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The Flow: last 3 shows...of 2011

Wed, 07 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0800

Hoy-hoy Runophiles!

happy holiday-ish times we be spitting English rhymes telling times and dates we'll be visiting your state with the 'grass that's great and blue played just for you by our crew our van ain't new

uhh

For those of y'all that don't follow us on bookface or read our twits (and WHY NOT?), November 21st was the 7th anniversary of the first Chester River Runoff gig. We look forward to many happy returns with you, and have all sorts of exciting stuff in the works, but first the details of our last 3 performances of 2011...

Thursday December 8, 8-11pm
Denton, MD
Market Street Public House
we've been playing the Public House monthly this year, but we're going to scale it back in 2012, so come see us in Denton. We won't be there in January, so sieze the day! We like this spot and it's always a lot of fun, so what excuse do you have to miss it?

Friday December 9, 8pm
Washington, DC, 9th & South Carolina SE
Corner Store
Finally, this is our first real listening room show in the District of Columbia. We've been doing the bar thing there for a couple of years, but this is the first chance you'll have to see us in DC where we can play what we want and there won't be a bunch of folks gabbing away. Be there! This is a really cool small nonprofit art space with great sound. Tix are a $20 donation with RSVP, $25 at the door, so go to cornerstorearts.com right now and reserve your spot.

Saturday December 10 6pm -10:30
Snow Hill, MD - downtown on W Green Street at the old Fire Hall.
Fundraiser for the Eastern Shore Land Trust. This is going to be a great time. Saltwater Stringband at 7, CRR at 8. $20 ticket raises money for the Land Trust, which is a great cause that is saving the Lower Shore from the "Plastic Houses", and it also includes your first drink. Burley Oak brewery from Berlin, MD will be providing the draft beer, we'll be providing the sound, and everybody has a great time.

That's it! And we don't have anything on the books yet for January, so that might be it for a while. Get yourself on the road to a show!

I won't go into much of a recap of what's been going on, because I'm currently sitting in my car in front of a friend's house in Baltimore stealing his internet. I just updated the mailing list, which took a long time; and after an hour and a half of sitting in the front seat listening to loud rap music and typing on a laptop the neighbors are starting to look at me sideways. I noticed that the lady next door just started toward her house with bags of groceries and her car door open, saw me, and walked back to her car and set the alarm. So maybe I'll keep it brief and move along.
What DO we have going on? Well, lately we've been recording most of our gigs on a portable 8 track. And just last week, we finished sweeping the mouse poop and spiderwebs out of an old tackroom and set up a mixing board to start listening to and mixing them. Once we've got some good stuff mixed we'll be releasing it somehow. Anyhow, it's a little premature to talk about it, but there you go. Live stuff!
Studio Stuff! Also a little premature, but we're talking about making another studio album. We're starting to perform some great new original songs, and have more in the works. Anyhow, not too much to say there of yet, but if you see us, you'll hear some new stuff.

OK, because all three of these shows are this week, I'm just going to send you guys the rough draft of the Flow (sorry!) and tell more stories later. I gotta mosey for sure. See you soon, right?!!?!?!

The Flow: and away we go...

Thu, 13 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Ahoy nutrient-lovers -

lotsandlotsgoingonohmanihardly

gottimetotellyabutilltryokmaybegottaevenlookbackonthecalendartofigureitoutohman
lookbelowfornewsfirstilltellyouabouttheshows
it's been a -great- fall. Lots of shows, lots of news, read on. First the calendar.

Thursday 10/13 8-11
Denton, MD
Market Street Public House

Friday 10/14 6-8
Richmond, VA
The Camel
first time in Richmond since 2006! If you've got friends there, please send em out. they won't even recognize us. we've all gotten a lot taller.

Saturday - private gig, email us if you want us to do yours...we'll do anything you want...we'll even tile your bathroom or clean the gutters if the price is right....

Sunday 10/16, 5-8
Charlotte, NC
Thirsty Beaver Saloon
I've heard that this is about the best bar ever. It might be worth a road trip, and if you've got friends in this part of North Carolina, please send them out.

Tuesday 10/18, 9-12
Washington, DC
Solly's U Street Tavern (11th & U NW)
We're sharing a bill with the Great Unknowns, who, ironically, are a well known country rock band from far away. It should be a great show. Not sure who's going on first.

Wednesday 10/19, 9-12
Baltimore, MD
Portside Tavern
back at the Portside. Good beers on tap, quality music. Get over humpday with us. Free to enter, special prize to the first 50 people.

Saturday, 10/22, 3-5
Cambridge, MD
Schooner Rendevous - who likes 2 masted ships?

