I play electric 'ukulele in Friends Of Old Puppy at Nabolom Bakery in Berkeley Saturday mornings from 10am to 1pm. This weekly session was started a few years ago by Regina Maria Pontillo, who was singing and playing snare drum with Billy Wilson's combo Old Puppy at the time. San Francisco guitarist Kurt Stevenson and I rounded out the quartet. When Regina resigned her position, Billy's sister Cynthia took over the percussion chair, and this line-up stayed pretty constant for about a year. Last year the Friday night gigs took a toll on Billy and he, too, quit the gig. Sometimes Kurt's out of town, and sometimes his 28 mile round trip is just too long given three dollar gas and a four dollar bridge toll, so sometimes we get Kurt's beautiful musicality and sometimes we don't.
Now the regular regulars are yours truly, calling the tunes, Cynthia Wilson drumming, and new Friend Ed Johnson on washing tub bass. Don McClellan, pedal steel guitarist, joins us when he's not accompanying wintertime hula show on Maui. Kurt, as I say, attends as his schedule permits. It's not an open session, and it's not a jam session, but it's somewhat extemporaneous and intentionally non-presentational. It's just a clump of players trying to make a pretty sound playing (mostly) old, (mostly) simple music from everywhere possible.
Randy Craig Trio plays the last Tuesday of each month at Berkeley's Caffe Trieste, San Pablo at Dwight Way. Pianist Randy Craig is joined by drummer Peter Tucker and yours truly on bass guitar. I get to sing some. No cover - tip generously and visibly!
I'm currently offering private instruction to ukulele players who want to improve their game. I like my current students a great deal, and miss my erstwhile students.
Monday, February 12, 2007
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