club d’elf at the dog days

greetings and salutations,

alright, we really have to get better about sending these missives out in a timely manner. we really have to. but we don’t seem to. we hope everyone’s summer has been nothing short of a magic kiss, and will cut to the chase, as this is time-sensitive material, you betcha.

 

SHOWS

Thursday August 16, 2007

The Lizard Lounge, 1667 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA 02138.9:30 pm – 1:30 am (2 sets). 21+. $10. 617-547-0759/1228. http://www.lizardloungeclub.com.w/ Dave Tronzo (slide guitar), Mat Maneri (elec viola), Mister Rourke (turntables), Mike Rivard (bass & sintir), & Dean Johnston (drums).

the return to the lizard of mat maneri after a long absence, and a meeting with tronzo for good measure. anyone who has been witness to the awesome energy that is created when these 2 men come face to face in d’elf combat conditions knows that this is not a show to miss. their first encounter back in ’03 was captured and released as 100 Years Of Flight (Kufala), and if you don’t own it, well dear seeker YOU CAN! through the wonders of the worldwide interweb and a credit card, it can be had like a shad right here: http://kufala.com/artists/show.php?catnum=94.

 

Friday August 17, 2007

The Stone Church, 5 Granite St., Newmarket, NH 03857.2 sets starting at 10 pm. $10. 18+. 603-659-6321. http://www.thestonechurch.com. w/ Dave Tronzo (slide guitar), Mat Maneri (elec viola), Tom Hall (tenor sax), Mister Rourke (turntables), Mike Rivard (bass & sintir) & Dean Johnston (drums). Maybe even the parasol of lights of will make an appearance…

Thursday Sept 7, 2007

The Lizard Lounge, 1667 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA 02138.9:30 pm. 617-547-0759/1228. 21+. $10. http://www.lizardloungeclub.com.w/ Duke Levine (guitar), Mike Rivard (bass & sintir), Dean Johnston (drums) & more!

Sunday Sept 9, 2007

The Stone Church, 5 Granite St., Newmarket, NH 03857.603-659-6321. $10. 18+. http://www.thestonechurch.com. 2 sets starting at 10 pm.w/ Dave Tronzo (slide guitar), Mike Rivard (bass & sintir), Dean Johnston (drums) & more!

Friday, Oct 26, 2007

Festival du Monde Arabe de Montreal, Montreal, Quebec, H2S 2K1, Canada.www.festivalarabe.com.

 

D’ELF RELATED

Monday August 20, 2007

Duke Levine Group (w/ Mike Rivard, Kevin Barry & Per Hanson), Berklee Performance Center, 150 Mass Ave, Boston7 pm. $5. All Ages.

Monday August 27, 2007

Duke Levine Group (w/ Mike Rivard, Kevin Barry & Per Hanson)Atwoods Tavern, 877 Cambridge St, Cambridge, MA. 617-864-2792.9 pm – 12 am. Free! http://www.atwoodstavern.com.

Monday, Sept 10, 2007

Scarecrow Mobius, Matt Murphy’s Pub, 14 Harvard St, Brookline Village, MA. 617-232-0188. http://www.mattmurphyspub.com.11 pm – 2 am. 21+. Free! Saxophonist James Merenda of the Masked Marvels and bassist Mike Rivard of Club d’Elf join forces with keyboardist Dave Bryant and percussionist James Kamal Jones, both veterans of Ornette Coleman’s Prime Time for an evening of music adventurous and esoteric, earthy and engaging.

MISC

*Healing Dick*

michael brownstein is the poet/author who can be heard on the track And Shadow Saw the Gods on our cd Now I Understand, and has written a book everyone should read called World On Fire. his most recent project involves shamanic drumming and vocalizing in an attempt to heal dick cheney’s heart. which is a pretty admirable task. it would be much easier just to hate the man and all that he has done, but like it or not, he’s one of god’s chil’n just like the rest of us, and needs to be healed. michael has just released a cd of this work, and you can find our more about it as well as ordering a copy here: http://www.healingdick.com.

*Willie Alexander*

i was asked recently to contribute to a piece on local music legend willie “loco” alexander, who amongst his many accomplishments over the years was a member of the late-version Velvet Underground. i’ve only met willie on a few occasions, and had the honor of playing with him at a tribute to mark sandman show in ’99, but those few times definitely stick out. you can find a link to the article here (http://flavinscorner.com/bostunes.htm), as well as some stuff about sandman and more.

*Phil Stiles Photos*

phil has been photographing club d’elf since almost the beginning, as well as having heavily documented MMW, DJ Logic and many others. his work is excellent, and you can check out how he’s lovingly captured our ugly mugs here:http://picasaweb.google.com/PhilStiles/ClubDElf

*Perhapsody*

our new live cd, Perhapsody, has done rather well at radio, making it to about #31 on the CMJ jazz chart, as well as coming in at #12 (just after the bad plus) on the jambands.com chart (http://www.jambands.com/RadioCharts/content_2007_08_10.00.phtml), which is nice whether or not you subscribe to the philosophy that we are a “jam band”. Relix magazine recently reviewed it, which i guess cinches that question. though we of course frown at the “insipid” adjective and have promised ourselves that we will open up the reviewer like a ziplock bag full of lasagna when we meet him (just kiddin’!), the rest of it is, well ok. see for yourself and decide whether he should live to see another day (and if you haven’t bought it already, what are you waiting for – buy it NOW, fer mervgriffins sake: http://www.kufala.com/artists/show.php?catnum=190.):

