You probably already know that the next Dan Zanes album, ¡Nueva York!, is almost here (set to be released on May 20). You may also remember the Zanes mentioning to me earlier this year that he's recorded an album of Broadway tunes.
But in between those two albums is a third album with some new Zanes material coming out later this spring. It's called The Welcome Table: Songs of Inspiration, Mystery and Hope, and it's a compilation of new and previously-released DZ&F material "mostly from the North American gospel traditions." With the promise of new Zanes music and the fact that proceeds will benefit the New Sanctuary Movement, an American organization of churches and synagogues "working toward deportation reform," I think it'll definitely have a few fans...
In Case You're A Little Tired of Dan Zanes
I think the world of Dan Zanes. But I'm willing to acknowledge that not quite everyone is as OK with the pied piper of family music as I am.
Mark Foley, the creator of New York's One Man Blam, has put his own take on Mr. Zanes up on YouTube. Now, considering that in the very description of the video, Foley says, "Dan Zanes & Company do such great work, who can resist joining in the fun?," it's clear from the get-go that the phrase "gentle satire" was created for stuff like this.
"Well, I don't have a tangerine suit / Or a fiddler in hot pink tights," Foley starts out, then later notes that "I threw out the very same duds / He got in an old thrift shop." He's aiming Nerf balls at Zanes, but he's certainly hitting the target.
Considering the other songs Foley's made available, Foley is clearly mining the same seam Zanes has mined with such success. And I've got to believe that Zanes himself would probably completely approve what Foley's doing with One Man Blam and Volunteer Music, which brings "free concerts for underserved communities and worthy civic initiatives." He, uh, just doesn't have the distribution deal with Starbucks.
One Man Blam (Mark Foley) - "Dan Zanes Blues"
Now where did I put that DZ ukelele of mine?...
Concert Review: Dan Zanes (Phoenix, February 2008)
I feel compelled to jot down a few words about the Dan Zanes show we saw a couple weeks ago, and not just because I've got this cool photo of Dan wearing a scarf my daughter gave him (you'll have to click through to see that).
I was glad to see that Phoenix managed to turn out a decent-sized crowd, a good 700 people, maybe more, in the gorgeous Orpheum Theatre. Really, for a Friday-night show that might have impeded attendance by families with younger kids, I'm pretty happy.
There were clearly families for whom this was not their first DZ show -- I recognized people from the Tucson show last April. But many, including Miss Mary Mack's younger brother, who, let's go ahead and call him Little Boy Blue, were seeing him for the first time.New Music: "La Piragua" - Dan Zanes
Dan Zanes has made available a second track from his upcoming Nueva York! CD. The track is "La Piragua," and it's got a sinewy melodic line and groove that I think will lead to a lot of swaying dancing in concert (or possibly family rooms). That's Sonia De Los Santos joining Dan on vocals. And dig the guitar work.
Zanes says it's a Colombian song about a mysterious small boat written during the 1960¹s by Jose Barros, one of the country's most recognized cumbia songwriters. Barros, who also wrote "El Pescador," another Colombian song included in the album, died earlier this year.
Stream "La Piragua" (as well as the previously released "Colas") at Dan's Myspace page. Nueva York! is out in April on Festival Five Records.
Interview: Dan Zanes
With Dan Zanes visiting Phoenix for the first time on tour with Dan Zanes and Friends less than two weeks from now, I thought it'd be a good time to catch up with the singer. I've done both these things before (seeing him perform in Tucson in April 2007 and interviewing him back in summer 2006), but nothing ever stands still in Dan Zanes' world these days. So I called him up in Puerto Rico and chatted a bit.
Read on for his views on what makes a good Dan Zanes and Friends concert and what he does the first time he visits a city. (Phoenix-area readers, feel free to chime in with suggestions for what he should do here.) Find out about the upcoming album, ¡Nueva York!
And even if you've never even been to Phoenix, you'll want to read the end of the interview where I find out exactly what he was doing in Puerto Rico and what Paul McCartney has to do with it. Trust me, it's worth the time. (And thanks to Dan for making the time.)
Zooglobble: How would you describe a Dan Zanes and Friends concert?
Dan Zanes: As much like a little Grateful Dead show as possible. I try to make the theatre feel like your living room. There's lots of people singing along, lots of people on stage, and as much roaming around, laughing, and crying as possible. And then the whole dissolves into a whole dance party. I want everybody who comes to feel like we're all in this together.
What's your favorite part of the show?
Two things: first, how much people throw themselves into singing. Are they singing their heads off? Second, what's the level of the dancing? Are the aisles filled? How many people are upfront? How much chaos? How intense does it get?
I can't even remember the last show where people didn't dance. In the world of young people, it's so much how they relate... in a physical way.New Music from Elizabeth Mitchell: "Green, Green Rocky Road"
Elizabeth Mitchell made another appearance on NPR today, this time on their podcast/newscast/somethingcast The Bryant Park Project. The visit was ostensibly to plug the new CD from Mitchell and husband Daniel Littleton's band's Ida, Lovers Prayers. Oddly enough, though, most of the interview is spent talking about that kids career, rather than the new CD. Anyway, go here to listen to the interview and to hear Mitchell, Littleton, and their daughter Storey sing "Green, Green Rocky Road," which Mitchell says they "just recorded (with a VERY special guest) for [their] next children's record." It sounds suh-weet.
Update: Watch a video of the live recording here.
Update #2: Mitchell reports in her latest newsletter that their "VERY special guest" with whom they sing the song on the upcoming album is Dan Zanes. As I said, suh-weet.
