Wednesday, April 27, 2005

Everything's alright, yes, everything's fine...

Although I have a huge backlog of albums and concerts to write about here, I should really take this opportunity to plug my latest series of (semi-)solo live performances--EVERYTHING: AN EVENING WITH RON EHMKE AND HIS OR HER VERY SPECIAL GUESTS. This is my attempt to emulate some of the aspects of music concerts that, as a spoken-word/writer kinda guy, I've always envied: a changing set list, the ability to share the stage with guest performers, and, hey, even a merch table where you can buy concert tees, recordings, and more. My master plan is to use the blanket title EVERYTHING for whatever solo performances I may happen to do for the next few years, changing the content of each show based on the venue, available resources, my mood at the time, and other factors. This way I'll have a very portable, tour-able performance I can do the next time someone invites me to go ... somewhere and do ... something. The concept is one I've had for several years now, and I'm finally getting a chance to try it out over the next few months.

The first three shows are this weekend at the Burchfield-Penney Art Center here in sunny Buffalo, NY. My guest on both Thursday and Saturday night is the always-delightful Heather Connor, who'll be performing several Brazilian songs (and who knows what else). Thursday (4/28/05 at 8 PM) she'll be accompanied by Jerry Augustiniak on percussion; Saturday (4/30/05 at 7 PM) by Joe Rozler on piano. On Friday night (4/29/05 at 10 PM) my guest will be Lindsay Catalanello, a singer/songwriter and pianist whom I first saw performing a few weeks ago. She's new to the area and I was completely stunned by her voice and presence. All of these folks are terrific, and I hope you'll come check them out.

For more info on these shows and the ones that follow in May and June, check out my brand new website, www.everythingron.com. I'll try to remember to plug the later shows as they draw nearer.