Archive for the ‘music’ Category

Two shows in Berkeley this week!

Tuesday, March 7th, 2023

I am playing TWO shows at the Monkey House this week! Yes, it’s kinda nutso to play two nights in a row in the same venue, doing two different things. But “I contain multitudes,” or something like that. I hope you can come to one or both of these shows!

Thursday 3/9 with Joe Craven and Paul Kotapish. Joe and I have been performing together regularly for about a year now. We’re doing a more-or-less monthly thing at The Monkey House – Joe and me with a different third player every time. I know Paul from Wake the Dead, and Joe worked with him in that context (and maybe others). A mix of songs and improvisation.

Friday 3/10 with Joe Burke and Joe Rut. Three songwriters, performing separately and together.

Joe Rut and Joe Burke are two songwriters whose work I have long admired. I produced Joe Burke’s album Just Watching the Show a few years back, and that led to the creation of Yerba Buena Orchestra with many of the musicians who played on the album.

Joe Rut has released many records of music that is clever, wildly amusing, and deeply thoughtful. Check ’em out on Bandcamp! He and I have written three songs together so far, and we’re planning to collaborate some more!

Joe and Joe and I will have Jeff Hobbs with us, playing a variety of instruments.

Doors at 7, show at 7:30pm
$10-40 sliding scale
Reservations: ira@themonkeyhouse.org
The Monkey House, 1638 University Avenue, Berkeley CA

Poster by Pamella Gregg Craven

DG’s daily livestream

Saturday, January 7th, 2023

With certain exceptions, I am still playing a live set online every afternoon! 4-5pm PT daily:

YouTube
Twitter
Facebook
Streamstock

Tip jar, CDs, signed books, t-shirts, and mugs: perfectible.net

These performances are archived online. Here is a page with the setlists, and there’s a link to the video on most of the entries. And here is a list of the songs I have played – more than 500, counting 100+ unique improvisations.

DG and Joe Rut swap songs 1/6/23

Saturday, January 7th, 2023

Joe Rut and me in my living room Friday, January 6, 2023. I heard lots of songs I had never heard before, and I was blown away! He is an amazing songwriter.

Pickle and Taco (Ringo and Percy)
Down to Eugene
What She Had Tattooed Across Her Heart
High Guy
Gaslight Blues
Therapy Blues
The Enabler
Forever
Teslas All the Way Down
These Apartments
Heart Bird Dream
The Town That Still Believes in Magic
Desert Queen
Shove in the Right Direction
El Dorado
Distance to the Door
Whiskey Bottle

“Live from Oakland” searchable database

Sunday, November 20th, 2022

Not sure how useful this is going to be for anyone other than me, but here is a searchable database of all my “Live from Oakland” streaming shows, updated daily:
https://gdhour-app.azurewebsites.net/performances
The camera icon on the right side is a link to the video of that show.

And here is a list of all the songs, with first/last plays and the number of times played:
https://gdhour-app.azurewebsites.net/songs

Robin Sylvester, RIP

Sunday, October 30th, 2022

Today I am grieving the death of Robin Sylvester, one of my all-time favorite jamming partners and a damn fine fellow.

I first met him in the late ’90s when he was with Vince Welnick & Missing Man Formation. And of course, he was in Ratdog for many years. I can’t recall the first time we played together, but it was the first of many live shows and studio sessions.

Robin looms large in my discography:
Fragile Thunder: One Afternoon Long Ago
Chocolate Coffee Pot
Three songs on Drop the Bone
Two songs on You Are Here
The Town That Still Believes in Magic” w/ Scott Guberman, me, and Greg Anton (that’s a “pay what you want” download, so you can enter $0 and hear it for free if you like)

I also have several unreleased tracks from various sessions, and of course dozens of live shows we did together.

Robin had that wonderful ability to hold the groove and participate in the musical conversation at the same time. He was a wonderful musician and a very kind and gentle man.

Robin had health problems for many years. He was in dialysis several times a week, waiting for a kidney transplant that never came. Last year I passed the hat and raised $30,000 to help with his ongoing need for in-home care. The messages of love that came in with the donations were breathtaking.

