Last Friday's gig, June 11

Joining me at the Heathman last Friday was Kevin Deitz on the bass:

and Dave Iula on the guitar:

Now, you all know "I heart Madeleine Peyroux", and would love to sound more like her. Madeleine is a guitarist, and she does this laid-back beachy vibe thing on her guitar. As much as I could try to emulate it at the piano, it just wasn't the same. Somehow it sounded more like Michael Buble than Madeleine Peyroux! And we all know from an earlier post ("And...I'm laughing at myself"), that me playing guitar isn't really an option.

So, having Dave Iula on acoustic guitar is what did the trick. Dave is a very versatile player and can handle just about any style. I played him some Madeleine, showed him my charts, and all of a sudden my music sounded just like I hoped.

Kevin Deitz is a well-respected bass player in Portland - and of course he was rock solid at the gig. He is capable of impressive virtuosic solos, and the tone he creates when using the bow is like rich dark chocolate. But for some of my songs I need something really simple from the bass, like whole notes or half notes. Nothing fancy. He said, "Well I'm not paid by the note, so if it's whole notes you want, that's what you'll get." I said, "No, I AM paying you by the note. That's why I want whole notes." He thought that was pretty funny.... I think? Either way, I got my money's worth. He was great.

Next month Bill Athens will be back on the bass, and Lucia Conrad joins us again on violin. Hope to see you July 9!