Concert Post 3: Jan 16th Oak Street Ramblers, The Malt House, Madison WI

Today's epic adventure in the typed word turned sonic-ly pleasing music... wait... strike that, reverse it.  Is brought to you by the fine folks that comprise The Oak Street Ramblers.  If the rambers are a ramblin.... just let em roll.

The Ramblers have been spreading the disease around the southern WI regions for quite a while now.  You may find yourself suffering from this heinous infection, if you exhibit the following symptoms:  Booty Shaking, Voice raising, Toe Tapping, Soul Shakin, Teeth Grinning, a craving for some old time(y) whiskey (under-agers... this doesn't count; You crave anything booze anyway), overall body wellness, and a general need to congregate with some people and enjoy some tunes.  The Oak Street Ramblers are another assembly of kind hearted souls that many a story could be shared about over the years.  Formed in days of yore as an excuse to sit around a wood stove, struggling to stay warm, and play a lil music while enjoying a little nip of the ol bottle; The Ramblers have come and gone through the years... both literally and figuratively.  Original Ramblers can be found in Utah, Colorado, VT, and anywhere the music is hot, the pick'in is fast, and the people are willin to listen.

Having originally been one of those "suspects" in the garage from way back, and not having a chance to see the gang perform live in far too long, I was more than eager to jump at the chance to hear some bluegrass, and sip a bit at The Malt House.  Quick note on that.  I was very  impressed with said House of Malt...  The service was awesome, and being the nube beer drinker I am, found the staff to be more than helpful.  But your hear not to read of my Barley and Hops fling... your here for the music.

The Ramblers appear as a group of Ramblers should.  A loose group from various walks of life, but as the songs come to life, they are anything but loose.  The guys and gals have serious chops, playing old-time(y) classics to even some originals instilled with the real down-homey feel of that ol bottle of Rubarb wine.  We meandered through a couple of classics, with Going Down The Road Feeling Bad driftin all of us down the ol country dirt road.  Bluegrass harmonica playing is never an easy feat... but when you are surrounded by skilled instrumentalists, you can't help but be carried along, and you would be hard pressed to find anyone Feeling Bad.

As the night drew to a close, we raised a toast to the Ramblers both far and wide.  In actuality, it was a toast to everyone, cause on some level, there's a lil Rambler in us all.

Be sure to stop down to the Malt house the Second Monday of every month.  Pull up a chair, order a brew, and take a listen to these guys.  You won't be disappointed.

Til Next Time...

Concert Post 2: Jan 14, 2010 The Shibs Great Dane Brew Pub, Madison WI

Aweee no he didn't.  Umm Yes I did.  Your residential harmonica guy back for some more text typing thrills, reliving another gig in the life.  This night brought yours truely to town with the full time music machine known as The Shibs.  But since this is the first post about The Shibs, I will bore the heck out of you, not to mention increase aggreate word count, with some history of us.  If your lucky, you might get some bonus old-skool photos of the guys from a couple of years ago... but your lucky enough to get another blog out of my lazy ass so don't press your luck too far.  People always end up with Whammy's when they do.


I met the guys in The Shibs a couple of years back.  I was on the scene to rock it out with Subatomic and a band known as The Beautes at a fest, called Moose-a-plooza.  We were chillin before the show, and Hark asked if I wanted to come up and jam on one of their songs with them.  Well, the Everclear slushy machines weren't QUITE done yet so I said hell yes.  From there, it was a call in January to play on their new CD (three years ago now), and from that point it was all down hill.  3 National Tours, alot of episodes of Always Sunny, one wicked band van, some time on the beach, you know the drill.  Well, maybe you don't, but that's probably a story for another time... when I don't have a gig to tell ya about.


Always being one for pain, I thought, just for shits and giggles, that I would have a couple of teeth ripped out of my ol skull.  I mention this, because it was just a week earlier at this point, and thanks to some "complications" with my right wisdom tooth, I was going all vampire and tasting blood for quite a while.  Despite my undying love for all things "Tween", I could have done without my Vampire Phase.  Just a quick thought on Tweens and the Vampire Phase.. If 40 yr old men were at the movies screaming for 17 yr old women... people would call the cops.  No Doubt.  Regardless, playing was an exercise in pain.  Pro-Tip #1  Harmonica playing requires some pressure to be built up in your mouth.  When you have bloody holes in there, pressure is not a good thing.  And somehow I doubt chicks dig me.

