Gigs are far and few these days, but I particularly enjoyed my Dave’s Night Out with old Shimersville Sheik band mate Roy Smith. The Sheiks were a really fine string band back in the 70’s, along with Jerry Bastoni, Chris Simmons and various other ne’er-do-wells. We were pretty esoteric in our repertoire, covering bluegrass, old country, jug band, Australian tunes and British Music Hall songs. We were an “art” band and got to play some interesting gigs at festivals, bars, and even opening night at Godfrey’s.

The Sheiks at Lehigh ’75.

Roy’s musical journey has been remarkable as he gradually lost his hearing in his 30’s. “A lifetime musician, Roy developed hereditary deafness, and now relies on MED-EL cochlear implants. He represented the United States at MED-EL’s International Music Festival for Deaf Musicians. Roy is not only an advocate for the transformative power of cochlear implants, but also a testament to their impact on musical expression.”

In this conversational format, Roy and I got to talk about his fear as his hearing subsided, what it’s like now to play music again, and other stops along the way. We played some old band tunes like Sheik of Araby, Gospel Ship, Ned Kelly as well as others from both of our current repertoires, including Simple Gifts, We Are Welcomed and others. We did a session earlier in the afternoon to help allay some of our questions about the material as well as catch up on how our lives have flowered over the last 45 years.

Opening night at Godfrey with Mary Faith Rhoads – 3.19.76

He had the support of his wife Jan, incredible leaps in technology and the formitable strains of living in his own head for years. He even shunned music as it was noise to him. Sadly, he was unable to share his music with his daughter growing up. I think that I would have gone nuts with out my ability to perform and play music. Deep respect for Roy.

Sheiks at Muhlenberg College

Thanks to the cochlear implants (three generations now) the chips in his brain decode sounds for him, in both speaking mode and in music mode (more bass), but still he has to grapple with keys, intonation and more. Quite a struggle, but now he can communicate with the world. Wonderful!

The discussion was enlightening, and folks came away with a new appreciation for the power of music, modern technology and human spirit. It was a shame that we had such a small audience, though we recorded video from the set for future play.

A good night, all around.

Rolly, Wendi and I did a Dave’s Night Out three or four years ago on Swing Guitar. Tonight’s was topic less and it proved, once again, to be an inspiring and creative evening of music and chat. As usual, there was a small crowd, but that’s not why we do this, and Rolly and Wendi recognize this. It’s good to have friends.

I started out with Roseville Fair, with a nod to Bill Staines, and it set the stage for our round-robin. Wendi brought out several sweet swing tunes, a very nice folkie song, sang some harmonies with me and gave a great exposition on vocal arranging. A smart lass, indeed. Rolly displayed his immense talents on guitar with fine backup leads for both Wendi and myself, several original and quirky original tunes and a spectacular instrumental. He talked about his weekly online concerts (approaching 600) and the community that he has developed as a result. He’s the best.

I tossed in Rodeo Rider, The Barnyard Dance, Sixty Minute Man and finished with Rosie Is A Friend of Mine. It was a good night sharing music among good friends.

Gregg, Bill and I decided to recast an evening we did five or six years ago: a song swap Dave’ Night Out. We had a great time. Gregg came up from Winston-Salem, NC and Bill from Morristown, NJ, and me from upstairs. Yes, it was a small audience but lots of Gregg’s friends came out so it was a fresh Godfrey’s audience.

I started things off and passed it to Gregg. Over the course of the evening, Gregg pulled out some great original tunes, including one he co-wrote with David Wilcox. Gregg’s a fine guitarist and uses some inventive tunings that really shape his sound. He also filled some nice leads on my songs. I supplied some mandolin on some of his songs.

Bill Hall, of course, has a delicious selection of original tunes, and he premiered a couple tonight, including one Legends, that is a nod to Gorka’s How Legends are Made and featured a phrase, “The Bard of Fourth Street”. As it flew by, it didn’t sink in that he was referring to me.  I don’t regard myself as a songwriter, but it was a nice gesture.

I did How Legends are Made, Don’t Call Me Early, Lessons from Pete, Ireland, Giants. I played pretty well and was glad I had several farmers’ markets recently to pull my chops together.

One question came up that spurred some discussion: What makes a Jersey song a Jersey song? Bill referenced John Gorka’s I’m From New Jersey about never thinking you’re good enough. I actually talked about my reticence booking Jersey songwriters while I was artistic director at Godfrey’s – too pushy. Gregg talked about his work with Christian Bauman. It was an interesting exploration.

I finished up with Lessons from Pete, and we disbanded after a very refreshing and stimulating evening, as are all of these Dave’s Night Outs.

