Music Box Series

Climate Theater Presents
“The Place to HEAR the Music”

The People's Music	Our 2nd Smash Year! Wednesdays, 8:00pm sharp! Doors 7:30pm Most shows are $7-15 sliding scale Climate Theater, 285 9^th Street @ Folsom, San Francisco, 94109 The Music Box Series is curated by David Kaye www.musicboxseries.com This page was last updated on Friday July 03, 2009. Call 415-704-3260 for reservations for any show
Upcoming Shows in the Music Box Series
The star denotes the Best of the Music Box Series, showcasing the return of our very best, well-loved performers, people whose shows we know you'll enjoy. I guarantee it. --dk
Wednesday, July 8 2009	Giacomo Fiore - Guitarist "There are few guitarists today that make me forget about the guitar itself, and leave me just enjoying the music." Guitarist Giacomo Fiore was born in Genova, Italy, in 1983. Playing since age 8, he has fronted a glam-rock band, but has moved on to solo acoustic guitar, studying in Genova with Armando Corsi. In 2003, he left Italy for Nashville, Tenn., where he majored in classical performance. He studied with Muriel Anderson and Mario DaSilva, and began performing in Nashville and across the United States and Canada. In 2005, Giacomo performed at the Acoustic Guitar Festival in Sarzana, Italy, showcasing McIlroy guitars, and appearing across Europe. He has been invited to perform in the International Guitar Festival held in Cervo, Italy. In 2006, Giacomo achieved two milestones: he was named Outstanding Senior Music Student at Belmont University's School of Music in Nashville, and completed his bachelor's degree, graduating magna cum laude in December. He currently studies at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where he is exploring the development of the modern and contemporary guitar repertoire under the tutelage of David Tanenbaum.
Wednesday, July 15 2009	The Honky-Tonk Dreamers - Honky-tonk country. There's that authentic cryin' in yer beer sound. Add the wailing double-stop fiddle licks and sonorous Dobro and it's 1953 all over again. The Honky Tonk Dreamers are Charlie Wallace (pedal steel, National, Dobro, guitar), Tony Marcus (fiddle, guitar), Jerry Logan (bass), and Julay Brooks (guitar), playing the Western Swing and country music they love. Charlie Wallace loves twang. Charlie has worked with country legends Johnny Paycheck, Alice Stuart, Sherry Austin, Tall Cotton, the Slidewinders, the Bastard Sons of Johnny Cash, and many more. Tony Marcus has performed or recorded with country music legends Rose Maddox, Patsy Montana and Johnny Bond, was a founding member of the Western Swing band Lost Weekend, and has explored other musical avenues with Geoff Muldaur, Cats & Jammers, Leftover Dreams and many more. He appears on over 20 CDs, and is finishing up two more: one of jazz standards with Paul Anastasio and Bobby Black, and another of his original songs. Jerry Logan plays standup bass, guitar, dobro, and lap steel, sings in a rich baritone, and writes good songs. He has toured and recorded with some fine musicians, including Bob Paisley & Southern Grass, The Schankmans, Barry & Holly Tashian, Peter Rowan and Laurie Lewis. Julay Brooks plays guitar and sings from the heart. She has always loved the thrill of a hard-hitting country song. More recently, she found herself unexpectedly drawn to old jazz and hokum, which led her naturally to Western Swing, the perfect marriage of jazz and country.
Wednesday, July 22 2009	Seth Augustus Band - Blues. You may remember him as the heir apparent to the Tuva throat singing tradition popularized here by the late Paul Peña ("Genghis Blues"). Seth Augustus’ original and haunting songs are folkloric fever dreams sung, sputtered and hollered to music that is soulful, gritty, & foot-stomping. His powerful, throaty voice often draws comparisons to old time Delta songsters. Here is a new, authentic sound assembled from elements of early American music, 1920’s-30’s Blues, pre-Rock'n'Roll, along with music from faraway places such as Mali, Tuva, and Eastern Europe. His band includes seasoned performers Seth Augustus: Vocals and Guitar, Ricky Wayne Garrett: Drums, Damir Nezirovich: Bass, and Parick Cress: Baritone Sax, Bass Clarinet. "Seth Augustus, throaty bluesman between Mongolia and Charley Patton." -- Theirry Poree, Radio Libertaire, Paris. We are pleased to present the return engagement of Seth Augustus to the Climate stage!
Wednesday, July 29 2009	Beep! Trio - Jazz. Bay Area based piano trio. By pushing past the boundaries of the standard piano trio and exploring new sonic territories, Beep! has developed a genre defying sound. With original compositions, reinterpreted standards and pop songs, Beep! creates a listening experience that is inviting and challenging, melodic and complex. They were well-received last year when we had them and we're pleased to welcome them back again. Plus, you've got to see Michael bounce up and down as he plays his keyboard. The guy really gets into it! By the time they return here they'll have toured Brooklyn, Paris, Brussels, Antwerp, and Berlin, so they'll probably have lots of new musical influences when they get back.
