I was looking forward to chatting with Christine tonight. She’s become quite a fixture on the LBGTQ circuit and is a regular performer now at Godfrey’s. It took a while to find a date since she no longer lives in the Philly area, but this worked out well.

Christine has worked her way through playing guitar with a kids’ music group (Cat’s Pajamas) a long time ago, playing small folk clubs like Godfrey’s and now is recognized as strong women’s songwriter. She’s got chops on the guitar to match her lyrics and also has become a confident performer. I knew this would work. I just had to figure how to get my music in sync with hers.

I started off with Branching Out (John Gorka) and mentioned that there was an artifact on the walls in the song. It was, of course, the Louisville Slugger bat that Christine Lavin gave John years ago. After the show, one woman said that this song took her in from the get go. A good choice for a new audience. We took off from there as we played songs, talked about her early days watching performers like The Story and Jonatha Brooks here on this stage, saying “that’s what I want to do.”

It was a good crowd, for a change, and she had lots of fans in the audience. This also afforded me a chance to play my songs in front of a fairly new audience for me. I played Rosie is a Friend of Mine, Giant, Lessons from Pete, and tried out some new ones: May You Never and What About the Bond, both landed well. Christine plays loud (too loud for my tastes) but that’s part of her aggressive sound.

It was nice to share our philosophies about love, in a global sense, getting people to sing along, songwriting, “taking it to the bridge”, open tunings and more. As usual, it was good session and folks really enjoyed the evening, as did Christine.

My Martin roared.

I lined up this session with my friend Bill Schachter and his weekly trio of friends (self-titled Notorious B.I.D) who play music among themselves. Bill’s having a tough time with some serious health problems but I’ve heard from Carole, his wife, that these sessions have been instrumental in keeping his spirits up during his treatments. It’s that idea that spurred me to do this DNO on “Kitchen Folk Music”, about the social aspect of playing at home with friends, and not for public consumption.

Bill along with Ben Wright and Frank Pappalardo gather weekly. I wanted to explore how they decide what to play, work on harmonies, etc. and this was a great opportunity for them to discuss the dynamics of their get-togethers. We had some really nice discussion with each other and with the audience members, as well.

I had a kitchen session a few weeks ago up in CT and had brought this up with those friends. We talked about trust, friendship and a relatively politically free atmosphere. I brought up some of my thoughts from that session. We talked about being in the moment, listening first and playing second, etc.

Bill presented a poem from last New Year’s Eve with Bill and his daughter Rachel:

“Dammit, Dave, you gave us a stage, A place to come and play.

There was a nice, supportive audience, especially with some of Bill and Carole’s family in town for Thanksgiving. In fact, I had the chance to play Bob Franke’s Thanksgiving Eve song and it really hit home.

Thanksgiving Eve – Bob Franke

It’s so easy to dream of the days gone by,                  D C G

It’s a hard thing to think of the times to come.          D A D

But the grace to accept ev’ry moment as a gift,        D C G

Is a gift that is given to some.                                         D A D

Chorus:

What can you do with your days but work & hope,            A G D A

Let your dreams bind your work to your play.         G A

What can you do with each moment of your life,    D C G

But love til you’ve loved it away,                                   D G A

Love til you’ve loved it away.                                         D G A D

There are sorrows enough for the whole world’s end,

There are no guarantees but the grave.

And the life that I live & the time I have spent,

Are a treasure too precious to save.

It was a very good evening, and people were thankful for it.

I invited two fine folks for my first Dave’s Night Out of the fall season for an Old School Country evening at Godfrey’s. Per usual, it was sparsely attended, but that doesn’t affect the quality of music, information or communication that goes on. One woman said that it’s like being in one’s living room, and, technically, that’s true.

Jack Murray is a close friend and Brian Molnar is a new one, but I was sure that we could cross our country roots quite well. And we did. Jack knows what I’m trying to do with this format and Brian picked up quickly about the chat/music/audience interaction concept and really came through.

Jack Murray

I started off with Wildwood Flower on guitar with Jack chiming in. A good place to begin. Brian did a nice Appalachian Cuckoo’s Nest and we were off. Over the course of the night we shared Jimmie Rodgers, Hank Williams, Willie and Merle, Delmore Brothers, Lefty Frizzell, Dylan’s Nashville Skyline days, cowboy songs and our individual takes on contemporary takes on great country tunes. Bonnie Wren moved up to sing on I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight.

Brian Molnar

And, as usual, the conversation was crisp, informative and humorous (that’s why I’m here….), and the music was well played, the essence of what this event should be.

