Ten things to tell someone going to San Francisco their first time for vacation

Cable Cars are Tourist Rides not Transit

1. Take Mass Transit.  Get a pass at the tourist office just across from the Bart Station on Market.  Works on the Cable cars.  Your smartphone will tell you what bus to take.  Your bus driver will help you also.  Plan your trip and a 3 day pass may be all you need. Use it when you are doing the sites and really needing to get from one side of town to the other.  Also schedule the restaurants farthermost from you lodging while you are using the pass.

              http://www.sfmta.com/cms/mfares/passports.htm

2. Don't take the cable cars to get anywhere.  They are slow and packed.  Get up early and take them before everyone else is on them.  Use your Muni pass as it is $6 each to take the cable cars otherwise.  Use them as a tourist ride, not as a transit option.

3. Take the Segway Tour
                        
                   http://citysegwaytours.com/san-francisco

Ghirardelli Chocolate is the only meal to eat in the Warf

Walk across the Golden Gate Bridge

4. Walk everywhere you can go.

5. Walk across the golden gate bridge.  Take muni to get there.  This is a good day to have reservations at Mamacita and take the bus back from the bridge to the Marina area.

6. Don't eat in the wharf (tourist area)

Rent Bicycles from the Bike Hut

7. Rent bicycles from this place.  Take the bus down, you will be close to the Giants Stadium and there are a lot of lunch and afternoon bar places.  Ride up to the wharf and the golden gate.  Spend the day on the bike.  Staying close to the bay makes sure the trip is flat. Return to the bike hut and eat lunch or casual dinner on King Street

                        http://thebikehut.org/

8. Don't give the street people any money unless they are being creative.  Reward creativity.  And if a well dress black man says he needs money to get gas cause his family is beside the road in San Mateo, walk on.  He is good but he is not that creative.

Street Festivals are Fun

9. Take advantage of the street festivals.  Feel like a San Franciscan.  Start reading the sfgate.com site at least a month in advance to find out what is going on.  Get to know the issues in the city.  You can ask people how they feel about...  There are good conversation starters.

10. Rent your car at the end of your vacation so you can leave SF in the car and return it to the airport.  Most major car rental companies allow this without any drop off fees.  The cost of airport transportation for a family will cover the cost of the car for a day.  You don't want to park in SF.  If you do have a car in SF then drive the 35 mile scenic drive.  Sunday morning has low traffic and would be  good option to really see the city.  Then make your way out of town, north to Napa, East to Yosemite, or South to Carmel. 

REI and VISA - Credit has its Cost

REI VISA Card is a bear trap
of interest charges and extra fees

One thing that really grips me is when you see a company go against its stated values.  Like when a company that portrays itself as being different and a company of consumers or even a co-op goes against their portrayed or implied values.    REI says it is a co-op.  Their about REI page on their website states:

What began as a group of 23 mountain climbing buddies is now the nation's largest consumer cooperative. But no matter how large we grow, our roots remain firmly planted in the outdoors. Our passion for outdoor adventure is clear, whether you visit any of our stores across the country, phone us, or interact with us online.

Sounds like just some buddies getting together to form a different type of company.  And while they have a passion for the outdoors, they do not seem to have that same passion for their customers, especially when responsible stewardship really means responsible stewardship to their company's bottom line.

We work hard to earn our reputation for quality and integrity every day. Our core purpose guides everything we do: we all work to inspire, educate and outfit for a lifetime of outdoor adventure and stewardship.

What they really appear to be working hard as is getting every dollar out of their customers. To understand the real motives of REI you only have to look at the terms of their REI Visa card.  Do they think we are financially stupid?  Can’t anyone see how this card is completely unfair when compared to the better cards in the market place?  Where is their 100% satisfaction guarantee?

Just read the cards disclosures.  10.99% best interest rate minimum (could be as high as 22.99% with poor credit) when there are lots of cards three percentage points less.  23.99% for cash advances regardless of credit rating.  Let’s hope you are not camping in some remote location in the USA where you need cash and this is you only option.

