Wow, there’s always good food to be had in downtown Palo Alto, but is there always good music? Last night, there was a feast of sounds. Scott and I got out into it early and stayed late.

Songwriter/Artist David Luning opened the United Nations Associations 12th Annual Film Festival “busking” at the Aquarius Theater. He appeared by arrangement with West Coast Songwriters. (If you need music for your event, call them first!) He sang his usual fare of folksy-blues and gave us a new one last night. David was our guest on American Songwriter a few weeks back and his “episode” is now playing on Comcast Channel 27 in the Midpeninsula. Click here for show times! You can also catch the show on out blip.tv channel.

We ran over to Junoon to the kick-off reception for UNAFF, and there was multi-instrumentalist Jesse Norfleet playing the drums in a trio performing standards from the Jazz repetoire. Jesse is a gifted musician and a gifted television producer and director as well. He was formerly the programming manager at the Media Center. Now in addition to managing, booking and performing in bands, Jesse works with teens getting them ready for college at College Track.

So then we ran back to catch the last few moments of David’s gig. And then we were over to Jungle Copy on High Street. The heppest copy shop around. They host regular open mics and if you organize yourself a show you can book it there. Per Se’s Emily Gibbons opened with a lovely acoustic set of her originals. Joining her on harmony was Nick Giordano of Picture Atlantic. Unfortunately we missed indie screamo band The Bridge who were up next because we wanted to meet Joanie and Ian Crombie of WCS and Allison and John Williams also of WCS (Ali was working publicity for UNAFF and her husband was snapping the pictures at the Aquarius) at the Rose and Crown for a quick one. After downing some Welsh Rabbit and a Murphy’s we rushed back to Jungle Copy and caught emerging band Playground Adventure. They were pretty good. It was their second gig. I think I caught some interesting lyrics. Their songs to me sounded a bit similar which was okay since it was basically a very cool sound, rich, lush and loud. In the future, I’ll be looking for the way they use their signature sound and branch out and build on that.

Next up was the surprise of the night (for me). For those who are already familiar with the band Sister Crayon, they may have been surprised in a negative way. Lead vocals Terra Lopez’s mic cut out every time the keyboards kicked in. She ended up running her mic through a guitar amp and carried on. I think they were disappointed with the sound, but I wasn’t since I hadn’t heard them before. So Terra adjusts her own voice in real time through some effects processing. They’ve got a sensitive keyboardist Genaro with a stack of synths, and a solid drummer, Nicholas who looked like he was beating his drumkit to a pulp. Dani, the fourth member plays a drum pad and a Korg Synth, creating smooth back-up harmonies and counterpoints. A highly processed sound in clean real time. Startling and fresh. So I’ll be watching Sister Crayon you bet.

And next up, what can I say, Picture Atlantic just delivers – even when Ryan had to bail due to illness for part of a song, and I found out from Patrick that they are all battling the crud. So they delivered a great set, despite illness. They added a new guitarist since they were on American Songwriter last Spring. Grant is a fairly energetic fellow who is able to play his part in a variety of poses, including with his back to the floor. Lead singer Nick’s energetic elasticity is organic. His naturalism just reels you in. I can’t say enough about these guys. Nick’s incredible range and beautiful sustained false setto is amazing. And he is still creating strong original music which the band delivers in tight ethereal rock – if that isn’t an oxymoron. By the way, the band recently lost their euphonium which I totally miss. So if you know someone who’s got one of these old school instruments lying around in their attic, have them contact Brian. He’d love to have it.

Scott and I went up to San Francisco to meet with David Luning and his band last night to discuss the upcoming taping of American Songwriter this Tuesday at the Media Center. David will be the guest artist for our 20th show.

After our meeting on the sidewalk outside the Brainwash Cafe on Folsom we ducked into catch the last three songs of Todd Haemmerle’s set. I’ve seen Todd before and always enjoy his open string finger-pick style and his mellow soothing voice. He treated us to a world premier of his new song, an upbeat love song Come On Out.. And he covered Fleetwood Mac’s Landslide and then ended with Hard to Dream. You can listen to Todd on his myspace page.

David was up next. I’ve only seen him solo with his acoustic guitar but he has recently acquired a band: John Luther on bass and Zach Garn on drums. They played a thirteen song set made up mostly of David’s originals with a few covers through in. David hits the usual themes of heartbreak, bad luck and drowning it all in alcohol. But David masters the fun side of heartbreak and loneliness. That’s what I really love about his unique folkyblues with rock elements – there’s always an upside, even if it’s only the fact that the singer is so painfully aware of his misery that it feels alive and thrilling to be connected to it. His flirtation with self-awareness is very different from self-consciousness – of which he appears to be refreshingly devoid.

