Dan Costello

THPRING THPRUNG!!!!

Spring is HERE. Wore my first short-sleeved shirt yesterday, in what seems like forever, without a single goose-bump. It's gonna be a special season.

First off, gotta let you know about a couple great shows coming up:

IN LIKE A LION...

DAN COSTELLO  + JEREMIAH JAMES Duo Show

Friday, April 13th, 8:30-11:30pm, at the Piper Pub (8th and Main upstairs in downtown Boise):

My buddy Jeremiah James, the honky tonk sad bastard country singer, is blowing into Boise this week from North Dakota for a private event. But for the public, we're getting together for a FREE one-night-only duo show. With my songs, his songs, other fellers' songs, guitar pickin', harmonies, and maybe a beer or two.

No cover, the Piper's all ages until the kitchen closes (usually open 'til at least 10:00, sometimes later for snacks -- their battered and smothered french fries are perfect late-night munchies) and they have one of the best bar selections in town.

«Pictured, left to right: Jeremiah James, Ned Evett, Dan Costello. (Only one will not be playing together this Friday.)

RANDY MEENACH + RYAN BAYNE Album Release Party

Wednesday, April 25th, doors 7pm, at Visual Arts Collective (21+):

It's a dual album release party with Randy Meenach (co-owner of River City Guitars, with whom I'm playing) and Ryan Bayne. Randy's new album, Bowl Of Cherries, is a collection of his brilliant songs and guitar work (both steel-string acoustic and pedal steel), along with some fine musicianship from a few of Boise's best, and some gorgeous production from Steve Fulton and Pat Storey at the AudioLab. 

I recorded some guitar for this fantastic new album, and I'll be playing nylon, electric, and slide for the release party. 

The best way to describe Randy's songwriting? It's like one of those GIANT burritos, filled with everything meaty and hearty and spicy that you love, like Tom Waits, Johnny Cash, Townes Van Zandt, Waylon Jennings, Neil Young, Bob Dylan... and you KNOW you shouldn't eat the whole thing, but you do anyway because it JUST TASTES SO DANG GOOD.

OUT LIKE A LAMB (riiiiiiiiiight)...

A few other feats I've been involved in the past month or so:

TONY FURTADO in Boise + McCall

The Tony Furtado shows I opened for in Boise and McCall were really inspiring events, filled with excellent, soulful music, hosted by thoughtful and enthusiastic venue owners, and  appreciated by hundreds of eager listeners! Tony's the real deal. If you can't get out to one of his shows any time soon, check out his YouTube channel -- I'm particularly fond of his (so far) 4-part series titled "Songs And Sculpture," where he plays a tune and then shows you what he's been up to in his home art studio... the guy's a magician. Or just a really freakin' cool human. Either way, he deserves a bit of your time and attention for the artistry he shares with the world.

PATCASSO'S "Red"

The Patcasso "Red" art fusion event was actually a little nerve-wracking considering I didn't really have a band or two of the songs solidified until a couple days before the show...

I was involved in two different segments. (See a video.) One performance was playing nylon string for a song that Eryn Pascascio sang, and Jessie Steiger and Filmon Gebreyohannes Berhe danced to, which was more in my recent comfort zone.

The other was throwing down w/ bass and drums for a three-song Hendrix revue while Patrick Hunter did a live painting, with Cody Ramey on bass and Luke Meade on drums, who both knocked it out of the park, especially considering we hadn't even had one full rehearsal yet. I've played my share of Hendrix tunes, I guess, but usually a little less Hendrix-y if you get my drift. This was pretty chunky blues-rockin' electric-lady-land, and I had to channel a different muse than normal.

It all went great though, and the whole night was an amazing success. More of these to come -- catch one if you can!

ALBUM-A-DAY Harvest/Weave

I finally took the time to do a project I've had on the "back burner" (no, make that "still in the pantry, on the top shelf, behind the three 1/4-full boxes of stale crackers, gathering cobwebs...") called "Album-A-Day."

