We’re still enjoying the afterglow of a fine performance at the Magenta Theater on October 1st. Ed was our clear MVP, not only nailing the lead vocals on Carry On Wayward Son, but also documenting our whole performace on his videocam. So follow us on over to youtube, won’t you?
Carry On Wayward Son (with Bad Agent)
Harmless Eccentrics have returned! We had a thrilling evening playing at Vancouver’s Magenta Theater with the Insanitizers and our newly renamed hosts, Bad Agent. This was our third performance on the Magenta stage, which is developing a well-earned reputation for innovative, family-friendly community musical showcases to complement its outstanding theatrical productions.
Our show-opening set was our first public appearance in nearly a year, and it felt like we picked up right where we left off. But the clear highlight of the evening was singing and playing with the artists formerly known as the Magenta Small Band. They presented us with our greatest vocal challenge yet, and we were honored and grateful for the opportunity to rise to it. The house was nearly full with a hot crowd that enjoyed a wide variety of music – here’s how it all went down:
Harmless Eccentrics
Here Comes the Sun (Beatles)
Rain’s Gonna Rise (Hewitt)
I See (Hewitt)
Nebraska (moe.)
The Insanitizers followed with a set of original and classic surf guitar tunes with names like Surf Wall Street, Lost in the 3rd Dimension and Dance Like a Robot.
Bad Agent
Jesse Garza – guitar, vocals
Steve Goodwin – keyboards, saxophone
Deb Blakewood – electric and upright bass, vocals
Mike McNaughton – drums
with guests as noted below
Pump It Up (Elvis Costello) Matt Newport, vocals
Already Gone (Eagles) Jesse Garza, vocals
White Rabbit (Jefferson Airplane) Merilee Schmidt, vocals
Take Five (Dave Brubeck)
I Need A Nap (M. Bosnian) Deb Blakewood, lead vocals, Merilee Schmidt and Mike Lambe, vocals
I Fall To Pieces (Patsy Cline) Heidi Slagle, vocals
Sway (Ruiz/Gimbel) Matt Newport, vocals, Mike Lambe, percussion
A Hard Day’s Night (Beatles) Jesse Garza, vocals
In Your Eyes (Peter Gabriel) Olivia Evans, vocals, Mike Lambe, percussion/vocals
Bad Moon Rising (Fogerty) Jesse Garza, vocals
Tush (ZZ Top) Jesse Garza, vocals, Ed Travalia, guitar
Carry On Wayward Son (Kansas) *
Locomotion (Gerry Goffin/Carole King) +
*Harmless Eccentrics: Ed Travalia, guitar and lead vocals, Scott Hewitt and Mike Lambe, vocals
+ Merilee Schmidt, lead vocals, and all guests, vocals
Thanks to Andrea at Magenta for putting on a great show and Don for making it sound so sweet!
After a busy month in the Canyon for Mike and Scott, it was great to hook up with Ed again last night to rehearse for some upcoming gigs. Here’s where you can catch the next batch of Eccentricity:
Friday, October 8 – Old Towne Battle Grounds, 316 E. Main Street, Battle Ground, WA 6:00 pm
Wednesday, October 20 – The Local Lounge, 3536 NE MLK, Portland, OR 9:30 pm
Both shows will feature two sets of our original music blended with covers ranging from the ridiculous to the Sublime (capitalized intentionally!) New harmonies and grooves keep popping up from the ground, and we can’t wait to share them with you.
Harvest Gold, by Sherri Kelcourse
Many thanks to Harry, Randy and the staff at the Local Lounge and to those who came out to enjoy a fun evening. Thanks as well to our buddy Matt Kuerbis from Mystic Canyon for jamming with us. We’re already planning a return engagement next month, but in the meantime, we encourage you to support this fine establishment!
If you were there last night, here’s what you heard:
Local Lounge 8/4/10
Here Comes the Sun
Rain’s Gonna Rise (Hewitt)
Grandpa’s Vest (Hewitt)
Norman’s Song (Hewitt)
Big Empty
Driven To Tears
Elderly Woman
Shape of My Heart
I See (Hewitt)
Our Own Holiday (Lambe)
Nebraska
Interstate Love Song
What You Did (Hewitt)*
I’ve Been Everywhere*
Have a Good Time*
Brown-Eyed Women
Blackbird
Sunrise Sunset
Peace Love & Understanding>
Crazy Fingers
* with Matt Kuerbis, guitar and vocals
If you didn’t make it out to Battle Ground last Friday, now’s your chance to see the Harmless Eccentrics as we bring our show to the big city. Come out Wednesday, August 4th to the Local Lounge, 3536 NE MLK in Portland to hear the latest additions to our schizophrenic stew of harmony-laced classics, 90s acoustic alternative rock, faux-reggae and original songs. The exceptionally friendly staff at the Local Lounge will keep the cold drinks flowing with a smile. Music will get going at about 9:30; we hope to see lots of faces, familiar and new.
