Joe Lev and Friends

Of course by now I need to tell you that I do most of my work as a sideman for various recording artists and bandleaders. I love being an "essential sideman" to paraphrase Ron Carter.

On occasion I get a call for a gig myself and I usually assemble some of the fellas under the name "Joe Lev and Friends". This time I was contacted by the great jazz piano player Jim Martinez. He said a friend of his worked at a winery and was interested in doing a a blues show and he thought of me!!

So after some negotiation, I booked a show for JL &F at the Gold Hill Vineyard Aug 28th @1 PM.

Now the fun part!! I have a lot of very talented friends so who to get?? I told Bryna at the winery that I was gonna bring her a band of bandleaders. Putting together a band is like casting a play or making soup, you need ingredients that compliment each other. I was also loking for maybe some guys that could help sell tickets. I really want this to be an off the chart success.

I got the line up booked, it's an embarrassment of riches, the Miami Heat of the blues.

Read it and weep: Steve Foster guitar/vocals

Aaron King guitar/drums/vocals

Kevin Burton keyboards

Wingnut Adams drums/harmonica/vocals

and your humble blogger on bass/vocals

Looks good on paper, I just hope there is enough ball for LeBron and Dwayne to stay happy. Everyone of these guys can carry a whole night by themselves, it's a gas to call them my friends.

Advance tickets are just $20 and you get lunch and wine or beer.

Back home patching my bones

Well I made, and better than I had any right to expect. I guess there are a few more rodeos left in this old guy.

Played 5 gigs in four days, drove 700 miles. Played a lot of great music. The set with Frankie Lee at the Redwood City Blues Festival stands out. Frankie rose above his recent health problems and put on a stellar show, turned back the hands of time for 45 minutes. That's the power of music, it's life!!!!!

Had a good time with Wingnut too, so good in fact I hired him to be a friend on my JL&F gig coming up next month. I already got Steve Foster too. It's gonna be a band of band leaders, all people that I have worked for and with many many times.

The last gig was last night down in Madera with the Stardust Cowboys. It was hot and miserable in Madera and I got there with several hours to kill(my GPS took me a quick way there from Groveland) Now waiting is the hardest thing and musicians got to hurry up and wait all the time.

It being like 104 and with no place to land, I went down to Fresno and saw the latest very forgettable Tom Cruise movie "Knight and Day". Pretty medium stuff, but it was cool in the theater and the light weight entertainment was just what I was looking for.

Then back to Madera to set up in the Lion's Park. It was hot and sticky, the PA sucked and we were all drained, but the smallish crowd loved our Western Swing and Stardust Cowboy originals. I guess there is a tradition of Western music there, our fiddle player Olen told me of a Bob Wills veteran living near there.

So a little teaching today, a jam session gig, then a well earned day off tomorrow, if I do say so myself.

On the Road

I'm gonna be burning up the highway this weekend, it's always a part of being a musician.

I've always loved traveling, starting with our great family vacations as a small child, reading Kerouac as a teenager inspired more highway dreams. Hit the road quite a bit with club/casino bands as a young man. (plenty of stories there)

I still love to travel, but sometimes it just becomes a chore driving 3 hours to play a 45 minute set somewhere. Don't get me wrong, I love to work, love my work, but as I get older it gets tougher. And getting better gigs usually means traveling more.

For example this week: last night(Thursday), was an easy drive to Lodi to play the Farmer's market with the Bayou Boys. I was home on my couch by 10 PM. Today it gets a bit harder; tonight it's a couple hours to Groveland with Wingnut Adams, Saturday afternoon it's 3 hours to Redwood City for the blues festival with Frankie Lee then another 3 back to Groveland. Sunday you can find me in Madera for a park concert with the Stardust Cowboys, then back another 3-4 back home.

Like I said I do what I love and love what I do. I love seeing new things, meeting people, playing music in a variety of places. But many hours this week will find me out on the freeway on the open road, winding over a mountain pass, or making my way through bay area traffic. If you see a dusty gold Chevy HRR, honk and wave!!

TJ and Lindsey bought me a GPS(we call her Mandy) for Father's Day. What a great invention!

It's been especially helpful on the bay area freeway system, which always confounds me, being directionaly challenged.

Time to get back truckin, see you next week!

Making hay while the sun shines

Thats' what they say about show biz or business in general: feast or famine. Right now it's feast, August is shaping up pretty undernourished(have bass will travel!!! Call me please).

5 gigs this week:Monday at the Station, Wednesday at the Hacienda, for the weekend Friday with the Jokers in Sacramento, then I hit the road with the Stardust Cowboys, ending up in Lake Almanor on Sunday.

