The Shamanic Powers of Felsen

AG thought it was about time I write an entry in the blog for all of you. Me too. I have been singing and dancing my ass off in this band now for the funnest year and a half of my life. While some people think I joined in protest that there were no women represented, and others suspect I am here for the workout, neither of those are right. Far from it.

2013 Spring   Andrew and I were in a band together- we both played for Scarth Locke. Scarth and I are long time friends and collaborators, and I was the newest edition to his band. I sang backing vocals and Andrew was Scarth's drummer. When Andrew had mentioned he had his own band, I went to check it out. You know, support my fellow bandmate, get to know each other...it was the polite thing to do.  

I arrived at the Brick & Mortar. Felsen took the stage. Was it the way Andrew bullied his audience with so much affection, or the oddly catchy geek-rock vibe? Or was it the way that Dylan swung his arm around and and then made the sign of the cross before playing some of the maddest riffs I've ever heard? Was it the giant bunny that suddenly appeared halfway through the set? Or was it when Andrew jumped off the stage and planted his mic stand right in the middle of the crowd, and sang straight into their faces.  I thought, "What is going on here?" 

Late Summer  I had been opening for Scarth with a few of my own songs, backed by Scarth and his rhythm section: Andrew, and Peter. Scarth kicked me out of the nest. "Time to have your own band. Then we can book club gigs together."  Andrew and Peter both agreed to back me, as did Scarth. Same band, different hats. One day, neither Scarth nor Peter could make it to my rehearsal. Andrew and I met anyway, and put together some acoustic versions of my songs— him on guitar, me on vocals.  It was magic. We decided to have me learn backing vocals for a couple of his songs too. I got to work listening to Felsen’s new album, I Don't Know How To Talk Anymore, learning two Felsen songs.

Fall  Andrew sends me a message. “Wanna sing with me at the Red Devil Lounge?" It was one of their last shows before closing. I had never been there. ”What song? I asked.  “Heaven,” he said, “by Talking Heads.”  Are you kidding me? One of my all time favorites. “YES.” We got together to rehearse. We sang Heaven, and the two songs I had been learning from I Don't Know How To Talk Anymore.  Then he said, "let's sing the whole album.” I told him I didn’t know the whole album, just those two songs. He said, “I bet you do.” Sure enough, I knew the entire thing, and almost all of the harmonies. How did that happen? 

Winter We all drive to Portland. Felsen had a gig lined up, and Scarth and I had an open invitation from friends to come play at their house. I joined Felsen for a full set, first time, 20 minutes after they arrived, their rented SUV caked with ice. Scarth and I had come up the day before, and just beat the storm. No one except our own handful of friends showed up at the club. The whole city, snowed in, except for us up there. I was nervous. And Andrew’s guitar was having electrical problems. Not pretty.

The next afternoon, we load into the space we had rented for our triple bill that night- Scarth Locke, Dara Ackerman, and Felsen. It was a tea room in a converted warehouse. Bigger than our friends' living room. Much better for a show. The weather had improved. Our friends start filing in. It was a beautiful little reunion. Many of them were friends from Santa Barbara, where Scarth and I met, all relocated up north. Scarth's set was funky, smart & cool. My set had its heart on its sleeve, as usual.  And then, Felsen… This time, no bunny. Andrew was up on the stack of speakers. He was right in the faces of my friends. He was staring me down behind his lethal electric guitar. My friends were melting in piles of putty under his giant laser- beam gaze. Jackets were coming off. Sweat was flying. I had never seen such a frenzy, nor been right in the middle of one…or was I instigating one? I had been hired to sing, but I couldn't stop dancing, like a wild banshee. After, Scarth said, “Those were some pretty wild moves you were doing up there. But you were only giving about 60%, weren't you." I was stunned. How did he know? It didn’t matter. “I can’t give 100. Not with music like that. I might go so wild that...I might upstage Andrew,” I told Scarth, conclusively. “That would not do.” Scarth smiled and said, "Ask him.”  Andrew didn't even hesitate when I got up the courage to inquire. "Go for it," he said.