Apparently REI members don’t travel outside the US.  Use this care outside the USA and you get slapped with a 3% foreign purchase transaction fee or your cash advance for some Euros in a foreign country just went to 26.99%.

Come on REI.  I thought you were different.  You can be different!  Change this card.  Get a new bank to back you.  Start a credit union.  But this card shows who you really are and what you are about.

Jim Collins in his classic business book Good To Great says that good business executives spend less time crafting their vision statement and more time aligning their organizations actions to their core values.  REI's core values are out of alignment here.  They need a good mechanic.

Priceless?  Everything has a price.  But this card extracts too much, both from the user and the sponsor.

A Good April for Wine and Music - Raffladini and Merlefest

April is not always the cruelest month. Around here I think that title should go to August with its heat and humidity.  I think April may be cruel for tempting us with how good life in North Carolina can be.

The 2012 Merlefest is over.  Now that is cruel.  Because Merlefest puts you in the mellow place without the use of any external drugs. It is a natural high.

As with my tradition, Merlefest weekend started with a visit to Raffaldini winery in Rhonda, NC. There moniker states, this is "Chianti in the Carolinas" with a fine Italian-styled winery overlooking what could be a Tuscan valley, all right in Wilkes County. The day was overcast so the view was more mysterious on this visit that he clear vista days of the past, but the wine and the visit was still enjoyable.

Jazz in April

I wanted to do a play on April in Paris as the Triangle really lights up for jazz performances in April.  But really it is a great time to talk about the most hidden jazz festival – the 22^nd NCCU Jazz Festival in Durham from April 16-21.

Take 6 and Cyrus Chestnut headline this fine jazz festival this year, but there are events of every price and style that any jazz fan can enjoy.  I plan to attend Wednesday’s Faculty Jazz Group sessions featuring the Faculty Jazz Groups of NCCU and UNC.  Sounds like the making of a real battle of the collegiate bands.  Check out their website and try to get out and hear some live music.

I have really enjoyed listening to Cyrus Chestnut’s work as a result of him coming to the area and if I can find a way I will try and make the Saturday night show on April 21.  I would suggest you try and find so Cyrus and take a listen.   Christian McBride plays on his Soul Food album.  He plays with the NCCU Jazz Ensemble Orchestra and it is only $20.

http://web.nccu.edu/jazzfestival/

Lost in the Trees

April 20 is the Lost in the Tree’s CD release party.  While this indie group is not jazz in the traditional sense, they have jazz elements.  This is at Cat’s Cradle Friday Night.  Just give me an excuse to go to Carrboro.  The new CD is called A Church that Fits Our Needs, which is a great title, but I am still trying to get accustomed to the music.

Peak City Blues Project, one of my bands, plays Deep South this Saturday, April 14 at 8:00 PM.  It will be a great throw down, but there will be very little jazz.  Just a lot of blues.  Still only $5.

Peak City Blues Project

Now about that April in Paris Song.  I think Monk’s version is the best even through Count Basie’s performance was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.   Monk has that funky Monk beat and Basie’s is just too smooth and city-fied for me.  Not bluesy enough.  But then there is that chorus from the Orchestra that shouts “One More Time,” that gives Basie a little edge.

April is a great month to get out and hear some music.  And as the Orchestra shouts “One more time!” 

Obamacare v. Roseveltcare, It Ain't Broccoli

Having been tasked for over twenty years with buying and administrating health insurance for small businesses, the health care debate and Supreme Court case and arguments have been of close interest to me.

Something must be done about US health care.  The cost is too great when compared to health care systems in other countries.  That is the premise.  But what can be done?

With one in eight US employees employed by the health care industry, the stakes are high and the chance for a true political answer low, as Hillary Clinton found out in the early 90's when she attempted to reform healthcare as a part of a promise from her husband's first campaign.  So I applaud the Obama administration for passing ANYTHING regarding improving health care.

But with so many interest involved, the Affordable Care Act is not perfect. But it is all we got and maybe our only chance to turn the cost of health care around.

