donderdag 17 mei 2018

Dave Mcgraw & Mandy Fer - Crossroad-Sessions (t Zwijnshoofd,Bergen Op Zoom ,14 mei 2018)

     Dave McGraw & amp; Mandy Fer were a great ending to a beautiful year Crossroad-sessions in t, Zwijnshoofd in Bergen Op Zoom. I saw them a few years ago at Ramblin Roots in Utrecht, then as a duo, this time amplified with bass and drums. Below a summary of this wonderful performance.

    Dark Dark Woods (album Maritime)

The story of Dave and Mandy...


     
  Pacific Northwest based songwriter duo Dave McGraw & Mandy Fer voyage even further out to sea on their latest self-produced/recorded release  Off-Grid Lo Fi.  Recorded entirely with solar and wind powered electricity on a nearly uninhabited, remote, off-grid island in northwest Washington state, McGraw and Fer have ventured into new territory, both geographically and artistically.

    
McGraw and Fer were invited to a seaside farm to care-take for four old donkeys and a flock of chickens for three months on a non-ferry serviced island with a winter population of fewer than eight people. Seizing the opportunity for a solitary writing residency, the duo loaded all of their instruments, minimal recording gear, and groceries into a tiny 16’ aluminum boat and crossed the channel towards the US/Canadian border for what they called their ‘feral’ adventure. Pushing wheelbarrows full of provisions in their rubber boots, they made their way to a hand-built cabin where they recorded Off-Grid Lo-Fi in a living room overlooking the Pacific inland sea. The recording set-up was basic. No computer screens or editing. No Auto-Tune. All real takes. The result is a twelve-song album drenched with rich vocal harmonies, poignant songwriting, Fer’s potent electric guitar playing, acoustic guitars, percussion, cello and newly prominent banjo and piano (all played by Fer and McGraw). Off-Grid Lo-Fi is an intimate, authentic and refreshingly honest exploration into the genres of folk, rock, and roots music.

    
Known as a standout electric guitarist and multi-instrumentalist, Mandy Fer is unafraid to dominate the stage for an extended guitar solo, defying long-held gender barriers for female guitarists. Dave McGraw’s emotional songwriting riffs on natural elements of the world around him. McGraw spent a decade as a wildlife biologist, studying endangered birds in remote locales from the deserts of Mexico and the Grand Canyon to the mountainous rainforests of Washington. McGraw and Fer joined forces in Flagstaff, Arizona in 2010 before relocating to the Pacific Northwest in 2012.

     
The duo’s 2014 release Maritime charted at #1 on the EuroAmericana Chart for two consecutive months and was praised by The Telegraph for “…soulful songs, intuitive musicianship, and fine singing.” Together, their exceptional vocal harmonies coupled with Fer’s pioneering electric guitar work have become a vehicle to carry them around the world. The pair has honed their skills touring extensively throughout the US and Europe, sharing stages with fellow troubadours including Iron & Wine, Glen Hansard, Gregory Alan Isakov, Kelly Joe Phelps, Birds of Chicago and many others. Winning over audiences anywhere from Alaska to Amsterdam, McGraw and Fer are harnessing much more than just the sun and wind with the worldwide release of their new album, Off-Grid Lo-Fi Summer 2016.  



       Encore....

 a beautiful end to a wonderful musical evening, until a next time.........

 At Ramblin Roots  18 Okt 2014
 http://arthurfromholland.blogspot.nl/2014/10/dave-mcraw-mandy-fer-at-ramblin-roots.html

 http://daveandmandymusic.com/

   Crossroad-Sessions
  http://members.home.nl/crossroadsradio/sessionframe.htm

dinsdag 15 mei 2018

Saron Crenshaw & Blind B and the Visionarirs - Kwadendamme Blues Festival (11 mei 2018)


 Foto Rene Wijs

Bart Kamp(bass)-Frank Duindam,achter de paal(drums)-Saron -Richard van Bergen                                            
 Editie 26 van het Kwadendamme Bluesfestval was weer zeer geslaagd.Twee dagen met bluesgerelateerde muziek ,maar ook americana en hardrock(Laura Cox)en soul kwamen voorbij.Een van de hoogtepunten van de vrijdag was het optreden van SaRon Crenshaw,mede door zijn inbreng van zijn Nederlandse begeleiders Blind B & the Visionairs.


