Jonathan Ramsey

This Friday, join me as I host the opening of the Genre Wars 2009 Pre-Party at Felix’s in Dogtown. Don’t think “Battle of the Bands”, that well-worn elimination gimmick. In Genre Wars, bands of various genres –metal, blues, folk, Irish, Tuvan throat song, what have you- perform songs from outside their respective genres. The audience gets to vote for their favorites. It’s great fun, of course.

Felix’s is a great place, in one of Saint Louis’ most exciting neighborhoods. When I played there in May, I had a great time, and met a lot of nice people. While it hosts many rock bands, it’s also a very intimate setting, allowing a lot of great interaction between the artists and the audience. You’ll feel like you’re in your own private show. The staff is very friendly and helpful, and ready to take care of you, whether you need food or drink, or help getting a taxi.

Along with Dave Jordan, I’ll host beginning at 9PM, playing a few short sets. In between, Josh Timbrook (post-modern experimental folk), Dyadic Effect (experimental, instrumental rock), and Stupid Dreamer (4-piece rock) will perform their own sets. It’s sure to be great fun!

Genre Wars
Friday, 19 June 2009 9PM – 1AM
Felix’s
6335 Clayton Ave
St Louis, MO 63139
(314) 645-6565
Get directions

Be sure to join in on the comments. I want to know what you think. Have you been to Genre Wars? Do you already have an idea which band you think will do best?

Come on. Come on. Please, please come down to Saint Louis for the White Album 40th Anniversary Tribute Show at Natural Fact Deli in Webster Groves. My friends Rachel Brandt and Brad Johnson of The Nancy Boys will join me to help perform the entire iconic double album from “Back in the U.S.S.R.” all the way to “Good Night”. It’ll be a Fab night of dedication to Beatlemania. Proceeds from the show benefit LiveFeed, the Saint Louis charity dedicated to ending hunger one show at a time.

Rachel Brandt, whose delicate, bluesy piano and vocals, will take on roughly a third of the classic White Album songs. The next night, she’ll hit the Saint Louis scene for another show –of her own soulful originals- at Cicero’s in University City.

Brad Johnson normally –in a matter of speaking- fronts the Saint Louis rockers The Nancy Boys. You can find them, of course, at many of Saint Louis’ rock and pop haunts. Catch the band delivering their own pensive rock sound at Ten Mile House, on Friday, 21 November.

I, Jonathan Ramsey, contrary to rumours fueled by the media, have not abandoned society to spend the rest of my days with a long beard, dancing with wolves and fairy shoemakers. No. In fact, I can be caught regularly in Saint Louis and the region, peddling Irish folk, post-modern standards, and my own twisted originals. Regulars at Castletown Geoghegan and O’Malley’s Irish Pub know. For this one night, I’ll spread the late-60s counterculture-infused cheer of the Beatles’ White Album (AKA The Beatles The Beatles) with Rachel and Brad.

So, head off to Natural Fact Deli, join the fun, and help feed Saint Louis children. Proceeds will help purchase food for area pantries and kitchens.

Natural Fact Deli
20 Allen Ave
Webster Groves, MO
314-961-2442

Google Map.

If you like my music, you should definitely check out my friends the Kelly Band. Lead by Kelly Dougherty, they drive a very soulful, thoughtful sound. Kelly’s vocals produce a clean, classic sound, when they perform lyric airs, but I’ve heard her rip up the strong upbeat songs as well. I’m also been pleased to see her teamed up with my friends Mike Dugger and Gordon Bearss.

Kelly has a new CD, and will celebrate with a CD release party, Saturday, Sep 13 2008, at Kansas City Irish Museum & Cultural Center, in Kansas City, Missouri. That’s in Union Station, at Pershing and Grand. They’ll perform at 8:00 PM.

Check out more of Kelly at…

• Kelly’s MySpace
• Kelly’s Official Site

Yes. I’m finally getting around to getting some new videos up. I was tweaking and experimenting with settings in the editing software, trying to get the video ready to YouTube. So, I looked for some advice on such settings. I found this instead. This is where I should have started.

That’s how you make a good music video.

Thanks, guys!

Don’t forget to catch the Irish Xiles, who have shows the rest of this month in the area.

• 11/16 Castletown Geoghegan in Belleville 9pm
• 11/17 Castletown Geoghegan in Belleville 9pm
• 11/23 Scottish Arms on Sarah 9.30pm
• 11/24 RT Weilers in St. Charles 9pm

Here’s a little clip for you:

Tonight and tomorrow night, 9 November and 10 November 2007, my good friends from Kansas City, The Elders, are playing at The Dubliner Saint Louis.

The Elders are known for their infectious original songs, and lively shows.

