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April 30, 2008 MEMORIAL DAY & FATHER'S DAY AMERICANA FESTIVALS Summertime is festival time in California and two of the biggest and longest running are coming on Memorial Day and Father's Day. The Strawberry Music Festivals bracket summer with Memorial Day and Labor Day festivals held in scenic Camp Mather near Yosemite. Laurie Lewis and the Right Hands, Ricky Scaggs and Kentucky Thunder, Emmylou Harris, Chuck Profit, and Peter Rowan and the Free Mexican Airforce headline the Memorial Day 4-day weekend event which has already sold out. Tickets remain on sale for the Labor Day Weekend. Diversity of music and the music in the campgrounds are two of Strawberry's most engaging features. Year after year, the line-up offers bluegrass, newgrass, string bands, twanger-songwriters, roots Americana, country-western, and, with Chuck Profit on the bill, good ol' rock 'n roll with acousic credentials. Strawberry spices their line-ups with swing, R&B, French Canadian, Tex-Mex and roots styles dating back, well, to the Renaissance. The festival is a favorite destination of musicians where musicians attending greatly out-number those on playing on the stage. They pitch their tents and park RVs in impromptu jam clusters that are themselves fairly fluid. Friends drift from cluster to cluster where strangers holding six-packs are also welcome. There are more than a few campers who never quite make it to the main stage because socializing is higher on their set lists. Strawberry Music Festivals. The California Bluegrass Association's Grass Valley Festival is the largest bluegrass festival in the West. Now in its 33rd year at the Nevada County Fairgrounds (June 12-15), it features top acts, mainly in bluegrass, from California and across the country. The CBA's focus is on bluegrass, old-time and hillbilly gospel, though this year they've slipped in a few ideologically unusual suspects like Belle Monroe and her Brewglass Boys. A band with a Bill Monroe pun in it's name? On the main stage? Does this not offend the Saint! Though truth be told, veterans Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, newcomers 49 Special, and a few other names on this summer's bill are working on the edges of what's "supposed to be bluegrass." The CBA's doing a good job of keeping the festival fresh, as it is on workshops. Workshops that engage the audience at the Grass Valley Festival. The CBA's musician's, many of whom teach music, hold workshops for four days prior to the festival (June 8-11), so plan to leave early if you plan to brush up your chops. Father's Day Festival CBA Music Camp .
ISSUE April 7, 2008 March 18, 2008 March 6, 2008 February 19, 2008 February 5, 2008 January 28, 2008 January 17, 2008 January 9, 2008 December 20, 2007 December 5, 2007 November 24, 2007 November 21, 2007 November 9, 2007 October 20, 2007	TABLE OF CONTENTS California's Musical History in 1579, 1542 and 11,000 BCE CalAmericana Launches SoCal Chapter Drive CalAmericana Membership Drive at Cafe Royale, SF, 3/15 SF Bluegrass & Old Time Festival Report Women of Americana Music Showcase San Francisco Bluegrass and Old Time Music Festival Guitar Geeks in SoCal and Bluegrass/Old-Time in NorCal CalAmericana Showcase/Benefit at Ireland's 32, SF, 2/10 CalAmeriicana Board Established CalAmericana Festival Announced CalAmericana Association Events Committee Formed Compact Disks as a Commodity CalAmericana Association Kickoff Meeting CalAmericana Association Announced
APRIL 7, 2008 CALIFORNIA'S MUSICAL HISTORY IN 1579, 1542 and 11,000 BCE Who brought the band that played the first European music concert in California? That would be English adventurer and freebooter (government-sanctioned pirate) Sir Francis Drake who, in June of 1579, nearly a half-century before the Pilgrims landed in Massachusetts, sailed his ship the Golden Hind to the Golden State. Drake, as his logs recount, traveled with a viol consort. Viols, distant cousins to violins, violas and cellos, came in several sizes and viol concerts were the precursors to chamber music. Drake apparently missed San Francisco Bay due to fog, but he did land a bit further north at Drake's Bay which would make Point Reyes the first NorCal concert venue. His sailors and possibly a handful of Miwok Indians would have attended the show. Juan Cabrillo sailed California's