Lib at Large: New Monsoon’s balancing act — jamming and fatherhood

By Paul Liberatore
Marin Independent Journal

Posted: 04/15/2011 06:21:00 AM PDT

WHEN I REVIEWED the “New Monsoon Live” CD a while back, I called the group one of the best jam bands to come out of Marin County. And I meant it.

The problem was, if you wanted to hear them live, which is the way to hear improvisational rock, you had to put on your traveling shoes. Now a quintet, New Monsoon came together in Bolinas during the El Niño storms of 1997, when every day brought a new monsoon, and the name of their band. But they’ve been road warriors for the past decade (their live CD, for instance, was recorded in Texas).

That’s why the April 16 show at the Palm Ballroom in San Rafael is something of an event, a one-off chance to catch them on their home court in a venue they’ve never played before.

Lead guitarist Jeff Miller, who lives in Forest Knolls, couldn’t remember the last time the band played here.

“We’re excited about the Palm gig because we haven’t played that room yet,” he said. “For me, it’s fantastic, because it’s right in my backyard.”

For this show, the band will be breaking in a new drummer, Michael Pinkham, who lives in Bolinas and has experience with the San Francisco Mime Troupe and various Afro-beat groups.

On the jam band circuit with String Cheese Incident, Umphrey’s McGee, Keller Williams, the Yonder Mountain String Band, Tea Leaf Green and all the rest, New Monsoon made a name for itself with Grateful Dead-inspired improvisation, pipe organ vocal harmony and an ability to blend diverse styles — rock, jazz, blues, world music, acoustic folk, you name it. In 2007, I described one of their songs as “a kind of raga-style rock accented by a didgeridoo.”

To date, they’ve released five albums, all favorably reviewed, and have a cult of fans who call themselves “storm chasers.”

As time has gone on, though, the band’s tabla player and percussionist left the group to settle down and raise families. And New Monsoon’s touring schedule got trimmed in the past year or so when acoustic guitarist and banjo player Bo Carper tended to the duties of new fatherhood.

Carper, who gave the band its name when he worked at a residential home for troubled teenage boys in Bolinas in the ’90s, has been busy with his 1½-year-old boy. He and his wife have just become parents again, this time with a baby girl.

“Bo’s got his hands full,” Miller chuckled.

And so does he. For a while, he had enough spare time to join a musical collective, the Contribution, with his Forest Knolls neighbor, New Monsoon keyboardist Phil Ferlino; Tim Carbone of Railroad Earth and Keith Moseley and Jason Hann of String Cheese Incident.

But now Miller and his wife, Dani, have their first child, a baby boy named Skyler, who’ll be a year old in May.

“We’re trying not to miss a beat,” he sighed. “But it’s been a little tight on time for Bo and me.”

Now well into its second decade, New Monsoon has evolved into a mature band balancing family life and the traveling lifestyle of full-time musicians.

Shaking off some rainy winter torpor, they have a rigorous touring schedule over the spring and summer, flying in for shows in the various markets where they have strong followings, including the Pacific Northwest, Texas and Colorado. They’ll fill in with a number of regional concerts, including ones at home sweet home.

“Because we’ve had babies in the past year or so, we’ve had to pull ourselves back a little bit,” Miller said. “But now we’re ready to go out in the regions again and re-ignite our fan base. So there will be more opportunity for our local fans to see us. And we’ll be playing Marin on a more regular basis.”

Marin IJ online

Come join us as we bid fond farewell to the past decade and welcome the next. In the “house that Fritz built,” this promises to be a special show to share with our families and closest friends and fans. We will be joined on stage by our good friend and fellow Pennsylvanian Kate Gaffney.

Doors open at 8:30 p.m. Kate will start the evening’s music at 9:00. A traditional champagne toast will be served up at midnight.

Time: 8:30pm.
Admission: $25 adv / $35 door.
Age restrictions: 21+.
Address: 100 Connecticut St.

Discount $25 tickets are on sale through JamBase Tickets.
We hope to see you on 12/31/10 > 01/01/11.

