Chris Coole and Ivan Rosenberg
Tickets: Sorry, this show is completely sold out!
Join Chris Coole and Ivan Rosenberg for the Seattle stop on their “Farewell Trion” CD Release tour, part of the NextGen Folk Series.
Coole and Rosenberg may have lots of geographical territory between them, but the Clawhammer banjo/Dobro duo are from the same town, musically speaking, where old time, bluegrass, and country blues are played on Dobro, clawhammer banjo, and guitar. Coole – from Toronto, Ontario – and Rosenberg – from Portland, Oregon – first took to the road as an acoustic duo in 2008. They have since toured several times throughout Canada. Their March 2011 tour—from Portland, Oregon to Chicago, Illinois—will be their first time bringing this unique act to audiences in the United States.
Rosenberg is known as one of the top Dobro players on the scene today. His original music has appeared in over 200 TV shows and films including The Daily Show, Oprah, and Deadwood; he recently recorded on “Southern Filibuster: A Tribute to Tut Taylor” at the invitation of producer Jerry Douglas; and he won an IBMA award for co-writing the 2009 Song of the Year, “Don’t Throw Mama’s Flowers Away.” Coole is well-known for his virtuosic clawhammer banjo music as well as his guitar playing and singing with the award-winning bluegrass band The Foggy Hogtown Boys. Coole’s recent solo album “Old Dog” received rave reviews, he was a finalist at the Clifftop banjo contest in 2004 and 2006, and his CDs with fellow Toronto banjoist Arnie Naiman are treasured by fans of old time banjo.
2010 marked the release of their first CD, “Farewell Trion,” which showcases their unique clawhammer banjo and Dobro instrumentation and Coole’s compelling vocals
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“Strong material, rich vocals, and highly accomplished musicianship place this project at the top of the list. The careful juxtaposition of the old and new brings a depth to the performances that only comes with a true knowledge of the genre.”
—Bluegrass Unlimited Highlight Review
“For a ‘two-man’ folk festival, you could look to Doc Watson and David Holt, or on the strength of their first album together, Chris Coole and Ivan Rosenberg…. While Coole hammers out a rock-steady groove, Rosenberg’s Dobro in effect assumes the fiddle’s ‘voice’ in the arrangements. The result is a unique sonic mélange of old time and bluegrass—sort of ‘Josh Graves meets Kyle Creed.’ …This is a well-chosen collection of old-time music expertly performed by a pair of very talented musicians.”
—Banjo Newsletter
- The Next Gen Folk Series is jointly presented by Hearth Music, Victory Music and Empty Sea Studios.
Kings of Mongrel Folk
Tickets $12 advance, $16 at the door
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Mark Graham and Orville Johnson love the magic when they play together as much as their audiences do. “People comment on that all the time,” says Orville. “They can tell we’re having a good time up there. We play on a lot of different emotions.”
Wry humor, virtuoso harmonica, soulful blues, hot pickin’ and sweet country vocals – that’s what you get when Orville and Mark combine forces as the Kings of Mongrel Folk.
Graham’s harmonica virtuosity on Irish and American fiddle tunes and his rich, woody sound on clarinet are well-known to fans of Kevin Burke’s Open House. Graham’s sardonic skewering of contemporary life, in such songs as “I Can See Your Aura and It’s Ugly” and “Zen Gospel Singing” have been cult classics for years. His songs have been recorded by many, including the Austin Lounge Lizards, Bryan Bowers, and the Limelighters.
Orville Johnson, an instrumental gunslinger whom the Seattle Times describes as “player’s player,” has a gift of finding the “secret ingredient” that makes a song sound letter-perfect, whether it’s an R & B tune from New Orleans, a country blues or a jazzy ballad. Orville’s guitar, dobro, and quavering, honeyed vocals have seasoned more than two hundred recordings, soundtracks and countless TV and radio commercials. He also produces records and teaches at events like the International Guitar Seminar and Pt. Townsend Country Blues Workshop. He has shared the stage with artists such as Doc Watson, Bonnie Raitt and John Lee Hooker.
Between the two of them, they have played many of the most coveted gigs in North America and Europe: the Newport Folk Festival and Caffe Lena, out East; South by Southwest, in Texas; the Bay area’s Freight and Salvage and Kuumbwa; London’s Festival Hall and Glasgow’s Celtic Connections Festival, in Europe;and on their home turf, Bumbershoot and the NW Folklife Festival. Though they were longtime acquaintances on the Northwest folk scene, it was at a Folklife Festival jam session in 1991 that they hatched their plan to expand their kingdom of mongrel folk nationwide and, yes, even worldwide. Wherever they go, their performances and recordings have inspired raves:
“Performed with taste and skill and boosted by the nuttiness of Graham’s songs” - Sing Out
“Great songwriting, singing and playing” - Dirty Linen
Viper Central w/ Squirrel Butter
Tickets: $13 advance, $15 at the door.
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Based out of Vancouver, BC, Viper Central is a six-piece acoustic string-band that takes that “high lonesome sound” to new places. All six band members contribute original songs, but won’t hesitate to deliver up their take on an ages-old mournful waltz or bring the house down with a barn-burning bluegrass standard. The band first came together through a love for the old timey sounds of such artists as Ralph Stanley, Bill Monroe, Hazel Dickens, and the New Lost City Ramblers along with the more contemporary styles of acoustic innovators David Grisman, Béla Fleck, and David Lindley. Everyone brings a colourful resume and a unique sense of creativity to this collaboration. While the members of the band play significant roles in many other roots music projects (The Mountain Bluebirds, The Fugitives, The Blue Island Trio, Whiskey Jar, Headwater, Redgrass, Badgentina), the chemistry of the six members gives Viper Central a one-of-a-kind sound that will stick with you long after the show is over.
In the summer of 2008, Viper Central released their debut album, The Devil Sure is Hard to Please. Blending instrumental prowess with innovative arrangements and creative vocal harmonies, the album showcases the diverse songwriting talents of every member in the band and is quickly earning them a place among the bands to watch for in Canada’s thriving roots music scene. The band was also featured on the Whiskey Hollow Bound compilation album, which showcases six Vancouver bluegrass and old time bands and has been receiving rave reviews across the country since its release in 2007.
Appearing with Viper Central is Squirrel Butter, the duo of Charlie Beck and Charmaine Li-Lei Slaven. Charlie and Charmaine began performing together in 2005 after meeting at the Portland Old Time Gathering and discovering that they lived merely blocks away from each other in Seattle. The pair began busking, and soon realized that their individual styles, sense of rhythm, and tendency towards the quirky and obscure blended well together. It wasn’t long before they began performing at venues off the street.
Charlie Beck, hailing from Indianapolis, Indiana, is a highly accomplished musician. His mastery of guitar and banjo come from years of consistent study. He is well versed in jazz and swing, is an avid enthusiast of old American blues and string band music. His repertoire includes a bushel of traditional folk tunes along with many jazz numbers. A talented songwriter, Charlie’s original compositions combine modern approaches with traditional styles, giving his songs a unique sound. Charlie is an outstanding vocalist, and also plays brilliantly on fiddle.
Charmaine “Lady Li-Lei” Slaven, from Stevensville, Montana, is a gifted dancer, and her skill at traditional percussive buckdancing is phenomenal. She is also an adept rhythm guitarist, ukulele player, and vocalist. Her clear, strong singing style is reminiscent of the Carter family. She brings a fine repertoire of traditional ballads to the duet, along with several of her original works.
