by Colby Walter

 

Every Tuesday night Magoon’s at 8th and Locust brings an exciting and diverse evening of music. If somehow the unbridled guitar work of your host, Chris Jamison, isn’t enough to whet your appetite for good music, the open stage will offer many treats in different flavors.

 

What began as a ‘blues jam’ has evolved into a colorful session spanning from acoustic folk, singer/songwriters, classic rock, funk, jazz, bluegrass, and cosmic experimentation. Jamison navigates through these genres effortlessly, each time with some of the most incredible guitar playing you will find on a Tuesday night in Joe town. More often than not, jam sessions will include keyboards, and always guitar, bass and drums, with local musicians, and the occasional traveling player. Many times over the past several months there have been as many as three saxophonists, including the talented Beaux Lux who also plays a heck of a flute. Last Tuesday brought out a man who played the very best harmonica I’ve ever heard live and in front of me! Many of these players will jam over Chris Jamison’s original music, written over the years in Smilin’ Jack. The enthusiasm in the music is exciting for both those listening and contributing, and the sound can be explosively colorful.

 

The best part is that you can be the entertainment: this is an open jam session. Bring out an instrument and join in for a twelve bar blues or a funky groove or exhibit a tune of your own. These jams aim to be welcoming to all who are interested in participating, and what is more welcoming than the warmth of the antiqued delicatessen of Benny Magoon’s? And with plenty of excellent musicians around, jammers can put together a sort of ‘instant band’. I find it to be a real asset to the

St. Joseph music scene to have a hub for musicians and music enthusiasts weekly at Magoon’s, where each Tuesday is a new creation, consistent in its delivery.

 

 

CD Review:

 

WADE WILLIAMSON

 

‘First Date Mix Tape’

 

by Colby Walter

 

 

Local singer/songwriter Wade Williamson is becoming ever more prolific with his release of the latest EP ‘First Date Mix Tape’. I say prolific because it seems he is churning out the music with At Home Records on all cylinders, not long after releasing his full length ‘Trinkets and Treasures’. There is a rather casual approach to the recording studio with his work: these tunes are not fleshed out with the full band and refined for radio play. Rather, they remain connected to his strummed acoustic seemingly tracked without over thinking.

 

I was invited to join in on the recording last December and gladly obliged to provide electric bass and lead guitar. I also enjoyed the opportunity to dust off my table-steel slide guitar for its forlorn twang, and found even more twang in Wade’s tampoura: a folk instrument of

Tibet similar to a simplified citar.

 

The music is generally simple: full acoustic chords under a vocal melody. These are not sleepy folk songs, much of the EP has an upbeat tempo with short and punchy phrases like “I wanna kiss you but I better shut my mouth”. The lyrics can have an ironic side, some dark humor as well as a bit of angst. The melody and the twang lead me to classify the music as emo-country.

 

Wade Williamson and The Helping Hands will be celebrating the release of ‘First Date Mix Tape’ at Café Acoustic on January 31st. Williamson’s merchandise table is always endearingly laden with handmade pieces of art now including this EP.

 

 

Disclaimer: It should be noted that it is my intention with this column to provide you with informative unbiased and entertaining reading on the music culture of this town. In so doing, I may on occasion reveal my view from my own perspective as a musician in this town. However, I do not view this ‘stump’ as a vehicle for my own self-promotion, and make efforts to avoid conflicts of interest. Want to expand the Regular Joe’s perspective? Let us know of your live events and send us music for review.

Posted by: admin on Thursday, January 22nd, 2009
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By Jay Kerner

Colin Robert Gutierrez is a colorful character. The thirty-four year old artist/cartoonist/ballroom dance instructor is hard to miss with his long dark hair and wardrobe which sometimes drifts between Renaissance Fair and somewhat pirate-like.

A St. Joe native, he spent a couple of years studying art at

Harper College in

Illinois
before returning to

St. Joseph
, and considers M.C Escher and Hajime Sorayama his strongest influences along with all of the impressionists. He also appreciates Leonardo da Vinci not only for his art, but also for his work as an engineer. Colin enjoys design himself, and used those skills in building his own bed among other creations.