Buying health care is not like buying broccoli.  Why would learned Justices even make such a comparison?  You might not like broccoli or paying for heath care, but you don't show up at the emergency room needing broccoli to live.  And that is the rub.  Until we endorse letting those people who need heath care but do not have coverage simply die instead of receiving care, our current system of paying for health care will be flawed and wrong.  No civilized society can endorse such a poor moral solution.  So we have profit v. the good of all debate.

Buying health care is more like buying retirement.  As some point, if you live long enough, you are going to need health care.  You are going to need retirement.  You are not going to need broccoli.

The Affordable Care Act tries to address this issue by mandating that all persons purchase health care.  The act has done this, not by a tax that creates a large federal agency to run heathcare, but by using the private health care market.

So is this the real debate?  The US Government can force us all to pay a tax that creates a large government bureaucracy (Social Security) but can't force us to buy a product in the free market?  If that is the Supreme Court ruling then look for the new era of Big Government.

How could conservative justices endorse such a ruling?  

A Clasical Time of the Year

Goldberg Variations

I don't really know why but winter seems to invite classical music. It has been very pleasant listening to the Bach and Mozart stations on Pandora this winter. Then there is Glenn Gould.

While reading Steve Jobs autobiography by Walter Isaacson, I was reminded of my music past when the book mentioned Glenn Gould's Goldberg Variations recordings. While writing record reviews for the Daily Tar Heel (a ruse to acquire free recordings to review) I was given a re-release of Glenn Gould's Goldberg Variations. Recorded in 1955, this performance and recording has legs. It evokes a certain feeling or environment and has remained in my primary music collection for a long time. All of time actually.

From my music study classes at UNC, I learned that Johann Sebastian Bach was a bit of a fuddy-duddy in his rejection of the Piano-Forte instrument that appeared in the last ten or so years of his life. He wrote his keyboards for organ and harpsichord. In the case of the Goldberg Variations, they were written for harpsichord. We have to think some Count from Saxony who could not sleep and demanded his musician perform the Variations to allow him to sleep. They still have a calming effect.

It is noted in Steve Jobs biography that, Gould had revisited the Goldberg variations in 1981 and Jobs enjoyed listening to both versions on his iPod. Just the impetous to watch the PBS documentary on Glenn Gould that is available on Netflix - Genius Within: The Inner Life of Glenn Gould.

Gould of course performs the Goldberg Variations on piano and brings a new interpretation to the music. It is well worth the effort to listen to both the 1955 and the 1981 recordings and feel the maturity that developed in preforming the music some twenty six years later. One is brash and young and the other more thoughtful. Both are great for meditation. Music to get lost in.

I don't know why there is a disdain for cover bands. As if some great music should not be played again and again by different artists. You realize that the New York Philharmonic is just a cover band. Gould recognized this himself when he stated "I believe the only excuse we have for being musicians and making music in any fashion is to make it differently. To perform it differently. To establish the music's difference and vis a vie our own difference."

Both the 1955 & 1981 Recordings
Available from Sony Music

Glenn Gould's performance of the Goldberg Variations is still import and still listened to more than 25 years after his death. Not as a musical writer, but as a musical performer and artist. This may be the gift of the twentieth century--artist recordings that will be appreciated and loved for all of time. Just because the technology arrived during this century. It is said that the Goldberg Variations are named after the first musician who performed them. Wouldn’t it be great to have a high quality recording of how they were first played on the harpsichord by Johann Goldberg and compare it to Gould’s piano interpretation? I feel robbed not having this experience. But at least we have Gould and the 1955 and 1981 Variations.

A Return to Sporting Dress

The Sport Jacket Returns

Esquire magazine, that men's rag that is at least usable as a fashion guide compare to the over-the-top laughable items professed by GQ, indicates that the sport coat is the new statement of the alpha male when is says a sport coat easily acts as all-purpose outerwear and tells the world that you're not messing around. Not even off-duty. even off-duty.

John Varvatos Gray Sport Jacket

This last fall I bought not one, not two, but three sport coats.  An action that is very unusual given the lack of actually needing a sport coat for work or play.  I still had a great black leather jacket and a couple of cool sport coats from years past and as often as I am required to go upscale in dress even slightly, those could work.  But there was this checked Hugo Boss that was a steal and the John Varatos gray that would go with anything both end of summer wear on the rack, and finally a Michael Kors micro cord brown that just screamed wear me with jeans in the fall and winter.  How did I know I was responding to a fashion trend.

