Off the Avenue

*photo by Jon Strymish

This one is coming to you from my new home in (south) Austin, Texas.

I sit here with a cup of some of the best coffee I have ever tasted and I am still surprised to be here and not in Camberville/Sombridge making plans to have margaritas with you tonight.

I have been out a few times in Austin, and so far I have found that the food and cocktails alone have justified the move. (!)

Now because you are dying to know... the live music here is fine. There are a lot of places to find it, and in just a tiny fraction of time, I have seen a handful of genius players at work.

I think anyone who treasures the musicians along Mass Ave like I do will agree that it is not just that it is a talented songwriter/player community. It is this along with who they are; people that if I were the weight of a sack of (red bliss) potatoes, I would run and jump into their arms when I see them. I would climb them like the oak trees that they are. (inspired by the famous words of Jess Tardy, "I'd like to climb him like a tree.") They are friends to love.

You never move to a new city and expect that you will find a replacement for everything you left behind. My psychotic loyalty is your assurance. I cannot imagine sinking down into the refuge of a place so beloved to me as the Lizard Lounge is, and seeing anything like a Dinty Child sitting among the SA setup, tuning up one of the dozen instruments they use up there.

In case I am unclear, I am happy and loving my new city. I am satisfied with having found a true love in the Cambridge music scene. There is not an equivalent to be discovered Anywhere on the planet, at least not for me. I did not move to Austin specifically to hear more/better/different music, I came here to discover more of me.

You who know me know this: my passion for what I love does not run out or stop functioning. I am in it. I will admit, and appear silly (because I am) and tell you that when I think about having cutoff my musical access to Tim Gearan and Duke Levine, I instantly plummet into stubborn, silent weeping. Rose P is not going to sit here and play her new song for me either, is she. So in the meantime, I just text Sean Staples. Because he oversees it all for me, and will undoubtedly text me back.

I need a warm-up for this Oaxaca blend coffee, and to get back to living in this fabulous new town I am in.

::n.a.s::

p.s.
Advice on making this happen is welcome:

"I was just thinking that you need live feed cameras at all the rooms in Sombridge so you can monitor all the musical happenings from your command central position. I picture a bank of monitors and speakers, with a continuous supply of margaritas. Of course you would want to pay the cover to these needy musicians, so you would have direct deposit to their accounts. We at least HAVE to get you a live feed of the Anais show next week (and Sub Rosa, and Kev, and Hayride, and, and, and.)" ~Dinty Child, Facebook

Sean Staples: Joy Comes Back

Friends of Sean Staples gathered to celebrate his 40th Birthday last night in Cambridge.

As we waited to surprise Sean at Atwood's, Matt Smith told me of a time where Sean played solo gigs in town, long before I would become so endeared to him, his voice and songs.

Dwelling on the opposite side of the Charles, I missed seeing Sean with the Vinal Avenue String Band, and when he played Jesus in Jesus Has Two Mommies. But it was not long after that I found one of my favorite local musicians in him.

It was among the chaos and delight that is Session Americana when I first noticed the glittery brilliance (that's right) that Sean exudes when he plays songs. He sings so quietly about love lost, as abruptly about cocaine- ridiculously in his element in a group of natural artists like Session.

I always hope that he knows the value of his existence in the community. All the stages I watch him perform on with his bands or while accompanying other songwriters, it would not be as great- we would not love it as hard without Sean.

Sean was one of the first people we interviewed for the OAOMA film project. He spent hours telling us about his history in the scene, and through him I have gained a wealth of knowledge about the people and places that make up my prized association- living among their songs and sounds. Invigorating and restful, live music is home... Sean Staples is a major piece of the puzzle.

As I looked around the bar at the Birthday celebration, I felt so grateful to be among Sean's family, band-mates and friends alike. With the help of Atwood's staff, the crowd rallied together for a reunion-style group photo. I watched everyone gathering around Sean and the world looked so beautiful right then.

A hard day, a hard month- but I am reminded how JOY COMES BACK.