David is relaxed and natural before a mic. He tells strong stories and paints vivid pictures with his lyrics. His patter between songs draws you in and you’re carried through a window into David’s world. His song have strong hooks, are wonderfully melodic, and natural phrasing. His voice has an unusual timbre, rich and sonorous but with a little catch in it, that really sets it apart, gives it an emotional edge.

And the band sounds really established. For being just a few months old, they are tight with solid arrangements. John plays an amped acoustic hollowed-body bass guitar. I never saw one of those before so that was something new. And I must say it goes great with David’s acoustic guitar. Zach on drums was really pro at using the full spectrum without overpowering the acoustic feel of the set. His liberal use of brushes, a tambourine on his foot! And some shakers were nicely blended in as well.

So David sang some songs we can look forward to hearing on Tuesday night. His current “hits” include Humble Apologizing, My Baby Blues on Wheels, Northern California, Whiskey Bottle, American Nightmare and Waiting Room. Most of them can be heard on his myspace page. He also did a moving rendition of Steve Earle’s Ben McCullough among the handful of covers he did.

After David and the band’s set, Kevin Beadles took the stage with John Foster on vocals and guitar. I got to hear Mrs. Jones Cadillac, a really hilarious song, but had to leave before he got too far into the set. Kevin’s got a real mellifluous flowing voice that he uses well with his cursive wrap around lyric lines. I saw Kevin (and David coincidentally) at the West Coast Songwriters Conference a few weeks back. I got to hear some of his music then in some of the screenings. And I got to see Kevin work with performance coach Steve Memel during one of Steve’s sessions. Kevin is a dynamic performer and is well worth listening to and watching, too and he writes entertaining upbeat music to boot.

Scott and I ran up to SF to catch Greg’s CD release party held at the Union Room last night, September 26. We know Greg through West Coast Songwriters. In addition to everything else he’s got going, Greg’s in charge of the monthly Song Competitions that are held in our 10 chapters. I co-manage the Berkeley Competition held the 3rd Monday of the month in Berkeley.

Anyway, Greg has a big heart and makes big-hearted rock indie/alternative music. It’s hard to stay still when Greg fires up his band. Joining him were Dan Buch on drums, JoJo Styles on electric guitar and “Mr. Blyss” on bass. Mr. Blyss’s real name is a fine hoity
toity sounding same with a “the third” after it so he just goes by Mr. Blyss.

Greg is an excellent acoustic guitarstician (that’s my new word, I’m coining it today). He plays all over the place from rhythm-driving rock to delicately picked chords and counterpoints and harmonics. Also Greg’s voice soars, is just plain beautiful to listen to, and his range is incredible. His voice sounds very commercial – in a superb way and yet he makes music that is personal and intimate. He delivers each song with emotional impact.

And the band was just outstanding. JoJo could probably deliver a solo show playing every lick in the repetoire and then some for electric guitar enthusiasts. Dan Buch is just fun to watch. He’s an unobtrusive drummer in that he doesn’t have a lot of upper body machinations going on but the arms and legs are pretty much flying at cartoon pace. And I love it when he stands up to give us the tops of the cymbals so delicately tapped as to almost qualify as another form of percussion. And Mr. Blyss comes with the entire ackage ranging from the slow plucked bass to a driving running bass and then pulling off melodies and melodic grooves while playing the bass. I couldn’t quite figure off how he played the bass line and then through in a few riffs here and there all the while keeping the bass going.

Greg and the band took us on a musical oddysey across 15 songs from his three CDs: Every Drop of Good, Lift and his latest a four song EP, Where You Are. And he mixed them up nicely so that transitions felt smooth even when the songs were polar opposites in style and groove. A lot of the transition is helped along by Greg’s personal style and just great “patter” between songs. He helps you move from the last song and set expectations for the next. I haven’t seen it done better.

The show opened with “Mantra” from Lift. Greg offered up solo guitar and vocals before being joined by the full band who rolled in like a wall. There wasn’t a crack in the sound, very tight. And that’s how they played all night and they had wonderful arrangements and voicings.

The second song “Wally’s Backstage Cafe” from the first CD sounded unusual and at the same time familiar — it was rocking boogie woogie that really swung. You could have danced a bunch of different styles from across three generations to that song. Just fun to listen to and experience.