We spoke on the phone a couple of weeks ago, and Robin indicated that he was likely to need another round of donations. I was gearing up to get that started when I heard that he was in the hospital again.

Last week I got a call from his caregiver, saying that Robin was asking for me, so I went up to Santa Rosa Thursday morning and visited him in the ICU.

He was asleep when I got there so I sat quietly until he woke up. He was very, very weak and it was hard to hear him in that noisy room. We watched a bit of Justin Kreutzmann’s new movie on my computer. Nurses came in to do various things and I got a look at his legs, which were nothing but bone. I started to get the idea that he might not be going home.

Robin was starting to drift off again, so I put the computer away and prepared to leave. “I love you, Robin,” I said as I left. “I love you, too, David.” I am so glad I was able to say that to him.

New guitar day!

Tuesday, October 4th, 2022

Yesterday was a big day for Rita and me. We went to Santa Cruz, to Rick Turner Guitars, where I picked up a new instrument and Rita met with our luthier friend, Zack Jones, to discuss the ukulele he is going to build for her.

My new guitar is a Renaissance RS-6 “Deuce,” similar to the one I have been playing since 2012 but without the MIDI pickup (which I have rarely used) and with a neck that is 1/16″ wider at the nut. Redwood top, sycamore back and sides, mahogany neck. Larry Robinson inlaid my logo at the 12th fret.

Rita has been deeply into the ukulele since we visited our friends Josh and Roberta in Kernville three years ago. They host a uke jam at the Pine Cone Inn every Tuesday. They sent Rita home with a uke, and a few months later she bought one of her own (and I returned the loaner on my next trip south). She has been taking lessons for a while now. It has been wonderful to hear her becoming a musician! And now she will have a ukulele built by a master, to her specifications.

Why did I buy a new guitar that is more or less identical to the one I already have?

I own a couple of normal electric guitars and two proper acoustic guitars, but none of them is capable of doing what the Renaissance does. The Ren is a hybrid guitar, combining “acoustic” and “electric” properties. I keep the blend control in the middle position, which allows me to build arrangements in real time with my looper: strumming lightly yields a more “acoustic” sound for the accompaniment (“rhythm guitar”), and when I want to (e.g.) play a solo I just dig in a little bit and it sounds more “electric.” Some of my loop pieces have as many as seven or eight layers, and the amazing tonal range of this guitar helps to keep things clear as the music becomes more dense.

I wanted to have a backup instrument in case something happens to one, and I also wanted to take advantage of some advances in the technology since I got my last Ren ten years ago.

The first song I played on the new guitar, down there in the shop, was “That’s Real Love,” a song I wrote for Rita around 20 years ago.

The new guitar made its debut Tuesday, October 4: Miss That Car, Norwegian Wood, Pancho and Lefty, Box of Rain, Do You Believe in Magic?->Here Comes Sunshine, Eleanor Rigby, Sovereign Soul, Summer by the Bay, If I Fell, High Guy, Silvio

I play a live set online every afternoon at 4pm PT
https://youtube.com/user/dgans
https://facebook.com/dgansmusic
https://streamstock.tv


With Zack Jones, production manager at Rick Turner Guitars. This guitar was built under his supervision!

DG’s daily livestreams continue

Sunday, September 4th, 2022

I’ve missed a few here and there due to travel etc., but I am still playing a live set every afternoon from my home studio in Oakland. I’ve been ding this since April 2020!

Livestream 4-5pm PT daily:
YouTube
Twitter
Facebook
Streamstock

Tip jar, CDs, signed books, t-shirts, and mugs: perfectible.net


Thanks to Craig Rutman for the graphic

Joe Craven and DG in Berkeley 7/21/22

Friday, July 15th, 2022

I have been a fan of Joe Craven since the first time I saw him with the David Grisman Quintet in 1989, and of course I was delighted with his work with the Garcia-Grisman band in the ’90s. Garcia Songbook, the 2018 release by Joe Craven and the Sometimers, presents mind-blowing reinventions of songs composed and/or performed by Jerry. I’ve played it on the radio dozens of times.

I’ve had the great privilege of sharing stages with him at various festivals over the years, but it wasn’t until March of this year that Joe and I played a full set together as a duo. It happened twice at the Dead Ends Live festival in Edmonton, Alberta last March: we jammed together at a pre-opening staff party, and again on one of the main stages. We had a blast, and the audience response was intensely rewarding!