Saturday, 10/22, noonish-9ish (our set is at 7)
Smyrna, DE
Reecevival - first time festival in Smyrna with us, Sean Cheezum, Flatland Drive, and the fantastic traditional bluegrass of Danny Paisley and the Southern Grass headlining. Chestertown folks can pick up tickets at Play it Again Sam coffee shop. You can email us for a ticket, or look up the event page on the facebook for more info. It's gonna be really fun.

Friday, 10/28 945ish
Chestertown, MD
Fish Whistle
It's downrigging weekend...that means it's time for our annual Fish Whistle knock-down-drag-out dance fest good time. A heavy tops'l schooner presence in town means that there can be as many as....under a full press of canvas...maybe 70 or so sheets to the wind, forget 3 sheets...a one of a kind show that we look forward to all year, yet remember only with the aid of foghorns and beaten pots and pans...

Saturday, 10/29
something near Salisbury. Greenbranch. earlyish. figure it out...

Wednesday, 11/1
Washington, DC
Hill Country
West Texas in the Nation's Capital! Even though Texas was never legally annexed and is legally an independent republic, it's still got a presence inside the Beltway. as long as we can fit our belt buckles through the swinging doors, we're gonna be ragin'.

Friday, 11/4, 7-1
Ocean City, MD
Fager's Island
Back at Fagers! Tell your friends, it's gonna be fun. This kind of show doesn't come to Ocean City very often, what with a stage and whatnot for bluegrass, so you'd better be there. Saltwater Stringband 7-9, CRR to follow.

Saturday, 11/5
St. Michaels, MD
Carpenter Street
Beat Feet! We're finally playing C-Street!

Thursday, 11/10, 8-11
Denton, MD
Market Street Public House

Friday, 11/11, 9:45ish
St.Mary's County, MD
GREEN DOOR!

Saturday, 11/12
New Hope, PA
Triumph Brewing Company
Awesome room, awesome beer!

Busy enough for you? 16 shows in a month might be a new record for us. Don't even know where to begin...but we've got a fire under us, that's for sure. We've all been writing new stuff, talking about when we might make a new album, mixing up the material. Hardly even have time to write this newsletter there's so much going on. Need to practice, write, pack for our trip South this weekend, the first in a long while. Really, if you've got friends in Richmond or Charlotte, or New Hope, or St. Michaels, or Ocean City, or Denton, please send 'em out. We've been hot lately. But yeah, particularly Richmond and Charlotte, we haven't been to River City in years and have never played in Charlotte.

I'll have to look at the calendar to even remember where we've been...

Last weekend we played at a new spot in our home away from home, Salisbury, MD - BreakTime. While everybody mourns for the hot, sticky, crowded shows at Flavors (check out photos on our facebook for an idea, or look up the youtube video of us playing White Freightliner - it was crazy), the sound was great in BreakTime, and we really played well and debuted 3 brand new songs, one of which we learned in the sound check. There was even a dance floor. It's a new era, and I hope future shows there eventually get just as packed as Flavors was - next stop, Perdue Stadium. Good Beer Festival was a blast too, can't wait for that next year.

Week prior, Ocean City. Another packed weekend of gigs, with a festival interspersed with a bar show at Buxy's in OC and a wedding in Berlin. The first ever Castaways Bluegrass By the Bay festival was a terrific time. Some great bands and a nice spot. We're already booked for next year, so keep an eye out for it. Nate was on the road with David Bromberg, so Nate Leath from VA played with us on Friday, and the great Jon Glik played with us on Saturday. We missed Mr. Grower and his phenomenal talent, but those other guys are also something special and it was a real treat for all present. The Bromberg Quintet has had a busy schedule this fall, so lately you may have seen us with Mr. Glik, Mr. Leath, or the phenomenal Marc MacGlashan filling in for Nate Grower on the fiddle and mandolin. Nothing to worry about, Nate's job is secure with us, but it's just a reality of making a living in show business that sometimes you need a little outside help to let the show go on. The CRR sound is the same, just a voice with a different accent comin' at you from the right side of the stage. It keeps things exciting for everyone.

What else...new spots in DC...Baltimore...new songs...can't even keep track. I need to go pick up my banjo and get ready for tonight, and we'll see you down the road.

CRR

The Flow: Runoff For Your Lives!

Tue, 30 Aug 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Hoy hoy,
Runophiles, I know it's been a long time. We've missed you like a pitcher swinging for the fences, but we've been too busy to write.

What's with the natural disasters? Hurricane on the way, earthquake in the Old Dominion. We'll try not to participate any more than we have to....I already admit a degree of fault in the 'quake. I happened to be on a trampoline in New York City when it struck, so I didn't notice, but once I heard what had happened, all I could think about was my fiddle hanging on a nail back in Maryland. Before I left town, I thought to myself: "Maybe I should put my fiddle in it's case while I'm away....Naw, what could happen? It's not like we get earthquakes here." True story. I sincerely apologize for the jinx. The fiddle is fine.

