Despite all of this I love listening to music. Many of you who know me know that I'm a huge lifelong fan of the music of Al Stewart, (remember "Year of the Cat" and "Time Passages" for those who were out of diapers in 1977?) the undisputed king of historical folk-rock. Gordon Lightfoot doesn't even come close, so forget that. I think I've seen Al close to 15-20 times over the years, and over the last five years or so I've had the pleasure of getting to know his current touring guitarist and the man who opens the show with a set of his own, Dave Nachmanoff.I'm writing this today because I'll be going to a sold out house concert in Seattle next week featuring Dave and his original and excellent music. Last October, Bowlingwidow and I actually hosted Dave at our house before an audience of 40 people, the night before he and Al played in Edmonds, WA. It was a perfect evening. Dave's music is intelligent, clever, relevant, and a lot of fun to listen to. Not only that, as someone who has spent a couple of days with him at meals and driving him around to gigs I can honestly say that he's a delight to be around. An engaging gentleman, a family man, and one of the "real guys" in the world.
Dave's music catalogue can be found here: CDBaby. Listen to some of the samples and let me know what you think. Trust me, his stuff is worth buying. His music is a keeper. Dave's website is davenach.com which contains more information than I can possibly go into here on this blog.
Dave Nachmanoff and Al Stewart will be performing at a free concert in Moses Lake, WA on Saturday, August 2nd at Centennial Park. They'll be at The Triple Door in Seattle (an outstanding venue below the restaurant Wild Ginger) on Saturday, September 13th, followed by a tour of Europe for a couple of months. BowlingJoe says, "Check 'em out". You'll be glad you did.
Dave Nachmanoff and Al Stewart
AL & DAVE ROCK!!!
ReplyDeleteI liked George's Corner and Lucky. Thanks for sharing...And thanks for the half a sundance.
ReplyDeleteHi! I listened to some of the "Time Before the Fall" CD. I really liked 'Midnight Sea'. It has a kind of celtic feel to it. Also enjoyed 'Lucky'. Just curious, bowlingjoe, how did you get involved in bowling in the first place? Were you born with bowling ball attached (ouch!) or did you decide on it after your basketball coach made his ego-boosting remark? And, hey, thanks for adding the link to my blog on your front page... awesome!
ReplyDeleteThanks, groovelily and thisandthat for taking time to listen. I'd never solicit from anyone, but if you're interested in buying a CD I can pick one up at his house show on Friday. Dave's not a wealthy folk-rock star (yet) but loves what he does and will, of course, personally sign each CD.
ReplyDelete"George's Corner" is a true story from Davis, CA where he lives, and Dave has kind of gotten to know George. It's an odd and interesting tale. For more on George, go to this URL
http://www.newsreview.com/sacramento/Content?oid=637835
and this
http://daviswiki.org/L_and_2nd_Garden
"Lucky" is my high school theme song but, again, that's another story.
I like "Midnight Sea" a lot, too. Probably because it's the most "Al like" on the disc. The guitar solo is reminiscent of Peter White (Al's guitarist from '76-'92 or so). Dave opens his shows often with that one, and did at our place in October as well.
BowlingJoe
About the bowling, when I was four years old some friends took me bowling. All I could do was squat down over the ball and push it with two hands, but I was immediately hooked. I bowled through juniors and into my college years in Ellensburg, but shortly after that real life reared its ugly head.
ReplyDeleteWe got married, bought a house, bought a car, had a kid, and so on. Disposable income was a foreign concept so I gave up the game from 1982 through 1997 when, of all people, Joan Wilkins' husband John (whom I coached youth sports with) invited me to be on his team in the M'ville City League at Strawberry Lanes. I was re-hooked and that's when my wife began transforming into Bowlingwidow. These days, I bowl in one league and some occasional tournaments and practice but Bowlingwidow (I'm thinking) is actually a misnomer.
I do think, however, that there's no more of a beautiful sight than witnessing 10 pins being driven backward into a pit by a 15 pound orb. Well....maybe the Grand Canyon.
After this long-winded and self indulgent answer you probably now regret asking the question.
BowlingJoe
I went to the home concert. I'm in the photo. I'm -- uhhhh -- over there someplace.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, bowlingagent is hiding behind the lady in the white shirt. He was clearly hiding from the camera, as he's an extremely shy individual and constantly worries about what the tabloids might say about him.
ReplyDeleteCan't argue with bowlingjoe. When he's right, he's right. He's still a gumball, though.
ReplyDeleteOoooo! Ahhhh! Dave's coming to Seattle in September! Bowlingjoe, let's have him over for tea and lutefisk!
ReplyDeleteBowlingagent, that's a great idea. But unfortunately, the September day that Dave and Al will be in Seattle is a day in which I must make a journey into the belly of the beast. That's right. Port Angeles. My niece is getting married and to miss that would be a very bad thing.
ReplyDeleteHaving said that, plans are in work for a road trip to Moses Lake on August 2-3 to see Al and Dave. Joining me will be the Bellingham contingent: Tim and ...yes....Herr Bussard. I'll probably even be giving Dave a lift back to Seattle.
She must not have consulted you before picking a wedding date...
ReplyDeleteI know. I can't believe she didn't check with me. And no, BowlingJoe will not be officiating the wedding. But as a sanctioned reverend in the Universal Life Church it's true that I have performed two weddings. And they're still going concerns. That's a world class success rate that will hold up in comparison with the best preachers and justices of the peace around.
ReplyDeletei had nearly forgot that... Should i need a sanctioned reverend, i'll keep you in mind...
ReplyDeleteDo you have a money back guarantee?
Since I don't accept a fee, I'm confident in saying that I'll give any money I receive back if it doesn't work out. Lifetime guarantee.
ReplyDeleteOh, bowlingjoe. Such a star-crossed life you lead. Does Al like lutefisk?
ReplyDeleteBowlingagent, you see more celebrities and athletes in a month than I have in my life. I'm thinking that you're still on the guest list for the annual Neuheisel family barbecue.
ReplyDeleteAl actually prefers sushi, but you were close. If you're that obsessed with lutefisk you blew the perfect opportunity to weave it into your last column when you mentioned ABBA.
Since I'm not really into the whole "sports" part of the sports column, the ABBA comment was my favorite part. Don't you have some kind of non-compete clause? You aren't going to lose your job are you? I don't think BowlingJoe would pay you as much...
ReplyDeleteGroovelily, I don't pretend to compete with bowlingjoe. I surely would lose by bowling shirt. Competing against bowlingjoe is like competing against erosion or rooting that Justin Timberlake doesn't score. Heartache is inevitable.
ReplyDelete