- new project: Don Samaniego Trio!
I have a new project: the Don Samaniego Trio!
Don Samaniego is a versatile vocalist with a rich, captivating baritone and delivery.
I’ve been working with Don for several months now, helping him develop and polish his repertoire and pull together musicians to accompany him.
He has quite a voice! –that I know folks will be impressed with — and a bunch of the tunes are rare gems you won’t hear anywhere else.We play songs in styles including:
- swing jazz (Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Dean Martin),
- vintage country (Johnny Cash, Jim Reeves, Ray Price)
- 50s/60s pop (Ray Charles, E. Humperdinck, Elton John)
- heartfelt ballads (Matt Munro, Henry Mancini),
- and classic Boleros and tangos sung in Spanish!
In the trio, Don is accompanied by:
- myself on the baby grand piano, and
- Jan Reimers (Bluegrass & Beyond) on the electric bass.
sample poster, from our first show:
sample poster, from our first show: - Moved to Mexico!!!
I’ve moved to Mexico with my wife Kelli — to start a new life!
Family leads us there: we’ve joined Kelli’s Dad’s wife Merri, who has lived in the town for several years. The town is called Ajijic, which is located on Lake Chapala — Mexico’s largest lake — south of Guadalajara. It’s a gorgeous setting in mountains at a mile-high elevation, with a very temperate climate: high of 70s/80s year-round. It’s been a popular destination for retirees from the US & Canada for many years, so there are resources to facilitate the move and adjust to life there.
Live music and the arts are very active and appreciated there, so I expect to have more opportunities to perform than I did in Portland, even though it’s much less populated. I’ll continue to teach, both to new students and to current customers I teach over Zoom. We are really looking forward to the change in culture and lifestyle! I am extremely fortunate to have this opportunity. It shall be a grand adventure and life-enriching experience!
Follow me on Facebook and Instagram for frequent images and stories of our new home. - New website
After 16 years, the old website had to go!
Visitors are accustomed to sites being responsive to different screens, having dynamic menus, and advanced functionality. I was proud that I was able to hand-code websites in the past, including PHP progamming, but some of my old scripts were broken with new versions of PHP. And security standards require proper coding.
I find WordPress to be less versatile, and a bit frustrating, when it comes to positioning and formatting things. Hopefully I’ll learn as I go.
NEWS ARCHIVE
December 14th, 2018
Jeffree White Productions
I have a new hub for my various live music services: Jeffree White Productions. Oftentimes people are only aware of one of my music projects, or think of me as just a teacher, or don’t know that I have been a talent buyer for a nightclub. Now I can present these — current projects only — in one place.
I continue to prioritize private gigs, and seek to introduce my services to the market around where I live in SW Washington. For anyone seeking live music for their event, I have something to offer, or can find the right act to fit.
Big ups to Kelli Rule for building the sweet website!
March 24th, 2018
January 2018: honeymoon in Lisbon & Madeira, student of the year, gym membership!
Below are excerpts from a newsletter sent in January.
You can view previous newsletters here.
Happy New Year!
To the tune of “It Was a Very Good Year”:
Two thousand seventeen
It was a very good year…
It was a very good year
For me in my bubble in Washougal.
I married Kelli Rule,
Opened my music school,
I went to Portugal.
This year’s been pretty cool. 😀
[see video of me playing and singing it here]
Sintra palace
Things are well. I spent 8 days in Portugal with Kelli for our honeymoon: 3 days in Lisbon, and 4 on the island of Madeira. It was fantastic! You can view photos on Facebook here.
Student of the Year awardThe Washougal School of Music has been growing steadily; I have several new students and have been teaching more than ever before. Thank you Washougal! I awarded a Student of the Year 2017 to a hard-working youngster, along with a scholarship. 🙂
Last year my involvement with 4 bands ended…I’m paring down a bit. Still, somehow I’m gigging every weekend night in February! 4 bands left.
And in another major lifestyle change, last month I joined a gym and have been working out 3 times a week! I enjoy it and feel fit.
October 19th, 2017
Summer Summary: Marriage, School, and Recordings Published
It was quite an intense summer!
I got married to the wonderful Kelli Rule — photos coming soon;
I attended the epic Oregon Eclipse Festival, and the Oregon Country Fair, for almost a week each;
intense heat waves and fires, some of which were creeping alarmingly near to Washougal, made for stressful situations;
my main project the Hot Club of Hawthorne did a record amount of shows in a month, and is releasing a CD;
and the Washougal School of Music continued to pick up steam and new students:
we’ve had over 25 students, including lots of happy customers; see our testimonials on Facebook;
we were featured in a lovely article in the Camas/Washougal Post-Record;
we’re developing an equipment loaning library;
we added ukulele lessons to our services.
