Have a very Keel Christmas Yawl!
Archive for December, 2010
Larry Keel Wishes You a Merry Christmas!
Posted in Larry Keel Music, tagged bluegrass, Christmas, guitar, holiday, Keel, larry keel, Music, Video, xmas on December 22, 2010| Leave a Comment »
Archive: Interview with Larry Keel in Durham
Posted in Larry Keel Music, tagged Americana, backwoods, bluegrass, canceled, casbah, charlotte, durham, event, flatpicking guitar, jenny keel, Keel, Keel Brothers, Keller & the Keels, larry keel, larry keel and natural bridge, Larry Keel Experience, Magraw Gap, Mark Schimick, Miles Davis, Music, Natural Bridge, north carolina nc, thief, Virgini on December 17, 2010| 1 Comment »
ATTENTION: THIS SHOW (Casbah Durham Dec 17th)HAS BEEN CANCELLED due to The Keels being snowed in in Virginia; however, we did want to post the article as an archive for you all to enjoy!
Bluegrass at the Casbah with Keel
THE HERALD-SUN, DURHAM, N.C. | DAWN BAUMGARTNER VAUGHAN | Thu, Dec 16, 6:56 PM
READ THE ORIGINAL ARTICLE HERE
Dec. 16–Longtime flatpicking guitar playing bluegrassman Larry Keel thinks just about any song could be turned into a bluegrass song.
“I believe whether a Miles Davis song or a reggae song, the bluegrass sort of creeps in there. Though your hardcore purists might say no,” said Keel in a phone interview from his home in Lexington, Va., on the side of a mountain.
Tonight he’ll be at Casbah in Durham with his band Natural Bridge, which features his wife Jenny Keel on upright bass and Mark Schimick on mandolin. Larry Keel and Natural Bridge is named for the, well, the natural bridge that’s a wonder of nature and tourist stop in southwestern Virginia. Keel lived in the community of Natural Bridge for 15 years before moving to Lexington. The group’s last record was “Backwoods.”
Over the course of Keel’s career, he’s played with several groups — Magraw Gap, the Larry Keel Experience, the Keel Brothers and Keller & the Keels.
Keller & the Keels is composed of Larry and Jenny Keel with Keller Williams . Their latest, out this year, is “Thief.” It’s filled with covers of songs that seem a natural segue to their Americana sound — like the Grateful Dead’s “Mountains of the Moon” — to songs you didn’t know could be bluegrass, like “Pepper” by the Butthole Surfers, “Bath of Fire” by Presidents of the USA and “Rehab” by Amy Winehouse.
Larry Keel said that the song choices were Williams’.
“I’m just glad to be a part of it, to put it out there to kids who might not normally hear it,” Keel said. In recent years new bluegrass bands have veered from playing only traditional tunes.
“I sort of look at it as bluegrass has to change to keep it growing. I see younger groups trying to turn their age groups on to bluegrass by playing songs they know in a bluegrass fashion, and therefore preserving bluegrass,” he said.
Keel plays a little bit of all of it — traditional, originals and covers.
“With my style of traditional bluegrass, I do a lot of writing and always try to write something new from something that inspires me — people I meet, all the places I go to,” he said. Fishing, too, is part of the experience.
“It’s a very Zen-like activity, very magical. You’re concentrating on one focused-type thing, and music is like that,” Keel said.
Keel said that as he grows older, he definitely takes his music very seriously, but not too serious.
“I try to keep an audience happy,” he said. “It’s nice to uplift them when they come out to a show, and I get back that good energy.”
Keel has his own youtube channel,http://www.youtube.com/user/Larrykeelmusic. Keel will be back in North Carolina again for a New Year’s Eve show in Charlotte with Keller & the Keels.
Announcing Aerial Space’s Winter Student Showcase ~ Aerial Circus Arts ~ 1 Year Anniversary Party!
Posted in Asheville, Asheville Aerial Arts, tagged 1 Year Anniversary Party, aerial, aerial arts, aerial classes, Aerial Dance, Aerial Lift, Aerial Space, Aerial Yoga, aerials, Anniversary, Asheville, Asheville Aerial Arts, birthdays, Blue de Leeuw, celebration, choreography, circus, circus aerials, circus arts, Cirque, community, event, lyra, NC, north carolina, party, private group events, Raffle, silks, space rental, Student Showcase, Studio, trapeze, Winter Student Showcase, workshops on December 17, 2010| Leave a Comment »
Announcing Aerial Space’s Winter Student Showcase and 1 Year Anniversary Party!
