anthologysd.com

“Whenever a new technology comes along, there’s a trade-off,” says Raul Midon. “For instance, thanks to PDAs, people don’t have to remember phone numbers so our memories are worse. With Google, we lose the ability to do research.”

Midon is not a Luddite railing against progress. He’s actually a gadget freak, which makes sense for a guy who is proud to declare himself “engineering-inclined.” However, he is enough of a student of history to recognize that the technology of one generation inspires people differently than others.

Take Morse code. Please. No one uses it anymore, right?

Wrong, Midon does.

When he’s not performing music in venues like Anthology, where he will be on Friday, April 30, he’s a ham radio enthusiast and engages in conversations with people all over the world after his shows on a walkie talkie.

Believe it or not, little things such as the sound the dial makes as it moves from frequency to frequency can inspire him musically, as can the aforementioned Morse code.

“There’s a song I do called ‘Sitting In The Middle,’ and the melody is basically my ham radio call sign in Morse code: KB5ZOT.”

Besides the musical inspiration, Midon gets lyrical inspiration from being a HAM. Not in a literal sense, but in an emotional sense.

“Sometimes, you’ll talk with a guy down in Christmas Island or a guy who’s on a ship in the middle of the ocean for three months,” he said. “To me, three months on a ship is like three years in New York. Of course, to him, it may be the other way around.”

It’s interesting that Midon gets so much pleasure talking with people in remote areas, since many of his biggest fans are some of the biggest names in show business. People like Stevie Wonder, Shakira and Spike Lee, who helped give Midon his big break when he invited him to share the stage with Terence Blanchard, Angie Stone, Cassandra Wilson, and Bruce Hornsby at a show in Carnegie Hall.

Music is a career that Midon always envisioned, even though he couldn’t actually see the road in front of him, both literally and metaphorically.

Both Midon and his twin brother, Marco (who now works for NASA), were blinded as infants after spending time in an incubator without adequate eye protection.

“At the time, they didn’t know you have to protect the eyes from the oxygen of the incubator, so a generation of people were blinded in that way,” he said.
Brilliant musicians like Wonder, Ray Charles and Diane Schuur have given rise to a belief that blindness is the ticket to musical greatness. Midon doesn’t see it that way.

I don’t believe that blindness makes you a better musician,” Midón said. “I think perhaps it focuses you in a very pragmatic way. I knew I had limited job possibilities, but the Midóns don’t believe in backup plans - like ‘Do music, but get your teaching degree in case it doesn’t work out.’ That’s never been our modus operandi.

“I knew that I had this talent, so blindness focused me on developing that talent. But I don’t think it made me play better.”

Maybe it has helped him hear subtleties that a less musician might otherwise miss. For instance, while his newest CD, “Synthesis,” features a live band, he performs the songs on acoustic guitar by himself.

“On some songs, I use a steel string and others I use a nylon style,” he said. “I’ve discovered that if I am doing a song that requires a bass line, a nylon guitar is more distinctive.”

And that’s another sound observation.

By David Moye

–

WHAT: Raul Midon
WHEN: Friday, April 30th, 2010
TICKETS for 7:30pm show: $10 - $38 BUY TICKETS
TICKETS for 9:30pm show: $10 - $30 BUY TICKETS
MORE INFO: Artist Profile

Singer comes out and hits the road

by Morgan M. Hurley, SDGLN Copy Editor

SAN DIEGO — Jennifer Knapp, the Christian folk-rock singer who recently stunned her fans by coming out, has touched down in San Diego.

Her one-night gig at Anthology tonight is the first West Coast stop on her first tour since 2003. She has hit the road to promote her first studio album in 9 years, aptly named, Letting Go.

Knapp was a Gospel Music Association (GMA) “Best New Artist” Dove Award winner in 1999, and two of her first three studio recordings were nominated for Grammys. She sold over a million records and played to sell-out crowds on back-to-back tours. Then she disappeared.

It was a planned disappearance.

Midway through her The Way I Am tour, Knapp said she knew she was burnt out and had to stop the roller coaster. Unfortunately, it was almost 18 months from that moment of revelation until she was able to finish her commitments on the road. The roller coaster was steadily barreling upward, but she put on the brakes and let it slide back down and settle for a while.