July was wild, August was mellow, and we're getting back in the groove for the fall. I'll run off a list of shows here that you can look for and get to story time after...

Wednesday, August 31, 9-12
Portside Tavern
2821 O'Donnell Street
Baltimore, MD
hey, another new spot in Baltimore! we're getting over our fear of playing in big cities, so make the most of it. you need to come, it's part of our therapy.

Thursday, September 1, 7-10
Bayou
2519 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Washington, DC
what!! we're owning the south end of the megalopolis this month. looks like we'll be in DC a fair amount this fall, bring a friend the first time, bring 5 the second....

Sunday, September 4, 5-8
Brasserie Brightwell
Easton, MD
you Talbot county people never get to see us, bam! come on out.

Thursday, September 8, 8-11
Market Street Pub
Denton, MD
once again, second Thursday of the month! Marc has a family commitment, so our good friend Mike Buccino will join us on the *upright* bass. this is your chance to witness the unthinkable, ye bluegrass purists.

Friday, September 16, 10ish-?
Green Door
Park Hall/St.Mary's, MD
whoah doctor...back at our favorite spot in Southern MD. If you like to dance, come see why the Green Door inspired us to build a second set of speakers...

Saturday, September 17, 12-4
Corsica Watershed Awareness Day
Centreville, MD (just north of town on 213)
as in years before, providing the soundtrack for some deep thoughts about water. we like water, and so can you!

Thursday, September 22, 8pm
Acre 121
1400 Irving Street (Columbia Heights)
Washington, DC
another new spot in DC! hooray!

Saturday, September 24, 3-6
Wilmer Park
Chestertown, MD
an annual fall classic, come before we play and watch college students race cardboard boats, stick around for some tunes.

Friday - Saturday 9/30-10/1
Bluegrass By the Bay Festival
Castaways Campground, Berlin, MD
come camp out, hear a ton of bluegrass music. we play Friday at 1, Saturday at 6. Don't miss it. This is the first year for this festival, so come have a good time, bring an instrument, and hang out and pick into the night. that's what this music is about. that's what i'll be doing.

Friday, September 30, 10-1
Dogfish Head
Rehoboth Beach, DE

plus a smattering of private events (hey, email us, we're for hire. odd jobs, too.) check the website, we're actually updating it now! this is just the beginning!

What the heck has been going on? Shall we work backwards? As usual, August is a mysteriously slow month for CRR. It lets us do other stuff, like see what it's like to have weekends free, and pursue other projects. I was just up in New York to record some old-time music, and once again was awarded a ribbon in the Galax, VA Bluegrass Banjo Contest ("Participant"). Ben put on a show with Pearl Creek that is rumored to have gone well. Nate played to packed houses all over the country as a sideman to famous people, and is allegedly off doing some sessions in Nashville. Marc built a record-cleaner with a built in vaccuum. Great achievements, yes, but we're all missing the infusion of nutrients we get from Chester River Runoff, and we're looking forward to picking again.
What has the band done lately.....
We played in Cambridge, MD, at the Ruark Boat Works last month. It was a great time. The most exciting thing, however, was that we played on gravel...Those of you who are fans of Marc's right foot will be pleased to know that after 2 sets he had left a trench 6 inches deep and 2 feet long. I believe Ben captured this on film, and hopefully will release these photos to the public on the facebook.
We were (technically) co-headliners with the Carolina Chocolate Drops at the Austin Dam Festival in Pennsylvania. If you don't know who they are, that's surprising, because you're reading this and they're way more famous than we are. When we arrived, we were pleased to see on the program: "Sharing top billing with the Carolina Chocolate Drops is the Chester River Runoff." Heck, these guys have won Grammys ("Grammies?") and we're "co-billed", so to speak. We didn't even mind the verboten "the" before our name. It's no secret who the backstage cheese-and-fruit plate was really for, but it's still pretty cool. The dam show was great, too. Look up the Austin Dam, it's a great spot for a festival for sure, and a dam spooky historic site. We hope to be back there next year, and you should think about coming...
What else have we done...We accompanied an operatic baritone singing Civil War camp songs. Really. We wore army hats and I played the fiddle in public. Not kidding. The guy flew over from London to sing, and we were his backing band. Hah! And the next day we played on the Annapolis City Dock and a huge square dance broke out! How have you been missing this??? Get with the program! We've got a website that is sometimes accurate! Sometimes we bookface and even twit!

Heard enough? I've written enough. We'll see you somewhere?

Sam