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| AN INTRODUCTION TO SLOFOLKS |
SLOfolks, a non profit organization, brings you live music from Appalachia to Mali, a diversity reflecting the cultural history and expression of the people's music played on a variety of instruments. You will hear sea shanties, ballads, work songs, gypsy music, West African Kora, Celtic Bluegrass as well as French Musettes and Brazilian instrumentalists.
"Let this be my epitaph:The only proof he needed for the existence of God was music"
Kurt Vonnegut
On August 9, 2007, SLOfolks received our tax exempt status from the IRS. We are now a public charity, exempt from federal taxes as a 501(c)(3) corporation.
Any bequests, transfers, gifts or contributions to SLOfolks are tax deductible under section 170 of the code.
Picture on the right shows Molly's Revenge with Moira Smiley and special guest Inga Swearingen, at Castoro Cellars,after our SLOfolks Christmas concert, Saturday, December 5, 2009 (picture taken by Mladen Bandov)
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Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, the Weavers, Peter Paul and Mary, Joan Baez, Phil Ochs and Bob Dylan were major influences for many of us. Now new voices continue to inspire us, artists like Peppino D'Agostino,The Duhks, Steve Gillette & Cindy Mangsen, James Talley, Rosalie Sorrels, Pierre Bensusan, Alice Stuart, Eric Bibb, Chuck Brodsky and Misty River to name a few .
SLOfolks brings us a variety of voices and instruments... artists like Rahim AlHaj from Baghdad, who uses his music to communicate compassion, love and peace.
"The responsibility of the listener is to understand the message. This message is the secret of life." Rahim AlHaj
Please visit our About SLOfolks page to find out how SLOfolks started, Events to get more information about upcoming concerts.
Our News, page will let you know about other local concerts, radio shows, and Press articles, and Past Performers to find out about all the talented musicians who have performed for SLOfolks.
For Ticket Reservation, please check our Ticket page
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| Shanagolden Retreat |
We would like to thank all our SLOfolks Fans who help us host our musicians and especially Kristin and Alan Cameron who are hosting some of our SLOfolks musicians in their peaceful Shanagolden Retreat B&B in Templeton.
Shanagolden is named after a little town in Limerick, Ireland. It is said to be a place of great peace and tranquility.
Shanagolden Retreat
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| 2010 SLOFOLKS CONCERTS |
We are looking forward to another great Concert season for our SLOfolks friends.
Thank you for supporting live music!
CHECK OUR EVENTS PAGE FOR OUR 2010 CALENDAR OF EVENTS
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| FISHTANK ENSEMBLE |
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FISHTANK ENSEMBLE
February 26, Coalesce Bookstore, 7PM, $20 - Reserve at: 805-772-2880
February 27, Castoro Cellars, 7:30PM, $20 - Reserve at: 805-238-0725
Fishtank Ensemble are the leaders in high-energy, cross-pollinated gypsy music. From California, they bring their unique blend of Romanian, Gypsy jazz, Flamenco, Balkan, Klezmer and Tango influenced music to the world.
Fishtank Ensemble is world music like you've never heard before. Electrifying stage show combining opera scat, jazz, gypsy, flamenco violins - they are the brainchild of no one, the serendipitous reunion of six gifted and misfit musicians. From a dark croony gypsy jazz song sung in manouche to a wild Transylvanian gypsy anthem, to a flamenco song played on some unlikely instruments, they will have you swooning.
"For those in need of having their dervish whirled, the Bay Area's Fishtank Ensemble are the rompin' stompin' leaders of cross-pollinated Gypsy music...one of the most thrilling live acts on the planet."
LA Weekly
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Fishtank Ensemble formed in early 2005 after the arrival of Fabrice Martinez who, after 9 years of living and traveling through Europe in a mule drawn caravan collecting music,came to the US for the first time and met the future Fishtank Ensemble. Within days of the band members meeting and jamming together they were playing wild gypsy, romanian and klezmer tunes taught to them by Fabrice. Each person had their own unique musical specialty to share with the others, creating a unique sound that encouraged the musicians to take a weekend of jamming just a little further.
That May Fabrice returned from Italy and the band recorded their first album "Superraoul" The album consists of six live performances taken over a week and a half period.
In September 2006 Fabrice came to live permanently int he US and began touring nonnstop with Fishtank Ensemble. The band since has been thrilling audiences on both coasts and in Colorado, New Mexico,the midwest, the east coast, and Arizona. They have performed with The Squirrel Nut Zippers, Juliette Lewis, Jason Webley, Perry Farrell,Los Lobos, and Donovan Leitch. Their music is a wild ride and a mesmerizing good time!
FISHTANK MUSICIANS:
Ursula Knudson-voice, violin, musical saw, banjolele, percussion
Fabrice MArtinez-violin and baglaman
Djordje Stijepovic-upright bass
Doug Smolens-flamenco and gypsy jazz guitar
Check Fishtank website....a great website...lots of music!