2014

January 2nd:  Rehearsal  We were getting ready for Felsen's CD release party, at the Rickshaw Stop in SF. Biggest show Felsen had done as a headliner. Six-piece band, including Adam Rossi from Luce. In rehearsal, I danced like a wild woman. I looked over at Andrew. He didn’t bat an eye. The rest of the band seemed ok with it. Maybe. But now was not the time to hesitate. I was on assignment: 100% or BUST. Not my nature. But why not?

January 3rd:  Felsen CD Release  I have never danced so hard in my life. I spent 20 years, age 5-25 dancing every day, training and performing. Nothing was like this. What was this? Something in this band’s music was coming through me. People asked me, “How do you do it? You're dancing non-stop. I’m losing weight just watching you. Aren’t you tired?”

No. I wasn’t. Not at all. I mean, I was out of breath sometimes, but by the end of the show, I had more energy than when I started. In fact, I had more energy than I have had in years.  What’s going on here?    

February:  Sacramento  Exhausted. After my own breakneck, sneak preview tour for my own album, I came down with a cold that would not leave me. Two weeks had passed, and now my voice was gone. I was getting worried. Felsen had an upcoming gig in Sacratmento with one of Andrew’s former CAKE bandmates. Friends were planning to come. We were going to be on the radio. I did not want to miss this one. But how could I, with laryngitis?I went to get acupuncture. It has never failed me. The next day, I was 25% better. I went back only two days later. 50%. But the gig was only two days away. I went back again the day of the gig. I felt 80% better by the end of the treatment, but I could still not use the upper register of my voice. My acupuncturist looked at me. “You are a singer, and you don’t know how to get your voice back?” He whispered a secret formula from his country, involving two kinds of hard liquor, one of which was barely legal. But I’ve never had liquor in my life, and did not plan to start. Plus, driving up there would surely drain me of what little energy I had, and there was no one to drive with me. The gig was only 6 hours away. I got on a train. I napped on the way. Andrew met me at the station, amazed that I had shown up. I could only speak with the lower part of my register. How was I going to sing? I ordered the illicit prescription at the bar. They were out of one of the two types of liqueur. The illegal one. The bartender asked, “How about a Hot Tottie instead?”  “What’s a Hot Tottie?”  10 minutes before our set, I notice, I can talk with the middle range of my voice. 5 minutes before, I am able to use the top notes. Felsen gets on stage. I open my mouth. The band hurls its music into the bodies of everyone listening. Something comes over me. I dance as if my life depends on it. As if my voice depends on it. As if dancing the rest of this lingering cold OUT, right now, can expel it from me. As if, in an uninhibited explosion of whatever it is that is coming through the band can come through me too, and cause this malady to leave me, never to come back again. By the end of the set, I was well. Did that really just happen?   

May— Benicia Many gigs have now gone by. And now we have been asked to play in Benicia, four hours straight. from 9pm til 1am. Three 10-minute breaks only. Thirty seven songs in the set, no repeats. I wonder if this is what Andrew meant by, “Rock and roll is going to beat you up.” We start into the first set.  By now I knew, though, I would be fine. Even when I forgot my lyrics. Even when Andrew bit my arm for it, on stage, in front of everybody. OUCH!  

I didn’t care. Something was coming through me again. Something about about Dylan’s playing. Andrew’s wailing. Arthur tearing it up. Shane, knocking me in the head with his bass. (Accidentally.) But even that didn’t phase me. Something comes through, and I can’t stop it. I don’t have to work for 100% anymore. It just happens, and far beyond that. This time though, it was all coming through for one of my dearest friends, who was fighting cancer. This was for him. This was for everyone. For anyone, fighting anything. Waves of energy pounded through me, and out to everybody. Everyone in there. Everyone in the world. The end of illness. The end of suffering. Out, through their amps, into my being, whipping through me, in slow motion shockwaves, out to everyone there. Someone came up to me after and said, “I have studied yoga, meditation, kundalini, you name it. None of it was like what just happened in here. What was that?”“You felt that too?”   My friend went in for surgery one week later, no idea if he was going to make it.  He came out fine. 

