Had a great music weekend these past few days, including a birthday party for a longtime friend, a Jubilee show, and a very fun afternoon show sitting in on some songs. Friday’s birthday party had lots of people in attendance that I hadn’t seen for years, and many others that I just don’t see frequently enough. A lot of these folks have been around one or more bands I’ve been involved with for years, and it’s great to share that kind of history with people! Very cool watching people sing along to songs that they may not have heard for a long time, but still remember!

The Rock & Roll Jubilee was a sell-out on Saturday; in fact, it’s the first time the show has sold out pre-show! The house was packed, the energy was high, and we saw lots of friends in attendance. Also got to meet lots of new folks, which is always fun (especially when they like it . It’s fun to watch an audience that has maybe just remembered why they’ve loved music all of these years, and just realized that all they loved about it doesn’t have to end when they reach 25 or 30!

I’ve written before about how rewarding it is to meet people who have seen us for the first time – the Taters, the Jubilee, whatever – and seem to have sort of an epiphany when they realize that it’s still fun to go out and hear live music! So many people have given it up over the years, especially as they get older, have families, earlier work mornings, etc. A lot of times they have an idea that “That was something we did when we were younger” and just sort of gave up on it. But then they wind up at one of our shows, and they remember that there’s nothing quite like spending an evening with friends, or meeting new people, listening to music they really enjoy. And there’s no better way to do that than in local clubs, concerts & festivals.

I think it’s fine people have so many options these days for seeing music and other entertainment on TV, DVD, cable, YouTube, etc. and I do plenty of that myself, but it doesn’t hold a candle to being part of the live experience. Even in the smallest shows there’s an energy there that just can’t be absorbed from a screen, an energy that audience members are involved in creating WITH the band. In the Taters, we often make a point of saying “No two shows the same”, and that’s true from the setlist to the solos, but it’s especially true because of the audience. Every night we play a song, even if we’ve played it 1,000 times before, it hits a person or group of people in different ways, and that response (hopefully good!) feeds back into the performance, making each show a one-of-a-kind event.

Watching music, movies, whatever on TV or the computer is similar to Facebooking in some ways; you can see and learn a lot, find things you enjoy, and increasingly share feedback on items and events. But it can never really replace face-to-face contact with the real world, and that goes for entertainment just as much as for personal relationships. If you know someone who regularly goes out to get involved in live music events – as a player OR as an audience member – just ask them what they like about it; most are happy to tell you!

menagerie won Best Album in the 2010 Twirlie Awards last night in Sacramento. Mike and Amber Lidkin, the hosts of the show were able to hook up a conference call with Brad & I during the show, and I think the whole thing will be on a podcast soon. Here’s a past Tater bit from Twirl Radio, and Mike also has another show on Recharged Radio, The Tuesday Night Dinner Show on… well… Tuesday nights! You can listen to both shows over the web thru the 21st century magic of streaming audio (those crazy kids and their computers!), and Mike has started posting podcasts of that show, too. He’s been a great supporter of the Taters over the years and a big fan of indie music.

TWIRL Radio also has, as you might expect, a Facebook Page and a Twitter feed so go out and become the fan you want to be.

And don’t forget to tune into TWIRL on Feb 20 for our coast-to-coast CD release for menagerie!

We’re getting setup for the show at the new Six String Cafe in Raleigh, NC. Beautiful new spot since they moved, and this is our first time here. Good crowd so far, so that’s nice.

Been really bad at posting over the last few months, so it’s a new year, gotta try harder!

poster

And so… circular! The latest Tater CD menagerie is finally here! They came in on Monday, along with new posters, download cards and shiny new display units! The stickers arrived today, so the UPS guy is very aware of us at this point!

Hope to have them in all the online locations as soon as possible – they’ve already shipped off to CD Baby and Amazon, and DigStation will have it up very soon for download as well. If you want a CD copy and just can’t wait until it wanders online, contact me and I’ll work out how to get it to you. It’ll have to be check or Paypal at this point, as I don’t have a way to take credit cards outside of the usual channels (like CD Baby).