Saturday, January 8th, 2010
Aerial Space
Student Showcases 1-5pm
5pm Raffle
5-7pm Anniversary Party
828-333-4664
46 New Leicester Hwy. Suite 103 Asheville, NC 28806
Suggested donation is $5 – $10: available online & at the door the day of the event
Asheville, NC ~ Aerial Space is excited to announce their Winter Student Showcase and One Year Anniversary Party on Saturday, January 8, 2011. Aerial Space extends a warm invitation to everyone in the community to come and see some amazing aerial circus arts throughout the day and enjoy the anniversary celebration in the evening… please spread the word!
Aerial Space is a studio dedicated to the promotion and education of aerial movement and art ~ Trapeze, Lyra, Silks, Aerial Dance, Aerial Yoga and … just good clean fun up in the air. Their goal is to contribute to the Asheville community by offering both adults and children an outlet for play, self-expression and exercise. They offer a variety of classes for all ages and skill levels from Aerial Kids starting at age 6 to Aerial Yoga. Aerial Space thinks everyone should be able to run away and join the circus, if only for an hour.
The Winter Student Showcase will be from 1-5pm and features techniques that the students have learned in classes at the Aerial Space over the past year. It’s their chance to show off their talents to their friends, family, and others in the community to see what they have been doing in these crazy aerial classes. Some will be short demos, others will be more polished and choreographed to music. Some of the students performing are Craig Lewis, Waverly Jones, 6 year old Eli on Silks and Sling, Alex Berkow on Silks, Jessica Hill on Silks, Hali and Bryn on Sling, Rowan and Jessica on Sling, Jennifer Cribbs on Trapeze, Hazel on Silks, and lots more will be announced.
There will be a raffle including Patagonia luggage, local gift cards and lots more at 5pm; which also marks the beginning of the Anniversary Celebration which will go until 7pm! Drinks and snacks will provided by local businesses.
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Directions:Aerial Space is located at 46 New Leicester Hwy. (Moose Heart Drive.) Suite 103 Asheville NC 28801
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From Patton Ave. Turn onto New Leicester Hwy. Go 1/8th mile. Turn left onto Moose Heart Drive.
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Go 200 feet to the first big building on the left.
Go 200 feet to the first big building on the left.
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Aerial Space is a wonderful place to celebrate birthdays, private group events, and workshops. They can quote an hourly space rental with a variety of exciting options including private aerial lessons, demonstrations and performances. Impress your date, your boss or your family by letting Aerial Space host your next gathering. Call 828-333-4664 or email Owner/Artistic Director, Blue de Leeuw, at blue@aerialspace.org or visit www.aerialspace.org for more info.
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Special thanks to Aerial Space’s local affiliates: Asheville Aerial Arts www.ashevilleaerialarts.com and NC Aerial Yoga Teachers: Aerial Fit www.aerialfit.com
Archive: Larry Keel & Natural Bridge playing the Casbah in Durham Friday, Dec 17th
Posted in Larry Keel Music, tagged acoustic, Americana, bluegrass, casbah, concert, durham, Keel, larry keel, larry keel and natural bridge, Music, Natural Bridge, The Triangle on December 14, 2010| Leave a Comment »
ATTENTION: THIS SHOW HAS BEEN CANCELLED> The Keels are snowed in in Virginia…
Nice post about this Friday’s Larry Keel and Natural Bridge show at the Casbah in Durham Dec 17th. See the original post in Durham Magazine and also other happenings in the Durham area this weekend.
Larry Keel and Natural Bridge — This powerful and innovative acoustic Americana ensemble will perform two sets Friday at Casbah. The show starts at 8pm. Tickets are $15 in advance and $18 the day of the show. For more information call 687-6969 or click here. 1007 W. Main St.
Check out one of Larry Keel and Natural Bridge’s performances below.
There’s another post about the show in Triangle Arts and Entertainment.
Archive: Scott Preston’s interview with Dtb’s Tara Nevins
Posted in Donna the Buffalo, tagged Allison Moore, Americana, Amy Helm, banjo, Bass, Byron Issacs, Cajun, Donna the Buffalo, DtB, edal steel, electric guitar, facebook, festival, fiddle, GrassRoots festival, jambands, Jeb Puryear, Justin Glip, larry campbell, levon helm, Levon Helm Studios, mandolin, Music, music business model, new release, Old-time music, solo record, Sugar Hill, Tara Nevins, Teresa Williams, The Heartbeats, twitter, Van Morrison, Woodstock, zydeco on December 13, 2010| Leave a Comment »
Below are excerpts from a fantastic interview with Donna the Buffalo’s Tara Nevins by Cincy Groove’s Scott Preston. Scott also recently started the new website JambandNews.com. Click on the photo to read the full article.
