Hi, folks! If you've been following along here regularly, you know that Eberle & I have formed a new band along with our friend, singer & guitarist Wendy Carson (Wendy has also been known to play fiddle & uke!) The band is churchmouse, & we've booked our first gig, an afternoon affair May 7th at the Tearoom in Council, ID. The Tearoom is pretty much the town's newest business & a very cool space, so we're happy to be performing there.
The set list is still a bit of a work in progress—we'll be putting that together at rehearsal on Saturday. But it does look like it's likely to range from Dock Boggs to Jimi Hendrix with lots of fun, interesting, & perhaps unexpected stops in between. I'm also happy to say that I'll be playing with my good friend & bandmate Heather Uebelhoer to kick the festivities off—same great songs with Heather singing & playing guitar & me providing support on resonator guitar & banjo, but now with an official band name: Motherland (& yes, we do perform that song.) If you're one of the local readers stay tuned for more info on the May 7th gig—or whether you're local or not, check out the churchmouse page on Facebook right here, & consider giving us a "like!"
In blog news: there will be some exciting changes here coming up in May! One that I'm especially excited about is that we have a new contributor: the pride of Asheville & our Rockstar Poet in Residence, Barbie Dockstader Angell, whose poetry will be appearing her regularly in the near future. If you missed Barbie Angell's Writers Talk interview, you can check that out here. I'll be giving a more formal introduction a week from tomorrow, so stay tuned!
Speaking of poetry, a quick reminder: you'll find a different poem from my most recent book, The Spring Ghazals, posted each Wednesday & Saturday on my blog of the same name. For those who were surprised/intrigued to learn of my interest in the Star Trek shows in yesterday's post, a heads-up: today's poem from The Spring Ghazals, "Fondue," has some Trekkie themes!
Have a great Wednesday everybody!
When playing music with others, the most important skill is listening!
Some exciting news: a new band has formed, going by the name of “churchmouse” (tho there is some lobbying for “churchmoose” as a variation for more “moosey” gigs). The band is Eberle Umbach playing flute, melodica, possibly cello & who knows what; Wendy Carson playing guitar & possibly uke; & yours truly chiming in on resonator guitars, 5-string banjo, & maybe a little tenor uke too. We’ll be making our first public appearance a week from Sunday (very much in churchmouse mode) as we play back-up on a couple of Eberle’s pieces that she & some church singers will be playing before mass at her church next week.
But the overall idea is secular (yours truly not being one of the churchy tribe) & highly eclectic. Our initial set list is shaping up as follows (in alphabetical, not performance order)
- Amelia’s Waltz (instrumental)
- Banty Rooster Blues
- Big Railroad Blues
- Blue Train
- Cactus Flower (an original by one of Wendy’s friends—a great tune)
- Cold Rain & Snow
- Cold Virginia Rain
- Far Away Waltz (instrumental)
- Jim & Judy’s Wedding (instrumental)
- Little Wing
- Mama ‘Tain’t Long Fore Day
- Norwegian Wood
- Rainy Day Blues
Everything from the Delta & Appalachia to Hendrix & the Beatles! Will keep everyone posted!