Theresa Pollak Awards for Excellence in the Arts

I don’t think this has made it to the blog yet – The Taters won this year as Best Ensemble (and I don’t think it has anything to do with our wardrobe. Although, with Greg’s shirts…?). Here’s a bit about the prize, from the Richmond magazine website:

Richmond magazine invites you to celebrate the artists whose words, fine art, music, choreography, acting, directing, film and photography enrich the cultural life of our regions. Since 1998, readers have been asked to nominate artists to the panel of selectors, made up of former honorees and arts leaders, who then choose the honorees for recognition with the Pollak Prize for Excellence in the Arts at our awards ceremony in October.

It was a huge surprise to us, since we had no idea we were even up for a nomination. There’s a write-up in the October issue of Richmond Magazine, which is on the stands now, and you can also read about it on the Richmondmagazine.com website. And while we’re at it, here’s a bit more about Theresa Pollak. Thanks to all who nominated us, whoever you may be!

Just finished listening to Jim’s guitar part on “Feet Start Walking”, and it’s great. Right now suffering thru listening to Bill solo my bass & piano bits to get them all EQ’d nicely… sure sounds better when the rest of band is around it! Ah well, that’s the beauty of the studio – I can play just like me, and Bill can make me sound just like I do in my head (which is always better!).

Overall I’m loving what everyone has come out with on this. There’s been a lot of work done by everyone, and I hope it shows.

or, sounds, I guess…

We’ve had dozens of shows over the last few months, and that’s kept us out of the studio quite a lot, but I’m hoping we’re nearly wrapped up on this. 4 shows this weekend, including a very fun “Christmas in July” day to help raise money and awareness for the Central Virginia Food Bank. We got to play a whole evening of Christmas tunes, in the middle of summer. Ho ho ho! We also got to do this with our pals from Offering, so we had the benefit of Jeanine’s beautiful voice and a whole stage of very talented players – even strings & flute, so we were truly culture filled! These folks did a beautiful job on the music, and with organizing the whole thing. Chris had a relaxing 15 hour day of setting up & running the stage sound, so I know he was wiped out by the end of it! A big Tater thanks, though, for all his hard work. Mike came down from Stafford to help out for the evening, we even pressed Cole into service, and everyone’s help was needed and appreciated. The event was by all accounts a big success, and I think the Food Bank got lots of donations and exposure.

OK, back to work. I’ll try to post some of the results of the mix later this week

Just a quick posting, so I can get something up here! Here are a few videos posted by a Tater fan on YouTube. These are from a recent show we did with Willie Nelson in Richmond.

The Kiss

That’s Where I Belong

There are lots of other Tater videos from a variety of folks over at our YouTube site -- Tatervids

Not sure if I’ve posted this at all yet, but here is a sneak peek at the cover for the new CD –

We’ve also started adding shirts & buttons with the new cover to our CafePress site, so if you haven’t been over to see those now’s as good a time as any

We’ve finished the mixing on several songs, so (dare I think it?) the end is in sight! Back in again next week to continue mixing. In the meantime, here is a clip (unmixed) from the intro to Spend a Little Time with Me, featuring Chris & Alan from the Grandsons on horns!

For Virginia folks, we’re up at the Ashland Coffee & Tea tomorrow night, Sat, May 30 starting at 8pm, so come on out and say hi. And the Grandsons are there on June 5, so go see the show and tell ‘em you heard them on a Tater track!

This was in the Richmond Times-Dispatch today:

Death of Gary Gerloff will be a loss to area music scene

JEREMY SLAYTON AND JEFF E. SCHAPIRO TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITERS
Published: May 26, 2009

James Gerald “Gary” Gerloff cast a large presence throughout the Richmond music community.

He was quite literally a bear of a man whose shock of wiry white hair and beard recalled the late Jerry Garcia — a likeness Mr. Gerloff, an admirer of the Grateful Dead co-founder, welcomed.

Mr. Gerloff was a talented musician, singer and songwriter in his own right, but his impact on the local music scene went deeper. He was quick to champion other musicians and deflect praise from himself to those with whom he played.

“Just an amazingly generous spirit. Such a giving and loving guy; he was always thinking of others, always willing to give credit,” said Coby Batty, a musician and friend of Mr. Gerloff.

