Cafe Carpe

TOM FREUND/ JESS KLEIN
2011-11-02 19:30 - 22:00 (America/Chicago) | Cafe Carpe, WI, United States
Jess Klein Tom Freund
It’s always a recipe for something special when two acclaimed songwriters share the road together. Having met for the first time in the Lower East Side of NYC nearly a decade ago, the two soulful, genre-bending troubadours have been eager to tour together since. Klein explains, “His music is comforting and inspiring to me… we both still play because music feeds our souls. There’s a musical yin-yang and a personal kinship between Tom and I, and those two things combined make for the best kinds of shows.”
A troubadour whose talents have been lauded on the national and international scene for almost a decade, Jess Klein writes songs that tell the story of the soul – from wrenching heartbreak to finding the strength to pick up and move on. Weaving her own inimitable blend of folk, soul and rock ‘n roll, Klein’s music features spot-on, speak-to-the-heart lyrics, percussive guitar and a voice as sweet as it is strong.
The Rochester, New York native picked up the acoustic guitar and started writing songs while living as a student abroad in Kingston, Jamaica in her late teens. She returned to the US, moved to Boston and released two albums on indie-giant Rykodisc: 2000’s Draw Them Near, [3.5 stars, USA Today], launched Klein on a worldwide tour where her relaxed confidence and rootsy soulfulness wowed 70,000 attendees at the Fuji Rock Festival in Japan. Klein’s 2005 follow-up, Strawberry Lover, was given four stars by MOJO, and the emotive and sensual title track was named one of the “Top Ten Sexiest Songs of the Moment” by the NY Daily News. In 2006, Klein released the blues and Motown influenced City Garden which was given an impressive five stars by MOJO Magazine and described by Roots Music UK as having “The best roots sound of any album heard this year.”
Klein moved to her current home, Austin, TX in 2008, inspiring her 2009 release, Bound To Love. Shining as Klein’s most confident work to date, Bound to Love evoked the dusty roots of Texas songwriters and made her a household name in the Austin music world. Bound to Love again took Klein across the globe, including a tour of Ireland supporting folk legend Arlo Guthrie.
Her newest album, A Room of Your Own, reflects a maturity and seize the day attitude influenced by her father’s inspiring battle with the disease ALS (aka Lou Gehrig’s Disease) which took his life in early 2011. A Room of Your Own will be Jess’s first independent album in 14 years and will be released in April 2012.
It’s in the seemingly effortless ease with which he delivers his conversational lyrics and mellifluous melodies, this natural magic that is at the heart of Tom Freund’s music. Though he’s well-schooled and widely-traveled in a variety of genres — from hearftelt folk to buoyant pop to boho jazz to straightforward rock ‘n’ roll, and beyond — Freund ultimately comes across simply as a singer-songwriter with his own singularly distinctive and engaging voice.
His newest album, The Edge of Venice is produced by John Alagia (John Mayer, Jason Mraz, Dave Matthews) and features of some of LA’s finest musicians joining him. The album comes in the wake of his latest EP “Fit To Screen” whose songs have been featured in this seasons “Parenthood” on NBC; and his latest full length “Collapsible Plans” which was produced by his musical cohort Ben Harper and hosted Jackson Browne as a special guest. The song “Collapsible Plans (Sugar) was seen performed live on “Last Call With Carson Daly” in January of 09: “I’ve always been a fan of Tom’s work, and I thought that I had something to bring to Tom sonically that was maybe a place he hadn’t stepped into yet,” Harper says.
A sought-out standup bassist, the talented, versatile Freund plays most of the stringed instruments as well as piano on his albums.
Tom writes all his own material and his songs continue to be featured on such prime time TV shows as “Las Vegas” and “One Tree Hill” as well as such films as “Charlie Bartlett,” and “12 Bucks.” Steven Spielberg’s SHOAH Foundation also used three of Tom’s compositions for their Giving Voice video. He also won a Telly Award for the music behind a National Public Service Announcement concerning child abuse.
“Every year the mounting landfill of new releases that threatens to bury the working music journalists yields a few unexpected gems, and Tom Freund is one of them.”
– THE NEW YORK TIMES