The Elders are:

• Ian Byrne – Vocals and Percussion
• Norm Dahlor – Bass, Banjo, Guitar and Vocals
• Brent Hoad – Violin, Mandolin, Keyboards and Vocals
• Joe Miquelon – Keyboards and Saxophone
• Steve Phillips – Guitar, Mandolin, Vocals
• Tommy Sutherland – Drums and Percussion

The Dubliner is at 1025 Washington St, St Louis, MO. That’s on the northwest side of downtown Saint Louis.

Check them out! I may make it there, Saturday night.

Wahhh! For the second year in a row, this They Might Be Giants fan of twenty-two years might have to miss the show. As an avid fan, and a musician who would love my daughters to appreciate intelligent music, that isn’t mere aural spoon-feeding, I make sure they hear artists that I appreciate. Both my daughters are big TMBG fans, not because of “Here Come the ABCs!” or “No!”. They knew the ABCs and that “No is always No!”, long before those recordings came out. They love them because of “Don’t Let’s Start”, and “Ana Ng”, “Dr. Worm”, and, of course, “Birdhouse in Your Soul”.

For over ten years, I’ve been able to take either, or both, of them to every They Might Be Giants show that presented locally. We’ve even happened into a couple that weren’t so local, thanks to circumstances in Chicago and Cleveland. They hate to miss them.

Last year, that ended. Last year, we were informed by the staff at The Pageant, in Saint Louis, that we could buy tickets, but that the band insisted that no one under 16 be permitted into the venue. I was rather outraged. I planned to letter-bomb TMBG’s management, Disney, and anyone else I thought might be involved in uninviting me and my family to the show. Buying a house, fixing a couple sinks, and the like, stole much of my thunder, though. I quietly let it pass. The pit in my stomach remains.

Now, I’m not ignorant. I know that, very likely, a few thousand adults purchased “Here Come the ABCs!” on CD and DVD. Then, they took their three-year-olds to the Egg, or First Avenue, thinking they were going to see something akin to The Wiggles or The Doodlebops. They wrote some letters. They demanded some money back for their tickets. They complained to The Johns, The Disney, and The Malcolm in the Middle. Someone overreacted to this parental overreaction, and banned children from the non-childrens shows.

I appreciate that they want to keep the unknowing from showing up with Tiffany and Bobby, and a bag of diapers and wipes. This, however, is unfair to those of us who’ve known for two decades what happens at a They Might Be Giants show. Sometimes, Flans lets a little saucy talk fly –just one word, once. It’s no worse than what the kids hear at Walmart or on the telly.

So, please, John and John, let us come to your show. We can’t hire a sitter and tell our daughter that we’re going to hear her favorite songs live without her. It goes against taste and principle for us.  Either that, or we’ll just have to wait for Rufus Wainwright to come, or for Leonard Cohen to come out of retirement for a show or two. I’m certain they will let us in.

Thanks to nialler9, I now know what his roommates sound like. If you like good, indie hip-hop, electronica, or rock, you really should check out these lads from Dublin. They mix it up quite a bit.

Of course, their official site is at http://www.superextrabonusparty.com/

Tags: irish+music electronica hip-hop dublin+bands rock

Count me among Eddie Delahunt’s biggest fans. I’ve known Eddie for most of two decades, now, and have enjoyed watching him perform, performing with him, and just hanging out with the man. Occasionally, I even perform a song or two that I must admit I learned, not from my granddad nor from a musty chunk of vinyl, but from Eddie.

Now, after years in Kansas City, our ballad-rendering friend has been garnering a good sum of well-deserved press. As I mentioned in an article a few months ago, our man, and one of Dublin’s Top Expatriots in Kansas City, Eddie opened a coffeehouse in the West Plaza neighborhood last year. The business has been building, and Eddie has two baristas on staff. In addition, some of my other friends, and many other musicians, have been popping in to perform in the courtyard. Artists have included Eddie and his band, Kelly, Roger Landes and Chipper Thompson, and many other local and regional bands.

So, next time you want a bit of cráic, a scone, and a nice cup of java, check out Eddie Delahunt’s Cafe & at 1811 W. 45th St, Kansas City, MO. Also, check out Eddie at http://www.eddiedelahunt.com.

Cheers!

Tags: eddie+delahunt coffee coffeehouse cafe irish+music kansas+city+entertainment kansas+city+irish+music

Here’s a cool video sweeping the Irish blogosphere. It’s a chronical of the life and work of Cork musical genius Giordaí ua Laoghaire. Giordaí is a very fascinating subject, and I highly recommend watching this 42 minute look at the man.

Tags: giordaí+ua+laoghaire irish+music cork ireland post-punk 1980s documentary biography irish+blogs