This post is long overdue, but still timely, as we are gearing up for a house concert in two weeks. My very favorite Christmas present last year, was from Eva, Heather, and Steve. It is a poem about our house.
House of Music
(from Evaline)
Some houses are much
more than the walls
and windows. One house
I know is known for
the music they bring
in. It can be loud,
it can be quiet, but
it is always fun.
Some bands are old
and some are quite
young,
because music is
for everyone.
From the Taxi Boys
to Farmer Jason, we
always have a good time
and good cookies.
And sometimes get an
extra treat when the
cats run through
the room. Best of all
there is more than
just music! There is
always food, good food,
and it is close enough
to walk. On the Fourth
last year, we even saw
fireworks there! All
this and more is what
makes this house a
home to love and fun.
poetjamesescher@gmail.com
Some of you locals probably know Jim O'Brien, whose writing name is James Escher. His poems have appeared inImages, Pitkin Review, Pegasus, Pilcrow & Dagger, The Tishman Review, and in the anthology On Our Own, Widowhood for Smarties by Silver Boomer Books. One of the wonderful things he also does is Poems on Tap, in which he brings his typewriter and writes poems on demand. This one was Eva's and Ernie and I were incredibly honored by it. It has a place of honor next to my sister's Buddha and often stop to read it.
Ray Bonneville will be playing at our house on Saturday, May 18. It will be our first house concert in quite some time and I am SO ready. Leo and Ernie will be off in the west chasing the Big Boy 4014 so it will just be Owen and me. Take pity on me and please come!! I've told Owen he has to do the introduction…we shall see! I am really excited to have Ray play here. I've copied his bio below…take a look at it. There's going to be a lot of groove going on. If you are planning to come just shoot me an email (if you haven't already).
For food I'm thinking a big Thai quinoa/beef salad, with some green salad-y sides. Bring anything you like for the potluck. As Eva said, there is always good food and good cookies. As always, $20 suggested donation. Cash that day preferred, but if you want to pay ahead via PayPal, just make sure it's done two days in advance. Oh, and don't forget, he'll have merch for sale!
Acclaimed raconteur Ray Bonneville strips his bluesy Americana down to its essentials and steeps it in the humid grooves of the South, creating a compelling poetry of hard living and deep feeling. His ninth release, At King Electric, delivers more than his trademark grit and groove. Songs such as “The Next Card to Fall” and “Codeine” gleam with intimate narratives of characters reaching for hope and wrestling with despair. Rich guitar and harmonica lines resonate over spare but spunky rhythms, while Bonneville’s deep, evocative voice confesses life’s harsh realities.
Jim Withers (Montreal Gazette) describes his sound as “folk-roots gumbo… a languid Mississippi Delta groove, seasoned with smooth, weathered vocals and a propulsive harmonica wheeze.” Whether performing solo or fronting a band, playing electric or acoustic guitar, Bonneville allows space between notes that adds potency to every chord, lick, and lyric. Thom Jurek (Allmusic.com) remarks, “With darkness and light fighting for dominance… he’s stripped away every musical excess to let the songs speak for themselves.”
Often called a “song and groove man,” Bonneville has lived the life of the itinerant artist. From his native Quebec, he moved to Boston at age twelve, where he learned English and picked up piano and guitar. Later, he served in Vietnam and earned a pilot’s license in Colorado before living in Alaska, Seattle, and Paris. Six years in New Orleans infused his musical sensibilities with the region's culture and rhythms. And then, a close call while piloting a seaplane proved pivotal: After two decades working as a studio musician, playing rowdy rooms with blues bands, and living hard, Bonneville’s lifetime of hard-won experience coalesced into an urge to write his own music.
Ray recorded his first album, On the Main, in 1992. He’s since released nine albums, earned wide critical and popular acclaim, and won an enthusiastic following in the U.S., Canada, and Europe. His awards include a prestigious Juno, the Canadian equivalent of a Grammy, for his 1999 album, Gust of Wind. In 2012, Ray won the solo/duet category in the Blues Foundation’s International Blues Challenge. His post-Katrina ode, “I Am the Big Easy,” earned the International Folk Alliance’s 2009 Song of the Year Award, placed number one on Folk Radio’s list of most-played songs of 2008, and was recently covered by Jennifer Warnes for the BMG label.
Other notable artists who have recorded his songs include Ronnie Hawkins (“Foolish”) and Slaid Cleaves (“Run Jolee Run”). Ray has shared the bill with blues heavyweights Muddy Waters, B.B. King, Dr. John, J.J. Cale, and Robert Cray, and has guested on albums by Mary Gauthier, Gurf Morlix, Eliza Gilkyson, Ray Wylie Hubbard, and other prominent musicians. He has performed at renowned venues around the world, including South by Southwest, Folk Alliance, and Montreal International Jazz Festival, and plays over 100 shows per year across the U.S., Canada, and Europe. When not on the road, he resides in Austin, Texas.
I'm not sure if Eva will be photo-documenting or not. TBD.
photo by Richard McCoughry Hill
And yes, with Leo and Ernie gone I'm getting caught up on blog posts. Sorry to flood you.
Onward.