OPEN STAGE
2011-10-29 20:00 - 22:30, 2011-10-15 20:00 - 22:30, 2011-10-08 20:00 - 22:30, 2011-10-07 20:00 - 22:30, 2011-10-01 20:00 - 22:30 | Cafe Carpe, WI, United States

KAREN SAVOCA & PETE HEITZMAN
2011-10-28 20:30 - 23:00 | Cafe Carpe, United States
Acoustic soul music by Karen Savoca and Pete Heitzman.
“If she were a Native American, her name would be Sings Like Two Birds.” -Greg Brown
Born in northern NJ, the daughter of a big band singer, Karen Savoca’s baby diary reads “20 months, knows 6 songs.” She grew up singing, dancing and harmonizing around a piano, and by the age of five she was emceeing the school play.
Savoca puts her heart into a song the way a great actor throws herself into a role, charming audiences with a supple alto and a boundless range of expression. A gifted songwriter, she draws you into her world of humor and compassion, telling stories with grace and ease, as though you’ve been invited to her table for supper.
She first met Pete Heitzman at a jam session and immediately recognized him as an ideal musical partner. Described by an Alaskan reviewer as “the aurora borealis of guitar,” Heitzman’s transcendent playing is central to their sound. With a broad pallet of tones and textures, he paints ideal landscapes for Savoca’s engaging songs. Years of leading an all-original, dance-driven band imbued the duo with the power of a larger group.
“Electrifying, unique and always uplifting, these improvisational performers have the fearlessness of a high wire act working without a net.” –Six String, Columbus, OH
Savoca’s seventh solo release, Promise, was recorded in their 19th century church studio nestled deep in the hills of upstate NY. Promise is being lauded as her strongest collection of songs to date, hitting #1 on Alberta’s CKUA chart and #25 on the Euro/Americana Chart.
“There’s soul in the delicious grooves and phrasing, and soul in the broader spiritual sense that floats out in her lyrical vision.” –Edmonton Journal
“Cleverly written and embracingly beautiful songs that have a beguiling way of changing and reconfiguring themselves like an aural kaleidoscope.” –Duluth News Tribune
“Sparkling arrangements… joyous abandon .” –Dirty Linen
Winners of seven SAMMY Awards. Notable appearances include The Today Show, A Prairie Home Companion, Mountain Stage, Big Top Chautauqua, The Vancouver, Edmonton & Winnipeg Folk Festivals. They are also independent record producers who have scored several feature films and documentaries.

SUSAN SHORE & MICHAEL COCKRAM
2011-10-22 20:30 - 23:00 | Cafe Carpe, WI, United States
What began as a casual musical get-together grew into a partnership of like musical minds: Susan Shore and Michael Cockram merged their solo careers when they met in early 2010. Both are versatile multi-instrumentalists, songwriters and singers. Shore and Cockram have an appetite for striking and unusual songs, and they’ve built an eclectic repertoire that ranges from high lonesome traditional ballads to swing and contemporary folk songs.
Michael Cockram is an Arkansas native who became a banjo player in his teens; a quick study and a virtuoso player, he promptly added fiddle, guitar and mandolin to his stable of instruments. Michael’s checkerboard life as architect, professor, freelance writer and artist led him around the world, music remaining a constant companion. He returned to Arkansas in 2008 and now calls Fayetteville home.
Susan Shore is an east coast transplant whose childhood home was filled with music. Raised by a big-band musician dad and an adventure-loving mother, Susan was encouraged to play music, and became a professional musician in the 1980’s (as half of Bell & Shore). Based in Iowa and touring widely, the duo recorded two acclaimed albums. She relocated to Fayetteville in 1999. The title song of Michael’s CD “House of Stone” earned him first place in the Willamette Valley Folk Festival new song contest. Susan’s two albums with Bell and Shore met with critical acclaim, including a 3 ½ star review in Rolling Stone; her two solo albums were also enthusiastically received, “Book of Days” cited as one of the best folk/bluegrass albums of the year by Option Magazine.

