MyWeek in Music April 18th to April 25th - Article 2
by Scott Zensen
Photos by: Scott Zensen
Here is a quick Link back to the first article
Well it was such a busy week and the shows were so big it was necessary to split the article in two. This won't happen very often, unless I get an offer from someone to write an article occasionally for me. I would love to have more than just my opinion about things. So if your a friend I know of and go to a lot of shows and are interested in writing an article here or there, then let me know! Well work something out. There is no pay involved but just your own byline and a place where you can put up some work. You don't even have to use your own name. Want to be anonymous? No problem, I have no problem with that as long as your article is not vindictive or mean. It is not the purpose of this site to write anything derogatory or not in the spirit of promoting the San Diego Music Scene.
On Sunday was a big show at The Belly Up, it was the dual CD release show for Sven-Eric Seaholm and Michael Tiernan. The names of their new CD's are "Sotto Voce" for Sven and Michael's is called "Spaces". The Belly Up is about the best venue available in San Diego. Its definitely my favorite and the favorite of many musicians as well. The atmosphere is dark but still well lit enough to have a conversation with someone and and still see across the room. It has a raised stage and a fantastic sound system that has two different alcoves for the sound engineers. And a alcove above on the right for a lighting guy like Our own Bob (Lights) Wilson. There were a lot of people waiting in anticipation and Michael was down near the entrance thanking people for coming. Astra Kelly took the stage and and introduced Sven and Michael and they did the first couple of songs together. then Michael left the stage and Sven started doing some of the songs on his new CD. Various local musicians of notability would periodically join him. Many of them had made contributions of some sort on the album. People like Cathryn Beeks who used to be in a band may years ago called "The Ghandi Method". Also Peter Bolland from "The Coyote Problem". Barbara Nesbitt, Simeon Flick, Alicia Ruggerio and Drew Andrews to name a few. The night was rolling along very smoothly.
For some reason most musicians around town are very good about being professional and getting set up quickly and having as smooth a transition between acts as possible. But when your at The Belly Up it always feels like a staged production. Its very natural but its like watching a play and all the actors are on their que's and say their lines perfectly. I guess thats what happens at the Belly up, everyone feels like this is a major show and they are enjoying themselves but everything is planned ahead of time to make a smooth show. Which is why after Sven sang many of his songs and did a fantastic job all night. He then pulled a bit of a show stopper. It was still very planned I am sure, but not by the person they pulled up on stage. Sven was about to do one of my favorite songs on the new album, "Ginger Girl". Which is a love song to his wife Gail. He called up Gail to come up on stage as he sang the song to her. She was very reluctant, anyone who knows Gail knows she is a extremely confident person in her craft of photography, but she is a little bashful and shy. Sven knows this but it added to the charm of the moment. His son Drew Andrews helped get her to stage and set up something for her to sit on while Sven sang his song. It was almost a tear jerker for many of us because it was so sweet. And a very positive statement for love. I know Sven loves his wife very much, I have known Sven for a while now and I would say he rather worships the ground she walks on. They are such a lovely couple, it makes me want to go out and find someone again and jump right back into that kind of life. But finding someone is not always that easy and we can't all be as lucky at love as Sven and Gail are! Let's hear it for Scandinavian's when we fall, we fall hard and well.
Astra Kelly took up stage once more and introduced Michael Tiernan. Michael is one of my oldest friends in the Music scene. I knew him way back when I was writing about music on various blog's before I ended up more permanently on MySpace. but we are not close friends I only see him once in a while. An extremely nicer person you'll hardly ever meet. Anyone who knows me knows I have no transportation and Michael is the first person that was a musician who ever gave me a ride home, because he did not want to see me walk home from North Park. Something I used to do often but hardly have to do anymore due to the generosity of my friends. I had heard a lot of Michael's new material in the early days of its conception because their was a time when I went out to where he was playing every week. Sometimes almost being the only one present it was a lot of fun back then! But I had not heard all of his new tune then and had heard a few here and there as he performed them at different venues before he had them on CD. But tonight's performance of all his songs were extraordinary. An exceptional writer and musician, he always gives you a great show and performance but he seemed to be in a groove tonight and he gave us one hell of a show. He sang all of the songs on the new Cd, I think? And also did quite a few others from his previous three CD's as well. On top of everything else tonight it was Michael's Birthday too! So it was quite a day for him! Like Sven he had a lot of people come up an sing with him but he has his own band members and they were up there doing one hell of a job. His Base player is Sam Johnson, Alex DePue who is one of the best Violin players I have ever had the privilege to hear, and Sim Ziff on Drums. These guys work well together and seem to have a real synergy between them. there was a section of the show when Michael had a friend up on stage to explain how the evenings CD sales were going to be donated to a Cancer organization the Michael works. Micheal has had a long and varied life he has led, her himself had been a cancer victim in his teenage years and as a cancer survivor he occasionally does his part to help out. Michael also was once in the process of going to seminary school to become a priest, but had a revelation that music was the path he should follow in order to do god's work. We are all happy that he made that choice. It is now unthinkable to me that I would possible had not had a chance to know Michael and hear his music. That would have been a sad thing to happen.