Wednesday, August 5 2009	Mark Zaleski Band - Jazz. Combining the sounds of the younger generation¹s jam-bands (Medeski, Martin, and Wood, Soulive, Phish) with vintage, virtuosic bebop (John Coltrane, Cannonball Adderley) is the recipe 24 year old bandleader and saxophonist Mark Zaleski has mixed together as his voice in music. His experience performing with a variety of different artists like Dave Brubeck, Christian McBride, and Ian Anderson and the influence of his band mates, aged 21-25 and some of the most talented young musicians in Boston and New York, has shaped what he plays today. This is his first trip back to the Bay Area since he was selected as one of two saxophonists in the country to be a part of the Dave Brubeck Institute Fellowship Program in Stockton. His younger brother, Glenn (the pianist in the Mark Zaleski Band) was also selected for this important jazz fellowship.
Wednesday, August 12 2009	Cartoon Justice/Theory Garden - Experimental, presenting *Bedouin Poets of Mars*. They perform an experimental music using the underpinning of post-industrial ambient noise-scapes as a backdrop for a seamless blend of dark psychedelic singer-songwriter driven folk/rock songs and modal and free improv steeped in the funky jazz fusion of 1970s Miles Davis. In all this the performers maintain a subtle undercurrent of world rhythms, textures, and voicing drawn from a far reaching set of traditions: Nordic/Arctic and Siberian shamanic song to Afro and Arabic pop and folk musics. The music forms more of a musical review than a traditional straight rock or jazz set. Cartoon Justice currently consists of 6 instrumentalists and 2 singers Center around guitar/flute, sax, cello, djembe, electric bass and live electronics/laptop. (we add to this electric-violin, didgeridoo/laptop, trumpet and other singers and performance artists on many numbers.
Special Attractions!	Two very different puppet shows in August! Shadow Circus Vaudeville Theatre and the Apocalypse Puppet Theater. These are nothing like you'd expect in puppet shows. Apocalypse is ancient puppetry you've likely never seen before; Shadow is today's puppetry in a whole new way. Last time the Shadow Circus sold out so we've added a second date!
Wednesday, August 19 2009 Thursday, August 20 2009	Shadow Circus Vaudeville Theatre! The return of San Francisco's most belligerent puppetry troupe. And they're musical, too! Last time they sold out! This time we're presenting them for two nights! Combining folklore, mythology, Lovecraftian monsters and pop-culture parody, Shadow Circus Creature Theatre has been one of San Francisco's most popular and outrageous puppetry troupes since it's formation in 2000. Using life-sized latex and foam creatures Shadow Circus creates a world that is utterly fantastic, and yet hilariously similar to our own. "...the puppets are Grade A" - East Bay Express This show will include the fabulous cellist Unwoman (who has played in Rasputina and in Jill Tracy and Voltaire's orchestra), and WHOA! there's more! Acrobat-contortionist Fancy Kate who's been performing at DNA is also on the bill. And you thought you were just getting a musical puppet show!
Wednesday, August 26 2009	Armchair Geographers - This is the return to the Climate stage of the salient diatribes of missing anthropological theorist and pie eating champion, CF Hibbens. The Armchair Geographers now continue on where the great Hibbens left off. To make such discourse more palatable to the lumpen, the Armchairs provide musical accompaniment including ribald oceanic ditties, original compositions and exciting manly dances guaranteed to inspire and invigorate anyone lucky enough to witness them. Their recent acquisition of rare archival films from the National Ethnographic Museum in Wels, provides each lecture with a fascinating audio/visual component. Apocalypse Puppet Theater, an Oakland-based performance troupe, has provided wonderfully ridiculous, occasionally historical, and often bizarre works to the Bay Area and beyond for the past two years. Their visually rich productions employ a host of inventive and traditional methods and contraptions, such as shadow puppets, bunraku (traditional ancient Japanese) puppets, giant puppets, Sabbatini column wave machines, and their own Apocalypse Stagecoach powered by a team of eight bicycles. We don't think the Climate stage is quite large enough for the coach, but then you never know. This is another of those must-see events.
Wednesday, September 2 2009	John Shiurba's 5x5 - 'a wildly creative guitarist... anti-jazz, anti-everything else, yet utterly compelling." - Cadence Magazine. John Shiurba is a composer and guitarist whose musical pursuits include improvisation, art-rock, modern composition and noise. Shiurba has recorded and toured the U.S. and Europe as a member of the bands Eskimo, The Molecules and Spezza Rotto, as a member of the Merce Cunningham Dance Company, Anthony Braxton's ensemble and the SFSound Group, and as an improvisor. As a guitarist Shiurba has developed a unique and personalized approach to the guitar. Through the use of extended techniques and unusual preparations, he expands the traditional sound range of the instrument, producing stunning, often unrecognizable results. 5x5 is John Shiurba's mutating band that always has 5 people interpreting 5 of his compositions, with personnel drawing from the Bay Area's most exciting improvisers.... Lisa Mezzacappa's Bait & Switch - Bait & Switch is San Francisco bassist Lisa Mezzacappa's rollicking garage jazz quartet, playing original music inspired by adventurous jazz masters like Ornette Coleman, Henry Threadgill, the Art Ensemble of Chicago and Eric Dolphy. The music funnels free jazz energy and collectivity into finely honed minimalist compositions that exploit the group's amazing chemistry and fierce sense of groove. Aaron Bennett, saxophones John Finkbeiner, guitar; Lisa Mezzacappa, bass; Vijay Anderson, drums. "Brawny and brainy new out jazz from some of the scene's most accomplished and passionate players ... It had been a long time since I had heard anyone follow up on the sophisticated traditions of the seventies' AACM / loft jazz scene with such dedication and focus." - Myles Boisen, Transbay Creative Music Calendar
Tuesday, September 8 2009	Note: There will be a Tuesday show this week!
