Category: music

At about 7pm on the third Tuesday of every month, we indulge our taste for live music. Jodi Siegel created the Songwriter Showcase as a means to bring original songs, performed by the original songwriters, to local people. There isn’t a bad seat in the house, and by 7pm every seat is filled with music lovers. Come on down and check it out! Here’s this month’s program.

Tracy Newman : Tracy is founding member of The Groundlings Improv Theatre, which is one of the main farm companies for SNL. She was a TV writer/producer for 16 years, starting as a staff writer on Cheers. In 1997, she won an Emmy and Peabody Award for co-writing the groundbreaking “coming out” episode of Ellen. In 2001 she co-created the ABC comedy, According to Jim. Tracy has been playing guitar since she was 14 and is now a full-time singer/songwriter, doing shows for both adults and children. She has a new company called Run Along Home, focusing on age-appropriate lyrics for very young kids. Tracy’s CDs for adults: A Place in the Sun, I Just See You,and That’s What Love Can Do to Your Heart. Her CDs for children: I Can Swing Forever, Shoebox Town, and Sing With Me. 
Websites: www.tracynewman.com and www.runalonghome.com.

David Plenn: Singer-songwriter-guitarist,  Plenn has developed a career as a in demand sideman, a producer as well as a professional songwriter. His “Easy Driver” was a 1978 chart entry for Kenny Loggins, while “The Forecast (Calls for Pain)” — produced by another important musical mentor, writer-producer Dennis Walker — appeared on Robert Cray’s 1990 album “Midnight Stroll.” His tunes were heard on such hit TV shows as Beverly Hills 90210, Melrose Place and Touched By an Angel.

David’s new album, produced by Plenn and Lloyd Moffitt and comprising 10 beautifully crafted, emotionally affecting original songs, finds the veteran Southern California performer backed by a group of longtime colleagues who rank among the region’s best-known players: legendary singer-songwriter-arranger Van Dyke Parks (architect of the Beach Boys’ Smile), drummer Jay Bellarose (Elton John, Bonnie Raitt, Aimee Mann, etc.), bassists Jenny Condos (Bruce Springsteen, Jackson Browne, Stevie Nicks, etc.) and James “Hutch” Hutchinson (Willie Nelson, B.B King, Linda Ronstadt, etc.). Several other contributors — Moffitt, vocalists Tara Austin and Llory McDonald, bassist David Jenkins, drummer David Goodstein — backed the late singer- songwriter Jerry Riopelle during Plenn’s decades-long association with the musician. For more about David, go to his website https://davidplenn.com/

Michael McNevin: Michael’s songs read like short stories, full of heart, humor, and a keen eye for detail. Winner of the Kerrville New-Folk award in Texas, Performing Songwriter Magazine “DIY Artist Of The Year”, 7-time grand finals “Song Of The Year” winner for West Coast Songwriters. Accomplished guitar work and seasoned vocals underscore the characters and places he comes across in his travels. He grew up in the train town of Niles, CA, in the east bay hills the San Francisco Bay Area. He started out playing underage in East Bay bars, mixed in a six-month stint busking the streets and subways in New York and has has since logged 25 years on the U.S. songwriter circuit.

He’s shared hall stages with Johnny Cash & The Carter Family, Donovan, Shawn Colvin, Richie Havens, Iris Dement, Greg Brown, Christine Lavin, Robert Earl Keen, and many of others. He’s been a main-stager at Strawberry, High Sierra, Kerrville, Redwood Ramble, American River, SummerFolk in Canada, and the Philadelphia Folk Fest. He’s also been a 3rd place finalist at both the Rocky Mountain Folks and Telluride Troubadour Competitions in Colorado, and was nominated Artist Of The Year by the National Academy of Songwriters. He tours as a solo act in the US and parts of Europe, and occasionally gets a band together as McNevin & The Spokes. In addition, Michael is an Etch A Sketch artist of some renown, delighting and dumbfounding audiences. Not kidding, he illustrates his songs on the little red toy. Michael has been a guest on CBS “Evening Magazine”, plus segments on NBC, ABC, and dozens of cable music shows.

When he’s not on the road, Michael also owns and operates the Mudpuddle Shop, in downtown Niles, a former barber shop. Now in it’s 14th year, it is a 15’x15′ creative hive for showcases, workshops, song swaps and jams. His Etch A Sketch drawings hang on the walls, waiting for an earthquake.. https://michaelmcnevin.com/

Jodi Siegel: Jodi was born in Chicago, IL. The Home of the Blues! She eventually relocated to California and  began playing and singing in countless blues, R & B, pop and original music bands throughout Orange County, San Diego and Los Angeles. Over the years Jodi has opened for and or shared the stage with many respected musicians including: Albert King, Robben Ford, Robert Cray, J.D. Souther, David Lindley, Fred Tacket and Paul Barrere (Little Feat) and countless others. Her songs have been recorded by Maria Muldaur (“So Many Rivers To Cross,”-cowritten with Daniel Moore and “If I Were You”-cowritten with Danny Timms) Marcia Ball (“So Many Rivers To Cross.”) and Teresa James (“Come Up and See Me Sometime”-cowritten with Danny Timms)

MEET OUR NEW SONGWRITER’S SHOWCASE SPONSORS
I adore these two wonderful folks! Everybody’s cheerleaders in the music community! 

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