Interview with Tara Nevins from Donna The Buffalo
Interview and Photos by Scott Preston.
READ THE ORIGINAL POST in Cincy Groove, JamBandNews, and Columbus Groove
To begin to understand Tara’s passion for music, one must first look to the Old-time musical community where Tara has spent over 20 years playing the fiddle. But these days her love of Zydeco is equally as influential. Beyond her time with Donna The Buffalo, Tara spent almost 10 years playing with the all-female Cajun/Old-time band, The Heartbeats, and plans to release a new solo record in April of 2011 for Sugar Hill.
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Cincy Groove: I understand you have a new solo record coming out, how is it coming along?
Tara Nevins: We are finished recording it and its being mixed right now. It’s coming out on Sugar Hill Records with a release date of April of 2011. I have been very fortunate to get to work with Larry Campbell on the record. Larry plays in Levon Helm’s band and he also produced both of Levon’s records, Electric Dirt and Dirt Farmer, both of which won Grammy’s. As if that wasn’t enough he also played in Bob Dylan’s touring band for 8 years. Right now he also is producing a record for Hot Tuna, I just feel very fortunate to get to work with him.
Cincy Groove: How would you describe the sound of your new record?
Tara Nevins: Its very organic, we recorded it up in Levon Helm’s studio in Woodstock. I would say its somewhere between traditional/Americana and Donna the Buffalo. I wrote all the songs myself except for one Van Morrison cover. Last time I did a solo record, 10 years ago, I had other people doing all the singing. But this time around I am doing the singing.
Cincy Groove: Who did you have playing on the new record?
Tara Nevins: The nucleus of the band was Larry Campbell, Byron Issacs, who plays bass in Levon’s band, Justin Glip who is the engineer at the studio played drums on quite a few tracks. I was also very fortunate to get to have Levon Helm play drums on 2 songs. I overdubbed some fiddle, accordion, tambourine, and Larry played pedal steel, mandolin, banjo, electric guitar, bass. We also had Teresa Williams and Amy Helm (Levon’s daughter) do some vocals, they both also sing in Levon’s band. Allison Moore came in to sing on a song as well. I played in an all female string band, called The Heartbeats. So I had those gals come in and we ripped out a couple tunes.
Cincy Groove: Are there any plans for a new Donna The Buffalo record?
Tara Nevins: We are planning to record sometime in February 2011, I was just on the phone with Jeb talking about that. We are definitely due for a new record. We may record it down in Nashville.
Cincy Groove: How do you feel about how the internet has changed the current music business model?
Tara Nevins: There are pros and cons. I think the big difference is that now there is more of a connection between the musicians and their fans. Before the internet, you would wait for the record to come out, you would see a few articles in magazines like Rolling Stone or maybe a review in your local paper. That was really it for your connection to the music. It was a mentality of its us and them. Now not only do you get a cd, but you can hear a few songs online before the release. The fans can also goto the band’s Myspace, Facebook and Twitter pages to see whats new with the band. There isn’t such a barrier between the fans and the musician like there was before the internet. People also get to discover music that they might not have heard otherwise. On the negative side, the computer can be a little impersonal and you can waste a lot of time on it (laughing). Bands just don’t sell records like they use to, since people can now get music for free. The art form is still in transition. Donna The Buffalo is lucky in that we sell a lot of records at shows.
Orange Peel podcast in preview of shows with Carolina Chocolate Drops, Toubab Krewe, Clutch, The Old 97’s & Donna The Buffalo
Posted in Asheville, Donna the Buffalo, Toubab Krewe, tagged Asheville, AVL, Becky upham, Carolina Chocolate drops, Clutch, Donna the Buffalo, Music, north carolina, orange peel, podcast, The Old 97's, The Orange Peel, the peel, Toubab Krewe on December 10, 2010| Leave a Comment »
Click to listen
Becky Upham, also know as the Mountain Xpress’s “Profiler“, has been working with The Orange Peel in Asheville to bring podcast previews to fans for upcoming shows.
The podcasts are available for free on iTunes and at the club’s website as a stream.