Musically, it was a rather standard night of Shibtastic tunes.  At this point we have a huge staple of our own music, combined with some lesser known covers from Mr. Robert Marley, and you have a night that makes your lil ditty bits feel all warm and fuzzy.  On this particular night, we had several birthdays in the house, we had to make up a birthday song on the spot, and I believe an attempt was made to break the consumption record for the birthday people involved.  Notice I said Attempt.  Yep.... The more you drink, the better we sound.  For Reals' Y'All.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention the on-goings after the show.  We were loading up, around bar-time, and I saw this guy just get knocked down to the ground.  He was laid-out like Tiger Woods at the I-Hop waitress convention. Or was that Denny's... I really don't care, but you get the idea.  When I got back in to pick up some more crap, Andy filled me in on the details.  Apparently, some yutes were walking through the crowd of people waiting for Taxi's and thought.. Hey... I need to knock someone the F*CK out.  And did so... Randomly.  The guy with the massive head wound came to, and ran off, right before he tried to impersonate a human speed-bump.  The poor guy with the wound was gone, and the other victim was getting attended to by the cops.  He and his wife were in town for a business meeting... from Detroit.  I could write more.  But that was too great of a punch-line not to just finish.  Abrupt, I know... But they were from Detroit.

Til Next time...

Mouse

Detroit.  Seriously, gets' randomly punched at Bar Time in Madison.  From Detroit. Crime Capital of the world.

Concert Post 1: Jan 02, 2010 Subatomic. Frequency CD Release Show

As stated on the outset, this here is a gig blog, so with the start of the New Year.. comes the start of some sick new gigs...

Subatomic. is a power rock trio consisting of Bryan Moll on Lead Guitar and Vocals, Jim Roof on Bass and Mark Dvorak on drums.  That is the last standard statement I will make about these men, as only simile and metaphor can be used to describe their sound and stellar abilities.  Their music asks you to come over, pours you a stiff drink of whiskey, bitch slaps you upside your head, and then has amazing make-up sex with you.  Yeah.. it's that good. And you find even after the abuse, you come back for more... again and again.  They are your Rock Dominatrix and you just, weather you like it or not, became a submissive begging for another hit of the sweet sweet sounds.

I have a long history of music with these amazing men.  It seems that at ANY point, the song can go anywhere, and we don't leave a brother behind.  Bryan and I met on a faithful night of drinking with Pops and I.  By the end of the night we were jammin in a basement, and have been friends for the 10 years since.  Just as long for Sparky (Mark) and I, and Jim is clearly my lost twin brother.  The Physical resemblance is uncanny.

WTF is this blog

Welcome fellow internet traveler, wayward person in search of porn, or creepy internet guy looking to lure other creepy internet guy acting like a 15 yr old girl into a chat.  What you get instead is a blog based on gigs that have been played by your blogger.


I suppose I should state why I'm doing this, where I hope it leads, and what you can expect.  After all, it would certainly help maintain the focus of my readers if you are at lease a smidge entertained.  I'm writing here for 2 purposes; 1) Convey thoughts about the gig's I've played  2) Have a journal of my travels, people, and times associated with playing live music.  I may review some cd's at some point, but the main focus will be summarizing gigs that I've played, with various bands, so I can learn, grow, and remember some fun times in music.


About me:  I'm 32 years old and have been playing harmonica for nearly 20 years.  It has been an honor to play with some of the best around.  I play full time with The Shibs, a band that is classified as "Americana" but who the hell knows that that is?!?!  We are largely influenced by Ben Harper, The Black Keys, Jon Butler Trio, and Coldplay... ok maybe not Coldplay.  We have been on 3 national tours, and thus why I am starting this blog.  To remember where we have played, and the times I personally have had making music with them, and many others.  Want to read about the band?  Check out forgivetherain.blogspot.com  the band's blog; or www.theshibs.com.  When I'm not jamming with The Shibs, I've been more than inclined to sit in with other bands.  Subatomic, Cool Front, Blue Olives, Westside Andy and Mel Ford, Paul Filipowicz and many others from Jazz to Bluegrass, to Hard Rock. To that end, you can occasionally find me sittin on a bar stool playing some tunes with my good friend Bryan Moll in an acoustic setting. I can blog and write all day, but never express what I can to you through music. Thus the title... The Sound of a Soul.

I am admittingly a horrible self promoter and even worse at bragging about my sound. Everything has it's voice, a soul if you will, my job is not to judge, but to help you feel. If that is remembering, or trying to forget, I seek to play though emotion and power. I have been told by others that I am quite unique in my playing; I'm just honored they felt something when I played. Combining looping, and a wide range of effects, I try to transport us to a sonic world, far from our grounded selves... and hope that along the way you like what you see....

My nickname, "Mouse", was given to me by my father when I was a very young child. I ran before I walked, and squeaked when I slept, thus I was named Mouse. I was proud before, and since his passing in 2006 from Lou Gherigs Disease (ALS), I've worn it as a badge of honor.

Which brings us to The Mouse Effect. The title of the blog, a page on Facebook, etc etc. Mouse Effect in my mind isn't a thing that you can put your finger on. The Effect itself is that moment you hear something in a song that makes you want to cheer, cry, or just moves you. The wave of emotion that comes over you, that shakes you down to your very soul. The Mouse Effect.

Don't fight it, kick back, breathe it in, let your mind be free... enjoy the ride folks.