Wednesday, September 9 2009	Enjoy the Fringe Festival at the Climate Theater on Wednesday!
Tuesday, September 15 2009	Note: This is a Tuesday show! Autumn Sky - Singer-Songwriter. Autumn Sky (her real name) returns to the Climate Theater stage, finishing her tour in support of her new CD. Some reviews: "...But Sky has a definite talent for melody and structure, and her original songs—eight of them in her 50-minute set, including a couple of ballads with Palmer backing her on electric piano—come off quite favorably." - Jackson Griffith, Sacramento News and Review "You cannot help but notice her on the stage. Once she starts singing she transforms. Her songs are upbeat and cute, but don’t be fooled, she has her sad and angry songs too. In fact, for being so happy, she does sad so well. Both (her) voice and songs are extremely versatile. A show is a breathtaking experience...Her debut album release is expected to be nothing less than promising." - Angela Rosas, Fringe Magazine, August 2008 "[she] packs a Goliath-sized wallop..." - Rachel Leibrock, The Sacramento Bee, November 2008
Wednesday, September 16 2009	Enjoy the Fringe Festival at the Climate Theater on Wednesday!
Wednesday, September 23 2009	More exciting music!
Wednesday, September 30 2009	49 Special - Bluegrass. 49 Special is a San Francisco based bluegrass band who perform original and traditional songs. Their diverse musical influences include country, blues, and traditional and progressive bluegrass. 49 Special blends traditional and modern influences to create an exciting sound that is uniquely their own. "One of the brightest new lights illuminating San Francisco’s bluegrass music scene is 49 Special. Alisa Rose, Dan Booth, Jim Chayka and Tyson Alteri play their bluegrass with energy and freshness that is gaining attention in the Bay Area and beyond." -- California Bluegrass Association I don't normally book bluegrass because while most bluegrass bands are very good, they tend to lack soul. These guys have soul. Fresh from wowwing the folks at the huge Grass Valley bluegrass festival, 49 Special will perform at the Climate Theater for your enjoyment. -- David Kaye
*See What We've Done*	Past Shows in 2008 Past Shows in 2009

About The Music Box Series
About the Show: We love to book music that isn't normally heard elsewhere, such as vaudeville tunes, Eastern European folk music, new jazz, piano serenades, electronica, brass bands, experimental music, string quartets, Western swing, bebop, and those kinds of music that don't fit any niche at all -- even musical puppet shows! The Music Box Series at the Climate Theater is the perfect non-profit showcase for unusual music performed by seasoned musicians. Unless otherwise noted, all shows begin at 8:00pm and run through about 10:30, making them perfect for a school night. Most shows are kid-friendly! About the Curator: David Kaye is a musician, show promoter, and former radio and television personality, who has put on over 300 shows since 1999, mostly in nightclubs and bars. While profitable for the most part, there was something lacking: stellar performers were being drowned out by clanking beer bottles, cell phones, and loud talk. The Music Box Series is a chance to showcase top-tier performers in a venue where the audience can appreciate what they're hearing -- and the musicians can hear each other. For the curator, this is a volunteer labor of love, not of profits. Bookings: Click Here (new address!) to send email to David Kaye, the series curator. Please remember to include links to mp3s, photos, descriptions, and other content that will interest me in booking you for a show. Email List: Click Here to join the Music Box Series email list -- You can always remove or adjust your mailing list membership. Instructions appear on every email you receive. You'll get an average of one email a month with lots of information about the series and the performers. About the Venue: The Climate is an intimate 49-seat theater at the corner of 9th and Folsom Streets. The room is so good acoustically that most performers don't need amplification at all, though a fully tricked-out sound system is available as well. It's a pleasure both for musicians audience to do a show at the Climate because it's possible to hear the music the way it is supposed to be, without the distraction of noise or room problems. The Climate Theater is on the 2nd floor at 285 9th Street. Climate Theater Website -- Find out about all theater, spoken word, music, magic shows, parties, burlesque, clowns, and other events happening each month at the Climate Theater. Parking & Transit: Parking is easy within a block on Wednesday nights. BART Civic Center station is 3 blocks away. Muni routes 9, 12, 14, 19, 26, 27, and 47 are within 2 blocks or less. Click for Map MySpace Page: http://www.myspace.com/climatetheatermusicbox -- This is our presence on MySpace