So we want to do it some more! Our first gig here at home will be Thursday, July 21, at the Monkey House in Berkeley. Showtime is 7pm, and admission is $10-20 sliding scale. We’ll need you to be vaccinated, and masks may also be required.

Reservations: email ira@themonkeyhouse.org

From the Monkey House web site:
WE ARE A PRIVATE RESIDENCE AND OUR ADDRESS IS NOT DISPLAYED. To learn the address, please reserve a seat to any show. We’ll send you all the needed information.

​We check vax ID’s at the door and, due to the recent Covid surge, ask that you wear a mask. We have reduced our seating capacity by half as a Covid precaution. Due to limited seating, it’s very important that you RESERVE A SEAT.

Out of respect for our patrons, we will turn people away once we reach capacity.

Photo by Mike Olson

Photo by Brian Zaharodniuk

DG and Hobbs in Richmond CA Sat 7/2 midday!

Friday, July 1st, 2022

Jeff Hobbs and David Gans
Golden Gate Bistro
803 Wright Avenue, Richmond CA
Saturday, July 2, 11am-2pm – Free!

DG joins Scott Guberman & Friends in Novato 6/30/22

Wednesday, June 29th, 2022

Scott Guberman & Friends. Featuring DG, Jen Rund & Anna Elva
Thursday, June 30, 6:30-10pm

Buy tickets here

Jerry’s Downtown BBQ, 7380 Redwood Blvd, Novato CA
Mr Hat Presents

Grateful Dead in Boulder CO 9/3/72: were you there?

Wednesday, May 25th, 2022

This is from my dear friend G Brown, who runs the Colorado Music Experience. They’re planning to commemorate the Dead’s performance at Folsom Field (Boulder CO) on September 3, 1972, and they would love to hear from anybody who was there!

Colorado Music Experience is looking for any anecdotes or memories from people who attended the Grateful Dead’s first show at Folsom Field in Boulder — 50 years ago, in September 1972. We welcome any musical or cultural input, but specifically, we’d love any intel regarding the explosion of “lids”/reefer that occurred near both sides of the stage in the middle of the show. We’ll post responses in conjunction with the Dead’s show at Folsom next month (6/17-18). info@colomusic.org is email address. (Thanks to our previous good work, we’ve got photos, posters, ticket stubs, etc. to festoon this info.)

DG’s daily livestream

Tuesday, May 3rd, 2022


Photomontage by Craig Rutman

Livestream 4-5pm PT daily:

YouTube
Twitter
Facebook
Streamstock

Previous performances are archived at Facebook and YouTube

Tip jar, CDs, signed books, and mugs: perfectible.net

Here is a list of all the songs I have played since 4/4/20, from most-played to least.
* = original song

