Roots Review 4

4/27/2006

What a night! What a great turn out! What a great bunch of musicians and eager fans.

In case you haven't noticed, we have started an American Roots movement here. Can I get a wittness?!

You saw another passionate performance and incredible effort last night by our causes' biggest supporter, Duane Chez.

We only have two more weeks to enjoy Duane as guest host because he and his lovely wife are moving to Puerto Rico. Man we're going to miss you bro - but at least I know I'll have a cool place in paradise to go and hang out with my brother D Wayne.

Let's say we break out the guitar and harps and pass the hat around for the tourists when I get there...

American Roots open mic 4 had an all-star line up of some of the finest players around. And some really interesting combinations of players of all ages: Duane Chez, Mike Caruso (Doughboys) playing bass, sharing the stage with youngsters Scott and Brett from Daisy Haze and 26 year old John Powers playing guitar and singing.

Then Brett played guitar on stage for the first time with his guitar teacher and mentor, Johnny Charles.

This was a Kodak moment. Passing the roots-torch to the younger generation - the epitome of what our American Roots movement is all about!

Then it was time for John Powers & the Arturos to play a few of their own. JP & A's laid down an original sound that fused alternative with roots - very refreshing - very good.

Later Charles, Caruso, Chez and Powers (on drums again) backed an awesome new talent, named Kelly Caruso, yes Mike's 19 year old daughter who belted out "Wild Thing" then asked me to join on harp as she convincingly delivered "Got my mojo workin" - very cool - lots of flash bulbs going off for this one!

Then Big Boy Kenny Nerbak (Filthy Rich) plugged-in his four string with his friend, the incredibly talented blues guitarist and singer, Arne Englund, Cadillac Johnny again on guitar and some new drummer named, um, Ned.

After Chez, Weber on guitars, Pampani on drums, Dr Greg playing keys, and Kate Weber doing that thing that she does so well... it was on to Jr Bradfield and his solo acoustic thing,

Bradfield and his acoustic thing is happening every Tuesday night at The Rail starting 6 pm. With the new menu and the open air thing going on at The Rail this is a great early night out for some great food and great entertainment - and on a nice spring night, you can't beat it.

Bernie Brauswetter owned the stage for awhile with his guitar mastery backed by an awesome rhythm section and then, oh man was I happy to see my old pal and bandmate Dennis Macarone at American Roots.

I had a thrill playing with him again. See, Dennis and I were fourteen years old and in a band together called Carnival of Soul. Our second gig ever was on Zacherely's Disco Teen UHF television show, channel 47 I think, way before cable when channels didn't go higher than 13 unless you had the special UHF tuner and antenna.

It was the fall of '66 when we did that show from the Mosque Theater in Newark. Our parents let us skip school as seven of us, with all of our equipment, piled into a '59 Ford station wagon and headed for Newark to be on TV with the Chiffons: One fine day, Sweet talkin guy, He's so fine doo wang doo wang doo wang. Oh man, such memories. Thanks Dennis.

Special thanks to Rail ownership, management and staff, Amanda, Sarah, Mike, especially Nick. Ed Pampani, Eddie Ray of Computown, Jessica, Byron, Greg and Bob From High Grade for all of your support and interest.

My heart swells with gratitude knowing we are able to celebrate this music each week and that I am surrounded by the most incredibly talented friends in the world - players and fans alike. Thank you.

Keeping it real,

Ned

Roots Review 3

4/20/2006

More hot-blues, raw-country, roots-rock-jammin' and sultry-balladeering down at the station made American Roots Open Mic the place to be if you were anywhere near the northern hemisphere last night.

We had talented players from as far away as New York City in one direction and Philadelphia in the other making music for local aficionados, and one who arrived by train from Puerto Rico - not sure which route he took to get to Newark's Penn Station, but once there it's a short train ride down the Raritan Valley Line to our little station - as word of the American Roots celebration continues to spread. (Click into any of the links here marked "Friends" in the lower right column to see some of what I'm referring to.)

Many thanks again to Duane Chez for his inspired playing, dedicated attitude and tireless efforts in helping keep the roots music flame flickering bright for the generations to come. Players ages 20 to 60 stood side by side and entertained a very receptive audience as the stage beneath their feet; if you closed your eyes, could have been from anywhere in New Orleans, Memphis, Nashville, Austin or Chicago.

Memorable performances by blues-rock diva Lori V of Can't Stop Now, Jersey guitar legends Johnny Charles and Bernie BB Bruaswetter, guit slingers Jim Mosca and Jeff Page and the spirited presence of Tommy Fuller, who sang and played like a man possessed, made for an awesome night of music and mayhem in Bound Brook, NJ.

