Thursday, December 18, 2008

Charlie Parr info


Thursday, January 15, 2009 - 7:30 PM
Kirk Avenue Music - Roanoke, VA
Tickets: $8 at the door
Charlie ParrCharlie Parr

"Charlie Parr is one of the greatest musicians and human beings I know. So many country-blues artists are crippled with retroism and purism, but he has brought wonder and excitement to this music. Even Charlie's foot coming down on the floor boards screams with more soul and life than most anything - past or future." - ALAN SPARHAWK - LOW

I think he’s just wonderful and he really reminds me of a young Dave Van Ronk; he’s got that kind of solid deal to him.
– Greg Brown

Charlie Parr's a singer-songwriter and heavy-duty National steel/12-string/banjo player whose accounts of life on the down and out, and of the struggle to retain some shred of dignity in the face of everyday disaster, ring with a sound that can only be called truth. Long a fixture of the bar and festival circuit in his native Upper Midwest, Parr has toured the United Kingdom repeatedly in recent years, appeared on NPR's A Praire Home Companion, shared the stage with players like Greg Brown and Spider John Koerner, and issued a string of well-received albums -- most recently "Roustabout," which came out in late November. Possessed of a battered howl of a voice and a common-man touch informed by years of homeless outreach work and maybe just by the cold of his Duluth home, Parr's country blues carry a chill that raises neck hairs even as they prompt listeners to raise a glass or jump up and shake it.

Watch a Video

note that the event also includes participation by the Black Twig Pickers and by local artist Sue Nees

and here's a few other links to some live clips:

1922: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNcOyMLJ1xI

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Friday, December 05, 2008

Waiting for Willie-san...Part 4

Dear Willie Nelson-san,

Happy 12-05-08. Today brings a mixed bag of news from our realm.

First the possibly unpleasant news: Due to a potential scheduling conflict, your tribe's Snaque Shaque meal on (date censored) might need to be served just a bit earlier or later than expected. I have committed to a fiscal responsibility education event which, as it turns out, may be happening at the exact time that I had been planning to serve Thanksgiving 2.0 to your team.

If this commitment was not directly linked to the United States judicial system, I would of course blow it off in a heartbeat, but such is not the case. You see, I am in the process of filing for bankruptcy in the United States courts, and this process requires me to follow certain procedures, including taking a special course in managing what remains of my financial resources. Hopefully, I will be able to take this class about a month before the Thanksgiving 2.0 event I have been planning for your tribe, but if this class is full I seem to have only one other option for completing it: attending class on (time and date censored), just when I had hoped to be sharing a toast to your health with our tribes and a bottle of Dogs on Trucks Expensive Champagne.

As of yet the Snaque Shaque has not appointed an assistant manager, so it is forced to close its "doors" when I am not personally available to manage its kitchens and tables. Almighty Jah willing, this will change soon, but for now I must advise you to brace for a temporary interruption of Snaque Shaque services on (time and date censored). I am extremely sorry to bring you this news, and hope sincerely that in the days and weeks to come I will be able to amend it. Thanks for your understanding, and thanks for letting the United States court system "borrow" me for this short period so that I can avoid provoking its wrath and powers of appropriation.

Now for the happy headlines:

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"Him" and other tribal leaders to attend a special concert in Katuah this February

AKA Nantoka, separated from her lucky bank fighting hat, offers a unique reward for its return

Bat Crap Trader News will soon publish its mid-winter issue

Crying Helicopters stock shares split for the hundredth or so time

W. Nelson advance ticket sales "looking great" according to low-key promoters at the Hawaiian Embassy

Secret chef M. likely to be named Interim Snaque Shaque Manager

"Trial by Ayuwa'si Fire" set to hit bookshelves in early Spring of 2009

Shouseki Ninja school cookie fundraiser a "massive success", say organizers

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These are just a few of the pleasant headlines from Katuah today. As you can see, the ocean of good news from this realm just keeps growing and growing, and it is a formidable task just to decide which headlines to publish. For this reason, and for reasons of National Food Security, I must ask you for your patience as these stories are released.

In due time, you and your tribe will be provided with official Snaque Shaque credentials which will make it easy for you to drink from our fountain of good news at any moment you choose, but for now the existence of yunwinigiski etc. among Internet readers forces me to be extremely selective about what I make readable to the general public.

I must close now so I can tend to the Snaque Shaque emblements, but I promise to try to let you know immediately if any important news develops in Katuah.

Yours very sincerely,

Suzy Nees

Wednesday, December 03, 2008

Waiting for Willie-san...Part 3

Dear Willie Nelson-san,

Happy 12-3-08. I have wonderful news for you in a rainbow of delicious flavors.

The first wonderful piece of news is that our great friend and living cultural treasure Mitsunori Koike-sensei is okay, and will be returning to his lair in Hara Village shortly. So, please do not feel obliged to check in on him via the Harmony Arts Foundation or the Hannoki Studio. I spoke with a Hannoki Studio associate at around 11 pm Katuah time last night, and learned the above from a reliable source.

The second wonderful piece of news has to do with your upcoming performances in Katuah: Your stages are getting warmer by the day, as folks in Katuah continue to do battle with the culture-hating demons known to haunt the borders of this realm. Last night, for example, I had the honor of meeting Pastor Jay & Associates, who will share their skills in acting and stagecraft with the public tomorrow and Thursday in a theatrical piece whose content is extremely well suited to folks who are suffering from the effects of the lending industry apocalypse.