I look forward to the winter, when I can get more focused on developing my curriculum, my websites, and my video portfolio. And I’m forcing myself to work on my original material, and home recording, too!
April 03rd, 2017
Washougal School of Music launched
For the last few months, I’ve focused on making my teaching endeavor a legit business. So, I’ve started building the Washougal School of Music! At my new residence in Washougal, I have a nice home studio which is perfect to teach out of. I’m offering individual lessons in guitar, piano, and mandolin. I currently have two students. 🙂 And I’m doing outreach into the community, including playing the piano at local charity events, joining the Chamber of Commerce, and tabling at local bazaars. I also have met with small business consultants through the wonderful program SCORE, and they have helped me figure out my business plan on how to move forward!
Two places to find us on the web:
washougalschoolofmusic.com
wsom.rocks
I couldn’t resist getting that 2nd one. 🙂
Students are coming in fast! 😀
January 19th, 2017
website updates; new projects
website
I’ve been taking advantage of time spent indoors during all the snow and ice storms, to work on some long-neglected areas of this website! There is still more to do — there always will be! — but so far I’ve worked on:
music page: made a table for presenting the different types of info for each band, with all the info in a database. Soon I’ll add music players of select tracks in there…right now, it’s just a link.
web design page: for my portfolio, I set up a column on the left, and a big preview frame to the right. Added descriptions and features.
history page: entitled sections “personal” and “musical performance”; updated both sections
header: I also final got rid of that ancient image in the header! I’m playing around with slideshows…
links page: weeded out outdated links.
added a new background too! Similar colors, but different. 🙂
I’ve rediscovered the joy of web design and coding. I’m often reluctant to devote a chunk of time to learning a new web design skill, but I do want to up my game, and maybe get some new clients.
I welcome any suggestions or tips!
new projects
In the last 6 months, I’ve started playing with 2 different bands:
Ne Plus Ultra Jass Orchestra — big band playing elaborate, arrangements of the 20s and 30s
Bilgerats & Pyrettes — pirate-themed band, costumes and all! Great singers, and fun people with theatrical backgrounds
See my music page for details and links.
November 07th, 2016
major life changes!
2016 has been a whirlwind year:
I bought my first car ever. Yep, I didn’t have a car until I was 45 years old. It’s a Prius, and I love it. This has allowed me to take a lot more gigs, and…
I moved away from Portland! I had lived there 19 years. My girlfriend discovered she had the option to buy, esp. outside of town. I thought about it, and it sounded good! Portland had gotten kind of crazy and dangerous… And I just don’t go out like I used to. We looked in various areas, and decided we liked the town of Washougal, WA (and Camas). We now are proud owners of a lovely home, complete with a studio perfect for my teaching pursuits. I lost all my students, but I believe I will be able to find plenty here. Aside from that, I’m keeping my musical projects in Portland (for now) — it’s only a 20-minute commute.
I got engaged to the love of my life, Kelli Rule. She is a gem of a human being in all respects. I am beyond thrilled, and extremely grateful. 🙂
Let the new chapter begin!
August 01st, 2016
We bought a house in Washougal!
April 07th, 2016
website improvements
I’ve finally got some work done on my website! I’m rediscovering the enjoyment in web design and coding. 🙂 The calendar on the future page is set up like pdxjams dot com was: using a custom CMS, I have band and venue info in a database so it’s quick for me to add events using a web form, and the links & images are automatic. Also, I’ve added a video page and improved the home, music, instruction, and images pages a bit. There are still some things to clean up to restore it to its former glory (and take it to the next level). As I continue to make improvements, I’ll add a note on the news page to point it out.
April 13th, 2014
website loss!!!
Folks, I have terrible news about my website. There was a major server crash, and the entire database was lost — including my mailing list I’ve collected over 9 years. There was no surviving backup. It is a disaster and a travesty…
So, I have moved my website to a new server (and company). I still have to reconstuct parts of the website; this is a copy I made a while back.
A good thing that will come out of this is, the website will be much better than it was — in content, and presentation. The old one was one of my first web design efforts, and it kind of got locked as it was on the other server. The new design will offer more content — including a proper video page! — and it will be easier to find and navigate.
NEWS ARCHIVE
May 25th, 2012
new bimonthly: 1st & 3rd Thursday happy hours at Jam On Hawthorne (where Imbibe used to be, on Hawthorne near 23rd)
This is the beginning of our new series: 1st & 3rd Thursday happy hours at Jam!
It’s an earlier Happy Hour slot — 5-7pm — so you can come straight from work and have dinner and drinks with some happy lively acoustic swing!
Check out the the review of Jam on Hawthorne’s happy hour by Willamette Week!