*Blue Roses 116
*The Town That Still Believes in Magic 112
Box of Rain 108
*It’s Gonna Get Better 106
Days Between 95
Scarlet Begonias 94
Looks Like Rain 93
Terrapin Station 93
Brokedown Palace 88
Friend of the Devil 86
Stella Blue 84
Ship of Fools 83
*Cassidy’s Cat 83
Wharf Rat 82
Sitting in Limbo 81
*Save Us from the Saved 78
*Jam 76
Pancho and Lefty 75
*River and Drown 71
*Summer by the Bay 71
New Speedway Boogie 71
*Be Like Earl 70
Forever 70 (Ira Marlowe)
Althea 69
*That’s Real Love 69
Norwegian Wood 69
*Leave Me 66
Bird Song 64
*Hooker River 64
Dark Star 62
Lazy River Road 62
*Life Is a Jam 62
Black Throated Wind 62
*Like a Dog 62 (Hunter-Gans)
Touch of Grey 60
Promised Land 60
*An American Family 59
*The Folk Process 57
Down to Eugene 57 (Jim Page)
*Travelin’ Man 54
*Shove in the Right Direction 54
*Your Movie 52
Dear Mr Fantasy 52
Attics of My Life 52
*Jacqueline 52
Shakedown Street 52
Miss That Car 50 (Joe Burke)
Our Lady of the Well 49
Me and Bobby McGee 48
US Blues 48
Broken Arrow 48
Candyman 47
Deal 47
Black Muddy River 44
High Time 44
It Must Have Been the Roses 43
You’ve Got a Friend 41
Cold Rain and Snow 41
In Another World 41
*The Minstrel 41
*Ran into God 41
She Loves You [C] 39
Ready for the Times to Get Better 39
Sugaree 39
Here Comes Sunshine 38
Sugar Magnolia 38
Loser 37
*Quarter to Five (for Tina Loney) 37
The Wheel 37
For Everyman 36
Keep Your Day Job 36
Happy Together 36
Mr Soul 36
*These Apartments 36
*Shut Up and Listen 36 (Hunter-Gans)
Jack Straw 35
*Therapy Blues 34 (Rut-Gans)
Willin’ 32
Mason’s Children 32
Not Fade Away 31
He’s Gone [C] 31
Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues 30
Ripple 30
Thunder Road 30
Let It Rock 30
Standing on the Moon 30
Watching the Detectives 29
Mr Tambourine Man 29
Turn! Turn! Turn! 28
Help! [D] 28
A Goddamn Thing 28 (Mr Smolin)
To Lay Me Down 28
Ramble On Rose 28
They Love Each Other 28
*Dawn’s Early Light 27
*Trying 27
When I Paint My Masterpiece 27
In My Life 27
*Surely You Jest 26
I Saw Her Standing There 25
*The Bounty of the County 25
*Waltzing Across Texas 25
Midnight Moonlight 24
Brown-Eyed Women 24
*Listen 23
*High Guy 23
What’s So Funny About Peace, Love, and Understanding? 23
California Dreamin’ 23
You Won’t See Me 23
Rocket Man 23
Desperado 22
*Crazy Crazy Crazy 22
*Wherever I Am 22
Impressionist Two-Step 22
Uncle John’s Band 22
*Sovereign Soul 21
The Harder They Come 21
Jackaroe 21
Fire on the Mountain 21
Your Song 21
Across the Universe 20
Black Peter 20
Tennessee Jed 20
Beautiful Despair 20
Season of the Witch 20
*Honeydew 20
This Land Is Your Land 19
Do You Believe in Magic? 19
Here Comes the Sun 19
I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight 19
I Should Have Known Better 19
Bertha 19
Seven Story Mountain 18
Franklin’s Tower 18
*Who Killed Uncle John? 18
Rainy Day Women #12 & 35 18
The Letter 18
Yesterday 17
All Along the Watchtower 17
Take It Easy 17
One More Saturday Night 17
Things We Said Today 17
Yellow Moon 17
Stagger Lee 17
For No One 17
Gomorrah 16
Eleanor Rigby 16
Gulf Coast Highway 16
Mexicali Blues 16
Moonshadow 16
Up on Cripple Creek 15
Love Potion #9 15
Me and My Uncle 15
Hotel California 14
Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain 14
St Stephen 14
Get Together 14
All My Lovin’ 14
Mississippi Halfstep 14
Sultans of Swing 14
It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue 14
Elvis Imitator 13
For a Dancer 13
*Desert of Love 13
Fennario 13
Positive Friction 13
The Weight 13
Where I Come From 13
*Caroline 12
*Headin’ Home Already 12
Boulder to Birmingham 12
You’re Gonna Lose That Girl 12
Secret Agent Man 12
Four Strong Winds 12
Catch the Wind 12
Cinnamon Girl 12
Bluebird 12
Stuck inside of Mobile… 11
Guilty 11
Return of the Grievous Angel 11
Dixie Chicken 10
Panama Red 10
*Autumn Day 10
Cassidy 10
Before the Deluge 10
Henry 10
Blue Umbrella 10
If I Fell 10
Sounds of Silence 10
Born to Be Wild 9
Eight Days a Week 9
Night Crawl 9
Wild Horses 9
Ticket to Ride 9
Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da [C] 9
Solitary Man 9
Catfish John 9
Mountains of the Moon 9
Dupree’s Diamond Blues 9
Scene of the Crime 9
A Life of Illusion [E] 8
Sweet Baby James 8
Back in the USSR 8
I Know You Rider [A] 8
Mama Tried 8
Beat It on Down the Line [A] 8
Let It Be 8
Big River 8
You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away 8
Defying Gravity 8
Seeds and Stems 8
*Echolalia 8
*Prophet and Loss 7
Father and Son 7
Paperback Writer 7
Until I Gain Control Again 7