Relix Magazine/Club d’Elf, Perhapsody (Kufala)

This two-CD live set from The Lizard Lounge in Cambridge, MA, in October 2006, is chock full of jamming. Some of it’s inspired, some of it’s a tad insipid. So what? What makes Perhapsody a fun, slightly jocular take on rock-meets-jazz are the arrangements that couch some great solos. There are moments of tape-recorded lunacy mixed in the producer/leader Mike Rivard, guitarists Dave Tronzo and Duke Levin, keyboardist John Medeski, drummer Erik Kerr and turntablist Mister Rourke reprise their “intro/Bass Beatbox” from last year’s Now I Understand (Accurate). The music is relatively seamless, one selection flowing into another, everyone sounding like they know where they are and where they are going. Lots of heat, some relative calm, e.g., the smooth/Milesian “Goblin Garden,” even a taste of some 6/8 Eddie Harris tucked into the funky “That Is My Voice.”  – John Ephland

 

*XM radio*

we love michelle sammartino, she who has played the sh*t out of our music on her show jammin’ jazz on xm radio. we were only too happy to answer her request to submit a response for her 100th anniversary show, and got to pay respect to one of our heros, Dave Holland to boot. you can check out a brief video of john medeski’s wurlitzer solo on the the d’elf track that i talk about, Life Of the Mind from Perhapsody, here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E72zKPCTmos. here’s what michelle has to say:

“Jammin’ Jazz is turning 100! Ok not really… but I am coming up on my 100th show for XM and am working on a special to air the week of Labor Day! In this special I gathered all my favorite jazz musicians together and asked them four questions:

Who do you think is your biggest musical influence in JAZZ (modern jazz please)?What tune comes to mind when you think of that musician? What tune of YOURS do you attribute that influence? Tell me a little about why that is and what you dig about that musician? I got a GREAT response!!! So the show will be their answers interspersed with the tune they picked of theirs… plus some interview segments. Some of the artists you will hear are: Stanton Moore, Galactic, Mike Dillon, Craig Klein of Bonerama, Marco Benevento, Skerik, Jamie Masefield, Karl Denson, Mocean Worker aka Adam Dorn, Jeff Berlin, Paul Richards of Ca Guitar Trio, Bert Lams of Ca Guitar Trio, Robert Walter, Greyboy Allstars, Scott Amendola, Kai Eckhardt, John Gros of Papa Grows Funk, Mark Mullins of Bonerama, Will BernardDr. Lonnie Smith, Mike Rivard, Jason Smart of JFJO, Javon Jackson.You can hear this show in three parts that week:

Part One : Tuesday August 28th at 9pm est/ 6pm pst. Part Two: Thursday August 30 at 9am est/6am pst. Part Three: Sunday September 2 at 7pm est/4pm pst. And the entire three hours in one shot on Labor day Monday September 3rd at 4pm est/1pm pst. Tune in and come celebrate Jammin’ Jazz’s 100th show!And thanks for listening!”

-Michelle, Host XM 72 – Beyond Jazz (http://www.myspace.com/gowiggle)

 

*One more reason to live*

at last, it is coming….http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/news/44353-miles-davis-ion-the-corneri-given-box-set-treatment

 

*Duke Levine & Friends*

this past tues night saw an impromptu merging of club d’elf w/ the duke levine group at one of our favorite local haunts, matt murphy’s pub. i’ve had the pleasure of playing with duke & friends most mondays this summer at a place in cambridge (see above for show details) and it’s been a blast. we even did a gig up in brownfield, maine at a gorgeous place called the stone mountain art center, and if you want photographic proof, then here: http://smac.dmg-photography.com/DLB-Aug-2007.

duke is no stranger to the d’elf cosmos of course, having played on our very first gig and many, many in between and is all over our studio recordings as well as Perhapsody, and will incidentally be playing with us at the lizard on sept 6. so there. anyway, duke, kevin barry, dean johnston and myself all showed up to murphy’s and kicked it with a “program” that saw us playing everything from duke’s originals and some d’elf staples, to covers by sufjan stevens, the beatles, country greatjoe maphis, and even some moroccan trance music, with the usual assortment of crazy-make-em-ups thrown in just because. jason from matt murphy’s has posted a blog about the night with a link to an mp3 of our cover of the rarely-played beatles track flying. where? here:http://theweeklyvibe.blogspot.com/

 

*Earthquake in Peru*

having recently been to peru and having many friends there and a deep love for the culture and people (and plants) of the country, i received the news of yesterday’s earthquake with deep concern. our thoughts here at d’elf hq are with those struggling with the aftermath and we send our love and prayers their way. this on the heels of the bridge collapse in mnpls (where i am from and will always have a soft spot in my heart for) and the utah mine collapse have us in a very sober, contemplative state and will strive to send some good energy from tonight’s show out to all of those who suffer from and endeavor to persevere through these hardships, and all the other calamities which affect our brothers and sisters.

peace out,

micro

http://www.clubdelf.com

http://www.myspace.com/clubdelf

~ by delfblog on August 16, 2007.