Gay Old Oprey: Three Bands and fun for all this Sunday, April 24

After five years of trailblazing queer country music, New York City’s Gay Ole Opry is hitting the road for the first time. Opry regulars The Paisley Fields and Karen & the Sorrows are heading South for a week-long tour, and can’t wait to come to Durham to join The Blue Tailed Skinks for a Sunday afternoon hoedown. The show starts at 3:00 pm on Sunday, April 24th at the Monkey Bottom Collaborative at 609 Trent Dr and tickets are sliding scale from $5-$20. 

With The Paisley Fields’ harmony-driven, piano-based alt-country, Karen & the Sorrows “haunting pedal steel work and unvarnished heartbreak” (Bust Magazine), and The Blue Tailed Skinks upbeat traditional string tunes, the show will be a first-of-its-kind good time.

Why queer country? Because we love country music even when it doesn’t love us back. Because everybody needs a honky tonk angel to hold them tight. Because we believe in country music for all cowpeople.

More about the bands:

Karen & the Sorrows
www.karenandthesorrows.com
Brooklyn alt-country band Karen & the Sorrows “write loss and heartbreak, and goddamn are they good at it.” (F*** Yeah, Queer Music) Their debut album The Names of Things is full of “haunting pedal steel work and unvarnished heartbreak” (Bust Magazine) and was voted one of the Freeform American Roots Chart’s best debut albums of 2014. New York Music Daily writes, “Country keeps evolving and Karen & the Sorrows are taking it to a place it’s never been before, a good and creepy one.” Queer country pioneers, The Sorrows co-founded the Gay Ole Opry, the first ever queer country music festival, and host the popular Queer Country Quarterly.

The Paisley Fields
www.thepaisleyfields.com
The Paisley Fields are a Brooklyn based alt-country band, unapologetic about pushing boundaries and seeking inspiration in the unexpected. Though lead singer James Wilson is inspired by country musicians like Dolly Parton and Gram Parsons, he wanted The Paisley Fields lyrics to reflect a modern world. Pittsburgh City Paper writes, "While The Paisley Fields have a good bit in common with contemporary country — rich production, songs with pop bones and twangy accents — the band probably won't be touring with Toby Keith anytime soon. They're a refreshing change from country radio." The Paisley Fields tour frequently, and their latest album, Oh These Urban Fences, is described by No Depression as "a labor of love that demands your attention.” Officially a five piece band, James Wilson and Anna Volpe will be representing The Paisley Fields on the Gay Ole Opry tour, performing stripped down versions of their original songs as well as some of their favorite covers.

Blue Tailed Skinks
www.bluetailedskinks.com
“Skinky” might best word to describe us Blue Tailed Skinks. We've been together for almost 15 years and pretty much relate to each other like a family of reptiles. We really love Durm and love doing our part to keep it dirty. We play old time, rock-a-billy, blue grassy blues, and some “where did they get that” (like, for instance, Cajun). And in terms of instrumentation, we're wild with it: electric bass ukulele, fiddle, kazoo, banjo, mandolin, accordion, acoustic geetar, electric guitar, blues harp, etc. We are Christine Westfall, David Hamill, Ninian Beale, Tony Matthews, Martha Dyer and Sandee Washington.

Mo MoJo Saturday April 9 at MoBo

WORLD-TRAVELING MO’ MOJO BRINGS ITS SPICY FLAVOR OF ZYDECO TO MoBo

International traveling band Mo' Mojo is bringing Louisiana-spiced Zydeco, Cajun, Blues, Roots, Rock, & Reggae to MoBo on Saturday, April 9, 2016. Doors open at 7 p.m. The Haw River Rounders will open with a set of swing tunes and other goodness and Mo MoJo will start up around 8:30.

The female-fronted group is a hard-driving, high-energy, “Pardi-Gras” band that “hopes to whip listeners into a joyous, dancing frenzy. Or at least to elicit a waltz.” They travel with three-part harmonies, accordion, fiddle, guitar, mandolin, rubboard, trumpet, bass, percussion, and drums.

Their Durham performance is part of a spring tour that takes them to Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, and New York. Over the last 2 years the band has worked with the U.S. State Department and the American Music Abroad Program to perform and teach in Haiti and the Dominican Republic (2014); Belize, Panama, Mexico, Barbados, Colombia, and Tajikistan (2015).

Their latest release, “We All Got The Same,” has 12 songs: 9 originals; 2 Zydeco standards meant to pay homage to the musical tradition; and 1 two-parts cover/one-part original medley based on Bob Marley’s “Stir It Up.” It features the unique stylings that Mo’ Mojo is known for, with a Zydeco base that blends in Cajun, Blues, Americana, Indie Rock, & Reggae.

