Saturday, September 6th – Happy Hour and Late Show at Amnesia

final sept 6th

EARLY Show: 6-9:30

7:00 pm  – Leila Adu

7:30 pm – The Wyatt Act

8:30 pm – Inner Ear Brigade

Sliding Scale $8-$10

TELL Hour – Featuring Jen Anderson, Deborah Steinberg, Lauren Wheeler,  Kevin Munroe and Linda Robertson

jen burke
Jen Burke Anderson is a writer in San Francisco. She has been chosen to read at Litquake three years running, and was chosen this summer to read at the Why There Are Words series in Sausalito. She has been published in Instant City, The Fabulist, and The San Francisco Chronicle. Her blog Civilization Party can be found at jenburkeanderson.com. She is traveling to Hungary this autumn to conduct research for her first novel. Tonight she presents her monologue “As Told by Yevgeny.”
DeborahAbout Deborah
I am a writer whose fiction and prose poetry explore themes of healing, the body, gender, and what it’s like to live without wings in a post-apocalyptic society. My short work is published in literary journals, and I am seeking representation for my speculative fiction novel, Splitting The Wind. I serve as Fiction Editor at Rivet: The Journal of Writing That Risks and I am co-editor, with Liana Holmberg, of the anthology Writing That Risks: New Work from Beyond the Mainstream, published July, 2013 by Red Bridge Press, where I am a founding editor. I hold a B.A. in Creative Writing and Literature from Bard College and an M.A. in English Literature from the Université Michel Montaigne – Bordeaux III, where my thesis explored the intersection of literature and medicine. I spent seven years teaching English and singing in bands in Bordeaux, France. Now based in San Francisco, I facilitate creative writing workshops with a focus on healing through Heal Write and work as a freelance editor. I also serve on the board of the Bay Area Generations reading series and sing in the a cappella group Conspiracy of Venus. 
lauren-wheelerLauren Wheeler writes poetry, really short fiction, and what happens when they rub up against each other. A recovering slam poet, she twice competed at the National Poetry Slam and has featured at Cornell University, where she studied English Literature, as well as in Los Angeles, Miami, and throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. Lauren curated and hosted two poetry series in Ithaca, Tongue & Groove at Stella’s Wine and Whiskey Bar and Re-Verse at the Oak Café, and was a core organizer of the ForWord Girls poetry and spoken word festival in San Francisco. Her work has appeared in Other Magazine, 365tomorrows, Lodestar Quarterly, Monkeybicycle, PANK Magazine, and The Nervous Breakdown. 

Lauren lives in a drafty old house in West Oakland, California with her partner and two brown dogs. With several years of experience in the video game industry, she’s currently working on The Sims 4. In her off hours, she enjoys dancing, performing offbeat burlesque, and singing (as Lola Vauntz) and occasionally deejays (as DJverse)
  Linda RobertsonAbout Linda Robertson I read things I’ve written, play songs on the accordion and violin, and make up jokes to go in between. In days of yore, my songs were performed with the bands Cotton Candy and The Trifles, and the recordings here are all made with those wonderful folk. In 2008, Harper Collins were kind enough to publish my seedy, tell-all memoir “What Rhymes with Bastard”, and I’m working on my next collection of tales…all this dense history is woven into my mini-shows – packed full of suffering!

10351312_10152262449663789_5001131097864949274_nKevin Munroe is a Trinidadian Comedian and Actor based in San Francisco. He was co-creator of “Ebony and Irony Show”, opened for Tracy Morgan (yes, that guy) and W. Kamau Bell, and was recently seen at the 2013 Bridgetown Comedy Festival.

LeilaLeila Adu travels the spaceways of music without limits. From tours of the US, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and the Far East, London’s Time Out says, ‘Avante-garde pop that recalls Nina Simone and Tim Buckley,” and Italy’s popular music mag Blow Up describes her last album Ode to the Unknown Factory Worker as “splinters of folk and blues but also hypnotic and ghostly prog.” Steve Albini who produced her second album dubbed her “Spooky Adu.” Leila was awarded a doctoral fellowship in composition at Princeton in 2011 — the same year she was voted MTV Iggy’s artist of the week who wrote:

This young New Zealander of Ghanaian descent treats genre distinctions in much the same way that Godzilla treated those little cities made out of cardboard…

She is a singer-songwriter, but more than that, she is part of a generation of highly accomplished young musicians such as Micachu, Joanna Newsom, and Esperanza Spalding who are eroding the distinctions between popular music and the increasingly academic worlds of jazz and instrumental music.

Leila’s unreleased fifth album and new live set take a new direction into Avantronica, replacing her acoustic sound for layers of, both live and pre-recorded, organ and vintage synth mixed with Ableton Live music software. The live set is a duo of Leila’s vocals, synth and piano with New York based Italian drummer, Federico Ughi who divides his time between New York and international tours with legends such as Daniel Carter, William Parker and spends time playing with Ornette Coleman and her latest recordings with kiwi beatmaker/drummer, Riki Gooch.