Other upcoming events likely to set a festive mood for your performances in Katuah this spring include a December 6 performance by the Alliens in Floyd, a show I would love to see myself had I not already pledged to help with a Snaque Shaque event to honor Pastor Jay & Associates on that same date.

This mention of the Snaque Shaque brings me to a third wonderful piece of news: Among Snaque Shaque patrons and associates, there were no known casualties yesterday as a result of terrorist acts, making our safety record a perfect one yet again. And although I cannot provide you with scientific data to support this claim, I hope that you will accept it as legitimate enough proof that the Snaque Shaque's policies of proactive failure to senselessly beat up on culture are working as a powerful anti-terror weapon.

Since I need to go assist an area resident with her food security chores, I must close now but I promise to be in touch again soon the moment I obtain more news which is relevant to your upcoming visit to this realm.

Yours very sincerely,

Suzy Nees
Brush Mountain
Katuah

Tuesday, December 02, 2008

Waiting for Willie-san...Part 2

Dear Willie Nelson-san,

Warm greetings from beautiful Katuah. I hope that this missive finds you and your dear ones well and un-persecuted. Many of us here have a great appreciation for your work as a conservator of functional culture, and on behalf of myself and all these people I would like to extend a very heartfelt thank you.

My name is Suzy Nees and I am the head manager of the Snaque Shaque. This establishment has served numerous famous and talented individuals like yourself, and since the Snaque Shaque operates on a routine basis within range of your early spring tour this year, please allow me to extend to you and your entourage a most sincere welcome to enjoy, free of charge, a Thanksgiving 2.0 meal with our tribe.

There are few kanemochi* people among our tribe, so it is doubtful that we will be able to make a very large dent in your ticket sales. However, I hope very earnestly that when our tribes meet up, they will both feel richer, more un-persecuted, and much more well-fed, thanks to the Magical Snaque Shaque.

I would love to give you specific details which would allow you to find the Thanksgiving 2.0 table that is being set for your tribe, but unfortunately, the existence of resource-snarfing demons in regions which border Katuah makes the Snaque Shaque's cloaking device a must, and I cannot divulge more than a few details to you at this time as to the Snaque Shaque's physical appearance. However, please feel free to inform your entourage that if they should spot a gigantic pinata in the shape of a tearful helicopter or bank when visiting this sacred realm, by all means they should feel free to take hold of something stout and heavy and smash that mofo to pieces. This will get the Snaque Shaque party rolling big time.

Food security concerns and a strict privacy policy prevent me from divulging many details about the luminaries who might be sharing a table with you and your entourage early this spring, but here are a few discreet hints:

1. When the Alliens were relaxing backstage with friends and loved ones after their Earth-shaking performance at the 2008 Floyd Fest, the Snaque Shaque was there with cheese, apples, homebrew and warm congratulations.

2. Last summer, the Snaque Shaque prepared dinner for the Black Twig Pickers to prep them for one of their amazing performances at the Floyd Country Store.

3. World famous monumental sculptor Mitsunori Koike was the host of the very first Thanksgiving 2.0 meal ever provided by the Snaque Shaque. The spaghetti breakfast Mr. Koike hosted on that morning nearly twenty years ago has launched an educational journey in cultural conservation that has had numerous far-reaching effects which span many continents.

This detail brings me to a somewhat more sober topic: the terrorist attacks in Mumbai. I must inform you that when I first got it in my head to write you this missive, it was November 27, 2008. At that time I was highly concerned about the tragedy in Mumbai but it took me a minute to realize that there was a very good chance that our dear friend and living cultural treasure Mr. Koike was in fact in Mumbai as a guest of the Harmony Arts Foundation.

Several anguished days and many frantic telephone calls later, I was able to learn that Mr. Koike was unharmed by the attacks, although my suspicions that he was in Mumbai were confirmed.

Today is the first day that I have felt un-anguished enough to finish my missive to you, as the loss of Mr. Koike would be an enormous blow to the world and our tribe. I still have yet to communicate directly with this great hero of the Snaque Shaque to get verification of his safety and details of his condition. I know that as a fellow conservator of functional culture, you would go to great lengths to see to the well-being of someone like Koike-sensei, who has virtually disappeared to me due to the fact that as the humble unpaid manager of the Snaque Shaque I do not have phone service which will allow me to make international calls.

For this reason, I wonder if I might make a small request of you: to contact the Hannoki Studio and/or the Harmony Arts Foundation to get details on his condition and to invite him (and his entourage) to the big Thanksgiving 2.0 event happening early this spring in Katuah.

If you do not have the ability or desire to do so, I will certainly understand since this might seem like an odd request. Your choice in this matter will of course have no bearing on the invitations just extended to you and your tribe, although I should mention that Mr. Koike's pinatas would undoubtedly be an extremely festive and dramatic addition to this spring's events in Katuah.

In any case I wish you and your tribe a very happy Winter Giving Season this year, and I look forward to the meeting of our tribes in 2009, if not sooner. Again, thank you for your work as a conservator of functional culture, and thank you for taking the time to read this missive.

Hope to feed you soon!

Sincerely,
Suzy Nees
Brush Mountain
Katuah

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*kanemochi = "money-having"