Author Archive: Jim Lipson

Wishbone Ash Celebrates “Argus,” 50 Years On, at the Rialto

May 1, 2022 | Jim Lipson

This piece is supposed to be about the upcoming appearance by legendary 70’s progressive rock act Wishbone Ash and their 50 year anniversary/celebration of their epic LP, Argus. As such, there will be thoughts on their signature twin lead guitar sound; what is it that defines progressive rock; and what it was like to be immersed in that very British primordial ooze that spawned bands of similar sensibilities, like early Genesis with Peter Gabriel, Pink Floyd, King Crimson, Yes, Jethro Tull, etc.

But mostly, after two phone conversations while he was driving between gigs (he assured me he was on Bluetooth), I find myself fascinated with Andy Powell, guitarist, singer, composer and keeper of the flame (and the brand) for Wishbone Ash since its inception in 1969.

At first, I thought his quiet, thoughtful demeanor to be in such contrast to the sound and power that can drive the music. And then I thought more about the music. And while it’s been a long time since I’ve had me some Wishbone Ash on the turntable, when I did get around to serving up Argus, I was moved by its artistry and the melding of quiet and soft with those brilliant guitar driven melodies. Having heard parts of it twice in two days, I still cannot get “Time Was” out of my head. But I digress . . .

These are but some of the things we touched upon.

Progressive Rock. When I asked Andy to define the term, he said with a wry chuckle, “It was really just bands playing with more than three chords. We were trying to flex our creative muscles, and really, just trying to be clever.” This led into his thoughts and reflections on the evolution of British music from the mid-1960s on citing bands like Small Faces and the Move and how the British fascination with American blues somehow fused with the psychedelia music of that time.

Argus. “It’s a vintage sound if you listen to the late ’60s 16-track analog. And while you always love every project you’re involved with, yes, we did know this one was special.”

50 Years of Wishbone Ash. In our first conversation I asked him if there was ever a time when he wasn’t doing Wishbone Ash, wasn’t playing or recording under that name. I know it’s not unusual for a classic rock band to reconstitute 15–30 years after its heyday. Or perhaps there was an extended hiatus or two—also not unusual for the genre. When I asked him about this again, he alluded to 1991–94, when he went off the grid, so to speak, working at what’s known as a teaching farm. But even then, he was still doing business and playing the occasional gig. Wishbone Ash sports a discography that includes at least 27 albums spanning more than 50 years, including 2020’s Coat of Arms.

Down on the Farm. In 1991, Andy joined his wife, who was a teacher, in a new job she had where she would be teaching kids on a farm. During this time, Powell deeply reflected on his life and his music career. “I decided I had had it with agents and managers and I’m only going to work with good people.” And so his time and energy would be split between doing chores on the farm and working on rebuilding the name and the brand of Wishbone Ash. “I needed to get real with it; strip it down to the basics and then rebuild. And I loved getting me hands in the dirt and seeing exactly what you’re made of. It doesn’t get any worse than pig shit!” he laughed. This time marked a significant turning point in his life and career. And Wishbone Ash? It was then and there Powell understood how much he needed to reach out and connect to the community of fans that was still out there.

Ahead of Its Time. Powell believes the funding for Illuminations, released in 1996 and paid for by asking the band’s extremely supportive fan base for money, was perhaps the first recording project to be funded in this way. While now quite commonplace, in the mid-1990s, crowdsourcing (Go fund Me, Indie Go-Go, etc.) was virtually unheard of. “I believe we were ahead of the curve when it came to finding new ways in reaching out to our fans. We also had one of the first websites up.” Since the advent of the internet in the mid-1990s, Powell has made excellent use of the social media tools available. In another example of being ahead of its time, Powell says it was the early 2000s that Wishbone Ash, teaming up with the band Yes, headlined a musical cruise, again quite commonplace now, but 20 years ago, not so much.

Favorite Albums in the Post-Argus Era. Post Argus simply means anything after 1980. “I’m very proud of Illuminations. I feel we were very successful in making a slick, American style rock album.” He also cites Elegant Stealth (2011), Blue Horizon (2014), and the most recent Coat of Arms. I would love to have heard him expand on his takes on what made each project so memorable.

I finally asked Andy if anyone had ever approached him about writing a book as his stories so well blended the precision of detail with the richness of the times. “Oh yeah, I’ve done that! My autobiography is called Eyes Wide Open.”

Not one who is generally a fan of older, iconic bands with multiple personnel changes, I am excited for this show.

Wishbone Ash plays the Rialto Theatre, Tuesday, May 10 at 8:00 p.m. Tickets range from $30 to 42.