Leila is currently a Doctoral Fellow at Princeton University and recently wrote for the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, the Brentano String Quartet and So Percussion. She is 2014′s Wellington Orchestra’s Emerging-Composer-In-Residence and will première and perform in a new work for voice and orchestra on tour in New Zealand in 2015.

leila and bird

“Adu’s music reflects her own rich and diverse identity, blending indigenous sounds from the South Pacific and Ghana with tangibly fantastical instrumentation – a sonic funhouse of second glances and expanded perceptions.”
–Art Nouveau Mag   The Wyatt Act photo by Zachary Walters The Wyatt Act Enforced by Guinevere Q on Bass and Vocals, Young Sun on Drums, Breakfast on Sax and Keys, and Professor Capsicum on Guitar, The Wyatt Act is an Act of the Parliament of Rock that authorizes local citizens to declare any group of people to unlawfully rock out or face punitive action. Inner Ear Brigade                   Inner Ear Brigade’s music stretches boundaries and sweeps genres. Their music fits somewhere between jazz, experimental new music, art-rock, funk, and progressive rock. Utilizing the vintage sounds of a Hammond B3 organ, Fender Rhodes, and Moog synthesizer, vocals, vibes,and viola, you may notice sounds that are all at once sweet and silly, riff-crazed, but deceptively free and simple. We are inspired by the sounds of Sunra, Japanese prog duet ‘Ruins’, French epic proggers ‘Magma’ as well as a host of other denizens of boundary pushing music.

History

Inner Ear Brigade formed around 2005 in Oakland, CA by Bill Wolter. The band started with a self released four song EP Belly Brain. The EP featured the talents of Doug Port – Drums, Marvin Ibe – bass, Max Stoffregen – keyboards, and Bill Wolter – Guitar. Throughout the later 2006 – 2008 the performing band formation shifted around and with the addition of Eric Hoagland – tenor sax, and Alex de Soria – Bass. IEB played several venues and festivals around the Bay Area with other like minded bands. Around 2009 the band expanded from a 5 to 7 members with the addition of Ivor Holloway – Tenor Sax, and Melody Ferris Vocals, and Ryder Shelly – Vibraphone. In January 2012 IEB released their first full length album ‘Rainbro’ on AltrOck Records (Italy).

LATE Show: 10:00 pm to Close

10 pm – Diana Gameros

11 pm – Banda Sin Nombre

DJ Sets throughout the night by Msk.fm Sliding Scale $8-$10

Diana Gameros Diana Gameros is a Latin singer/songwriter who performs songs of love, longing, and hope. Originally from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico and now living in San Francisco, Gameros creates authentic, inspiring music that reflects the 21st century experiences of a young indie artist at the borderlands between cultures, languages, and genres. Whether teasing every ounce of expression from her acoustic guitar in an intimate cafe or bringing people to their feet in a club with her dynamic full band, Gameros transfixes listeners with her soaring vocals, impressive playing and captivating stage presence.

Gameros was born to a musical family where she was surrounded by traditional mexican songs of love and revolution. The first of her family to receive formal music lessons, Gameros left Mexico as a teenager to study piano and recording technology in Michigan. During those formative years, she soaked up the sounds of classical music, underground rock, the avant-garde, world music, and jazz, forever influencing her own deeply diverse style. Indeed, Gameros’ music has been likened in its subtlety, beauty, and nuance to Rosa Passos, Beirut, Johanna Newsom, and Charlotte Gainsbourg. One music journalist referred to Gameros as “the Latin Feist.” Indeed, her Latin American influences — including contemporary artists like Bebel Gilberto, Fabulosos Cadillacs and Cafe Tacvba — are woven into her musical DNA.

After just a few years in San Francisco, Gameros’ talent and versatility as a performer has brought her a steady stream of high profile gigs at such notable venues as Herbst Theater, Brava Theater, Yoshi’s Lounge, The Independent, The Red Poppy Art House, The New Parish, Fox Theater, and dozens of other venues small and large. She has opened concerts for Cecilia Bastida, LoCura, Latin Grammy-nominee Ximena Sariñana, Torreblanca, and Bebel Gilberto.
sin nombreAbout Banda Sin Nombre Support local communities in the bay area with our passion for music.
Nombre is a five-piece street band from San Francisco’s Mission District dedicated to performing folk music from around the world. Mixing rich vocal harmonies with acoustic instruments including guitar, fiddle, accordion, sousaphone, and cajon, the band’s inspirations range from Peruvian chicha to Catalan rumba and Appalachian old time to cumbia.
Band Interests
Supporting community music, arts, local business and diverse cultural events in San Francisco and beyond. 
Street performance, busking.

Learning and sharing folk music from around the world.

DJ sets throughout the night by Antonino Musco (Msk | Eclectic Electric Recordings)

antoninoMsk.fm is the brainchild of Antonino Musco, italian-born producer, musician and radio host now based in San Francisco.

