Performances

  • my pandemic menagerie - 2022

    I might be coming out of my post pandemic haze slowly sneaking up on reality still very warily circling the songs I’ve written and the recordings I’ve made in the last couple of years wondering what they mean remembering how they fit together filtered by the social trauma of 2020-2022 happy to be alive and… [ read more ]

  • re-imaginations - 2017

    When I write a song it starts out as a melody built around my own acoustic guitar voicings. I lean toward lots of open strings and droning doubles. I always hear my music in this simple setting: acoustic guitar and voice. I think of myself as a folk singer, after all. When it comes time… [ read more ]

  • Bass & Word - 2016

    I have always been infatuated with the power words can have when they are interpreted – when their meanings and sounds are probed and illustrated. For the last 7 years or so, I have had the pleasure to perform with contrabass explorer Bertram Turetzky in a project we call Bass & Word. He brings his… [ read more ]

  • vinyl reissue after 47 years - 2015

    I bought this guitar new in 1968, with the intention to use it to make my first record, a folk album with my sister Mary. This was way before DIY became fashionable and feasible for anybody. We recorded very simply, live single takes. And the basic gatefold packaging we designed turned out exceptionally rich and… [ read more ]

  • back to the beginning - 2014

    Well, it was the Ides of March – Saturday evening March 15th – when we gathered at the place where music is always treated with respect. Of course I’m talking about dizzy’s. I had a few new songs and a yearning to dig back into the material from 1995’s Beat.itude album to explore some cool… [ read more ]

  • Songs of Hope & Consolation - 2013

    On Saturday March 9, 2013 I ambitiously gathered a crew of nine crack improvisers to perform an evening of my music at dizzy’s. Of those I chose, only 2 had ever played my music before: my longtime friend percussionist Patrick Armenta, & violinist Jamie Shadowlight. The rest were completely new to the music. Having just… [ read more ]

  • the feminine factor - 2012

    “This is a mans world, but it wouldn’t be nothin’ – without a woman or a girl “ Yeah, James Brown has got that right. Everything man does can be enhanced by collaborating with the right woman. I’ve found that this is particularly true in the creation of music. There’s an intangible vibe that the… [ read more ]

  • rare live Beat.itude quartet performance - 2012

    I stay so busy setting up, promoting, and hosting the dizzy’s shows that I don’t get the opportunity to perform live myself much anymore. Since I’m actively involved with each dizzy’s presentation, that sort of takes some of the edge off. And from time to time I get on stage and sing a few songs… [ read more ]

  • Bob Dylan’s Birthday - 2012

    Dizzy’s did it again this year – celebrated Bob Dylan with a tribute concert on his 71st birthday, Thursday May 24. It was a magical evening dedicated to the poetic music of the man who has had such a profound impact on popular music and American culture. In the spotlight for this special night was… [ read more ]

  • the sonic squeeze - 2011

    I remember, as a boy, sitting spellbound listening to the sonorous tones of masterful Welsh actor Richard Burton reading. Somehow he was always able to tap the innate tempo of whatever he was interpreting, and make every nuance, every meaning clear, and the words themselves appear as almost new. I’ve carried this early inspiration throughout… [ read more ]

  • Mary T, Mickey D, & Evie Sands - 2011

    Even though my sister’s Mary’s been gone almost 9 years now, I think of her at every dizzy’s show when I look up and see the wondrous collage of jazz icons she made. Ever since she gave it to me, it has hung on the left side of the dizzy’s stage where it has fascinated… [ read more ]

  • Soka Jazz Festival - 2011

    Contrabass virtuoso Bertram Turetzky and I will be performing together next at the Soka Bluport International Jazz Festival on Saturday afternoon, October 29 @ 3PM. We will be showcasing the highly entertaining piece for solo double bass & narration “Mingus Live In The Underworld” – along with some of my original music. Following our set… [ read more ]

  • Workin with Bert @ dizzy’s - 2011

    Being an acoustic guitarist, I am partial to the rich tones and expressive percussive qualities of the contrabass. San Diego happens to be home to some world renown bassists, and the mentor to most of them is UCSD Professor Emeritus Bert Turetzky. He has been a key figure in the renaissance of the contrabass.  Since… [ read more ]

  • Longing for the lost bohemia - 2011

    I rarely get the opportunity to perform my own music live anymore. Hosting dizzy’s events keeps my nights busy, but doesn’t stop me from playing guitar & writing music during the day. Every once in a while, I take the opportunity to pull together some of my favorite players & present the music I’m hearing… [ read more ]

  • Neilfest - 2010

    On Thursday,  November 11, 2010 – the eve of Neil Young’s 65 birthday – dizzy’s presented 5 acts paying tribute to this enduring songwriter/performer.  Each act performed 5 of his songs – 25 great Neil Young compositions in all! The performers were Sven-Erik Seaholm, Berkley Hart, Lisa Sanders,  myself – with special guest Jamie Shadowlight,… [ read more ]

  • Beat.itude Revisited - 2006

    On September 29, 2006 – a dozen years after recording a series of songs I had composed based loosely on the themes & writings of the beat & jazz poets of the 1950’s – I thought it would be interesting, as well as fun, to gather some of the musicians involved in those recording sessions… [ read more ]

  • 44 Minutes Of Love CD release - 2006

    Making this album was a true labor of love, involving the talents & time of many creative people.  Once the album was complete, it made sense to gather everyone who had been involved, & celebrate with a live performance of the album @ dizzy’s.  So that’s just what we did – on the 44th day… [ read more ]

  • Outside The Lines - 2002

    It was time to take some chances with my live performing.  I was writing some interestingly edgy pieces that bordered on theatre, so I decided to explore what I could do with the warehouse space & some visual aids.  The concept for the performance was to put myself into 11 different unrehearsed musical combinations, &… [ read more ]

  • Live in the desert @ Jacumba - 1999

    My friend filmmaker Rob Amato came up with this idea to try to film a live performance of a song out in the middle of nowhere.  I was game & pulled in my audio specialist buddy Peter Carpentier to see if he thought such a thing was possible.There were a couple of obvious challenges.   The… [ read more ]

  • Beat.itude – the live performance group - 1998

    For the fun of performing live, I put together a groove-oriented quartet that featured Troy Jennings on the baritone saxophone, James East bass,  & Eric Comer drums.   I called the group Beat.itude, because the groove or beat was what we were all about. Our song list included many of my compositions, along with select recognizable… [ read more ]

  • Chuck & Mary – live on campus - 1971

    In the fall of 1970,  we became associated with The Bitter End College Coffee House circuit, coordinated by a woman named Marilyn Lipsius. They sent us on a tour of college campuses, a week at each school.  We would stay at the school,  interact with the student body & social commission, and perform every evening… [ read more ]