There are new audio and video goodies on our website at hotclubofhawthorne.com!
FREE ~ ALL AGES
May 11th, 2012
audio samples for the Hot Club of Hawthorne
There is a new audio demo for my gypsy jazz group the Hot Club of Hawthorne. It’s another montage of snippets from a show. I’m going to try to do this for all shows of which I get a decent sounding recording!
Click here to listen to highlights from the show at the Jade Lounge last December. (This was the show that was partially filmed for live TV!)
Then come see us at Biddy’s on Saturday night! See calendar!
Jan 10th, 2012
bluegrass project
I’ve been working hard on developing a bluegrass repertory and collective of players too! (What is up with Jeffree and his acoustic traditional projects these days??)
It’s a blast — and a challenge. Those who think it is easy have not tried. Chord progressions can be simple, but you have to be right on top of the timing, and tempos are often fast. Phrasing has to resolve in a timely fashion, unlike jazz or rock in which you can noodle aimlessly.
My tune selections are mostly the happy songs. No dirgey depressing woe-is-me type songs. Included are a lot of common originals, but also newgrass numbers from the likes of Old & In the Way, David Grisman, and Phish. Been done? Who cares!?! It’s great fun!
Like the gypsy jazz project, I’d like to have a collective of players, so if you or someone you know is interested, get in touch!
Dec 6th, 2011
Jenny Sizzler CD available
Jenny Sizzler — the comedy rock band with whom I have played keyboards and sang for years — produced a smashing CD earlier this year: Sweet Velvet Pants. Three days of tracking at fabulous Secret Society Ballroom and hours of tweaking with genius engineer Jordan made for a great sounding album! Here is a short two-minute sampler of the album:
Sweet Velvet Pants DEMO
You can order the CD on the Jenny Sizzler website at jennysizzler.com!
May 6th, 2011
Hot Club of Hawthorne
My new gypsy jazz project, which for now I am calling the Hot Club of Hawthorne after Django’s Hot Club of France, is now performing!
For current info and audio samples, visit my gypsy jazz web page at jeffree.info/gypsyjazz.
Check my future page for show info.
Apr 15th, 2011
new acoustic project gypsy jazz + bluegrass + Latin + ?
Note: this is what I posted on Craigslist in April.
I am forming a string band which plays a mix of gypsy jazz (aka “djazz”), bluegrass, and a little latin/flamenco/persian/klezmer/world/?. Maybe even an acoustic arrangement of a rock or blues tune here and there. Mostly instrumental, but some vocals. Mostly peppy, all festive. David Grisman Quintet is a big influence.
I’m thinking a 4- or 5-piece core band, including a combination of the following instruments (multi-instrumentalists would be great):
guitar
bass
violin
mandolin
2nd guitar
?
I play guitar and mandolin (and keys). Guitar at an advanced level, mandolin intermediate.
I’m also looking to form a collective of musicians, really – so gigs can happen regardless of individual levels of commitment. (The selection of traditional music and the ability to read chord charts are key here.) So I’m looking for players of all instruments. Enthusiasm and availability are as important factors as talent.
I would like to perform frequently, so you should be ENTHUSIASTIC TO PLAY GIGS – even if they do not all pay well, and/or if they are late at night on a weekday. Even play on the street once in a while. Eventually I would like to do acoustic venues, McMenamins gigs, and festivals – maybe occasional out-of-town gigs.
So any practice for me with anyone is great. I’m pretty flexible schedule-wise since I do freelance web work from home. Most afternoons and evenings are free. I’m near 27th & SE Belmont. I’m carless (part of the impetus behind acousticizing), so my place would be the place.
I have wine bar gigs in May and June at Thirst Bistro; I have a big gig on June 18th at a huge 50th anniversary party a couple hours’ drive east*.
I’m not married to my song list; many are chosen simply because they are common tunes with which others are likely to already be familiar. I would like to do originals as well – I have a few to fit the project – but I am not willing to throw out the covers later because someone in the band decides that the band needs to be all original. The project, while irreverent, is also about traditional music, and audiences like to hear covers. And if a band plays exclusively someone’s originals and that person leaves the band…I’ve been through that too many times.
Here is the djazz tune list I have played around with. I’m sure a bunch will get cut and a few will get added. I have charts and would like to use the same charts with everyone; I have three books printed. As you know, many times different charts are not always compatible. For some tunes, I have different versions available.
