News Archive
February, 2012
SFBOT!
The San Francisco Bluegrass Old Time Festival offers ten days of fantastic music in the strinbgand tradition, folks from near and far, venues all over the Bay - don't miss it! I am playing with the Stairwell Sisters, calling a Family Square Dance, playing with my own Evie Ladin Band and teaching a harmony singing workshop. In other news, putting the final touches on the new record, and excited to get it shipped off and back into - YOUR - hands. Stay tuned...
January, 2012
New Year, New CD
Right here at the first week of the year, the Evie Ladin Band wrapped our new record, with Ivan Rosenberg kickin it at the controls. I am really excited about this CD - the music is fresh, and a unique combination of these four expansive strinbgand musicians - with Erik Pearson, Dina Maccabee and Keith Terry - a treat to be in such absurdly musical company. We finished our last song right before putting it down - and can't wait for you to hear the collection. Okay, back to the business of the bizness. Join the swells of banjo players - new classes are bursting at the seams!
December, 2011
Wrapping Up 2011
The 4th International Body Music Festival was indeed an incredible gathering of Body Music artists from around the world, and it was a joy to get back to choreographing big pieces and collaborating with some amazing folks on the dance floor. I feel like I've been recovering ever since - what a busy and fantastic year it's been! Here at the end of 2011 I am slowing down to prepare for two upcoming recording projects - Evie Ladin Band is working with Ivan Rosenberg on a new CD, and I am excited to hear his skills capturing this expansive stringband sound - and the Crosspulse Percussion Ensemble is recording a long overdue Children's CD. Documenting is always a long, slow process, but a fabulous accomplishment. We'll see what happens when CDs phase out - maybe people will stop listening and play more!
The 4th International Body Music Festival comes to town this month, guaranteed to be an incredible gathering of Body Music artists from around the world. I'll be debuting a new piece choreographed with Keith Terry for SlamDance, as well as a step dance collaboration with Nic Gareiss and Sandy Silva, and I am honored to be in their company! Do join us - hard to explain, and deeply moving, not to mention just plain fun as heck. Slap, clap, snap, sing - see you there!
November, 2011
Body Music
The 4th International Body Music Festival comes to town this month, guaranteed to be an incredible gathering of Body Music artists from around the world. I'll be debuting a new piece choreographed with Keith Terry for SlamDance, as well as a step dance collaboration with Nic Gareiss and Sandy Silva, and I am honored to be in their company! Do join us - hard to explain, and deeply moving, not to mention just plain fun as heck. Slap, clap, snap, sing - see you there!
October, 2011
Banjo Mania!
Firing back up the banjo classes at the Freight & Salvage, the season kicked off with 30 students. Holy 5-string Batman! The Berkeley Old Time Music Convention was a fantastic hometown festival, and I raged on the fiddle all weekend long - what a treat. For me anyway. Now choreographing SlamDance for the 4th International Body Music Festival coming up in November, and working new Evil Diane tunes into the rep. While Autumn brings my nose to the grindstone, we have the finest weather. Happy Left Coast summer?
September, 2011
Summer Carries On
Aaah, busy summer touring all over with great crowds and great students, but top of the list is always the best swimming holes - New River, WV to Yuba River, CA - surrounded by woods and music. I am smiling all over. September brings us back around, with banjo classes at the Freight, local shows with Evil Diane and some awesome fall festivals, taking advantage of summer weather here on the West Coast. Working on new music to record this Winter with Evil Diane!
August, 2011
A Prize Winning Summer
Life is GOOD when you spend more time in the woods than in the office, more time making music than writing emails. From California Coast Music Camp to the Appalachian String Band Festival in Clifftop, WV - where Evil Diane, myself with Keith Terry and Chas Justus, took THIRD place in the Neo-Trad Band Contest @ the annual old-time nirvana, Clifftop. First contest ribbon ever! And the river was a sweet swim. Back in the foggy freeze we call "summer" in the Bay, a week in the redwoods will not be so bad. Enjoy the month!
July, 2011
I Love Me Some Festivals!