Buy tickets:
jambasetickets.com

It’s only natural that a San Francisco band would develop an affinity for Austin. With its progressive cultural vibe and thriving music scene, Austin shares a lot in common with the Bay Area (hellish summer heat aside.) And the Parish is the perfect venue for a jam-oriented band, since it’s the closest thing Austin has to San Francisco’s fabled Fillmore Auditorium. With its intimate classy vibe, lighting fixtures that are a similar size to the Fillmore’s chandeliers, artful décor and fan-friendly staff, the Parish is the kind of room that makes a west coast band feel at home.

It was “an evening with” New Monsoon which meant no opening act and two full sets from the headliner, which suited the “storm chasers” – aka the band’s fans – just fine. The crowd was an interesting mix of old time hippies and younger rock ‘n’ rollers, which always makes for a festive vibe. The band hit the stage at 10 pm and proceeded to rock the house for over three hours.

The instrumental “Song for Marie” got things going early with a melodic jam somewhat reminiscent of the Allman Brothers Band. A new song featured lead guitarist Jeff Miller on vocals and offered a hot jam where Miller started flexing his stellar six-string skills. The energy in the room soared on “Southern Dew,” another instrumental jam and perennial favorite where Miller and acoustic guitarist Bo Carper lay down sweet twin lead lines backed by infectiously melodic piano from keyboardist Phil Ferlino. The song again recalls the Allmans, an obvious influence. But New Monsoon uses that and many other classic rock influences as a springboard to fresh new directions. “Greenhouse,” Carper’s funky ode to both environmentalism and nature’s green gifts, saw the energy in the room percolating. Bassist Marshall Harrell and drummer Sean Hutchinson locked in on a deep groove that had the crowd moving and grooving before the band closed out the set with “Daddy Long Legs,” another intricate instrumental jam featuring Carper on banjo.

The set ended on a peak but, as is often the case with improv-oriented bands, it was the second set where the magic really flowed at a sustained level. “Spanish Moon” opened with a bluesy funk vibe that segued into the similarly vibed “Skinny Back,” with Ferlino laying down some strong psychedelic organ work. An instrumental jam with a sort of secret agent vibe took the audience on a sonic journey where bassist Harrell’s fat bass runs pumped up the jam. Miller ripped off another killer solo before the band moved into a spacey bridge section that brought Pink Floyd to mind. This built into a big psychedelic rock jam that saw the dance floor lighting up. The sound was boosted further when Ferlino added some funky electric keys that seemed to conjure Widespread Panic’s signature sound. There are few bands that can nod to so many different influences, yet stir them into such a fresh musical brew as New Monsoon.

Miller’s new tune, “One Night,” conjured an Allmans vibe again, specifically biting the chord progression from “Back Where It All Begins.” But with the Allmans’ career winding down and that song being such a great jam vehicle, why not recycle it for a new song about the great nights at the classic venues? Another jam found Harrell pumping out a bass groove that recalled Jimi Hendrix’s “Third Stone From the Sun,” but with Ferlino adding some Ray Manzarek-style ambient keys ala “Riders on the Storm” to create another unique blend of classic influences. Miller shredded a face-melting wah-wah solo as the band continued on a sustained peak of high energy. This led to a great cutting duel with Carper tapping out licks on his acoustic and Miller answering on his Strat.

The best was still to come however as local fiddle ace Warren Hood sat in for one of the band’s signature tunes, “Alaska.” It was a great choice, a melodic song from Carper about an old west guitarist whose wife dies in childbirth, leaving him to raise his daughter alone. She becomes a fiddle ace in the song, so hearing it with a fiddler like Hood took the tune to a higher level, particularly on the hot jam where Hood and Miller traded smoking licks. Hood stuck around for a superb rendition of the Beatles’ “A Day in the Life,” featuring Ferlino doing his spot-on John Lennon imitation. The band added in an extra jam section that gave Hood and Miller another chance to stretch out, this time playing some great tandem riffs. Hood departed to mass applause and the band then closed out the set with their instrumental barnburner “Bridge of the Gods.”

It was 1:15 am by this point, but the fun wasn’t over yet. The band returned for an encore and said the song was not planned but by request. The crowd exploded in elation as the opening chords revealed Pink Floyd’s “Fearless.” It was an utterly sublime rendition of melodic and uplifting classic psychedelia, the perfect way to wrap up such a show (although the band would also follow that with another big jam on their own “Bo’s Blues.”) It could be awhile before the Parish sees another musical storm surge like this one.