DON HAYNIE & SHERYL SAMUEL
2011-10-21 20:30 - 23:30 | Cafe Carpe, WI, United States
Since the release of their first independent album, Life in the Circus, Don & Sheryl have been taking their music far & wide across America, playing concerts in an amazing range of venues. Their instrumentation– Sheryl’s use of percussion interwoven with Don’s six- and twelve-string guitars– gives their music a rhythmic drive rarely found in contemporary acoustic music: sometimes working as a compelling rhythm section supporting the vocal melodies and harmonies, sometimes lending a delicate accent, and often touching their music with a world beat flavor, through the use of percussion instruments from many cultures.
Don and Sheryl have learned to combine upbeat, sometimes drivingly energetic songs with wistful, thoughtful ballads, for performances with grit as well as grace. Don’s songs can make you laugh, cry, or dance. As innovative and refreshing as this duo’s instrumentation is, it is there mostly to support the real heart of their music, the songs themselves, and Don and Sheryl’s unique, powerful vocal harmonies.
“Pristine guitar playing . . . Seamless harmony . . . A sure instinct for lovely melodies, a brilliant sense of narrative and storytelling, and at times a wry wit . . . A treasure trove of potential hits.” The Woodstock Times

Wisconsin Poetry Festival: BILL ORTH & CATHERINE COFELL
2011-10-14 18:30 - 20:30 | Cafe Carpe, WI, United States
This event is the opening of the Lorine Niedecker Wisconsin Poetry Festival. Bill Orth and Catherine Cofell will provide an integrated music and poetry experience, interspersed with a Poetry Open Mic. The public is welcome.

DAYNA KURTZ/ BILL CAMPLIN
2011-10-13 19:30 - 22:30, 2011-10-12 19:30 - 22:30 | Cafe Carpe, WI, United States
These two evenings will feature Ms. Kurtz and her trance-inducing, contralto tones. Her depth is akin to the Nina Simone not only as a vocalist but as an interpreter and writer. A real equal opportunity purveyor of human musical expression, she defies categorization while giving a big-boned, highly emotive concentration to all she interprets or originates. “I’m not of the jazz, blues, folk, R&B, rock, or pop worlds enough to belong to any of them, but all of those things are in there,” she says.
Kurtz began performing as a teenager, and has had a solo touring career ever since. She opened for Richie Havens, who became a fan and lent vocals to her debut studio album, Postcards from Downtown. Dayna keeps winning over new fans in the music scene. In the past two years she has been invited to open up for Rufus Wainwright, Antony & the Johnsons, and Keren Ann. Additionally, she has an admirer in fellow “Living Room” habitué Norah Jones, who sings a duet with her on “I Got It Bad…” (From Beautiful Yesterday). The legendary Richard Thompson invited her to open up for a coast-to-coast nationwide tour that found Dayna converting some of his faithful fans.
And she’s not just a riveting singer. Her guitar playing is flexible enough to take her to the musical places she visits, whether she’s plucking an open pattern with an oddly cabaret feel or strumming some attitude into the bluesy realm. Her newest release “Another Black Feather” finds Dayna leaning more heavily on her roots and country influences than usual, in particular making generous use of her new lap steel guitar, and showcasing her prodigious slide work on other songs.
“One of the things that I seem to encounter constantly is that I don’t really quite fit anywhere,” observes Dayna Kurtz. This observation is also accurate to the person assembling this descriptive, Bill Camplin. And as a feeling of “soul mate” has always been there whenever Dayna is at the Carpe, this aging drama queen singer wants to enjoy the evening with her as a performer and listener. A rare treat in an October life. Rest assured that Dayna will be featured. It is just the hope that an audience for either of these two might find the synergy that is expected to make for a fine and rewarding night of listening.
“Every step I’ve taken has felt really organic, and like they’ve been made at the right time,” she states, adding, “The records I’ve made feel like honest expressions of where I’m at musically, and the making of them has been joyful and interesting.” — Dayna Kurtz

