Blog – Page 14

ORANGE COUNTY FRIENDS: STOCKDALE MUSIC IN THE O.C.! (and PlayDead at the Geffen in Westwood)

Posted onNovember 9, 2013November 9, 20133 Comments

ORANGE COUNTY FRIENDS: STOCKDALE MUSIC IN THE O.C.!

(and PlayDead at the Geffen in Westwood)

A bunch of my Orange County friends said to let them know when I’m playing down in their area, so this is the OFFICIAL notice! I’ll be doing the 22 Rabbits House Concert Series in beautiful Irvine on NOVEMBER 14th, at 7:15pm. Tickets are $20, payable at the door, and, as is the case with House Concerts, you need to email the host, Peggy Flinn Glenn, to get the address. Her email is ItzPeggy@gmail.com. This will be my first solo house concert!

Now let me tell you a little bit about Ms. Peggy. I first met her when she read some of her poetry at a salon at Severin and Melinda Browne’s house (called “The Abbey” because it looks like an 18th-Century monastery. It was used for the abandoned church where Edward James Olmos and Colin Hanks killed their victims in Dexter, Season 6). Soon after, I started seeing her everywhere there were songs being sung: Kulak’s Woodshed, Julie’s Joint, and spoken word shows like “Tell It.” There are actually people in this world who, though they are artists themselves, give a good deal of their energy to lifting up other artists, encouraging and gently nudging them to be their best. Peggy is one of those people. Besides attending so many of our shows, she worked tirelessly for all of us at FAR-West, helping me jump through all the hoops for my first Official FAR-West Showcase. A spoken-word artist, a poet, a lyricist, and an editor, Peggy is one of the people who make our community a beautiful place. Come to this cool show, and hang with Peggy and her talented boyfriend Jime Van Booven, bass player for John Zipperer and Friends.

PLAYING DEAD with TELLER and TODD ROBBINS

Some of you may know that, for 20 years or so, I have been the composer for most of Penn & Teller’s TV and live performance projects, including the award-winning Penn & Teller: BULLSHIT! One of the greatest things about this has been my relationship with Teller, who, besides being part of the team that made magic “cool,” is a brilliant director and writer himself. In 2010, he brought me in as composer for an Off-Broadway play he directed and co-wrote with Todd Robbins (another good friend who also stars in the show) called PlayDead.

This show may be one of the scariest things you’ve ever seen. In service of its macabre examination of those villains who have sought to play upon our grief and fears of death, it plunges the audience into TOTAL DARKNESS (not even exit lights), and proceeds to scare the living bejeezus out of everyone without the aid of digital effects or high-tech devices. I composed music that is played live onstage by a ghostly piano. It officially opens November 20th at the Geffen Playhouse in Westwood and runs until December 15, or you could see one of the preview performances from now until the opening. Todd himself is truly an amazing performer, who is a walking encyclopedia of the world of the Carny.

By the way, the Orange County Concert is one day before my birthday, so I would love to celebrate it with all of you. It won’t be as big a party as last years’, but it will be just as much fun.
Happy Thanksgiving, and I hope to see you in Irvine.

FOLK ALLIANCE REGION-WEST OFFICIAL SHOWCASE ARTIST

Posted onSeptember 30, 2013

FOLK ALLIANCE REGION-WEST OFFICIAL SHOWCASE ARTIST

Well, that’s a mouthful. I’ve used the acronym for the FAR-West conference here before, but there’s also SWRFA (Southwest Region), NERFA (not a foam football, but the Northeastern Region) and even FARM (Midwest, you betcha, yeah). They are all part of the Folk Alliance International, and, as I may have mentioned before, I’m going to their big shindig in Irvine, October 10, 11, and 12.

I may have also mentioned that I’m an Official Showcase Artist for the conference! (Yay!) This is a huge honor, considering that many of the finest singer-songwriters will be there, as well as venue owners from all over the West (places I hope to play soon). Some of the acts who will be performing on the same stage are Vance Gilbert, and Red Moon Road, along with my pals Tracy Newman and the Reinforcements, John Zipperer and Friends, and The Tall Men Group.

And YOU can attend as well! My showcase is Friday night, October 11. I play at 8pm, but if you can, come at 6:30 and catch Shelby and Tieg. The show is only 10 bucks, sold through Brown Paper Tickets, though you can also buy tickets at the door. It’s at the Hyatt Regency Irvine, in Salon C. I know it’s a schlep for some of you, but it’ll be a hell of a show with a big, fun, music-lovin’ crowd.

