Welcome to all the new mailing list sign-ups from recent gigs. August saw me playing in Monterey, Alameda, Noe Valley and San Carlos in duos/trios with five great collaborators. Thanks to all on both sides of the stage...  

Laurel and Shannon and I made our 'S.F. debut' at Bliss Bar and were invited back for a standing monthly week-end spot through year-end -- the only non-jazz group at this venue with a prestigious jazz series http://www.blissbarsf.com/images/sundays.pdf

Later, Shannon, Cal and I played a 'home-town debut' (for me) at Piacere, San Carlos, and were invited back for two shows this month. Do I detect a trend? Sure hope so.

Here's the upcoming calendar -- check my website for late additions or changes. Hope to see you at a show soon. Thank you for your support!

Fri. Sept. 9; 8pm --Caffe Frascati, San Jose http://www.caffefrascati.com

Shannon http://www.shannonmillermusic.com/  joins me at the former Caffe Trieste, next door to the opera house in downtown S.J. A very nice venue with a commitment to live music. All ages; free.

Fri. Sept. 16, 7:30-9pm -- High Street Station, Alameda http://www.highstreetstationcafe.com/

Returning to this superb up-and-coming 'destination' music venue (with a brand new house sound system) together with Shannon and possibly a special guest fiddler. We are the opener in a double-bill. All ages; $10 door

Sat. Sept. 24, 7:30pm -- Piacere, San Carlos http://www.piacererestaurant.com/

So I've learned that downtown San Carlos has become a happening place on week-ends, and this is the epicenter. We play in the lounge opening on to Laurel St. outdoor sidewalk cafe...really delightful in this weather. Cal and I explore 'the art of the duo' with a more instrumental groove this time... All ages; free. 

Fri. Sept. 30, 7:30pm -- Piacere, San Carlos http://www.piacererestaurant.com/

...then back with Shannon's lovely lead vocals and harmonies. Legendary N. Calif. blues guitarist and harmonica player Stevie Gurr sits-in http://steviegurr.com/. Cal and I round out the quartet (personally I think this one is gonna be special). 

Peeking ahead: Oct. we begin our standing engagement at Bliss. In Dec. I'm thrilled to be making a rare solo appearance in Doug Young's acclaimed Acoustic Guitar Showcase series at Mission City, Santa Clara 

Come out and join us!

 Cheers,

Yeah I know, it's been a while since the last newsletter...not that I haven't been busy playing out, but I've been doing single-event e-mail 'flash' notices instead of monthly calendar updates (to keep mailings to a minimum).

The new lineup with Laurel and Shannon (well, new since early this year) continues to find its groove -- check out these videos (courtesy our good friend John Mount): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKdyWQPfnto&feature=channel_video_title

Shannon and I went into the recording studio recently; Laurel is still in the process of dubbing the violin tracks, but you can preview a couple of rough mixes (minus violin) on my website player http://www.jr-guitar.com/ 

Here's the upcoming schedule -- check my website calendar for late additions or changes. Hope to see you at a show before summer end. Thanks for your support!

Tues. July 19; 8pm -- Cafe Royale, S.F. http://www.caferoyale-sf.com

Returning to a cool tavern on the edge of the downtown theater district. Shawn Daniel joins me on blues harmonica. 21+; free

Sun. July 24; 4-7pm -- Santana Row, San Jose http://www.santanarow.com/

Outdoors on the Main Stage, with Shannon & Laurel. And lots of upscale shoppers....

Sat. Aug. 6; 7pm -- East Village, Monterey http://www.eastvillagecoffeelounge.com/index.html

Deanna Lynn makes her last local appearance before heading off to music school at Southern Cal; joining Shannon and me again (the 3 of us played Bocci's Cellar in Santa Cruz recently) for what promises to be a very special night. All ages; $10 door/$5 students.

Tues. Aug. 9; 7pm -- Julie's Tea Garden, Alameda http://www.juliestea.com/

Shawn Daniel joins me again for a rare East Bay gig. All ages; free.

Sun. Aug. 21; 4:30pm -- Bliss Bar, S.F. http://www.blissbarsf.com

Returning to this ultra-hip Noe Valley lounge with the new trio lineup. This is a noteworthy show as we are the only non-jazz group to play in the prestigious Sunday Jazz Series at Bliss. 21+; $10 cover

Fri. Aug. 26; 7:30pm -- Piacere, San Carlos http://www.piacererestaurant.com/

Finally playing a local spot -- and it's a good one! Shannon (and a surprise guest) join me at the Euro-style sidewalk cafe/bar. 21+; no cover

Regards,

JR

 Cheers Friends,

Yeah, I know Jan. is halfway over and we've already played 2 shows in the new year...bad newsletter editor! So I'm combining what's left of Jan. with a really busy Feb. calendar.