I decided to try it as a collaborative effort. I had told my buddy Russ Pfeifer about it months ago, and we set the date for April Fool's Day 2012 as our 24-hour window. I have a whole other blog post about it if you're interested...

Suffice it to say, it was a TON of fun and almost frighteningly artistically revealing. Hear the result, Harvest/Weave, on ReverbNation, or buy the experiment for only $5.99.

Dec. 8: PAUL GROVE classic concert, guitar clinic

(BOISE)  On Wed. December 8, 2010 at 7:30 pm, Paul Grove makes a one-time only appearance at The Gallery at The Linen Building. Hear this Spokane-based, internationally-renowned classical  guitarist perform Hans Werner Henze's "Royal Winter Music" for solo classical guitar, along with other classical masterpieces. 

Brighten your holidays with brilliant music perfect for the entire family, in a beautiful setting. All ages, with a full bar available with ID.

Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for students with a valid ID, and only $8 for advance tickets.  Seating is limited, so buy your tickets now, available online only until 8 am on Wed.

The afternoon of December 8 from 3:30 to 5pm, Paul Grove hosts a FREE guitar clinic at the new River City Guitars at 574 W. Main St. in the Old Pioneer Building in downtown Boise (enter from 6th St. side, north of Jimmy John's). Seating is limited here too, so come early.

For this event, Dan is breaking in the new hat of concert promoter. Please come out to support him, fantastic virtuosity and classical music in Boise. 

Unity In Diversity -- the Fall For Boise performance

OK, I'll admit it. When Boise musician Jared Hallock contacted me a few months ago about this big crazy production he was putting together called "Unity In Diversity," as part of the annual Fall For Boise series, my skeptic / artsy-loony alarm bells went off a little bit. I mean, yeah, it sounded like a neat thing... but come on. Opera? Fire dancers? Spoken word poetry? Hip-hop and rappers? Industrial improv? ALL in one production? He asked me if I was willing to commit to the project, and it reminded me of a scene from that movie everybody seems to love to hate, Independence Day -- "You really think you can fly that thing?" "You really think you can do all that bull***t you just said?"

But I decided to jump in, so I got the charts and the backing tracks to rehearse with. There wasn't a whole lot of concrete material there-- at that time, much of the program was still being crafted, and many pieces of the puzzle undecided. Jared and I had a preliminary rehearsal, in a space in the lower 8th St. district that had been set aside for the Artist in Residence program (see Tara Morgan's excellent article about the project here) and that Jared had set up roughly in the configuration of the stage plot for the show. We went through a few of the songs, playing along with the recordings Jared had made primarily as cue and click tracks... and I'd started to turn the corner at that point, at least on the musical content, away from my previous trepidation. But I still had no idea of how all this other stuff was gonna work.

And then we finally had a combined rehearsal. Jason Flores, the bass player and arranger for much of the musical content, was there, which helped me fill in the gaps sonically. But the real revelation was seeing all the other aspects of the show finding their place. Fire dancers. The spoken word artist. Rappers. The Red Light Revue crew (with whom I've collaborated on other projects -- top-notch, fun, dedicated performers). In our most recent rehearsal, two more amazing dancers showed up for different aspects of the show-- my long-time friend Rachel doing an African dance; and a ballerina, whose part in one segment of the show involves two other dancers from completely different disciplines and styles, and yet the impact of seeing all three at once was absolutely mesmerizing.

The show is this Saturday at the Boise Centre on the Grove, and runs from 5-7:30pm. We perform this amazing collaboration of music, drama, dance, poetry and visual arts at 6pm. Celebrate the Fall season, and Boise's unique artistic diversity, with us this Saturday!

Midweek thrills: trio and solo shows in October

Solo or with back up, Dan knows how to work a room (musically of course).

Starting today, Dan Costello & the Truck Stop Trio take the stage at the lounge at Lock, Stock & Barrel every Tuesday in October (filling the place of the now internationally-touring Ned Evett). Backed by bassist Bob Nagel and drummer Mike Rundle, Dan showcases stunning original music and songs few have the chops to cover. Eat, drink, be merry Oct. 12, 19 and 26 from 8 to 10pm.