New comers Case Newcomb tore it up on his '59 Les Paul. Joe Cassady & the West End Sound laid it down like it was a family tradition. Kate Weber dished it out to the guests and an all-star supporting cast made sure it all went down so smooth.

Great efforts by Todd Lanka, Tyler Penn, Steve Decker, JR Bradfield, Arnna Wendt, Mark Weber, youngsters from Dirty Brown Sound and Dexterity, and on and on - all are applauded.

There were so many quality players getting on and off the stage, I'm sure I missed somebody here - so please forgive me and thank you for your support non the less.

Kudos to Rail ownership, management and staff; Eddie Ray from Computown, Ed Pampani, Win, Jessica, Byron and the train conductors who step down, wave with a smile, and then have to get back on the train knowing how much fun we're having at this particular station.

Last night's lucky ticket holders won cool T shirts and live CD's from Gus Bardaji, a Nasty Ned Hohner harmonica and concert tickets to see Marshall Tucker Band and Ten Foot Tall on stage together at Starlands.

The No Cover Charge at American Roots Open Mic means you can come down to the station even if you're light in the pocket - while stuffing the optional donation jug means you get opportunities to win groovey prizes later in the night.

I've got to say, from the bottom of my heart, thank you all who continue to make this American Roots celebration bigger and better each week - and "something" well worth my turning down a steady gig in Austin, Texas to stay and host.

Next?

American Roots TV coming to your small screen in July.

Keepin' it real,

Ned

PS - Watch the American Roots Photo Gallery in the coming hours for hot-out-of-the-oven pics of last night's fun.

Roots Review 2

4/14/2006
Thanks to everyone who braved the road construction last night to make our 2nd American Roots Open Mic a rousing success.

I love having these parties and not having to mess up my own living room, but like Nick says - this is my living room - and it's yours, too.

Tremendous effort last night from the dedicated bluesman and live music supporter Duane Chez. He does a lot from behind the scenes for American Roots and on the stage as well as he played his ass off last night. He supplied all of the stage gear AND brought the coolest friends with him including, my brother from another mother, Mike Caruso from the Doughboys.

Because of the repaving of Main Street we all had to park in a lot across the street from The Rail - you would think not too big of an inconvenience right? But the guys unloading the equipment truck had to carry each piece across a street being repaved! Dodging trucks and tractors and guys shoveling molten asphalt at their feet... You get the picture. A noble and determined effort.

Thanks Duane Chez. You are the man - and you played like one last night, too.

We kicked off with a solo from Paul Ransom, Virginia Beach - then Duane Chez on guitar and vocals, and friends featuring Mike Caruso on bass, Jake jar el (Noo Dogs) on drums, Snakeman Runyan on harmonica and vocals, and the one and only Johnny Charles, who absolutely blew everybody away with his awesome guitar playing! My man was ON!


There were great performances by Jim Popik and Jeff Page from Ten Foot Tall Band with Walter Foot (Bardaji Group) on drums and "Big Boy" Kenny Nerbek (Filthy Rich & the Poor Boys) on Bass with Kevin Tracy from Hilltop studios sitting in on keys.

Ten Foot Tall Band is opening for Marshall Tucker at Starland Ballroom in a couple of weeks and have agreed to return next week with a pair of tickets for us to give away to one of next week's lucky ticket holder.

Remember there is NO Cover charge at American Roots, but we encourage donations of "any denomination" to help pay the guest host band for bringing their gear, sharing it with everyone and playing for free. So when you come down to the station, please drop a little something at the door, in the big white jar marked "Donations" and Jessica will give you a ticket that can win you some cool stuff a little later on.

Last night we gave away a $30 dinner and drinks gift certificate for The Rail and a bunch of cool T Shirts. Last week, two pair of Joe Satriani tickets, next week, Marshal Tucker with Ten Feet Tall tickets and other cool stuff.

I'm going to have to fly, here. I have a million things to do yet before rockin' the Bull tonight with the Noo Dogs (and friends) in Piscataway. See nastyned.com for details.

Let me mention the tremendous contribution by Michael Krizan with Bob Bernard and Snakeman Runyan (there's D wayne looking over Snakeman's head) and others who rocked with a sort of Hot Sauce reunion,


Gus Bardaji with Todd Lanka on bass and Walter Foot on drums, joined by Kevin Tracy on keys.






Mark and Kate Weber for there great duet. Eric and Jason from Odus Driftwood who performed as a duo (their mandolin player couldn't make it but promises to do so in the near future.)