Suggested Donation 15 dollars, or as able.
BYOB, snack to share if you wish
MoBo is located at 609 Trent Drive, Durham.


More information on Mo’ Mojo can be found at www.momojomusic.com

Cajun Dance Party with Cajammers and MSA

Friday, sept 25,7 pm until 11:30 pm

Time for more fun at MoBo!  

doors six thirty pm
FREE DANCE LESSON seven to seven thirty (all levels: please join us for this) 
cajammers seven thirty to eight thirty
MSA eight thirty until

suggested donation ten bucks for bands and space.

BYOB, and a dish to share if you wish.

* dancers: floor is terrazzo, please bring comfy footwear

The MSA Cajun Band is Matt Haney, Sara Ploense, Allin Cottrell, and Amy Davis. They've been playing together for 12 years, mostly for their own enjoyment, having played with a wide variety of musicians both inside and outside Louisiana over the last 30 years. Their repertoire of tunes and songs from musicians such as Joe Falcon, Dewey Balfa, Amade Breaux, and Bois Sec Ardoin features French vocals, Cajun Accordion, Rhythm guitar and fiddle. 

Cajammers are an energetic, fun group of friends who adore playing for dancers. Please join us! We are
Joe Galas, Piano Accordion
Catherine Pratt Davis, Cajun Accordion
Tony Matthews, Guitar, mandolin
Elvis Latiolais, guitar
Mel Dejesus, bass
Heather Henry, Fiddle
Dianne Freund, Fiddle
Charlie Bartee, washboard

Cajammers Host Cajun / Zydeco Evening Sunday, Aug 2, six pm to ten pm

Join us at MoBo for an evening of cajun/ zydeco music and dancing. This is the perfect jump start for your MoJo !

Cajammers will play from about six thirty until about eight thirty.
A free dance lesson will be offered from six to six thirty for all levels.

BYOB, and a dish to share if you wish.
Suggested donation for band and space: ten bucks.

Open Call For Artists: Scrap Exchange Fundraiser June 18 at MoBo

Dear Artist,

I'm writing to invite you to participate in Durham’s second Pop Up Art Show andfundraiser in honor of The Scrap Exchange, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization whose mission is to promote creativity, environmental awareness, and community through reuse.

SATURDAY, JUNE 18TH 7PM-10/11 PM

(ARTISTS ARRIVE AT 4-5PM with work)

GENESIS OF THE PROJECT: The Scrap Exchange was forced to move out of their space on Foster St.after city inspectors condemned the Liberty Warehouse building. We want to help with the costs of relocating, and their ongoing capital campaign.Many local artists value The Scrap Exchange; this is an opportunity to give back by exhibiting a piece of art in the show and donating a portion of the sale.

RVSP: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=148036041934126&ref=ts

 

Ukulele by Bike Tour: concert sat April 30 6 PM

Monkey Bottom Collaborative will be hosting a concert April 30 as a part of the spring/summer 2011 continuation of Aaron Lee's "Ukulele by Bicycle Tour".

The concert will start at 6 p.m. Bring food to share for a potluck, and bring your ukuleles/ other acoustic instruments for an open jam afterwards. And/or bring your hands for clapping, your feet for stomping, your body for dancing, your hoop for hooping!

Read on for more details (and links) about Aaron Lee and the show. We hope to see you; help us show what a great community we have and welcome this cycling musician to our hood.

Lisa Marie Albert's provocative documentary photo exhibit , Streetkids Have a Voice, is currently showing at MoBo also: if you missed the discussion event this is your chance to see the show before it goes to wilmington.

This event is free; donations are much appreciated.
******
Aaron is a solo ukulele performer who recently released an album titled "The Ukulele Project" in which each song creatively contains the word ukulele. Last fall he toured between concerts by bicycle, and performed 40 concerts while riding over 2000 miles between Maine andGeorgia. In April and May he'll be riding north through North Carolina and Virginia, then heading towards Michigan and Wisconsin in June, July and August.

For each concert, Aaron partners with a group or organization that has a community, local action or sustainability focus. For more information about his tour, and to hear some of his music, please visit his website at http://ukulelebybicycle.blogspot.com

Monkey Bottom's facebook page

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Monkey-Bottom-Collaborative/68896765038#!/event.php?eid=210873578923630

60 WPM critic reviews dianne's pots

http://www.indyweek.com/gyrobase/ImageArchives?feature=Slideshows&page=3&oid=1434086