One real issue I have with fashion is cost.  The sport being worn by the alpha male to the left is cashmere and wool and says it cost $3,395.  Hello!  Anyone home in there.  Aren't we still in a recession.  There are starving kids with HIV in Africa how could you be so hedonistic?  I can buy a used car that will work very well for just a few dollars more.

Michael Kors Black Cord Jacket

But cost was not an issue with the Michael Kors.  You can now buy it online for less than I


 paid -- $139.  A real steal.  And now I find it also comes in Black. 

Another alpha male fashion action is to knot up for no reason.  Esquire adeptly says: There is no better way to get people guessing where you're going, or where you're coming from, than to wear a tie when you don't have to. A low-key knit tie, a big-balls patterned tie, whatever: A tie means you have places to be. Even if that place is a barstool. And as you can see from the photo below, I have no problem with knotting up for no reason.  Or even adding a vest.

Finally don't forget the brown shoes.  Black shoes says I am standing quietly in the background, but brown says, hey there is something going on downtown.  Here is a video on dress coats in New York, but look at the shoes.  Be they dark oil skin brown or light brown, brown is what is all about.  Even with a brown Michael Kors sport coat.

Triangle Wine Experience Over the Years

Paul Hobbs

 We have enjoyed the Triangle Wine Experience (TWE) for many years.  This event supports the Tammy Lynn Center. While drinking good wine is reason enough to drink wine, I am really putting myself out to drink wine for charity.

We have had great times and great dinners.  Last year we went to Midtown for Paul Hobbs' wine and had a wonderful evening of great fellowship and wine.  Years before I fondly (and vaguely from too much wine) remember a great night at current Bloomsbury Bistro chef John Toler's Cary restaurant, Cosmopolitan, and Switchback Ridge.  Kelly Peterson of Switchback Ridge told us of her grandfather's vineyard and how they had decided to keep it alive and make it special for his memory.  She enlisted one of the best winemakers, Robert Foley, to make the wine.  She said, "I am the wine faker, not the winemaker."  She is the vineyard manager and she manages to produce some great wines.

Switchback Ridge

As the years have gone by we have enjoyed this event a number of times at Four Square in Durham, An and Maxximillians in Cary.  One less than memorable evening was at  Vin Rouge where the chef said we cooked the meat on Tuesday and put in back in the pot to absorb the juices.  I turned to my dining companions and said "we are being fed leftovers!"  I was also influenced by trying to stay away from red meat.  Then we ended up seated with a number of Duke fans.  This must be hell, I thought.

So over the years we have used TWE to enjoy great wine and food.  Tonight we explore Favia.  The Wine Spectator writes:  Husband-and-wife team Andy Erickson and Annie Favia bring some impressive credentials to this new wine company and are certainly worth following. Erickson, is a U.C. Davis enology grad who has worked for Harlan and Staglin and currently makes wine for Screaming Eagle , Arietta , Dalla Valle and Jonata and consults for Dancing Hares (a new 5-acre vineyard at the foot of Howell Mountain and wine label focusing on a Cabernet-Merlot-Cab Franc blend, due soon) and Ovid , a startup with its debut 2005 vintage due this fall.


A review of the Favia website shows lots of yummy big reds.  I suspect there will be some red meat this evening.

Croquette Brasserie Tour de France Vin Rouge

French has become an important language in my house with a daughter and son-in-law in the Congo and another daughter having four years of French language. So a trip to Croquette, as I have written in the past, is like a trip to Paris, but only driving to North Hills.  It is also an opportunity to explore french wine.  For me, that means I must do my homework.  With a french red wine list ranging from $35 to $275 a bottle, it pays to do your homework.

Armed with dangerous knowledge that Bourdeaux's have had a great decade, I looked for that best value bottle on the wine list.  The first investigation was Château Lagarasso, Grand Vin de Bordeaux, Bourdeaux, France, 2008.  This was from a best value year, since the 2008's are not as highly prized, but still very good.  Some Internet research revealed this wine runs about $18 in the stores, so $40 in a restaurant was not too far off price wise.  There was also a Château La Boureé, Côtes de Castillon, Bourdeaux, France, 2009 at $38.  2009's are more highly prized so I was a bit suspicious for being priced less than the 2008..