Thrilled to have rocked some gorgeous summer festivals, south and north, and in the company of excellent musicians along the way. Evil Diane is sounding great, with special guests Elise Engelberg & Matt Knoth from the Black Crown Stringband with us at Live Oak Music Fest, and the original quartet jammin Kate Wolf. In between was the joy of working with young violinists, turning them onto trad styles, oral tradition, and all the dancing that goes with it. Got to love Fiddlekids. The Stairwell Sisters jump on the East Bay for a few shows before I hit the road again. C'mon summer, I am so ready for a hot time!
June, 2011
THE Home for West Coast Folk
Besides a raging beginner banjo program, the Freight & Salvage is just a stellar place to hear and play acoustic music. The full Evil Diane experience will be on hand Thursday May 19 along with a killer Virginia old-time band Old Sledge. West Coasters, you need to hear this Southern music! They are everything I love about old-time music - the depth, drive, sweetness, complexity. We shared the bill at the fantastic LA Old-Time Social, held at some of the coolest locations in LA - underground, funky. Highly recommended.
May 2.0, 2011
First Festival, Check!
Parkfield Mother's Day Festival - what an awesome scene in the middle of ranchland, live rodeo, great crowds, and more local beef than you could ever eat in one sitting - about the only time I dive into red meat. We had a raging square dance, great sets, and gorgeous camping among the oaks. Next up, touring LA solo - excited to jump into the LA Old-Time Social, as well as some singer-songwriter shows. Always nice to play both sides of the coin. See you down South?
May, 2011
Old-Time is a Good Time
We enjoyed the sunshine in the Northwest as the locals freaked out at the first nice days of the year! Wonderful crowds and alot of reconnecting with old friends. Looking forward to the home town BOTMC Spring Situation this weekend - jam packed with fun events, concerts, and if only this endless cough will stop. I learned how to sing through a bad cold on this last tour! First festival of the season coming up with the Stairwell Sisters - always fun playing with the gals.
April redux, 2011
How Does My Garden Grow
Preparing for our Northwest Tour, I've been digging deep in the garden, planting, mulching, getting ready to let 'er rip while I'm off playing music. It's exciting to leave for a while and see how much things grow in my absence. We are harvesting a bunch of asparagus every week, and a visit to the farmer's market yielded nothing I needed. New songs are starting to come into my head as I dig - raising food and raising kids, raising hell like we always did. Grow Food! Play Music!
April, 2011
Spring in the Lone Star State
Texas! So Texas. Great people, excellent music. From Dallas, through Crockett and Fischer to Austin, we had some really fine shows. First swim of the season in Canyon Lake - loving that fresh water, I almost swam clear across the lake. Feedback of the show is how unusual and surprising the range of what we do is - moving, dynamic...blah, blah - you've got see it live to really understand. So c'mon! A few Bay Area shows in early April, then off to the great Northwest! See TOUR page for details! Spring is definitely in the air!
March, 2011
Lone Star State here we come!
Folk Alliance International was a real good time - so nice to put faces and personal contact to presenters, deejays and artists I had previously known only through the internet! Four days in the hotel, I didn't even step out for fresh air...and on my return headed out to the CBA Winter Camp. What a great time, great students, teachers, and really great food! Unusual for any camp, we are lucky in California to have fresh, organic ingredients year-round, and Walker Creek Ranch makes excellent use of it. Walking in the gorgeous green hills with so much fresh air, it was a shock to hit 65MPH on the way home. I do wish I could continue spending more time on the music and less on the music business sometimes, but that's life. Fortunately, Keith Terry and I head out to Texas - see on the left our schedule of shows - if you are in the Lone Star State, we look forward to seeing you!
late Feb, 2011
Folk Alliance International
Keith Terry and I head out to Memphis to our first Folk Alliance International - see on the left our schedule of showcases - both official and "private" - a panel on New Traditions and a slot in a John Hartford tribute concert. I've been having a blast reinterpreting John's picking, singing, clogging and grinning to my clawhammer style. Though I already do this in my show, I have to say John was amazing, but you knew that. It is more apparent how fantastic someone is when you try to literally put yourself in their shoes. Hello 2000 of my closest folk friends, it will be great to see you!
