Last night Joe and Whitney and I went over to Tim’s house. Tim is a dear friend we all met at the Blake’s open mic. He recorded an EP a year and a half ago on which Whit played drums, Joe played bass and Steve Laciak played guitar (Steve is playing guitar at our next big show August 1st). Steve was at the dinner too with his gal, and he asked me who the great lyricists were. I replied with praise for Stevie Nicks, the band “Live”, Fiona Apple, Pearl Jam and Pink Floyd on occasion and Pat Benatar. And then I admitted I was merely so lyric-based because college inundated me with the poetry of Edna Saint Vincent Millay and other similar visionaries. Simon and Garfunkel were rather poetic, but it’s true poetry doesn’t translate to lyrics most of the time. I admire country songs for the way many of them can be read as a monologue; truth and pain and all; direct and simple because under our eloquence, fear and love often are simple roots.

We sat in Tim’s living room and listened to the EP, the flowy songs mixed by Dan Noceti, and I watched Whitney smile as he rediscovered drum parts he created over a year ago.

Tim explained again how he ended up on his way to Syria to teach English. That’s why it was a goodbye party too. He sold his Oakland house to teach in Syria with his wife at an International school and they both have already begun to learn Arabic. The world is now their children and they are the true pioneers in counteracting the short-sightedness of our young country’s culture.

Cheers to Pandora for letting people know about new music. Granted, it’s clear major label content gets processed quicker and pops up more frequently, but sometimes one is pleasantly tricked into listening to a band called “Smoosh” starring two 13-year-old sisters on drums and piano. Now you can find GWT there.

In other news I finished my workshop at BCM on lighting and video and am excited to help out other bands by videoing their stuff. Today I’ll interview Dogman Joe for the Bay Area Green Room and then go home to practice for our big Anna’s show. Hope you’re doing well.

-Grace

Special thanks to the Last Ambassadors, Spindrift, Dogman Joe, John and the sound and lighting crew, the volunteers and the grillers for making Ranchella 2.0 possible. Thanks also to Julie, Kristin, Acacia, Gabriele, Winston, Vanessa, Ian, Alex, Jim, Steve, Samantha, June, Mike, Gabe, Colin, Frank, Max, Liz and Dan for taking a chance on us. And to everyone else who came, we really appreciate your enthusiasm. I’m uploading pictures to the photos section as we speak.

To recap the evening, I dropped off stuff in the morning and Whit stayed with TLA to build giant backdrop and lighting structure. By the time I got back from the vocals recording session there was a barbecue firing and a great black stage set up. Spindrift was spilling grooves out on the large grass field and the redwoods framed a perfect encampment of frisbee-throwing, Mateveza-drinking festival-goers. I finally saw some facebook friends face to face and I met people who had discovered GWT through the other bands and I’m very grateful that they showed up early enough to hear us too.

It’s a good thing Winston, Vanessa and Ian played with us, because the stage was huuuuuge. I got to stand up and dance around, ad I’m happy the crowd was in such a good mood! Thanks to everyone for their patience with my picture taking after our set. TLA put so much work into the event and I noticed it wasn’t being recorded or photographed, so I think the pics will be appreciated ( I can take down anything if someone sees one they are dying to eliminate).

Anyway, Dogman Joe took the stage after us and many of you may not know that Whitney used to be his drummer, which is what makes us all one big happy family. He asked the audience if we “believe in love” and he rocked out with his 5 person crew.

Last but not least, the light show was in full force for the entrance of TLA (The Last Ambassadors). Lasers climbed and crossed the circle of redwoods around the stage. Fog billowed around the stage stairs and a soft red glow arose for Jake’s vocals. Phil, the new bass player, moved around a lot and brought some nice funk to his centerstage spot. It hit me quite hard- every member of this band can sing! I look forward to more rich harmonies in the future. We heard more originals than every before tonight, and I must say that for an outdoor festival, the amount of original music was outstanding and refreshing.

