Inkwell: Authors and Artists

    <scribbled by tnf Fri 20 Apr 07 11:19>
  

    


A nice review of my new CD, TWISTED LOVE SONGS:

Posted on a mailing list by Jon Winer, reposted here with permission:


David Gans ran into God a couple of weeks ago.  Or so the song goes.  It is a
bit of an awkward meeting- agnostic meets God, but God is decidedly more con-
genial than at Abraham's meet-up with his maker, as described on Bob Dylan's
Highway 61 Revisited.  Unlike Abraham's angry and vengeful God, Gans's God is
disillusioned and wracked with self-doubt, to the point where she denies her
own existence.  Twisted?  Yes.  But, a love song?  This reminds me of a con-
versation I had with a friend who describes his favorite Grateful Dead song-
Standing On The Moon, as a "love song."  "Social commentary," I suggest, "not
a love song."   And so it goes (Kurt Vonnegut, r.i.p.).

In addition to Ran Into God, David offers a dozen other original songs, and a
half-dozen borrowed tunes on this album of previously unreleased material.
It's Gonna Get Better is a favorite of mine, which I have heard David perform
on many occasions.  I'm still getting to know some of the newer songs on this
CD, but David's performance of a guilty pleasure-- Roger Miller's King of the
Road, is another highlight.   Likewise, listening to Ship of Fools feels like
a visit from an old friend.

David makes abundant use of his signature guitar looping, a skill which he
will pass along to others at Jorma Kaukonen's Fur Peace Ranch this fall.  It
sounds to me as though the following songs (and probably others) feature
looping:  Cassidy's Cat, Prophet and Loss, In Another World, Four Corners,
Surely You Jest, Basin And Range and the haunting Quarter To Five (For Tina
Loney).  Although David often performs with other musicians, his regular gig
is as a solo artist.  With looping, he can accompany himself via a footpedal.

The sound on this CD was mastered (in HDCD) by Jeffrey Norman, whose
remastering work on the Grateful Dead Fillmore West 1969 box set ranks among
the greatest audio engineering achievements of all time, in my humble
opinion.  The sound on this new Gans release does not equal the quality of
the sound on the Fillmore box set, but considering the fact that David
carries his recording rig in a briefcase (unlike the 400 pound twin reel-to-
reel rigs used for the Fillmore recordings), Mr. Norman gets a tip of the
hat.

On Twisted Love Songs David Gans expands his breadth as a recording artist,
and delivers some notable performances of new material, while revisiting some
very familiar places.  There are not many artists performing today who convey
the values of a 1960s America in which social consciousness was building, and
a social conscience was evolving.  David Gans is one.  Thank you, David!





TWISTED LOVE SONGS is available from CDBaby: http://cdbaby.com/cd/dgans4

Or send $17.50 to:

Perfectible Recordings
PERF-06
484 Lake Park Ave. #102
Oakland CA 94610-2730
  

    
Great review! Congrats on the recognition for your fine work, David.
  

    
Bravo!  I hope you'll be singing some of the new work tomorrow at 
http://www.well.com/conf/party
  

    
Nice review, David! I was just listening to your CD in the car.
  

    

Not only will I perform some of this material tomorrow, I will also have the
CD for sale!
  

    
I bought one and am listening to it now.  Very nice!
  

    


 Music video for "Four Corners":

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqlXzN3qKJ4

 It's a track from the CD TWISTED LOVE SONGS, available at
 http://cdbaby.com/cd/dgans4


 New Honky Tonk Hippies gig poster by Dee D'Amico:

 http://www.flickr.com/photos/dgans/481835291/
  

    

Greetings, friends -

I hope your late spring is as pleasant as ours has been.  Rita and I had a
delightful two-week vacation on Kauai that included (for me) a visit to
Anahola Stringed Instruments, where I spent a delirious afternoon playing
Mickey Sussman's guitars.  And two days later Mickey brought three of them to
Jim Manico's house (affiliated with Steelgrass Studio) for a recording
session.  I also spent some quality time at KKCR, helping with their fund-
raiser, and I played a show at Small Town Coffee in Kapa'a.  Photos from the
Hawaii trip are posted here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dgans/sets/72157600211230194/

