The Big Release Show

ASB CD Release last night was so fun! Thanks so much for coming out. I really felt the love last night and I know it sounds hippie and what not but man, there is nothing wrong with feeling the love! Ha, man so many emotions last night. First, I feel like sometimes people try to put our music in a box, and that's normal for any band but specifically with what we try to do it can be misconstrued if one has never been to a show or really has not heard us. Of course being IN the band I only know what I am trying to do with the music and that can be very different with each member. I know that even Andy and I have different views on the band but I think for the most part we are trying to take an underlying feel of roots reggae and infuse it with something new, maybe add a beat that pays homage to reggae but maybe not exactly a strict one drop feel, or maybe we add a tribal tom beat to it. We want to advance reggae to a different level. If you listen to bands like RX Bandits and State Radio they really try to take reggae to a different level without being all "white boy stoner" about it. So that is the intention at least from my point of view. I respect what roots reggae artists do and I would never want to bastardize it, so I put my own spin on it and it is real and it can be very raw and emotional, if we can put all those things into a song than I think we are doing something right. Anyway, I'm kinda rambling but last night was really awesome. We ended up making shirts for the cd release that said "Andy Effing Shaw" paying homage to one of our good friends Heather Fullmer who affectionately came up with this "party call" at our shows, it has caught on and I had to make a shirt (thanks Matt Paetsch for the idea). Download the album here at andyshawband.bandcamp.com

The Columbus Duets Project went off really well too! I was a bit nervous at first when Caleb told me he had no voice but we pulled it off and it sounded good. By the second song with Joey Hebdo I really started feeling comfortable, the songs were able to breathe a bit too adding a little length to the mostly short songs on the album. Bree Frick did a great job and I felt really good about our song as well as the one Kerry and I did called "Smoke Song". I hope people enjoy the album and if you want a copy please go to TheColumbusDuetsProject.bandcamp.com and download it now! In closing, thanks everyone so much for the support! It is soo awesome!!!!

Lots and lots to talk about!

Damn...been a long week...well long month. I look at my Google calendar which has become my personal assistant, a pretty crappy one without having a smart phone, to see what I have to do every day, what I have done, and to remind me to call people and do my laundry..ha. Ok, the laundry I can take care of but it really helps. So I am looking at it now and February is crazy. Lessons, meetings, recording sessions, video shoots, rehearsals, house shows, meetings, meetings, ha..lots of meetings. I write this blog so I can kind of look back later and document some of the crazy stuff that goes on in my life right now so sorry if it's kind of self referential. Let's recap some of the fun/funny/interesting things that have happened this past month.

Athens house show, a really fun show with a bunch of college kids a lot of hippy type kids, lots of hugs! We even had a little, well it was not Yoga..it was a Chinese discipline I can't remember the name but kind of a group session in one of the rooms when the music was not playing. I just walked in and everyone was kind of chanting "zzzzzz" it was a series of stretches and cleansing of thoughts. Very different from a Columbus party, it's amazing how different the culture felt just as I walked in the house. Eric Osbourne was cool enough to have us and the Shaw Brothers really appreciate his hospitality. Someone even made home made beer...it was not my favorite but I appreciate the effort!

The first We Are Columbus SXSW Showcase/Fundraiser Feb 10th at Kobo. This went really well, all the bands were great I even got to play fiddle with Slick City Ramblers which is a blast. Dan Desanto is great as their new bass player, that band really needs an upright player, though I do miss Andyman. We did a silent auction and a raffle and we raised some money for sure, the next one will be March 5th which will be even bigger go to wearecolumbusohio.com and find us on Facebook to find out more, everyone has been so supportive and we just got a donation from Jung Kim at the Columbus Chamber of Commerce. He came to the show and afterward gave an individual donation. Thanks so much Jung!

Bob Archer house show in Chillicothe. Bob and Jana are good friends of ours back from the Freelyfest days, they have been super loyal to Andy Shaw Band when we come down and play at some of the bars down there like the Dock and Crosskeys. I asked them if they wanted to host a house concert and they were totally in. The cool thing about this concert was we got to hear Bob's son Clay's band. Clay is in middle school and I forget the guys name who teaches them but he is a really nice guy that is so nice to help these kids. He teaches them tunes that he knows a lot of them being classic rock tunes like Magic Carpet Ride and AC DC, great stuff. The bass player was singing and playing bass at the same time, so cool! After the Shaw Brothers played we got to jam with the boys, it was a really fun time and I felt like it really gave them a boost to hear us and to hear us tell them how talented they were, which was true they were great!