The City and the Bay inspired the 6 tracks of the EP, a blend of urban, funk, electronic, downtempo and trip-hop, influenced by the love of world music, the eclectic taste of Antonino and the international melting pot of the line-up that includes NYC guitarist Andy Averbuch (The Joe Bataan Band, Kokolo Afrobeat Orchestra), brazilian trumpet maestro Leandro Joaquim (Marcos Valle, Lucas Santana, etc), italian cellist Stefano Di Leginio and the SF rising stars Christopher Burch, Jessy Manuel, Hanna Rifkin on vocals/lyrics. Made of a balance of global musicians and local singers, MadeInSF EP was composed, recorded, mixed and produced by Antonino Musco, who also plays keys, guitars, sampler, drums and percussions. The experienced engineer Mark Pistel (Meat Beat Manifesto, Hercules & Love Affair) mastered the EP at Room Five Studio.

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Saturday, August 2, Early and Late Show at Amnesia Musical Hall

Show Poster
Early Show 6-9 pm  – Sliding Scale $8-$10

6 pm – T.E.L.L. Hour – Variety Hour with Bay Area Poets,
Words by Lauren Wheeler and Ginger Murray and comedy by Kevin Munroe

6:00 – Lauren Wheeler

lauren-wheelerLauren Wheeler writes poetry, really short fiction, and what happens when they rub up against each other. A recovering slam poet, she twice competed at the National Poetry Slam and has featured at Cornell University, where she studied English Literature, as well as in Los Angeles, Miami, and throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. Lauren curated and hosted two poetry series in Ithaca, Tongue & Groove at Stella’s Wine and Whiskey Bar and Re-Verse at the Oak Café, and was a core organizer of the ForWord Girls poetry and spoken word festival in San Francisco. Her work has appeared in Other Magazine, 365tomorrows, Lodestar Quarterly, Monkeybicycle, PANK Magazine, and The Nervous Breakdown.

Lauren lives in a drafty old house in West Oakland, California with her partner and two brown dogs. With several years of experience in the video game industry, she’s currently working on The Sims 4. In her off hours, she enjoys dancing, performing offbeat burlesque, and singing (as Lola Vauntz) and occasionally deejays (as DJverse)

Ginger Murray

6:30 – Kevin Munroe

10351312_10152262449663789_5001131097864949274_n Kevin Munroe is a Trinidadian Comedian and Actor based in San Francisco. He was co-creator of “Ebony and Irony Show”, opened for Tracy Morgan (yes, that guy) and W. Kamau Bell, and was recently seen at the 2013 Bridgetown Comedy Festival.

 

 

6:45 – Allison Lovejoy


AllisonStories about characters, both real and fictional, have always had great appeal to me.

After reading a magazine article about a murderess in my neighborhood, I was inspired to set her story to music. “Foxglove” was the title and the name of the poison. Since then, over 30 additional songs have been added to the roster.

My cabaret takes its influence from theater, classical music, vaudeville, rock, jazz, blues and tango.
“Cabaret Nouveau” blends dark cabaret, sassy lyrics, hot piano stylings, great grooves and crafty songwriting. Echoes of Nina Simone, George Gershwin, Kurt Weill, and Elton John are heard in the music and lyrics, as well as a connection to members of the “Dark Cabaret” movement such as The Dresden Dolls, Jill Tracy, Antony and the Johnsons and The Tiger Lilies.

She was winner of the “Best Modern Cabaret Artist” Competition in 2010.

Burlesque and the Shadow Puppet Theater.

7:15 – Pony Hunt

Pony Hunt

Pony Hunt is a writer and performer from Oakland by-way-of Chicago. Her guitar playing is reminiscent of delta blues with a tin pan alley flare. Her distinct, almost ghostly voice, coupled with her personal and intimate song writing, is both vulnerable and confident and cuts straight to the heart.

 

8 pm – Banda Sin Nombre

sin nombre

Music from around the world.

Biography
In fall of 2011 a fantastic person by the name of Jane Stitt began to tactfully bring people recently moved to San Francisco into her circle of music that spanned from bluegrass and folk to Mexican baladas and classical French and Italian songs.The thing that we all had in common was a love for learning and sharing music…specifically old, raw, traditional music that managed to be mutually intertwined into each of our cultural histories and interests.After many months of gathering people we formed a band called Sin Nombre that included members Larry del Carlo, Kevin Caulfield, Randall Carvajal, WillBill DeGrush, as well as the current members Hannah Gallagher, Kate Goldstein, Eva Mas and Douglas Gallagher.Despite changes in our members and instrumentation, we hold every person who has brought their passion for music, community and joy as part of what we create together. Our goal is to learn and share music that has inspired and moved people everywhere for hundreds of years and to support local communities in the bay area with our passion for music.

Description

Sin Nombre is a five-piece street band from San Francisco’s Mission District dedicated to performing folk music from around the world. Mixing rich vocal harmonies with acoustic instruments including guitar, fiddle, accordion, sousaphone, and cajon, the band’s inspirations range from Peruvian chicha to Catalan rumba and Appalachian old time to cumbia.

Band Interests

Supporting community music, arts, local business and diverse cultural events in San Francisco and beyond. Street performance, busking.

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Late Show 9:30 – Close – Sliding Scale $8-$10

DJ sets throughout the night by Antonino Musco (Msk | Eclectic Electric Recordings)

antoninoMSK.fm is the brainchild of Antonino Musco, italian-born producer, musician and radio host now based in San Francisco.