Feb, 2011
New Music - Huzzah!
The Portland Old Time Music Gathering was a wicked good time - when it rains outside, gather with a few hundred of your friends inside to play, dance, and drink medicinal cocktails! Many thanks do all those that make that phenomenal gathering go. I've been complaining of performing alot of old material recently, and now my brain is bursting with new projects. Evie Ladin/Evil Diane takes to the road this weekend with some new pieces rising to the surface. The Crosspulse Percussion Ensemble debuts a brand new show, everyone bringing their music and dance of the African Diaspora to the stage and mixing it up - Haitian Rara, Venezuelan Quitiplas, Appalachian Singing, Contemporary Body Music, Afro-Cuban Rumba, Guinean Krin, African-American traditional play-party games = FUN! I asked for it. Plus I've got 20 fantastic new banjo students at The Freight folk school! Now to keep up with it all.
Jan, 2011
2011 - Bring It On!
The Stairwell Sisters had a rockin' TENTH Anniversary celebration @ The Freight & Salvage, ten years to the date of our very first gig
- we've come a long way baby. From A Prairie Home Companion to Celtic Connections, Lincoln Center to Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, we've played
stages large and small, and have stuck together through it all. Thanks a million to all the folks who made it such a fantastic celebration,
especially our partners in life and music who joined us as special guests. We're kicking off the New Year right with our annual Breakin'
Up Xmas Square Dance, and then you cannot top the Portland Old Time Music Gathering coming up MLK Weekend. The most recent issue of Sing Out! had a lovely piece
on me and my new release to boot. Here's to filling the
long dark nights with music and dance, and bringing the sun back again, shining bright. Thank you for all your support this year, many exciting
things to come in 2011!
Late Nov, 2010
Obrigado!
My first trip to South America, beautifully hosted in Brazil by our friends in Barbatuques for the
3rd International Body Music Festival! Once again, the IBMF pulled in
it's magic with Body Music artists from around the globe in a gathering that never fails to move artists and audience alike - Body Music is familiar, we all have the same instrument,
yet when expressed through various cultural lenses, we see such a gorgeous range of expression. I was honored to perform with Slammin, Keith Terry, and solo, as well as teach workshops
on Clogging and Hambone to enthusiastic and talented students. Myriad photos and videos posted on Facebook! I also jammed with
the Sao Paulo Bluegrass Association on fiddle tunes, Bob Dylan, and even Smoke on the Water :)
We were generously hosted in Rio de Janeiro, and thought the weather was wet, it was still warm enough to enjoy Copacabana and the Atlantic, a late-night Forro, Lapa and a beautfiul Chorinho,
and fresh juice, juice, juice! Returned by way of Lafayette Louisiana, and a music-fuelled wedding - softening the culture shock a bit. Now the Bay Area has the frigid bite of winter coming on,
but the kale sprouts are growing, and there are some great celebrations coming right up!
Nov, 2010
Heading South!
My first FAR West regional Folk Alliance Conference was truly spectacular - I met alot of wonderful and talented people and heard some great music. I'm honored to be swimming in that pool. I admit I headed into the conference with a bit of dread - the shmoozing, the sales pitch - but it was more like a bunch of friends all celebrating music, which is right up my alley. As beautiful women in saris floated through the folky crowd on their way to the enormous Indian dance party going on downstairs, we sang and laughed and made a ton of new friends. A highlight was wrapping up the weekend at 2am playing a showcase for an intimate audience including Cloud Moss , FAR West honoree, and folk heroine Rosalie Sorrels. Another honor indeed. I'm off to Brazil with Keith Terry and Slammin to perform and teach in the International Body Music Festival , where I also plan on hooking up with the Sao Paulo Bluegrass Association ! What a world!
