Vol. 1, No. 1 CARLTONE'S CORNER January 15, 2001
"All the North Bay music news the local media tend to ignore"
Dear Friend,
Welcome to the first edition of Carltone's Corner!
For some time now I have been sending out email notes to you about various bluegrass, country and folk shows in and around Marin County. I do mailers for the Bluegrass Gold shows at Sweetwater, occasional related shows at Rancho Nicasio, the Marin bluegrass jam, and other noteworthy, non-mainstream music events that seldom get covered in the local press. Yet so many times I meet other people who say they did not know that any bluegrass or country stuff was happening in the North Bay. So my goal here is to help get the word out.
After years of frustration trying to get the local fishwraps (The Pacific Sun, The Marin Independent Journal, The Mill Valley Herald, the Marinscope, etc.) to mention these types of shows I have come to the conclusion that they never will, since they are more interested in big-name acts, while eschewing the local bands. Or they write about shows that take place outside of Marin. Geez, doesn't the Chronicle already cover these things? Willie Nelson or Backstreet Boys in town? You can count on their photo being in the local rags. You or some friends have a gig at the local bar or coffeehouse? Forget about even trying to get some publicity for such a small-time show.
And woe-be-tide you or any local band that has a gig on a Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday, because the papers have decided that the only shows that count take place on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. I guess they figure that real Americans stay home and watch TV on weeknights.
For almost two years now I have been writing a monthly column for a South Bay publication called Bluegrass By The Bay which covers mostly bluegrass events in the North Bay. The irony here is that most of you folks are probably not members of the Northern California Bluegrass Society, so you have never seen the column. So what I am going to start doing here at the beginning of each month (I just got the idea the other day to do this, so consider this January edition two weeks late) is send out a similar version of that column to you. In each mailing I will tell you about any bluegrass, country, folk, or related events so you will know when stuff is happening.
If you are part of a band or are a singer/songwriter that would like to have your North Bay gigs mentioned here, please send me your info before the end of the previous month, as I plan on sending the news on the first of each month.
Most importantly, if you do not wish to receive this information, please let me know by simply sending a reply email saying “unsubscribe,” and I will take your name off this list.
In a world where big money and sex are used to tell the American people what kind of music they should be listening to, American roots music does not stand a chance in the mainstream media. It is my hope that these little mailers will help spread the word about the kind of music we are fans of.
Let me know what you think about this endeavor.
Cheers!
Larry
Calendar for the rest of January:
1/18 Marin Bluegrass Jam -- first time at a new location! The Ross Valley Brewing Company, 765 Center Blvd., Fairfax, 7:30-10 PM. Admission is free, only acoustic stringed instruments please. (415) 485-1005.
1/18 Box Set -- "soaring harmonies and well-crafted songs whose hallmarks are catchy guitar hooks, upbeat rhythms and thoughtful lyrics." 'Nuff said. Unknown cover charge. Sweetwater, 153 Throckmorton, Mill Valley. (415) 388-2820.
1/18 Crane Canyon -- fine bluegrass band plays every Thursday, 6:30-10 PM. No cover? Willowbrook Ale House, 3600 Petaluma Blvd., Petaluma. (707) 775-4232.
1/18 The David Thom Band -- plays traditional bluegrass starting at 9:30 PM. No cover. Café Amsterdam, 23 Broadway in Fairfax. (415) 256-8020.
1/20 RPM -- this is Rory McNamara’s folk and country band (this night with me sitting in on bass). A possible mini-set by Keystone Crossing. A few bucks, maybe $3? 9:30 PM, Café Amsterdam is at 23 Broadway in Fairfax. (415) 256-8020.
1/21 Kathy Kallick Band -- great bluegrass by the longtime leader of the Good Ol’ Persons, Kathy Kallick, and her hot band. No cover, donations encouraged. Rancho Nicasio, 4-7 PM, on the square in Nicasio. (415) 662-2219
1/21 Dry Branch Fire Squad -- another fabulous (and humorous) bluegrass band, this is one entertaining act. Sausalito Presbyterian Church, 112 Bulkley, Sausalito. Showtime is 7 PM, tickets are $20. Call Don Koc at (415) 383-8716 for details.