Seven years, in fact. Rumors swirled. Her label kept her fans’ interest alive by releasing three consecutive compilations, but she was completely out of the picture for those seven years.

Knapp, now 36, had taken a leave of absence from her celebrity and more importantly, from her music - the touring, the playing and the writing - and got back to the basics - in the outback of Australia.

According to her website, “she was happy to let go of all the success she had, to live a very different kind of life traveling to the most remote corners of Australia, looking to reclaim a part of herself she felt she lost in all the excitement of her accomplishments.”

A self-imposed exile, of sorts. She became a normal person - one without music - and in doing so, found herself and her music, once again.

When she left, she wasn’t sure if she’d ever come back, but come back she did.

Slowly but surely she began picking up her guitar. Those around her liked what they heard; Knapp liked what she felt.

Then this past September, she returned to the U.S. and officially returned to music. In December, it was announced that she was part of the new Lillith Fair lineup, and in January, a few new songs became available for download on her website.

Then, with her new record in the bag and her tour dates firming up, she began making her pre-tour press rounds. It quickly became clear to those interviewing her that she had found out something else while in exile - she was gay. Knapp spoke openly and honestly about the fact that she was in a relationship with a woman and not about to hide it, even to the Christian press. She had, in effect, let go.

In an extensive interview published this month by Christianity Today, she mused, “The Bible has literally saved my life. I find myself between a rock and a hard place — between the conservative evangelical who uses what most people refer to as the ‘clobber verses’ to refer to this loving relationship as an abomination, while they’re eating shellfish and wearing clothes of five different fabrics, and various other Scriptures we could argue about.”

Knapp doesn’t mince any words on her April 16th blog entry, either. “I share my life with a woman. I have approached this relationship with gratitude, joy and humility. I am honored to have the support of my loving family, a caring partner, friends and people of faith who have accepted me as I come, while encouraged me to be who I am meant to be.”

One can’t help but notice the potential irony embedded in the names of her last two studio albums - The Way That I Am and Letting Go - and their similarity to Melissa Etheridge’s Yes I Am and the timing of her coming out. Pure coincidence, we’re sure, but ironic, just the same.

Half of Letting Go was written down under and her intention was to open herself up to new fans while still holding true to her beliefs. When it was time to hit the recording studio - it was with all new musicians - offering the freshness she needed to accomplish her new goals.

Again, from her website, “I am so happy to throw off any cloak that has been put upon me that would make any music lover hesitate to listen to my music. I am so excited to bring all different types of people to my party. I’ve written [the new album] for them.”

San Diegans should be happy she is taking her cloak off here. She is evidently enjoying San Diego ahead of her gig, as she sent the following tweet on Tuesday, “Getting new ink www.propogandatatoo.com in SD, Ca. Super Cool! Thad did the work. Thanks, mate! 1st guy!”

Anthology is the perfect place for her to start her tour. It has just the right amount of acoustics and intimacy needed for her to get back in touch with her old fans and to woo her new audience.

Maybe she’ll even show off her new ink.

Doors open at 5:30 p.m. and the Pawnshop Kings start at 7:30. Tickets range from $7 to $30 with varying levels of comfort, seating options and viewing angles.

There is a $15 food and beverage minimum for most seats. If you get there late and happen to get stuck with a General Admission or 3/4 view, all is not lost; you can still listen live and watch her image on one of Anthology’s many big screen TVs situated throughout the venue.

Anthology is located at 1337 India St, San Diego, CA 92101. For more information, call (619) 595-0300.

Morgan M. Hurley is the Copy Editor for SDGLN. She can be reached at (877) 727-5446, x710 or via e-mail at morgan@sdgln.com.

SHE’S GOT THE CHOPS (AND THE PACKAGE IS NOT BAD EITHER)
You can’t judge an album by its cover.

Case in point: The color photo that adorns Melissa Morgan’s “Until I Met You,” which shows her in a form-fitting purple dress and high heels. The angle of the photo shows off her shapely legs as she prepares to get out of a vintage Porsche convertible.

The knee-jerk response would be to assume this New York native is yet another talent-free, wannabe pop-soul diva whose assets don’t include her singing or more than a shred of musical ability. The reality is quite different.