Late Oct, 2010
On The Home Front
It's been a super fun few weeks here at Evie Ladin Central. Hardly Strictly was a real blast - I am always impressed with the free party Warren Hellman throws. We had a giant mob dancing through the set and who cares that they'd obviously been drinking all day! This comment from Tomas Liska, Czech band Druha Trava's bass player: "I have to say, that your performance was absolutely the best what I saw that day!!! Natural energy, perfect timing from all of the band, it sound really great and I would like to thank you for that experience. If you wouldn't be there that night I don't know which mood I would have." The Stairwell Sisters had a great time opening for the Carolina Chocolate Drops - Taj Mahal sat in on much of their set, and I was truly wowed by the band. The Mother Jones blog reported from that show that I "play a mean clawhammer banjo." Finally, these nice words from Australian DJ Bruce Cameron "Great material, excellent vocal delivery and scarily impressive clawhammer banjo. What could be better?"
Oct, 2010
Some Cool News
The Berkeley Old-Time Music Convention always starts my Fall off right, and this year did not disappoint. Here's other good news: I was recently featured in a cool BLOG, about my appearance at the Falconridge Folk Festival in NY this summer // "I Love My Honey" somehow was a Finalist in the John Lennon Songwriting Competition. A Public Domain song, I am credited for the recording. Nice prizes! // I was selected to be a Premier Showcase Artist at the FAR West Folk Alliance Conference 2010, AND won the Howard Larman Scholarship to help cover costs. Thanks Howard!! // Nice new review from Sing Out! See it below // and the Stairwell Sisters are opening for the Carolina Chocolate Drops @ Slim's on Hardly Strictly Eve, Oct 1! Happy New Year everyone!
Sept, 2010
Home
What a fantastic summer this has been. As I look over all the pictures, all the places and faces, I remember all the music and dance, and can only think...MORE! My desire to play and tour is insatiable, yet it is time to be home for a few, regroup, clear the clutter and woodshed. So many projects to tackle, so little time. I will eat from the garden, get the office in shape, create new music, and prepare for the next big tour - Brazil! Teaching and gigging around the Bay in the best season - it's summer here now.
SFBOT!
The San Francisco Bluegrass Old Time Festival offers ten days of fantastic music in the strinbgand tradition, folks from near and far, venues all over the Bay - don't miss it! I am playing with the Stairwell Sisters, calling a Family Square Dance, playing with my own Evie Ladin Band and teaching a harmony singing workshop. In other news, putting the final touches on the new record, and excited to get it shipped off and back into - YOUR - hands. Stay tuned...
January, 2012
New Year, New CD
Right here at the first week of the year, the Evie Ladin Band wrapped our new record, with Ivan Rosenberg kickin it at the controls. I am really excited about this CD - the music is fresh, and a unique combination of these four expansive strinbgand musicians - with Erik Pearson, Dina Maccabee and Keith Terry - a treat to be in such absurdly musical company. We finished our last song right before putting it down - and can't wait for you to hear the collection. Okay, back to the business of the bizness. Join the swells of banjo players - new classes are bursting at the seams!
December, 2011
Wrapping Up 2011
The 4th International Body Music Festival was indeed an incredible gathering of Body Music artists from around the world, and it was a joy to get back to choreographing big pieces and collaborating with some amazing folks on the dance floor. I feel like I've been recovering ever since - what a busy and fantastic year it's been! Here at the end of 2011 I am slowing down to prepare for two upcoming recording projects - Evie Ladin Band is working with Ivan Rosenberg on a new CD, and I am excited to hear his skills capturing this expansive stringband sound - and the Crosspulse Percussion Ensemble is recording a long overdue Children's CD. Documenting is always a long, slow process, but a fabulous accomplishment. We'll see what happens when CDs phase out - maybe people will stop listening and play more!
The 4th International Body Music Festival comes to town this month, guaranteed to be an incredible gathering of Body Music artists from around the world. I'll be debuting a new piece choreographed with Keith Terry for SlamDance, as well as a step dance collaboration with Nic Gareiss and Sandy Silva, and I am honored to be in their company! Do join us - hard to explain, and deeply moving, not to mention just plain fun as heck. Slap, clap, snap, sing - see you there!