A Homecoming for Lisa Morales

November 5, 2021 | Jim Lipson

It’s almost impossible to write about Lisa Morales and her upcoming show on the Hotel Congress patio without writing/talking about her sister and lifelong singing partner, Roberta, who succumbed to a three-year battle with cancer a scant three months ago. “It’s still hard,” she said in a recent phone interview as she prepares for her first tour since the advent of Covid.

“I was with her in the hospital every day for three months, after the initial diagnosis,” she said. Following chemo and radiation, “she fought, and she won, for a while. We were hoping she might sing on the [new] album. Obviously, it’s still pretty raw.”

Native Tucsonans and members of the extended Ronstadt clan, Lisa says, “we knew we had something special since we were little girls when our father used to take us to sing at La Fuente [on Oracle Road] with the mariachis.” In time, as their individual musical personas developed, Roberta eventually joined Lisa’s already established band, and their new group, Sisters Morales, was born. Relocating to San Antonio, where they set up shop, they recorded six albums and toured the world. Their unique blend of homegrown Arizona/Tex-Mex, fueled by their original compositions and stellar harmonies, melded roots steeped in traditional Mexican music with a contemporary flair for Americana and blues. This original brand of Southwest gumbo, so hard to define but so easy to love, made them a must-see act on the road and festival circuit throughout the country and abroad.

While their visits to Tucson were too few and far between, they did play a memorable show the El Casino Ballroom in the early 2000s while also headlining the Tucson Folk Festival in 2005. Following the death of their mother in 2011, the sisters decided it was time to part ways musically, although, “of course, we were still very close.”

Since then, Lisa has produced two solo albums and is on the cusp of releasing a third, She Ought to be King, due out next spring. In its first single, “Freedom,” Morales sings about the power of loving each other as a mother does and speaking up when we see injustices. “It’s a very simple message,” she says. “Love one another, be kind, do the right thing, be honorable and help one another.”

Musically, “Freedom” retains a percussive Latin feel, although it’s not like anything one would associate with the sisters. Clearly her growth as an artist continues to be reflected in her solo work. It’s a ride that has allowed her to rub elbows with everyone from Los Lobos and Los Lonely Boys to Rodney Crowell. “Freedom” also boasts the services of original Santana and Journey alum Gregg Rolie on keyboards and backing vocals.

When she takes the stage at Hotel Congress, it will be the second show of a tour that follows a hiatus dating back to early 2020 and a welcome reprieve from a series of Zoom and other online offerings. In dedicating this show to Roberta, Lisa will be fronting a four- or five-piece band in a homecoming that no doubt will be as comforting as it may be bittersweet.

The Lisa Morales Band plays the Hotel Congress outdoor patio on Saturday, November 13, at 8:00 pm. Doors open at 7:30. Tickets are $20 general admission, $25 reserved.

The Gem Show Scene

February 2, 2016 | Jim Lipson

African Village When talking about Tucson’s annual Gem, Mineral & Fossil Showcase, people who have been around a while will tell you that it’s changed, that it’s not what it used to be and that nothing is as cool as it was in the good old days. “For years I used to shop for people who live in town, “says Aspen Green, a long time Tucsonan; “people who did not want to be seen because they were too well known. They’d give me a list and $1,000 and I would know exactly where to go to find just the right piece of amethyst or rug or clothing or beads. I had passes to all the shows and I knew just where to get all the good stuff!

“But it’s changed,” she laments, “about five years ago when different shows started moving around town and the state started charging sales tax.” Now with a full time job at UA Presents, whose busiest season conflicts with The Show, annually held the first two weeks in February, Green has neither the time nor enthusiasm to go out and enjoy the show, much less work it.

But while this may be true for Green and others who have seen more than their fair share of Street Fairs, Tucson Meet Yourself and other annual events that may have lost their one time appeal, this is a two week extravaganza that consistently demands to be seen with fresh eyes. Aside from how vast and expansive it is, this is a time when literally hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of precious stones, crystals, minerals and metals inundate our city. There are those in fact who will swear there is an actual shift in the vibrational space/time continuum. But its not just rocks and such as but also clothing, jewelry, fossils, glasswork, beads and beadwork of every conceivable nature, here to be bought, sold, traded, haggled over or simply admired. Add lots of music, parties, the marathon glassblowing competition and a cast of characters straight out of Central Casting including wholesale buyers, sellers, gemologists, jewelers, import/export people, musicians, hippies and ex-hippies now masking as straight laced business types. It’s a wonder no one has seen fit to make an indie movie of this scene.

“What makes it special are the people who come back every year.” So says Sirena Jan Allen who has worked a booth at the show for various out of town vendors for almost 20 years. Initially working for a seller of Peruvian clay and hand painted beads, she loved the opportunity to meet people from all over the world. “There is an excitement that builds,” she says that comes from being a part of so many different reunions taking place with folks who only get to see each other for these few days every year.