October, Bottom of the Hill, SF.  We are all in white. We are on stage at Bottom of the Hill. Standing in for our new bassist Bryan is Peter, dressed as a giant headless bunny. Scarth is playing keyboards in drag. Art is pounding on the drums with a light saber. Andrew is dressed like some kind of crazy, Elvis-style, cult leader. We kill it. KILL IT.  Dressing all in white somehow reveals something about this something that comes through us all. Something I have not been able to articulate to this point. The next day, I write Andrew a text. “I know what it is. Felsen is shamanic.” I can hear him thinking. He writes back. “Write a blog post about it.”

Felsen plays  this Friday in fully plugged-in, gloriously unbridled form.   Come get healed.

love,
Dara

FRIDAY MAY 29.  
STARRY PLOUGH, 
3101 SHATTUCK AVE
BERKELEY, CA 
21+OVER  $8-12 SLIDING SCALE
SHOWTIME. 9PM  FELSEN PLAYS AT 10.45.  

LA: Taix, Louis CK, Pumpkin Pancakes and Lorazepam?

Dara and I did a duo gig in LA at Taix last Friday night.  Oh man did we have fun.   Doing the duo thing has been real fun and touring with just two people is a breeze in a lot of ways and WAY cheaper.  However, I really missed the camaraderie of my band and come show time, the full metal jacket of pure Felsen rock and roll would have totally crushed that room. Crushed it I said.

Armed with only acoustic guitars and a glockenspiel, we represented Felsen pretty well.  We had a slightly rocky start and I was a wee bit nervous facing a loud room of peeps, nearly all were felsen newbies.  We sang well.  Dara played a little bit of acoustic guitar (her first with Felsen), we sold some CD's, 

 

drank a few drinks (full disclosure, ever-incorruptable Dara drank a Shirley Temple) 

and were then completely BLOWN AWAY by Greg Franco and Rough Church. Wow.  Los Angeleans, please patronize this band.  Kinda Pixie-esque. but heavier and funkier and tighter with a better rhythm section.  Great songs.  Wow.  Yes please.  

After the gig, I sat on a bench  outside of Taix with an old friend.  It's been a few years and to put it mildly, she's had a pretty rough time.  I got nothing on her.  She said the comedy of Louis CK single handedly helped her through the last year. Respect. Word to that. On her IPhone we watched a clip of Louis in action. We sat and talked til 2 am.  Dara and I finally got out of there at 2.30am and proceeded to get lost, I had an argument with Siri, calling her a beeyotch (not her fault 110 west was closed) and we proceeded to take surface streets all the way to Santa Monica, arriving at 4.15am at Foxxy Kim's house, where we've stayed before.  Her adorable kids, age 4 and  7 woke us up around 7.30.  "Where are the other two guys?".  (Art & Shane).   Kim made us vegan pumpkin pancakes. In exchange, we gave her and some of the neighbors an impromptu house concert.  "Mommy, what's  Lorazepam?".  

