LOVE ON MARS touched down at the Media Center last Friday April 24, 2009. The four-piece San Francisco based band took us on a brief but insightful tour of bandleader and songwriter Bill Leigh’s creative universe.

Bill Leigh, editor-in-chief emeritus of Bass Player Magazine found the tables turned when he had to answer the questions rather than pose them. Bill thought of himself primarily as a bass player when a fortuitous broken arm (if there can be such a thing) about four years ago sent him to the acoustic guitar during recovery because it was easier on the recovering arm to play.

Bill is an extremely down to earth guy whose complicated often cryptic lyrics are poetic studies and stand alone without the music. So I enjoyed poring over his lyrics to divine the great divine in them. His themes range from the always apt love and loss in LOVE IS BAD to universal themes of changing the world in DREAMS where “our dreams combined could light the way to what we can become.”

Bill arranges each song carefully and then is open to having the arrangements re-worked via collaboration with the band — which gives him a better song in the end and great performances out of band members who have total buy-in. . I respect the craftsmanship behind each song and I equally respect Bill’s ability to edit in service of the band’s larger vision. The four have kept the level of play very high the three times I’ve seen them now and give it everything they’ve got.

Steve Bolinger (bass and harmonies) apparently gives Bill the most “critical feedback”. Steve is an experienced player with a forceful personality that finds full expression in his aggressive address of the bass. He and Rosie frequently lock in and keep the band firmly grounded. Steve provides the riveting funky groove in CAN’T HELP THINK ABOUT IT, which is really the signature of the song.

Rosie Panzarello who picked up the drums in her twenties carries them brilliantly. The first song of their set MATILDA is pretty much a showcase for her skills, as she keeps the whole kit resonating. She lays down a solid groove that is almost passionately mechanical in its perfection in CAN’T HELP THINK ABOUT IT.

Joe Colgan is a quiet master at lead guitar and back-up vocals. During the lush introspective harmonies of COMPLICATED, he really opens up. His melodic lines just sing with his sophisticated use of pitch bending. He also does some nice work in CAN’T HELP THINK ABOUT IT as he hits accents and with his clipped solo lines.

Unfortunately we only got through one verse and chorus of the final song before we had to roll credits. LOVE IS BAD makes wonderful use of the minor dominant leading into the “I love you” lift. It’s a nice surprise.

Vocally this is a fun band for anyone with a choral background to listen to. The three guys do rich three part harmonies that could easily transfer into a college Glee Club but for the solid rock musicianship that each member brings to each song.

Catch LOVE ON MARS this FRIDAY, May 1 at 9:00 pm on Comcast Channel 27 out of Palo Alto. The show will replay Wednesday and Friday nights at 9 pm until the next edition of the show. It is simulcast on www.midpenmedia.org and works best with Quicktime. Additionally, the show can be seen anytime on keylargomusic.blip.tv.

LOVE ON MARS touched down at the Media Center last Friday April 24, 2009. The four-piece San Francisco based band took us on a brief but insightful tour of bandleader and songwriter Bill Leigh’s creative universe.

Bill Leigh, editor-in-chief emeritus of Bass Player Magazine found the tables turned when he had to answer the questions rather than pose them. Bill thought of himself primarily as a bass player when a fortuitous broken arm (if there can be such a thing) about four years ago sent him to the acoustic guitar during recovery because it was easier on the recovering arm to play.

Bill is an extremely down to earth guy whose complicated often cryptic lyrics are poetic studies and stand alone without the music. So I enjoyed poring over his lyrics to divine the great divine in them. His themes range from the always apt love and loss in LOVE IS BAD to universal themes of changing the world in DREAMS where “our dreams combined could light the way to what we can become.”

Bill arranges each song carefully and then is open to having the arrangements re-worked via collaboration with the band — which gives him a better song in the end and great performances out of band members who have total buy-in. . I respect the craftsmanship behind each song and I equally respect Bill’s ability to edit in service of the band’s larger vision. The four have kept the level of play very high the three times I’ve seen them now and give it everything they’ve got.