Then a big jam at the end with everybody from Duane Chez and friends including JR Bradfield and a little blowin' and shoutin' from me.

Thanks again to Ed Pampani (our official Am Rts photog) and Eddie Ray from Computown for the cool pics.

And there are lots of them! Go to the photo gallery Eddie put together on www.nastyned.com

Click on the photo of the Rail it will take you into the gallery. Chances are, if you were there, you are in the gallery. Last week, too.

But you better hurry before I have Eddie remove the picture of me looking like I was convulsing while standing - I promise I was having a good time.

Again, all of you folks were so cool for coming out and helping American Roots work in a big way again. Thank you.

Keepin' it real.

Ned

PS - See you at the Bull tonight!

Roots Review 1

4/7/2006
Thanks to everyone for making our first American Roots open mic a success. Someone kidded, that I just wanted to throw a party and not have to mess up my own house."

Well it did feel like my own party - and thank you all for coming.

If you ask Nick, the manager, he'll tell you The Rail is my house, and he wants you to know it is your house, too. There was a very cool vibe in the room.

With lots of passionate players and plenty of real music enthusiasts together in one place celebrating a music form that breathes life into our culture and the bedrock on which modern music stands - American roots open mic proved to be a great place for a music fan to come and get-up close to the music and for musicians, an intimate venue with a very enthusiastic audience.

Bassboards Blues Band

Many thanks go to last night's guest host band, Bassboards Blues Band, who proved not only to be dedicated and talented musicians with a fantastic young singer named Kate Weber, who goes convincingly from Billie Holiday to Janis Joplin to a piano accompanied 30's torch song - BBB showed themselves to be good people, both gracious and generous who stepped forward for the cause.

There was a very entertaining performance by Tom Fuller and Kate Weber. We heard the guitar mastery of regional W.C. Handy Award winner Johnny Charles, who I joined on Albert Collins' "Black Cat Bone" and Sonny Boy Williamson's "Pontiac Blues".

It was also my pleasure to perform with Michael Krizan, Jersey's King of the Delta Blues-gut-bucket-slide guitar. With Noo Dog Gene Downin on bass, Glen Kubrak on drums and Doctor Greg from Bassboards on keys, we knocked out a couple of Muddy Waters and Paul Butterfield songs

Brad Crowell put in a solid performance with "Crossroards" and "One Way Out" as some nice things happened on stage with Ed Z and Bill and Glenn from White Trash Hurricanes with Jimmy from Bassboards blowing harp. Andy Capp also contributed.

Later, a solo performance from Tom Fuller became a duo as I joined him on a Jimmy Reed number and an acoustic guitar/harmonica rendition of Free's "All Right Now." Also a young singer/songwriter named Patrick ShaCola, who we all met for the first time last night, performed three introspective and melodic originals.

There were a lot of players meeting other players - some for the first time, sharing ideas and some hooking up and playing together - very cool.

This American Roots open mic is going to become a scene where you can come to find a new band mate or a new band to join, or where you might happen upon that special player who's the missing piece for a project you're doing. And it's going to become a scene where producers and A&R types hang to scope things out - especially with the caliber of players who are showing up and as the word spreads.

Concert Ticket Give-Aways

We gave away two pair of concert tickets to see Joe Satriani at Starland Ballroom compliments of The Rail.

How this will work each week is - there is, as you know, NO COVER CHARGE at our open mic, but we encourage a donation of any amount you're comfortable giving that goes to the guest host band who plays for free and then supplys their equipment for others who came to play.

When you make an optional donation you're given a raffle ticket that could win you a pair of concert tickets, or a dinner for two, or other cool gifts later in the night.

There where plenty of photo ops for photographers, and thanks to Ed Pampani, our official American Roots photographer, and Eddie Ray from Computown who is building an American Roots gallery online - that will probably live at www.nastyned.com - there are sure to be a lot of great shots chronicling our first night. I'll post them here when they become available.

Next week's guest host band is Hunterdon County and Bethlehem-Allentown area blues and blues-grass veteran Duane Chez and friends. Duane will be bringing along some very notable players (some of my favorites) you'll not want to miss. (I'm not sure I can mention names, yet so I'll hold off.)

Anyway, enough of my scrawling. In closing, some absolutely exciting things happened last night; one prior to the show and one just after you all left, I'll talk more about it in another post.

Thanks again for your support and interest. I look forward to seeing you again next Thursday at our American Roots open mic party at The Rail.

Keepin' it real,

Ned