The City and the Bay inspired the 6 tracks of the EP, a blend of urban, funk, electronic, downtempo and trip-hop, influenced by the love of world music, the eclectic taste of Antonino and the international melting pot of the line-up that includes NYC guitarist Andy Averbuch (The Joe Bataan Band, Kokolo Afrobeat Orchestra), brazilian trumpet maestro Leandro Joaquim (Marcos Valle, Lucas Santana, etc), italian cellist Stefano Di Leginio and the SF rising stars Christopher Burch, Jessy Manuel, Hanna Rifkin on vocals/lyrics.
Made of a balance of global musicians and local singers, MadeInSF EP was composed, recorded, mixed and produced by Antonino Musco, who also plays keys, guitars, sampler, drums and percussions. The experienced engineer Mark Pistel (Meat Beat Manifesto, Hercules & Love Affair) mastered the EP at Room Five Studio.

10 pm – The Broken Shadows Family Band

broken shadows

Broken Shadows Family Band has a rootsy sound with an emphasis on lyrics and song-writing, with raucous violin and trumpet solos over deep grooves.
Biography
About Darren JohnstonSince settling in San Francisco in 1997, Canada-born trumpeter/composer/songwriter Darren Johnston has collaborated and recorded with an extremely diverse cross-section of artists. Whether playing with straight-ahead jazz luminaries such as bassist/composer Marcus Shelby, experimental icons like ROVA, Fred Frith and Myra Melford, rising star voclaist Meklit Hadero, or traditional Balkan brass band giants Brass Menazeri, he manages to blend in while still sharing his unique voice.As a bandleader he has made his mark with the award winning Nice Guy Trio, The Darren Johnston Quintet, the category defying Broken Shadows, and more. For an upcoming commission by the Yerba Buena Gardens Festival, “Letters From Home,” Johnston will be forming a multi-generational chorus with over eighty participants.
Description
The Oakland-based Broken Shadows Family Band is an all-star cast of musicians from greatly diverging backgrounds. Western European to Arabic Classical music, Slavic choral music to Americana, sounds of Macedonia, Ethiopia, classic jazz and R&B are all ingredients in their family recipe. They’ve created a truly unique sound, balancing the old with the new, telling human stories over grooves that beg to be danced to. Along with some surprising covers, they play originals by trumpeter/composer Darren Johnston, including selections from two different suites for which he used recorded interviews and collected letters by immigrants living in the US to create lyrics. (Songs of Seven Miles and Letters to Home). Collectively, members also play with Meklit Hadero, Kitka, Quartet San Francisco, Incognito Orkestar, Qadim Ensemble, Fanfare Zambaleta, The Nice Guy Trio, Inspector Gadje, the Oakland Active Orchestra, and others.
Band Interests

peace via empathy via music and dance

Artists We Also Like

Ikoyenia Pazerentsi, Gillian Welch, Meklit Hadero, Louis Armstrong, Inspector Gadje, Oum Koulsom, Fanfare Zambaletta, Ornette Coleman, Dejan Avdic, Miles Davis, David Byrne, Billy Holliday, Hazrat Inayat Khan, Radiohead, Johnny Cash, Billy Strayhorn

11 pm – The Mano Cherga Band

mano chegra

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ladies and gentlemen, we welcome you to The Mano Cherga Band experience. Growling of the tuba, wailing of the accordion, spring reverb on the semi-hollow, clinking of the glasses, wind from the skirts on the dance floor, sweat running down your back, a smile on your lips and tears in your eyes. That’s what it’s all about for us, and we love to share those moments with you. 
We are Jamie, Beodan, Sasha, Nino and Zhenya – tuba, guitar/voice, accordion, drums, bass – US, Serbia, Ukraine, Bosnia, Ukraine – respectively and always respectfully. The recipe is simple: take Balkan Romani, traditional and popular tunes, apply swing, turn up the bass, don’t be shy on the snare and sing like this is the last song you will ever sing.
Sound good? Check the calendar section for information on upcoming shows and be sure to join our Facebook group.
With pleasure,
The Mano Cherga Band

 

 

Posted in Americana, Amnesia, Blues, Classical, Community Music Center, events, Indie, Jazz, Live Music Mission District, Rock and Roll, songbird festival presents, Songbird Presents, Songbird Summer Series | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Saturday, June 28th – Conspiracy of Venus Season Finale & Indiegogo Campaign Launch with Jeremy Rourke & Vanessa Verlee

10398076_10152467434867416_737171172690111623_n

 

Seaweed Sway and Songbird Festival Present a Celebration for Conspiracy of Venus:

We are celebrating the end of a wonderful, fun, incredible, challenging, and vocally expanding season at one of our favorite places to sing in the city, the Make-Out Room. 

This performance features the premiere of Joyce Todd McBride’s new work for CoV: The Buddha’s Parable of the Burning House, on a text by Bertolt Brecht. 