New Monsoon
9-9-2010
The Parish
Austin, TX

Set I ~9:40pm
Next Best Thing
Song For Marie
On The Sun
Border Ghost
No Reservations
Friendly Ghost
Southern Dew
Greenhouse
Daddy Long Legs

Set II
Spanish Moon ->
Skin It Back
Gelstream
One Night
Wagon Train
Country Interlude
Alaska (1)
A Day In A Life (1)
Bridge Of the Gods

E)
Fearless (by request)
Bo’s Blues
1:40am

1) Warren Hood violin player from The Waybacks. Kicked ass!

TICKETS

San Francisco rock quintet New Monsoon has announced its Storm Surge 2010 Tour, a September Texas swing as the band continues touring in support of its 2-CD release New Monsoon Live, recorded in Texas in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Ike.

The forthcoming dates in Austin, Houston and Galveston celebrate a return to the home of some of the band’s most enthusiastic and loyal fans. The symbiotic relationship between New Monsoon’s Texas fans and the band is reflected in the Live album’s vibe.

New Monsoon is the collaborative vehicle for the vocal and instrumental prowess of founding members Bo Carper (acoustic guitar and banjo), Jeff Miller (electric guitar) and Phil Ferlino (keys). Now well into its second decade of national touring, the band also features the muscular young rhythm section of Marshall Harrell (electric bass) and Sean Hutchinson (drums). New Monsoon’s exhilarating blend of acoustic and electric instrumentation shines in an irresistible blend of sophisticated song craft, inventive musical exploration and down home rock-n-roll. “They have a collective power that comes off as a real unified force on stage.. It’s not just a band, you know? It’s something transcendental.” – Michael Shrieve (original drummer, Santana)

Since its inception in the bohemian beach town of Bolinas, California, New Monsoon has steadily grown its fan base with an active touring schedule highlighted by appearances at key festivals including Bonnaroo, Austin City Limits Festival, Jam Cruise, High Sierra Music Festival and Telluride Bluegrass Festival.

Don’t miss your chance to catch New Monsoon’s exhilarating live shows near you. Tour dates are:

09/09/10 The Parish Austin, TX
09/10/10 Last Concert Cafe Houston, TX
09/11/10 Gafftopper’s Galveston, TX

For press inquiries, please email: management@newmonsoon.com

For more information:

newmonsoon.com
nm myspace
nm facebook

Did you know we put out a double CD of our last show at the Hopmonk because, quite frankly, that show smoked! Here’s a sample track for your downloading pleasure. Eminence Front

You can download the entire show here.

So yeah… we’re fired up! Come boogie with us this weekend!

Arcata Tix | RSVP

Hopmonk Tix | RSVP

Truckee Tix | RSVP

NM Tour Page

Which Way World – the new release recorded by supergroup collective The Contribution – is the kind of debut album that only seasoned musicians can produce. Featuring the stellar contributions of Tim Carbone – violin, vocals (Railroad Earth), Jeff Miller – guitar, mandolin, vocals (New Monsoon), Phil Ferlino – keyboards (New Monsoon), Keith Moseley – bassist (The String Cheese Incident) and Jason Hann – percussion (The String Cheese Incident), the Americana-tinged music on Which Way World is full and free-wheeling, offering exceptional chops that never overshadow the stand-out songwriting.

The Contribution releases Which Way World on March 30th, 2010 (SCI Fidelity Records); the album will be available digitally everywhere and on CD (the disc includes bonus video footage shot during the recording process) at http://thecontribution.net/

Be sure to check out the Contribution Media Player featuring streaming audio & video from Which Way World, plus a link to pre-order the digital download of the album! We will be adding more songs and videos to the player over the coming weeks, so stay tuned!

Pre-order the album here

The Contribution will be hosting two CD Release Concerts:

Thursday April 1st at the Bluebird Theater in Denver, CO.
WhiteWater Ramble opens
TICKETS

Saturday April 3rd at The Great American Music Hall in San Francisco, CA.
Kate Gaffney & The One Night Band opens
Joe Kyle Jr – bass
James Nash – guitar
Ben Jacobs – keys
James Neil – drums
TICKETS

For more information and to RSVP to these events visit facebook.com/thecontribution

Talent will out.