He tells me that he enjoys experimenting in various art mediums, but most of his art time these days is spent painting. His large colorful canvases would best be categorized as modern in style. His bold use of contrasting hues and highlighting of negative space are distinctive to say the least. Working on the next Façade cartoon for the Regular Joe is a break from his time at the easel. We’ve heard a lot of great comments about the strip since it first appeared several months ago.

It’s, of course, the musings of a pair of modern day, couch loving slackers. Colin says writing the dialogue is the easy part. He just hangs out with his usual group of friends and keeps his ears open. They provide all the material necessary to keep him in generation whatever repartee. Their creator will be adding new characters every few issues, now that the basic story is established. They too will be inspired by those that travel in his circles of St. Joe arts and nightlife communities. His friends are getting nervous when he starts making notes at parties or other social occasions, and they all wonder if they will one day show up in our pages as a character in some future slacker drama. I bet you think this cartoon’s about you, don’t you, don’t you? (Full story)

Posted by: admin on Thursday, January 22nd, 2009
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by Colby Walter

           

The Summit at Riverside Church presented a nice showcase of post-hardcore music on Friday, Jan. 2nd  with local groups as well as traveling acts from Colorado and Nebraska. The scene brought out youth of all ages to where the church had constructed what could be called a state of the art performance venue with a freshly carpeted stage.  The sound and the lighting were advanced, but could use some critique. There was a disconnect between the performers and the sound they were creating as their speakers were located 25ft overhead; this disconnect became most obvious to audience members who wanted to stand close to the action. I would suggest some kind of supplementary sound to fill that gap. I would also suggest that the venue tinker with their lighting. Many times the performers were not very well lit, while an obtrusively bright spotlight frequently shined on the audience from a ceiling corner, a light so far from the music and in my face that it seemed irrelevant and distracting. (Full story)

Posted by: admin on Friday, January 9th, 2009
Filed under: Sounds Like St. Joe, General | 1 comment

By Vennis A. VennableMom always repeated the old line about if you don’t have anything good to say. Well, you know how it goes. I always thought that was a bunch of crap. In fact that’s sort of been the basis for most of my writing for The Regular Joe. These days particularly, it’s not hard to find something to be pissed off about. But for this issue I thought I’d sort of throw you the old curveball, because believe it or not I do have something good to say. Last night I attended the first Regular Joe First Friday Art Crawl and was I ever pleasantly surprised. Here I was, ready to throw a wet blanket on the whole deal because after all ‘St. Joe won’t support anything’ but they really pulled it off. (Full story)

Posted by: admin on Saturday, December 27th, 2008
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by Jimmy “Hambone” Hamilton

As somebody who prides himself on constantly stirring things up, I have to tip my hat to the folks at Ben Magoon’s Delicatessen on S. 9th. First for resurrecting a local institution from the dead, but also for injecting some much needed heart into the local music scene.

Their regular lineup features live music more often than almost anyplace in town.

Their monthly drum circle offers amateurs and pros alike the opportunity to pound out some aggression, on anything from actual percussion instruments, to spoons on the tabletops. (I love the misspelled poster for the event, calling it a “drun” circle. One of the regulars told me they just left off the k.)

Magoon’s is the place for blues, if that’s your cup of tea. Friday and Saturday nights are filled with the finest practitioners of the art both locally and from the KC area.

Tuesdays are open mic nights giving those of us with lesser chops, the ability to get a little stage time, backed up by the kind of talent to make you sound so much better than you do by yourself in your basement. (Full story)