This turned out to be a pretty good session tonight with Russ Rentler. We have a scattered past but enough to make it interesting. Russ is no slouch as a performer, instrumentalist and storyteller. He did a great job holding down his side of the stage. I could stay out of the way, for the most part, and ask questions, steer the conversations and encourage reaction from the audience. Quite a few folks showed up, especially friends of Russ’s. Russ played hammered dulcimer, octave mandolin, guitar and mouth harps.

I added Roseville Fair, Branching Out, Giant and July, all of which Russ added some fine back up. Actually sounded quite professional. I should not have been surprised but it was.

Russ had a great grip on his storytelling, several times looking at me and asking if it was okay to tell a story. That’s the beauty of DNO. Always a great night.

This was an unique opportunity to have Cindy’s voice heard, especially since the GD book has been released. I had shortcomings (as pointed out by Cindy) in the book, especially with the omission of photos of Rosalie Sorrels. This was a small way to atone for that.

I planned on adding some songs from some of the folks we were to talk about. I worked up Rock Salt and Nails (Utah Phillips, covered by Rosalie), Roseville Fair (Bill Staines), How Legends are Made (John Gorka), Louise (Paul Siebel). I had a few others in mind but circumstances made me change to these songs.

The chat was open and interesting, talking about the early days about the club. It was particularly nice to see Cindy smiling, and, at the end, Cindy said there was so much more to talk about. Indeed, and I hope we have the opportunity to do this again.

Some video: https://www.facebook.com/danielle.notaro.12/videos/1293294011531368

I was looking forward to sharing the Godfrey’s stage with friends Tom and Betty Druckenmiller on Wednesday, rescheduled from a snow date the week before. I am still in recovery from my bladder operation (and cancer diagnosis), and still dealing with some fatigue and depression. I know I can count on playing some music with friends to help me out.

I had decided to focus our session on Family Music, and how we are shaped by making music with spouses and kids and parents. There were some interesting ideas brought up.

We talked about groups like The Carter Family, bluegrass brother acts, and other important folk acts like The McGarrigles, The Roches, Happy and Artie Traum and more, and how those collaborations functioned (or not..). Betty and Tom shared their history of making old time music together, Betty’s journey on taking up fiddle mid-life, and raising their son Nathan in the tradition.

While referencing my own family music history, though I never was able to play with my family members, I did recall singing in church pews with my family, and next to my dad Wayne, an accomplished choral singer in his own right. Though not in the folk tradition, it was an important influence in my singing in public and in a safe space. No small thing, and it was a pleasant reflection on my development as a musician.

As always, Dave’s Night Out was a stimulating experience for us all, and that includes the small audience.

Another stimulating evening with George Hrab, a prolific songwriter, performer and thinker. We’ve been doing these sessions the last week of the year for several years now, and they never fail to amuse and inspire me.

Tonight, we spent a lot of time talking about George’s Ukrainian heritage and he played two songs in Ukrainian. It was quite interesting. We talked about why Eastern European music is always in minor keys. We talked about his dad as a musician, playing in wedding bands and more. The audience seemed to drink it all in. And I loved the sparks.

I chipped in with Don’t Call Me Early and Giant. George liked that it was a waltz and how it is different than a straight 4 beat. There’s a lilt and swing to the 3/4 beat while the 4/4 is insistent.

I asked if he had “The Artistic Moment” when he realized he was an artist, not just a musician, podcaster, drummer, etc. and said he knew early on that he was an entertainer, even as a child. I talked about the moment, driving away from one of the CT Teaching Artist sessions when it dawned on me that I thought like an artist, not just a folk musician.

The series has financial support this year from Bethlehem Fine Arts Commission and it is living up to those standards: talking art.

I was looking forward to spending some time on stage with my friend Joey Mutis, aka The Electric Farm. We have always shared a certain repartee with each other, our musical influences and many times listening to each other’s bands.  We are close to brothers.

Again, it was a small audience with several Joey fans in the house. Joey seemed a little more unsettled tonight, though he came through with several new (to me) songs. I started with Ground Hog, Rosie is a Friend of Mine, It’ll Be Me and closed with We Are Welcomed, with Joey filling some nice leads.

This particular audience had very little to say, and I admit somewhat put off by that. Usually there’s some interesting reflections that spur the artists’ conversation. Joey was a little scattered and I felt that made the audience a little skittery, too.

One interesting question came up at the end: What song would you play as your time ran out? Joey sang a little of “She’s Leaving Home” from the Beatles, among others and I chimed in with Here Comes The Sun, explaining its mystical beginnings for me, playing a really good Martin for the first time. Upon reflection, I also thought that I’d like to play it perfectly for the first time, at the end of my life.

