A little music in the hometown - it doesn’t happen all that often, so if you’re in town, stop by!

Antimo’s Italian Kitchen
52 East Broad Street
Hopewell, NJ, 08525

Music starts at 7:30PM

Joe Bellulovich, Pat Conte and the Little Brothers return to the Fabulous Jalopy Theatre on Saturday, August 7. Music starts at 8PM.

See ya there!

A night of Country Blues guitar at the Fabulous Jalopy Theatre in Red Hook Brooklyn, NY on July 23rd. Music starts at 8PM. You’ll hear music from:

• Pat Conte - of the Otis Brothers and curator of the Secret Museum of Mankind
• Ari Eisinger - ragtime and blues guitar legend
• East River String Band - Country Blues from the 78RPM era
• The Little Brothers - music from a time when GIANT BLUESMEN walked the earth

All for a measly 15 bucks!

May 22nd at the venerable small world coffee in Princeton, NJ. Free cover and excellent coffee. Pat Conte will be in the house:

May 23rd at Bruar Falls in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Free show! Music starts around 8pm - we’re sharing the bill with other acts, so more details as I get ‘em:

245 Grand Street
between Driggs Av and Roebling St
Williamsburg, Brooklyn

I put the link on the sidebar of the site, but I never did actually “announce” it. You’d think a guy with a website and a blog would have slightly more honed self-promotion skills, wouldn’t you? Anyway… last month, I put together a Little Brothers CD titled “Walked All The Way Back Home.” Now you can have a little piece of the Little Brothers right in your CD player or MP3 player - mighty fine!

The CD consists of several tunes you may have seen on YouTube (have you seen our YouTube channel?) and some that haven’t yet made it there. It’s available in CD format and as a digital download from CDBaby.com. You can also try looking for it at Amazon, iTunes and eMusic as a digital download. There are tunes done as a trio, some as duets between Kim and me or Mike and me - even one solo tune.

Here’s a link to a very favorable review on the Weenie Campbell site, written by John Miller. Who am I to argue with a musician of his abilities and sensibilities? If John says it’s good, then it’s good!

More later…

Big doin’s at done gone…. for us, anyway. In February, Kim and I split a night with Joe Bellulovich and Pat Conte at Jalopy Theatre n Brooklyn, NY. The Jalopy Theatre is ably run by Lynette and Geoff Wiley and is part concert venue, part music school, part music store and repair shop, and part community center. If you live within striking distance of Brooklyn and enjoy roots music in one of its myriad forms, you really owe it to yourself to head out there for a show. Venues like this are precious and rare. This is a tune that Kim and I played at that concert, and worked up based on hearing it on the Old Hat compilation “Folks, He Sure Do Pull Some Bow.” The tune is Cabo Verdranos Peca Nove by Abrew’s Portuguese Instrumental Trio:

Since then, we’ve managed to get copies of the other 5 of their 6 total sides. Big favorites at done gone!

In April, we played a house concert at the home of Melinda and John Salmon, opening for ragtime blues guitar virtuoso Ari Eisinger. The night was a great success for all involved - I know we had a great time, and going on first meant that we could sit back, relax and enjoy Ari’s set. He really has an incredible command of the music. He’s playing a house concert in Cary, NC later this month and if you live within driving distance, I strongly recommend that you contact him via his website for details.

Later this month, the Little Brothers (that’s us!) will be playing our first genuinely local gig at Small World Coffee on Witherspoon St in Princeton, NJ on May 22 - 8:30pm. Small World is something of an institution in Princeton - as much a part of the fabric of life there as the Princeton Record Exchange. I used to play solo gigs there years ago, before kids! We’re excited to have the opportunity to play there and share some of what we do. It’s also our great pleasure to have Pat Conte along for the show as well. He and I will be playing a few duets early in the evening. Pat was down this weekend and we ended up messing around with a few tunes that we thought we might play and I thought I’d share this one with you - Goin’ Up On The Mountain from “Jackson” Joe Williams:

My pal Nate (Bayrum78 on youtube) dusted off this obscure classic from Sweet Papa Stovepipe - Mama’s Angel Child. It just doesn’t get any more deliriously nutty than this!

