Good vs. Evil...I think not

I thought it'd be a fun idea for me and Adam Hammer from the St. Cloud area to do a monthly double bill at the Local Blend in St. Joseph.  He thought it was a good idea too.

Adam and I had never met, truth be told I had only heard 1 of his songs when I asked him to do the shows.  He has graciously written reviews of my releases for the St. Cloud Times over the past 5ys., so we've talked often. 

It was agreed that rather than split the bill, we'd do an "in the round" setting, a song swap.  We liked the idea of trading off songs to keep the night fresh for the listeners and also for us. We could feed off each other, or completely ignore each other, either way it'd be interesting to see what happens.  Adam calls it a musical conversation.

We've done 2 shows so far and it's been great! 

The only negative thing I can speak of, and I will, is that the venue has come up with some clever descriptions to promote the show..."Heaven vs. Hell", "Satan vs. Gabriel".  This is false advertising.

There are many reasons why I dislike the description, mostly because it sounds like we don't like each other. If we are "vs." that means we are fighting agains each other and that is completley outrageous. It was not our intention for the shows to be a spiritual, ideological battle nor will it become our aim. 

So for those of you who might have shyed away due to the description of the show, don't.  Come out, have a good time, laugh with us as we all enjoy some songs about life.

We hope to see you at the Local Blend.

Next shows:
Sat. Mar. 20

Fri. Apr. 30  

Tom Feldmann - New Beginnings

I've been playing solo these days.  It was September, we were on a week long tour from Mn to FL and I knew, we all knew, it was to be the last band trip for a while since we've never covered the expenses, not once in 5yrs.

I would pay the band regardless of money made  from shows and a weekend trip would leave me $150-$250 in the hole, so a week long trip would cost me around $500.  It was just a matter of time.

So, I played my first solo (terrified and trembling)weekend of shows, in 5yrs. in October and came home with $350.  I couldn't believe it, I hadn't made money, made a profit, in 5yrs!  So I booked a few more weekends, and a few more weekends and in 3mnths of shows I never came home with less than $200.  Now this isn't stardum by any means but it has been tremendously liberating.  It's not about the money, as long as I'm not losing money.

Playing solo has also brought me to find some new great venues.

1 - Terrapin Station, Nevis, Mn

2 - Cup o Joy, Green Bay, Wi

3 - Greenman Music Hall, Viroqua, Mn

4 - Wild Hog in the Woods, Madison, Wi   

5 - Sugar Clay Winery, Thurman, Ne

To name a few.

So, I will be posting pics, videos, tales from my solo travels and when we play as a band, that'll be up here to.

I've also started recording videos from the back seat of my van when I'm out and about.  Calling it "Van Sessions".  You can watch and subscribe @ www.youtube.com/tomfeldmannmusic. 

Here's to new beginnings!

Shows at Random

It's been a good long while since the last post. I'll catch up with some highlights and than focus on a few recent shows.

Highlights beyond the regular gigs

Feb. 27 - Speak the Word Church International
We played at my church as part of our Cafe Night, an event put on 1-2x a year. A very large crowd, one of the biggest we've played to.

Feb. 28 - The Varsity Theater, Mpls
We played as part of the Eclectone Records showcase. Great big venue, good crowd and great friends/label mates. There was video taken but nothing has surfaced. Jed Staack (drummer) did double duty, playing with us and Mark Thomas Stockert. A long night for him.

Also on the bill that night:
The 757s
Six Mile Grove
Hojas Rojas
Dan Israel
Little Man
The Mad Ripple

Fast forward to present

May 18 - Iowa Public Radio

We were in Cedar Falls, IA at KUNI for their Live From Studio One radio show and you can listen to the program below. (Click on songs to start)

My wife took her 2 favorite songs from each disc to make up the set list. She did a great job! It's always nice playing songs you know someone wants to hear.

It's a bit dry in the radio studio...no real atmosphere to connect with. But I believe it was the best we've done on this program. We've played it 4x and this was the keeper.

Big thanks to Phil Maas (engineer) for greating us with a smile and for always being so friendly.

June 3 - Lake Harriet Band Shell, Mpls

Paul Liebenow (bass) is one of the sound engineers for the Lake Harriet Band Shell concert series and he landed us this slot. Great weather! It was odd at times, uncomfortable at times and fun at times.

Odd - people bike, run or walk by and than stop, look and listen, and head on their way. I felt a bit like a carnie trying to get people to stop by my booth.

Uncomfortable - besides the benches...there were birds zig zagging and dive bombing us all night! One came zooming right between me and Paul! We were joking prior to the set about who'd get pooped on...It was Paul's bass that got struck...funny and not at the same time. Sorry Paul.

Fun - we got to play outside, which is great.

Thanks to Dale for snapping theses pics!

End cap

We've been trying out new material and that's brought some refreshing to the dryness I know we all feel. We have 18 new songs we've been working on, 9 for a new CD...a tribute to the gospel sides of Muddy Waters, Fred McDowell, Washington Phillips, Dock Reed, Charley Patton, Son House, Lightnin' Hopkins and Robert Wilkins. You can view the blog/liner notes @ solecd.blogspot.com

The other songs will be distributed somewhere.