Love that place – Old Town Battle Grounds that is – and we are glad to keep doing battle with the Odwalla machine as it cools the juices the sales of which underpin the venue that kindly hosted us. And fed us free food and beers until we were frankly chagrined. This evening marked the unveiling of many new things: equipment, tunes, musicians, instruments. Ed played piano and was temporarily slain midsong by a cutting critic barely out of diapers. A new patchwork PA threw our voices and guitars around the room most effectively. Special guest Eccentric Keith Picone jammed on percussion and harmonious additional vocals, and kept us steady when we needed him – THANKS KEITH! And thanks to our friends who came rather ridiculously far to hear:
1. What You Did (hewitt)
2. Interstate Love Song
3. Driven to Tears
4. Blackbird
5. Sunrise, Sunset
6. Brown-Eyed Women
7. Summer Romance (Antigravity Love Song)
8. Strong Persuader
9. Elderly Woman….
10. Grandpa’s Vest (hewitt)
11. Runnin’ the River (hewitt)
12. Nebraska
BREAK
13. Here Comes the Sun
14. Rain’s Gonna Rise (hewitt)
15. Alice Childress
16. Dirty Work
17. I See (hewitt)
18. Gumbo
19. Shape of My Heart
20. What’s So Funny ‘Bout Peace Love & Understanding? >
21. Crazy Fingers
22. Santeria
23. Big Empty
24. Norman’s Song (hewitt)
25. Have a Good Time
26. Our Own Holiday (lambe!)
27. Boogie Baby (hewitt)
Twenty-seven songs. Two and a half crazy hours. Whew.
We’ve been rehearsing up a storm … after trips to France, California, New Jersey and various lobes … July has been like cramming for a exam! We’ve added tunes by Pearl Jam, Sting, Phish, Scooter Hewitt and others. We’ve been polishing the tonsils and adding good buddy Keith Picone on a few tunes for extra oomph of the vocal and percussive variety. (Doing so frees up Mike Lambe to focus on that tooter of his – the melodica, that is.)
So do come see us bust out all the new stuff at Old Town Battle Grounds, 316 E Main Street, Battle Ground WA, from 6 to 10 pm this Friday, July 30. A converted antique church and a nice place to hang. Come hang with us!
Thanks again and again to Eric Toner and the good folks at Magenta Theater for including us in their latest variety show. Harmless Eccentrics, minus Ed (traveling in Jersey) and plus super sub Miles Hewitt on guitar and bass, opened the show with four songs.
1. What You Did (Scott Hewitt)
2. Blue People (Miles Hewitt)
3. Sunrise, Sunset
4. Have a Good Time
For this writer, the highlight of a show full of highlights was either Eric making a total and glorious fool of himself belting out the Sesame Street nonsense ditty “Mena Mena” (sp?), or the stunning vocal trio Circle Round doing yet another Sesame Street favorite – “Inchworm, Inchworm.” Beautful harmonies, ladies! Congrats and thanks to all for a swell time.
Tonight, the Harmless Eccentrics return to our favorite purplish-pink venue, the Magenta Theater, as part of their latest community musical showcase. We’ll be opening the show at 7:00pm, followed by a few other singer/songwriters and the Magenta Theater Small Band. Filling in ably for the traveling Ed Travalia will be Miles Hewitt. Miles has been tearing up the Vancouver coffee house circuit with his band Fading Hail, but we’re thankful he’s making the time to jam with Dad and share a brilliant new original song with us.
We hope you’ll join us for the showcase and stick around for the always-eclectic selections of the house band.
What a churchy day I, yr scribe, Scott, had Friday. In the morning I visited the Hazel Dell Grange, which serves as a church for visiting congregations. In the afternoon I interviewed two Christian preachers about their church in Hockinson. Then I slouched on over to Old Town Battle Grounds, in Old Town Battle Ground. Hiccup. Coffee and yummy sandwiches (the toasted veggie-&-cheese was perfecto!) in a unique and comfy space: a red brick former church – 1920s? I hung out all afternoon (writing my church story on this laptop) and into the evening (when HarmEx ROCKED!). Glad to report a healthy crowd all along, who even listened to the music and applauded. Thanks folks! I love it when that happens. Sound remains a question for OTBG – the acoustics are nice but there is no PA and the place does gets very noisy.
Best to MyClam on his east coast visit to his ailing mom.
Harmless Eccentrics 