After You’ve Gone
Aint Misbehavin’
Avalon
Brazil
Cantina Band
Charleston
Confessin’
Dark Eyes
Dinah
Dinette
Exactly Like You
For Sephora
HCQ Strut
Honeysuckle Rose
I Cant Believe That You’re In Love With Me
If I Only Had a Brain
I’ll See You in My Dreams
It Had to Be You
Limehouse Blues
Lullaby of the Leaves
Minor Swing
Mister Sandman
Out of Nowhere
Russian Lullaby
Sheik of Araby
Shine
Sweet Georgia Brown
Sweet Sue
Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams
I have some bluegrassy numbers I will be working in to the set too. I’d like to form a project that does some of both — for variety. All peppy acoustic material. (Did I mention I like David Grisman’s work a lot?) As you can tell, I discovered bluegrass from jambands – Phish, Grateful Dead, SCI – so I’m light on traditionals, but am down with learning more.
Tunes include
Better Times A-Comin’
Could This Be Magic
Dill Pickle Rag
Do, a Beer
Eating Out of Your Hand
Long Journey Home
My Mind’s Got a Mind of its Own
Panama Red
Red Haired Boy
Rocky Top
Salty Dog
Salt Creek
the Hobo Song
So if you would like to play some time, let me know and we can talk times. Most weekday afternoons and evenings are available.
Thanks for reading.
Apr 15th, 2011
Stellakinesis has departed
Stellakinesis has disbanded due to time constraints and artistic differences.
We had a lot of great times over our year-and-a-half existence! Thanks to everyone who came to see us, and special thanks to the clubs and booking folks who believed in us and gave us opportunities.
We did produce a lot of great recordings and video. Check Stellakinesis’ collection on archive.org for updates; there are still a few shows and videos we need to publish. We’ll announce on the Stellakinesis website and on Facebook as new material is published.
Stellakinesis may return in the future in a new form…
Dec 9th, 2010
gypsy jazz
I’ve fallen in love with playing gypsy jazz. The term is sort of misleading, but what it is essentially is early jazz — mostly the 20s and 30s — played with primarily acoustic string instruments, especially multiple guitars, violin, and upright bass. The most famous artist in this style was Django Reinhardt, an incredible guitarist; many of his compositions are gypsy jazz standards as well.
It’s time that I started a project. I’ve loved jazz for a long time — it’s the music to which I listen the most — and I also love playing straight-ahead jazz on guitar and keyboards. However, this subgenre offers several advantages:
lots of guitar solos
relatively easy chord changes
mostly lively tempos and cheerful vibes
no need for drums!
lower volume
less gear needed
timeless appeal
I’ve started hosting & attending regular sessions and have met a number of talented folks who are interested to play. I will have a collective of musicians to draw from for various gigs. That’s another advantage to playing traditional music like this: many players are already familiar with the tunes and accustomed to reading charts.
Soon I will have plenty of audio samples!
If you’re interested in learning more about Portland’s gypsy jazz scene, join the PDXdjazz Yahoo group. There are great resources available there and announcements about all the local groups.
Apr 19th, 2010
site stagnation: Facebook’s fault!
So, I’ve become a full-blown Facebook addict over the last several months.
And, since I frequently post stuff there, I am less likely to post random stuff on my blog — on this site. It gets much more exposure there, and I can get immediate feedback.
This site does better fulfill the function of collecting personal news and views, of course. So I am going to try to be better about adding content regularly.
I do keep the calendar updated with performances.
If you do Facebook and are not yet my friend, find me there at facebook.com/jeffreewhite. And if you don’t, well…I can’t understand why not!
Sep 28th, 2009
Stellakinesis has arrived
My new band, called Stellakinesis, has arrived, and it sounds, well — stellar!
Go to the listing on my music page for more info.
Jun 18th, 2009
pdxjams.com revived!
Those of you who were the few who visited pdxjams.com over the last few years have noticed that it had some serious down time… Well, it has been revived and revamped, and I’m finally taking the plunge and promoting it, and committing myself to keep the calendar updated.
I redid the database to customize the info fields to facilitate pulling up richer content dynamically. I then created a tool with which I can easily add shows, and this will help me keep it updated. I added a forum to allow user input and dialogue. Consider putting your 2 cents in (speaking of which, a donate button is in the works too…)!
Have a look and let me know what you think! And next time you’re looking for something to do or good music to see, check PDXjams.com!!! Check out some band you’d never heard of before.
Become a fan of pdxjams on Facebook here.
Visit us on MySpace and become our friend here.
Sep 29th, 2008
Summer summary
Summer 2008 was a spectacular one. Despite its late start for me, we got a lot in.
The early highlight was our first time at the prestigious High Sierra Music Festival. We had a lot of fun over the FOUR days, despite heat, dust, and smoke from the nearby forest fires which closed the main highway in. One great thing about this festival is the abundance of water: misters keeping everyone cool, and bathrooms with plumbing and showers(!). We saw dozens of great bands.