Be there or be square:

A House Concert Featuring Blues & Ragtime Guitarist

Ari Eisinger

with special guests The Little Brothers

Date: Saturday, April 17, 2010
Time: 7:00pm
Location: 4639 Hazel Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19143
Donation: $20 (all proceeds go to the artists)

The Little Brothers will perform first, and then Ari will perform 2 sets.

To reserve a spot or for more information contact John Salmon at john “at” sugarinthegourd “dot” com (or by phone in the evenings or weekends: 215.900.6322)

Snacks and refreshments will be available.

About the performers:

Ari Eisinger

Guitar Blues and Ragtime from the 1920s and 1930s

“Contrary to the rumors, blues and ragtime guitarist Ari Eisinger has only 10 fingers. It just sounds as if he has more. His mission is to preserve the classic blues and ragtime tunes from the 1920s and 1930s.”

The Plain Dealer

“He’s a fingerpicking guitar player par excellence who specializes in country blues and ragtime from the 1920s and 1930s… His playing is astoundingly complex and precise, obviously reverential yet filled with personal touches… A brilliant musician… he sounds like four people playing at once.”

The Philadelphia Inquirer

“For the uninitiated, hearing Ari Eisinger the first time can be a shock. The authenticity with which he recreates some of the best and instrumentally complex country blues is downright spooky. It can be fun to watch professionals’ reaction as well. A little jaded by years of experience and road-weariness, they might smirk when this small, thin man who looks more like an accountant than a blues musician walks out on stage with his Gibson guitar. Those faces change quickly when he starts to play. It’s a look that says, “I’ve never heard anyone do that.” And it’s true. There is no one I’ve encountered who plays Blind Blake with such authority and who remains so faithful to the spirit and style of the original music. Hearing the Philadelphia-based guitarist is a rare event though — he performs infrequently and records even less often…”

Andrew Mullins, review at weeniecampbell.com

Here’s a clip of Ari playing Blind Blake’s “Southern Rag.”

Learn more about Ari at his website: secondmind.com.

The Little Brothers

Featuring Kim and Frankie Basile and a program of music from a time when giant bluesmen roamed the earth.

Kim specializes in classic blues fiddle, and some unusual traditional styles that are unique in the music revival. Frankie is a master of country blues stylings on the 6 and 12 string guitar. Mike Hoffmann completes the trio with an array of stolen mandolins and stolen tunes. Frankie also hosts a fine blues and old time resource website at donegone.net, where you can learn more.

On February 28th, Kim and I shared the stage with Pat Conte and Joe Bellulovich at the fabulous Jalopy Theatre in Brooklyn, NY. As you can probably imagine, each of these men is a very deep well when it comes to their artistry. Pat is unarguably the deepest listener I have ever met - an extremely sensitive musician whose empathy for the music he loves is tangible. Calling his playing “nuanced” would be an understatement. He’s capable of producing music from almost any instrument he touches, as if finding music within the object. I could go on about Pat, and probably will in another note, but I’d like to draw attention to Joe.

Joe is an extremely unassuming guy - you could drink coffee with him, have dinner, talk about the weather… he’d help you out of a jam… all the while, you’d never know that the guy you were hanging out with is, hands down, one of the greatest harmonica players on the planet, and THE greatest living exponent of pre-war blues harmonica styles. He’s also a fine singer and a solid guitar player - listening to Joe accompany his singing with guitar and harp in a rack is a near miraculous experience. He doesn’t actually need any other accompanists… but then when you hear him as an accompanist, or playing harp unaccompanied, his hands start bringing out tonal shadings that you didn’t miss before, but are now making your hair stand on end, electrifying your experience through your ears.

Luckily, on the 28th, John Heneghan of the East River String Band was generous enough to both come out to Jalopy on a cold Sunday night, and to bring his video equipment as well. As a result, much of Joe’s rare solo set at Jalopy is captured on video, so instead of having me fail to adequately describe the experience, you can check out these youtube videos and get something of the experience yourself. Thanks, John!

Here’s Joe Bellulovich:

Muscle Shoals Blues:

Friday Moan:

The Unknown Blues:

and finally - Joe’s fantastic Locomotive Blues:

Nothing:

blues is by itself:

Sunday, February 28 - 8pm.