November, 2011
Body Music
The 4th International Body Music Festival comes to town this month, guaranteed to be an incredible gathering of Body Music artists from around the world. I'll be debuting a new piece choreographed with Keith Terry for SlamDance, as well as a step dance collaboration with Nic Gareiss and Sandy Silva, and I am honored to be in their company! Do join us - hard to explain, and deeply moving, not to mention just plain fun as heck. Slap, clap, snap, sing - see you there!
October, 2011
Banjo Mania!
Firing back up the banjo classes at the Freight & Salvage, the season kicked off with 30 students. Holy 5-string Batman! The Berkeley Old Time Music Convention was a fantastic hometown festival, and I raged on the fiddle all weekend long - what a treat. For me anyway. Now choreographing SlamDance for the 4th International Body Music Festival coming up in November, and working new Evil Diane tunes into the rep. While Autumn brings my nose to the grindstone, we have the finest weather. Happy Left Coast summer?
September, 2011
Summer Carries On
Aaah, busy summer touring all over with great crowds and great students, but top of the list is always the best swimming holes - New River, WV to Yuba River, CA - surrounded by woods and music. I am smiling all over. September brings us back around, with banjo classes at the Freight, local shows with Evil Diane and some awesome fall festivals, taking advantage of summer weather here on the West Coast. Working on new music to record this Winter with Evil Diane!
August, 2011
A Prize Winning Summer
Life is GOOD when you spend more time in the woods than in the office, more time making music than writing emails. From California Coast Music Camp to the Appalachian String Band Festival in Clifftop, WV - where Evil Diane, myself with Keith Terry and Chas Justus, took THIRD place in the Neo-Trad Band Contest @ the annual old-time nirvana, Clifftop. First contest ribbon ever! And the river was a sweet swim. Back in the foggy freeze we call "summer" in the Bay, a week in the redwoods will not be so bad. Enjoy the month!
July, 2011
I Love Me Some Festivals!
Thrilled to have rocked some gorgeous summer festivals, south and north, and in the company of excellent musicians along the way. Evil Diane is sounding great, with special guests Elise Engelberg & Matt Knoth from the Black Crown Stringband with us at Live Oak Music Fest, and the original quartet jammin Kate Wolf. In between was the joy of working with young violinists, turning them onto trad styles, oral tradition, and all the dancing that goes with it. Got to love Fiddlekids. The Stairwell Sisters jump on the East Bay for a few shows before I hit the road again. C'mon summer, I am so ready for a hot time!
June, 2011
THE Home for West Coast Folk
Besides a raging beginner banjo program, the Freight & Salvage is just a stellar place to hear and play acoustic music. The full Evil Diane experience will be on hand Thursday May 19 along with a killer Virginia old-time band Old Sledge. West Coasters, you need to hear this Southern music! They are everything I love about old-time music - the depth, drive, sweetness, complexity. We shared the bill at the fantastic LA Old-Time Social, held at some of the coolest locations in LA - underground, funky. Highly recommended.
May 2.0, 2011
First Festival, Check!
Parkfield Mother's Day Festival - what an awesome scene in the middle of ranchland, live rodeo, great crowds, and more local beef than you could ever eat in one sitting - about the only time I dive into red meat. We had a raging square dance, great sets, and gorgeous camping among the oaks. Next up, touring LA solo - excited to jump into the LA Old-Time Social, as well as some singer-songwriter shows. Always nice to play both sides of the coin. See you down South?
May, 2011
Old-Time is a Good Time
We enjoyed the sunshine in the Northwest as the locals freaked out at the first nice days of the year! Wonderful crowds and alot of reconnecting with old friends. Looking forward to the home town BOTMC Spring Situation this weekend - jam packed with fun events, concerts, and if only this endless cough will stop. I learned how to sing through a bad cold on this last tour! First festival of the season coming up with the Stairwell Sisters - always fun playing with the gals.