Other musical highlights of the summer were seeing the Neville Bros. & Dr. John (featuring Eugene’s John Fohl on guitar!?!) and the Tower of Power at the Zoo, and seeing Return to Forever at the Schnitz.
In August, we went rafting twice on the Clackamas River between Barton and Carver parks and swimming at lovely McIver Park. We explored the Gifford-Pinchot Forest in WA between Mt. Rainier and Mt. Adams for three days; the lava beds north of Mt. Adams along the Pacific Crest Trail were otherwordly. Later, we went up in a hot-air balloon over Newberg, lush farmland, and the Willamette River, up to 4000 feet!
September allowed us a couple of great hikes, including one up Cathedral Ridge on the north side of Mount Hood. We passed Timberline Trail and got near MacNeil Point (next time!), where the views were spectacular. The hike was strenuous — 2400′ elevation gain (we got up to 6050′) and steep — but it was worth it…highly recommended.
I feel like I got enough summer in and am ready for fall/winter. The plan for next summer: more festivals and more hikes up Hood!!! More more more!!!
Jan 28th, 2008
phasing out performances for a while
I’m feeling burned out on the live music scene. I’ve decided to scale back my live projects.
Not many clubs in Portland book music I like. I haven’t had much success with booking gigs or promoting shows, and they take a lot of time and energy. And since I stopped drinking, I’ve had increasingly less tolerance for smoky bars; there are only a couple that I’ll go to anymore. I’m looking forward to 2009 and the implementation of the smoking ordinance. Until then, it seems like a perfect time for a hiatus where I can focus on composing and recording.
I’ve been playing other people’s music for so long, I haven’t allowed my creativity to blossom. Original music will be more fulfilling to play. And when you’re a sideman, and the project breaks up, you’re left with very little; if you lead a project, you can keep some momentum as supporting musicians come and go.
I plan to redirect time and energy to developing my music archive too.
I’ll still perform here and there at select events. I can’t refuse the lure of the stage entirely…some are too much fun. And even if just one person at the show says they enjoyed it, I figure that that’s a measure of success.
Dec 2nd, 2007
sorry for site stagnation
If you’ve been popping in lately from time to time to see what’s new in Jeffree’s world (which I very much appreciate), you might be disappointed to see that nothing IS new. For this I apologize. The reason for this is…(the least favorite phrase in any musician or web designer’s vocabulary):
DAY JOB.
Working full time in a computer-intensive job has not afforded me the time or energy to work on my websites or musical projects.
It has however, afforded me several new toys which will invigorate my efforts in both music and web publishing:
new laptop
new keyboard controller
sweet rotary effect pedal for keys and guitar (Roland)
mandolin
portable high-fi digital recorder (Zoom H2)
new keyboard amp
very-much-needed guitar repairs
So, while part of me feels like I am wasting away my time slaving away at a mindnumbingly tedious job resulting in pretty much no personal fulfillment, it is a necessary step in achieving my artistic and professional goals.
The job is by contract and may end soon, so I should have some time opening up with which I will revitalize my website and get some new content up. So don’t give up on me yet. =)
Jul 5th, 2007
I’m on the most recent Funk Shui CD!
I’m on the new Funk Shui CD! I recorded some tracks for Sean Nowland, aka the Shag, in my basement — back when it was his room — and they ended up on the Funk Shui CD. It’s the song entitled Axxxe. Go to their website at www.funkshuipdx.com and follow the link to CDBaby to hear a sample.
May 23rd, 2007
I spent ten days in Italy!!!
I was lucky enough to get to spend ten days in gorgeous Italy: a week in Tuscany and four days in Rome!
I, my girlfriend Miki, and her family stayed at an amazing villa in the Tuscany region, home to many kilometers of lush farmland growing vineyards and olive tree orchards. We took day trips to several ancient “hilltowns” — little cities built on hills and surrounded by walls — and the cities Pisa and Firenze(aka Florence). Then, we explored fantastic Rome, walking many kilometers through its maze of pedestrian-friendly streets and checking out all the antiquities, ruins, and architecture we could. And, yes, we indulged all the while in all the scrumptious food available(good thing we walked a lot)!
Being in the presence of human creations of such mindboggling age, such as the Pantheon and the Forum, is truly awe-inspiring, as is witnessing such magnificent art — the Uffizi museum in Firenze has an overwhelming collection of paintings and sculpture — and architecture, including the magnificent cathedrals in Siena, Firenze, and Rome, St.Peters Basilica in Vatican City being the most incredible example.
We took hundreds of photos, the best of which will be featured on this site. It’ll take a while to sort through them all and create the galleries, so I’ll be posting them little by little over the next couple of months. I’ll elaborate on my journeys in postings in my world view page.