House concert in German Village with Susannah and Natalie, thanks girls! We had a great time. House concert at the Shaw House with The Beggar Folk. Lessons, meetings, lessons, after party for the Yonder Mountain String Band at A & R Bar with Andy Shaw Band. We got free tickets to the show so we passed out a ton of flyers and got some people to come over afterward. The show ended a bit late so we think that the crowd suffered since by the time it was over everyone wanted to just go home, and to be honest was too drunk to want any more music. That being said we had a bunch of good friends come out, and some unknowns dancing up the dance floor. I felt really good as a band as we have not played for almost two months (besides once at Kobo for a short set). We have been practicing a lot and I think it's helped for sure.

So a quick summary, I left out a few things but those were the highlights. This all brings us to yesterday. After great house show in Chillicothe last night with host Rae Lynn (thanks!!) and guest musician from Baltimore Heather Lloyd of the band Ilyaimy we did a show at the North Market for the fiery foods festival. I love playing the North Market. Andy and I play our original tunes mixed with some Beatles and other covers but mainly just play originals. The room is big and usually decently quiet besides the gentle hum of the crowd and vendors downstairs. I always feel really calm playing there and I can hear everything so clear it's great. After North Market we went straight to our next gig with Bejae Flemming and Jackie Blount. We met Bejae a bit ago and she is a transplant from Iowa. She's been doing music for a long time and is a great teacher. She toured with Towns Van Zandt back in the day and is a wonderful songwriter. Jackie plays bass with her and is an amazing compliment to her with her six string bass. So they set us up at the Guitar House Workshop. I had heard about this place but never been. They have some luthiers there and make beautiful looking guitars, I have not heard any of them yet but I am sure they sound great too. It is really cool to be able to see a guitar while it's being made. So they hold these "house concerts", essentially that is what it is since it is an old house converted into a business. It was great, there was a large crowd, the house is pretty small so it was packed in there with about 30 people and everyone was listening. I love these concerts where people actually come to listen to music. Oh I could go on about it but it is about time the musicians get the respect they deserve, just people listening..that's really it! Sounds easy, but it's hard in these bars. So after the house concert which went really well we went over to Woodlands. About a year ago or so when I was booking heavily over there I had an idea to do these big nights. People had done really great with Beatles tributes, and Townes Van Zandt tribute nights. I wanted to do a Motown tribute night. So Justin Campbell and I worked on the planning and eventually I was so busy I turned a lot of the work over to JCam. I felt pretty bad because I really wanted to be more a part of it but we got most of the original planning done so now it was putting it into action. I made a cool poster and handbills and promoted through facebook and Justin got the lineup together and rehearsed and such. Unfortunately a few people that were supposed to be singers quit last minute but they totally pulled it off without a hitch. I came for the later set and it was fantastic. John Elliot, Bobby Floyd Townes, Matt Paetsch, Tim Magree, George Barrie, Evan Oberla, Nate Parker, Walter Cavanaugh Kolhoff, Josh Smith just an all star cast. Oh, and Jeffro Jam emceed and Julie Schatz did some sweet video which I happened to miss since I was at a gig. Thanks so much to everyone and to JCam for handling it all and making it awesome. He bought food out of pocket for everyone too which is so awesome! Next time it's gonna be bigger and I am playing drums damnit! Ha, I actually did get to sit in and my bro Andy sang Master Blaster, it's Stevie Wonder who was a motown artist technically..though it's a very reggae tune. People loved it so it didn't matter, ha! Man such a great night of music, stay tuned for more productions like that for sure. Next up Andy Shaw Band cd release with The Columbus Duets Project February 25th and tonight Sunday the 20th listening party for our cd so come out and hear our cd for the first time. Also some great local musicians are going to be covering some ASB tunes so that is going to be really fun to see, I have not heard any of them yet so it's all going to be a surprise. 5pm at Wild Goose Creative near Summit and Hudson.

An intro to house concerts

lots a stuff

Lots going on continuously...We Are Columbus showcase in Austin TX is coming along. Please support the event by going to the fundraising events February 10th and March 5th at Kobo the bands will be split between these dates and there will be a silent auction with lessons from musicians, house concerts, gift certificates from local businesses, and fun other surprises. Facebook page is here. Columbus Music Menu is going to make its debut pretty soon thanks to Erin Corrigan, she rules by the way. This site will feature local bands, reviews of local music, lots of videos, pictures, venue information, and more!

A few house concerts are coming up and if you would like to know about hosting one with the Shaw Brothers let me know. I have posted a video about house concerts so check it out and see if you are interested.

Ok last but DEFINITELY not least. February 25th Andy Shaw Band and The Columbus Duets Project CD Release 10p-2am at Ruby's at 1978 Summit, be there.