FOLKSINGER
I've been a singer since childhood, went professional in my early teens, and have developed a wide repitoire of material and performance styles to suit many venues and situations. I've toured through most of North and Central America over 30 years of performing.
FOLKSINGER
I am a singer who began playing the hammered dulcimer, instead of the standard guitar or piano, over twenty years ago. I developed a unique style as I adapted modern music to the dulcimer and the dulcimer for modern music, performing standard songs from many genres, as well as originals, as I designed and built the first 5.5 octave dulcimers, acoustic and electric. My style is essentially vocal-accoustic, "folk ballad", in whatever genre I pick from; combined with the complex rythmic-melodic percussion of the dulcimer. My outlook is from the blues, jazz, bluegrass, celtic, and folk traditions where originality of style is more important than original lyrics or melodies, though I write songs when when I feel like it. The true test was not to write something new, but to be able to play a standard in such a way that it is original, unmistakable, and enjoyable; that is difficult.
Several full length tracks are available for you from my site
at
I can also provide on request custom CDR demos, with specific examples of whatever interests you.
Please feel free to contact
me personally for more information. All promotional materials
are available by mail or fax for those without internet access. This
is still a personal and informal business; though I maintain the highest
professional standards of craftmanship and reliability, you can call me
Brian.
Check
the announcements ("BB") page for
my general schedule and contact me to arrange a show, e-mail is best.
PROMOTIONAL RESOURCE MATERIALS
There are reviews and recomendations
available,
as well as my audiences' personal comments
from my guest book, and poems I have inspired,
including one of my own I used as my "card" during my years pursuing anonymity. I never bothered collecting the press clips or getting reviews, though I did leave a "guest book" out for the public to enter their comments in for a short while. These sort of things just weren't one of my concerns, if anything, I avoided publicity. But I am trying to begin to gather such things, and I even found a few old bits from my earlier years.
FEES
At this point, I wish to state a continuity and commitment
to my spiritual roots as a Bard. This means that I have no set fees for
performances, but will let people offer what they can afford in their situation,
and I will accept or decline based on wether I can afford to attend their
event for what they can offer. I should stress again, that I can often
make up the difference between what I need and what you can pay if I have
a good space to do a street level performance during the event, depending
on tips and CD sales to provide the bulk of my compensation, as well as
giving you many hours of entertainment at a minimal cost. I have performed
at many festivals and events strictly as a street performer with none or
minimal cash compensation, and accepting simple facilities like camping
space, a shower, meal tickets, etc; instead. At the same time, I will certainly
and realistically give priority to those events that treat me best, one
way or another. This may not be the most "professional" attitude, but it
is what I'm comfortable with. I still wish to make my music available to
all regardless of their ability to pay, and I hope I will be able to continue
to do so. I have to give priority to making enough to keep going, which means playing the street, since venues never seem to be willing to pay anything near what it costs to be a musician, not to mention what it takes to live, if they pay at all. I'd rather play streetmusic than wait tables, even if that pays more. When people ask me why someone as good as me plays on the street, I say I do it so I can afford to play at festivals and venues when I have the time and energy.
I have a great repitoire of both songs and styles, from
traditional to contemporary, and covering a broad expanse of American music;
maritime and cowboy, blues and bluegrass, folk to rock, with some Celtic
roots thrown in. I usually perform spontaineously, rather than from a set
list, though I enjoy crafting a set to match the needs and concepts of
the event. I often perform every day at a week long fair, performing a
different set of songs each time, matching the mood of the day or the crowd,
or even the other acts.
Professionally, I have found that often make the bulk
of my income and CD sales from the street performance rather than the stage
show, because I can perform and interact with people all day, and get much
more exposure than I get from the relatively short time on stage. It makes
it economically possible for me to attend fairs that can't pay me exorbitant
amounts for a stage show.
My concerts differ from having more time to move through
both gentle and serious to fast and
furious,
and just fun, and to talk about the songs and the
dulcimer. In small coffeehouse style venues I can interact directly with
people, take requests, and relate on a personal and casual level with the
audience.
