BULLETIN (April 23, 2010)

Our forthcoming Wednesday-night appearance at the Freight & Salvage in Berkeley will have special significance for Mitch Greenhill and me.

Our Fortieth Year. It was a little over 40 years ago that Mitch and I first teamed up as sidemen for Mark Spoelstra. Enlarged, this ensemble became the Frontier Constabulary, and then the Frontier after Mark left. Finally, we started gigging as a duo in 1976. On May 5 we'll be playing original compositions and arrangements from all phases in our collaboration, from 1969 to 2010.

Tribute to Mark Spoelstra. Mark Spoelstra was a stellar singer, songwriter, and 12-string guitarist. He died of cancer in March 2007. Mitch and I are working up one of our favorite Spoelstra songs, a masterpiece of humorous self-parody called “Don Juan's Turn to Bow.”

Dave Holt to Sit In. Dave “The Kid” sang and played piano with the Frontier in its final era, and he's agreed to do four songs with us at the end of our first set. It's going to be hot!

Pedal Steel Guitar. You don't often get to hear a pedal steel guitar in a duo context. I'm doing some woodshedding for this demanding situation, and I think it will be pretty special.

Back Where We've Never Been. Our 1986 cassette album of this name is just now for sale in a new “green” CD package. It's our only recorded work that was performed live in a cozy studio, direct-to-digital with no overdubs or edits of any kind. And it contains songs we haven't released in any other form. Visit the CDs AVAILABLE page of this website to find out more and order this CD re-issue.

Our First Time at the New Freight. This will be our first time performing at the new, vastly enlarged and improved Freight & Salvage, now located at 2020 Addison just a block from the downtown Berkeley BART station. If you haven't seen it, you'll be knocked out! For details, visit www.freightandsalvage.org.

BULLETIN (February 24, 2010)

Gigs

For those in the L.A. area, Mitch Greenhill and I will be appearing in a show that starts at 3pm on Sunday, February 28 in West Hollywood. Sponsored by Public Works Improvisational Theatre, the (strictly musical) performance will occur at the Crescent Heights United Methodist Church, 1296 North Fairfax (at Fountain). Also on the bill will be Mitch and his friends Peter Spelman and Bob Applebaum in the debut performance as the all-acoustic, all-instrumental group, String Madness. Bob and Peter will help us in our set, too. A $10 donation will cover Mendocino Organic Wine Tasting as well as two sets of music.

Then on May 5 at the Freight & Salvage Coffeehouse (8pm), Mitch & Mayne will play two sets billed as a 40th anniversary celebration. (It's actually been longer than 40 years, but who cares?) We're going to include a number of our early repertoire as well as some quite recent material. For details, and to check out the educational offerings at the Freight's new home at 2020 Addison go to www.thefreight.org. The new facility, located a block from the downtown Berkeley BART station in a growing arts district, is very attractively designed with wonderful sound, over 400 cushy seats, and ample toilet facilities for women.

Website improvements

I've been busy working on enhancements to MayneSmith.com.

There's a revised edition of “A Shuffle in Charlie: Technical Communications Among Improvising Musicians.” The essay that I posted last October attracted lots of compliments, requests for permission to distribute hyperlinks and hard copies, and responses to my request for additions and corrections. The description of how musicians create arrangements on the fly and make a jam sound like a rehearsed concert was informative to non-performers and fun for experienced players. Valuable suggestions from Peter Wernick, Mitch Greenhill, Julian Smedley, Markie Sanders, and Herb Steiner and make the revision worth reading to those with professional interests. There's also a seven-page Glossary with thumbnail explanations of jargon words like “Diamond,” “Double shuffle,” “Head arrangement,” “Nashville number system,” “Potatoes,” “Push,” and “Walking waltz.” A NOTE ABOUT HYPERLINKS: The revised essay has the same html filename as the previous one, so existing links from other websites will still work.

Ray Bierl wrote a third verse for “My Dancing Days” several years ago, and now I don't sing the song without it. I've now added it to the text posted in SONG LYRICS AND NOTES.