April redux, 2011
How Does My Garden Grow
Preparing for our Northwest Tour, I've been digging deep in the garden, planting, mulching, getting ready to let 'er rip while I'm off playing music. It's exciting to leave for a while and see how much things grow in my absence. We are harvesting a bunch of asparagus every week, and a visit to the farmer's market yielded nothing I needed. New songs are starting to come into my head as I dig - raising food and raising kids, raising hell like we always did. Grow Food! Play Music!
April, 2011
Spring in the Lone Star State
Texas! So Texas. Great people, excellent music. From Dallas, through Crockett and Fischer to Austin, we had some really fine shows. First swim of the season in Canyon Lake - loving that fresh water, I almost swam clear across the lake. Feedback of the show is how unusual and surprising the range of what we do is - moving, dynamic...blah, blah - you've got see it live to really understand. So c'mon! A few Bay Area shows in early April, then off to the great Northwest! See TOUR page for details! Spring is definitely in the air!
March, 2011
Lone Star State here we come!
Folk Alliance International was a real good time - so nice to put faces and personal contact to presenters, deejays and artists I had previously known only through the internet! Four days in the hotel, I didn't even step out for fresh air...and on my return headed out to the CBA Winter Camp. What a great time, great students, teachers, and really great food! Unusual for any camp, we are lucky in California to have fresh, organic ingredients year-round, and Walker Creek Ranch makes excellent use of it. Walking in the gorgeous green hills with so much fresh air, it was a shock to hit 65MPH on the way home. I do wish I could continue spending more time on the music and less on the music business sometimes, but that's life. Fortunately, Keith Terry and I head out to Texas - see on the left our schedule of shows - if you are in the Lone Star State, we look forward to seeing you!
late Feb, 2011
Folk Alliance International
Keith Terry and I head out to Memphis to our first Folk Alliance International - see on the left our schedule of showcases - both official and "private" - a panel on New Traditions and a slot in a John Hartford tribute concert. I've been having a blast reinterpreting John's picking, singing, clogging and grinning to my clawhammer style. Though I already do this in my show, I have to say John was amazing, but you knew that. It is more apparent how fantastic someone is when you try to literally put yourself in their shoes. Hello 2000 of my closest folk friends, it will be great to see you!
Feb, 2011
New Music - Huzzah!
The Portland Old Time Music Gathering was a wicked good time - when it rains outside, gather with a few hundred of your friends inside to play, dance, and drink medicinal cocktails! Many thanks do all those that make that phenomenal gathering go. I've been complaining of performing alot of old material recently, and now my brain is bursting with new projects. Evie Ladin/Evil Diane takes to the road this weekend with some new pieces rising to the surface. The Crosspulse Percussion Ensemble debuts a brand new show, everyone bringing their music and dance of the African Diaspora to the stage and mixing it up - Haitian Rara, Venezuelan Quitiplas, Appalachian Singing, Contemporary Body Music, Afro-Cuban Rumba, Guinean Krin, African-American traditional play-party games = FUN! I asked for it. Plus I've got 20 fantastic new banjo students at The Freight folk school! Now to keep up with it all.
Jan, 2011
2011 - Bring It On!
The Stairwell Sisters had a rockin' TENTH Anniversary celebration @ The Freight & Salvage, ten years to the date of our very first gig
- we've come a long way baby. From A Prairie Home Companion to Celtic Connections, Lincoln Center to Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, we've played
stages large and small, and have stuck together through it all. Thanks a million to all the folks who made it such a fantastic celebration,
especially our partners in life and music who joined us as special guests. We're kicking off the New Year right with our annual Breakin'
Up Xmas Square Dance, and then you cannot top the Portland Old Time Music Gathering coming up MLK Weekend. The most recent issue of Sing Out! had a lovely piece
on me and my new release to boot. Here's to filling the
long dark nights with music and dance, and bringing the sun back again, shining bright. Thank you for all your support this year, many exciting
things to come in 2011!
Late Nov, 2010
Obrigado!
