I just added a page of live videos to the site. It’s got some of the best stuff people have shot of us, at open mikes and at shows. We’re always looking for new footage, so if you’re thinking about bringing your video camera to an upcoming show, um, please do!
My personal favorite is “She Stole My Bike”, from the special “closed mike” where we celebrated ten years of Steve Cavin’s open mike at Red Rock Coffee. I like where Tom starts singing about sea cucumbers and I just look confused. Slim Critchlow shot that one, but coincidentally Steve shot “The Lion” upstairs at our last show there.
Did I mention we’re playing at Red Rock again this Saturday? Because we totally are.
They’re called Bviolin and the January Avalanche, they’re on tour from San Diego, and they describe their sound as “Persian Jazz Groove Gypsy Dance Folk Fusion”. That’s a lot of stuff in one band! Kind of like us.
Should be a great show. Come join us! It’s at Red Rock Coffee at 8:00, Saturday, March 28. Oh, and if you don’t see us there… it’s because we’re upstairs! Climb the stairs!
Probably my favorite thing about Friday’s show at Caffe Trieste was meeting Zamilla. (I hope I’m spelling her name right.) Zamilla is a little girl who saw our poster last week and quite reasonably wanted to know, “What’s a Tin Cat?” Friday afternoon, sightseeing with her parents in San Francisco, she insisted, “We have to go back to San Jose and see Tin Cat!”
So she was at the show that night, and she found out what a Tin Cat is, and we’re pretty sure she liked us, and she had our picture taken with us. It was flattering!
I didn’t see it myself, but I heard that Zamilla put some money in the tip jar, and when she got back to where her parents were sitting, she said “I put my lucky penny in, too!” Most of the money from the tip jar goes into the bank so we can pay to get more CDs made (and t-shirts, and flyers, and the list goes on). But a lucky penny, you don’t just put that in a bank somewhere. The lucky penny is staying in my mandolin case. For luck. Thanks, Zamilla!
Thanks to all the musicians, fans, and laptop jockies who were at the Red Rock last Saturday night. Things started off with a revamped 6 man lineup for The Other Jacksons, who summoned early Styx, some Queen inspired panache, and a fun groove. The Jacksons are a band to keep an eye on. Fresh from a car trip down from Portland was Cameron DePalma, who delivered his well received and passionate songs with customary style complete with brown leather jacket and hat. We were happy to be Mr DePalma’s backing group for the night, and we took the occasion to dress in black dinner jackets, which began to feel more like straitjackets.
Taking the stage after these 2 really good acts was nice, we were warmed up and so was the crowd. We started off with 2 slow, quiet songs and went from there. It was good to see friends who drove from Napa, as well as some faces we hadn’t seen for awhile. We are looking forward to returning to the Red Rock next month for a show with Bviolin and the January Avalanche, a gypsy funk outfit all the way from San Diego. That show takes place Saturday, March 28 at 7:30PM.
Thanks to Steve Cavin and Scott King and the Red Rock crew for putting up the show.
Tin Cat is planning a 3 show run: Feb 18, Wednesday at the Wine Affairs in San Jose; Feb 27, Friday at the Caffe Trieste with local gal Amy Sarver, and Feb 28, Saturday at Red Rock Coffee with The Other Jacksons and Cameron DePalma, who’s coming down from Portland Oregon. We’ll be playing a new song at Wine Affairs and taking a short break between sets. Caffe Trieste is great for something to do in downtown SJ other than club hopping, and the Red Rock has been putting on some great shows, especially since opening up the 2nd floor and providing professional sound. Please support local music.
Hey, we have a show this Friday at Caffe Trieste. The one in downtown San Jose, not the, uh, other ones. Contain Her opens the show at 8. Dave made a flyer. I like it a lot.
Here are two songs that aren’t performed by Tin Cat. One of them, “Flyin’ Home“, I entered in a contest to perform at the Kerrville Folk Festival. It was co-written with a classmate, Sia Mozaffari, who contributes some nice guitar and vocals. The other, “Man and a Woman“, is my fourth attempt in the digital domain to write, produce, and perform a piece myself.
Last week at practice we spent some time finding new ways to play some old songs. This is something we like to do - all of our songs have been through some changes as we’ve gone from solo or duo open mike performers to a five-piece rock band to the current power folk trio. And even within the trio, I play “Losing Streak” on hard-driving mandolin, tango-esque accordion, or slightly loopy piano, and Tom and Dave come along with me on whatever instruments they have.
Anyway, I’m excited about some of the new old songs we’ll have at shows this winter. Tom’s song “Build a Bridge” has already been through two versions - the reggae-tinged one we have on the record, and a sort of funky folk version we usually play live - and as of next year I may be playing Tom’s banjo on it, with Tom and Dave both playing guitar. And we worked hard on a new version - I don’t want to spoil the surprise, so I’ll leave it at that - of a song from my solo CD. Can’t wait for January!
Just wanted to say thanks to everyone who came out to Red Rock tonight for our last show of the year (unless you invite us to your holiday party). Playing with our friend Colin Carthen was totally fun - we’re hoping to do it again - and playing for you guys was a great way to close out 2008.
Next show isn’t listed anywhere yet, but I think it’s January 24 at Cava Wine Bar in Capitola. See you next year!