Fishtank Ensemble
http://www.youtube.com/fishtankensemble
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| GILLETTE, MANGSEN, JOHNSON & GRAHAM |
STEVE GILLETTE, CINDY MANGSEN, ORVILLE JOHNSON & MARK GRAHAM
Friday, March 12, Coalesce Bookstore, 7PM ~ $20
Saturday,March 13, Castoro Cellars, 7:30PM ~ $20
Steve and Cindy have hit on a combination that consistently produces high quality recordings and entertaining stage shows. Their voices and their styles meld seamlessly with a gentleness and a maturity that is unmatched in the world of folk duos."
Matt Watroba, Sing Out Magazine
Steve and Cindy have been performing together for 19 years, bringing together their love of traditional music and their wealth of original songs. Accompanying themselves with guitar, concertina and banjo, their live performances are known for rich harmony, compelling songs and a good dose of humor.
"We find Steve and Cindy kindred spirits because of their loyalty to the tradition of Folk music and because they keep their story telling and music a part of our everyday lives."
Ted and Elisabeth
Steve Gillette is best known as a songwriter, with songs recorded by artists from Ian & Sylvia to Garth Brooks, from Jiminy Cricket to John Denver. His song Darcy Farrow alone has been recorded by more than one hundred artists since 1966, most recently by Jimmy Dale Gilmore and Nanci Griffith. Quite literally, he wrote the book on songwriting: Songwriting and the Creative Process (Sing Out Press) is a standard text in songwriting classes across the country. Steve sings in a rich baritone and is a virtuoso on guitar, using a unique fingerpicking style with a flat-pick and two fingers. His most recent solo recording is Texas and Tennessee (Redwing Music), named one of the Top Ten Folk Albums of 1998 by Tower Records' Pulse Magazine.
Cindy Mangsen, who married Gillette in 1989, is also a songwriter, but her focus has been on songkeeping. Cindy is a master interpreter of traditional ballads, rich in myth and legend. She plays guitar, concertina, and banjo, and is renowned for her compelling voice, described by one critic as a voice that can warm a New England winter. Her newest solo CD is Cat Tales: Songs of the Feline Persuasion (2005, Compass Rose Music), an album of songs about cats and their people. As Steve comments, "Cindy has brought me back to my roots, and I think I've influenced her in terms of ensemble playing, rhythmic development, arrangement and performing. We're very fortunate to play for people who really listen and who come to a concert with a certain sense of history. There's a strong feeling of community about this music."
Steve Gillette & Cindy Mangsen
Mar 20-21
Steve Gillette is giving his 6th Annual Songwriting Workshop in Santa Cruz, CA (802) 442-6846
steve@compassrosemusic.com
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| ORVILLE JOHNSON & MARK GRAHAM |
The Kings of Mongrel Folk are Orville Johnson & Mark Graham
The Kings of Mongrel Folk rule a vast domain populated by folk, blues, country, jazz, and nameless but intriguing musical forms that only they can bring to life. Hot harmonica, sharp guitar and dobro, soulful singing and witty songwriting.
(from My Space: http://www.myspace.com/thekingsofmongrelfolk
Check them out...they have such an amazing variety of songs!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orville_Johnson
Why would two of the most talented, zany and widely-respected roots musicians in the United States - both of whom have appeared on Garrison Keilor's Prairie Home Companion - choose to go on the road as a duo? Simple: Mark Graham and Orville Johnson love the magic when they play together as much as their audiences do. "People comment on that all the time," says Orville. "They can tell we're having a good time up there. We play on a lot of different emotions." Wry humor, virtuoso harmonica, soulful blues, hot pickin' and sweet country vocals - that's what you get when Orville and Mark combine forces as the Kings of Mongrel Folk. Graham's harmonica virtuosity on Irish and American fiddle tunes and his rich, woody sound on clarinet are well-known to fans of Kevin Burke's Open House.
You can hear the Mongrel Folks at:
http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/mgoj2
ABOUT ORVILLE JOHNSON...
"...heaps of jazz sensibility. ...somewhat like Bill Frisell, Johnson is unbounded by genre classification and slips and slides among swampy wa-waing, convincing Latin, bluegrass, and much more." - Earshot Jazz
"...arguably the best dobro player in America. ...his remarkable singing voice is only surpassed by his instrumental prowess.
Dennis Roger Reed, FolkWorks Magazine
An outstanding acoustic artist..." - Seattle Post-Intelligencer
"A major talent..." Victory Music Review
"Orville is a player's player..." Seattle Times
"His song Blueprint for the Blues is one of the greatest "classic" blues songs ever written..." Consumer Guide
And much more on:
Orville Johnson
ABOUT MARK GRAHAM:
Singer-songwriter-humorist-satirist Mark Graham shows us yet another layer of his considerable talent with Southern Old time Harmonica.
Though his other albums include some harmonica work, with this effort he shows a range of versatility on the instrument that is much broader than one might anticipate.
With traditional southern string tunes, blues and the melodic sound of Ireland and Scotland, Graham not only demonstrates his considerable skill on the harp but broadens our definition of what harmonica music is. Joined by Orvile Johnson, Danny barnes and other gifted musicians, Graham conveys a feeling and emotion through the harmonica that show not only his depth as a musician, but as a human being.
a review written for the Folk & Acoustic Music Exchange by Allen Price
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