Feb 28th, 2007
me on YouTube
An anonymous fan (thanks Gordon 😉 ) posted a couple of videos of me on YouTube. They’re both from performances at the Goodfoot Lounge’s Sonic Forum open mike in 2004.
In one, I sing and play Phish’s lovely ballad “Tela” while Chilli Most from Jenny Sizzler dances flamboyantly. In the other, I try out a peppy swing tune of mine, backed by Scott Pemberton on bass and Ji Tanzer on drums & using Scott Pemberton’s cool high-octave distortion pedal.
Nov 22nd, 2006
no longer playing with Ashbury Park
It’s a been great run over the last year and a half playing with Ashbury Park. The time has come to move on.
The band has chosen to play solely with another guitarist. I have been considering leaving the band for some time, so this actually makes for a relatively smooth transition and mutual separation.
I’ve enjoyed playing the tunes and working with the guys very much. However, it’s been apparent for a while that we have artistic differences. They’re into the roots-rock songwriting thing; I’m leaning towards more funky, jazzy, instrumental, improvisational, progressive styles.
Playing with Ashbury Park has afforded me the opportunity to play for new audiences, for which I am grateful. I got to take a lot of solos (though the forced shortness of them frustrated my fans).
I’m looking forward to devoting more energy to my other current projects and to composing.
Thanks to all of you who came to see me play with Ashbury Park. Another notch on my guitar strap. 😉
Oct 19th, 2006
lowelljmitchell.com
I built Lowell a web site!
You can find it at lowelljmitchell.com.
It utilizes new-to-me calendar and gallery programs which I think are pretty cool.
Check out the video of us at the Laurelthirst!
His bio is also very impressive.
It’s still being developed, so check back soon!
Sep 20th, 2006
Blue Zebra
I have a new band, called “Blue Zebra”!
We’ve been working hard building a set of tunes for several months now. The style is instrumental funky jazz (“dazzlejazz”, as some have described it) — groove-oriented, peppy rhythms (we strive to inspire and facilitate dancing), and lots of taking turns soloing. We’re inspired by Garaj Mahal (as a matter a fact the bass player takes lessons from Kai when he’s in town), Scofield, Jeff Beck, and Miles Davis. It’s a four-piece: guitar, keys, bass and drums; all the guys are seasoned, talented players. I play guitar solely.
We have a webpage up at www.bluezebra.name with MP3’s and bio’s. The MP3’s were recorded live in my basement with minimal overdubs (we had to redo some keyboard tracks which got overdriven, is all).
We recently played our first full performance at the Clean Energy Fair (right before Ashbury Park, Surrounded By Ninjas, Mars Retrieval Unit and Tye North & Friends 🙂 ). We’re seeking gigs now…stay tuned for upcoming performances!
The story behind the band name is worthy of mention: at the Everyone Orchestra show at the Crystal last time, Matt Butler jumped into the crowd and asked my girlfriend Miki what he should have everyone sing…so she said the first thing on her mind: “Blue Zebra”. So Matt went ahead and led the crowd into singing the words “Blue Zebra” during a jam. (How’s that for subliminal advertising? Hmmm, Blue Zebra…Blue Zebra…I’ve heard the name before… ) Later, we took this as our name, after considering dozens others. 😛
Aug 15th, 2006
2500 hits!!! (Duude…!)
Today, the total number of all-time visits to my web site — sessions, not just page loads — reached 2500!!!
Okay, many of them were from me. =) Still. I am proud.
And, I am inspired to develop the site more. I promise: I will get more music, pictures and blogs up soon!!!
Thanks for your interest and patience with my slowly evolving web site!
Apr 13th, 2006
happy hours with Lowell J. Mitchell at Biddy McGraw’s
Hey,
This is a little reminder about my Monday happy hours at Biddy McGraw’s with Lowell J. Mitchell. We’ve been having a blast with it.
Lowell, of Heavy Petting Zoo fame, has been doing Monday happy hours at Biddy’s for several months now, and has asked me to join him for the next couple of months! I play the house piano. The music is bluesy and ragtimey and a lot of fun.
Every Monday from 6 to 8pm. Come for dinner: they have great food.
Biddy McGraw’s
NE 60th & Glisan: just south of the 60th Ave. MAX station and near the 58th Ave. exit from Hwy. 84. Tri-met lines 19 and 71 stop right by the place.
Mar 29th, 2006
housemates departing
My housemates of over a year-and-a-half have decided to move on.
I have had many housemates over the years, and these guys were the best. We got along really well and had a lot of great times. I will miss them.