It was a little funny that TLA kept telling the crowd not to throw glowsticks on stage- it reminded me of a story I read about a band that threw bananas at the audience only to get them thrown back and end up paying hundreds of dollars to clean a club’s PA system of banana pulp. The glowsticks in general were integral to the show though, and I doubt I will forget watching the glowing hulahoop girl in the warm night as the wolloping bass and drummer-triggered fantasy loops filled my head.

These guys, other than being incredibly talented musicians and showmen, put a ton of work into this event and I feel extremely lucky and grateful to have been a part of it. Thanks for reading this. Hope to see you at Anna’s Jazz Island Friday August 1st for our all ages show with guest guitarist Steve Laciak.

Thanks to everyone who watched us play the 4th of July in Orinda! Special thanks to Gail, Susan, Mr. Clark, and other friends we did not get a chance to greet. We really appreciate it. Next up is Ranchella 2.0 in Moraga this Saturday. Check it out in the Gigs section by scrolling through the details or read this:

Hey everyone, Ranchella is fast approaching, hope you’re as excited as we are. Please be sure to RSVP to either the evite (http://www.evite.com/pages/invite/viewInvite.jsp?event=FRYGBYQJENTZBTWHNESH) or Facebook event (http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=16951186574&ref=ts) so we can have an accurate head count heading into the day. Also, if you are looking for a ride to the event, please post it to one of the events so you can hook up with a car that has extra space.

You can find directions from the following link: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=1928+Saint+Mary%27s+Road%2C+Moraga%2C+CA . Once you get onto St Mary’s College Campus, you will see signs directing you to the parking lots. From there follow the signs to the Redwood Grove.

Please be sure to bring both $10 for entry and your ID if you plan to drink. Additionally, we need some volunteers to help us with various things essential to the smooth running of Ranchella! Please let us know if you would be willing to give us a hand with anything from food preparation to set up to working the merch table to break down and we’d be thrilled to have your help.

If you have any unanswered questions, just let us know. Get psyched for Ranchella 2.0!

–TLA.

In other news we had band practice with all of our good friends on Sunday. Our room at the jazz school was locked, but we were treated to the rehearsal for Pete Escovedo’s (sp right?) Big Band that our friend Ron is in. It made up for the waiting. I heard back from Steve Laciak and he is in for playing with us at Anna’s Jazz Island on August 1st. In other news I have a new long coat and I just got back from BCM tonight where I am learning how to video live shows on 3 chip cameras! Now to return to the task of building a giant teacup…

Grace here- I went to the Blake’s Open Mic last night on Telegraph. Many don’t realize that the open mic as we know it will be gone forever in a matter of weeks. Our multi-instrumentalist Joe now hosts the open mic, co-managed by our dear friend Jacob Wolkenhauer. It is one of the few East Bay open mics that fosters gutsy, original songwriting. It has the all-important rule of no disclaimers. It’s 18 and up, which is impressive for an open mic with a PA. Steve Laciak jumped on stage to accompany a newcomer last night. He does that all the time- he will accompany us at Anna’s on August 1st along with Winston Moody, Ian Hisert and Vanessa Van Spall. Anyway, FM Recorders helped to keep the Blake’s open mic alive and now management see other things happening. The open mic will be moved to upstairs, which will be very different. I have yet to really feel out what that will be like. It makes me greatful that WCS has the Freight and Salvage, a commanding space that demands one’s attention. Blake’s however, shines in that one must earn the audience’s attention. One will certainly be loud enough, but one has to catch people’s eyes over the bar crowd and the pinball machines. I will miss the way it was. And I thank Joe and Jacob for keeping it going in whatever form it takes. It reminds me of when I had to let go the open mic I started at Coffee to the People in SF. I remember that I couldn’t keep from crying. Many had never performed in their lives until they played there. Anyway, see you in Orinda on Friday!