Michael also had Sven back up on stage but he was providing some percussion instruments, and back-up vocals as well as Cathryn Beeks doing back-up and Barbara Nesbitt coming up for a song or two. Sven is an accomplished musician and I know he is a great guitarist and likes to fool with various percussion instruments. He even sat on keyboards for one of his songs, during his set. Sven is the man behind the production of Michael's new CD where he laid down the tracks at his studio, "Kitsch & Sync Productions". He also produced his own CD and countless others here in San Diego. The show was way cool and as far as I know went off without a hitch. Since it had started at 3pm on a Sunday as a matinee there was plenty of time for the after party. But unfortunately I did not make because of a mix up with my rides. Oh well there will always be opportunities to hang out with friends some other time. I don't know if anyone has ever noticed but I am not a writer. I am a blogger who writes about local music. I hope I do a good job but writing was never one of the many degrees I pursued in College. I do ok but it is just a review style of what happened in the week. I do this to get people interested in going out to see all this wonderful music that happens right in their own backyard. I write it like this in order to get people out and to let the people who can't get out to experience some of this vicariously through me. I am not a critique and I don't review CD's although that might be interesting to do if I could just tell people what i like about it without being negative. I think there are plenty of people out their who are ready to rip apart everyone's hard work but I am not interested in that. So I hope you all enjoy my style of writing and I hope to get more of you out there listening to all the great LIVE music in San Diego.
On Tuesday I made it out again to Cathryn Beeks Mixer at Desi N Friends on Lytton St. in Point Loma. Since it is only a mile and a half down the street from me it is a easy and pleasant break of the day for me. It comes every other Tuesday and Tuesday is the day of final prep I usually do for getting the new issue out. Most of the time I skip going to gigs on Tuesday for just that reason. But i was so far behind this night I figured it would be a nice diversion. I took my camera but when I got there i didn't feel much like taking pictures and there are always lots of photographers there because its such a fun venue. Desi, (which is the name of the bar and the owner of the bar) always puts out a nice spread for the folks who come to the mixer. Finger foods, veggie's, fruit and cheeses and an occasional buffalo wing. The original purpose of the mixer was to have various people in the Local Music Scene or partners with Listen Local to do a meet and great with fan's and music listener's. the first part of the evening was for people to stop by and sign up for an open mic but even though this is a cool venue and very cozy and intimate. Not many people were showing up to play. Cathryn always had a couple of bands to come for later in the evening but now I believe its down graded to just being signed bands and the open mic part has now gone by the wayside. Tonight's bill was Brooklyn, Brenda XU, Derek Evans, William Walter, Lindsey Cook, Nicole Waters, Happy Ron Hill. Now there were some last minute changes. Lindsey Cook and Nicole Waters couldn't make it and Brooklyn was playing with Tim Flack. Which is now going to be a new ongoing thing and is the true reason I decide to stop working on the blog tonight. Other changes to all of our great delight's was that Steph Johnson and Audrey Surface showed up to listen and have a few drinks and ended up being talked into playing by Cathryn. Other notables in the San Diego Music Scene also showed up to listen so it was a lot of fun!
Brooklyn has mostly been a solo artist but from time to time other people have played with her Mitch Budd Alicia Ruggerio and Doktor Dave Sawyer to name a few, even a band called Monovox backed her up once at The Brass Rail. The Monovox one was my favorite, though. But Brooklyn never made any lasting attachments to any of the other people who have played with her. A lot of people in the Music Scene know that Tim Flack is a major shaker and mover and donates a lot of time and money to a lot of various things. His company Idynomite Media sometimes sponsors various gigs and videotapes shows for publication. But few people knew he also plays the guitar and it looks like he will be playing with Brooklyn for a while. Hopefully it will be a lasting relationship. Because after they took the stage I thought it was pretty good. I know Brooklyn would like someone to play with her regularly and Tim was pretty good. they haven't been playing together long and obviously need to practise a little more but what I heard was very very promising.