Along the way, I helped both guys put up their own web site:
Check out at Dustin’s at either dustinthejuggler.com or dustinchristensen.com. He built the web site himself. He is a master juggler, and you can find cool pics of him in action. He’s also a musician, and you can download a few of his recordings, some of which feature yours truly.
You can visit Rob Roy’s site at robroy.name. I designed and built it for him. Be sure to check out the leisure suits page!
Jan 20th, 2006
Sierra Club needs data entry volunteers
I’ve been the data entry volunteer coordinator for the local Sierra Club office for almost a year now. Currently, we have a real need for help. Got a couple of hours to do some typing and help the Sierra Club build and manage its volunteer list? Drop me a line!
I starting volunteering at the Sierra Club before the election, doing data entry related to their voter education campaign. The Sierra Club is the largest, oldest and most influential grassroots environmental organization. I’ve continued to volunteer regularly, and they’ve asked me to help with training and coordinating other volunteers there.
Check out some of their activities here. We’ve been pressuring the state to tighten (and not further loosen) regulations for dumping in the Willamette River. It’s criminal what they are allowed to do now. Consider getting involved! These days, work like theirs is more important than ever.
Dec 25th, 2005
pdxjams.com
I’m proud to have launched my new web site dedicated to promoting local bands and musicians, especially those who play music which includes improvisation, or jamming. It’s located at pdxjams.com .
It will have a calendar of shows, profiles of bands and musicians, a directory of venues who support jambands, and a classified area for musicians wanting to jam. It has some cool functionality, including dynamic cross-referencing of events by band and venue.
I would definitely like to collaborate in this venture, so if anyone has ideas or would like to contribute, let me know. I do believe that this will grow into something very cool and useful and will contribute to Portland’s live music scene. So, Portland’s media loves to bash jambands. F@#% ’em — if you don’t like the media, BECOME the media! I love the Internet!
Dec 25th, 2005
my mother’s web site
My mother is an author, accomplished mountain hiker, and political activist extraordinaire. Her third book, entitled Women With Altitude was just published; it’s a compilation of true stories about women mountain hikers.
So, I built her a web site, and was lucky enough to obtain the domain name carolwhite.org. Click here to check it out.
Nov 27th, 2005
live Rich Man’s Burden MP3’s available
jeremy serwerCheck out excerpts from Rich Man’s Burden’s last show at the Tonic Lounge. You can avail yourself to them at www.richmansburden.com.
Listening to the song “AJ” gave me sweaty palms. It rocks.
Nov 1st, 2005
new web sites
I’ve completed a couple of new web sites. Both were done by working with the artists’ aesthetic inclinations.
Evan McDonnell
the Space Age Polymers
More are in the works! Stay tuned for my Portland live music promo web site, coming soon!
Sep 7th, 2005
Willamette Week press
Check out Willamette Week’s writeup a while back of Ashbury Park with a nice reference to yours truly. I had to look up “journeyman”, but I think it is fitting.
Aug 30th, 2005
answers (sort of) re: Shakedown Fest Cancellation
See the Shakedown Fest website, to see the statement by the promoter. He claims he was screwed by the Columbia Meadows management, who cancelled the show unnecessarily due to their unreasonably low projections of ticket sales at the gate.
Also see the venue’s statement (PDF file), which blames the promoter for not coughing up all the cash up front.
Sigh. Guess the courts will have to decide.
Aug 28th, 2005
new items
There are a few new items on my world view page.
Also, the music venue section of my links page has been personalized. Me me me me me.
Aug 26th, 2005
Shakedown Fest cancelled!?!
Unbelievably, the Shakedown Festival was cancelled just three hours before the gates were scheduled to open. This was devastating news, as I expected it to be in some ways the performance highlight of my career thus far.
I don’t have any answers to the questions “why?”, “Why?”, and “WHY!?!” yet. I just figured I’d make sure that you all know in case any of you were planning to go. It’d suck to find out at the gates after packing for a weekend of camping and driving to St. Helens. Tune in to the Shakedown website to possibly find out more — as of now they ain’t saying much.
In a related development, Ashbury Park picked up a gig at the Goodfoot next Thursday the 1st, filling in for a cancellation. How about calling it the “Shakedown Cancellation Recovery Party”?
I can only imagine what the repercussions of this major fiasco will be. Yikes.
Aug 18th, 2005
Events archive added
Now you can find out what I’ve been up to since the creation of this web site on my archive page.
I’ve played with seven bands this summer alone!
Aug 17th, 2005
Sonic Forum returns
The Sonic Forum is, by several accounts, the coolest open mike ever. Hosted by Scott Pemberton, the guitarist of Triclops, this event offers the use of a full band’s worth of amps, drums, Hammond organ, and pedal steel guitar, with house musicians to back you if you want. You can have your set recorded onto disc on the spot for five bucks. There’s always an instrumental jam too. How cool is that? Very, I say.