It’s an expression I adore because it basically says that one’s gifts will shine through regardless of the hardships, disregard and other flotsam hurled at anyone brave enough to put their passion and art in the public eye. Frequently, riches, as defined by the culture at large, will elude even the most talented folks. It’s just one of the cruel facts of life, where less-than-half-talents tapped by the corporate machine thrive and real artists chip away in their rag-and-bone way. However, there are rewards in this life far greater than a sack of silver, and following one’s vision and fully exploring one’s craft offer some pretty sweet satisfaction.

Such were my thoughts during this wholly enjoyable, musically dense evening inside one of San Francisco’s most storied venues as two of the most consistently satisfying, sonically lush bands in Northern California plied their trade. I’ve known most of the members of New Monsoon for close to a decade, and the rhythm section of Izabella for close to the same, and yet each time I see both acts play they’re all just a bit better – generally sharper, moving with greater group fluidity, full of a seemingly endless supply of solos that remind one why such spotlights flip our switch so thoroughly. And this long, happy night at the Great American Music Hall had an even more pronounced sense that every dude onstage was exactly where the universe meant them to be. An ebullient positivity permeated the room. I almost want to kick my own ass writing something so saccharine but there was no denying that being in this space, awash in this music, one felt slightly scrubbed and returned to the outside world a touch better. What drains the sap from the positive edge both bands possess is an insistence that reality be acknowledged and massaged into their compositions. Thus, one finds sounds that give them wings but have a very human weight, which may make it harder to achieve liftoff but make it all the more rewarding when one hits open air.

In a nutshell, Izabella and New Monsoon are rock bands in the mold of the 60s/70s greats, where the basic character is rock but they’re unafraid to incorporate numerous other elements. So one picks up on the jazz sweep of Chicago and the Allmans, the Latin bent of Traffic and War, the street soul of the Doobie Brothers and the folk leanings of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and Poco, but only in the vaguest ways – like their forebears, they are doing their own thing. What amazes me, even after all these years, is how wonderfully accessible both groups are; not just approachable but active in their reaching out. They pull us from our spot on the bench and get us into the game. Even arriving to their show wicked tired or emotionally off-kilter, one soon finds themselves letting their resistance and hardness drop. I’ve experienced it countless times with their music, especially live, and dragging in after a particularly challenging working week this Saturday it happened again. From Izabella’s opening notes – a warming breeze out of a rainy day – through two magnificent sets by New Monsoon – embiggened further by periodic guest spots from RatDog’s guitar gaucho Mark Karan and former Monsooner and tabla stud Rajiv Parikh – one felt a connective charge surge between the large crowd and the musicians. Some trips we take together, whether we realize it consciously or not, and this was one of them. Such was the enfolding nature of both band’s music, which sort of demanded smiles and cheers with its fundamental exuberance and joie de vivre.

This “review” may seem all broad strokes but neither New Monsoon nor Izabella can be easily summed up in a few words. Almost ten years on I’m still curious where they’re gonna take me and the rest of an audience. I’m still intrigued with their highly individual senses of what constitutes “rock,” and I’m continually impressed at their warmheartedness and ability to express it through song. I could wax poetic about the borderless interplay of NM’s Bo Carper’s glassy banjo and Parikh’s heartbeat percussion, or the cool dovetailing of guitar styles with Karan and NM’s Jeff Miller – two of my all-time favorite six-stringers full of classic rock feel and jazzbo chops. I might crow to you about the bang-up new Chuck Berry style rave-up written and sung by Izabella keyboardist Sam Phelps, or perhaps the delightful shiver the Garcia covers by both bands sent through the crowd – Izabella’s “West L.A. Fadeaway” was sexy great and NM’s tackling of “Mission In The Rain” was stunning and a bittersweet reminder of the incredible gigs they did at the much missed 12 Galaxies. But this night was too sweet, too dear to be picked apart and dissected for its constituent parts. Talent will out, or at least it surely did this evening in San Francisco.

Limited edition Michael Everett poster, 100 copies signed and numbered by the artist, will be available for purchase at the GAMH show. Purchase tickets here