Mr. Gerloff, who led the Gary Gerloff Band performing his own compositions as well as rock, blues and soul hits by other artists, died Saturday at his Richmond home after a brief illness. He was 58.

To those who knew Mr. Gerloff, his was a life spent helping others.

A longtime resident of Richmond, Mr. Gerloff’s philanthropic activities across Richmond were numerous. He helped launch an annual concert series to support the Positive Vibe Café, a restaurant in South Richmond with many handicapped employees.

He performed at fundraising events for the Massey Cancer Center at VCU Medical Center and was on the program committee for the Richmond Folk Festival.

“Probably at the sacrifice of his own life and maybe his family’s life, he was willing to give to one and all,” said Garth Larcen, owner of Positive Vibe Café. “Gary was one of the guys that whenever I did ask him, and I made it a point not to ask too many times because of that, he consistently always found a way to do it.”

Mr. Gerloff was a man who lived life to the fullest, said those who knew him. Batty described his friend as someone who always lived in the moment, while another local musician, Susan Greenbaum, said Mr. Gerloff was at ease with himself, which helped those around him relax in sometimes intense situations, such as recording the vocals for “Ancestor Worship,” his first-released CD.

“I think he provided other musicians a reminder to enjoy themselves, because sometimes when you play music a lot . . . you sometimes forget that you’re lucky as can be to make music and have people listen,” Greenbaum said.

Mr. Gerloff’s interests went beyond music. He was an avid baseball enthusiast and longtime season-ticket holder for the Richmond Braves. A devoted gastronome, Mr. Gerloff could often be found poolside at Granite Pool in South Richmond discussing recipes, meals and beverages in detail.

Greenbaum said Mr. Gerloff’s death is “a huge loss for the Richmond music community and a huge loss for Richmond generally, because Gary had a very warm, fuzzy presence.”

I’d echo all of that. Gary was a truly a larger-than-life character, and it was a privilege to know him and to play music together.

We got another tremendously appreciated gift towards the CD this week, which will really help us get this thing moving along! I continue to be amazed and gratified by the amount of support we get from folks who’ve seen us and like the music! Who’da thunkit! A big Tater THANK YOU – you know who you are

I think the horn parts on “Spend a Little Time With Me” are done – we’ll know more as we mix.  Chris Watling sent his part across the ether and we’ll be adding it to the trumpet parts that Alan already put down. After that, there are a few small fixes to work on, and then mixing, which is due to start any day now. I’m traveling a lot for work right now, so that’s slowed me down a bit, but I hope to catch up soon!

Had a great time at the VibeFest 2009 last weekend, rain notwithstanding. It did hold off a bit during our set, so that was nice for us. Big thanks to Chris Guidry for sound on that show, and to all the techs who helped keep the rain water off of us and the electrical cords! Bzzzzt! Here’s a nice little video piece that I just found about the VibeFests. We’re not in the clip, but it’ll give you an idea of what this is all about:

We’re back at the Positive Vibe this evening for a show with Offering. We tried to schedule this a month ago, but it didn’t work out, so I’m really looking forward to it tonight!

just a quick update to let you know that the recording on the new CD is nearly finished! We have a few tweaks here and there and then we’re ready for mixing, so I’m still hoping for a late Spring or early Summer release! Working with The Grandsons this week, who are putting horn parts on a few songs – Alan came down to Ashland to add trumpet to “Spend a Little Time with Me” and “Lonely Like That”, and Chris will be recording his parts in MD and sending them through this marvelous new Internet thing I hear so much about.  I’m looking forward to hearing how the final mix comes out! Those who have been around Taterland for any length of time have heard the Grandsons before, either live – we’ve done Christmas shows with them for the past 5 years – or on our live CD, “Just One Night” from 2005.

We have young Jim Wark back on a tune this time around. Jim was also on the live album, and it’s fun hearing him on the new material. Jim’s been playing with Brad & I, along with Brian & George in the Rock & Roll Revue shows, another of which happens this Saturday in Ashland. You can see the videos from the last show on the new Taters YouTube channel, TaterVids!

OK, that’s it for the nonce. Stay tuned!