Posted by: admin on Thursday, September 18th, 2008
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 That’s the approach Cynthia Barber takes to her painting. A member of Gallery 7, Ms. Barber will be one of two featured artists in the gallery during September and October. An opening reception from 6 to 9 pm Friday, September 5, will feature the work of Ms. Barber and photographer, Dave Garrison. All members will have new work exhibited at that time. “I paint all the things that are part of my life,” Ms. Barber said. “I paint the roads of my life, the people in my life. I paint mornings, noon and nights, the seasons. I paint the moments that demand to be painted,” she said. Mrs. Barber says she has always painted. “I was always the kid with the pencil who was drawing,” she chuckled. “I drew through high school, got out, got married and started raising children.” In the 80s, she took lessons in oil painting with Don Andorfer.  “He was very encouraging, gave me a lot of time and said, ‘Yes, you can do it!’  “I did the Jessie James Festival at Pattee House and sold a piece of work,” she said. After that, she seemed to be hooked on painting, exhibiting, selling and winning awards.  Ms. Barber has worked in many mediums other than oils–watercolor, pastels, colored pencils, acrylics–and has won many, many awards. During the 1980s and 1990s she did lots of commission work and gave lessons in painting and drawing. Also during this time, she traveled and exhibited all over Kansas and Kansas City, doing open air festivals and shows. In 2000 she was named Artist of the (Full story)

Posted by: admin on Thursday, September 4th, 2008
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By Jimmy “Hambone” Hamilton 

This is definitely not the story I intended to write. I had the other one more or less worked out in my head. Marcus Words our friend and favorite contestant would come bounding from the audition room, golden ticket in hand. High fives all around. Then we’d adjourn to the nearest watering hole for some frosty beverages while Marcus gave us his perceptions on Simon, Randy, Paula, and the whole operation. Unfortunately, that’s not the way it went down.  For those just joining, let’s back up a bit. I wrote a story a few issues back about Hammerjacks, one of our favorite downtown spots for music and libation. I mentioned the talented Mr. Words who plays there Thursday nights and suggested he would do great on American Idol. For the next few weeks people kept telling him he should go to the

Kansas City auditions, and he finally agreed. Since it was our idea, we wanted to sort of baby sit the story. There is another print outlet in town who seemed only too happy to glom on to anything we do here in The Regular Joe. We offered to drive Marcus to the audition. Give you readers the inside story of the whole process. (Full story)

Posted by: admin on Friday, August 22nd, 2008
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By Jimmy “Hambone”

Hamilton

 

As you may have read in these pages previously, we think a lot of the talents of Marcus Words, local singer/songwriter/guitarist, and all around good dude. In a recent Joe column I suggested he would be perfect for American Idol. Ever since the issue came out, people keep asking him if he’s going to do it. He told me he’d have to think about it. (Full story)

Posted by: admin on Tuesday, August 12th, 2008
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 By Will StuckOn Saturday August 2nd area fans of heavy metal and hard rock will lose a band that has been raising the decibel level of

St. Joseph for over 20 years, Full Power. The line-up has changed little since the band’s inception, a remarkable feat for any group that has been around for two decades. The current members are Todd Cooper on lead vocals/guitar, Dave Matt/lead guitar, Ryan Arn/bass guitar and Bill Blizzard/Drums. The band has played almost every venue for live music in town; bars, all-ages clubs, rental halls, park shelters and the bowl at

Krug

Park
. Full Power also played shows all over the mid-west and on a few occasions opened for nationally touring metal bands like Overkill and Prong. They have released two independent CD’s; Counterclockwise & One of Many, All the Same. To show you exactly how long they have been around they even had an independent release on cassette, Pictures From the Mind’s Eye. Even with all of these accomplishments the guys of Full Power have given another major contribution to this city, whether they know it or not, inspiration. (Full story)

Posted by: admin on Friday, July 25th, 2008
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By Jimmy “Hambone”

Hamilton

As I’ve gotten to know my neighbor Dave Sisk, I’ve picked up pieces now and again that let me know there is more there than meets the eye. I’d see him come home from work at Moffet’s Nursery often with a little dirt on the knees of his jeans; occupational hazard for someone who does landscaping design as a certified horticulturalist.

Not long after I moved in next door, I observed him backing his truck up to a big trailer in his side yard. “Band’s playing tonight!” he said. I assumed maybe he had a little garage band or something. I watched as he orderly loaded the van with equipment far beyond what you would see from a local band: amplifiers, mixing boards, speakers and lights. I wondered just what he was into but didn’t pursue it at the time. (Full story)

Posted by: admin on Thursday, July 10th, 2008
Filed under: Sounds Like St. Joe, General | 1 comment

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