Starting tomorrow, Dan strips down to the solo sound at Solid every Wednesday in October. Casual but classy, Solid is a great venue with an unbeatable menu. Grab a seat and a beer, and we'll see you Oct. 13, 20 and 27 from  6 to 9pm.

Postview of Ned Evett & Triple Double Show

Dan helped open the Ned Evett & Triple Double 'Afraid4U' album release + tour kickoff show last night.

 

How? By taking the stage with Ned, and demonstrating the utter rockitude generated by two guitarists with unfettered (and unfretted) virtuosity.

 

One has great hair...

 

One is just hairy...

Together they are a force of hair, guitar and rock and roll.

 

What an unbelievable concert, Ned Evett & Triple Double, and 'Afraid4U' is a brilliant album. Best of luck on your tour of Europe and the US with Joe Satriani. We'll see you back home.

 

Thanks to Erica Sparlin Dryden of Bandwagon PR and The Linen Building for the incredible photos.

Ned Evett & Triple Double "Afraid4U" Album Release & Tour Kickoff

Dan will play with Ned as a special guest artist. Don't miss this show:

LIVE AT THE LINEN presents NED EVETT & TRIPLE DOUBLE album release party Sept. 15

Hometown concert is kickoff for U.S./U.K. tour with Joe Satriani and exclusive opportunity to purchase Evett's new album Afraid4U before release date.

Evett will be joined by several guest musicians, including Dan Costello, throughout the evening.  

(BOISE) An album release party for Boise-based international fretless guitar pioneer Ned Evett and his new band Triple Double will be held at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 15, at the Linen Building, 1402 W. Grove St. in Downtown Boise's Linen District. Special guest musicians will perform with Evett throughout the evening. All ages, full bar (I.D. required). Tickets are $10 in advance or at the door. Advance tickets are available at brownpapertickets.com. 

The event is a one-night-only tour kickoff and album release party for Afraid4U, a new pop/rock work by Evett and Triple Double (drummer Kofi Baker, bassist Doug Lunn). It's the last chance for Boise audiences to see them live before they leave for a four-month tour across Europe and the United States opening for guitar superstar Joe Satriani. 

This special evening also is the first time Afraid4U will be available to the public, though the new album won't be officially released in the States until December. 

The album will be on sale exclusively at the concert for $10. Afraid4U was recorded in one shot on Easter Sunday 2009 with Evett, Baker and bassist Rich Aguirre. The unreleased demo album then landed in the hands of two key people in the music industry: Joe Satriani and mixing engineer Ryan Hewitt. Featuring a pop melodic sense coupled with explosive live electric guitar playing, the 10-track album inspired Satriani to make Ned Evett & Triple Double his tour opening act, and Hewitt offered to mix the new record. Hewitt has mixed Grammy award-winning albums for the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Blink 182, and recently mixed the new Avett Brothers, Brandi Carlile and Buddy Guy records. 

"I love the album. It's a very honest record-a combo of pop sensibility married with what it's like to see me live. Two very difficult things to balance," notes Evett. "People like Ryan Hewitt hear potential in records. They listen for singles. They can tell whether or not tracks are workable. It's one of those records. An organic fusion of classic rock and psychedelic pop." 

Each performer in Ned Evett & Triple Double has a remarkable history in the music world. Evett won the 2003 North American Guitar Competition, the first fretless guitarist ever to even reach the finals, and Guitar Player Magazine heralded him as "the first fretless guitar rock star." Baker is the son of drummer Ginger Baker from Cream. Lunn has performed and toured with Sting, Bruce Springsteen and Andy Summers. 

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Ned Evett has been called “the vastly entertaining master of the fretless guitar” by USA Today and “a pioneer of the fretless guitar…amazing, beautiful” by Built to Spill frontman Doug Martsch. Evett is internationally known for modifying the fretless guitar neck with durable mirrored glass, and mastering the unlimited melodic range that playing a guitar sans frets allows. Learn more at www.nedevett.com.