Since we were going with friends, I thought I would play it safe and select the St. Cosmes, Côtes du Rhône, France, 2010, a Syrah based Cotes du Rhone. It has good Internet reviews and was described as a full bodied wine has an ample supply of dark, brooding black fruit that melds beautifully with a spiciness that lingers without overstaying its welcome.  It was bolder than most Cotes du Rhone owing the 100% Syrah fruit.  Robert Parker gave it an 89 and the wine was wonderful.  We asked for a second bottle but it was not to be found in the restaurant.  Alas, they were sold out.

So on to the value priced 2008 Château Lagarasso, Grand Vin de Bordeaux.  A little tight when first opened this wine blossomed with time, although still not as rich and tasty as the St. Cosmes.  Since we were not as happy with the Chateau Lagrasso as the St. Cosmes, we tried the Château La Boureé.  We also asked that it be decanted since it was 2009.  It showed much better than the Chateau Lagrasso.

When the wine is so good you want to know more about it, it is good wine.  The next time we go to Croquettte, if they are out of the St. Cosmes, I am heading straight to the 2009 Chateau La Bouree.  I am also on a search to find these in the local stores.

One Band Plays from the Heart, the Other Plays Its Heart Out

Long Time Gone, a Crosby Stills Nash & Young benefit band played two benefits in January that raised more than $36,000 to fight cancer - the Stars fund raiser for John Silveira and the Peak Gala of Hope for the Jimmy V Foundation.  Peak City Blues Project played a magical evening at Deep South the Bar to raise the spirits of over 150 people.  January was a music band performance trifecta for my two bands playing three successful shows.

Long Time Gone Plays at Stars Theater for the
John Silveira Fund Raiser

On Friday, January 6, 2012, the Stars Theater and Arts Center in Fuquay Varina was packed to overflow capacity and Long Time Gone, was rocking - all in the spirit of community to raise money for the John Silveira family. John has been courageously battling Leukemia and Lymphoma for several years.

Beth Silveira, John’s wife, spoke to the crowd at Stars Theater and later said,  “There are no words that have been invented to express our thankfulness. John's benefit …was amazing and overwhelming. I just couldn't sleep (that) night thinking about all the people, all the love. Enough money was raised to pay all of the outstanding medical bills from 2008-2011. We could not do any of this with out all of the people who love us and care about us,” said Beth Silveira.

This Photo has my other side at Stars Theater

John Silveria is a Senior Engineer employed at Emerson Network Power in Cary, NC.  He moved his family from Massachusetts to Willow Springs and began a long association with Fuquay-Varina United Methodist Church (FVUMC) and the community.

Long Time Gone - featuring several FVUMC praise team members - performed for two hours, covering classic rock songs such as CSNY”s “Teach Your Children” and  Neil Young’s “Rocking in the Free World” among others .  The event was created by Ed Williams, Long Time Gone’s lead guitarist/singer and supported by Banded Brothers.  The Stars Theater donated the space that evening for this important cause.  Over $6,000 was raised by the event and 100% of donations went to the Silveira family.

Peak City Blues Project Plays Deep South on a
Magical Evening in January

Long Time Gone could not have pulled off such a successful event by themselves.  Banded Brothers, an organization of men to help support important local causes was instrumental in making the evening a big success.  Banded Brothers matched the first $500 of donations, got the work out to the community and was on hand to make sure everything ran smoothly at Stars.

On January 7, Peak City Blues Project played at Deep South the Bar in Raleigh.  Old fans and new fans showed up to pack the place.  Over 150 enjoyed the evening as we danced off the holiday blues.  Seemed everyone was ready for a party. It was such a special evening with the crowd feeding off the band and the band feeding off the crowd.  These type of evenings don't happen all the time, but when they do, they are very special.

