Jim Vick: News

Elisa is coming into town this weekend from her current home in Ashland, OR, to join us for two shows on Saturday.

The dotcombo plays an acoustic set at the NW Folklife Festival at 1:00 p.m. on the Fisher Green Stage.
Then later that very evening at 8:30 p.m., the full band returns to the birthplace of our collective performance career for a full evening show at Madison's! (Yes, in case you haven't heard, the singer-songwriter haven of the 90's has reopened, newly remodeled with a full menu and beverage selection, and is once again presenting live music in a very comfortable smoke-free environment.) We are excited to be back to celebrate with 2 sets of tunes for you. And special guest trombonist extraordinaire Marc Smason will join us for the last half of the evening to help kick out the jams that night!

Come celebrate with us!

On Saturday May 14, I'll be performing at an exciting show that's part of a larger event that's happening all weekend: the Art of Resistance Conference. The conference is in a great and much more accessible venue this year, the Capitol Hill Arts Center. On Saturday night, I'll be hosting an evening of music and spoken word in the Center's theater featuring some of the NW's finest artists, along with a couple of very special guests. Celebrated actor and speaker Ed Asner will be appearing to speak on artists and activism. I'll be playing a solo set, joined by several of Seattle's finest social/political songwriters, including the great Jim Page and Heliotrope bard Danny Kelly. There will be Islamic hiphop by Sons of Hagar, acoustic soul and spoken word by Forgotten Sol's amazing Cristina Orbe, folk noire and art rock by the always enthralling Grace and Savage, and original music by composer/songwriter/filmmaker Michael Bade and revered slide guitarist Joel Tepp, who has recorded and performed with Bonnie Raitt, Jerry Garcia, Little Feat, Danny O’Keefe, Spencer Davis, Linda Ronstadt, and Ian Matthews.

Hope you'll join us for what promises to be a very memorable evening. See the Calendar page for the details. And be sure to check out the rest of the conference, which will feature exhibits offering a diverse selection of political art, other arts performances, and a variety of workshops on art making and art as activism.

With Spring already in full bloom in the Northwest, we're celebrating Earth Day (April 22) this month with the release of 3 of my environmentally-focused songs that have long been at rest in the JV Archives. You can hear and download these tracks for free on the Listen page. One of these songs, RADIANT WATER, appeared on my first album, IN THE GARDEN, but the other 2, LIVING LIGHTLY and JUNGLE COMING DOWN, are being released here for the very first time. (Scroll down to the bottom of the Listen page to find all 3 of these tracks.) With King George pushing for the drilling of the Artic Wildlife Refuge and with the Peak Oil story being published in mainstream zines like Rolling Stone, it's the least I can do to revive a suggestion from one of these tracks from the 80's: "If we're to see ourselves through this plight, we must live lightly!"

I'll be hosting and performing at Seattle Thunder's Earth Day Celebration on Saturday April 23 in south Seattle, joined by masterful singer-songwriters Reggie Garrett and Sheryl Wiser. You'll find more details are on the Calendar page and at www.seattlethunder.net.

The new year is already a busy one for me, with several shows coming up in February and March. The first one on the horizon is a benefit concert for Tsunami Relief on February 6th that I've helped stellar singer-songwriter Kathryn Mostow put together. It will feature 15 performing songwriters, including some of the Northwest's finest. (More details on the Calendar page.) I'm also hosting the January 22 Seattle Thunder Democracy Festival, as well as our monthly Thunder Music in Fremont Series, held the first Saturday of the month through May at Essential Chocolate Factory's community living room. Those shows feature incredible acts every month, including the best of Seattle's contemporary acoustic music, along with occasional jazz, hiphop, rock, and world music. Check out the Links page to visit the Seattle Thunder site for more details on the series and our upcoming Thunder Music shows.

The Calendar page has info on my own March 5th Thunder Music show. You can also check out that page for details on all our upcoming performances. And the Listen page for mp3s of several tracks from our new CD, plus a free downloadable mp3 of "Freedom Fries," our most recent recording, which wasn't recorded in time to be on the album. Coming soon will be some long lost cuts from my older recordings and some new stuff that's not available anywhere else. And of course, the Photos page has shots from our album shoot, with more coming soon from our CD release concert last October.

One last thing before you go: please DO join the mailing list so we can keep you informed on our upcoming adventures and whereabouts and let you know when there's new music available for listening on the site.
Hope you enjoy your visit. (And let us know your thoughts!)

Peace,

Jim