Dara dropped me off at El Segundo International Airport where the good people of Skywest Airlines DBA Delta Connection punctually flew me safely home. Coincidentally, I was seated near my old pal Danny Eisenberg who's a genuine rock star.  He's played keys with Ryan Adams, Shelby Lynn, Counting Crows, the Mother Hips and was in LA for a show with Christopher Owens.  We hogged the aisle and talked shop from wheels up to wheels down.  Our flight attendant, Donna Diamond, (that name is songwriting gold--don't even think about it you vampiric opportunists) asked, "are y'all in a band?".  "well, m'am it's complicated." many bands we said. many bands.  I was informed that she and her coworker were looking for something fun to do on their Oakland over nighter as I was handed an apple juice (my inflight beverage of choice).   "Can I take BART to your concert?".  I was due back to play drums that night with Danny Click and the Hell Yeah's at The Sleeping Lady in Fairfax. Sadly BART doesn't make it all the way to Fairfax. Yet.  Her coworker told us that the Captain, also her husband, plays guitar in a metal band.  "And you let him fly this thing?" said I. Not funny.  Note to self: Don't joke about the captain's flying ability mid-flight as it makes the nervous flyers nervous.  But most significantly, never joke about heavy metal.  NEVER. 

Felsen Does House Concerts

It's been too long. We're going back on the road.  

Except this time 'round we're aiming to do more of an intimate, low volume show...IN YOUR HOME.Yikes. Did I just read that correctly?  In our home?  What?  How could that be possible? How do we get this loud, crazy rock and roll band in our living room?  What will the neighbors think?

 Answer:  We'll play these things...

...and you'll get this lovely, intimate and unique experience in YOUR HOME.

"Felsen is a band you want to invite to dinner to meet your family; well mannered, well fueled and full of heart!" Paul, Fremont, CA

This type of concert is, for Felsen, the perfect venue for die-hard music fans to get to know us, allowing audiences to really listen to the lyrics and hear the stories behind the songs.   Keep it local, personal, up close and intimate.  

We’ve had some amazing experiences doing house concerts as a full band...

duo...

and even AG solo...

We’ve tailored our rock and roll antics to fit your living room, driveway, basement or backyard.  We’ll be on our best, most professional behavior and will work with you to make the show unique and fun.  No venue too small.  No need for concerns about “will they be too loud?”  Nope.  Quiet is the new loud.  You’ll hear a pin drop!

We've played all kinds of house concerts.  Some folks want the full band rocking in the backyard by the pool..

 

or in the rec room

And then there's the folks who want to keep it on the mellow, strumming and singing in the parlor. Ahhh a breath of fresh air indeed. So...we've loaded up the video camera and made a few promo vids of the Felsen Acoustic Duo doing that thing we do so well.

And just in case you want AG solo in your kitchen...

"Everyone I was with the night we hosted Felsen's house concert went gaga for their music, we couldn't get enough."  Laurie, Alameda, CA

I’d like to host a House Concert! How do I get started?

First of all, anyone with enough space to seat 25-30 people, and an interest in presenting music in a listening room environment, can host a House Concert. There’s no secret handshake or initiation ritual! If you haven’t already been to a House Concert, we recommend attending a couple different House Concert venues, to get an idea of how hosts set up the concert. We would be more than happy to talk to you about what has worked well for us and what we’ve learned over several years of performing house concerts. Also take a look at Concerts in Your Home, an online resource dedicated to helping hosts set up House Concerts and connecting performers to hosts. They have put together some very good videos about how to get started.

A few quotes from the press about dear old Felsen to whet your appetite.

“Marvelously witty pop”, East Bay Express

“Felsen strives to ensure survival of rock 'n' roll”  San Francisco Chronicle

“The band’s most potent and thought-provoking album yet… Powerful songs." Palo Alto Daily News

“Felsen has its insightful finger on the pulse of a harried, busy generation.”  Tahoe Daily Tribune

“Straight into my top 10 for the year” americana-uk.com

“Truly one of the best kept secrets of the Bay that deserves to be parroted, played as loud as possible, and shouted out to all corners of the world.”  Impose Magazine

