Recent music pics and videos

I've got a whole bunch of images and videos to load onto Flickr and YouTube, and that's what I'm mostly working on today. Some are from last night and the past couple weeks, and some are from several weeks ago when I was having my computer problems. Should get them all up in the next couple of days. Put a few of Kelly Underwood on from last night, am loading video of Bill Walkner and Lloyd Rohr as I type this, and in the cue is Ethan Keller from last night.

Ethan Keller

Last night was a blast with Ethan and Kelly perfoming together (alternating sets). Kelly was great. She continues to impress and and gets better by leaps and bounds every time she plays. I have to tell you again, and persuade you, to check out Ethan Keller if you haven't already, should you ever get a chance to see him perform (here at the Stump, in Milwaukee or wherever). This guy is just way too good to not have a big time recording contract.

His songwriting is better than most anything you'll find in any record store racks, both musically and lyrically, and his inventiveness with technology and instrumentation makes watching him perform a real treat. Every time Ethan has performed here there is always someone in the joint who says to me something like "Man, this guy is awesome!" And each time he's here he always plays stuff we haven't heard him play before, it's always fresh. Do yourself a favor and check him out if you get the chance, and pick up one of his CDs - you can get them here or from Ethan by sending him a message via his myspace site (www.myspace.com/ethankeller), where you can also have him put you on his mailing list to get updates on where he's performing next.

Our pal Nick Weiland is finishing up a new CD too. I'm doing the cover art for it, which I'm very honored to do. Nick and Brian Sanchez will be coming back to the Stump pretty soon. Can't wait, those guys do the blues right.

Weekend notes

Check out Kim's Wine All You Want blog for info on the Stumpjack Valentine's Day special wine and gourmet pizza event. Yum yum yummy.

It's getting to be that time again...gardening time. This Saturday (Feb 7) the Urban Gardening Gang will be meeting here at the Stump at 10:00 a.m.. Seed catalogs are one of my favorite things to peruse. Check out their blog here for details.

Friday night is going to be a blast, if you dig great music. We'll have Ethan Keller and Kelly Underwood teaming up for what promises to be a very cool and maybe a little unusual night of fun.

Love Live Music at Stumpjack

Friday, February 6^th at 7:00pm Milwaukee jazz/funk artist Ethan Keller and Manitowoc independent musician Kelly Underwood will be performing together at Stumpjack Coffee in Two Rivers. Keller is a Milwaukee musician of some notoriety and has earned a strong following for both his musicianship and songwriting skills. He is an accomplished performer who captivates audiences with his ability to build a song onstage via his use of alternating several instruments and a looping sound machine. He will, for example, pick up bass guitar and play the bass line for a tune, record it on the looping machine, go to guitar and play the rhythm part, loop that over the bass line, and so on, building the song in front of the audience. He has a talent for improvisation. His music is jazz and funk based with a strong melodic and alternative rock foundation, while his occasional covers of other artists songs are rather esoteric and always interesting.

Kelly Underwood is someone who many people believe is a star in the making. Her sound is reminiscent of Sarah McLachlan and The Cranberries. Underwood auditioned for American Idol last year and while unsuccessful in making the final cut she did earn praise from the judges and was one of the few who were considered for the final line-up. She is determined to return to try again this year after receiving high marks from the Idol judges. She has a very appealing stage presence, is quick to laugh and have fun on stage, often picking out people in the audience and spontaneously making up songs about them. She is constantly honing her craft as a songwriter and musician, with each performance bringing something new and fresh.

This will be the first time that Ethan and Kelly have performed together. It is a collaborative performance that promises to be most interesting and a lot of fun.

Ethan Keller & Kelly Underwood

Friday, Feb. 6 at 7:00pm
Cover: one drink/hour minimum

Ethan Keller kicks butt!

Last night Ethan Keller again made it clear that he is one of the most gifted and interesting musicians around. Watching him build a song with his looping gizmos, doing his versions of unusual cover tunes (like Michael Jackson or Thomas Dolby...I'd show you his cover of Dolby's "She Blinded Me with Science" on video here, but he warned that a brick might drop if I did. lol.), and his own beautifully funky compositions is such a gas. Next time Ethan performs here you owe it to yourself to come check him out. I feel safe in saying that you won't find anyone else like him performing in this neck of the woods. I guarantee you will be duly impressed.

Here's a couple videos from last night's gig. The video and audio quality that my Flip Video records is pretty weak and hollow compared to the fullness of sound that Ethan produces while playing...you lose a lot of the little complexities of his performance. But it'll do.

We all shouted for an encore, and Marty hollered for "Christopher's Sister" off of Ethan's Face Light CD. So, this is his final tune from last night. I've placed a few others onto the Stumpjack Coffee YouTube site...check 'em out.
Here's the link to Marty's Flickr set of images from Friday night. The top two images are from Martys camera...some by him and some by me.

Friday night jazzification

ETHAN KELLER

FRIDAY, Nov. 21 (that's tonight!), 8pm

Need to warm up your cold self on this frosty day? Come on down to the Stump tonight to see and hear one of the most talented cats in the cheese state right now...Ethan Keller. I can't say enough about Ethan...he's been here, what, three or four times now, and it has always been a night of super-fine music and energy. We got our start times a little confused, so we're going with 8:00pm. I think we're going to have some hot cider with apple-cinnamon liqueur on hand too...guaranteed to warm both your spirit and your innards.