New Riders of the Purple Sage
Thurs,March 11, 2010
German House Theater
Doors 7pm / Show 8pm
Tickets $20 advance / $25 door
The New Riders of the Purple Sage, signed to Columbia Records by Clive Davis, released its eponymous first album in September 1971 to widespread acclaim. In the next 11 years the band toured and released over 12 albums, selling over 4 million records.
NRPS began as a part-time spin-off from the Grateful Dead when Jerry Garcia (pedal steel guitar), Phil Lesh (bass) and Mickey Hart (drums) teamed up with John Dawson (guitar, vocals) and David Nelson (guitar). Although early live appearances were viewed as an informal warm-up to the main attraction, the group quickly established an independent identity through the strength of Dawson's original songs.
By 1970 Dave Torbert had replaced Lesh, and Spencer Dryden, formerly of Jefferson Airplane, had joined as the group's permanent drummer. Garcia remained in both The Dead and The New Riders until he found himself overcommitted, at which time Buddy Cage replaced him and the classic NRPS lineup was born. Original NRPS bass player Dave Torbert and drummer Spencer Dryden have passed away, co-founder John Dawson Passed away in 2009 due to ongoing health problems. His considerable talents will be missed but his songs and musical legacy will live on. Before he passed he had given his blessing and was excited to know his music is being heard live again by a whole new generation of fans.
The new lineup vows to keep the NRPS spirit and tunes alive by taking them to fans everywhere. The band recently teamed up with Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter and released it's first CD in twenty years to rave reviews, Where I Come From (Woodstock Records).
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Taj Mahal
Sunday, May 9th, 2010
German House Theater
Doors 7pm / Show 8pm
Tickets $50 advance / $55 door, on sale 2/10
This will be a seated show
For more than 30 years, Taj Mahal has delighted fans with his effortless and eclectic blending of musical styles. He is a master of finger-picking country blues, bluegrass banjo, slide guitar, southern blues, soul, and R&B, reggae, music of Hawaii, the Caribbean, and beyond, and more. His influences and abilities are seemingly endless and his energy to share and perform is equally as deep. Emerging from the folk music scene of the early 1960's, Taj established himself as an artist who knew no boundaries. Along the way, he played a pivotal role in the mid-'60s blues revival and went on to make his mark in the worlds of rock, soul, world, contemporary blues and even soundtracks. Always looking forward with an understanding of and respect for the past, Taj Mahal has made not a just a career, but a life of searching out and exploring new musical territory.
With his unmistakable and unique voice, talent that can not be learned, and a spirit which keeps him in a state of perpetual artistic growth and evolution, Taj Mahal has always, and will always play music that he loves. For that, he continues to pull fans, new and old, from every conceivable walk of life and continues to open our eyes to all that the art of music can be.
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Leo Kottke
Tues, May 18th, 2010
German House Theater
Doors 7pm / Show 8pm
Tickets $30 advance / $35 door
This will be a seated show
Leo Kottke, one of the most important and influential acoustic steel-string fingerstyle guitarists of the 20th century.
Leo has had a prolific career, delivering 19 studio records, four live records, six compilations and at least four movie soundtracks. He has jammed and recorded with a wide range of musicians, from Chet Atkins to Procul Harum to the Violent Femmes. He has won the Guitar Player magazine annual readers poll as best folk guitarist for four years in a row, from 1974 to 1978. Leo has also influenced an entire generation of acoustic guitarists -- including such fingerstyle innovators as the late, great Michael Hedges, Preston Reed, Peppino D'Agostino and Don Ross, to name just a few.
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Reverend Horton Heat w/ Cracker and Split Lip Rayfield
Wed., May 19, 2010
German House Theater
Doors 7pm / Show 8pm
Tickets $25 advance / $30 door
Recently, the Reverend Horton Heat, aka Jim Heath, had something along the lines of what he calls an epiphany.
He's a little tired of being taken so seriously-well, maybe not seriously, exactly, but you get the idea-and lately he's noticed that some of his funnier, country-tinged songs were his biggest crowd pleasers. Besides, being entertaining is what this is all about, right?
So, ladies and gents, roll your smokes up in your sleeve and hold on to your cowboy hats, it's time to take a trip back to a time before slick, over-produced country became the norm-a time when outlaws wrote songs about being without a pot to piss in-or at least about psycho exboyfriends and deadbeat girlfriends that spend your paycheck faster than you can say Lone Star.
Cracker, the group that veritably introduced brash irreverence and irony into alt-rock, are back and in top form on their 429 Records debut, Sunrise In The Land Of Milk And Honey.
This rich new trove of sharp-witted songs showcases a bristling, late 70’s – early 80’s power pop punk aesthetic which hits as hard as it did at the band’s formation 17 years ago. Eight albums (one platinum and three gold) and a barrel full of anthemic hit songs later, Cracker endures, using their ability to weave decades of influences into an album that is seamlessly riveting.
Split Lip Rayfield just might be the damnedest thing you’ve ever heard. The unique quartet from Wichita, Kansas, reaches deep into the greatest traditions of American music to find something completely new. Simultaneously bluegrass, western, honky-tonk and hell-bent garage rock, Split Lip Rayfield doesn’t precisely fit any of these categories. Combining expert musicianship with a happily primitive aesthetic, cogent observations of modern middle America with a goofball wit and white trash gusto, Split Lip Rayfield is a category unto itself.
Shawn Phillips
Friday, May 21st, 2010
Downstairs at the German House
Doors 7pm / Show 8pm
Tickets $20
"Shawn Phillips is one of most fascinating and enigmatic musicians to come out of the early '70s singer-songwriter boom. The mere fact that he was a musician as much as a singer and songwriter made him stand out, and helped him attract a dedicated following. His refusal to shape his music -- which crosses between folk-rock, jazz, progressive, pop, and classical -- to anyone else's expectations has allowed him to hold onto a large and dedicated cult following, without ever achieving the stardom that his talent seems to merit.......
With 15 albums behind him since the mid-1960s, Phillips has a following, in America, Europe, and Japan, and he has performed at different world music festivals. A cult figure whose peers include Van Dyke Parks and, perhaps, Leonard Cohen (though Cohen's public profile is enhanced by his following, as an established poet and author, in the literary community), he remains an enigmatic figure on the music landscape. His work remained sufficiently in demand in the 1990s, however, to justify a best-of compilation from A&M in 1992 that included notes by Phillips and one new song. In 1998, eight of his LPs were re-released via the Wounded Bird label. " ~ Bruce Eder, All Music Guide
Note: This event is Downstairs at the German House.