1/23 NCSA Songwriters Open Mic -- original songs by up and coming writers. See the stars of tomorrow. Free. Sweetwater, 153 Throckmorton, Mill Valley. (415) 388-2820.
1/27 The David Thom Band -- traditional bluegrass at its best! Great food, tasty suds. No cover. Murphy’s Irish Pub, 464 First Street East, Sonoma. (707) 935-0660.
1/28 Keystone Crossing -- songs of the Everly, Louvin, and Delmore Brothers. Who cares about the Super Bowl? Keystone plays from 6-8, it is fun, and it is free. Murphy’s Irish Pub, 464 First Street East, Sonoma. (707) 935-0660.
O Brother, Where Art Thou? The new Coen Brothers movie is playing at the Regency Theatre in San Rafael. Check it out -- lots of bluegrass and old-time music in it. A real hoot! For my take on the film and the soundtrack, go to http://www.scbs.org/obrother.htm.
Upcoming notable events in February:
The second annual San Francisco Bluegrass and Old-Time Festival will take place from 2/2-11, in various venues in and around SF, including Berkeley and Mill Valley. Some of these shows will sell out, so go to http://www.sfbluegrass.org for details. The hottest shows of this event will be Ralph Stanley at the Freight and Salvage in Berkeley on 2/8 and 2/9 (Keystone Crossing opens on the 9th) and the Laurel Canyon Ramblers with special guest David Grisman at Sweetwater on Sunday, 2/11. Due to overwhelming demand, a second LCR/Grisman show has just been added for Monday, 2/12. Tickets are $20 and they are available in advance for most of the shows at this event, and you may want to plan ahead.
Also on Thursday, 2/1, the Johnny Cash Tribute band called Ring of Fire will play at New George's in San Rafael. This is Marcus Uzilevksy's band, and Dan Hayes will be picking guitar this night with the band.
Finally, the Everly Brothers are coming to the Marin Civic Center on March 17, and a friend may have two excellent seats up front available for face value ($50 each). If interested, let me know.
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Vol. 11, No. 121 CARLTONE'S CORNER January 15, 2011
"All the North Bay music news the local media tend to ignore”
Welcome to the 121st, and final edition, of Carltone's Corner!
In one era and out the other. Besides being way late and shorter in length, this is an edition of the newsletter like no other. There are strung-out streamers, confetti, and empty Champagne bottles strewn about the Carltone World Headquarters here in downtown San Francisco. Not just because we are still commemorating (or, a bit more aptly, “crawling from the wreckage of”) the end of 2010, but also, as it turns out – at least for the time being – because the staff here has been celebrating the completion of the final edition of this esteemed publication. What began as an experiment on a tentative basis ten years ago to this very day has now run for a decade. But due to circumstances beyond our control, this is the last one, at least, for now. In short, real life has gotten in the way, and there is less and less time to write anymore, mostly due to day job commitments. It is possible that we may just be going on a hiatus, sabbatical, or whatever you want to call it. But for now, after hundreds of thousands of words and 217 editions (including mid-month updates, which did not come into being until January of 2002), this is the end. And, as luck (miracle or creative editing?) would have it, this issue has the exact same amount of words in it as the very first one. The FAX and telex machines have been unplugged, typewriters have gone silent, the transom has been shut, and the carrier pigeons have been set free. The end of an era has arrived.
On January 15, 2001, in volume one, number one, this is how the first newsletter began:
“For some time now I have been sending out email notes to you about various bluegrass, country and folk shows in and around Marin County. I do mailers for my Bluegrass Gold shows at Sweetwater, occasional related shows at Rancho Nicasio, the Marin bluegrass jam, and other noteworthy, non-mainstream music events that seldom get covered in the local press. Yet so many times I meet other people who say they did not know that any bluegrass or country stuff was happening in the North Bay. So my goal here is to help get the word out.”
Well, to quote a former U.S. president, “Mission accomplished!”
The first few editions of the CC were sent out to around 50 people. By word of mouth (and by hustling folks at Sweetwater) the number of readers at one point reached over 1200 people. The logo and layout have remained almost exactly the same, save for some minor tweaking and added links in the text. No paid ads were ever pursued or accepted, even though we were urged to do such many times in order to make some money with this thing. But making money was never our intent, and we feel that such would have compromised the integrity of the newsletter. In short, the Corner has been nothing less than a labor of love.