NEW PIONEERS
2011-10-06 19:00 - 21:00 | Cafe Carpe, WI, United States
Slightly off schedule this month- This five piece outfit featuring vocals, banjo, fiddle, guitar, bass and mandolin do a once-a-month performance here, usually the 2nd Thursday. Its various members have been involved with traditional music locally, regionally, and nationally for many years.
The Pioneer’s lead singer and guitarist, Jerry Wicentowski, has been described by country music historian Bill Malone as “One of the finest singers in bluegrass music”. Jerry has also performed and recorded with such bluegrass greats as Tim O’Brien, Andy Statman, Byron Berline, Tony Trischka and others. Mike Schmidt of Spring Green, Wisconsin, is the group’s banjo player. This former French horn player has been a Nashville session musician and member of the popular Wisconsin-based bluegrass bands, Alive ‘n’ Pickin’ and the Piper Road Spring Band. He also performs occasionally with his wife Lori. Bruce King of Art Stevenson and High Water – also formerly of Alive ‘n’ Pickin’ – is on mandolin. Bruce and Mike are veterans of the Great Northern Bluegrass Festival in Mole Lake, WI – performing there every year from 1977 to 1982. Fiddle player Paul Kienitz is a member in good standing of regional bluegrass favorites, The Nob Hill Boys. Bass player John Jirak just joined the gang recently.

OPEN STAGE
2011-09-30 20:00 - 22:30, 2011-09-10 20:00 - 23:00, 2011-08-13 20:00 - 23:00 | Cafe Carpe, United States

JEFFREY FOUCAULT/ Hayward Williams
2011-09-24 20:30 - 23:00, 2011-09-22 20:00 - 22:30 | Cafe Carpe, United States
“HAUNTING AND POIGNANT TRIUMPH FROM AMERICAN SINGER Jeffrey Foucault is an original, beguiling songwriter with a marvelously expressive voice. He brings these talents together, along with fine guitar playing, to create a terrific album… John Updike once wrote of a character who was like an open window through which the rain poured. Foucault’s album captures that poignancy”.
Longtime disciple of the rich and strange
music that sings behind the American veil, Jeffrey Foucault has spent the last decade mining the darker seams of country and blues, producing a string of spare and elemental albums of rare power while garnering accolades across the United States and overseas (check the website, he has an accolade record as long as an orangutan’s arm) for a tersely elegant brand of songwriting set apart by its haunting imagery and weather-beaten cool.
He lives in Western Massachusetts, but he spent his earlier decades honing his life in southeastern Wisconsin.

Hayward Williams, another proud Wisconsonian-
“Given the plethora of American singer-songwriters, to stand out they have to be something special. Wisconsin native Hayward Williams fits the bill to judge by this sparse, concentrated slice of thoughtful, folky Americana. Recorded “on the crest of the coldest winter in recent memory”, the music has a huddled-down, blanketed warmth in which you can almost hear the sparks of the fire as Dan McMahon’s electric guitar picks out notes against an acoustic guitar backdrop in the evocative title track and Mockingbird. There are splashes of violin, viola, mandolin and pedal steel, and hushed, tuneful voices to flesh out Williams’s rich, resigned tone. The eight songs (plus an unnamed extra), with themes of recollection and reflection wrapped in simple, timeless melodies, are most impressive.” Irish Times

PAMELA MEANS/ BILL CAMPLIN
2011-09-23 20:30 - 23:00 | Cafe Carpe, WI, United States
Pamela Means, “one of the fiercest guitar players and politically-rooted singer-songwriters in the music industry today,” (Curve Magazine) is touring the world with her “mad guitar-and-vocal skills” (Time Out New York), “insanely brilliant” (Press Herald, Portland ME) tunes, and refreshing take on jazz standards.
Pamela Means’s new acoustic album, “Precedent,” is an acclaimed follow-up to both “Pamela Means Jazz Project M Vol. 1” (Top 10 Album of 2007 – Muruch.com), in which, “Means takes her rightful place among contemporary
jazz vocalists such as Cassandra Wilson and Norah Jones” (Curve Magazine); and the preceding politically-provocative Pamela Means release, “Single Bullet Theory,” named 2004 Outmusic Outstanding New Recording of the Year.
Pamela will be sharing the evening with less fierce but very capable Bill Camplin, whom some of you know as “Bill”.
Check out Bill on Facebook as the Bill Camplin Band, or look for performances on YouTube.

