TDB at Vinnie's

Hi everyone. The bass player here, with a report from last night.

The return of Zac Johnson to the TDB lineup was highly anticipated and paid off in spades last night as Zac contributed his usual unique blasts of musical genius from the sax and the clarinet. The band was extra jazzed to have him back and thrived on the big sound of a five-piece. The sound at Vinnie's helped as well, with lots of power and good acoustics. TDB debuted five new tunes at the show and all went over well. I particularly enjoyed the new (to TDB) Los Lobos tune, "Shakin' Shakin' Shakes", with the duel lead guitar boys rippin' off blazing licks to take the end jam to a rousing finish. Also still ringing in my head today is J.D. Dills version of Magic Sam's "Give Me Time." Expect both of those tunes at a show next month. Special thanks to our guest players: Scott Mitchell, Larry Frick, Rob McCullough, and Bennie.

Thanks to all of our friends who came out on a rainy night to support us: Jill and Steve, David and Margret, Lalo and Celia, Rob and Laurie, Sean and Rosie, Larry and Cora, Kerry, Scott, Clay, Ali and Barbara, Dave, Peter, Ken, and all the rest of you---we appreciate it!

Jimmy V

WHAT'S IN THE BAND'S MUSIC PLAYER RIGHT NOW?

J.D. is listening to:
The Best of Clifton Chenier on Arhoolie This is some great stuff recorded between 1964 and 1981. The King of Zydeco and Louisiana Blues says it all.

Breakin' it Up,Breakin' it Down Muddy Waters, Johnny Winter and James Cotton on epic/legacy This is a live recording from 1977 coming off the Hard Again sessions. Throw in Pinetop Perkins and Bob Margolin and you got some red hot smokin' ensemble blues.

James Hunter People Gonna Talk on Rounder...Drop everything and go to this guy's website and check out his voice. www.jameshuntermusic.com
J.D.

Next post: What's in Perfesser Chris' player?

TDB News

Hello, blues fans. If this is your first visit to the Tamsen Donner Web Blog then welcome! This page is a trial run to see if it might work better than our current web page. We'll try to keep all the pertinent news where it's easy to find.

TDB has several gigs upcoming. On January 25 you can find the band at Vinnie's Bar and Grill in Concord. We'll be celebrating the birthday of Doctor Dave Rogers who turns forty-something. Helping us celebrate that evening will be our good friend and former bandmate, the great Zac Johnson. Zac will bring his bevy of saxophones with him to round out the TDB sound. We're excited to have Zac for this birthday show. Vinnie's is at 2045 Mt. Diablo St. in Concord. Showtime is 9:00pm. Look for the Vinnie's link on the upper right of this page.

On February 13 TDB returns to the Ashkenaz Music and Dance Community Center in Berkeley. Once again, this is a West Coast Swing Dance night at Ashkenaz with a dance lesson at 7:30pm. Nick and Shanna will be teaching you some easy steps to get your steppin' and struttin' up to par. TDB hits the stage at 8:30pm. Ashkenaz is at 1317 San Pablo Ave. in Berkeley near the corner of Gilman.

On February 16 TDB rocks the house at Ronnie's House Of Blues and Pasta, Dallimonti's. You are welcome to come down early for some great food followed by the sweet sounds of blues guitar from the Perfesser and JD. Doctor Dave and Jimmy V hold down the rhythm section as usual. Dallimonti's is at 1932 Oak Park Blvd. in Pleasant Hill.

Links for each venue are in the box at the right of the top of this page. Let us know what you think of the blog page. Your comments are welcome. See you at a show soon!

Jimmy V