My first trip to South America, beautifully hosted in Brazil by our friends in Barbatuques for the
3rd International Body Music Festival! Once again, the IBMF pulled in
it's magic with Body Music artists from around the globe in a gathering that never fails to move artists and audience alike - Body Music is familiar, we all have the same instrument,
yet when expressed through various cultural lenses, we see such a gorgeous range of expression. I was honored to perform with Slammin, Keith Terry, and solo, as well as teach workshops
on Clogging and Hambone to enthusiastic and talented students. Myriad photos and videos posted on Facebook! I also jammed with
the Sao Paulo Bluegrass Association on fiddle tunes, Bob Dylan, and even Smoke on the Water :)
We were generously hosted in Rio de Janeiro, and thought the weather was wet, it was still warm enough to enjoy Copacabana and the Atlantic, a late-night Forro, Lapa and a beautfiul Chorinho,
and fresh juice, juice, juice! Returned by way of Lafayette Louisiana, and a music-fuelled wedding - softening the culture shock a bit. Now the Bay Area has the frigid bite of winter coming on,
but the kale sprouts are growing, and there are some great celebrations coming right up!
Nov, 2010
Heading South!
My first FAR West regional Folk Alliance Conference was truly spectacular - I met alot of wonderful and talented people and heard some great music. I'm honored to be swimming in that pool. I admit I headed into the conference with a bit of dread - the shmoozing, the sales pitch - but it was more like a bunch of friends all celebrating music, which is right up my alley. As beautiful women in saris floated through the folky crowd on their way to the enormous Indian dance party going on downstairs, we sang and laughed and made a ton of new friends. A highlight was wrapping up the weekend at 2am playing a showcase for an intimate audience including Cloud Moss , FAR West honoree, and folk heroine Rosalie Sorrels. Another honor indeed. I'm off to Brazil with Keith Terry and Slammin to perform and teach in the International Body Music Festival , where I also plan on hooking up with the Sao Paulo Bluegrass Association ! What a world!
Late Oct, 2010
On The Home Front
It's been a super fun few weeks here at Evie Ladin Central. Hardly Strictly was a real blast - I am always impressed with the free party Warren Hellman throws. We had a giant mob dancing through the set and who cares that they'd obviously been drinking all day! This comment from Tomas Liska, Czech band Druha Trava's bass player: "I have to say, that your performance was absolutely the best what I saw that day!!! Natural energy, perfect timing from all of the band, it sound really great and I would like to thank you for that experience. If you wouldn't be there that night I don't know which mood I would have." The Stairwell Sisters had a great time opening for the Carolina Chocolate Drops - Taj Mahal sat in on much of their set, and I was truly wowed by the band. The Mother Jones blog reported from that show that I "play a mean clawhammer banjo." Finally, these nice words from Australian DJ Bruce Cameron "Great material, excellent vocal delivery and scarily impressive clawhammer banjo. What could be better?"
Oct, 2010
Some Cool News
The Berkeley Old-Time Music Convention always starts my Fall off right, and this year did not disappoint. Here's other good news: I was recently featured in a cool BLOG, about my appearance at the Falconridge Folk Festival in NY this summer // "I Love My Honey" somehow was a Finalist in the John Lennon Songwriting Competition. A Public Domain song, I am credited for the recording. Nice prizes! // I was selected to be a Premier Showcase Artist at the FAR West Folk Alliance Conference 2010, AND won the Howard Larman Scholarship to help cover costs. Thanks Howard!! // Nice new review from Sing Out! See it below // and the Stairwell Sisters are opening for the Carolina Chocolate Drops @ Slim's on Hardly Strictly Eve, Oct 1! Happy New Year everyone!
Sept, 2010
Home
What a fantastic summer this has been. As I look over all the pictures, all the places and faces, I remember all the music and dance, and can only think...MORE! My desire to play and tour is insatiable, yet it is time to be home for a few, regroup, clear the clutter and woodshed. So many projects to tackle, so little time. I will eat from the garden, get the office in shape, create new music, and prepare for the next big tour - Brazil! Teaching and gigging around the Bay in the best season - it's summer here now.