Steve Bolinger (bass and harmonies) apparently gives Bill the most “critical feedback”. Steve is an experienced player with a forceful personality that finds full expression in his aggressive address of the bass. He and Rosie frequently lock in and keep the band firmly grounded. Steve provides the riveting funky groove in CAN’T HELP THINK ABOUT IT, which is really the signature of the song.

Rosie Panzarello who picked up the drums in her twenties carries them brilliantly. The first song of their set MATILDA is pretty much a showcase for her skills, as she keeps the whole kit resonating. She lays down a solid groove that is almost passionately mechanical in its perfection in CAN’T HELP THINK ABOUT IT.

Joe Colgan is a quiet master at lead guitar. and back up vocals. During the lush introspective harmonies of COMPLICATED, he really opens up. His melodic lines just sing with his sophisticated use of pitch bending. He also does some nice work in CAN’T HELP THINK ABOUT IT as he hits accents and with his clipped solo lines.

Unfortunately we only got through one verse and chorus of the final song before we had to roll credits. LOVE IS BAD makes wonderful use of the minor dominant leading into the “I love you” lift. It’s a nice surprise.

Vocally this is a fun band for anyone with a choral background to listen to. The three guys do rich three part harmonies that could easily transfer into a college Glee Club but for the solid rock musicianship that each member brings to each song.

Catch LOVE ON MARS this FRIDAY, May 1, at 9:00 pm on Comcast Channel 27 out of Palo Alto. The show will replay Wednesday and Friday nights at 9 pm until the next edition of the show. It is Simulcast on www.midpenmedia.org and works best with Quicktime. Additionally, the show can be seen anytime on keylargomusic.blip.tv.

Many of the usual suspects showed up at the Freight and Salvage in Berkeley last night for the monthly West Coast Songwriters Song Competition. I was there as a co-manager of the event along with Nomi Yah the chief manager, Eric Boutte the audio guy and Rex Reade the stage manager. We were treated to the usual whimsical fare of a Mark piano-accompanied ballad and new song from Nomi. There’s room for 20, but we only had 15 “competitiors”. I used that term loosely because it’s very supportive and doesn’t feel like a “race”. The “winner” of best song gets 3 hours of free studio time. The “winner” of best performance gets 10 blank CDs complete with jewel cases!

It was great to see American Songwriter alumni Jason Overton there. He had a new song and was trying it out. He’s been playing the upstairs lounge at the Fillmore and is about to release a record. We got another great performance and song from Mary Redente who ended up winning the best performance of the night. Best song of the night went to WCS newcomer David Luning of Forestville. At 22, he’s fresh and creative. His song WHISPER I LOVE YOU was poweful and persuasively delivered. The three judges of the night – Dana Jae, Tomi Thomas and Melissa Milton – were unanimous in choosing David. So hopefully he’ll stick around. It’s great to see a new talent in development.

The Freight and Salvage hosts the WCS Song Competition the third Monday of the month. Doors open about 7 pm. Singing starts at 7:30. Winners of best song are invited to perform at the play-offs in August. Sarah Bareilles is a graduate of the WCS song competition. WCS is a great organization and is super supportive of developing songwriters and singer/songwriters. Mind you, you have to join WCS in order to “compete” but I think you can perform without competing. The door cost is $5 a head, to perform or to watch. Student dues per year $40 and non-student $70 per year. A BARGAIN once you learn about all the other cool stuff WCS provides.

Many of the usual suspects showed up at the Freight and Salvage in Berkeley last night for the monthly West Coast Songwriters Song Competition . I was there as a co-manager of the event along with Nomi Yah the chief manager, Eric Boutte the audio guy and Rex Reade the stage manager. We were treated to the usual whimsical fare of a Mark piano-accompanied ballad and new song from Nomi. There’s room for 20, but we only had 15 “competitors”. I used that term loosely because it’s very supportive and doesn’t feel like a “race”. The “winner” of best song gets 3 hours of free studio time. The “winner” of best performance gets 10 blank CDs complete with jewel cases!