coast in 1542, 37 years before Drake. There is no record of Cabrillo having traveling with a band, and it's unlikely that he would have given the circumstances of his voyage. It is possible that one or two musical instruments were on-board given music's long history in shipboard entertainment. With instruments or without, sailors often sang to pass the time. Drake may have promoted California's first concerts, but Cabrillo would have held California's first open mics. The oldest California music belonged to descendants of the Clovis people and others who began crossing the Bering Strait 13,000 years before Cabrillo or Drake. According to Wikipedia's "Music of California" page, native Californians used "a relaxed vocal technique in stark contrast to Native Americans from much of the rest of North America. The songs of this era are non-strophic , and are characterized by the use of a rise, a section of a song which is slightly higher in pitch than the rest of the song. This technique is absent or rare outside of the California-Yuman area, known only among some tribes on both coasts of North America." Scholars find similarities between the music of California natives and a-cappella jam sessions. Real California natives would have memorized some musical patterns, but like most ancient musicians, they made up the bulk of their songs as they went along. That is, they jammed. This being the case, California's Deadhead tradition probably dates back 13,000 years earlier than previously believed. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_of_California#Native_American_music
March 18, 2008 CALAMERICANA LAUNCHES SoCal CHAPTER DRIVE California is the sixth largest economy in the world, first in roots Americana, and the third largest state under the flag. Drivers need five to seven hours to travel from San Francisco to Los Angeles. There is even more of California north, east and south of SF/LA which leaves no practical way to manage one end of the state from the other. Indeed, CalAmericana chapters in Orange County, San Diego, Santa Cruz, Eureka, Sonora and other Americana centers are foreseeable given the number of Americana musicians throughout the state. The CalAmericana Association has launched its drive to organize its SoCal Chapter. The Association, which was started in San Francisco, is calling on its friends south of Bakersfield will connect the state's two largest Americana music centers and build upon publicizing California Americana music to Californians. Those who would like to volunteer or offer contacts in SoCal are welcome to contact the CalAmericana Association.
March 15, 2008 CALIFORNIA GRANTS CALAMERICANA NONPROFIT STATUS The CalAmericana Association has been registered as a nonprofit by the State of California. This now means the the organization's memberships, donations and other revenues are tax deductible for the members and donors, and that the organization operates with the rights and responsibilities of a California nonprofit organization. The CalAmericana's Association is presently the final step of registering with the IRS to secure 501-C-3 nonprofit status which typically follows quickly after acceptance by the state.
March 6, 2008 CALAMERICANA MEMBERSHIP DRIVE AT CAFE ROYALE, SF, 3/15 The Rock Soup Ramblers and the duo of John Kael & Annie Staninec will be featured at the CalAmericana benefit on March 15th at 8:00 at Cafe Royale, 800 Post at Leavenworth in San Francisco. Led by Doug Blumer (The Beerhunters, Misisipi Rider), the Rock Soup Ramblers, who take their name from a now defunct and dearly missed restaurant, are veteran players who mix covers and originals from a broad swath of country, pop and rustic Americana. John Kael is well known in the bluegrass community, both for his playing and for his site, www.BluegrassLyric s.com. Fiddle whiz Annie Staninec, who is barely out of college, has been turning heads with her playing since she was 14. The evening will also feature a brief toast in recognition of the 2053rd anniversary of Julius Caesar's last stand.
February 19, 2008 SF BLUEGRASS & OLD TIME FESTIVAL REPORT by Chuck Poling Jeanie and Chuck Poling of Jeanie and Chuck's Country Round-Up served on the San Francisco Bluegrass and Old Time Festival Board and seemed to be everywhere at once during the festival. Click here for a report from Chuck Poling's front row seats.