This podcast features the Carolina Chocolate Drops, Toubab Krewe, Clutch, The Old 97’s & Donna The Buffalo.
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Toubab plays for New Year’s Eve Eve on Dec 30th; DtB plays the Peel on January 29th, 2011. Find out about more shows and get tickets from the Peel’s website: www.theorangepeel.net
Archive: Interview with the Bearded Guitar Master Larry Keel
Posted in Larry Keel Music, tagged backwoods, bluegrass, charity, cover songs, entertainment, family, Fredericksburg, gary keel, Grass, guitar, holiday season, holidays, Huntington, iconic beard, interview, jenny keel, Keel, Keller & the Keels, keller williams, larry keel, Magraw Gap, Mark Schimick, Music, Natural Bridge, Pickin, progressive, progressive bluegrass, Sex and Candy, thankfulness, thief, traditional bluegrass, V Club, VA, Virginia, Will Lee on December 9, 2010| Leave a Comment »
Thorough and fun interview with Larry Keel by NICK HARRAH For The Herald-Dispatch in Huntington. Nick also wrote a great review of Keller & the Keels “Thief” as well. Check out the album review here.
Below are long excerpts from the interview:
The holidays are a time for being thankful, being with family and friends and maybe doing some charity. It’s all these things too for flatpicking guitar master Larry Keel.
Talking over the phone the day before Thanksgiving from the mountains of Southwest Virginia, Keel, like many others this time of year, talked about being home for the holidays; thankfulness, charity and family came up right away.
Talk about progressive-yet-traditional bluegrass, touring with his wife and bassist Jenny Keel, and an insurance policy on his near-iconic beard, also came up.
Keel, with his band, Natural Bridge (Jenny Keel: bass/vocals; Mark Schimick: mandolin/vocals) and the help of his brother, his old friend Will Lee, are playing more than a few charity events over the holiday season.
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Supporting causes ranging from a domestic violence shelter, to Toys For Tots, to a no-kill animal shelter benefit at the end of the month with his longtime friend and collaborator, the Fredericksburg, Va.-based “one-man jam band” Keller Williams, for Keel, already established as a kind of bluegrass deity for his fiery pickin’, it’s great to lend his music to great causes.
“It’s wonderful,” Keel said of playing the various benefit shows. “I really want to do as many of those as I can each and every year. It’s just special. I’m just extremely blessed and fortunate to be able take what I do and translate that across to people who are in need this time of year.”
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Playing with Williams, whether it’s covering other people’s songs on “Grass” and “Thief,” or having Williams produce Keel’s 2009 record “Backwoods,” or playing some dude’s couch like they did for a contest this year, is always great, Keel said. Learning and playing a few of the 13 cover songs on “Thief” was a fun challenge for Keel.
“He picked out all the tunes and showed us versions of ’em and we got his arrangements down and went out and performed ’em,” he said. “A lot of the songs I’d never heard the original versions of, like (Marcy Playground’s) ‘Sex and Candy.’ We’d go out and play ’em and people would be singing along and I’d be like ‘I guess I’m the odd man out.’ I didn’t even know any of the words,” Keel said laughing. “We just had a great time being spontaneous.”
The most immediate shows were set to be ones with his older brother Gary, and Larry talked about the early influence on him.
“He bought me a guitar when I was 8 years old, and taught me how to play melodies and rhythm guitar and all that,” he said. “After all these years, getting to get back together to play shows with him over the holidays, it’s one of the most special times of the year for me. It’s super special.”
Talking about his exposure to progressive bluegrass and his incorporation of that into his love of traditional bluegrass, Keel explained how it all came together.
“Well, you know, I’ve always loved bluegrass, that’s definitely always been the heart and soul of my music,” he said. “But from an early age I’ve liked all kinds of music. From jazz to reggae to blues and rock and roll, of course. I guess listening to it so much and loving all those different styles, it just kind of crept into my music. Kind of infected it, in a good way, you know?
“I just love every kind of music. Well, most of it. This new country or new rock developed for record sales, it just doesn’t have a heart or a soul.”
Keel and Natural Bridge are joined by Keel’s old friend Will Lee from Keel’s first band, Magraw Gap, formed in the early 90’s.
“Will has come back out on the road with Natural Bridge and will be at the V Club show and at 123 as well,” he said. “We’ve been really excited about that. Will and I have been playing music together for 25 years or more, and there’s a great chemistry there; we read each other really well.”