It was great to see American Songwriter alumni Jason Overton there. He had a new song and was trying it out. He’s been playing the upstairs lounge at the Fillmore and is about to release a record. We got another great performance and song from Mary Redente who ended up winning the best performance of the night. Best song of the night went to WCS newcomer David Luning of Forestville. At 22, he’s fresh and creative. His song WHISPER I LOVE YOU was poweful and persuasively delivered. The three judges of the night – Dana Jae, Tomi Thomas and Melissa Milton – were unanimous in choosing David. So hopefully he’ll stick around. It’s great to see a new talent in development.

The Freight and Salvage hosts the WCS Song Competition the third Monday of the month. Doors open about 7 pm. Singing starts at 7:30. Winners of best song are invited to perform at the play-offs in August. Sarah Bareilles is a graduate of the WCS song competition. WCS is a great organization and is super supportive of developing songwriters and singer/songwriters. Mind you, you have to join WCS in order to “compete” but I think you can perform without competing. The door cost is $5 a head, to perform or to watch. Student dues per year $40 and non-student $70 per year. A BARGAIN once you learn about all the other cool stuff WCS provides.

David Luning

At $10 a ticket – Best Entertainment Value in Town!

As part of the Montalvo Arts Center’s Education program, Marty Ehrlich wrote a commissioned piece, which had its premier at Gunn’s 32nd Annual Jazz Guest Artist Concert on Friday, April 17, 2009 in Gunn’s Spangenberg Theater. Mr. Ehrlich, a renowned multi-instrumentalist out of New York with 30 solid years in the business, started working with the Gunn Jazz Ensemble and Jazz Combo on Wednesday. The band, under the direction of Mark Dungan, had been preparing for the concert for about two weeks and was ready to work with Mr. Ehrlich when he came in to town Tuesday night.

The band, in various iterations, played 10 pieces including three originals by Mr. Ehrlich. The full band opened the program with Nestico’s “Basie Straight Ahead” with solos by seniors Chris Beachy on piano and Jeremy Axelrod on saxophone. Mr. Dungan introduced Mr. Ehrlich and the full band played an arrangement of Mingus’ “Nostalgia in Times Square.” Mr. Ehrlich opened with an awesome solo, a total treat, and then traded fours with junior Tom Van Duyne.

The full band exited the stage, leaving the jazz combo to perform three songs with Mr. Erhlich, including his original work “Hymn”. “Hymn” is a very cool, mellow song of praise with four sets of ten bars (six bars followed by four bars) with a lush melody line performed by Mr. Erhlich. The Combo also played Ellington’s “In A Sentimental Mood” with Mr. Ehrlich on sax and Rodgers’ “Have You Seen Miss Jones?” with Mr. Erhlich on the clarinet.

The full band returned for “Emancipation Blues” by Oliver Nelson with Mr. Ehrlich and Tom Van Duyne doubling on the melody. Chris Beachy gave out with an awesome piano solo that really swung. Tom Van Duyne and Mr. Ehrlich soloed as well.

Throughout the evening, Mr. Ehrlich was generous with sharing the stage and the students had plenty of solos. And Mr. Ehrlich sat in with the band most of the evening and only gave direction when the rhythm section needed a head bob or two to get back on track. With his background and track record one might have expected a little bit more of the “showman” but his humility in sharing the limelight and keeping the focus on the kids and the collaboration was a great lesson in true leadership to the students.

I talked to a few of the students at intermission and after the concert, and they all agreed hands down, Mr. Erhlich was a great mentor to work with.

After the intermission, the full band returned to the stage with a diverting arrangement of another Mingus tune, “Tijuana Gift Shop.” This time Tom Van Duyne picked up the flute and Jeremy Axelrod was back with a solo, on soprano sax. The next piece, written by Mr. Erhlich, was called “The Secret of Light.” For this piece he was joined by the rhythm section, Chris Beachy on piano, Gabe Cohen on drums, Dave Khavari on guitar and Tyler Simons on bass. Guest performers Shaun Yee on violin and Kevin Oyama on cello completed the seven-piece ensemble rounded out by Mr. Ehrlich on clarinet. This piece melds jazz, classical and Eastern European folk elements in a fluid sound that alludes to the many styles and yet feels fresh and non-derivative. The piece has a decidedly sorrowful cast to it, but is beautiful in its sorrow, which in turn leads to a certain ironic joy. I don’t think I can be more specific than that… you will have to hear the piece of course to appreciate its beauty.