“Felsen keeps the listener engaged with smart lyrical tales.” thefirenote.com


From a hardcore felsenista, and house concert presenter: Someday, far off I hope, I'll stare at my last sunset.  When that fateful moment arrives I will recall the glorious pure joy of Felsen playing in my living room on my 50th birthday.  I won't be the only one.  Months have passed since that night and I'm still hearing about how much people loved the party and how they now have the Felsen catalog on heavy rotation.  As Andrew told the crowd I am a True Believer and now they are too.  What could be better than my favorite band in my house playing for me and my favorite people?  It could happen to you.  In preparation for the event Andrew and I worked out a neighbor friendly set list that remained uncompromising for the Felsen faithful.  The show started early and the band played two hour long sets of electric music.  When it got too late for the local noise ordinance he and Dara settled down for a third set of acoustic gems taking requests from the assembled crowd which at that  point was sitting in a tight circle on the floor.  They finished with a cover of "Cinnamon Girl" with many signing along, filled with the utter magic of the whole evening.  As we shook hands to say goodnight Andrew said, "Lets do this again next year." It won't be my last... 

You should do it too you won't regret it you won't forget it.  

Edwin, Richmond, CA. 

Yes?   OK. So go ahead and CONTACT FELSEN:  felsenlovesyou at gmail.com

AND visit us online

felsen.bandcamp.com
facebook.com/felsenlovesyou
twitter.com/felsenlovesyou

felsenlovesyou.blogspot.com

reverbnation.com/felsen

And thank you!  

xoxo

Felsen.

Summer shows and KFOG news

My fellow Americans:

Hello.  We've missed you these past few months of summer vacay.  We're back now with news and gigs to pimp and photos to share and oh so much more.

Where to begin?  How bout the lovely house concerts we did the last weekend of July, our first shows since May.  We played two very unique and beautiful events in the east bay.  The first night was at the Niles Home Concert Venue in Fremont, CA.  Our hosts were Paul & Jana Welschmeyer and Matt Hayden.  They've created a one-of-a-kind top notch music venue in Paul and Jana's backyard.  Very pro: stage, lights, PA. Doesn't get any better than this.  The local paper even gave us a little write-up. We had a very groovy acoustic-y opener, Misner & Smith who set the tone on the mellow with some very beautiful stuff. Sitting in that night with them was local Fremont'er, Bruce Kaphan on pedal steel and guitar (google him). Not quite knowing what to expect from this audience of total Felsen newbies drinking wine by candle light, we eased in with some of the kinder, more gentle felsen repertoire. How can we better serve you? Do we rock or do we soft rock? We put on the full Felsen charm attack and they eventually caved. (booze+felsen=fun.) I beat them down about their cell phone usage and their social inhibitions, I dragged them by the hand to the foot of the stage for dancing and by 9.15pm they belonged to Felsen. From the very first downbeat though, they were an absolutely great listening audience. Many of them had been to Paul and Jana's casa for concerts in the past, true blue die-hard music fans. Hooray for that. And Hooray for Paul, Jana and Matt for creating a venue out of thin air simply because they felt their beautiful town needed a proper place to go to hear and support local musicians. They are indeed true believers. We dug deep and gave it all we had. We ended the night in typical Felsen form, out in the audience, busking for the love of it. Breaking up With Loneliness. Thanks again Niles Home Concert Series.

Night 2 was at 27 Powers in Alameda.  Our host was Laurie Wagner.  Laurie has a really lovely home  tucked away in a hidden corner of Alameda.  It's like Shangri La inside of Brigadoon. She's a writer and a writing teacher and her home and yard has hosted many concerts, poetry readings, writing classes and now, God save her, Felsen.  Our own Gal Pal Numero Uno, backing vocalist and Go Go Dancer extraordinaire, Dara Ackerman opened the evening up with a few of her finely crafted tunes.  