MIKE COMPTON
2011-09-21 20:00 | Cafe Carpe, WI, United States
John Hartford once said that Mike Compton knows more about Bill Monroe style mandolin than the Father of Bluegrass himself.
Mike was born in 1956 in Jimmie Rodger’s hometown of Meridian, Mississippi. His great grandfather was a fiddler. Mike was exposed to old-time music at an early age and received his first mandolin at the age of 15. He has been a member of the Nashville Bluegrass Band for two separate stints, and toured and recorded with Hubert Davis & the Season Travelers, John Hartford, and David Grier. The Nashville Bluegrass Band has won two Grammy Awards, two Entertainer of the year honors from the International Bluegrass Music Association and four wins as IBMA’s Vocal Group of the Year.
Mike recently received Grammy Award acknowledgement for playing the mandolin on two award winning projects, “Oh Brother Where Art Thou?”, Album of the Year and Best Compilation Soundtrack Album, and “Down From the Mountain”, Best Traditional Folk Album, which included artists such as Dr. Ralph Stanley, Norman and Nancy Blake, Alison Kraus and Union Station, Gillian Welch/David Rawlings, Emmy Lou Harris, The Whites, The Cox Family, The Fairfield Four, Chris Thomas King, NBB, John Hartford, to name a few. He was also part of last year’s sold out “Down From the Mountain” tours which included the original soundtrack cast and Ricky Skaggs, Patty Loveless, the Del McCoury Band, and Rodney Crowell.
Mike was featured prominently on Dr. Ralph Stanley’s recent work produced by recording industry legend T-Bone Burnett. Mike recently participated in the soundtrack for “Cold Mountain” also produced by Mr. Burnett.
Please call to reserve seats.

CARMEL MIKOL
2011-09-17 20:30 - 23:00 | Cafe Carpe, United States
Carmel comes to celebrate the release of her new album “Creature”.
A triple nominee at the 2011 East Coast Music Awards, Carmel has always been a songwriter. From her childhood on a family farm in rural Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, to her current “home” on the road, Carmel has built her life around crafting songs, collecting stories, and carving poetry out of the human experience. After a year of touring extensively across Canada and the US with her celebrated debut album “In My Bones”, Carmel recently returned home to Cape Breton to create her newest recording “Creature”.
An Americana-tinged confluence of acoustic and electric guitar, banjo, mandolin, and unaffected vocals, “Creature” was recorded live off the floor with her band at Cape Breton’s award winning Lakewind Sound Studio (Gordie Sampson/Fred Lavery). From the overtly political Twenty Something Girl to the deeply personal I Miss The Moon, “Creature” is a fresh take on traditional folk song fodder: wayward politics, social change, and poignant, fictional “true” stories. “I’m not sure which takes more courage for me – singing honestly about my losses or taking on newspaper headlines,” Carmel admits. Either way, the album reveals her as a truly unique voice in the Canadian songwriter landscape.
Carmel’s songwriting has garnered her international attention, winning the folk category in the 2010 Great American Song Contest and International Singer Songwriter Awards Song Contest.
“Mikol’s sure way with a melody, straddling country and folk traditions, is warm and organic… It announces her as a hardcore troubadour and a softcore cynic, winning either way.”
Carsten Knox, The Coast

