Shawn Rohlf, a musician newly immigrated to San Diego, was looking for places to play back in 1997. The Hillcrest Farmers market was newly opened–one of a handful of farmers markets at the time. Shawn talked to management and received permission to busk on Sundays for tips. At first he was solo, playing banjo, guitar, […]
We can say that Chuck Perrin, a San Diego-based singer/songwriter, poet, and music entrepreneur, has had enough of keeping his demons entertained as he embarks with his new album, The Yearn. This is his way of getting down to the nitty gritty. His previous albums like Beat.itude (1995) and Down 2 Bone (2009) reveals a […]
Chi Chi Martini had called from Las Vegas a few days before my journey there to discuss the itinerary and battle plans. I was to play one set at his nightclub, The Golden Tiki, on the evening of December 7. The terms were very generous, and he would fly me there and back and put […]
The world is sometimes a hard and painful place. Where can we go for refuge? Is there a safe harbor where we can feel our own validity, our own significance, our own sanctity? In all the world’s spiritual literature, there is nothing quite like the Psalms. Tradition has it that most of them were written […]
The Caged Bird is the new CD by Fred and the Kid and is more of the same. The strengths of the disc are the authentic biographical drama in the storyboards of the ballads, the fit into the tradition of outlaw country in the California flatlands, Strandberg’s tasteful virtuosity, and Fred’s vocals, which lack range […]
Hello Troubadourians! January. Time for New Year’s resolutions. Or not. I’m not one for artificial and external “reasons” for making changes. I am of the opinion that actual change happens because a person finds something in their life to be intolerable and change becomes inevitable. If that sounds a little too esoteric and intense for […]
Seldom do you get to talk about two musicians who carry between them over one hundred years of music legacy. Happy Traum and Jim Kweskin are those guys, and they are vibrant gentlemen who continue to expand their artistic output with the vigor and spirit of their youth. After reading about them here, you will […]