And labor we did. What began as a two-page publication eventually averaged 9-10 pages, and untold hours of hard work went into each edition. Hours that, unfortunately, we no longer have at our disposal.
So it is time to get out the broom and vacuum cleaner, maybe recycle the bottles, put away the blinking lights, and try to start off the new year/decade with a clean slate. Maybe move on to other endeavors and, at the least, get some rest. Unlike disgraced politicos and over the hill athletes, we will not, however, be looking forward to spending time with our family. And contrary to rumors on Facebook and Twitter, we are not shutting down to attend the royal wedding in England, tour the world with Lady Googoo (or whatever her stage name is), and nor are we about to try out for Dancing With the Network Has-Beens.
We’d like to thank all of you for reading Carltone’s Corner over the years, and we are forever grateful to the many that helped spread the word about the newsletter. We have been sincerely humbled by the positive feedback that has come in along the way, as well as by some of the amazing stories about shows and such from people that we have met in person. It was these sorts of things that really kept us going well beyond the point of weariness and exhaustion. And special thanks go out to the countless musicians, artists, promoters, radio show hosts, club owners, etc., who have all worked to bring some fabulous shows and music to Marin and Sonoma Counties and beyond over the past decade.
As promised all along, your email address has never been used for anything other than this newsletter, and we will hold onto it in the event that, after a couple of months of idleness and debauchery, we decide to dust off the old Olivetti and fire up the old presses once again. Apologies to those who only recently signed on to our mailing list.
Some major events that came to pass over the past decade: The Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival began in SF’s Golden Gate Park in October 2001; the 142 Throckmorton Theatre opened in Mill Valley in 2003; Murphy Productions has been producing shows in various venues in Marin since the early part of the decade; in Mill Valley the legendary Sweetwater and Village Music record store both closed in September of 2007; the Larkspur Café Theatre in 2007 changed hands, became Sweetwater Station for a while, and then went dark in September of 2008; the long shuttered New George’s nightclub in downtown San Rafael reopened a couple of months ago and is now simply called George’s; Saylor’s Landing in Sausalito closed in 2007 and recently reopened as The Sea Horse; Sean Saylor opened a new place in Sausalito in 2007 called Saylor’s Restaurant; The Black Rose Pub closed in Santa Rosa in the summer of 2010; The Woods opened in Mill Valley in the summer of 2010.
For events happening on a weekly basis in Marin County go to Marin Music Vibe. For up to date bluegrass news check out the California Bluegrass Association and Northern California Bluegrass Society web sites. And for the latest in Americana and twang news, go to the Hicks With Sticks site.
On behalf of the entire staff – both real and imagined – here at Carltone World Headquarters, it is with much melancholy that we offer you a fond farewell as well as lots of luck in this year 2011. From the look of things, you are going to need it.
Happy trails to you, until we meet again…
Carltone
Life’s railway to heaven in 2010. The media was saturated last week with year-end best/worst lists, resolutions, and predictions for the New Year. Instead of jumping on that trite journalistic band wagon, as always we’re just going to pause for a moment of silence while mentioning a brief list of some noted musical folks who passed on in 2010. Regrets to those who may have been inadvertently overlooked: Bob James, Marty Godbey, Bobby Charles, Teddy Pendergrass, Carl Smith, Kate McGarrigle, Bud Cockrell, Alex Chilton, Taku Sakashta, Doug Fieger, John Ciambotti, Jim Marshall, Dave Fisher, Segovia Bader, Jeb Brady, Jimmy Dean, Hank Cochran, Chuck McCabe, Ben Keith, Bobby Hebb, Mitch Miller, Mitch Jayne, Richie Hayward, Kenny Edwards, Jimmy Baum, Solomon Burke, Naim Satya, and Billy Taylor.
Some big coming attractions in 2011: Bluegrass On Broadway in Redwood City 1/27-30; Annual Cloverdale Old-Time Fiddle Contest and Festival 1/29-30; San Francisco Bluegrass & Old-Time Festival 2/11-19; CBA Winter Music Camp near Petaluma 2/24-27; Brookdale Spring Bluegrass Festival in Boulder Creek 3/11-13; Sonoma County Bluegrass & Folk Festival in Sebastopol 3/12; The CBA Father’s Day Festival in Grass Valley 6/16-19.