Alameda is my home town.  Lots of friends and family were there.  AND my main man, my son Levi was in attendance and he rarely gets to see Felsen--we're normally playing in a bar waaaay past bedtime.  He was pumped up and got to reunite with some old friends from way back...from day care.  Laurie created a really beautiful space for us to perform.  The deck of her writing cottage (everyone needs one) acted as our stage.  She put up some colorful twinkling lights, chairs and couches for peeps to sit on, lit a fire in the fire pit and served wine, booze and snacks (all for a very reasonable price I might add).  Laurie is a bonafide artist and it was nice to be among another of our ilk, another refugee from the land of misfit toys.  She gets it.  She lives it.  She made us feel very at home.  

This crowd was easy.  Again, we started kinda chillax and then slowly ramped up the energy and vibe.  Soon enough it was time for the full-on audio assault squad Alameda Backyard Style.  Better Thoughts will keep you happy and alive!

The bunny visited us, nearly caught himself on fire in the process, but once again took the show from 4th to 5th gear.  Thank you bunny--you know who you are. 

We ended the night again busking sans electronic amplification.  Take Me Back.  And we played Water Fit For Babies, which was especially fun to sing as I had my son standing near me.  I wrote it when he was just a wee little thing and he has a starring role in that tune.

Fun times in rock and roll.  

We’ve been honored by SF’s KFOG radio to be part of their local scene compilation volume 11.  You can download a copy of the compilation via the KFOG website.  All proceeds go to Music in Schools Today.  MUST is a non-profit that supports and develops music education programs.  KFOG has invited us to perform a Free Happy Hour show in Sausalito on Thurs Aug 21.  DJ Renee Richardson will MC the event.   We have a few other great local shows coming up.  We’ll be at our fav east bay hang, The Starry Plough and we’ll be returning to a new fav in Benicia, the Rellik Tavern.  AND we’ll be back in the historic Niles  district of Fremont for an outdoorsy show in the town square come early September.  More details on upcoming shows here.

Lastly, rest in peace dear Robin Williams.  You are very near to our hearts.  

Love, 

Felsen.  

Summer Vacation

Hello Dear Lovelies:

Ohhh we had a rowdy good time last week in Benicia at the Rellik Tavern.  Dear Rellik staff and patrons.  I sincerely apologize for standing on the bar top.  Twice.  Rock and Roll is my enabler, it makes me do reckless and stupid things in service of the audience’s need for a sacrificial lamb/village idiot. Also, apologies for excessive volume.  The bar man came up with his OSHA issued dB meter and informed us that we were registering around 110 dB (about as loud as standing next to a lawnmower in use.  oouch.  sorry bout that.)  As I’ve mentioned, we’re gonna be taking some time off.  I guess the spirit to throw down mightily one last sweet time was strongly with us that night.  The good people liked it though and that only acted as a further enabler for reckless musical behavior.  

(photos by Erinn Terry)

OK so now that it’s summer vacation, I’ve been thinking about you.  If we were in high school, I’d make you a mix tape.  So…here goes.  How bout a few tunes to listen to while the band is on holiday? It'll be like being in our van barreling down the highway, each band mate getting a turn at being DJ.  My turn. Arthur, look at those horsies out there!

I first heard this tune via CAKE's cover version.  This song makes me real sad.  Not sure why. Maybe it's all those many miles I/we have driven all over the country far from home.  I like the sad songs the best.  I'm that kid who arrived at the party with the Joy Division record and took the needle off the Cyndi Lauper album.  You'll probably laugh, but here it is.

The story goes that Don Gibson wrote this tune the same day that he wrote “I Can’t stop Loving You.”  Not a bad day's work!  Neil Young reinvented the tune and added a whole other layer of sad. You can't fake that.

The groove on this one is so laid back and woozy. It feels like you're on pain medication. It kinda makes you feel bad in a good way AND it sounds great in the car. Extra Loud.

This guy is my hero. Jon Brion. I Heart Huckabees soundtrack. You're welcome.

Radiohead has been sounding really good in my Honda lately.    So creepy. 

Warren gets the last word. Raking leaves with Liza.

OK Lovelies.  See you 'round the clubs.

Ooops.  My ride's here!

AG