Still, we got some thumbs up from the audience for the evening and the series, but I came away somewhat disappointed. So it goes.

I was a little bushed from a RockRoots doubleheader in the morning, but had some time to recompose for Wednesday’s Dave’s Night Out with my friend Jack Murray. We figured we’d explore the space between Country Music and Folk Music, and it turned out to be very good topic. Jack has a mind and a gift for exposition on stuff like this so he came armed for bear with a great list of songs, and I put some thought into it as well. The conversation was easy between Jack, myself and the audience.

I found out that Mike Duck is helping to sponsor this series by doing sound for free for mention of his Web Foot Digital web-building business. Big thanks, Mike!

Jack brought out Four Strong Winds, Last Thing On My Mind, If I Were A Carpenter, Irene Goodnight, Long Black Veil, and Girl From Mexico, a song from Ramona’s dad. Jack gave up early on that one, but I insisted on him reciting it. It turned out to be quite wonderful and I hope he does it again as spoken word. There’s power in that medium.

I brought out Bill Monroe Georgia Rose, Carter Family’s Wildwood Flower, The Byrds’ Farther Along, Bill Staines’ Roseville Fair, Dylan’s Girl From the North Country Fair, even The Temptations’ My Girl.

We were able to mark important shifts in the folk/country continuum like, the Dylan/Cash duet on TV, The Byrds Sweetheart of the Rodeo, the Will The Circle Be Unbroken album, Woody and Leadbelly’s Goodnight Irene, Tom Paxton, etc.

There were a few more in the audience, breaking into double figures for a change. I really am proud of this series for the content and the way it is delivered on this historic stage. Tonight was a perfect example. Thanks, Jack.

This was a flash-back to a DNO that we did four years ago, almost to the day, with my friends Bill Hall and Gregg Cagno. I started with Going Away from Utah Phillips and then passed off to Gregg. Early on, we talked about Jersey songwriters like them (I included John Gorka) who had access to the NYC folk scene and were able to head into the city to see the greats and play the open mikes, as well. As we rotated amongst the three of us, Gregg and Bill did some really fine original tunes. I was able to bring in my new arrangement of Imagine, Branching Out, Rodeo Rider (on 12-string), and my Lessons From Pete.

My friend and now Eastonite Andrew Dunn had chatted earlier.  I said how much I liked his Steel Is Strong song from the recent Bethlehem Steel album, and that I was playing it on my radio shows. He then said that it was based on my Lessons From Pete. I found that amusing, but, in playing it on stage tonight, I caught the reference. No wonder I liked it. Frankly, it was a honor to hear that.

Martin SC-13E

Bill had come in early to do some recording for his Rosie Project and had worked with Gregg already. When I came down around 4:30, things were all set up for my session. I brought my SC-13E down for this one and rolled through my version of Rosie is a Friend of Mine. The Rosie Project plans on having a multitude of version of his song on one album, with the other album Bill’s other material. Since we all set up, Bill suggested I try out a few more tunes so I stepped up with Stan Rogers’ Giant, John Gorka’s Branching Out and Alex Bevan’s Rodeo Rider (on 12-string). Bill and Gregg filled in some vocals on Branching Out. Amazingly, I was able to roll right through the songs on the first take, though the process is pretty exhausting.

Bill bought Indian food from Na Wab down the street, and it served as a nice break between the recording session and the show.

As usual, there was a dearth of folks for the show, but the music and conversation was stimulating and humorous. It was good to be with these good friends.

These Dave’s Night Outs were formed somewhat tongue-in-cheek back when I was gigging quite a bit. Well, not so much anymore as they are evenings when I actually get out of my apartment for some music with friends.

Tonight I got to play with Noah Gibney on his 15th birthday. Noah has been gigging with my good friend Kris Kehr in the Reading area, and is a wildly talented “old soul” kid who sings, plays and performs like someone twice his age (and unlike some folks I know, never get around to). Noah plays piano and guitar, writes some of his own material and, most importantly, listens before he plays.

Noah Gibney

Kris had told me that his instincts are off the chart and I could trust that he could pick up on songs on the spot. So, I had every confidence that I could throw stuff at him and he would respond. He did. Towards the end, I did Stan Rogers’ Giant at him, pretty much in a different tradition, and he added some great sound to the song. He was also open to improvisational techniques that I plopped in front of his ears. (Kris, of course, knows to expect that from me) He started off with a great (though long) version of Stormy Monday. Later on, we did several rondos where we passed leads among the three of us, just like old pros, unspoken on stage.

Kris Kehr

As usual, there were very few folks in the audience, but the conversations were quite interesting, talking about bridges in songs, and other musical esoterica.

It was Noah’s 15th Birthday. Amazing. I love these nights.