February 5, 2008: WOMEN OF AMERICANA MUSIC SHOWCASE The CalAmericana Association's first fund raiser and takes place Sunday, February 10th, 6-10 PM at Ireland's 32, in San Francisco's Inner Richmond on Geary Boulevard at 2nd Avenue. The Bay Area's Women of Twang take the stage as Yard Sale's Denise Funari, Melanie DeGiovanni and Jill Olsen (Red Meat) top the bill, but everyone's the headliner at this show. Katy Rexford and "Erica" Embry from the Burning Embers, Kate Howser and Jennifer Daunt from Axton Kinkaid, Gayle Lynn and the Hired Hands, and J. Byrd Hosch (Kountry K's) will be on hand; as will Jenny Kerr, the Bay Area's regular summer star in Europe. Pam Brandon from Belle Monroe and her Brewglass Boys and Maurice Tani from 77 el Deora have been practicing duets, and not necessarily the usual suspects. All proceeds go to upgrading this website which needs to automate it's membership page and sign-up capabilities. Web designers are invited to submit their bona fides to calamericana@calamericana.org.
January 28, 2008 SAN FRANCISCO BLUEGRASS AND OLD TIME MUSIC FESTIVAL The San Francisco Bluegrass and Old Time Music Festival returns for its 9th year. The festival includes music, jams, workshops, dances and, for the first time, a film festival. The event runs from February 1-9 at clubs throughout the Bay Area. David Grisman and Peter Rowan are the headliners, and there's a reunion of The Freight Hoppers, a boundary stretching old-time band from 1992. www.sfbluegrass.org
January 17, 2008 GUITAR GEEKS IN SOCAL AND BLUEGRASS/OLD TIME IN NORCAL Deke Dickerson's 5th Annual Guitar Geek Festival will be taking place January 19 at the Jolly Roger Hotel in Anaheim. The Collins Kids top the bill along with a host of talent that could only be assembled by the Geekmeister himself. www.guitargeekfestival.com The 9th Annual San Francisco Bluegrass and Old Time Festival will take place at clubs throughout the Bay Area on February 1-9 with David Grisman and Peter Rowan as the headliners. This year's festival also includes jams, workshops, dances, kid's shows and now film. www.sfbluegrass.org
January 9, 2008 CALAMERICANA SHOWCASE/BENEFIT AT IRELAND'S 32, SUNDAY, FEB 10 The CalAmericana Association is hosting a benefit and showcase at San Francisco's Ireland's 32 (Geary and 3rd) on February 10th. The showcase will run from 7:00 to 10:00 and feature members of the Jenny Kerr Band, Starlene, Misisipi Rider, Axton Kinkaid, Burning Embers and more who have volunteered for this worthy cause. A CD compilation of 25 California Americana bands will be gives away with each new membership.
December 20, 2007 CALAMERCANA BOARD ESTABLISHED The CalAmericana Association Board has formed with Jose Segue of HicksWith Sticks.com as President; Jim Hayes, Director of the Bay Area nonprofit ASPA Chapter, as Treasurer; and Les Cowan of the Café Royale as Secretary. Additional Board members (at this writing) are Nancy Irish of Chickwagon who serves on the Events Committee with Misisipi Mike Wolf (Misisipi Rider, Country Squires, Starlene, J. Byrd Hersh Trio) also on Events, and Steve Swan from Steve Swan Guitars rounding out the Events Committee. Susan Beckstead, an experienced fund raiser, will be Volunteer Coordinator with Jennifer Daunt of Axton Kinkaid. Happy New Year and look for further additions to the CalAmericana Board as we grow in 2008.
December 5, 2007 CALAMERICANA FESTIVAL ANNOUNCED The CalAmericana Association announces the First Annual CalAmericana Festival to be held September 26 to October 5, 2008. The 10-day event will be held at locations throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and feature a mix of Americana music performances, workshops and special events. Its second weekend is timed to coincide with the 9th Annual Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival. The two festivals share their admiration for Americana Music, and there is an indirect relationship in that Slim's and the Great American Music Hall, sister clubs that book Hardly Strictly, have been reserved for the CalAmericana Festival. The two festivals are complementary. CalAmericana will be held over ten days; dispersed among venues in San Francisco, the East Bay, and South Marin County; held largely during evening hours; and feature all California Americana musicians.