Brenda Xu was the next one up and I heard this was only the third time she had been up in front of a crowd performing her songs. A promising songwriter her songs were great and her style of singing went well with the song material. She sported two guitars, one acoustic and one electric and the Electric looked like it was too big for her but she wielded it like a pro. For her third time out, with the first two at open mic's I am sure we will hear more from this talented girl. After Brenda came Derek Evens who I just recently saw play at Lou's Birthday Bash at Lestat's. Derek is one hell of a guitar player he has a slap strum style all his own. Its not that others don't do a slap or hammer style of guitar playing. It has to do with how much varied sound and melody he can produce from it. He is very good and I doubt few could play it like he can. He sang quite a few of his songs. and everybody was getting too relaxed. Derek has a soothing voice and the intimate atmosphere and the really really comfortable couches almost had me falling asleep. (I have been extremely tired as of late, it wouldn't take much to put me into slumber land) So I sat up and woke myself up by making myself more uncomfortable. After Derek came William Walter who I had also recently seen at the Acoustic Alliance. An extremely confident young man he is an accomplished performer singer/songwriter. But he seemed to want to talk to the crowd more than do any songs. I think he was feeling a bit comfortable too! He still wow'ed us on a couple of songs as several of the ladies in the crowd were amusingly hackling him. Apparently he has cute dimple's and and he was getting his due from the ladies. Now like I said a few people couldn't show up so Cathryn told him to sing a few more songs but he wasn't feeling it I guess.
So we went to the next artist, which would have been Happy Ron but since Steph Johnson and Audrey Surface showed up they ended up being talked into doing a set. Anyone who has ever heard Steph falls in love with her voice. Audrey too who often backs her up both women are extremely beautiful almost exotically so. But Steph's voice and vocal style is out of this world. Also one of my older friends in the music scene. I used to follow Gregory Page, Michael Tiernan, Anna Troy and Steph Johnson to all of their gigs once before I knew very many other musicians. Steph does a jazzier song style and has one of those voices that can do amazing things. Unfortunately I had not heard her much lately because she does a lot of private parties and gigs I just can't get to without having a ride or car of my own. Audrey and Steph did several songs which was enough for to perk me right up for the evening. I was going to leave earlier in the evening because I had the issue to do, but pleasantly stayed to hear them sing. I missed my ride home because of it but it was worth it and I got a ride from David Matt Green anyway. It was only two miles out of his way.
The last act for the evening was Happy Ron whom I once called "Indomitable" as a descriptor for Happy. I have been hard pressed ever since to come up with another descriptor that is a big word and I have a pretty big vocabulary even though I don't use it often in conversation. But that one will have to do for now. Till I can think of a more appropriate one. the first time I saw or met Happy was at Canes when Scott Wilson was playing there once. He was the MC for the night and I thought that was his normal job. In fact I actually thought maybe he was the owner of the club. The next time I saw him he was hanging out with Brooklyn earlier in the day at Band Camp. I had met him but I didn't know he sang or did comedic songs about life. The first time I did hear him sing I forget where it was at I was petrified. I thought he was on the level and trying to create a career for himself, I didn't listen to the songs very closely and didn't realize he was doing it as a comedy thing. I have seen him numerous times since then and now since then, I realize he can sing nicely if he wants to! He is just a really sweet and cool guy, who's fun to be around. His songs are wonderful examples of real life situations and quite funny when you listen to them. He always gets crowd participation going along with him and he is extremely fun to try and photograph because he really belts out the songs getting all over the stage area. He never stands still! Tonight was his debut with a guitar and as he said he only knows two chords he did a great job with both of them. It was a scream tonight. Its always fun to come down to Desi N Friend's its very friendly the prices are reasonable and the server food for sale and provide a free mini-buffet for the mixers. If you are reading thins then you come to my site and you can see what fun it is to go out and see some of the great local music that's available. Much of it is free to come watch and occasionally there is a small cover that ends up going to the artists. But it is well worth the price for the enjoyment you will get from coming out to listen to these performers LIVE. Well that's all this week. next week will go back to being just one article. Every week doesn't have really large shows and I don't normally take over a 1000 pictures (not all presentable). But hopefully next week will be just as fun. I am sure it will be with the talent that permeates our city. Well I'm Out!
Ciao
Come have some Sushi while listening to great music and have a few Sake Bombs. Restaurant for all ages. the Sake isn't!
