Posted by Clawdan on Thursday, April 5, 2018
Spring News and Travels 2018
Hi All,
Time for an update! Spring is here in Tucson and it has been a busy one indeed. I think I am playing more music now than ever. Lots of Farmers market dates and some dances with The Cat Mountain Rounders, we even did a real and for true concert! Been a while. And after a great trip to Ireland in February, it is time to get ready for the spring and summer travels.
Emmy and I are just about to head out for the spring tour East via Colorado – if you can believe that – and it looks to be a very busy trip. Details are at my website – www.Clawdan.com – on the schedule page, including links to all of the events, but I thought an overview would be nice.
Work starts for me in Longmont, CO with a concert Friday April 13, Fiddle and Repertoire workshops Saturday the 14th and private lessons available Sunday the 15th. A few spots are still open as I write this but attendance to all events is limited. Please pre-register (yes for the concert too) to guarantee you are not disappointed.
From there, I get onto Interstate 70 Monday morning and start driving east. I am still not sure where I will be stopping for the nights but I like to get in at least 8-9 hours driving each day. I have to be in Pittsburgh, PA by Wednesday afternoon to pick Emmy up (yes, she is flying that leg) so I’ll probably be able to make it to eastern KS or just into MO the first day and Columbus, OH the second. Any ideas on where best to stay the evenings is much appreciated; also for a night or two when we “land” in Pittsburgh.
Once we get to PA the fun resumes! We have formed Squirrelly Dan and The Eastern Rounders to play a series of dances. The band includes Emmy and me playing fiddles, long time Buzzard guitar player and friend Annie Trimble on, well, guitar and Suzanne Gates playing upright bass. (Bio of the band is on the webpage at http://clawdan.com/index.php?/about/the_bands. Scroll down to the Eastern Rounders for more about us.) We will be playing dances in Lancaster, PA (Saturday, April 21), Glen Echo (Sunday April 22), Baltimore (Wednesday April 25) and then back to Pittsburgh, PA for the May 4 dance there. (Rumor is that there may even be a Boiled Buzzard reunion as part of the Pittsburgh evening.) Then Sunday May 6, I will be doing a repertoire workshop (learn a couple new tunes!) and a house concert at Annie and Curt’s place.
Emmy and I are planning a hop down to Portsmouth, VA to see my older son, Jon, and his family, between the Glen Echo and Baltimore dances, then spend some time visiting Emmy’s old stomping grounds after the Baltimore dance. We pretty much are covered for housing in Eastern PA but once back in Pittsburgh, we are still looking for a comfortable place to call home while we visit my old stomping grounds and see my younger son, Josh and his family.
After the Pittsburgh weekend it is on the road again to head down to Southern Ohio, where I lived for almost 20 years, and a concert Tuesday May 8 at the Ariel Theatre in Gallipolis Ohio. Guitar bud Annie T. will be joining me again for some of that concert. It should be a wonderful evening in a beautiful historic theatre. Gallipolis is a lovely Southern Appalachian river town on the Ohio and was one of the first cities settled in Ohio in the late 1700’s. I am looking forward to seeing many of you there and getting to drive around through the hills and hollers I called home for so long.
Next, you guessed it; I start driving west towards Denver while Emmy flies back. I’ll probably head west on I-64 and aim for St. Louis the first evening. Anyone interested in a last minute workshop or house concert á la flash mob style? Let’s set one up and text the word out and out and out! Hey, it’s only an idea. Could work. Like tracking Santa’s sled progress on Christmas eve. “Where is he now?” “Will he make it?” Let me know. Maybe do another one around Topeka or how about Saline, KS? Could be fun!!!! I just have to be in Denver Friday May 11 to pick up Emmy and get to Durango for a May 12 concert. PHEW! I’m getting tired just thinking of the driving!
SO, like I said, Durango, CO for a concert May 12 then a dance in Cortez, CO on Sunday the 13th with Tony Holmquest and his band the Six Dollar String Band. They have offered to be our Rounders when we get there. It will be the big band experience. 2 fiddles, banjo, guitar and bass! LOVE that sound.
Then it will be home to Tucson to rest up and recover before playing the Tucson dance June 2, Rillito Farm Market the 3rd and the Phoenix, AZ dance June 9. So far it looks like home for June.
Sometime towards the end of June or early July it will start again, though a bit more civilized. I should be spending most of the month in Santa Cruz to help Emmy with a house-sitting gig. Actually, that will be a couple of weeks in July then again at the end of August through Labor Day Weekend. I have looked into studio space while I am there, so lessons will be available. I would also love to be able to offer a concert or two and perhaps some workshops while in the region, so if anyone wants to host or knows of a good venue, please let me know.
Between house-sitting gigs, Emmy and I plan to head north for the Centrailia campout (roughly August 10-20) in Washington State where we look forward to meeting friends for a week of music. Ray Leach who runs the campout has offered for me to do the repertoire workshop each day again (we had anywhere from 20-40 folks each day last year) so I am really looking forward to that. As you can see there is more open time around that, so if you have any desire to have me stop in the Northwest or on the way to or from Santa Cruz let’s talk.
I’ll to leave it there for now. Updates will continue to be posted to my website – www.Clawdan.com so keep an eye there. Facebook, too, continues to be a spot where I update the schedule and let you know what Emmy and I have been up to. There is a page there in my own name and another one called Dan € M.E.'s Awesome Odyssey where we tend to post travel pics and events.
Thank you for taking the time to read all of this. I (we!) look forward to much music and friends along the road. It is you who make the miles worthwhile!
Play Nice
Dan Clawdan Levenson
Author - Clawhammer Banjo From Scratch - a Mel Bay publication
www.Clawdan.com
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