We also are excited to launch our indiegogo campaign, in which we will raise funds to (finally!) record more of our songs. Stay tuned! 
Joyce Todd McBride’s Conspiracy of Venus
:::Opening this special evening, are special folks::: 
*Jeremy Rourke. Vanessa VerLee. & their band*
at the Make-Out Room

Early Show!! 
7:30-9:30pm for reals!
$8-10

 

 

 

 

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Thursday – 5/1 – Songbird Presents: Happy Hour Show

Songbird Presents: Happy Hour Show

Cradel Duende
Cradle Duende – http://www.cradleduende.org/
Cradle Duende presents a fusion of Klezmer & Balkan influenced melodies with Latin rhythms, and eco-conscious hip-hop lyrics. Cradle Duende takes its name from the Spanish word “duende,” in reference to a musically heightened state of emotion, expression; and a merging of disparate musical traditions that each evolved from independent cradles of civilization. Cradle Duende brings the strength of deep cultural roots into the party atmosphere!

Linda Robertson

Linda Robertson – http://www.soundcloud.com/poppycockery

About Linda Robertson
I read things I’ve written, play songs on the accordion and violin, and make up jokes to go in between. In days of yore, my songs were performed with the bands Cotton Candy and The Trifles, and the recordings here are all made with those wonderful folk. In 2008, Harper Collins were kind enough to publish my seedy, tell-all memoir “What Rhymes with Bastard”, and I’m working on my next collection of tales…all this dense history is woven into my mini-shows – packed full of suffering!

Happy-town-kotorino-group-shot

Kotorino – http://www.kotorino.com/
A Brooklyn band that play darkly elegant, trippy, gypsy-flavored “parlor rock‚” with carnivalesque touches. Our instrumentation includes, but is not limited to: guitar, violins, tuba, bass clarinet, tenor sax, trumpet, pump-organ, voice, banjo, drums, accordion, bass and musical saw.

Cover $8-$10 sliding scale

Amnesia Music Hall
853 Valencia St, San Francisco, CA 94110

6 – 9 pm

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Wedsnesday 4/30 – Kotorino, The Bodice Rippers and Jessie Roadkill

Songbird Presents – A Lovely Evening at The Legionnaire Saloon

Kotorino East Bay4

Happy-town-kotorino-group-shotKotorino has one of the most unique and unusual sounds of any band, ever. Even in a music scene saturated with “chamber-pop” bands and odd instrumentation, Kotorino stands out with its use of all variety of winds, strings, and other musical gadgetry. The music itself is omnivorous in its source material, quite pretty, and downright haunting.

Some words from the band:

We love the West Coast! Besides the majestic beauty of the nature, and access to some of the best food imaginable, the people we on our last trip was amazing.

We were well taken care of by the warm and inviting people we came in contact with, we even gained a tuba player / pastry chef in San Francisco!

Kotorino is excited to share our own take on the music swirling around New York, from tilted tangos to banjo dub, latin waltzes to gypsy carnival hayrides, urban mambo to Satie jazz. Most importantly Kotorino is looking to connect we people on a personal, emotional and musical level. There is no better way to make those connections than traveling, sharing food, story and song.

The Bodice RippersThe Bodice Rippers are based in Shadetree, in Oakland’s little-known 5th Ave Marina Arts district, and is comprised of members of Rube Waddell, The Apocalypse Puppet Theater, Knees and Elbows, and the various guises of The Reverend Screaming Fingers.

jessie roadkillJesse Roadkill’s murder ballads are best accompanied with a glass of red wine and a cold cut of meat. Make sure th lighting is at an earyly low set as her eyes are used to the cold unforgiving night. Prepare your ears for her stories by sharing in a joke, sharp and witty is best, and sipping upon whatever libation fits your mood best. She will spin her tales of laughter and betrayal while you sit back and bask in your good decision.

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Saturday, January 4th – Songbird Presents – First Show of 2014 – Allison Lovejoy and Friends

 

 New Nocturnes for Piano Kickstarter 

6:30 pm to 8:30 pm  $8-$1000000000000000000000 Sliding Scale Cover

Amnesia Music Hall 853 Valencia Street, $8-$10 Cover

 

ALLISON LOVEJOY

pianist and composer

ALLISON LOVEJOY is a classical pianist, keyboardist, composer, cabaret singer, accordionist, educator and producer of musical events.

 

CLASSICAL:    “Lovejoy’s presentation was absolutely stunning” -Pacifica Review

 

Allison Lovejoy is an extraordinarily exciting and versatile pianist. Specializing in early 20th century repertoire, she also plays the music of the masters with insight and passion. She began studying piano at age 5, and has been in demand as soloist and collaborator throughout her conservatory and professional careers.

Allison Lovejoy has performed internationally as a soloist, chamber musician, and accompanist. Her insightful and passionate performances have received wide acclaim, and her varied repertoire highlights virtuoso works of the late 19th and early 20th century. She has performed the Beethoven “Emperor” Concerto with the Orchestra of the International Festival of Music in Nicaragua under the baton of Maestro Urs Leonhart Steiner, and has also appeared as soloist in Rachmaninov’s “Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini”, Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” and the Prokofiev Concerto No. 3. She was a prizewinner in the San Jose Young Artist and the San Francisco Concerto Orchestra Competitions, as well as a recipient of a Shenson Concert Series Grant. A guest speaker and performer at the 1998 San Francisco Symphony all-Gershwin concert at Stern Grove, she regularly presents concert-talks throughout California.

