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.