The  Peak Gala of Hope for the Jimmy V Foundation was a fitting climax for the month of performances. Three Apex High School seniors planned and organized this charity event to benefit The V Foundation for Cancer Research. Students Katie Godfrey, Megan Gravley and Sydney Snedeker hosted the Peak City Gala of Hope on January 22 at Peak United Methodist Church in Apex.

They want to show the impact of cancer in the community, and the impact the community can have on cancer research.  They wanted to raise $10,000.  The raised over $30,000!

Testimonies of hope were offered by three-time cancer survivor and NC State Auditor Beth Wood, Duke Basketball Coach Mike Krzyzewski, NC State Athletic Director Debbie Yow, as well as various cancer survivors, loved ones and the students themselves.

Live music was provided by the band Long Time Gone and heavy hors d’oeuvres were provided by various Apex restaurants.  The evening also included a live and silent auction.

While Long Time Gone cannot take full credit for raising all the funds at these Charity events, we are pleased we were a part of effort.

You may still donate:


Peak City Gala of Hope Donations can be contributed through this secure website.


Support the Silveira family please make checks out to Banded Brothers with Silveira General Donation on the memo line and mail to:
Banded Brothers
P.O. Box 1145
Fuquay-Varina, NC 27526

Goodbye Old Friend: The Pittsboro General Store Cafe Closes

Was it the 64 bypass or that it’s time had come to pass?  While they are not saying, it is true that Joyce and Vance Remick have closed the General Store Café in the middle of Pittsboro on 64 business after ten years.  

Picture of Peak City Blues Project
 Plays the General Store Cafe from the Bar                                              

It is like the loss of a friend.  Anytime you lose a place that has live music, it is a great loss to me as a musician.  But the General Store was the heart of this funky downtown Pittsboro community.  The last time one of my bands played there I wrote this:

What is it about Pittsboro?  An artist community, local farmers, a rebuilding court house, and even a wonderful restaurant -The General Store Cafe.  If you have never been, this is your chance.  

Come early and enjoy a walk through old town Pittsboro.  Check out the court house that burned about one year ago and see how the renovations are coming.  Walk up the street and window shop.

After all that walking you will be ready for dinner at The General Store Cafe.  Fresh salads and vegetables that are locally sources and prepared.

And what we love is the music is locally sourced! 

A Dancing Night Makes for Another Wonderful Performance at the General Store Cafe

Unfortunately, if you have never been, you have lost your chance.  Here is the News and Observer article on the closing.

Peak City Blues Project promo photo taken at the General Store Cafe goes black and white to mourn the loss

We feel  a sense of loss and passing.  Hopefully there can be a resurrection of another great business place in the old building that was once a car dealership.  Where it was a joke to play Mercury Blues because in a time pass it was true, you could by a Mercury or two there.  Now you cannot buy anything.

Red Horse: Far Out, Boomers Folk Out

Who are these people?  That was my first question for the sellout audience that had come to hear Red Horse at the Fletcher Opera Theater in Raleigh on Saturday night, January 21.  I am not talking about the performers, but the audience.  Obviously this is a bunch of sensitive people that are touched by the realism of folk music and the beauty and clarity of these particular performers.  I wish I could know the audience better.  Use to be, wherever you went in Raleigh, you ran into many people you knew.  Now, not so much.

Fletcher Opera Theater.  I am lobbying right now to the change the name
to the Fletcher Folk Theater

The audience and the performers skewed to people of a certain age.  These were people of the last folk scare in music which happened largely due to NPR and recording label WindhamHill.  Windham Hill was strong in the new folk revival scare of 1988.  Its artist catalog included Liz Story, Pierce Pettis, Cliff Eberheart and John Gorka.  Most people in this audience must have owned a copy of the Windham Hill Folk Sampler – Legacy: A Collection of New FolkMusic (1989).  

Maybe they had subscribed to Fast Folk Music Magazine or just maybe they were fortunate to have hung out in Boston and New York during those years. That’s it! This audience was from out of town--all northern transplants to Raleigh.

This was an audience with a legacy and a hunger for music that was real.  The unique proposition was this was an audience that had come to this point on its own, not guided by Facebook postings or My Space tracks.  This was a "before the Internet was cool" audience. Back when only Al Gore knew about the Internet.