JAMES LEE STANLEY
2011-09-16 20:30 - 23:00 | Cafe Carpe, WI, United States
James Lee, not commonly known as Jim:
It is only a long lived singer-songwriter career that lets JAMES LEE STANLEY unite the unpredictable creative turns and the eclectic elements that make up his world. His remarkable ability as a vocalist and composer allow him to create songs, each recorded with a finely crafted with guitar orchestrations that enhance the lyric. But a whole new dimension is added when James Lee performs live. These incredible songs, coupled with his outragously hilarious repartee, make for an evening of hilarity and tenderness and one of the most entertaining concerts on the circuit.
A recent project includes a Carpe favorite, Cliff Eberhardt.
At the suggestion of John Densmore of the Doors, veteran composers / vocalists /musicians James Lee and Cliff took songs that are practically hard wired into our collective pop culture consciousness and put a uniquely fresh spin on them creating the remarkable All Wood and Doors.
Following on the heels of the critically acclaimed All Wood and Stones by James Lee Stanley and John Batdorf, (vintage Rolling Stones masterpieces composed by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards and reinvented by Batdorf & Stanley), All Wood and Doors is the inevitable next step. And it’s not too early to begin using the word masterpiece.
Pouring through the evocative catalog of the seminal rock group, The Doors, Stanley & Eberhardt have maintained all of the Doors mystique, while at the same time bringing something completely new to all these classic songs.
Cliff Eberhardt and James Lee Stanley are wonderful singers and musicians, with unique mastery of their instruments. This recording, All Wood and Doors, is twelve of their favorite Doors songs. The songs’ timelessness is enhanced by the funk and elegance of these new arrangements and re-interpretations.
The CD features crystal clear, atmospheric acoustic renderings and the songs are the true stars of this recording. Never before have you heard Classic Doors songs performed like this.
The arrangements are focused on Eberhardt’s raspy tenor and Stanley’s dulcet baritone, combined with the incredible magic of their acoustic guitar interplay. It’s almost as if the songs are somehow brand new and while completely familiar.
But what adds a truly remarkable spin to the recording is the endorsement and contribution of the Doors original drummer, John Densmore, who was part of this project based upon his fondness for the All Wood and Stones CD.
It was John who initially suggested the project when he told James Lee that if James ever did to the Doors songs what he did to the Stones songs, then John wanted to be a part of the recording. John Densmore was the true impetus that created All Wood and Doors.
Then to the astonished joy of Cliff and James Lee, Robby Krieger, original Doors guitarist, emailed James Lee, expressing his admiration for All Wood and Stones and volunteering to play guitar on All Wood and Doors. This was simply the icing on the cake. Even now, everyone at Beachwood Recordings is still amazed at this generous endorsement of the CD by both Robby and John.
And to add further to an already remarkable recording, there is this all star line up of the highly regarded guests musicians: Timothy B Schmit (the Eagles), Peter Tork (the Monkees), Paul Barrere (Little Feat), Laurence Juber (Paul McCartney & Wings), Scott Breadman (the Rippingtons, Lindsey Buckingham), the truly remarkable Chad Watson (David Arkenstone, Janis Ian) and, of course, John Densmore (the Doors), Robby Krieger (the Doors).
The songs are: Break On Thru; Touch Me; Strange Days; Love Me Two Times; Crystal Ship; People Are Strange; Soul Kitchen; Riders On The Storm; Take It As It Comes; Moonlight Drive; Light My Fire; and The End.

BIG BANG STRING THING
2011-09-09 20:30 - 23:00 | Cafe Carpe, United States
Sounds like we should be prepared for you to be showin’ some moves.
It’s rare when the word acoustic conjures thoughts of music that can electrify the jump in your feet. Then again, BBST is a rare group, and an impressive collective of musical might. Energetic, contagious, and flat out fun, BBST weaves a sizzling thread through multiple genres to deliver a tapestry of award-winning original music that defies one description,yet, connects with everyone. Perhaps that has a something to do with the fact that BBST is made up of veteran musicians who have toured, recorded, or shared the stage with Leo Kottke, The String Cheese Incident, Lyle Lovett, The Smashing Pumpkins, Darol Anger, Mike Marshall, John Hartford, U2, Asleep at the Wheel, Garbage, Willy Porter, Riders in the Sky, The Radiators, David Grisman,Alex DeGrassi, Doc Watson, Carrie Newcomer, and Merl Saunders and the Rainforest Band to name a few. Or, it could simply be that Big Bang String Thing knows how to craft a great sound.
Bob Westfall (mandolin, guitar, vocals, songwriting) has studied and worked with some of the top acoustic players in the country -Darol Anger, Mike Marshall, John Hartford, and Alex DeGrassi. But, while these influences are certainly evident, Westfall’s songwriting are uniquely his own. An award-winning mandolinist, Bob grew up in Texas and Minnesota, and his style incorporates the best elements of storytelling with a hybrid jazz/pop/worldbeat/bluegrass feel.
The husband and wife team of Mary Gaines(bass) and Chris Wagoner (violin) provide the bottom and top of the BBST sound, and have appeared in performance and on recordings with Westfall for over fifteen years. Gaines and Wagoner have similarly diverse backgrounds — formal classical training at the Univ. of WI, jazz studies with the great bassist, Richard Davis, followed by years of performing and recording with jazz, blues, rock, and folk artists and songwriters.
Micah Olsan (guitar) has been an active performer in the Midwest music scenes for the last five years. His diverse songwriting mixes elements of folky acoustic fingerstyle, funk, rock, and world music into a distinct sound that will leave your head bobbing and your toes tapping. His guitar work was recognized in the 2010 Shepherd Express reader poll when he was awarded runner up for best guitarist. He has been playing with BBST for the last 5 years.