Morgan, who performs Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. at Anthology (anthologysd.com), is a gifted, classically trained jazz and blues singer who can seduce and captivate with her voice alone. At 28, she combines the poise and maturity of a seasoned veteran with the infectious verve of a fresh new talent.

Produced by young trumpet phenom Christian Scott, who also performs on four tracks, “Until I Met You” is one of the most assured and enjoyable debut albums by any jazz singer in recent memory. Morgan has clearly been inspired by such greats as Billie Holiday, Dinah Washington and Nancy Wilson, but she’s savvy enough to build upon her musical influences, not just mimic them.

Witness how deftly she puts her stamp on such disparate songs as “Is You Is or Is You Ain’t My Baby,” a 1944 hit for saxophonist (and unsung proto-rock pioneer) Louis Jordan, and Etta Jones’ oh-so-sly 1962 gem “Cool Cool Daddy.” Then there’s Cecil Gant’s blues-drenched 1944 breakthrough hit “I Wonder,” which finds Morgan assuming a come-hither tone that’s both playful and sultry, and the Count Basie instrumental romp “Corner Pocket,” which she reshapes into “Until I Met You’s” alluring title track by slowing down the tempo and adding lyrics.

Yet, while Morgan has a strong, flexible voice, she wisely refrains from showboating (a welcome display of restraint other singers would do well to emulate). I haven’t yet heard her perform live with her quartet, which includes young pianist Gerald Clayton, but “Until I Met You” suggests she is destined for bigger things.

‘SHE HAS AN INCREDIBLE HEART AND IS SO SOULFUL’
Diane Moser only lived in San Diego from 1977 to 1979, but that was more than enough time for this unusually eclectic pianist and composer to make an indelible impression on her fellow musicians here.
That’s why so many notable jazz artists, including saxophonists Charles McPherson and Daniel Jackson, are banding together on her behalf Tuesday at 7 p.m. at downtown’s all-ages Dizzy’s (dizzysjazz.com).

The lineup also includes violinist Yale Strom, former Ray Charles trumpeter Mitch Manker, drummer Duncan Moore, saxophonist Tripp Sprague, multi-instrumentalist Dave Millard, singer Elizabeth Schwartz, the versatile Miles Davis tribute band ESP and bassists Mark Dresser, Rob Thorsen and Gunnar Biggs.

Their goal: To raise funds to help cover the medical expenses of the New York-based Moser, who requires expensive daily medications as she recovers from the removal of a gastrointestinal tumor.

“She’ll be on this medication for about six months, at $100 a day,” said Dresser, who befriended Moser here in the late 1970s. “She has an incredible heart and is so soulful. She embodies the real spirit of jazz – fun, humor, adventure, entertainment, swing and taking chances.”

Moser came to San Diego in 1977 from Iowa City as part of a musical migration that also included Manker, Moore, singer Ella Ruth Piggee, ESP pianist Lynn Willard and ex-ESP drummer Will Parsons.

An unusually versatile pianist and composer, Moser has also collaborated with such diverse artists as Diamanda Galas, Bert Turetzky, Jeannie Cheatham, Andrew Cyrille, Marty Ehrlich and former Jimi Hendrix percussionist Juma Santos. She is as comfortable leading her acclaimed Jazz Composers Big Band, which she founded in 1997, as she is recording in an intimate, piano-and-bass setting with Dresser on their upcoming CIMP Records album, “Duetto.”

“Very few musicians have much in the way of medical coverage,” Dresser said. “We just want to make sure Diane gets the treatment she needs.”

–

Who made you God?
By George Varga
POP MUSIC CRITIC
2:00 a.m. May 7, 2009
San Diego Union-Tribune
Click here for the original article

Simultaneously playing an upright bass and singing, while leading her own jazz band, is second nature for Kristin Korb. A Montana native who moved here in 1992 to attend UCSD, where she studied with contrabass legend Bertram Turetzky, Kristin performs here with her trio Wednesday at Anthology, where she will celebrate the release of her fifth album, “In the Meantime,” which she is releasing on her own label, the slyly named Double K.