I have spent hours slaving over a hot computer learning the Cowboys songs. They do mostly originals plus some great Western Swing mostly by Bob Wills. I am really falling for the whole Western Swing thing, it combines many of my favorite musics:Jazz, Blues, Country, Bluegrass into something entirely it's own. Makes me want to get another upright(bass violin), it's the right instrument for the style.

Next week 7 gigs. After the usual Monday and Wednesday jams, Thursday it's the Lodi Farmer's Market with the Bayou Boys, then I hit the road: Friday, the Iron Door in Groveland with Wingnut Adams, Saturday Day the Redwood City Blues Festival with Frankie Lee, then back to the Iron Door for Sat. Night. Sunday, I head down to Madera to the Cowboy Festival with The Stardust Cowboys.

I am a bit nervous about working so much in so few days, but I got to get it whilest I can. I can sleep in August! Doing double gigs and working night after night really wear me down these days, even though I am in maybe the best shape of my life, the years do take their toll.

Still here......

I have been real busy these past couple weeks, lots of gigs with the Bayou Boys, the Jokers, and Frankie Lee. Now I am knee deep in Western Swing getting ready for my gigs with the Stardust Cowboys. Takes a lot of time to learn a repertoire and I am dealing with diverse styles.

So rest assured there will be more stories of the past and present and until then thank you and leave it on!!!

Honkey Tonk Heroes

Seems to me that there is an inordinate number of great musical artists laboring in obscurity here in the Sacramento area. I imagine there are other clusters but this one is pretty damn amazing.

I'm not talking about up and coming rock bands, or the few rock bands to make it big out of here, like the Deftones or Tesla but more the older cats with many years of experience that are still playing like they mean it, with love and intensity. Anyone of these guys, coulda, woulda, shouda been famous, some have been there(I know at least three players in the area that played at Woodstock) but for various reasons it never happened. Sometimes it's a choice, sometimes it's bad luck, sometimes good luck( who can handle rock stardom?)

I think talent is a not a really rare commodity, it takes so much more to be successful. Scott Joss(Dwight Yokum, Merle Haggard), one of the ones who did achieve big time success told me that being a great player is the first step, maybe 5% of the total picture.

All you music lovers out there know this:Any night of the week you can go out to a bar and hear great music, not that much different than what you pay $100 for an OK seat to see. And you can get up close and personal and if you are an aspiring player, ask questions. I spent many a night for many years going out watching the areas best do there thing, it was a big part of my education.

I think from time to time I will profile some of these greats, just as a tip of the hat to these wonderful artists, who I gratefully consider friends.

Zydeco Weekend

Summer is Zydeco season and I spend a good part of it playing festivals, fairs, wineries, park concerts and more with Ron Bombardier and the Bayou Boys. For our kick off weekend we played three days: Friday night we played another in the Amador County Arts Council TGIF concert series at the 49er RV Park in Plymouth(I played the opening concert last week with Wingnut Adams). You got to love these gigs. People of all ages come out with their picnic dinners, just in the mode for some musical fun. Nothing is so inspiring as a good size crowd there for the music. It's so different than your standard bar gig.

First couple of gigs each year serve to shake the rust off, and Friday was no exception. I think the audience could'nt tell but our friends and family kept talking about us needing WD 40, so I did my Tin Man impression: Oil can! Oil Can!

Saturday morning at 7:15 I rolled out of town to make a 10:30 downbeat at the Red Bluff Crawdad Festival. I rendezvoused with RT, our drumbo du jur(subbing for Rat A Tat Pat) by the airport off ramp off I 5 to caravan. Lucky we did that because 30 miles south of our destination sure enough his van lost all it's power and cruised to a stop. After scratching our heads for a bit, we crammed enough drums for the gig into my HHR, RT was holding a floor tom on his lap and made to the gig with 30 minutes to spare.

This festival is called the Isleton Crawdad Festival in Exile. For years they did it in the little delta town of Isleton, but it got more and more out of hand. it had basically become a bike run and at the same time a party for east bay gangbangers. Moved to Red Bluff, it became a Louisiana food and music celebration and a wholesome good time.

We played our 2 sets, hung out with musician friends ate, drank and were merry. When we were done I took Rick back to his van to wait for the tow truck.

We had an option for free lodgings at the R Wild Horse Ranch, the sponsors of the festival. never one to turn down a free room I headed for the ranch, which lies about 35 miles east of Red Bluff. After wandering around the big ranch, I was shown to my cabin, or monks cell. It did have a sink and toilet and 5 beds. Very rustic. Later on some of the other musicians from the fest showed up, and sounds of music and voices filled the barbecue scented air.

I got up early and headed back to the grounds, we played from 1:30 till 3:00 with Pat, our regular drummer, this time on the main stage. Big fun!!!

All and all it was a great time, lots of good friends, good music , good food. A little taste of New Orleans right here in Norcal.