COOL THING IN OCTOBER #2!! I will be doing my second-ever HOUSE CONCERT on October 26th at Julie’s Joint, one of the coolest House Concert venues, which just happens to be run by Julie Maxey Zipperer, wife of the aforementioned John Zipperer. I’m sharing the bill with these amazing songwriters: Kevin Fisher (composer of Rascal Flatt’s “Another Love Song”), Brad Colerick, and John himself.

Oh, and I was selected as one of the TOP TEN ARTISTS on reverbnation.com (It’s a support site for independent musicians, performers and bands). I’m pretty sure I won that title because of all of you who are kind enough to receive my ramblings every month. And I’m SO grateful to all the folks who have come to see me perform this past year. Sometimes when I’m singing my tunes, in a room with a bunch of you sitting there, I can’t believe how lucky I am.

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT! TERESA TUDURY and ME – TONIGHT!

Posted onSeptember 20, 2013

I don’t usually send emails out for individual gigs, but in this case, I just want to remind everyone that TONIGHT I’m appearing with the immensely-talented TERESA TUDURY at THE COFFEE GALLERY BACKSTAGE.

As many of you who have seen my shows there know, this is one of the most comfortable and warm rooms in town, and everything seems to sound good there.

And if you haven’t seen Teresa, you should. Amongst so many unique artists I am fortunate enough to know, she stands out like a sunburst. Part comedian, part storyteller, part sage, and a voice that defies description. We each do a set tonight, (but, really, I’m opening for her).

I think you’ll have a good time. More later.

8pm, $18. The Coffee Gallery Backstage, 2029 N. Lake Ave., Altadena, CA 91001

OOPS! HOUSE CONCERT EMAIL CORRECTION!

Posted onAugust 14, 2013

OOPS! HOUSE CONCERT EMAIL CORRECTION!

Because I’m occasionally wrong about many things (or many times wrong about occasional things) I provided the INCORRECT info for the HOUSE CONCERT this coming Saturday, 8/17 at Westlake Canyon Concerts.

Here’s the correct info:
PLEASE EMAIL: sculptingirl@yahoo.com

FACEBOOK INFO PAGE: https://www.facebook.com/events/158833207638864/?ref=22

Thanks, and apologies for the additional email blast. Hope to see you there!

Gary

SUMMER SOIREES and HOUSE CONCERTS

Posted onAugust 8, 2013

SUMMER SOIREES and HOUSE CONCERTS

My Northern California mini-tour was wonderful, not only because I got to play in a lot of cool places, but I loved re-connecting with so many longtime friends as well as making a whole lot of new ones. Special thanks to Mark Pittaand his Tuesday Night Comedy show in Mill Valley, where I got to appear with the CREATOR of the Daily Show, Lizz Winstead.

Along with the wonderful Chappell and Dave Holt, I played the Occidental Center for the Arts to a small but mighty crowd, all of whom jumped on my mailing list and bought my CD. Got to hang with one of my favorite singer/songwriters, Teresa Tudury, who also lives up there. More on that later, as I am appearing with her in September at the Coffee Gallery Backstage.

Speaking of the Coffee Gallery, we’re doing a REMATCH AUGUST 23^rd, (Friday night) of the show I did with Cynthia Carle and Bill Berry last May. We’ll have lots of new songs, and surprises. We sold the joint out last time so I’m hoping all of you who couldn’t make it last time will come and join us in one of SoCal’s most comfortable venues.

AND I’m doing my FIRST HOUSE CONCERT on August 17, Saturday night, at Westlake Canyon Concerts! Hosted by the fabulous Donna Mason Adams and Matthew Burke, I’m sharing the bill with my pal Eric Schwartz, one of the funniest songwriters ever. PLEASE CLICK ON THE LINK (Here it is again), and reserve a spot at the show (they will send you the address once you have RSVP’d). It will be a no-holds-barred, uncensored evening of fun and melodic mayhem, that’s for damn sure.

When I was in NoCal I stayed at my juggler friend Scotty Meltzer’s house, with him and his lovely writer wife Kat. The person with him in the juggling video isn’t his wife, it’s his partner Katrine Spang-Hanssen. It’s obvious that Scotty manages to keep all his balls in the air, and so does Katrine (see what I did there?).

One more piece of very cool news: I was selected as one of the Official Showcase Artists at this year’s FAR-West Conference. This is where so many unique performers get together to meet up with concert promoters, learn valuable tools for being a touring musicians, and generally have an awesome time playing music together. It’s in October, so I will write more about it soon.

But for those of you who are geographically well-placed, I’d be tickled pink to see you at one of these shows this month. And for those who aren’t, I’m coming your way soon, I promise.