And this music was real.  Red Horse is composed of Eliza Gilkyson, John Gorka and and Lucy Kaplansky, all solo artist in their own right, who now are with Red House records out of St. Paul, Minnesota.  I am not sure what it is about Minnesota, but it must be that independent frozen spirit of the great northern plains state that causes this independent and defiant out post of folk music to remain viable.

It was a song swap evening.  Each performer would take turns playing one song written by the other member in the group, one of their own songs, and one by a favorite songwriter in the group.  Eliza Gilkyson opened with Neil Young’s “I am a Child.”  When a woman sings this song, it takes on a whole different meaning from when Mr. Young performed it.  It was a very touching and sincere rendition.  John Gorka’s voice was that strong and unique baritone that we have grown so accustom and Lucy’s voice was the clear and inviting sound we love on her recordings.  Together they sing with great harmony, Lucy often on high harmony and each hitting the third as clear and even as a wonderful acoustics of an opera venue.  The group knows how to sing together, as Gorka could have easily over powered the songs with his voice, but rather blended in perfectly.

This trio of a certain age all play guitars, but seldom all play guitars at the same time.  Occasionally one member would rap a percussive beat on their guitar while the other two played.   Or one member would just set the playing out.  The musical performance was well thought out.  Lucy even played piano on my favorite song of the evening, Eliza's "Sanctuary."

The evening was mellow.  If I had any complaint about the performance, it could have been too mellow.  Not slick, as John admitted he had worked all his life to overcome being slick (sarcastic humor).  But mellow it was.  The sound in Fletcher was perfection.  I love this venue for music.  It seats about 700, but no seat is more than 70 feet from the stage.  It is my favorite intimate venue in the Triangle.  Thanks to Pine Cone for this great evening and for their mission of presenting and preserving tradition music.  Even traditional music of the 1980's.  And if you are not a Pine Cone member, what are you waiting?  Join and come to one of their member only events.  I hope to meet you there.

California Honeydrops Put on Full Court Press at Papa Mojo's

The rankings are in. The best music of the week came from the band deep in the rankings and I am NOT talking about my band. Ok, we wanted the California Honeydrops to win, but they took it with a slam dunk performance in Durham at Papa Mojo’s Thursday January 19. So while Duke was routing Wake Forest, the Honeydrops were dropping some 3 pointers of their own on the rest of the Triangle music scene.

The California Honey Drops had a couple of tall defenses to overcome. First the name. It is too close to an area favorite band, the Carolina Chocolate Drops. Kind of like the Red Stick Ramblers and the Red Clay Ramblers are too closely named. Second, the Honeydrops are a West Coast band trying to develop a national following. So no one around here knows these Drops.

Like the Carolina Chocolate Drops, the California Honeydrops trace their musical roots back to early Negro music. While the Carolina Chocolate Drops mine the traditional African-American string band music, the CA Honeydrops don't go as far back, but offer the soul of early jazz-blues. The Honeydrops are not only a string band, but include keys, sax, trumpet, drums in addition to acoustic bass and arch topped guitar. They are a band that can play zone or man-to-man as the proved when they came out from behind the microphones and played in the audience.

California Honeydrops from Table Side at Papa Mojo's 

While the Honeydrops “ain’t from ‘round here,” that don't mean they don't have cred. The Honeydrops have been voted the best band in Oakland, CA. Now they are working on becoming the best band from Oakland, CA. Or maybe the best from California.

We saw the Honeydrops bring down the house or better described as bringing down the street at last year's San Francisco Fillmore Street Jazz Festival. We were ready for an upbeat and exciting show. We arrived at Papa Mojo's about 7:00 PM for the 8:00 PM show. We told T.T., our accommodations guide for the evening, that we were here to see the band and that we did not have a reservation. She knew where to set us and we had a great seat without a reservation, although they would have preferred a reservation, and we could have saved a few dollars if we had bought tickets in advance. I need to read the website closer as I missed those details.