November 24, 2007 CALAMERICANA ASSOCIATION EVENTS COMMITTEE FORMED The CalAmericana Association Events Committee has formed with a nucleus of Nancy Irish, Steve Swan and Misisipi Mike Wolf. Nancy Irish is currently the guitarist in Chickwagon and she has worked in association with numerous San Francisco Bay Area venues and bands. "Misisipi" Mike Wolf has booked shows throughout the Bay Area and plays guitar in Misisipi Rider, Starlene, J. Byrd Hosch Trio, The Bootcuts and the newly formed Country Squires. He booked the Hillbilly Hayride every Tuesday at the Make-Out Room in SF and DJed on KFRB, Berkeley. Steve Swan is the proprietor of Steve Swan Guitars in Millbrae and is currently a bassist/guitarist in Jeanie and Chuck's Country Roundup. He's played in High Country, Heartland and with Chris Hillman & Herb Peterson. He is on the Board of Redwood Bluegrass Associates and has served on the Board for the San Francisco Bluegrass and Old Time Music Festival. Additional Event Committee members are welcome. Volunteer via email to CalAmericana @ [this site's address].
November 21, 2007 COMPACT DISKS AS A COMMODITY The concept of what CDs are about is rewinding the clock for touring bands. CDs are supporting touring as just another merchandise item instead of tours supporting a particular CD. Radiohead's latest collection of songs, In Rainbows, didn't get released as a CD. Instead, it was released as MP3 files on their website; fans can pay whatever they want or nothing at all. Madonna, meanwhile, has left Warner Brothers, her label of 25 years, to sign a mega-deal with Live Nation which is not a label, but marketing company. According to the Material Girl, "The paradigm in the music business has shifted and as an artist and a business woman, I have to move with that shift." The paradigm that's shifted is that bit streams have been replacing CDs as a means of music distribution, so Madonna is leaving the CD makers for the image makers. The only way to hear music a century ago was to hear it live. There were no CDs, records, cassettes, 8-tracks, wax cylinders, or radios which later solved the problem of bringing the music to the listeners instead of the listeners to the music. Storage media like records and CDs allowed listeners to play what they wanted when they wanted as long as they purchased the media which held the music. But a CD and stereo are unwieldy compared to a microchip and a player that is barely larger than a credit card. Music today is viewed by consumers as more of a commodity than a collectable so they want to handle their music in bulk like flour, sugar or rice. They want to store this commodity in bins like iPods or hard drives, not on shelves, so Radiohead, Madonna and others are turning to merchandising based on live performances. Radiohead is essentially giving its music away to sell concert tickets. Madonna wants to sell tickets and everything else any way she can, which is why she wants a marketing company, not a mere label, behind her. And where is the CD in this picture? Not in Tower Records. The CD isn't going away but for most bands it is already about as significant as a t-shirt on the merch table. It's fine to be in music for the love, but how is a band to earn money in 2007? Pretty much the way they did in 1907: tour, tour, tour.
November 9, 2007 CALAMERICANA ASSOCIATION KICKOFF MEETING The CalAmericana Association is off to a strong start having held its kickoff meeting on November 8. Jim Hayes, who is the Executive Director of his own nonprofit, is leading the effort to establish CalAmericana as a 501C3 nonprofit. Susan Beckstead is leading the Development Committee which will raise funds through donations, grants and advertising. Nancy Irish is leading the Events Committee which will organize fundraisers and oversee booking for the CalAmericana Festival to be held at various locations throughout the Bay Area September 26 to October 5, 2008.
October 20, 2007 CALAMERICANA ASSOCIATION ANNOUNCED Saturday, October 20th is the official birth date of the CalAmericana Association. CalAmericana's Director, Jose Segue, announced the organization's existence and goals on Peter Thompson's Bluegrass Signal on KALW, 91.7 FM, 6:30-8:00 PM.