I picked out Back in the Saddle Again, I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight, Rodeo Rider, and a solid version of Mother, the Queen of My Heart and noodled on mandolin on some of the others’ tunes. I learned a bunch of country minutiae about spurned wives, arcane business dealings and a general appreciation for the breadth and width of all that is Country Music. (It was hard to play Mother, Queen…. with my friend Dave’s recent passing of his mom while he was right in front of me…. but that’s what country music’s for…). I made a few errors on a few songs (I really should prepare more for these…) but that’s the lure of these extemporaneous evenings.

The Portal

There were obvious mentions of the Ken Burns series going on, as we speak, and, perhaps that, and the early GD season, made for a small audience. But, over all, I’m glad that the PBS series is a cultural presence, is wonderfully produced, and may spark some interest in the Americana music we’ve all been performing for decades. In a way, it is a cultural vindication of what folk music is all about. That’s powerful stuff.

I got to share all of this stuff with a few friends and fellow musicians in my house: Godfrey Daniels. 

It is always a pleasure to spend time with Pete Kennedy, talking about the biz of performance, folk music and guitar. Tonight was no different. Pete, besides being a great guitarist, is a highly intelligent and creative person who also happens to be a good listener. I enjoy his respect for what I do as much as I respect his talents so I was able to share some of what I do as a Teaching Artist.

There were few folks in the house tonight, per usual, but the two hours passed by quickly, leaving all in the room slightly intoxicated with the proceedings. Pete is able to clearly expound on guitar technique, songwriting, touring, performance and philosophy. Definitely my kind of person.

Tonight was interesting in that I now have the possibility of taking these DNO shows to a new level on the internet. Ron Olesko, folk radio programmer, is now putting together an internet radio station and wants to include a Dave’s Night Out weekly show. This would fit the bill perfectly. Ron is looking for material that is not just spinning records but something deeper. Both Pete and I were aware of playing to this potential audience as well as to the few folks in the house.

Pete played behind some of my tunes: Branching Out, Pinto Pony, I’m Part of the Union and Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door, and was able to describe his thoughts on how to back up the song. Listen first, add in small licks, face the singer (address the performer’s presence), play lead when needed, be aware of the dynamics of the song and support the song. All very obvious techniques that, unfortunately, few are aware of.

Pete also stepped up with several great musical moments, including his Rhapsody in Blue on Uke and a spontaneous Greatest Guitar Licks medley that was astounding. He is a brilliant player.

It is remarkable that Pete makes this trip out of the NY for a measly $100 on a Wednesday night to share this stage with me. He knows what this is all about. I have the greatest respect for folk like him who respect Godfrey Daniels and myself as a fellow musician. Transcendental. And it is a shame that the Lehigh Valley doesn’t come out to support this series. Perhaps folk radio will change this.

I signed up to be tour manager for Erik Frandsen. Erik was one of the early NYC performers to play Godfrey’s in ’76, amazing us all with his deft guitar work, expansive repertoire and quick wit. It had been a long time since he’s played here and the Dave’s Night Out format was a good way to have him back. He is a very intense man.

Since he’s a NYC boy (without a car….), I said I would pick him up and take him back. He took me for my word and that made for a long day. I headed out at 12:30 to pick him up around 2:30 so we could beat the afternoon traffic back to the Valley. My GPS took me into the Bronx by mistake but I figured it out and made it to The Village by 2:45. Not too bad.

We had a good ride back as I asked him about living in the City, acting for a living, playing small gigs in cafes, etc. Erik took me across the street for a meal. He had a burger, onion rings, a beer and a double Jameson. We headed back for a quick sound check and the 7 pm show.

It was nice to see some old fans in the house, including Dick Boak, Rolly Brown, Anne Mintz and others who knew Erik from way back when. I told Erik that I would kick it off and then let him play two songs to my one. Rolly came up and did a song as well. Erik’s still a great performer, incredible guitarist and superb songwriter. After one of his fine jazzy tunes, I remarked that his songs are cinematic, essentially a movie boiled down to 4 minutes. Erik commands the stage (and the conversation) and I remarked to Rolly that I was lucky to finish the evening unscathed.  He can be acerbic to a fault, but tonight was a friendly one. Driving back, he mentioned several times what a great gig it was for him. I didn’t make any money, paid for gas and tolls but no matter. It was all worth it.  I serve the master gladly.

I had to hustle him into the car for the ride back to the Village (thankfully, it’s a fairly straight shot in and out of the Holland Tunnel) and it was smooth sailing. I dropped him off on Bleeker Street and I made it back a little after midnight. I was exhausted.

Dig the purple.