Miss Lovejoy received her M.M. from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, her B.M. from the University of the Pacific and the Royal Academy of Music in London. Her teachers include Robert Helps, Daniell Revenaugh, Mack McCray, Nathan Schwartz and Gyorgy Sandor. She was also a participant in the Holland International Music Sessions for young artists, where she participated in master classes with John O’Conor and Marie-Francois Bucquet.

She has recorded a CD of solo works by Rachmaninov, Ravel, Debusssy and Bartok on Metro Records, and her album “Nocturnes for Piano” includes rare and popular gems by Chopin, Faure, Satie,  Poulenc, Barber and others.

New works  by composers William Bolcom, Kirke Mechem, George Rubissow, Ted Wiprud, Marcus Shelby, Rob Reich and Chus Alonso have been commissioned or selected by Miss Lovejoy for “New Nocturnes for Piano“, which will be released in 2012.

As a chamber musician, Allison presents concerts in collaboration with notable cellist Emil Miland, violinist Karsten Windt, trumpeter Dave Scott and vocalists Indre Viskontas and Zoltan DiBartolo.

Early show with jazz and more!Please come support the New Nocturnes for Piano Kickstarter – we are half way to our goal and need your help to reach it by January 10!Music by:The one and only Mr. Lucky with Michael Groh on guitar!!Fabulous vocalist Karina Denike and Michael Mccintosh on piano!!Diana Strong, accordion and the amazing Anna Ishida, vocals (singing some original Allison Lovejoy songs/arrangements)Allison Lovejoy playing some original music.and other special guests!!Films by Nara Denning!
Silent Auction with prizes music lessons, artwork by David Baillon, Mr. Lucky, and CDs!

 

Posted in Amnesia, Classical, Community Music Center, songbird festival presents, Songbird Presents, Songbird Winter Festival, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

songbird presents Dec 7th Happy Hour Flyer

Broken Shadows Family Band

Broken Shadows Family Band

About

Broken Shadows Family Band has a rootsy sound with an emphasis on lyrics and song-writing, with raucous violin and trumpet solos over deep grooves.

About Darren Johnston
 
Since settling in San Francisco in 1997, Canada-born trumpeter/composer/songwriter Darren Johnston has collaborated and recorded with an extremely diverse cross-section of artists. Whether playing with straight-ahead jazz luminaries such as bassist/composer Marcus Shelby, experimental icons like ROVA, Fred Frith and Myra Melford, rising star voclaist Meklit Hadero, or traditional Balkan brass band giants Brass Menazeri, he manages to blend in while still sharing his unique voice.As a bandleader he has made his mark with the award winning Nice Guy Trio, The Darren Johnston Quintet, the category defying Broken Shadows, and more. For an upcoming commission by the Yerba Buena Gardens Festival, “Letters From Home,” Johnston will be forming a multi-generational chorus with over eighty participants.
 
Description
 
With a style that’s difficult to pin down, Broken Shadows Family Band has a rootsy sound with an emphasis on lyrics and song-writing, with raucous violin and trumpet solos over deep grooves. Their members have strong ties to the Bay Area jazz, Balkan, experimental, and classical music communities.

Band Members

 
Darren Johnston – trumpet/vocals,
Matt Szemela – violin/vocals
Corinne Sykes – tupan/vocals
Doug Stuart – bass/vocals
Marco Peris – tupan/snare
 

Dan Cantrell and Friends

dan cantrell

Composer and multi-instrumentalist Dan Cantrell’s recent works include the score for three seasons of the Annie Award nominated cartoon television series Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack on the Cartoon Network, an Emmy Award winning scores forHome Front and Hope on the Streets (a PBS Documentary about gentrification in the San Francisco Bay Area), and the Gerbode Grant sponsored commission of the Rootabaga Opera (a Fire Arts infused multimedia shadow play and lyrical ballet based on the children’s stories of Carl Sandberg) presented at The Crucible’s 2009 Fire Arts Festival.   Some of Dan’s other recent projects include the Golden Gate Award winning score forDivided Loyalties (a documentary about cultural identity on the divided island of Cyprus) and a commission from Kitka women’s vocal ensemble for the composition and direction of Musical Fortunes (A MAP sponsored collaboration featuring Kitka, Dan, Voice of Roma, and Brave Old World’s Michael Alpert) which was the opening and centerpiece of the 2007 Jewish Music Festival, and explores roots and ties between Romani(Gypsy) and Klezmer music traditions in Eastern Europe.
Dan’s music is influenced by the traditions of Eastern Europe from Bulgarian Roma Wedding Bands to polyphonic vocal laments, Early American Jazz and Film music from Busby Berkeley, and Cab Calloway to Scott Joplin, and modern alternative rock like Radiohead, Bjork, and Soundgarden. His extensive scoring catalogue for film and television is described as “hauntingly beautiful…quirky and energetic” (SF Bay Guardian). His soundtrack artistry spans a wide range of emotion and style, and has supported hundreds of cinematic works with rich with virtuosic performance, lush acoustic orchestrations, sonic textures resonant with sound design, and strikingly innovative melodic themes.