THE NEW PIONEERS
2011-09-08 19:00 - 21:00 | Cafe Carpe, United States
This five piece outfit featuring vocals, banjo, fiddle, guitar, bass and mandolin are doing a once-a-month performance here, usually the 2nd Thursday. Its various members have been involved with traditional music locally, regionally, and nationally for many years.
The Pioneer’s lead singer and guitarist, Jerry Wicentowski, has been described by country music historian Bill Malone as “One of the finest singers in bluegrass music”. Jerry has also performed and recorded with such bluegrass greats as Tim O’Brien, Andy Statman, Byron Berline, Tony Trischka and others. Mike Schmidt of Spring Green, Wisconsin, is the group’s banjo player. This former French horn player has been a Nashville session musician and member of the popular Wisconsin-based bluegrass bands, Alive ‘n’ Pickin’ and the Piper Road Spring Band. He also performs occasionally with his wife Lori. Bruce King of Art Stevenson and High Water – also formerly of Alive ‘n’ Pickin’ – is on mandolin. Bruce and Mike are veterans of the Great Northern Bluegrass Festival in Mole Lake, WI – performing there every year from 1977 to 1982. Fiddle player Paul Kienitz is a member in good standing of regional bluegrass favorites, The Nob Hill Boys. Bass player John Jirak just joined the gang recently.

no music
2011-08-27 04:00 | Cafe Carpe, United States

ERNIE HENDRICKSON/ MJ Bishop
2011-08-26 20:30 - 23:00 | Cafe Carpe, United States
A great night with 2 emerging songwriters.
“Dark and pretty songs. Ernie Hendrickson is finding a niche in the indie folkAmericana segment. He is a storyteller like Harry Nilsson in a country mood.”
– Hans Werksman  Here Comes The Flood
In 2007 Ernie self-produced and released a highly acclaimed solo record, Down the Road, of which the Illinois Entertainer deemed “Groundbreaking” and pushed him straight onto the Midwest’s radar as an emerging singer-songwriter. Hendrickson set the talent bar high in the studio for this album with a cast of players that included the subtle and angelic backing vocals of his sister, Kelly Hendrickson, and the legendary harmonica player, Howard Levy (Bela Fleck & The Flecktones, Paul Simon), aligned with an all-star group of Chicago musicians.
Hendrickson’s new record, Walking with Angels, began with a chance meeting between Ernie and veteran producer Bo Ramsey (Greg Brown, Lucinda Williams, Jeffrey Foucault) in the spring of ’08 in Iowa City, where Ernie was opening a show for an old friend of Bo’s, Kevin Gordon. Even in early conversation, the two agreed that there was a chemistry evolving that would only deepen once the sessions began. At Bo’s urging, Ernie sang and played nearly all of the songs on the record with a live band which consisted of Bo, Jon Penner on bass (Junior Brown, Bo Ramsey), and Steve Hayes on drums (Greg Brown, Bo Ramsey). This call was made by Bo to try and capture the energy of a great performance and the result could not have been better. All twelve songs on the record feel as though these four guys had been playing together for years. After adding legendary Chicago pedal steel player Brian Wilkie (Alison Krauss, Pam Tillis) on several tracks, Bob Black’s banjo (Bill Monroe), and taking a trip to Nashville to record keyboardist Kevin McKendree (Delbert McClinton), the record shines as a true testament to Hendrickson’s ripening powers as a songwriter. Radio promotion has taken the sophomore album’s success to a higher level on both AAA and Americana stations, having spent over 25 weeks in the Top 20 on Roots Music Report’s Folk charts and in regular rotation at nearly 100 different stations across the country including Nashville’s award-winning WSM-AM The Legend.
Of opener MJ Bishop: “A modern-day Patsy Cline whose voice has been seasoned to Americana perfection. Folk Americana with attitude; lyric-driven melancholy that’s gutsy, introspective, organic, emotive, acoustic, and laced with twang.” Her music is described as open-road longing folk Americana. She has been compared to Patsy Cline, Emmylou Harris and Gillian Welch. Combining deep roots in acoustic music with a maturing country sensibility, MJ creates a genre that is, in many ways, her own. Her influences include Patsy Cline, Hank Williams, k.d. lang, Patty Griffin, Emmylou Harris, Lucinda Williams,

