On Stage (Bonus): Eagleview Summer Concerts keep on rockin’

By Denny Dyroff, Staff Writer, The Times

The Eagleview Summer Concerts on the Square at Eagleview Town Center (Wharton Boulevard, Exton, www.ineagleview.com) have been an area summertime tradition for more than two decades – a free outdoor event where families gather on the lawn to hear live music under the stars.

Every year, the series features a “Family Night” – a special evening of music geared especially for family audiences.

This year’s “Family Night” is scheduled for August 15 and will feature Trout Fishing in America and Dana Louise & The Glorious Birds.

The “Family Night” vibe will be happening on the stage as well as in the audience.

Trout Fishing in America is a duo — Keith Grimwood (upright bass, Clevinger bass, bass guitar, vocals) and Ezra Idlet (acoustic guitar, electric guitar, banjo, vocals) – that has been around since 1979 and is known for performing folk rock and children’s music.

The Northwest Arkansas duo has received four Grammy Nominations and a host of other national music awards. They have also been called “the Lennon and McCartney of kids’ music.” The two musicians took their name from the novel “Trout Fishing in America” by Richard Brautigan.

Dana Louise & The Glorious Birds is a band put together by Dana Louise Idlet, a self-taught guitarist who is the daughter of Ezra Idlet. Dana Louise, as she is known in the music world, is based in Northwest Arkansas and tours both nationally and internationally.

Earlier this year, Trout Fishing in America released its new album “The Strangest Times” – the latest in a catalog that spans more than four decades and 25 albums. The new disc features 11 brand-new original songs played as a duo and a cover version of BW Stevenson’s “On My Own.”

“We released ‘The Strangest Times” on April 4 this year,” said Grimwood, during a recent phone interview from his home in northwest Arkansas. “We recorded it at Trout House Studio in Prairie View, Arkansas. We began in February 2016 and it took about a year to make it.

“We tour constantly. So, for this project, we did a little bit at a time over the course of a year. We gave it time to develop. We allowed it to evolve. We really enjoyed making this album a lot.”

The old friends did not have to worry about pressure from their record label to meet a release deadline.

Trout Fishing in America was in the first wave of artist owned labels (Trout Records) to successfully record and market its own music. In 2008, Performing Songwriter Magazine chose Trout as one of the top 100 most influential independent artists in the past 15 years.

The band’s recordings have garnered three National Indie Awards, multiple Parents Choice and NAPPA Gold awards, the American Library Award, as well as four Grammy nominations.

“We never got picked up by a major record company so Ezra and I decided to form our own company,” said Grimwood. “We started our own label and learned how to record at the same time.”

The band had a humble beginning.

Grimwood began playing music professionally when he was still in his teens. In school, he made the Texas All-State Orchestra four years and later earned a degree in music from the University of Houston. At 22, he landed a position with the Houston Symphony Orchestra.

“I put myself through college playing 5-6 nights a week at local clubs,” said Grimwood. “I was playing classical music when I met Ezra. He was in a five-piece band that had a commission to write a rock ballet.

“We started playing together in 1976 as members of St. Elmo’s Fire (a Houston-based eclectic folk/rock band). After a while, we left the band and moved to Santa Cruz, California where we worked as a duo. We told people the name was Trout Fishing in America as early as 1977.

“Around that time, a teacher asked us to play for her kids at school. That led to our dual role as folk-rock musicians and as musicians playing kids’ rock. We play music for several generations.”

As for Dana Louise, the obvious assumption would be that she grew up playing music with her dad – obvious but erroneous.

“I never sang with my dad,” said Dana Louise, during a recent phone interview from her home in West Fork, Arkansas.

“I was always pretty shy. I took piano lessons growing up. But, I never pursued music. I was a painter for five years at a gallery in Fayetteville. I had my own studio and wanted to do an artist-in-residence.

“I went to the Azores Islands in 2011. While I was there painting, I heard this music – music by Alela Diane. I borrowed a guitar and became obsessed. I immersed myself in it.

“I came back home and started playing a couple gigs. I knew I wanted to make money. I booked shows in coffeehouses around Fayetteville. I started playing duos with Jackson Jennings and we played everywhere.

“That built my confidence in my playing and writing. Jackson was a professor at the University of Arkansas so he wasn’t able to tour. So, I did some solo stuff.