In the meantime, Rich Simon gave my new CD TWISTED LOVE SONGS a very positive
review in Relix, and Blair Jackson wrote a new bio for me.  You can see both
at http://www.dgans.com/pressroom/

And of course, you can buy the CD from <http://cdbaby.com/cd/dgans4>

If you visit the <http://www.dgans.com/gigs.html>tour schedule page, you'll
see a wonderful new Honky Tonk Hippies poster by Dee D'Amico.  There are PDFs
of our two upcoming shows - if you're in the Bay Area, please download one or
both, print 'em out (and enjoy Dee's delightful artwork!), and pass 'em
around.  Grass-roots support is everything in this bidness.



Northern California gigs coming right up:

Friday, June 15, 9:30pm: Honky Tonk Hippies and Bo Carper (of New Monsoon) at
the Connecticut Yankee, 100 Connecticut Street, San Francisco CA
Download the poster: <http://www.dgans.com/hippies/HTH_June15.pdf>

Saturday, June 16: DG and Mario DeSio at Spuds, 3290 Adeline Street, Berkeley
CA. 510-597-0795

Sunday, June 17, 9 am to 1 pm: Marin County Farmers’ Market, at the Marin
Civic Center. Free! Great produce, meat, fish, prepared foods, and crafts.

Thursday, June 21, 8pm: Honky Tonk Hippies and Crowsong at the Larkspur Cafe
Theatre, 500 Magnolia Ave., Larkspur CA. $15. 415-924-6107. Doors & dinner at
6:30, show at 8. Download the poster:
<http://www.dgans.com/hippies/HTH_070621.pdf>

Friday, June 22, 7:30-9:30pm: DG, Mario DeSio, and Per Marshall at the Nomad
Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. (at 65th St.), Oakland CA. No cover! But you have to
buy some coffee and/or food.

Saturday, June 23, 9:30am to 1:30pm: Grand Lake Farmers’ Market, at the
corner of Grand and Lake Park Avenues, Oakland CA. Free! Great produce,
prepared foods, and crafts.



Northeast w/ the Zen Tricksters, and more:

Wednesday, June 27, 9:00 pm: Zen Tricksters and DG at the Acoustic Cafe, 2926
Fairfield Ave., Bridgeport CT. $10. 203-335-3655

Thursday, June 28, 7-11pm: Zen Tricksters and DG on the Rocks Off Boat Cruise
around New York City. Leaves from 23rd Street @ FDR Drive. Board at 7, cruise
from 8 to 11.

Friday, June 29: Zen Tricksters and DG at the River Street Jazz Cafe, 667 N.
River Street, Plains (WIlkes-Barre) PA. 570-822-2992

June 30-July 1: American Roots Music Festival at Potomac Pavilion, Falling
Waters WV. Melvin Seals/JGB, Donna Jean and the Tricksters, Juggling Suns,
etc.

Tuesday, July 3, 9:00 pm: Zen Tricksters and DG at the Thunderbird Cafe, 4023
Butler Street, Pittsburgh PA. $10. 412-682-0177

July 4-7: Grateful Fest at Nelson Ledges Quarry Park in Garrettsville OH.
Dark Star Orchestra, Donna Jean and the Tricksters, New Riders, Peter Rowan &
Tony Rice Quartet, Keller Williams, many more!

Saturday, July 21: A Bear’s Picnic, Friendship Park, Milton PA. New Riders,
Donna Jean and the Tricksters, Railroad Earth, Peter Rowan-Tony Rice Quartet,
and many more. DG performs 1:30-2:30 pm

August 9-12: Gathering of the Vibes in Bridgeport CT


More info (and links to many of these events) at http://dgans.com/gigs.html

DG's CDs at <http://cdbaby.com/all/dgans>
  

    
Boston? Do I see Boston there?

Sigh.
  

    

Sigh.  I go where the gigs are.

But I'm gonna be in Bridgeport later this month and again in August - that's
close, ain't it?
  

    
Not to mention Idaho. Sigh.
  

    
Well, Bridgeport is less than a half-day's drive, but not close enough to 
pop down for the evening if you have to work the next day.
  