Here is Paula Gearan's fuzzy iPhone video of Tim, Lou Ulrich, and Sean performing Sean's song, Joy Comes Back.

Happy Birthday, Sean!!!! (dec 5)

"You Could Do Alright For a Song"

Barns and Pastures

As if the individual players in these musical collaborations were not cool enough, you can also marvel at the creativity that goes into what I have heard from them lately. I like Barn Star and Pastures of Plenty.

As I have said before, Zack Hickman is a master at bringing new sounds to old ones, and using the brilliance that already exists here among us in the Boston music scene, to do it.

Put Mark Erelli on stage in a suit, and immediately start fanning yourself- the man's voice alone, could make a proud man cry. If you get a chance to see Mark and Zack together, I think, DO. (not difficult these days, since Zack played on and produced Mark's latest record, the two have played together frequently.) I am a fan of the two men, and I hope for another chance to see them with the rest of this incarnation of Barn Star, Taylor Armerding and Charlie Rose, soon.

The show was at Toad, the house was full, and all of it embodied what I cherish about local music- seeing the musician and fan community rally for the love of song.

Alastair Moock has been putting his Pastures hootenanny together for nearly ten years. This time the gig was at Club Passim. (and on the night before the folk venue started serving wine and beer for the first time in fifty years! This alone makes for a memorable night.)

The audience had the pleasure of hearing and seeing Sarah Borges, Sean Staples, Laura Cortese, Nic Gareiss, Michael Dinallo and Paul Kochanski in action- with Pastures, the lineup is always this good. Moock's site reads, "the list of guests over the years reads like a who's who of New England folk and roots musicians." Some past players include Lori McKenna, Kris Delmhorst, Meg Hutchinson, and Tim Gearan... *swoons*

I am going to talk about Sean Staples, since that is what I tend to do... in general. Staples is, of course, "a prominent member of the Boston area roots music scene," as it says in his bio on the Session Americana website, but alongside prominent, should be beloved. (and not just to me, though I am likely near the top of the list of his biggest fans.) It is not just his smooth, lonesome sounding voice, or his killer mandolin solos, but the man has a presence that is sweetly missed when not among the players at his regular gigs.

At the Pastures show, Sean did a song that he heard a line cook do in Ireland. I want to thank Alastair for making it possible to hear it, and for giving me a sweet peck on the cheek, without even knowing how much I love to be kissed hello.

ON AND OFF OF MASS AVE: the film

Years ago, while attending Vermont College, I began writing about favorite songwriters. This was my effort to keep focused on school when my heart and free time were so clearly devoted to experiencing local music.

Sitting at Toad one night, I looked around me and I knew there needed to be a preservation of the music community that I was so attached to. So much had already come and gone, and I had missed a lot of it. Still, I drew on the unending magic of the Somerville/Cambridge songwriter scene, I visualized capturing it in a way that documented a little of what had been, and what is living and thriving here today. That is how (along with my roommate, Brian Schwartz) I came to shoot tape after tape of video footage, and why people are still eagerly awaiting this film... we all want to capture our beloved corner of paradise.

It is the way you might fall for anything- one minute you are encountering someone or something, and next you are all swoons and devotion. I got to know local music as it lent itself to me. I connected the dots, then after putting myself in front of every dinky stage around, I discovered a community of artists who generously give their talent to one another, night after night, song after song. Many of them have been playing music together for decades, others are just discovering each other's music. To be able to take part in this as an audience, and often times a friend, is something I will never take for granted.

In fact, most of the recorded music I listen to from day to day is by local musicians- I own a lot of music that is great and that I love, only, nine out of ten times I simply put on the music of people who play around me. I could listen to Timmy Gearan any night of the week, and there's a good chance that if Sean Staples, Jimmy Ryan, or Duke Levine are out playing somewhere, I will want to be there. Same goes for the glorious ladies, whose voices can stop any fool in their tracks. It might be Lori McKenna, playing a half-secret show, or the magnificent Jennifer Kimball, lending back vocals that will make you shake your head in wonder- I am always shaking my head in wonder it seems...

*photo credit, Jon Strymish