The full band returned to the stage for Mossman’s “Canto Lucumi”. Mr. Erhlich opened with another amazing solo, followed by solos from Jeremy Axelrod on sax and Gabe Cohen on drums.

The final piece of the night was the world premier of Mr. Ehrlich’s “Blues for Peace”, the 2009 commission by the Montalvo Arts Center for this concert. The piece was startling, and a real challenge for the students to play. It had a 9/8 section divided 2+2+2+3 (like Brubeck’s “Blue Rondo A La Turk”). Not a trivial rhythm! I was really delighted that Mr. Ehrlich wrote this piece without reference to the fact that “students” would render it first. What an opportunity for the students to work with a master on the world premier of his piece and for the master to so appreciate their efforts. The piece swings right out of the gate and just keeps rising to a satisfying climax.

Mr. Ehrlich is the consummate pro. He was very cool with the students. In my conversations with some of the students, they admitted that they made a lot of mistakes during rehearsals and in the performance, but Mr. Ehrlich, or “Marty” as they called him, was cool about it. The event was about making music and giving the kids a different type of experience. It was not about making Mr. Ehrlich look good so hence Mr. Ehrlich came off looking GREAT. He’s made fans for life.

A WORD ABOUT MUSIC IN THE SCHOOLS

We are fortunate to have a strong music program in the Palo Alto schools. As part of the Montalvo program, the band along with Mr. Ehrlich went “on tour” Thursday and performed at two elementary schools and a middle school. Who knows how many younger students were inspired by Mr. Ehrlich and the Gunn Jazz Ensemble? No doubt many of the students in the Gunn Jazz Ensemble kept at their music in part, because they were inspired by a mentor who role-modeled “the cool” for them.

Thanks to Nancy Coffey, the Palo Alto Unified School District Music Coordinator for stretching every resource in favor of putting great music in our school. And thanks to the Gunn music teachers Todd Summers, Sandra Lewis and Mark Dungan for making this week at Gunn and this evening possible.

And a final thanks to Montalvo Arts Center and Marty Ehrlich for partnering with the students and bringing them a wonderful experience and giving the audience a great evening of music.

Scott and I caught Monsters Are Not Myths at Grant and Green last Wednesday, April 8, 2009. They played thirteen songs to an enthusiastic crowd who seemed to know many of their songs by heart. During the final song, the “burrito song,” fans crowded the floor in front of the stage and sang along. The band has gone through several iterations. Lead singer and keyboardist Evan and lead guitar and back-up vocalist Nick are the “old-timers”. Charismatic Tyler plays the drums with and without his shirt. And petite Annie plays bass. I first heard them in their practice space in San Mateo a few months ago, and they have really solidified their groove and are getting it all together. Evan has good stage patter and it feels more like they’re in your living room than they are on the stage looking down on you. I credit Evan’s very down to earth and welcoming manner for that warmth of feeling,

Evan’s songs have a decidedly Silicon Valley edge to them. He knows the world of the cubicle well. If he didn’t live and work in Silicon Valley, he would not be able to write those songs and deliver them with the conviction that he does. And I suspect some of the other band members are cubicle refugees as well. The music makes me think of what Jerry Garcia might have written if he’d worked in an office. For example, one lyric and sultry melody (paraphrased) “Unplug me if you please, can’t take my eyes off LED” and he rattles off Silicon Valley acronyms, and not very flatteringly either.

There is a feeling of being trapped in many of the songs and allusions to the various unhealthy ways we can escape the trap. There are references to addiction and self-medicating as ways to survive and even the distraction of falling in love with a Republican Girl are ways you can waste some more time. The songs are delivered with veracity and impact by their author. Tyler and Nick use voice doubling with great effect. Some harmonies but mostly the band relies on unison harmonies to enforce their message. Annie just hangs tough in her quiet non-panicky way on the bass. She’s a great foil to Evan’s mild freneticism.