BILL CAMPLIN & the AUGUST SAGE
2011-08-20 20:30 - 23:00 | Cafe Carpe, United States
This is one of those rare appearances of the Bill Camplin band, one of whose members is Bill Camplin. Other members include Jason Klagstad on guitar, Paul Wehrley on bass, Alpha Stewart on percussion, Bob Mueller on drums. Check them out on YouTube, and Facebook. Turns out, it’s down to one sage for this weekend, Alpha Stewart.

THE PINES
2011-08-19 20:30 - 23:00
In a world swimming in singer/songwriters, it’s difficult to rise above the masses and create a truly unique sound that captures ears and stimulates the mind. The Pines are a band that has taken on this feat, honing their musical craft to near perfection with a sound that wavers on the edge of traditional acoustic/roots music, but embraces the nuances of today’s indie-rock and blues music.
Meeting in a Mexican barrio in Arizona, fellow Iowans David Huckfelt and Benson Ramsey began playing music together, forming The Pines. Committing to a musical career, they returned to their Midwestern roots and settled in Minneapolis, a music haven that has launched the careers of such folk and rock legends as Bob Dylan, The Jayhawks and The Replacements.
In 2004 The Pines released their debut self-titled album on the Iowa-based Trailer Records, establishing themselves as an emerging force in the roots music world with their haunting blend of indie-rock, folk, and blues with intelligent lyrics. In 2007 The Pines released Sparrows in the Bell on the world renowned acoustic/roots label Red House Records. The album had critics buzzing and was named one of the top roots releases of 2007 by Q Magazine. With the release of Tremolo, , their second release on Red House, The Pines continue to show their growth as artists as well as an unparalleled wisdom in their songwriting and musicianship.
The son of Greg Brown’s producer and sideman Bo Ramsey, Benson was surrounded by folk and blues music and continues to let those influences shine, even on louder electric songs. David also has a deep love for traditional music, and together the two of them craft music that evokes the ancient while incorporating newer rock and pop grooves. Both strong writers and musicians, David and Benson have distinct voices that complement each other, causing audiences and critics alike to tout them as a powerful young force in American roots music. Steadily touring around the country, The Pines have shared the stage with some of the biggest names in music including Bon Iver, The Holmes Brothers, Jolie Holland, The Arcade Fire, and Spider John Koerner.
www.thepinesmusic.com

COUSIN BONES w/ Wes Heine & Mike Sviokla
2011-08-12 20:30 - 23:00 | Cafe Carpe, United States
Cousin Bones is a loud but lyrical dobro / banjo duo out of Chicago. Foot-stomping storytelling- they do drinking songs, blues, and blue-grass… Blues-Grass if you will… Home town boy Wes Heine (born @ Fort Hospital) & Mike Sviokla from Boston have been writing and performing together as Cousin Bones for four years. This is roots music for the 21st Century.

NEW PIONEERS
2011-08-11 19:00 - 21:00 | Cafe Carpe, United States