Back in 1966 I wrote a song called “I'm Not Your Man,” played it for a few years, and then let it drop out of my active repertoire. Since the website went up, three different guys have written me to make sure they have the correct words and melody. Thank you Rolly Brown, Jim Cerano, and Charley Walter, for keeping the song alive and letting me know about it. All the other songs in SONG LYRICS AND NOTES have been recorded and released, but now I've added “I'm Not Your Man” to that section and included an MP3 file that you can hear online and download if you want. The recording is a demo from the late 1960s when my finger picking was in good shape and there was no wart on my vocal cords.

BULLETIN (October 22, 2009)

Musicians' secret signals now exposed!

Friends, in the PIECES OF OUR MINDS section I have just posted an essay titled “A Shuffle in Charlie: Technical Communications Among Improvising Musicians.” I hope you'll enjoy it.

You can read the essay online or download a PDF version that you can print out regardless of your operating system. In printed format, the article is about 9 pages long, followed by a 4-page glossary of jargon used by musicians in the country, blues, folk, rock, and jazz worlds.

Most of the information in the essay will be familiar to experienced musicians, but I've never seen it written down before. I will welcome all questions, comments, and corrections. If I get a lot of feedback I will produce an improved and expanded version.

Because Smith-Harper Express has been disbanded, I'm not sure where I will focus my music-playing energy next, but in the meantime I am directing extra attention to songwriting and I'm excited about the results.

My best wishes to you all, especially those who are struggling in these hard times.

BULLETIN (September 17, 2009)

I'm very sad to announce that Smith-Harper Express has been disbanded, for reasons that are unsuitable for public discussion. To my deep regret, we will not be able to appear at the North Richmond Shoreline Festival on September 26, 2009.

BULLETIN (August 1, 2009)

There's lots of good stuff coming up soon!

The fourth annual Cur-ville Dog Days Festival will be held in Kenwood, just outside Santa Rosa, on Saturday, August 22. This is a wonderful daytime event which Mayne and Johnny Harper have played on three previous occasions. It’s really not far for Bay Area fans to travel — an hour and a half unless you hit a traffic jam. And it’s really worth the trip! For $15 in advance you can hear eight different, high-quality roots/Americana acts. These include Smith-Harper Express with a bunch of newly developed songs … Solid Air, a fabulous wife-and-husband duet with brilliant original songs (one of our favorite groups) … the irresistible Michael McNevin, whose beautiful voice and immaculate finger-picking guitar work will enthrall you as he spins his vivid story songs of small-town life and colorful characters ... infectious high-energy country music by Doug Blumer ... lovely trio harmony singing by a new group, Three At Last ... and more! The party takes place on a small ranch in the Valley of the Moon, where you hear the music surrounded by gorgeous fields and hills, and relax in the sun with a gaggle of friendly folks, dogs, and kids. Food and beverages will be available. The show is a benefit for music in the Kenwood schools. This event could sell out, so it's wise to reserve tickets in advance. Get all the details, including the time each act will perform, at www.cur-ville.com.

For another thing, on Friday, August 27 the Freight & Salvage Coffeehousewill be opening in its new 400-seat downtown location at 2020 Addison Street in Berkeley (barely a block away from Shattuck Avenue and the Central Berkeley BART station). The entire building has been rebuilt to our careful specifications, including its wonderful showroom, spacious lobby (with food counter), and a roof garden --- and we own it outright! This level of success was inconceivable in 1983 when I helped to form the nonprofit corporation that has operated the club ever since. Details at www.freightandsalvage.org.

Of related interest is a four-page article by Maureen Brennan in the September/October 2009 issue of Dirty Linen magazine entitled “The Once & Future Freight & Salvage.” She quotes extensively from an e-mail interview with me, among many others, and includes plenty of interesting “insider” stories.

Smith-Harper Express will be performing on the main stage at the North Richmond Shoreline Festival on the afternoon of September 26. This community event is designed to call attention to the beauty and value of the bay shore near Point Pinole (a favorite hangout of Mayne's) and rally help to protect the area from being ruined by developers. There will be two different music stages and numerous other attractions and events. Go to www.northrichmondshoreline.org/festival.htm for updates and details.