The arrangements by the way are pretty super, creative and imaginative and fun to listen to. And their warmth and friendliness as a band is very compelling. They held a cowbell contest complete with a cowbell song. The two contestants were members of the audience who were brought up on stage and each given and cow bell and stick,. The cowbell song was played and during the “breakdown’ the cowbells soloed with some drum back up. The contestant receiving the loudest claps won, The clapping seemed equally loud to me for both contestants, but Evan gallantly named the young lady the winner. A silly contest perhaps, but it really broke the ice after a few songs, putting us all on a more intimate footing.

MANM has a CD out that does not feature several of the current members. They hope to be back in the studio soon. Catch them when you have the chance.

One bummer of the evening, might have to do with trying to stuff four performers with multiple instruments up on that tiny stage. Tyler the drummer was pretty much out of view the entire evening. And he’s a pretty integral part of the spectacle. Otherwise, a thoroughly enjoyable set.

Samantha Lien with Rado in the Studio April 7, 2009 Samantha Lien and Rado performed six of Samantha’s original songs on American Songwriter taped last Tuesday night in the Media Center studios. Samantha first caught my eye and ear when I saw her at Lindsey Boullt’s Musician’s Showcase last December. Samantha was interesting looking and had a sculpted vocal style that I really liked. It reminded me of Patti Smith without issues. (I love Patti with issues by the way!) So I was excited to have them join us on the show, and they exceeded my showcase-based expectations.

Samantha sang and played acoustic guitar. She and back-up vocalist/guitarist Rado interwove some great sounds. Samantha has a deceptively powerful voice. She has an impressive range and an almost sweet pathos that adds emotional impact to her lyrics. Her themes tend to examine the underlying experience behind the feelings moreso than just focusing on the feelings themselves. So there are many layers to her lyrics. (I plan to explore the deeper end of the lyric pool the next time I write.) Her lyrics paint vivid pictures: “it’s times like these when the animals are scratching at the insides of my mind” from the song TOUCHED. And she uses great imagery as in the song BUTTERFLIES, where creativity is like a butterfly, beautiful, fragile, and fleeting. She never says the word “creativity”, but you get it and you feel it.

Rado is a wonderful mirror to Samantha. His voice blends nicely with hers, and his arrangements are strong, supportive and consistent with Samantha’s overall themes, styles and tempos.

When I complimented Samantha on her natural gift, she credited hard work for the real progress she has made in recent years. She has worked on her voice with a teacher and she has studied guitar and songwriting. And she has met a number of potential co-writers and collaborators, but has happily found Rado after, again, much hard work and perseverance.

Samantha currently plays in private house concerts and parties. I hope to see her and Rado playing out in some of our quieter “coffee bar” venues.

Both Samantha and Rado are working on CDs. Samantha also happens to be the vocalist on a recent Bass Kittens CD. Find out more about Samantha Lien and Rado at www.myspace.com/samanthalien and www.myspace.com/rado1 respectively. Catch them either on this myspace page or on www.keylargomusic.blip.tv.

Key Largo Music (our production and songwriting arm) took a small camera crew over to Angelica’s Bistro on Main Street in Redwood City last night. We went to shoot some footage of Jennifer Adan’s party, hosted by the West Coast Songwriters, of which Jen is a member. WCS is celebrating Jen’s #1 HIT SONG “She Wouldn’t Be Gone” performed by Country heartthrob Blake Shelton. Jen positions herself as a pop singer, but there is so much crossover that she is co-writing in many styles.

Jen has been a member of WCS for four years. She Wouldn’t Be Gone is her first cut and it went to #1. Jen says that WCS was instrumental in helping her connect to industry professionals who spotted her talent and helped her launch her career. Through WCS, Jen met Nashville song plugger Antoinette Oleson. Jen said that Antoinette gave her valuable feedback, believed in her talent. Antoinette is now plugging Jen’s songs.

In addition to capturing WCS director Ian Crombie’s interview with Jen, we also caught an interview with Jen’s parents who were nstrumental in encouraging their daughter’s talents as well as with Board Members of WCS.

You’ll be able to catch this footage on the WCS website – SOON!

WCS offers networking, classes, conferences, pitching opportunities and so much more to its members. For more information about West Coast Songwriters, check its website www.westcoastsongwriters.org and feel free to contact Ian. For a legend, Ian is very approachable, down to earth and devoted to WCS.