I went there so much last year and sat in with so many artists that people thought that I was in the house band. It took a break for a while, but has returned, with a few changes. You can now sign up in advance through Scott Pemberton’s website. Tell your musician friends!
Every Monday night! I will most likely be there.
Jul 26th, 2005
playing at Shakedown Fest
I’m extremely excited (and a little nervous) to be playing with Ashbury Park at the epic Shakedown Festival, taking place the last weekend of August at Columbia Meadows. See my future page for details.
Jul 18th, 2005
Block party a smashing success!!!
WOW!!! Thanks to everyone who showed up and made this party such a great time. There were 150-200 people there over the course of the day by some estimates. Thanks to all the great bands that played, the neighbors who contributed, & the neighbors who tolerated us (there were no complaints). A few people told me that it was the most fun they’ve had in a long time, and others were inspired to have a block party of their own. Looking forward to the 2nd Annual Yamhill Block Party 2006!
Jul 13th, 2005
block party this Saturday
My housemates and I have organized a block party to take place in front of my house on Yamhill St. in the Belmont neighborhood. We’ve got the street to ourselves and are setting up two stages. There will be an open mike and sets from bands all day. Badminton and croquet, BBQ & potluck (30 lbs of crawfish!), late night movies on the side of the house…
Planned are sets by:
Folkrum 4:30-5:30
Ashbury Park 6-7
Pieces 7:30-8:30
Root Canal
Evan McDonnell
Jenny Sizzler
and special surprise guests…
Wanna perform? Call me at 231-8687, or just show up at 2pm.
Yamhill Street Fair 2005!!! Woo-hoo!!!
27th & SE Yamhill St.
2-10pm
May 1st, 2005
Website officially launched!
Well, some of you have seen my website being developed, but many of you do not yet know of its existence. That’s because I was a little neurotic (who, meee?) about deciding that it was ready. And it’s still not done…because it will never be done. My site will be a continual work in progress for the rest of my life. But, I think you’ll find what I’ve created so far amusing.
I want to let you know about my events calendar (which will always be up-to-date) in case you are wondering with whom and where I might be performing (hell, I don’t know from one month to the next). You can download audio samples of projects with which I ‘ve been involved from my music page. I have a box full ot tapes of a variety of past music projects that I plan to digitize and make available for you to download if you are curious. You can find out about other stuff I’m into and about what makes me tick (or get upset) on my worldview page. And there are lots of silly pictures!!! 😛
So, have a look around at what I have so far, and feel free to tell me what you think. I hope you will check back from time to time.
Apr 20th, 2005
words of wisdom
To the upper right you can now find little nuggets of wisdom, humor, and absurdities that I like. To see another, just reload the page.
Got a good quote/joke/absurdity to share? Send ’em to me. Doink.
Mar 30th, 2005
?!?
No news is not necessarily good news. Time flies whether you’re having fun or not.
Feb 25th, 2005
seeking jammers
Summer’s coming, and I wanna be out there playing. I haven’t been focused on music in recent months, but it’s time. I’m looking for players of all instruments interested in jamming. I envision a loose-knit collective of musicians who are interested in mostly instrumental, largely improvisational, primal-yet-futuristic, experimental jam-oriented music. On the rhythmically-driving/danceable side. World rhythms + modal frameworks + ambient electronic textures. Basic jam-vehicle songs. Including spontaneous reinterpretation of form, perhaps guided by a system of hand signals.
Who’s with me? Or, wanna tell me how crazy I am? Write me.
Feb 2nd, 2005
Five audio clips and poster art featured by the Goodfoot Lounge
The Goodfoot Lounge, IMHO, offers the best live music in town. I feel lucky that it’s right in my neighborhood. And, it’s now mostly non-smoking! Tell your friends!
It was flattering to discover that they chose to feature audio clips of Five on their web site [note: clips no longer featured on site. -ed] .
Also, displayed in the main room downstairs is a framed copy of a poster for a Five show last year. The artwork is that of Jason Brown. Check out his web site to see more of his wild works of imagination.
Feb 6th, 2005
volunteering at the Sierra Club
I starting volunteering at the Sierra Club before the election, doing data entry related to their voter education campaign. The Sierra Club is the largest, oldest and most influential grassroots environmental organization. I’ve continued to volunteer regularly, and they’ve asked me to help with training and coordinating other volunteers there.
Check out some of their activities here. Consider getting involved! These days, work like theirs is more important than ever.
Jan 22nd, 2005
web site
What do you think of my new site?
You can send your opinions(be they humble or not-so), suggestions, and/or scathing criticisms here. Scathing criticisms will not be returned.