Jam time

Talking with some friends outside we started discussing Competition vs Co-operation among local musicians. We all fell on the side of  camaraderie, because it’s hard enough being a performer without the added b.s. of working to edge out someone else who’s  just trying to get their thing up and running and successful.
Little story here: The first time I went to the long-gone Hollywood Coffee House HIGHLAND GROUNDS on a Wednesday night and signed up for the super-popular open mic I walked into a wonderland. I watched the stage for a few sets but the real show was out on the patio where circles of pickers were jamming and trading songs, many of us meeting each other for the first time. Sharing the playing of music for the pure joy of playing the music. I’m thinking: ” I am HOME! I’m gonna love LA! This is how it’s s’posed to be”. Well that never happened again. In all the times I went back the room was packed with anxious, jealous wannabes all waiting for their ten precious minutes onstage like they’re about to get “discovered”… and glaring daggers at one another. Yecch!

I grew up raised by and around folk musicians on the east coast and that meant frequent gatherings of players and singers to eat, drink and sing & play music till they were spent. I remember jams in houses, churches, before and after shows, in festival parking lots, campgrounds, wherever 2 or more pickers met. Man, I thought that was what life really was ’till I got out into the alleged  “real world”. Those of you who know me already have no doubt heard me ramble on about how I cannot understand why groups of talented musicians get together to party and nobody plays a note. I like getting folks over to my place to party and make music (cuz after a couple beers all I wanna do is jam, baby!).

Mom and Dad

The idea that I might ever become “rich & famous” as a musician is a long-dead barely-desired fantasy. The possibility that I might ever even earn my living with music often seems a distant near-unattainable goal. Music is what I do because I have to do it to remain sane. What do y’all think about that? Who’s with me?

- WES D

TUESDAY NOVEMBER 16th
2419 N Broadway
Los Angeles, CA 90031

We’d sure like to see you there.

The LA FOLDAWAYS are finally entering intense rehearsals in May. A side project from the Mister Nervous band, Wes and a dedicated crew of misfits will be pulling together a repertoire of “classic” rockNroll including numbers from The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Chuck Berry, The Kinks, Van Morrison, Shocking Blue (!), The Who… and more stuff including some interesting takes on old blues and RnB songs. A core trio is working as the lynchpin – and a large pool of  singers and players will rotate as the “front” or songleaders in many performances.

Not quite a tribute, “Classic Rock” or jam band – more a combination of all three. Shows will often feature completely different band line-ups, as available players will work in different combinations making each show completely unique. The LA Foldaways mission: to treat many of our favorite vintage songs as vibrant living things to be joyously jammed (as opposed to reverently copied).

We’ll let you know more soon.

The Sundowners do what they please

There’s nothing quite like a SUNDOWNERS show. The songs this band plays are completely their own and influenced (as lead singer and guitarist Dennis Stahl says) by,”…all the good shit from the 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, and 00s. This is not a contrived sound for the masses, it’s a heavy psychedelic, spiritual blues sound:100% organic and designed to open the mind. There are a lot of acts out there, yes, but only a few bands. What this means is three guys and a lady who play together and off of each other. We don’t cater to any particular audience, just those interested in good rock and roll from every era.”

From the hills of Alta Dena where the air is justa little clearer and the altitude justa little higher their music will probably remind you of a lot of things but it’ll never sound even slightly derivative. And live the band projects an atmosphere of affection and whimsy that makes it feel like you’ve been invited into a happy house-party with your new favorite slightly bent friends.

Michael Harpel and Dennis Stahl

On  SKELETONIZE , their second album,  the songs pull from an even wider landscape of sounds and moods than on their sprawling two disc debut cd. Just when you think you know where the journey is headed the band’ll switch it up and take you to some new unexpectedly wonderful place…as Dennis recently remarked “we’ll do uptempo and downtempo in the same song”. This flies in the face of the current trend of easily pigeonholed cookie-cutter compositions many groups use to try to zero-in on their currently chosen demographic target, which naturally makes this unaffected take-us-as-we-are crew very near and dear to Mister Nervous’ heart.

And so we are pleased beyond words to say the Sundowners are opening up our Mister Nervous record release party this Thursday!

The Sundowners love you and they're your new best friends!

THURSDAY MARCH 18th

THE UNKNOWN THEATER
1110 Seward St.
Los Angeles CA 90038

(with MY IMAGINARY FRIENDS and MISTER NERVOUS)

Doors open at 10pm
$10 at the door (however: drinks are very reasonable!)

Thursday 3/18  -  Doors open at 10pm

$10 at the door… awesome space, affordable drinks, great music!

You’re coming, yeah?