I've been listening to a ton more music lately and have been thus working out covers. Which is a change from my "I don't do covers" stance. I've realized that my joy in music is sharing the music I like with you...original or covers.

So, to end things off, here's a few discs I've really been enjoying.

Til next time! All the best.
-Tom Feldmann

- McCormick Gospel Singers: Songs Of Faith-Southern Gospel Legends Series

- Kilby Snow : Country Songs and Tunes with Autoharp

- Washington Phillips: Storefront & Streetcorner Gospel 1927 - 1929

- The Flying Clouds of Detroit: 1942-1950

- The Radio Four: 1952-1954

- Complete Recordings of Sam Cooke with The Soul Stirrers

- E.C. Ball: with Orna Ball & the Friendly Gospel Singers

Live on Iowa Public Radio

We were in Iowa City on November 8, 2008 for Iowa Public Radio's "Java Blend Radio Show". It was an hour long show, but I scaled it down to 20min for these purposes.

Click the player below to listen. Hope you enjoy!!


**Embedded Code for this Podcast**

Set:
Intro
Gypsy Russian Rose - lyrics
Pedal Steel Heaven - lyrics
10,000 Chains - lyrics
Interview Segment
Red Shoe Song - lyrics
Credits
Redeemed - lyrics

Midwestern White Kids Have No Butts.(Iowa CD Release Shows)

Thursday, October 23 - Des Moines, IA
Java Joe's - 7-8:30p
Vaudeville Mews - 10p



Our early show was at Java's Joes and it went quite well. There were swing dancing lessons in the theater part of the building, so we played in the main cafe area. Mingling folks, crazy looking homeless people who weren't homeless at all, and young kids trying to look like crazy homeless people pretty much made up the crowd.

We met 2 of Sarah Palin's campaign workers who were in town setting up for her Des Moines visit. They bought CD's, which was nice. Vaudeville Mews, the club next door, was having an all-ages rock show and no one came so the bands from that were milling about as well.

We did a long 1 1/2 hr. set, packed up and loaded in next door. The clubs are next door to each other.

Vaudeville Mews is a typical bar/venue, but I have to say they aren't very interested in having bands play their venue. They would rather be closed and be at home. Case in point. A band from Canada was setting up when we loaded in, they were supposed to play the all-ages show but got into town late, drove all day from Denver! So we said, cool, play. They played to the 2 people who came to see them and then when the local band went to set up, the club manager told them to go home because they didn't bring any paying customers!

So this poor local band, which I booked to play the CD release with us, had to come out late, listen to a band they really didn't like and then were told to leave!
If a band drives to play your venue, I think you should at least give them the option to decide whether to play or not. This is a growing epidemic within the music scene, venues that make you feel like, oh great the bands here...in a negative way.

Thumbs down for Vaudeville Mews!

We got on the road and made it to Iowa City by 2a. Fog like pea soup all the way, the guys were a bit nervous.

Friday, October 24 - Iowa City
Java Blend Radio Show - 12noon
Java House - 8p



We did 2 shows in Iowa City as well. 1st at noon for Iowa Public Radio's, Java Blend Radio Show. It's a live audience taping and airs a few weeks later. Ben Keiffer is the host and he had this to say about us, "Rich music mined from the depths of Americana. Feldmann’s probing lyrics and yearning growl will echo in your soul and lift you up."

We played an hour set, mixed the new stuff in with the old and it was really a great show. It's recorded at the Java House, which is where we would play that night, and it was full of people at the noon hour and what can I say, great show, great crowd, great time.

The show was a little slow that night, not many folks were out, but we had a good time with those who were there. We went out to the Mill afterwards and had an interesting time...don't sit next to the jukebox! Lots of college kids, all looked way to young to be in a bar. They all seemed to want to stand next to the jukebox and block the door to the bathrooms and since we were sitting in the booth next to the jukebox, by the door to the bathrooms, we had butts in our faces the whole night...one thing I learned, Midwestern white kids have no butts.

It rained most the time in Iowa City so we didn't get many pictures except this scary looking Ronald McDonald.



Saturday, October 25 - Davenport
Mojo's - 7p



Mojo's Coffeehouse is on the ground level of the River Music Experience building, which not only has multiple venues but acts as sort of a music museum.

We had to end early, 8p instead of 9, because their was a Smooth Jazz series going on upstairs and the guys were wailing! It was fun to see all the people all dressed up...unfortunately they walked by us and went upstairs.

A couple came out to see us who heard me on the radio about 8-9 years ago and have followed me since. It was great to talk with them and they dug the "private" show.

We decided to drive home that night and left Davenport by 8:30p. We stopped at Iowa's largest truck stop, got some supplies and were on the road. We got to Minneapolis by 4a. I was home by 5a.

Crazy wind through Iowa on the drive back which showed up in the form of snow in MN. First snow of the year...Oct. 26.

Jed took a bunch of photo's and you can see them @ flickr.com