Steve's Blog
Wednesday June 19, 2013

Hi everyone

It's been quite the week! I won't bore you with any of the drama, but suffice to say that one or two of us have lost a lot of sleep and put in a lot of hard graft to bring us to the last two concerts of the first half of 2013!

1. Ralph Shaw - King Of The Ukulele, Thursday June 20th, 8pm at St. James Hall, 3214 W. 10th Avenue

If you've ever seen Vancouver's irrepressible ukulele maestro Ralph Shaw you'll know he is an unparalleled showman with a knack for engaging an audience. His music has been described as hilarious, inspirational, outrageous, touching, and thought provoking. See him perform original songs from his two new albums (produced by multi-award winner Steve Dawson) accompanied by some of Vancouver's finest musicians. His Love CD: a collection of songs about every aspect of Love: finding Love, the exultation of falling in Love, lost Love, the comfort of a long term relationship and the transcendence of eternal togetherness. The Laughter CD covers subjects as diverse as conversing with dogs, the childhood friend who became handyman at the Mustang Ranch (Nevada's famous legalized brothel), the building of a ukulele case, the British vicar who got his legs waxed for charity, the art of learning to yodel and more moments from his unusual life as Canada's "King of the Ukulele." His songs "Bird Lover" and "A Nice Cup Of Tea" contain some of the most outrageous and brilliant double-entendres you'll ever hear!

Ralph's critically acclaimed book, The Ukulele Entertainer, his many CDs and ukulele instructional DVDs have delighted, and transformed, thousands of new ukulele players. Experience the performer who entertained Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, for the 2010 Winter Olympics. And be royally entertained by The King of the Ukulele himself! For more info, visit www.ralphshaw.ca

Tickets are available on our website and at Highlife Records and Rufus' Guitar Shop. You can also reserve in advance on our hotline 604-736-3022 or on our website.

2. Rani Arbo & Daisy Mayhem, Friday June 21st, 8pm at St. James Hall, 3214 W. 10th Avenue

Don't miss this closing concert of The Rogue's 2013 Half-Season! With one of America's very best stringbands (and vocal harmony groups!) Rani Arbo & Daisy Mayhem mix traditional, original, and contemporary sounds on fiddle, guitar, bass and recycled percussion - and top that with joyous harmonies from four skilled lead singers. Hailed as one of the most song - and arrangement-oriented bands around - the band tackles the human condition with playfulness, courage and heart. They'll hang a 200-year-old Georgia Sea Islands song over a New Orleans groove. They'll set original lyrics to an Irish fiddle tune, then layer it with a groove on a South American box drum. A Leonard Cohen cover gets a claw-hammer banjo; Springsteen gets high-octane, bluegrass-style harmonies - and the band's originals range from Unitarian funk gospel tunes to 1950s swing. With influences from Doc Watson to Django Reinhardt, from Ghanaian drumming to the funky Meters, and from Fiddlin' John Carson to Bob Dylan, these are four musicians who pick up what's lying around - from tin cans, to old songs, to human stories - and create something brilliant, shiny and new. Combining ukulele, steel guitar, fiddle, recycled percussion, stand-up bass and spine-tingling four-part harmonies, Daisy Mayhem have played together for 12 years, released five CDs, and become one of our favourite bands in the process. Surprisingly, this will only be their second Rogue show, but they have also starred at the Vancouver, Courtenay and Mission summer festivals in recent years, and made many friends and admirers along the way. Don't miss the groove; it's a fantastic way to round out this half-year of Roguery!! For more info, visit www.raniarbo.com

Tickets are available on our website and at Highlife Records and Rufus' Guitar Shop. You can also reserve in advance on our hotline 604-736-3022 or on our website.

3. Don't forget to pick up your Vancouver Folk Music Festival Early Bird Tickets!!

Come to one of these concerts to collect your folk fest tickets. This is by far the easiest - and most fun - way to make sure you get them! Come to the Rogue membership table and bring some ID. Then you can pick up your tickets and sign for them. Doors open at 7pm.

If you can't make it this week, you'll have to pick them up at our office at #1 - 3630 West Broadway (at Dunbar, above the SPCA Thrift Store.) Call us first to make sure there's someone there. 604-732-1305. There is usually someone there during office hours on weekdays (10am to 4pm.) If you'd like to arrange another time, please leave us a message and tell us when is best for you.

4. A recommendation for the Jazz Festival

One of Africa's most beautiful voices, that of Fatoumata Diawara, can be heard at Capilano University's North Shore Credit Union Centre for the Performing Arts on Monday June 24th at 8pm. Fatou used to be one of the backing singers for Malian diva Oumou Sangare. When she wanted to write her own songs and get her own band people told her she couldn't even play guitar let alone write songs. So she took some guitar lessons, and then honed her craft on both guitar and as a songwriter and released a truly gorgeous CD last year, entitled Fatou. I have played at least one song from it every week since then on The Edge On Folk on CiTR! What a voice she has! Don't just take my word for it, take a look at this video and then try to avoid looking at all the others!

5. What's next at The Rogue?

Well, there are a lot of Folk Festivals this summer, and we'll be at quite a few of them! I'll be doing some MC-ing at Island Musicfest in Courtenay (July 12-14), possibly at Vancouver as well (July 19-21) and definitely at Mission (July 25-28.)

Then we have Shorefest, our annual music festival leading up to the Celebration of Light fireworks nights (Saturday July 27, Wednesday July 31, and Saturday August 3 this year.) We will be back at The Rogue Stage on Sunset Beach for this FREE music extravaganza, which this year features the likes of Fred Eaglesmith, The Good Lovelies, The Deep Dark Woods, and many more. Full details are on www.shore104.com

6. Coming Soon to The Rogue

I've been busy! Starting in September we will have some incredible concerts, including

John Doyle (Eire)
Ruth Moody (Manitoba)
Joel Savoy Cajun Dance Band (Louisiana)
Rachelle Van Zanten (BC)
Jenny Allen (Alberta)
Beppe Gambetta (Italy)

then in October, it's

Little Miss Higgins (Saskatchewan)
Dar Williams (USA)
Sonia & Disappear Fear (USA)
Betse Ellis (USA)
Kim Beggs (Yukon)
David Francey (Ontario)

November's program will include:

Dave Gunning (Nova Scotia)
Wake The Dead (California)
Mary Gauthier (USA)

and in December look out for:

David Bromberg Band (USA)

and in 2014 The Rogue will present the likes of:

Tannahill Weavers (Scotland)
Caladh Nua (Eire)
Red Molly (USA)
The Once (Newfoundland)
Patty Larkin (USA)
De Temps Antan (Quebec)
April Verch Band (Ontario)
Steve Dawson (BC ?)
Fearing & White (Canada / Ireland)
The Good Lovelies (Ontario)

and a whole lot more!

We're adding shows on a regular basis now, so watch for updates on our website.

7. The Edge On Folk, Saturday 8am to noon, on CiTR fm 101.9 and www.citr.ca

This week's show will feature new music from Rachelle Van Zanten, Lissa Schneckenburger, Aoife O'Donovan, Genticorum, Fatoumata Diawara, and heaps of Folk Festival previews. Plus some old favourites and quite a few surprises! I hope you'll join me for 4 hours of the very best in Folk & Roots Music from next door, across the country, over the border, and around the world. Tune in to CiTR fm 101.9 in Vancouver and Telus TV Channel 3717 across B.C. We're also streamed LIVE on www.citr.ca where you will also find podcasts of this and previous editions, filed under S for Saturday Edge in the Podcast Section.

Have a great weekend! See you at The Rogue for Tea with Ralph and Mayhem with Rani !

Steve