    

Sorry about that.
  

    


I've got three gigs in the Bay Area this weekend, each in a different musical
configuration:


Thursday, June 21, 8pm: Honky Tonk Hippies and Crowsong at the Larkspur Cafe
Theatre, 500 Magnolia Ave., Larkspur CA. $15. 415-924-6107. Doors & dinner at
6:30, show at 8. (download the poster)

Friday, June 22, 7:30-9:30pm: DG, Mario DeSio, and Per Marshall at the Nomad
Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. (at 65th St.), Oakland CA. No cover! But you have to
buy some coffee and/or food.

Saturday, June 23, 9:30am to 1:30pm: Grand Lake Farmers' Market, at the
corner of Grand and Lake Park Avenues, Oakland CA. Free! Great produce,
prepared foods, and crafts.
  

    


One of my regular stops on tour is the Panera Bread Co. chain - decent
salads, excellent bread, tasty sandwiches, soy lattes, and FREE WI-FI.

HOWEVER: they have a line of "bagels" that I think of as "sex in a Krispy
Kreme": fucking close to donuts.

Today they are sampling "passion fruit" bagels.
  

    
Gaaah.
  

    
"sex in a Krispy Kreme"

try our new yellow matter custard
  

    


Sunday, August 26, 3:30 pm

The Waybacks with special guest David Gans

Mt.  Shasta Music Festival Summer Concert Series

Mt. Shasta Resort 1000 Siskiyou Lake Blvd.  Mt Shasta CA

All ages. $15 advance. $20 day of concert. $10 ages 5-17. Age 4 & under free
with adult ticket. $50 VIP 4 concert season pass includes complimentary fes-
tival T-shirt.

PositiveProductions.net
  

    


Hello, friends -

It's been a busy summer, and a good one!  I hope you've had a good one, too.

After a mostly-splendid weekend at Gathering of the Vibes (weather was nasty
on Friday, but it didn't dampen the fun all that much), I headed over to New
Jersey to play a benefit gig with my Railroad Earth pals.  Then on Monday we
trundled into Mix-O-Lydian Studio in northwestern New Jersey - Tim Carbone,
Railroad Earth's wonderful fiddler, producing, with multi-instrumentalist
Andy Goessling and mandolinist John Skehan (who also plays piano on these
sessions), both RRE bandmates of Tim's; bassist Lindsey Horner; and drummer
Ned Stroh.  We'll also have some contributions from Buck Dilly on pedal
steel, lap steel, and electric guitar.  I've posted some photos from the
sessions at http://www.flickr.com/photos/dgans

We're on track to finish six songs in this session.  We got four songs in the
can in January, and if all goes well we'll get one more session in before the
end of the year to complete a CD.  Then comes the challenge of figuring out
how to get it to market!

Another big news item in my professional life:  I've signed on with Sirius
Satellite Radio as programming consultant on their new Grateful Dead Channel,
which goes live at the end of this month.  See http://www.sirius.com for more
info.


Here is the gig schedule as it stands today.  I am thrilled to be playing a
Rex Foundation benefit in New York with two of my favorite bands, Donna the
Buffalo and Ollabelle.  We may have some special guests on that show.

Also very happy to be sharing a stage again with the wonderful Waybacks later
this month!

In addition to the confirmed shows listed below, I've got some nice surprises
in the works that aren't quite ready to be announced.  As always, check
http://www.dgans.com/gigs.html for the latest.




Thursday, August 16: DG & Friends (Tim Carbone, Andy Goessling, John Skehan);
Boris Garcia; Reflections at Mexicali Blues CafÈ, 1409 Queen Anne Rd, Teaneck
NJ

Sunday, August 26, 3:30 pm: The Waybacks with special guest David Gans, Mt.
Shasta Music Festival Summer Concert Series - Mt. Shasta Resort, 1000
Siskiyou Lake Blvd., Mt. Shasta, CA. All ages. $15 advance. $20 day of
concert. $10 ages 5-17. Age 4 & under free with adult ticket. $50 VIP 4
concert season pass includes complimentary festival T-shirt. Positive
Productions http://www.positiveproductions.net