This was an interesting and refreshing DNO, featuring three of my poet friends (yes, female) on stage at Godfrey’s for my monthly artistic chat. Ah, yes, poets! Ann Michael, Cleveland Wall and Danielle Notaro are wonderful poets; they know how to write and present their works on stage. That’s not always the case. 

Early on, I understood that I should not assume the focus tonight but stumbled upon the idea of my adding some instrumentals to the mix, and that turned out to be a really good thing. I set up stage left and emceed and played from there, and the three ladies took stage center. We proceeded with a round robin that proved entertaining, fairly fast-paced, and made the evening go quickly.

Cleveland, who is an active member of our TALV sessions, was great. She does her poems from memory and she is able to add subtle movement and eye-contact. Danielle is a more aggressive poet and performer who has recently linked her work with some musicians. Ann is a good friend in my small family circle but has a boat-load of thoughtful and introspective poems that I follow with her on her FB.

There was a small crowd, as usual, but pretty hip. Anne prepared a “Poet Quiz” that I used. These folks knew their Ozymandias’s. We talked about extending poetry into other means of cross-pollination: music, movies, video, etc. Each woman shared thoughts about how they write. We talked about songwriters being poets, and on from there.

Ann likes Si Bheag, Si Mhor.

As far as my part, I was comfortable in guiding the evening along. I picked out Fountain Hill Nightmare Rag (theme song from Live from GD radio show), Foxglove (in heavy rotation in my kitchen), and, on the mandolin, my Star of the County Down/Heel and Toe Polka medley. I also snuck in  Si Bheag, Si Mhor. on the guitar. I found out later from David, her husband, that it is one of her favorites. I am particularly glad that I could add my ‘finger-voice’ to the show, without it being my masculine voice.

As usual, my friends and the audience thanked me for presenting poetry here at Godfrey’s. Thinking back though, I was probably running out of musical ideas for guests at the time. But that’s between you and me.

As always, these gatherings are wonderfully inspiring, informative and fun – and under-attended. Tonight’s topic was Sing and Swing so I invited two marvelous swingsters Rolly Brown and Wendi Bourne. Wendi has sung on all of my albums but she also is a great stride guitarist as well, working with Girls from Mars and other tight vocal groups. Rolly is a master guitarist and teacher and they’ve both played together for years.

I started out with The Barnyard Dance, one of several swing-ish tunes I do and then let Wendi and Rolly loose on their real swing tunes, Wendi laying down the rhythm chops, Rolly playing leads and then Wendi chiming in with some great scat singing. Along the way, we talked about some of the great influences that have shaped swing music in our repertoires, the various variations of blues, lounge, jazz, Texas Swing, and more. Django, Bob Wills, Joe Pass, Ella Fitzgerald, and more. We covered a lot of bases during the evening, chatted with the audience and played some fine music. I had the best seat in the house, between these two friends.

During the course of the evening, I pulled out Dan Hicks’ Crazy Cause He Is, one I hadn’t planned on but pulled off, spur of the moment. I did Cab Calloway’s Hey Now and Leon Redbone’s Walking Stick as well. They fit in nicely with Rolly and Wendi’s standards, though not up to the brilliance of their playing. But, it’s how the evening rolls.

I am barely in the same league with both Wendi and Rolly as far as swing expertise but that’s neither here or there when it comes to our friendships and mutual respect. I come away with a really good feeling with the high quality of the evening’s entertainment, and I know that Wendi and Rolly and the small audience did, too.

Tonight was a good night at Godfrey’s. Sam Steffen returned from Philly for a song swap with myself and a good crowd of friends and admirers. Sam is a special songwriter who writes epic topical songs that have biblical storytelling hooks (lots of Samson referrals tonight) that still are linked to his personal experiences. Most of his songs have a dozen or more verses, his language is rich and his wordplay extraordinary. Since he moved to Philly over a year ago with his fiance Jamil, he’s been working with the homeless, trying to facilitate postal addresses for them (if you don’t have a home, you don’t have property and you don’t have an address – making you a non-person officially). So, he’s walking the walk.

Sam did two songs for every on of mine, but I tried to do some hard-hitting songs like Ten Men and Rocket Launcher as well as some positive tunes like We Are Welcomed, I Can See Clearly Now and Step by Step. A bunch of these were new to most of the audience. Some friends came up afterward and thanked us for Sam’s amazing tunes and my aggressive guitar work, a good combination. Did I say I love my Martin 000-15M?

As always, these Dave’s Night Out sessions are remarkably intellectually challenging and fulfilling. I’m proud that I’ve developed this unique series. Next month: Sing and Swing with Wendi Bourne and Rolly Brown.