Special thanks to the enthusiastic audience and mailing list signups from our shows in Alameda and Oakland this month...you guys were great, hope to see you again soon.

Once again in 2011 I'm blessed to be performing with an awesome group of collaborators, including some exciting new names below...but I'm also sad to say farewell to Deanna and Christian who are off to other projects. Good luck to Deanna, who has been auditioning for top music schools this month...I'll miss playing on the coast with the 'youth lineup' (though we always interacted as musical peers) but look forward to a fun reunion show with D. & C. someday.

It's a very full calendar from now through next month, with lots of lineup combinations, debuting some new (trad. celtic) material, and some new venues. Check the website calendar for late changes/additions. Hope we see you at a show, it means so much to us...

Sat. Jan. 22, 9:30pm -- London Bridge Pub, Monterey; w/ Stu Wilson http://www.lbpmonterey.com/

Wed. Feb. 2, 7:00pm -- Bazaar Cafe, S.F.; w/ Cal Keaoola & Ted Silverman http://www.bazaarcafe.com/calendar/?o=2&w=1&c=1&m=02&a=1&y=2011

Fri. Feb. 4, 6:00pm -- Orchard Valley Cafe, Campbell; w/ Stu Wilson  http://www.orchardvalleycoffee.com/calendar.html

Tue. Feb. 8, 9:00pm -- Club Waziema, S. F. http://www.clubwaziema.com/index.htm; w/ Ted Silverman & Shawn Daniel http://www.myspace.com/shawndanielshaffer 

Sat. Feb. 12, 7:00pm -- Plaza Linda, Carmel Valley Village; (guest tba); 

http://www.plazalinda.com/

Sat. Feb. 19, 12:00pm -- The Cannery, S. F.; w/ Shawn Daniel http://www.thecannery.com/performers/

Sat. Feb. 26, 8:00pm -- Red Rock Cafe, Mountain View; w/ Stu and Shannon Miller http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/sweetfire#

Regards,

JR

Happy November,

Thanks to all of you who came out to a show or joined the mailing list last month. Special thanks to Dennis for his photography at Red Rock, some of which appears on my website.

Our video clips from the Animal Friends benefit still getting views...thanks!  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6akU_zTvhj0

In November I get to perform with 3 exceptional fiddling talents -- Deanna, Cal and Stu. Not a bad month.... Please come out to a show -- we need your support more than you realize! Here are the dates:

Sat. Nov. 13, 8:00pm -- Alternative Cafe, Seaside (w/ Deanna & Christian; opening act http://www.myspace.com/bernadetteconant ; all ages; $10 ($5 students) http://www.thealternativecafe.com/index.php

Fri. Nov. 19, 4:00pm -- live on-air 'Friday Folk-Off' show at KKUP http://www.kkup.com/

Sat. Nov. 20, 8:00pm -- Cafe Trieste, San Jose (w/ Stu Wilson) http://stusic.com/ http://www.caffetriestesj.com/

Fri. Nov. 26, 9:00pm -- The Plough & Stars, San Francisco  (w/ Cal Keaoola and Ted Silverman) 

http://www.theploughandstars.com/

 Cheers Friends,

Thanks to all of you who came out to a show or joined our mailing list last month. 

I had the pleasure of connecting with several new musical collaborators in Sept. -- thank you KC, Stu and Shawn for sitting-in with me.

Our video clips from The Works benefit continue to get a lot of views...thanks!  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6akU_zTvhj0

I'm esp. looking forward to re-uniting with Cal this month; also playing again with another amazing violin/fiddler Stu Wilson http://stusic.com/ ; and debuting the trad. British folk material Deanna, Christian and I have been working on. Hope to see you in October!

Sat. Oct. 2, 9:30pm -- London Bridge Pub, Monterey (trio w/ D. & C.) http://www.lbpmonterey.com/

Sat. Oct. 9, 7:00pm -- High Street Station, Alameda  (w/ Cal Keaoola; & drop-in guest) http://www.highstreetstationcafe.com/index.html

Sat. Oct. 16, 3:30pm -- The Cannery, Fisherman's Wharf S.F. (with guest) http://www.thecannery.com/performers/

Fri. Oct. 22, 6:00pm -- Cafe Zoe, Menlo Park  (w/ Stu Wilson) http://cafezoemenlopark.com/

Have a great month and fall. On behalf of Deanna, Christian and Cal, thank you for your support.