Friday, August 31 (1:00 pm) and Saturday, September 1 (noon): Hookahville, at
Legend Valley in Thornville OH. eKoostik Hookah, Dark Star Orchestra, and
others.  http://www.legendvalley.net/

September 20-21: Kinetic Playground, Chicago, with Terrapin Flyer, Tom
Constanten, and others

September 28-October 1, 2007: DG teaches looping at Jorma Kaukonen's Fur
Peace Ranch Guitar Camp.  http://www.furpeaceranch.com

October 25-28: MagnoliaFest, at the Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park in Live
Oak FL

Saturday, November 17: Donna the Buffalo, Ollabelle and David Gans play a
benefit for the Rex Foundation. 7-11 pm at the Highline Ballroom, 431 W. 16th
St, New York City. 27.00 Advance, $30.00 Day of Show. ($5 goes to Rex). Pre-
concert reception (6:00 - 7:00 PM) & special seating: $55.00 (balcony) or
$75.00 (stageside). To order the Reception/Concert tickets call 415-561-3135
or download the ticket order form. For more information, call 415-561-3134.
http://www.rexfoundation.org/
  

    

Nice review of "Twisted Love Songs" posted on my CDBaby page today, and while
I was reading that one I found another.

http://gdhour.com/logblog/?p=569
  

    


Here's a weird little loop piece I did in my living room late last night.
I've been neglecting my guitar a little too much in the last couple of
months, up to my earholes in Sirius and DeadNet production work as well as my
regular weekly GD Hour chores. So last weekend, while my wife was out for the
day, I set my performing rig up in the living room and I've been making time
to play a little every day, just as I have made time to ride the exercycle
every day. Gotta get both the body and the soul in shape for MagnoliaFest!

I have two looping devices in my system - a Boss RC-20XL and a Gibson
Echoplex EDP. I sometimes split the signal so I can operate them
independently, but there is also some adventure to be had by running one into
the other.

Midsection (a profoundly unimaginative title) is a 15-minute chunk taken from
the middle of an hour-long improvisation and then edited a bit to remove some
clumsy passages and tedium. You may think I didn't remove enough of either -
I'm not so sure myself.

One of the features of this piece is that I stacked up some music in the
RC-20 and worked with that for a while, and then sampled sections of that -
sometimes in more-or-less musical time, sometimes in arbitrary periods - into
the Echoplex.

The Echoplex has a "feedback" pedal that allows the content to be faded out
slowly as it repeats; the RC-20XL doesn't have that, but I can reach down and
fade it out manually.

This was an experiment in anything-goes double loop improvisation. I got good
and stoned before I started playing, and I just let my inspiration flow. I
seriously doubt I'd ever do anything this loose and prone-to-excess in a real
performance, but it was fun to do in the wee small hours at home.

http://www.dgans.com/audio/midsection.mp3
  

    



Hello, dear friends -

It's been insane summer and fall - a great musical year even though I played
fewer gigs than usual.  I had some really fine festival opportunities and I
got to play with some amazing musicians.  All bodes well for next year, for
sure.

I spent some time in the studio in August with Tim Carbone producing and
several of his wonderful compatriots playing on the sessions.  We completed
six songs to add to the four we did in January, and we feel these ten songs
add up to a solid  CD.  Now comes the immense challenge of getting it to
market.  More on that as things develop.

As I mentioned in an earlier missive, I went to work for Sirius Satellite
Radio's Grateful Dead Channel starting in mid-July, and that exciting project
hit the geosynchronous airwaves on September 8.  I've been responsible for
five complete shows and an interview every week, plus contributing to the
general tweaking of the playlist and other issues.  Were all very happy with
our progress and the channel seems to be pleasing the listeners, too.  If you
want to give Sirius a try (if you're not interested in the GD channel,
they've got tons of other programming), you can get a green three-day online
trial by visiting http://www.sirius.com/gratefuldead  and clicking on the big
red FREE 3 DAY TRIAL link.


