Blasters hybrid from the 80's that is currently on tour again.
4 comments:
There, was that so hard?
Thankyouthankyounoreallyyou'retookind.
Look, Laura was the mostest brilliantest performer there. She almost had me in tears and I only just met her that afternoon. She is all over that grace and poise thing.
We're not really sensitive about the electric keyboard thing. Not really. A few people have grumbled when we bring up the Casio but jeez, what are we supposed to do? So, we don't care about the grumblers.
But one of these days we're gonna get busted for not doing folk songs.
Again, we don't care.
You were brilliant, too.
Folks singing. Songs by folks. Thats what I saw/heard.
The grumblers should be made to play/sing without a mike or lights on the stage.
"All music is folk music. I ain't never heard a horse sing a song." -- Louis Armstrong
There. The question has been definitively answered. We will brook no more calumny on that score.
HH
Thanks, BABOR.
It doesn't matter too much to me, I mean, other folk-centered stores I've been in (such as Santa Rosa's Epiphany Music) generally sell a few such mini-keyboards. If the Folk Music Center carried one, I'd just use it. I figure someday I'll bring an organ, which shouldn't offend anyone at all!
This last time, while setting up for Laura, I walked up and told the sound guy that I was bringing up a keyboard, his response was "oh no" or something to that effect. I'm sure he was thinking about the hassle of setting up for it (which was problematic), but I am loathe to be a Load, heh. Nevertheless, perseverence furthers. I just wish he'd taken my advice and not tried to plug the keyboard in, creating a tinny sound with distortion, which we subsequently fixed by unplugging and miking the keyboard. But I digress.
I have a similar problem in my musings about busking (playing in public places for tips). I'd like to try it, but most cities only allow busking if there is no amplification involved. So, I have to use some other instrument (accordion, autoharp, dulcimer, melodica, uke, guitar) or get an acoustic keyboard instrument, such as a "Keyboard Sitar" (aka "Nardian Harp"). Or maybe I'll just drive my truck up with a piano in the back, hmm...
I probably should take your suggestion and learn to play the uke!
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