You can hear a sneak preview Monday at 11:30 a.m., when Kristin will chat and perform on Fill In The Blank, my weekly live music interview show on amplifysd.com. Kristin, who is just back from a world tour, will also discuss her life in L.A., where she teaches music at USC and does gigs around town.

If you want to ask Kristin a question, you can do so Monday on our toll-free number: (888) 642-2468. And if you miss the show, you can click back here anytime after Monday for the Podcast.

–
By George Varga
Via SignOnSanDiego.com by the Union-Tribune

Click here to view the photo gallery.

Visit the Anthology YouTube Channel for other videos, including performances by Stanley Clarke, Carrie Rodriguez, Al Di Meola and Dave Mason.

Jane Monheit’s second set on March 13 should’ve been called “date night.”

Love was definitely in the air as there were many couples (and some wannabe couples in attendance).

Jane certainly helped with the love vibe. She is an engaging performer who not only sings like an angel, but she tells stories that help the audience relate to the songs and to her.

For instance, she recorded her latest album, “The Lovers, The Dreamers And Me” when she was five months pregnant (the lucky man who won this beautiful singer’s heart also happens to be her drummer) and her baby not only influenced the album but also the size of his tummy (which he pointed out on the big screen).

Some of the highlights included her opening number, a revisionist version of the Michael Buble pop hit, “Everything,” and her stunning take on “Tea For Two.” However, she really touched my heart with her song, “Love Dance,” and I must admit I felt melancholy because I wanted my wife there to hear this beautiful song.

One thing I really like about Jane: She has a great voice, but she doesn’t oversing. She actually trusts the melodies of the tunes she’s singing. When she does engage in some vocal pyrotechnics, they serve that song and don’t seem self-indulgent at all.

I must say her band was excellent, especially the drummer. I tried to stand over him on the second floor so I could see his brushwork, but was asked to go back to my seat.

Although I enjoyed Jane’s show, I am glad I showed up before the set because the big screen showed extensive footage of Steve Tyrell from his last Anthology show.

Man, he had a hot band and they were jamming over some excellent Burt Bacharach and Hal David songs (which Tyrell had a hand in producing when he was in his 20s). I couldn’t help but sing them and a guy from Milwaukee was impressed.

“You know these songs?”

“Well, yeah, they’re Dionne Warwicke songs.”

“Dionne Warwicke? Didn’t she have a Psychic Friends Network or something?”

“Yeah, but she had to do something to get famous enough to do that.”

“I’ll be darned.”

I saw him later and I think he enjoyed the show even more than I did.

- David

Click here for more photos of Jane Monheit live at Anthology

Nashville-based singer-songwriter

SAN DIEGO, CALIF., Dec 12 – Matt Wertz, a rock singer-songwriter who lets his Nashville roots show, will perform his virtuosic listeners during an intimate, one-of-a-kind live music experience at Anthology on Tues., Feb. 24.

Matt was studying industrial design at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign when he developed his passion for singing and songwriting. He gained a sizeable and loyal fan base performing at Young Life camps after releasing “Somedays”, his first album, produced by Steve Wilson.

After touring with musicians including Jason Mraz, Jamie Cullum, Gavin Degraw, Ben Folds, Matt Nathanson and Jars of Clay, Matt garnered a big enough following to headline several tours nationally. Of his sound, Matt has said he thinks “it will strike a chord with anyone who enjoys soulful, carefree, singer-songwriter pop music.”

His songs have been featured on TV shows including “Brothers and Sisters,” “Kyle XY,” “The Dead Zone” and “Wildfire,” and can be heard in the movies “Employee of the Month” and “My Super Ex-Girlfriend.”

After independently releasing a string of albums, Matt signed with Universal Republic and released his latest album, “Under Summer Sun,” late last year. The album features many songs from the previous albums as well as four new songs.

Website: www.mattwertz.com
Show details:
Matt Wertz will perform on Feb. 24 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $18 and are available at the Anthology Box Office, by calling 619.595.0300 and at www.AnthologySD.com.

Anthology is located at 1337 India Street (between A and Ash Streets).

CBS Sunday Morning, raved about Griffin House’s first album, Lost and Found, putting the newcomer on the short list of the best emerging songwriters in the U.S., alongside Ray LaMontagne and Joseph Arthur. House is a blend of folk, pop and rock. He recently completed a tour opening for Mat Kearney, and has toured with Josh Ritter and John Mellencamp.

