I haven't posted in ages, nearly 13 months, I believe. Anyway, I have recently moved and now live in Columbia, Missouri. While I am here I am attempting to visit a few open mics to see what is out there and get a sense for the music community. I have gathered a few pieces in the past few weeks from the open mics, but last night probably gave me my best first opportunity. Here it goes. Enjoy!



This guy is named 'Bart', I think he is a carpenter during the day. When I saw him play last week (at The Blue Fugue), it blew me away. For some unknown reason I found his guitar style quite striking and refreshing, especially for me since I have been in a 4-year slump of not being inspired or feeling like my own guitar playing has been leading to anything that might be understood as progress.




And, here is one last video of Bart from last night (Tues Aug 30, 2011).



These videos were taken at The Bridge in Columbia, Missouri which is associated with the Columbia Academy of Music. The Bridge holds an open-mic on Tuesday nights and other events throughout the week. The Bridge is a cool place to play. The chatter at the bar tells me that the Academy of Music opened only in the past year. Both The Bridge and The Columbia Academy of Music are located within the same building. Here's to their continued success!!


- Out!

Rolland Gairroes

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Venue photographs from the exterior. I took these shots of The Brick Coffeehouse today (Thursday August 5, 2010) as I was up in Waukegan, IL.





















Mason Reed played the last music performance inside The Brick under Jim's management.

The Brick
30 North Genesee Street
Waukegan, IL ShareThis

DeKalb has a population of 45,734 (taken Summer 2009).

Tonight there is a concert that is a show to definitely catch now that the storms are gone.

Where?: The House Cafe
Address?: 263 E Lincoln HWY
DeKalb, IL 60115


Who's Playing?: Jaik Willis, Rob Reid, and Mason Reed

Time?: 7PM

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Here are a couple videos from a recent Mason Reed performance in Waukegan, IL.







A photo of Jaik Willis from a show at The Cubby Bear on Aug 28, 2009 in Chicago, IL. (Photo taken by Chad Smith)




Rob Reid playing a song earlier this year at Phyllis' Musical Inn (Chicago, IL)


Interstate 88 westbound gets your right to the gig!


The brilliant manager and booking agent for The House Cafe, ......Matthew!!!!! Good people all around at this venue. Get out of Danville, Illinois for the night and go see this show. ShareThis

Been a while for me to contribute, but I am back.

To begin again, here are some snaps from a show I had the pleasure to attend today in Waukegan, Illinois at a venue called The Brick. Today was the last day that The Brick was to be open. The doors done gone ahead and shuttered shut at the hour of 3 in the afternoon.

The reason I went to The Brick was not to say goodbye to the venue, but to catch as many songs as I could from Mason Reed as he performed an afternoon of music for the locals by the lakefront.


I had heard of Mason nearly 4 years ago from a co-worker of mine. It had taken me a few years to finally hear his music, which I did get my dirty hands on earlier this year. The album that Mason is currently touring in support of, entitled 'You Can't Come Back From Heaven' is quite a nice set of songs. When I sat down and heard him sing his first stanza today I just couldn't believe I was hearing the voice that I was actually hearing. Very cool. Gotta admit, the travelers of this world deserve much credit for doing what they do. My bandmate from the past 9 years, Chris Darby, is currently touring quite like Mason is, sleeping in the car if that is all that comes up after the show, just goin' for it. Mason tells me that he is nearing the tail-end of an 8-week stretch on the highways, byways, and sideways of the country. From what I gather, of the 7 months that have taken place this year, Mason seems to have been touring for the better part of it. He is a very nice fella to chat with, and surely he has stories to tell. Go ahead and see if he is making it into your town soon, if not, invite him to play a house show in your apartment, basement, garage, kitchen, dining room, or your favorite pub in town.



He played many a song today that I wished I had personally written. I do hope you can catch him soon before he goes on and runs back to Los Angeles, California, the place that is currently his hometown.




















Catch Mason Reed at any or all of the following tour dates:

Upcoming Shows
Aug 1 2010 (10pm) Bremen Cafe Milwaukee, WI
Aug 4 2010 (6pm) The House Cafe (Mason Reed, Jaik Willis, Rob Reid) DeKalb,IL
Aug 6 2010 (9pm) Miss Kitty's Grape Escape Galena, IL
Aug 7 2010 (8pm) The Blue Room Cafe Hammond, IN
Aug 8 2010 (8pm) Elbo Room Chicago, IL
Aug 10 2010 (8pm) Rachel's Cafe Bloomington, IN
Aug 12 2010 (11pm) Lynagh's Irish Pub Lexington, KY
Aug 18 2010 (10pm) The Nick Birmingham, AL ShareThis

Sunday, June 27th

Miss Shevaughn & Yuma Wray
Double Dour Dirt Room
8 PM

Tuesday, June 29nd

Honest Engines
Abbey Pub
9 PM

Wednesday, June 30nd

Ami Saraiya
Double Door
8 PM

Saturday, July 3

Sometimes Family Band
Subterranean
9 PM
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Sunday, June 20th

Ty Maxon
Uncommon Ground on Clark
7 PM

Tuesday, June 22nd

In Tall Buildings
Subterranean
8 PM

Wednesday, June 22nd

Mingus Awareness Project
(Dan Godston)
benefit for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
Jazz Showcase
8 PM
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This was the 10th installment of the Chris Darby Songwriter Nights at Phyllis' Musical Inn, in Chicago. It took place on June 9th, 2010.
This happened to fall on the same night that the Chicago Blackhawks hockey team won the Stanley Cup. The start time was pushed way back to accommodate that, and so the first 3 or sets were much noisier than these nights usually are. Things got quieter towards the end.
The lights were much lower than usual, and hence the videos are all pretty dark.
There is an audio recording of the show here













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Sunday, June 13th

Go Long Mule
Old Town Art Festival
12:30 PM

Monday, June 14th

Rob Reid, Willa Moore, and Tom Recht
songwriter circle
Silvies
8 PM

Friday, June 18th

Heather Styka
Loose Leaf Lounge
7 PM

Saturday, June 19th

Shelley Miller
Old Town School of Folk Music
7 PM

Gia Margaret
The Double Door
9 PM

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Sunday, June 6th

Rob Reid
Logan Square Farmers Market
11 AM

Wednesday, June 9th

Songwriter Night!
Ty Maxon, Andru Bemis, Ben Summers, Mckenzie Toma, Heather Styka, and Banjo Pat
Phyllis' Musical Inn
9 PM

Thursday, June 10th

Pezzettino
The Chopin Theatre
4 PM

The Sometimes Family
The Abbey Pub
10 PM

Friday, June 11th

Matt Crews
The Elbo Room
8 PM

Jessica Robbins
The Abbey Pub
9 PM

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