“My dad was recording and he introduced me to Adams Collins. Everything started lining up for us to play as a duo. We wanted to do an album so we went to my dad’s studio to record. My dad did the drum parts and Keith played bass.

“It opened up from there. We recorded the album two years at Trout House. My dad added guitar and drums, Keith played bass and Adams played vibraphone and 5-string banjo. Now, the four of us are the Glorious Birds.”

Video link for Trout Fishing in America –https://youtu.be/Qg1H3ly0Yjw.

Video link for Dana Louise & The Glorious Birds – https://youtu.be/clIGnjyixE8.

The show at Eagleview will start at 7 p.m. The remainder of the 2017 season features Kendal Conrad, Harrow Fair and Ian Foster in August 22, and Southern Avenue and No Good Sister on August 29.

One of the attractions of attending a show by Stick Men is getting close to the stage and trying to figure out which musician is playing which sounds.

With only three musicians in the band, it might seem like this would be an easy task – but it definitely is not.

The main attraction of a Stick Men show is the music – the trio’s free-wheeling and, at the same time, structured sound.

On August 15, music fans can check out the music and the versatility of the three players when Stick Men – Tony Levin, Pat Mastelotto, Markus Reuter — perform at Havana (105 South Main Street, New Hope, www.havananewhope.com).

Stick Men is a progressive rock band created by musicians with extensive experience playing together. Mastelotto and Levin are the rhythm section of the legendary band King Crimson. Mastelotto is in demand all over the world as the premier drummer for progressive rock.

Levin plays in Crimson, with Peter Gabriel, and has recorded with John Lennon, David Bowie, Pink Floyd and others. Reuter is a renowned composer and guitarist who designed and plays his own unique touch style guitar.

Levin plays the Chapman Stick, from which the band takes its name. Having bass and guitar strings, the Chapman Stick functions at times like two instruments.

Reuter plays his eight-string touch guitar — again covering much more ground than a guitar or a bass. Mastelotto’s drumming encompasses not just the acoustic kit but also unique electronic setup that allows him to add loops, samples, percussion, and more.

That’s why it is hard at times for audience members to figure out from where the various sounds are emanating. No matter what — they are fascinated by watching just three musicians onstage perform their unique compositions as well as wild improvisations.

“The origin of Stick Men goes back to my ‘Stick Man’ album in 2007,” said Levin, during a phone interview Monday afternoon as the band travelled from Asbury Park, New Jersey to New Hope.

“As I was making the album, it became more about the (Chapman) Stick. I overdubbed extra parts with the Stick and, as a result, I couldn’t tour it by myself.

“I went on a hunt for another Stick player – or a Touch guitarist. It was an easy decision to form a trio with Pat. It’s very challenging to do this music with three guys. When we’re touring with Crimson, there are eight in the band.

“Even though we’re guitar, bass and drums, we are not a power trio. Sometimes, we’ll have two guitar parts going at the same time and, at other times, it might be two bass parts. Pat has a regular drum kit and an electronic drum kit with loops and a synthesizer.”

Prior to a few months ago, Stick Men had released four studio albums – “Soup,” “Absalom,” “DEEP,” and “Open” along with two live albums.

The band is now touring in support of its critically-acclaimed studio album “Prog Noir” and forthcoming digital only live album “Roppongi – Live in Tokyo 2017.

“We like playing small venues because the audience can see the subtleties of what goes on between the players,” said Levin. “When we’re playing shows live, the audience is part of the magic. I’ve been taking pictures of audiences at our shows for years.

“When we’re playing live we don’t try to do pyrotechnics. The guiding force is that the music be good. The meaning of the music is most of what it’s about.

“We love completely free improvising. And, we love our structured music that we can open up and let go to different places. We like to have that space. And, we like to sound unique.

“In the shows on this tour, we’re doing a lot of the music from ‘Prog Noir.’ We’re also doing a variety of Stick Men music from all our albums along with some King Crimson stuff.”

Video link for the Stick Men – https://youtu.be/BEBw4F5HuVI.

The show at Havana will start at 8 p.m. Tickets are $35.

Other upcoming shows at Havana are Marshall Crenshaw y Los Straitjackets on August 24 and Los Lonely Boys on August 26.