In other non-musical news, I am having my very first photo exhibition ever!
And even better, it's a joint show with my wife, Rita Hurault.  We're calling
it WATER TEXTURES, and it will be up for the entire month of January at the
Nomad Cafe, 500 Shattuck Ave. (at 65th St.) in Oakland.
http://www.nomadcafe.net/
I perform there a couple of times a year, too - it's an award-winning zero-
waste business and a fun place to hang out and to play music.



Now, to the GIGS.  There aren't a lot of 'em on the calendar for the rest of
the year, but every one is something I look forward to with great excitement.

Tomorrow morning it's the Grand Lake Farmers' Market, right down the hill
from our home.  This was supposed to be a "Dead jam," but I lost a key player
at the last minute, so we're hoping to reschedule that one for November 24.
It'll be "solo electric" DG tomorrow, and I plan to ply my new song "The
Bounty of the County" at least twice.  The song, too, is a collaboration with
Rita, the produce maven in the family; I wrote it for a September 15
appearance on <http://wcl.org/>West Coast Live, and it has been very well
received by producer v=growers, sellers, and consumers all around the world!

Tuesday I fly east to play two shows with
<http://www.ollabelle.net>Ollabelle.  The first, Friday 11/16, also involved
Catherine Russell, Larry Campbell, Jim Lauderdale, and I'm not sure who else
- we're collectively known as the American Beauty Project, and we're
performing as part of the Unbroken Chain symposium at UMass Amherst.  Details
below.

Then on Saturday 11/17, I'll be opening a show at the Highline Ballroom in
New York City for Ollabelle and Donna the Buffalo - two great American bands!
 And it's a benefit for the Rex Foundation.

After I return home, I get to open for Hot Buttered Rum at 19 Broadway in
Fairfax CA on 11/24 and for the legendary Billy C Farlow at the Ashkenaz in
Berkeley on 12/14!

As always, details and more links can be found on my site,
http://www.dgans.com/gigs.html - and late additions to the calendar, too.


I hope to see you at one or more of these events, and I beg you to please
SPREAD THE WORD!!!


* * *

Saturday, November 10, 9:30 am to 1:30 pm: Grand Lake Farmers' Market, across
from the Grand Lake Theater at Grand and Lake Park Avenues in Oakland CA.
FREE! Great produce, crafts and prepared foods, too.
http://www.splashpad.org

Friday, November 16: The American Beauty Project (Ollabelle, Jim Lauderdale,
Catherine Russell, DG, et al.) perform in Amherst MA as part of Unbroken
Chain: The Grateful Dead in Music, Culture and memory. More info (including
tickets) here. David participates in panel discussions on Friday; the event
continues through Sunday, November 18. Dark Star Orchestra performs Saturday
night. Panelists include Dennis McNally, Mountain Girl, Dan Healy, Bob
Bralove, David Dodd, Nick Meriwether, and many more.
http://www.umass.edu/umhome/events/articles/63983.php

Saturday, November 17: Donna the Buffalo, Ollabelle and David Gans play a
benefit for the Rex Foundation. 7-11 pm at the Highline Ballroom, 431 W. 16th
St, New York City. 27.00 Advance, $30.00 Day of Show. ($5 goes to Rex). Pre-
concert reception (6:00 – 7:00 PM) & special seating: $55.00 (balcony) or
$75.00 (stageside). To order the Reception/Concert tickets call 415-561-3135
or download the ticket order form. For more information, call 415-561-3134
http://www.rexfoundation.org

Saturday, November 24, 8:30pm: DG opens for Hot Buttered Rum at 19 Broadway,
Fairfax CA. $15 advance, $20 at the door. Advance tickets at
http://www.hotbutteredrum.net

Friday, December 14: DG opens for the Farlow-Kirch band at the Ashkenaz, 1317
San Pablo Ave., Berkeley CA.  http://www.ashkenaz.com


* * *
  

    
What a lot of great news!
  

    


A reasonably definitive recording of "The Bounty of the County" - a
composite taken from three performances at the Farmers' Market yesterday.

 http://www.dgans.com/audio/Bounty_071110.mp3


And: the improv with which I closed my Farmers' Market show yesterday as the
rain started to get serious:

 http://www.dgans.com/audio/drizzlin.mp3