Mr Charlie 7
Peaceful Easy Feeling 7
What a Day for a Daydream 7
Mission in the Rain 7
Within You Without You 7
Row Jimmy 7
Psycho Killer 7
Sugar Mountain 7
El Paso 7
Hippie from Olema 6
Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters 6
Get Back 6
*Popstar 6
Tell Me Why 6
Truckin’ 6
Please Please Me [G] 6
Rubin and Cherise 6
Yellow Submarine 6
Alabama Getaway 6
Just a Little Light (Em) 6
On the Road Again (Willie) 5
Puff, the Magic Dragon 5
Someday Soon 5
Here, There, and Everywhere [C] 5
Blackbird 5
Counting Flowers on the Wall 5
One After 909 5
Colours 5
My Sisters and Brothers 5
The Times, They Are A-Changin’ 5
Normal 5
Dire Wolf 5
Sin City 5
*Distance to the Door 5
Green Eyes 5
The Fool on the Hill 5
There Is a Mountain 5
For What It’s Worth 5
Operator 5
Monkey and the Engineer 5
*Falling Star 5
The Wind 5
Till the Morning Comes 4
Silvio 4
Danny’s Song 4
Cousin Caterpillar 4
Help Me Make It Thru the Night 4
Helplessly Hoping 4
What’s Your Name? 4
Morning Dew 4
If I Had the World to Give 4
Forever Young 4
King of the Road 4
Do You Want to Know a Secret? 4
Last Train to Clarksville 4
Like a Rolling Stone 4
Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere 4
Mississippi 4
Casey Jones 4
Lovely Rita 4
Rocky Raccoon [Em] 4
San Rafael Swell 4
Goin’ Down the Road Feelin’ Bad 4
Foolish Heart 4
Sing Me Back Home 4
And It Stoned Me 4
Wild Horse Valley 4
Lodi 4
I Bid You Good Night 4
Powderfinger 4
Liberty [C] 4
Last Lonely Eagle 4
Bubbles in My Beer 3
Next Time You See Me 3
Can’t Buy Me Love 3
Crazy Fingers 3
White Rabbit 3
Girl 3
Take Me Home, Country Roads 3
Bartender’s Blues 3
You’re Still on My Mind 3
I Feel Fine 3
Angel from Montgomery 3
She Belongs to Me 3
Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right 3
Love Me Two Times 3
*The Nightmare 3
The Losing End 3
Every Night 3
Man We Was Lonely 3
Political Science 3
Love Me Do 3
Quinn the Eskimo 3
You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere 3
Hurdy Gurdy Man 3
*Live One 3
*Monica Lewinsky 3
Run Rudolph Run 3
Heaven 3
I’ll Cry Instead 3
China Doll 3
Dock of the Bay 2
After the Gold Rush 2
Helpless 2
Birds 2
I’m Looking Through You 2
Playing in the Band 2
The Golden Road (To Unlimited Devotion) 2
Dead Flowers 2
Cumberland Blues 2
Lonesome LA Cowboy 2
The Boxer 2
Bungalow Bill 2
*Other Love 2
I Got a Name 2
Desolation Row 2
Lonesome Fugitive 2
Hey Jude 2
Any Naked Eye 2
Bruised Orange (Chain of Sorrow) 2
Illegal Smile 2
Act Naturally 2
I Shall Be Released 2
All Together Now 2
Early Morning Rain 2
Summer in the City 2
A Hard Day’s Night 2
The Night Before 2
Time in a Bottle 2
Salt Lake City 2
Wheels 2
Memphis, Tennessee 2
The Greatest Discovery 2
I Want to Hold Your Hand 2
Folsom Prison Blues 2
It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry 2
Two of Us 2
Love Minus Zero/No Limit 2
The 59th Street Bridge Song 2
Longer Boats 2
Mr Bojangles 2
It’s All Over Now 2
One Time One Night [G] 2
My Girl 2
Good Lovin’ 2
I Can’t Sleep 2
Where Do the Children Play? 2
Teach Your Children 2
Crazy 1
One of These Days 1
Coat of Many Colors 1
If I Had a Hammer 1
Might as Well 1
You Win Again 1
Russian Lullaby 1
Eat Myself to Death 1
I’ll Follow the Sun 1
As Tears Go By 1
Breaking Us in Two 1
Good Day Sunshine 1
Rain on the Roof 1
The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down 1
Deep Elem Blues 1
That’s It for The Other One 1
Don’t Pass Me By 1
Christmas in Prison 1
Can’t Hurry Love 1
Bad Moon Risin’ 1
No Place Like the Right Time 1
Let the Mystery Be 1
Goin’ Back to Georgia 1
Hello in There 1
Shelter Me 1
Nowhere Man 1
WS Walcott Medicine Show 1
Ain’t No There There 1
Be Here and Now 1
Berkeley Girl 1
Just Watchin’ the Show 1
Around and Around 1
Bottle Let Me Down 1
Feelin’ Single, Seein’ Double 1
Diamond Joe 1
Help Me Rhonda 1
Kilkelly 1
Please Don’t Bury Me 1
Good Night Irene 1
On the Way Home 1
Both Sides Now 1
*Sailors 1
Watching the Wheels 1
In the Midnight Hour 1
Lady Madonna 1
Ophelia 1
Silver Threads and Golden Needles 1
Brown-Eyed Girl [G] 1
Breakdown 1
Margaritaville 1
Cherokee Rider 1
Shelter from the Storm [C] 1
Song for Adam 1
What a Wonderful World 1
Lyin’ Eyes 1
After Midnight 1
Tequila Sunrise 1
The Road to Findout 1
Piggies 1
Well All Right 1
Heart of Gold 1
The Battle of New Orleans 1
A Child’s Claim to Fame 1
Homeward Bound 1
My Baby’s Gone 1
Eve of Destruction 1
Land of the Navajo 1
Six Days on the Road 1
Wild World 1
Ramblin’ Man 1
Tear My Stillhouse Down 1
The First Episode at Hienton 1
*Afterbird 1

