Just back from a great, albeit freezing, tour of Texas with Red Molly. After landing in Newark, I headed straight to the annual Groundhog’s Day Jam to sing some standards with my Dad’s band. What better way to shake out the kinks from a plane ride? I got to sing Good Morning Heartache for the first time- what a beautiful song. And listening to Joe Licari, my Dad, and Randy Reinhardt dance around those melodies… well it hit me in a new way this time. The syncopation, how they PLAY with the melody and rhythm. It’s fascinating and beautiful and inspiring. Clarinet is such a great place to grab Dobro ideas… they can only play one note at a time, after all! I picked up a couple of Joe’s CDs to listen to. I’ll be playing jazz Dobro at some of the upcoming shows, too. Probably just a few songs at a time, starting at the Poughkeepsie Swing Dance on 2/26. That’s a full band show in a big hall, perfect for dancers. I can hardly wait!
I’ve also got a duo show with Anthony da Costa this month, out in State College, PA. A beautiful room with no need for amplification or microphones. I’m really looking forward to doing some of the new songs we’ve worked up, including the Tennessee Waltz. Here’s a youtube clip of us doing it for the first time back in December.
And in other news… Red Molly’s latest CD, JAMES, comes out this month! WAHOO! I can’t wait for everyone to hear it!
Abbie