The Honeydrops at the Fillmore Street
Jazz Festival in San Francisco

The California Honeydrops did not disappoint. Their MVP, Lech Wierzynski and the guys arrived about 7:45 and Lech stopped by our table with a "hello, I'm Lech." We told him how excited we were to see the band in North Carolina and looked forward to the evening. Lech thought they were starting at 9:00 instead of 8:00, so he also needs to read the website closer. The band set up in a hurry and Lech started things off with some solo guitar at 8:05. The band kicked in at 8:08 and the rout was on. Turns out it was Lech's last day of being 29. And his band mates made a big deal about the fact he would be thirty tomorrow. There was great music, dancing and an all around evening of fun. I believe the California Honeydrops are like my band--better live than recorded. Maybe that is why their next record is a live recording.

It had been a fun week, but the week was not over. We had seen Sarah Jarosz play to over 700 at the Haw River Ball Room and now we enjoyed the California Honeydrops as they played to over 47 (a real crime more people were not there) at Papa Mojo's, two new venues for us and we are people who get out and listen to live music. Next blog up is Red Horse who played Saturday Night at Fletcher Theater in Raleigh.

BTW, the food at Papa Mojo's was as good as the music and and the vibe. Look for a food blog for this week later. Look for a larger crowd for the California Honeydrops the next time they come to town. We hope Lech will still be in his thirties when they do.

Everybody Knows Sarah Jarosz (is going to be big, really big)

Sarah Jarosz jumps to number 1 on the Americana Music Charts with her just released album, Build Me Up From Bones ending Jason Isbell's rein at number one with his great effort, Southeastern. Just wanted to say I told you so. Here is a re-post of my review of Sarah's concerts I have seen.  I missed Jason Isbell when he was in Raleigh, but I surly won't next time.  Both artists are at the top of their game and the top of the charts. http://www.americanaradio.org/ama/displaychart_beforetracks.asp?mode=lw&dtkey=

Sarah Jarosz’s first album received great reviews by No Depression magazine.  I downloaded and fell in love with the voice and the music.  http://sarahjarosz.com/

In 2010 we attended a sold out concert at Jammin’ Java coffee.  Sold out at Jammin’ Java means about 60 people.  The ticket surcharge fees almost cost as much as the tickets.   A wonderful evening unfolded at this venerable venue in Vienna Virginia (how’s that for alliteration, my 10^th grade English teacher would be impressed, thank you Mr. Shaw).  http://jamminjava.com/

Sarah Jarosz on Austin Stage, Merlefest 2011

At Merlefest 2011 I made it mission to at least see one of Sarah Jarosz’s performances.  Since I volunteer Merlefest, I had to slip away from my post and catch her at the Austin stage.  A good crowd also had heard the buzz and was there.  Sarah seemed a little intimidated.  She was not as powerful as her recorded music or as her Jamin’ Java Performance.  So I say a young artist who will become a big artist as she grows to play to large audiences was my take on the Merlefest performance.  Sarah, who is only 20, was growing and learning at Merlefest.

Then Friday happened.  About 700 people had heard the buzz and it standing room only in Saxapahaw.  The show opened with Lizzy Ross doing a solo performance.  She sang her heart out and won the crowd over.  “Hi, I’m Lizzy Ross from Chapel Hill, I usually perform with the Lizzy Ross Band.”  (Make a mental note, find time to see the Lizzy Ross Band).  http://lizzy.net/

Sarah Jarosz at Hall
River Ball Room

Sarah followed and only had her violinist with her as the cello player was playing a gig in SC.  He missed out big, but was not missed.  Sarah had a great show, although in this venue I think some raucous foot-stomping music would have made many in the crowd more pleased on a Friday night in the country.  Tom Legard has built a great performance hall.  It has beautiful floors, acoustics and lights.  But the music of the evening really called for something less distracting than a standing crowd.  I hope to see Sarah again when I can pay a little more and enjoy a seated listening of her intimate Americana music and voice.  I hope to go back to the Haw River Ball Room to see a big loud band, or play in a big loud band there.  http://www.hawriverballroom.com/

There two other great venues in Saxapahaw that should not be missed- the Saxapahaw General Store and the Eddy Bar.  I will plan to post on these later.