Sweet Music
July 2, 2005 - Michael Shay
Michael Shay
Catch this outstanding artist from 10:00 to 11:30 a.m. at the Music Tent. Enjoy a treat of a cup o' joe and a pastry while you listen in on this musical treat.
Born and raised in Austin, Texas, Michael Shay is living in the Lone Star State once again.. In addition to leading his own band, he's been on tour with Libby Kirkpatrick, with Alive and Well (a duo with Geoff Union of the Two High String Band) and has been seen performing (on cello) in Austin, at the Kerville Folk Festival, Telluride Bluegrass Festival, Rocky Mountain Folksfest, and High Sierra Music Festival accompanying songwriters such as Eliza Gilkyson, Johnsmith, Brian Joseph, Zoe Lewis, David Amram, and even jamming with jazz guitarist Stanley Jordan. He keeps a regular Monday night residency with his band at Ruta Maya.
Growing up in a musical family, Michael played piano, cello, guitar, and bass for ten years before starting to write songs. At that point, he set out travelling through Mexico, Ecuador, Colombia, and Venezuela, learning the folk music of whomever he happened upon, and sharing with them the Texas music he knew. He carried his cello and guitar by foot, mule, horse, and hitch all the way back to the U.S. with enough vivid memories to fuel the writing of two albums: Alive and Well’s "Life is Short" (a duet with Geoff Union of the Two High String Band), and the new CD, "Lines of Darkness, Lines of Light ". With guest appearances by Eleanor Whitmore on violin (Slaid Cleaves, Susan Gibson), Raphael Bas on guitar and harmonica, Billy Bright, Geoff Union, Bryn Davies, Alex Coke, Anais Mitchell, Libby Kirkpatrick, Idgy Vaughn, Elizabeth Suggs, Melanie Hersch, Aaron Lack, and Jeremy Brown and Doug Marcis on drums, "Lines of Darkness..." is a 99% acoustic, self-produced project in which Michael can be heard playing guitar, piano, bass, cello, mandola, pump organ, and percussion, among other instruments.
Michael contributed music to the Academy Award-Nominated film "Become the Sky", has performed and recorded with Libby Kirkpatrick, Eliza Gilkyson, Johnsmith, Will Taylor, Paula Nelson, Brian Joseph, Zoe Lewis, members of String Cheese Incident, the Onion Creek Crawdadies, Melanie Hersch,and Victoria Woodworth. He also teaches composition, theory, improvisation, guitar, cello, and bass to students of all ages, and produces and engineers recordings for musicians of all kinds.
Photo and bio from website: http://www.michaelshay.com
posted June 29, 2005 | permanent link to this article
June 25, 2005
Cindy Pitts comes to play from 10:30 to 11:30 at the music tent in front of the café.posted June 22, 2005 | permanent link to this article
June 18, 2005
Karen Mal, talented songwriter and a spirit-lifting singer, will entertain customers from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at the music tent. Come get a dose of good times!
Karen Mal 's songs are like the old time remedy that mixed honey and lemon....They are sweet without being precious and have a lasting bite to them that makes them both memorable and good for you. Add a voice to match, and you have a musical panacea, curing our ills and adding to the grace of living. - Michael Jaworek, The Birchmere
Reviews for Mercury's Wings:
A Fine Solo Debut With Many of Austin's Best
On her debut record, Austin-based singer and songwriter Karen Mal delivers a selection of fine songs with a musical intelligence and grace -- and an inviting voice -- which suggest she's one to watch. Fellow Austin musician Jeff Talmadge wrote one of the top cuts, "Take a Drive," in which Mal gives the right touch of understated emotion the slightly ambiguous tale of lovers wanting to talk. Talmadge collaborated with Mal on "Beyond the Headlights," a vivid evocation of journey and belief. Kelly Willis duets with Mal on that song, an engaging combination of voices similar, yet different. Willis returns again in a back up role on a bittersweet visit to the past, "Gibraltar Road," while Mal solos on another view of childhood, that of an adult leaving a well-loved child, with "Rosalie." There's also a reflective cover of Tish Hinojosa's passionate "Solo Tus Ojos." Mal also produced the disc, and shows that she's sensitive to the best framing for her voice and wise use of some very talented back up musicians, notably Chris Irwin on harmony and banjo, Jeff Plankenhorn on dobro, and Chip Dolan on accordion and piano. Chris Gage, Christine Albert, Paul Pearcy and Marvin Dykhuis are among the other top Austin-based musicians who sit in with Mal on this fine recording.
---Folkwax (11/27/02)
***Bio and photo from www.karenmal.com website
posted June 15, 2005 | permanent link to this article
June 11, 2005 - Liver Eatin' Johnson
Come see the very last public performance of Liver Eatin' Johnson band as they will depart as a group after June 11. You're in for a folk/bluegrass, extreme instrument pikin' treat from 10 to 11:30 at the music tent and cafe area. If you want to catch them before June 11, then get to Alice's Restaurant June 9th!posted June 7, 2005 | permanent link to this article
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