DG’s daily livestream

Saturday, February 5th, 2022

David’s Tuesday through Sunday livestreams are now available on YouTube, Twitter, and Streamstock as well as Facebook! The show starts at 4pm Pacific time and runs til a few minutes after 5.

(Mondays, it’s on 3-4:15 Pacific at facebook.com/Deadheadland and Deadheadland.tv)

CDs and SIGNED books: perfectible.net

Tip jars:
perfectible.net
Paypal
gdhour.com/support
Venmo.com/David-Gans-9

DG’s live show 12/25/21

Sunday, December 26th, 2021

Here is my live show from Christmas Day. Some people can’t or won’t go to FB, so I posted this for another friend and thought I’d share it here.

David Gans 12/25/21 live from Oakland (Dropbox link)

Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da->
Forever Young
Forever
The Town That Still Believes in Magic
The Times, They Are A-Changin’
You’ve Got a Friend
Help Me Make It Through the Night
Cassidy’s Cat
Bartender’s Blues
Listen
Yellow Moon
My Sisters and Brothers

Most of this set is requests from a group of regulars, celebrating the birthday of one of them. My active repertoire is well over 300 songs.

“Help Me Make it Through the Night” returned to my repertoire after I heard Kris Kristofferson sing it on The Muppet Show the other night. And that somehow inspired me to remember “Bartender’s Blues,” which I have sung with Darlis Wood at many parties.

I play a live set every day, and I am planning to continue doing so until it’s safe to play gigs outside the house again.

Tuesday through Sunday 4-5pm Pacific Time @deadheadland
Monday 3-4:15pm Pacific time @dgansmusic

DG’s daily live show

Sunday, December 19th, 2021

My daily livestreams continue!

Tuesday-Sunday 4-5pm PT at facebook.com/dgansmusic
Monday 3-4:15pm PT at facebook.com/deadheadland

Tip jars:
Paypal
Venmo
gdhour.com/support

Buy CDs and SIGNED books at perfectible.net