I can’t go over every song however:

The third song “Reason for the Rhyme” has a great message as do most of Greg’s song. Why do we do things that are hard and offer no “earthly” reward? Because we love doing those things. That’s my poor paraphrasing of a lovely ballad. In this song JoJo offered up some pretty amazing counterpoint melodies.

The fourth song, “Quiet Voice”, off the new EP, is a song of encouragement to make a change. It starts off with Greg’s vocal and guitar solo with the band coming in. The song just builds and builds to a quiet explosion. Very nicely done. Some great lyrics: “If you
change your mind, they might have to too” was very nicely built to and succinctly put.

The fifth song, “Where To”, is also off the new EP. It’s a semi-autobiographical song about not knowing where you’re going but knowing that what really matters is who you are sharing the trip with. A lovely ballad.

Then Mr. Blyss kicked off song number six with a running bass and the rest of the band joined in with a great funky groove. “Your World” is a great “join hands” song. I looked around the room and I felt that others felt it too. Greg is charismatic and he invites you to share his vision. A night of Greg songs is like opening up a window in a tiny room and seeing out to the big beautiful world beyond.

Uh oh, I’m talking about each song… okay… We heard a couple more songs “Lightning in a Bottle” and “Fate” (both from Lift; both strong songs) and then another new one off the new EP – “Always Been You”. This song incorporates simple snippets of nursery rhymes and some great background counterpoint by Jo Jo and such a simple arrangment. A
romantic song quietly and elegantly delivered.

Next up, “Let it Go” from Lift was next. I have to mention this song because it has a great hooky chorus that just soars and is so satisfying.

Then we had a little change in pace: “One in Million” rocks out. It’s like a love bomb. A
lot of people would give anything to be loved the way the song expresses love. Everything pulls toward the message. Arrangement and message a perfect match.
Next in “Phantoms”, Jo Jo got to open with a pretty classic sounding rock solo with liberal use of the wammy bar and distortion effects. Fun!

Then “Kerosene” offered up another change. Greg opened up pickin out the harmonics on the acoustic while singing the opening lines and then the build. And Don on drums drives the band in. A great arrangement with some pulsing grooves.

Our evening closed after a few more songs. And people were genuinely bummed the show was over. The Union Room was about as full as I have seen it. Of course I’ve only been there an average of once a fortnight lately. Steve is building The Union Room’s reputation as a destination club for Indie bands. He is ALWAYS looking for talent, so if your band or if you’re a solo act and you haven’t sent him your cd. Steve is a very nice guy and doesn’t bite.

And if you don’t know Greg, check him out on CD baby and his website. He is very nice as well nd ahe doesn’t bite either. His music will make you sit back and think if you’re in that mood to catch up with the lyrics or you can just cruise a long and enjoy a very smooth ride.

If you love songwriting, Saturday at the West Coast SongwritersConference is a little like speed dating.

Scott and I attended the Saturday session of the conference today, heldat Foothill College. We had two one-on-ones where we were raked overthe coals, praised, loved and judged all at the same time. Yes, anindustry pro will tell you what he or she loves, hates, what works andwhat doesn’t work for him or her. And you have to decide if it feelsright or not. What your response will be. You show your songs, getfeedback, attend classes on making “it” stronger — whatever your “it”is, there’s a seminar on it… lyrics, melody, hooks, performancecomportment, marketing, co-writing, you name it. And you get to hearsongwriter/artists performing their stuff live in the FC quad all daylong. And you can catch an interview with an industry legend. Andthen at the end of it all, you go and hear some of the bestsongwriters singing their own work. The Sunset Concert is theemotional climax of the day.

Executive Director Ian Crombie opened the evening for us and thankedthe usual suspects board members and volunteers. Then he was given aspontaneous standing ovation when board member Tami Mulcahy crooned a”thank you Ian,” from the audience. Ian really needs to work on hisability to accept praise. He is way too eager to deflect it on tosomeone else so while I’m on that subject…

Ian and Joanie Crombie are fast becoming living legends. They are theheart of WCS and have pretty much set the tone of the love affair I andothers are having with WCS. They are generous to a fault with theirtime. Ian’s quiet professionalism and visionary leadership has beenthe primary driving force behind WCS since the amazing Silvershersfounded the organization 30 years ago.

So after Ian’s opening remarks, Ian introduced the winning artists ofthis year’s West Coast Songwriters Competition FINALS to sing theirwinning songs.