A restaurant is a special environment, where I entertain
those who are waiting or eating, while not distracting others from their
dinner companions. I am not there to do a show but to be part of an exceptional
evening for the patrons. It is a fine balance that often varies moment
to moment with the flow of the patrons and the passing of the evening.
A wedding is a wedding, and a special show unto itself.
I can provide a long series of romantic songs, as
well as often performing special requests by the wedding party, sometimes I can even learn
a "special song" for the occasion. Even more than
at a restaurant, my purpose is not to attract attention to myself, but
to add to the event, without distracting from it. The uniqueness of the dulcimer
with vocals contributes to making an exceptional and memorable event as
well.
SOUNDTRACK/ STUDIOWORK
This is both an invitation for collaboration, and my availability
to work on studio projects and soundtracks. I'm planning on setting up
my own digital equipment soon, not only for my own projects, but because
I see the potential to work for and with others via the internet, even
when I am travelling. I also pass through most parts of the country each
year with the festival seasons, so its possible that I can stop along the
way to collaborate or contribute to other's projects. Once I get
the studio gear set-up, there is a real potential for long-distance collaboration.
I play music as a life, not just a living, so I make an
effort to have as much fun as possible with the music, to keep it from
ever becoming "all work and no play." I'm happy to come to parties or jam
sessions, and I encourage people to host jam sessions, parties, or house
concerts around my scheduled travels. I enjoy playing in livingrooms and
kitchens more than playing on stage, and there's nothing like a good old
backporch and a group of friends enjoying a good time. I enjoy just visiting
people as I travel. When you are "on the road" so much of your life, it
is a great thing when people open their homes to me and let me share that
feeling of place. A conversation w/ good people, a trip to some
local scenic places, just the normal routines of normal lives; is a greatly
appreciated break in an otherwise rather solitary life. I love dogs and
cats and horses and kids and gardens and long walks in the backwoods and deserted beaches. I grew up homesteading and sailing, and actually like to work when I get a chance. I enjoy splitting wood. Canning or carpentry, I'm pretty handy around a place.
This is the source for additional materials available
specifically for promotional purposes to venue organizers. Unfortunately, I haven't had a chance to finish this section, though the concept is for events where
I am performing to download whatever they
need, like posters, to modify and adapt to their own use for promoting
my performances and the entire event. Production and custom Cds and permission
to use them for promotional purposes are available by request.
The website as a whole has lots of detailed information, but if
there's any specific information or resources you could use that you can't find
here, please tell me. I'll try to provide it for you, and add it to the
site if possible.
ENTERTAINMENT
I
have performed at a regular circuit of festivals and fairs as the mainstay
of my annual national tour, as a stage performer and a busker, or both
preferably! I work well on stage, maintaining a personal contact with the
audience.
I am an excellent street performer, able to hold an audience
and give them a chance to meet a performer off stage, see the dulcimer
up close, even try it out if they like. I don't solicit contributions or
sales, but focus on entertaining and socializing with people, being an
interesting, informative, and personal event, rather than strictly a performance;
especially when I have a good space (protected from sun and rain, even
seats and tables for the audience) and a small PA. I can also just wander
the fair, setting up wherever and whenever appropriate, playing for a few
songs or a few hours, slowly circulating through the fair. People can take
photos and get autographed recordings, sometimes we have singalongs and
jams. I take the music off stage and make it an interactive event.
I
also perform in odd venues, like schooners
and other tall ships. I am quite able to play in all sorts of interesting venues:
campfires, wagon trains, airplanes, raft trips,
the sky's the limit (unless someone invites me to perform on the space
shuttle!). I have hauled the dulcimer behind a sled dog in Alaska's bush,
ridden with it on the back of my mountain bike, and have paddled and sailed
with it to offshore islands in my seakayak. I am quite versatile and adventurous,
used to roughing it in all sorts of environments, as well as able to work
well in accoustic situations, though I also have a battery powered amp.
JAM SESSIONS, PARTIES, HOUSECONCERTS, and JUST
VISITING