Playing piano, accordion, musical saw, Hammond organ, harpsichord, and pump organ, his unique sound can be heard on the albums of Tom Waits, Joanna Newsom, Beats Antique, and the Toids, as well as in Major Motion Pictures such as Paramount Pictures’ Mean Girls, and Roberto Benigni’s The Tiger and the Snow.  Dan performs and tours regularly with several ensembles including Beats Antique, Fishtank Ensemble, Gaucho, the Toids, and in original Balkan inspired ensembles that he directs.

Dan has numerous self-produced albums represented by the independent record label Odd Shaped Case.  Odd Shaped Case was co-founded by Dan and musical colleague Ryan Francesconi to represent intriguing and innovative new music using acoustic and often folk instrumentation infused and along side modern electronic and popular independent music styles.  Dan also is a founding member of Xenology, a licensing library featuring a unique blend of genre bending composers fluent in the vernacular of world music shaped by modern modalities and electronics.

Dan has also collaborated extensively within the medium of dance. He has composed and collaborated with Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet, San Francisco based ODC dance, Ballet Afzaneh, UltraGypsy, as well as international touring shows such as Bellydance Superstars, and Bellydance Evolution.  He has created innovative dance shows such asWaxing Cinematic (A two act musical dance drama integrating shadow puppetry and projections), and The Cabbage Sellers of Haities (a dance based theatrical musical based on Diaspora culture in 1920’s Greece in the emergence of Rembetico music).  Dan’s music can also be heard accompanying individual choreographers and performers such as Elizabeth Strong, Rachel Brice, Mira Betz, and Samantha Emanual on stage and in film.

Dan has recently performed as a featured soloist with the San Francisco Symphony playing accordion on Thomas Larcher’s premier of Red and Green.  He also performs with the Oakland Symphony, Mike Marshall, members of the Klezmatics, Brave Old World, and Fishbone.

William Moses

William Moses 2013-11-12 at 11.32.36 AM
Moses is a San Francisco based singer, composer and producer – known for a rich vocal intensity and a distinct artistic perspective. His lyrics are direct. His music is varied and subtle. He’s a balladeer for our global culture. Over the past two decades, he has written, recorded, produced and performed with some of the most eclectic musical and artistic visionaries around (playing with heavies like Vernon Reid and Melvin Gibbs, and taking on production tasks for Arto Lindsey, Matthew Barney, Reggie Wilson, and Reverend Billy’s Stop Shopping Choir in NYC). He currently performs solo and with Darren Johnston’s Trans-Global People’s Choir.

6 pm to 9pm – $8-$10 Sliding Scale Cover

Amnesia Music Hall 853 Valencia Street, $8-$10 Cover

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Late Show – Saturday, December 7th – Live International Beats by Msk.fm, Fanfare Zambaleta Fanfare and Broken Shadows Family Band

 

songbird presents Dec 7th Late Flyer

MSK.fm

MSK.fm is the brainchild of Antonino Musco, italian-born producer, musician and radio host now based in San Francisco.

The City and the Bay inspired the 6 tracks of the EP, a blend of urban, funk, electronic, downtempo and trip-hop, influenced by the love of world music, the eclectic taste of Antonino and the international melting pot of the line-up that includes NYC guitarist Andy Averbuch (The Joe Bataan Band, Kokolo Afrobeat Orchestra), brazilian trumpet maestro Leandro Joaquim (Marcos Valle, Lucas Santana, etc), italian cellist Stefano Di Leginio and the SF rising stars Christopher Burch, Jessy Manuel, Hanna Rifkin on vocals/lyrics.
Made of a balance of global musicians and local singers, MadeInSF EP was composed, recorded, mixed and produced by Antonino Musco, who also plays keys, guitars, sampler, drums and percussions. The experienced engineer Mark Pistel (Meat Beat Manifesto, Hercules & Love Affair) mastered the EP at Room Five Studio.

www.soundcloud.com/mskfm

Photo by Reuben Radding 2012

 

 

 

 

History

Fanfare Zambaleta was incubated in the Zambaleta Music and Dance School in San Francisco and has since transformed into a full-fledged juggernaut of a band, featuring some of the Bay Area’s most exciting young players and seasoned veterans. Emulating the great Balkan brass bands of the past and present, they play Romani, Serbian, Macedonian and Greek brass band music with passion and dedication. FZ’s potent musical concoction of wild improvisation, meticulous ensemble coordination,  earth-shaking low brass, thunderous drumming and jubilant vocals will move your feet and lift your soul.

The Band

Gregory Jenkins – alto sax, bandleader
Noah Levitt – trumpet
Harlow Carpenter – trumpet, truba
Theo Padouvas – trumpet
Corinne Sykes – vocals, percussion
Rachel MacFarlane – tenor horn
Larry Leight – euphonium
Peter Bonos – euphonium
Evan Stuart – sousaphone
Ivan Velev – percussion, dance leader
Jake Shandling – percussion

Broken Shadows Family Band

Broken Shadows Family Band

About

Broken Shadows Family Band has a rootsy sound with an emphasis on lyrics and song-writing, with raucous violin and trumpet solos over deep grooves.