Let me note in passing that I have added a few new (old) items to the discography of my recorded performances in the Bio / Disco / Bibliography section at MayneSmith.com. Working on the website has forced me to reclaim my own past in several ways.

BULLETIN (May 18, 2009)

At 8:00 pm on Wednesday, May 27 at the Freight & Salvage Coffeehouse in Berkeley, I'll join a special band led by Nell Robinson that will perform songs about members of the U.S. armed forces and their families. Proceeds from this Soldier Stories concert will be donated to increase mental health services for veterans. The recipient project is a collaboration between Swords to Plowshares and Disability Rights Associates, two respected non-profit organizations. Laurie Lewis and Tom Rozum will play the second set. If you join us, you will be contributing to an important cause and you will hear some songs, ranging in age from 1690 to 2008, that give insight into the sacrifices made by members of the military on our behalf.

Also, on Sunday, June 14 at the Station House Café in Point Reyes Station, the Smith-Harper Trio (Mayne, Johnny Harper, and Markie Sanders) will play two long sets beginning at 5:30 pm and 7:30 pm (with a dinner break in between). The Station House is a good, moderately-priced restaurant with a cozy bar area. This is going to be a fun gig with plenty of time for us to play some new arrangements.

Mayne Smith & Johnny Harper, with Markie Sanders on bass, played live for nearly an hour last night on Larry Kelp's radio show, Sing Out, on KPFA-FM, beginning about 10 pm. Since we started off the show, you can easily go to the station's online archives and listen to about 10 songs. Here's the link: http://www.kpfa.org/archive/id/50462.

MAY 6 AT THE FREIGHT

For those of you lucky enough to live in the Bay Area, the Smith-Harper trio will be sharing the bill with Ray Bierl & Friends at the Freight & Salvage, 1111 Addison Street, Berkeley on May 6, beginning at 8 pm. Please join us!

For those of you who’ll be in the SF Bay Area on Wednesday, May 6, I’ll be playing at the Freight & Salvage Coffeehouse <www.thefreight.org/2009/0905-may/info_090506.html> with the new performing unit we’re calling Mayne Smith & Johnny Harper, with Markie Sanders, a regular member of the new group, on bass and high harmony vocals. We're sharing the bill with another longtime musical pal. Ray Bierl and Friends will play the first set starting at 8:00 p.m.

It was putting my recent CD together that turned Johnny and me from longtime musical friends into partners — Johnny acting not only as producer but also as the dominant instrumentalist on most of the tracks. After the album was released we began adding to our repertoire of my songs by developing arrangements of some fine compositions by Johnny. We also perform versions of a few classic songs from a variety of American traditions — gospel to honky-tonk. Markie has joined us for some performances that went over very well, and is an invaluable addition to the group sound. I can honestly say that I’ve never enjoyed rehearsing so much. I think this group, which can easily expand to a quartet with drums for playing dances, is going to have its own long life.

We have more gigs booked and we’re hoping you’ll come see us soon. The dates will be posted here at MayneSmith.com. If you're not getting announcements by e-mail from Johnny or me, click on the e-mail button displayed all over this site and send me your e-mail address. I'll put you on my distribution list immediately.

BULLETIN (July 3, 2008)

My new CD album, PLACES I'VE BEEN, is now available for download or mail purchase on the CD Baby website. You can listen to samples from any of the songs there, too.

Please also check out my album with Mitch Greenhill, STORM COMING on CDBaby.com. This album was recorded in 1979 at Bay Records when it was still in Alameda, California. It has lots of original songs and arrangements by Mitch Greenhill and myself, and some neat arrangements with horns and stuff. Guest appearances by Doc and Merle Watson, Taj Mahal, Tony Marcus, Larry Hanks, and the Primordial Oohs backup singers. The image for the LP cover was an oil portrait by Mitches old blues-playing friend, Eric Von Schmidt (1930-2007); Mitch has the original on his wall. We reproduced the LP cover for the 1999 CD version.