////////
film by Eline Pomp (thanks)

SaRon Crenshaw was ook al te gast in Bluesclub De Viersprong,geweldig optreden!
 http://arthurfromholland.blogspot.nl/2016/09/saron-crenshaw-with-blind-b-visionairs.html

 SaRon Crenshaw learned to play guitar at the age of ten. He is an extremely talented guitarist who travels the country playing Jazz and Rhythm and Blues. In the 70's and 80's he made his living playing bass for several bands in New Jersey, New York and South Carolina. He has shared stages with talented recording artists such as Lee fields, Roy Roberts, Denise lasalle, Bobby Rush, Jessie James, Tyrone Davis, and Chuck Roberson. He performs intensely at the Blues venues and festivals in the east coast for the past decade and has a large following in the Tri-state area. In 2010 and 2011, SaRon had the honor of opening up for Robert Cray and B.B.King on the big stages in Connecticut and won love from the audience with his acoustic performances. Saron's love is the Blues and he has been inspired by some of the greatest singers and players of all time, B.B. King, Albert King, Albert Collins, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Buddy Guy to name a few. SaRon plays a Gibson “Lucille” model guitar signed by B.B.King himself. He is a powerful entertainer and is never afraid to take his performance straight into the audience.





tainer and is never afraid to take his performance straight into the audience.

zondag 13 mei 2018

The Blue Clay (feat Wouter Verhelst) - Kwadendamme Blues Festival (11 Mei 2018)

       foto Arthur

Tijdens het jaarlijkse ,tweedaagse bluesfestival in Kwadendamme  is er naast de versterkte  muziek op het grote podium in de tent ,ook  ook plaats voor (semi)akoestische optredens.Dit gebeurt op de zg Juke Joint Stage in de buitenlucht. Deze keer was er plaats voor The Blue Clay,Robbert Fossen & Lothar Wijnvoord en Little Hat. Mede dankzij het mooie weer was het ook deze keer weer een mooi rustpunt ,ook voor diegene die even moesten bijkomen van het stevige gitaargeluid uit de tent.


      film bij Arthur(jammer van die vervelende paal...)

 Wouter Verhelst is een bekende verschijning op de Zeeuwse muziekpodia.Ik zag hem vele malen optreden  in diverse formaties en ben altijd onder de indruk van zijn enthousiasme en zijn uitstekende gitaarspel.Ik mocht hem dan ook uitnodigen twee keer het voorprogramma te verzorgen  met zijn band Stone Cold bij  zowel The Nimmo Brothers de Steve Nimmo Band.



 Met zijn band The Blue Clay speelt  hij akoestische blues, folk en americana. Inmiddels bekend door de een flinke dosis energie. Naast eigen werk speelt de band oude blues en hillbillynummers met invloeden uit bluegrass-, tex-mex- en zydeco muziek.



 In 2011 brengt de groep de cd 'Ready For Everything' uit met gastspelers Jan van den Berg en Hans van der Werf. Een jaar na deze release presenteert de band het inmiddels goed ontvangen album 'Shy But Dirty'. Hieraan werkten naast toetsenist Jan van den Berg ook banjopicker Francis Levoy en lapsteelspeler Geert de Heer mee. 'Shy But Dirty' bevat 13 eigen nummers en 1 cover en bestrijkt diverse stijlen.

                                                                    
Naast voorprogramma's van bluegrassbands als The Pine Box Boys, Oakhurst, Whiskey Puppy en .357 Stringband speelde de band in diverse kroegen, op diverse bluesroutes en festivals in Nederland, België en Duitsland. The Blue Clay speelde o.a. op Kwadendamme Blues Festival, Baeker Side Bluesfestival in Beek, De Koninck Blues Festival in Delft, Midsummer Bluesnight, Leerdam Blues, Brielle Blues, Bevrijdingsfestival Zeeland, Barreblues, Zoetermeer Blues, Rock Earthfield, Blueshappening Zelzate, Blues Open Festival Geldrop, Schmölzer Blues Tage etc.

The Blue Clay
 http://www.theblueclay.com/