New music is on tap for Keel and Natural Bridge in 2011, Keel said. The band will be releasing digital downloads of new songs off Keel’s website. And as Keel brings his bluegrass into the digital age, and as the fans change the way the industry works, Keel changes with them.
“It seems like a lot of the bands and the music industry itself has changed so much, just in the last five years,” he said. “People aren’t buying CDs like they used to; people all have iPods or a computer and can pick their favorite four songs off a record for 99 cents apiece. So we’re getting on that train. On my website we’ll have a whole page dedicated to 99 cent downloads where I’ll be releasing a new song every 30 days or so. So we can take our time with, produce correctly and release the real version we want to release, so we can have something fresh out there.”
And as Keel keeps putting his own contemporary spin on traditional bluegrass, looking back, he realizes making music is what he was bound to do.
“I heard a quote one time, some musician once said they can’t see themselves doing anything else,” he said. “It’s what I’ve always known I wanted to do.”
READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE: http://www.herald-dispatch.com/life/x846271976/Larry-Keel-brings-band-to-the-V-Club-to-support-various-charities?i=0
Archive: Larry Keel: A Friday night bluegrass blast at the V-Club in Huntington
Posted in Larry Keel Music, tagged Adam Aijala, bearded guitarist, bluegrass, Huntington, Jeff Austin, keller williams, larry keel, Magraw Gap, Music, Natural Bridge, V Club, Virginia on December 9, 2010| 2 Comments »
Here’s fun blurb about Larry Keel & Natural Bridge’s upcoming show at the V-Cub this Friday!
by DAVE LAVENDER, The Herald-Dispatch
A Friday night bluegrass blast
Burn away winter’s frost with the red-hot picking of Virginia flat-picker Larry Keel and his band Natural Bridge, who are blowing into the V Club, 741 6th Ave., Huntington at 10 p.m. Friday, Dec. 10.
Keel has had a heck of a year dropping a new CD, “Thief,” with long-time buddy Keller Williams in the spring, and then touring all over the country at some of the country’s biggest festivals with Larry Keel and Natural Bridge, Keller and the Keels, Keel and Adam Aijala, Jeff Austin and The Keels, Magraw Gap, and other interesting collaborations.
Tickets are $10 in advance or $12 at the door. Go online atwww.vclublive.com/tickets.php for tickets or call 304-781-0680. Read an interview with the great bearded guitarist in Thursday’s Herald-Dispatch Lifesection.
READ THE ORIGINAL POST HERE:http://www.herald-dispatch.com/entertainment/x885909916/Smorgasbord-of-music-on-tap-for-Tri-State
Music on the Mountaintop raised $5500 for Appalachian Voices
Posted in Larry Keel Music, Music on the Mountaintop, Toubab Krewe, tagged App Voices, Appalachian Voices, Benefit, boone, donation, entertainment, environmental advocacy, events, festival, fundraiser, Jimmy Hunt, larry keel, Music, Music on the Mountaintop, NC, north carolina, Railroad Earth, Toubab Krewe on December 9, 2010| Leave a Comment »
This is great news! Music on the Mountaintop in Boone, NC raised $5000 for Appalachian Voices this year. Frank Ruggiero with the Mountain Times reports:
Organizers of Boone’s annual Music on the Mountaintop agree this year’s festival was a rousing success.
With attendance between 5,000 and 6,000, it was what founder Jimmy Hunt called “good, successful and exciting.”
Area environmental advocacy group Appalachian Voices would agree, to the tune of $5,500.
With community outreach a key facet of the festival, Hunt has ensured that portions of proceeds benefit a different nonprofit organization each year. This year, Appalachian Voices stood to benefit with a 10 percent increase in donation from last year.“Even with the economy down, there are still positive events trying to get us back,” Hunt said. “It makes sense. If people can have a good time and dance and, at the end of the day, realize their ticket made a difference, that’s pretty awesome.” . . . .
. . . “But what really blew my mind was the amount of positive response we got from the artists – Larry Keel, Toubab Krewe, Railroad Earth, even Keller (Williams),” he said. “They all tried to come find me, not just to say ‘thank you,’ but a very personal, sincere ‘thank you.’ Toubab has been all over the world and said this was such a breath of fresh air, coming back and playing in front of people who genuinely like music.
“That’s a testament to our town and fans, what Music on the Mountaintop is, and that it’s, hopefully, always going to be here.”
READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE: http://www2.mountaintimes.com/MOTM
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