First up was fourth-placed Emily Rose with her amazing country ballad,I Still Leave the Light On. Great imagery, hooky and with a passionatedelivery. Very satisfying song.

Next was second place Sam Cosio. Sam has a really intimate electricguitar style replete with slow chromatic bass lines, played like anacoustic guitar. And his songs, particularly the placing song, Pour Mea Glass are performed in Sam’s signature style. There is somethingintimate, stark and cryptic about Sam’s music. It’s stand outdifferent.

Next up was Michael McNevin, the writer and performer of this year’s #1hit song: Scarecrow. He’ll take the song to an unexpected yetsatisfying resolution. The story line is simply elegant. The narratorcompares himself to a scarecrow and his lover to a bird who alights onhim. She flies fast while he watches the corn crow. Some unusualmajor triad color chords give it a unique sound. Simple but amazing. He also performed a wonderful country ballad, This Town’s Gonna Changeabout modernization coming to a one-horse town. Lovely. Poignant. Mike was accompanied by a stand-up bass player who also sang harmony. Mike has the talent and the words and the music and the arrangement andperforms with heart. That’s what makes you #1.

Next up was the band, HERO’S LAST MISSION. These five young men whotook 3rd place at the competition — Lee Hurtado his brother LuisHurtado, Quentin Garcia, Art Padilla and Julian Mendoza — have got themagic mix. For a rock band, they play a very transparent style. Thereare two acoustic guitars and close a capella harmonies and yet theyrock. They sang their award winning Baby You are Something and alsoanother “hit” Gone. And they are so tight. The sound is very clean. I got a chance to talk with them during the day. They are really niceguys, too.

After the four top placers performed, Ian handed over the baton to hitsongwriter and industry luminary Andre Pessis with his inimitable,refreshingly almost politically correct patter. Andre alternatelyintroduced and roasted WCS “lifers” who kindly performed for ustonight.

Co-Founder of WCS Michael Silversher kicked it off for us with I AmThe Wind, currently placed in a children’s science show on PBS. Hebrilliantly, parodied Bob Dylan in the second verse. You HAD to bethere. He also sang Mathew Street, an homage to the roots of theBeatles inspired by Michael’s visit to Liverpool. His performance andthe song were moving and timely as the Beatles new video game andre-mastered releases hit the market.

1000 Songwriting Ideas author, Lisa Aschmann, led the audience in asong she has recently placed with Rikki Scaggs. The chorus is perfectfor a round. So we all got to sing Ricky Scaggs future hit. How coolis that. Lisa then sang her beautiful Healing in the Hands of Time.Both songs have an emotional core that is so raw it hurts. That’sgood songwriting.

Foothills College professor and songwriter Jim Bruno was up next. Hedelivered his song about regret called We Were Blind, a movingmishandled relationship song and an heartbreak song using theCalifornia Rain as a metaphor for heartache.

Monica Pasqual of the band Blame Sally sang two personal songs from herupcoming solo album. La Tierra in mi Sangre (The Earth is in myBlood) about her Spanish roots and Terrified a song she wrote at a darkperiod in her life struggling with a loved one’s chronic illness. Monica drew tears tonight.

George Merrill then gave us two songs, accompanying himself on piano:Climbing a charged and intimate song dealing with anticipated recoveryfrom despair: Waiting for a Star to Fall was the hit that pretty muchput George on the map. And guess what, it still delivers with the samefreshness and impact it did upon release, a true hit. And George’sdelivery was emotional, personal and engaging. The entire row infront of me either had their eyes shut, heads nodding to the beat orwere furiously dabbing at their eyes with sleeves.

Right when I was ready to throw in the towel, consummate songster SteveSeskin took the stage, after surviving Andre’s ongoing playful ribbing. Steve can really put over a song. He sang a killer break-up songthat he recently co-wrote. The hook lyric was “My love for you isn’tgoing to die before I do.” I heard that line and I was going for theKleenex. And then Steve sang another poignant song about taking abreak to find yourself after a relationship ends. An upliftingheartbreak song? Yep, this is it.

The evening wrapped with Ian’s closing remarks. I was pretty sure Iknew what a hit song was when I left the auditorium. So I ask myselfthe question that I’m sure others in the audience were askingthemselves: Do I have what it takes to follow through and take mysongs to the next level? I don’t know if I’m a hit-maker, but after aday with WCS, I feel inspired to try.