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WHO'S GONNA SHINE IN 1999:
A WESTERN PERSPECTIVE
da Flower Punk - Jan. 15, 1999
<flowerpunk@pauserecord.com>

Regardless of how the record companies feel about how it was for the music business, 1998 was a great year for music. And as I look around the Western third of the United States, it looks like 1999 is shaping up to be another great year for sounds. Here are just a few tips about where to look this year for good new music that you might not know about already.

I assume you are already familiar with KVHW and STRING CHEESE INCIDENT, but of course no mention of bands from the West would be complete without these two. Along similar lines, rumors of the demise of THE GREYBOY ALL-STARS were proven premature; the band reappeared for four successful and critically acclaimed gigs in San Francisco as 1998 became 1999. But like I said, I assume you know about these artists already, and I want to share some other names with you in this column.

Any list of musicians from the West to watch out for this year would have to include NINA GERBER. Gerber is a Bay Area guitarist who has been working in many types of music, especially folk, and sooner or later with just about everybody that comes through town. Gerber has traditionally enjoyed playing a supporting role with others, ever since her days with Kate Wolf. Her recent "Treasures Left Behind," (1998: Red House) is a tribute to Wolf, but many also see it as a tribute to the skills of Nina Gerber. Gerber said she had to do the Wolf album before she could do her own; here's hoping she will take that next step sooner rather than later. Either way, too many eyes are on her now for her to keep that low profile she's tried to maintain in years gone by.

MICHAEL MANRING is a Bay Area bass player who made quite a splash with a solo album several years ago, so you may already be familiar with him. Since then he has been, like Nina Gerber, playing with a wide variety of artists in a wide variety of settings. Like Gerber, he can often be found on stage at the Freight & Salvage coffeehouse as the bassist of choice for any number of folk acts, such as John Gorka not too long ago. But it was his funky jazz virtuosity is what brought Manring awards in the past, and that is still alive and kicking, as his recent work with HENRY KAISER & WADADA LEO SMITH's smoking tribute to the electric period of Miles Davis, "Yo Miles!" (1998: Shanachie) demonstrates. He's also got a new solo disc out, so it is possible that Manring will be spending more time in the spotlight again this year.

You can not even talk about funky jazz bass players in the West without saying the name of Seattle's ARNE LIVINGSTON. Livingston weaves his magic with LIVING DAYLIGHTS, the trio that also features JESSICA LURIE on saxophones, and DALE FANNING on drums. Livingston hammers on the four strings like Michael Hedges used to hammer on twelve or more, all the while employing loops and delays that make him seem like two or three players simultaneously. Meanwhile Lurie plays like elements of John Coltrane, John Zorn, and Sonny Rollins go to the Balkans, and Fanning rides waves of his own creation by going from quiet control to outright abandon, most often finding exactly the edge between the two. LIVING DAYLIGHTS' most recent CD, "500 Pound Cat" (1998: Liquid City) is being extremely well- received in the US (College Music Journal ranked the disc at number 4 a few weeks ago), but the band generates good press and good crowds as far away as Slovenia and Italy too. Lord knows what kind of explosion in popularity would greet them in Japan! The good people at RumorMill suggest Living Daylights will be making the leap to the mainstages of festivals like The High Sierra Music Festival this summer. The strength of the band live combined with the success of "500 Pound Cat" could mean 1999 will be a breakout year for LIVING DAYLIGHTS.

Speaking of Seattle, one can't help but notice that ORVILLE JOHNSON is involved in a whole heap of good projects to come out of that area in recent years. Whether it be as a producer or as the player of a large number of musical instruments, whether it be bluegrass, jazz or folk, Johnson seems a key person to watch for projects from in 1999. Also from Seattle is SKERIK, who you may have seen play saxophones with Critters Buggin' or on Stanton Moore's solo projects. CRACK SABBATH is his latest project of hard bop meets acid jazz funk. MOORE & MORE, featuring Stanton Moore, Charlie Hunter & Skerik, will in all likelihood hit the road again this year too, and that is good news too.

A Bay Area guitarist to keep your eyes and ears open for is SHELLEY DOTY. Doty is an extremely passionate guitarist and singer who is fluent and compelling in any number of styles, from rock to jazz to world beat to R&B to power folk. To keep things fresh she reconfigures her "X-TET" constantly, as well as sitting in with many different bands. I fully expect Shelley Doty to be a star someday, even if she is going about it in a non-traditional way.

A young lioness of the piano, whether it be in blues, jazz or classical sounds, is the Bay Area's KITO GAMBAL. This much talent can not stay hidden for long.

Lastly for this column, let me also point your attention to TONY FURTADO, a Colorado based banjo player who forays well beyond the traditional limits of that instrument by playing it with a slide or by seriously funkin' things up on the five-string, with bass and congas accompanying him. Furtado is great in concert, and is equally at home in the studio; check him out.

There are so many other musicians and bands from the West that I'd like to point out to you that would be wonderful to check out in 1999, but this is a good start for now. This list was hardly meant to be exclusive, and most of you are probably thinking to yourselves, "hey, what about so-and-so, he/she/they are great too...." You're right, of course, and I'll try to get back around to pointing others out soon.

________________________flowerpunkprods_________________________
da Flower Punk is a historian and music journalist based in Berkeley, Ca. For more of his musings on music and the world, check out <http://pauserecord.com>.