Confessions of the Starving Artist - 2/28/08

In a world gone mad
Art will nourish the starving
Music feeds a soul

Hi, it's time for some more blogaddaccio on my part. My life crosses pathes with so many souls. I'm lucky like that. And my place is a convergence of like-minded people each with their own creative spin on the human condition. And that's not just the artists and performers. That's the audience, too. I've made friends with so many of them on a personal level. This weekend was particularly cool.

Friday night, February 22, Seth Okrend came and laid on us his brand of blues and jazz and 60s top 40 songs (Beatles and Stones mainly). Seth's unassuming style belies the power of his chops. He doesn't seem to be working hard at all but how many people do you know who play John Mayall's "Room to Move" live on guitar and harmonica? I'm lucky because he's going to play bass for me on March 8 at the SAC&G. He's unlucky because every time he plays my place it's 95 degrees or it's a thunderstorm or ice storm or something. Check out Seth regardless of the weather.

Saturday night, February 23, we (and you?) were blessed with a family reunion of sorts. Project Mercury rocketed into the Artist early Saturday and I got to hang out a bit. These folks are definitely part of the Starving Artist family. They also had actual family members there, too. Craig's mother and Charlene's husband and their newborn baby Emily. What a treat and an honor. Oh yeah, and they play great music. I know, I know... You're thinking, "Well, he's not going to say they were mediocre." Perhaps, but these people ARE great. Craig and Marian play guitars, sing and write songs. Jeanne plays cello, electric upright bass and is also a songwriter, and Charlene plays violin and sings beautifully. That's a lot of sound. Three part harmonies (try it) and full band arrangements. Their sound is so unique and full. Jeanne is sometimes classically melodic and sometimes a head-banging cellist. It's really amazing to hear. THIS is a must-see band. They are also very sweet people and good friends to have. Treat your ears next time; they'll thank you.

Not everyone that plays an instrument is in a band. Maybe they don't have the time or desire to do that, but if you play say, an electric guitar, you sometimes need other musicians to sit in with once in awhile. It's a bit like playing chess. You need to play with someone better than you to get better at it. So we at Starving Artist hold an open jam session every now and then. (The next is Sunday, May 25.) Any instrument you play is welcome. Lately, they come out in force, like this past Sunday, February 24. We had acoustic guitar players pick blues and such, notably Johnny "Strat" Sheridan and SAC&G's own Peter C. North. We had electric guitar players and a keyboard player, too. Keeping it all in the pocket was our waitress extraordinaire "Sticks" Murphy (Mariel to all of you) on drums. Also sitting in on drums was "Comic Al" Wagner, another good pocket player. He brought the cutest, shyest little girl, his daughter Athena. Of course, everyone played a bit too loud. But I think they all had a good time. There were even people there just to listen - like Frank and Cheryl Koller, Mary Lou and Bob Lachman, Debbie Martin and Pat Fusco. They were there from start to finish. At the end, I got to sit in playing my old '62 Guild Starfire with Dave Ramirez, keyboardist Matt Visconti, and Mariel and Al taking turns on drums. Finally my son, Josh Glick, sat in for a while on guitar. The jam was a great success and a wild end to a great weekend. A good jam session is a communion of souls solidifying a community. I hope it was so for those involved on Sunday.

By now I've blogged you fifteen fold and you've got a pretty good picture of a typical day in the life. (No pictures for this week's blog, since "Uncle" Bill Yehle - brother-in-law, sous chef and photographer - was under the weather this weekend; all missed him, especially me.) To get a further picture, click the links in this blog and hear for yourself. And don't forget to check out the calendar page with all its new listings. While you're at it, "Click on Glick" at Neil Young's Living With War Site - numbers 111 and 112 this week!

Make a date with me for Saturday, March 8, when I get to take my own stage. There will be new songs and many surprises musically as well as guests on stage with me. Come share the communion with us, and celebrate. Come in, and live right.

Elliott Glick