—

What: Griffin House with special guest Katie Herzig

When: Sunday, Jan 25, 8:30 p.m.

Where: Anthology, 1337 India St., Little Italy

Tickets: $17. buy tickets

“A superb, powerhouse R&B singer who delivers blues and soul with show-stopping authority.” -Los Angeles Daily News

Award-winning blues and soul vocalist Janiva Magness celebrates the release of her Alligator debut CD, WHAT LOVE WILL DO, with a live performance in San Diego on January 3, 2009. Magness, winner of both the 2006 and 2007 Blues Music Award for Best Contemporary Female Artist Of The Year, possesses a rich, soulful voice and has absolute command over her material. She is an incredibly gifted performer who can lead her audience through a range of emotions, from the deepest sorrow to overwhelming joy. In April 2008, she traveled to Iraq and Kuwait co-headlining Bluzapalooza, the first-ever blues concert tour to perform for American troops. Concert information is as follows:

Saturday, January 3rd
Anthology
1337 India St.
San Diego, CA
619.595.0300
www.anthologysd.com
10:00 p.m.
$13 - $27

*Check website for detailed ticket information

A survivor of an impossibly rough childhood, Magness’ life experience informs her music in a way that is brutally honest, emotionally moving and, above all, spiritually healing. Part of her healing includes helping others in need. In addition to her musical accomplishments, Magness, a foster care alumni, is also a National Spokesperson for Casey Family Programs, promoting National Foster Care Month.

WHAT LOVE WILL DO, co-produced by Magness and Dave Darling (Brian Setzer, Meredith Brooks, Dan Hicks), features 13 powerful songs, each overflowing with Magness’ expressive emotional intensity. Magness reaches heights only hinted at in her previous recordings, interpreting new material written especially for her and songs from Little Milton, Tina Turner, Bill Withers, Al Green, Candi Staton, Dorothy Moore and Marvin Gaye. Her impassioned singing takes each song from deep within her being and projects it out directly into the heart and soul of her audience, making WHAT LOVE WILL DO essential listening for blues, roots rock and soul music lovers everywhere.

Born in Detroit, Magness was inspired by the blues and country she heard listening to her father’s record collection and by the vibrant music of the city’s classic Motown sound. By her teenage years, though, her life was in chaos. She lost both parents to suicide by the time she was 16. She lived on the streets, was in 12 foster homes in two years, became a teenage mother who gave her baby daughter up for adoption and bounced from city to city, feeling hopeless and desperate.

One winter’s night, Magness hitchhiked across Minneapolis to attend an Otis Rush concert, and for the first time saw a path forward. She began going to as many blues shows as possible, soaking up the sounds of her favorite blues and soul artists. While working as an intern at a recording studio, she was approached by her boss to sing some supporting vocals on a track. Finding her voice, she soon began working regularly as a background singer. By the early 1980s, Magness made her way to Phoenix and befriended Bob Tate, the musical director for the great Sam Cooke. With Tate’s mentoring, she formed her first band, Janiva Magness And The Mojomatics, and before too long the influential Phoenix New Times named her group the city’s Best Blues Band.

She moved to Los Angeles in 1986 and slowly began finding work. She married musician and songwriter Jeff Turmes, with whom she recorded It Takes One To Know One in 1997. After three more independent releases, Janiva signed with Northern Blues and recorded Bury Him At The Crossroads in 2004 and Do I Move You? in 2006. Both CDs were co-produced by Magness along with Canadian roots star Colin Linden, and both garnered Magness a massive amount of critical and popular attention. Magness and Linden won the prestigious Canadian Maple Blues Award for Producers Of The Year for Bury Him At The Crossroads in 2004. Do I Move You? debuted at #8 on the Billboard Blues Chart and was the #1 Blues CD Of The Year in 2006 on Living Blues magazine’s radio chart.

With WHAT LOVE WILL DO and a major U.S. tour planned with more dates and countries to be added, there is no doubt that even more recognition will come Magness’ way. Janiva Magness continues to wring the truth from every note she sings, amazing and delighting both old and new fans all over the world.