About Darren Johnston
 
Since settling in San Francisco in 1997, Canada-born trumpeter/composer/songwriter Darren Johnston has collaborated and recorded with an extremely diverse cross-section of artists. Whether playing with straight-ahead jazz luminaries such as bassist/composer Marcus Shelby, experimental icons like ROVA, Fred Frith and Myra Melford, rising star voclaist Meklit Hadero, or traditional Balkan brass band giants Brass Menazeri, he manages to blend in while still sharing his unique voice.As a bandleader he has made his mark with the award winning Nice Guy Trio, The Darren Johnston Quintet, the category defying Broken Shadows, and more. For an upcoming commission by the Yerba Buena Gardens Festival, “Letters From Home,” Johnston will be forming a multi-generational chorus with over eighty participants.
 
Description
 
With a style that’s difficult to pin down, Broken Shadows Family Band has a rootsy sound with an emphasis on lyrics and song-writing, with raucous violin and trumpet solos over deep grooves. Their members have strong ties to the Bay Area jazz, Balkan, experimental, and classical music communities.

Band Members

Darren Johnston – trumpet/vocals,
Matt Szemela – violin/vocals
Corinne Sykes – tupan/vocals
Doug Stuart – bass/vocals
Marco Peris – tupan/snare

10 pm to Close – $8-$10 Sliding Scale Cover

Amnesia Music Hall 853 Valencia Street, $8-$10 Cover

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Major Powers and The Lo-Fi Symphony – October Residency at Amnesia – 853 Valencia Street, $8 – $10

 

Every Tuesdays Night in October

9:00 – Close – $8-$10 Cover

 

amnesia-10-13 Residency 

October 1st

Everyone is Dirty

Major Powers & The Lo-Fi Symphony  

October 8th

Major Powers & The Lo-Fi Symphony  

Andrew Blair 

Kotorino - 

October 15th

Tiger Honey Pot

Major Powers & The Lo-Fi Symphony  

The Lurk  

October 22nd

Major Powers & The Lo-Fi Symphony  

El Elle

Michael Glines  

October 29th

 

Major Powers & The Lo-Fi Symphony  

 Josh Cook

Linda Robertson

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Songbird Presents: Kotorino from Brooklyn, NY Shows in San Francisco 10/3 through 10/8

Happy town kotorino group shot

Kotorino has one of the most unique and unusual sounds of any band, ever. Even in a music scene saturated with “chamber-pop” bands and odd instrumentation, Kotorino stands out with its use of all variety of winds, strings, and other musical gadgetry. The music itself is omnivorous in its source material, quite pretty, and downright haunting.

 

 

 

 

 

 Some words from the band:

We love the West Coast! Besides the majestic beauty of the nature, and access to some of the best food imaginable, the people we on our last trip was amazing.

We were well taken care of by the warm and inviting people we came in contact with, we even gained a tuba player / pastry chef in San Francisco!

 Kotorino is excited to share our own take on the music swirling around New York, from tilted tangos to banjo dub, latin waltzes to gypsy carnival hayrides, urban mambo to Satie jazz. Most importantly Kotorino is looking to connect we people on a personal, emotional and musical level. There is no better way to make those connections than traveling, sharing food, story and song.

 mp3s:

What Is This Thing

Never Had A Chance

Videos:

Better Than This

 Thursday – Free Happy Hour Show at Goorin’s Hat Store in North Beach – 5-7 pm

1612 Stockton St  San Francisco, CA 94133

Friday – 10/4 – Performing at 9:30 pm

artinternationale

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Songbird Presents:  Installation #1 – Live Music -  Cabaret, Darkly Elegant Parlor Rock and Noir Chamber Jazz- At SF

North Beach Art Crawl – After Party
ArtInternationale!

963A Pacific Ave (near Mason)

Live Music By Allison Lovejoy, Kotorino and The Glasses

Doors at 8 pm $8-10 Admissions

Sunday – 10/6 – Performing at 11:00 p.m. – 1:00 a.m.

19 Broadway Handbill

Songbird Presents: Kotorino from Brooklyn, NY

19 Broadway Bar and Grill

17 Broadway Blvd

Fairfax, CA
Free

www.19broadway.com

 

Tuesday – 10/8 – Performing at 9:30
Songbird Presents:  Major Powers and The Lo-Fi Symphony Residency

Amnesia Music Hall

853 Valencia St, San Francisco, CA

$8-$10 – Sliding Scale

 

Major Powers & The Lo-Fi Symphony

Kotorino

Andrew Blair 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Songbird Presents:

www.songbirdfestival.org

www.facebook.com/groups/204266715149 / www.twitter.com/SongbirdFest /

 Interviews – http://soundcloud.com/momos-cheeskos/songbird-series-bird-branch / Podcasts Interview by Chloe Veltman of VoiceBox at  KALW local BBC  with Songbird Presents Founder Ms. Momo – http://kalwvoicebox.podbean.com/2012/07/20/bay-area-vocal-music-showcase/

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