Actually, the Gem, Mineral & Fossil Showcase is a bit of a misnomer. A cursory search on Google will reveal a schedule that features no fewer than 40 different shows or expos spread throughout the city (tucsongemshows.net) . Some are strictly wholesale and some require official badges. But most are open to the public, with many housed in huge tented areas or spread across hotel rooms, suites and balconies.

Some of the better known hot beds of activity include what used to be known as the Holidome on Palo Verde and Irvington; the tents set up by TEP Park on Ajo and Country Club and of course the fortnight’s grand finale in the Tucson Convention Center, a high end show according to some, where there is also an admission charge.

Congress St., just west of downtown is also an area that usually houses a huge tented area. But it is the I-10 Frontage Road, running from Grant Rd. to just south of 22nd St., with all of its roadside motels, that provides a huge cornucopia of (for lack of a better word) stuff, for anyone interested in cruising the side of the highway on bicycle or foot with thousands of other bargain hunters, curiosity seekers and people watchers.

And speaking of the strip, at the very south end of the Frontage Road, just south of 22nd St. is the African Village. This is one of the true gems (pun intended) of the entire show. In what is normally a huge vacant dirt lot, this space is annually transformed into a place of drums and other instruments, masks, lanterns, necklaces, jewelry, clothing, furniture, etched glass and so much more with one vendor after the next representing a unique part of the African continent. This is truly a land of many cultures. For many who frequent the show, a trip to the African Village serves as an annual pilgrimage in and of itself.

And finally, at the other end of the strip by Grant Road, is the Gem and Jam Show (ticketfly.com) What began as a single night of music at a Fourth Ave. Club, has morphed from those humble beginnings into its current incarnation as a full fledged three day Festival complete with three day passes, hotel packages and other festival perks.

Alan, a wholesale buyer from North Carolina and one of those guys who could be from Central Casting, is a fitness buff and may spend half his time here bicycling into the Catalinas or even New Mexico’s Gila Wilderness. But he still remembers the time when he got to see a 50 karat chrome tourmaline and an emerald green garnet worth $300,000. “And everybody is a wheeler dealer,” he says with a wry smile. With so much to take in, what’s still not to like?

Envision Tucson Sustainable

October 26, 2014 | Jim Lipson

Saddled with a name that is cumbersome at best, ambiguous at worst, an argument could be made there is no day-long gathering more important to our very survival as a species than the third annual Envision Tucson Sustainable Festival.

Yes, a bit melodramatic perhaps. But living in a world where essential resources such as water, food and energy are becoming painfully more finite, figuring out how we can sustain our way of life without depleting the dwindling resources around us is eventually going to have to become part of everyone’s consciousness. This is especially so should we hope not leave it to our children to deal with the excesses of political shortsightedness and environmental mismanagement.

Wow, more hyperbole, and yet – besides using a more energy efficient light bulb or rolling a blue recycling container in front of or behind the house once a week – how many of us really look to incorporate new ideas or technologies into our lives or lifestyles, that could really make a difference? This is the essence of the festival, which this year – by moving out of the traditional feel-good Reid Park bandshell and surrounding display area – is hoping to facilitate a much more engaged experience combining educational talks, displays and workshops with many hands-on opportunities.

As one of its organizers, Greg Wetzel acknowledges, “The first two (festivals) were very humble. We feel this one will be different because having it at the Y, with its courtyard, conference room and back areas will help make it more of a community expo.” And indeed the expansive YWCA on Bonita Street just west of Downtown, will provide a completely different feel and more contained environment for the variety of speakers, exhibitors and Do it Yourself (DIY) areas.

In addition to asking the public to begin thinking (or thinking more in-depth) about what “sustainability” means and what it might look like, the festival will also serve as a showcase highlighting many activities around sustainability that are already going on within our community. Things such as composting, solar, organic gardening and water harvesting will all be a part of the festival. New ideas such as energy economics and sustainable business models will also be on the agenda.

For sustainable ideas in transportation, the Tucson Electric Vehicle Association will also be on hand with a selection of electric vehicles, answering your questions and providing perspective on the viability of such vehicles. In celebration National Co-op month, the Food Conspiracy Co-op is collaborating with a cluster of business cooperatives to talk about and share information on the variety of cooperative business models

This year’s festival will also recognize the next generation of sustainability leaders. According to its press release, Envision Tucson sustainable will again honor a school and its enthusiastic kids that integrate raising food and building green skills with classroom learning. This year’s award winner is Manzo Elementary School, which has also been honored nationally as a Green School of the Year. The University of Arizona’s Students for Sustainability are also working with the festival to make this a UA campus collaboration with the community.

Local and native foods will also be on display in a food court for purchase, which will of course feature non-GMO options. The YWCafe will be open, selling organic coffees and aquas frescas. Local musicians throughout the day are set to provide a soundtrack for the event.

True to its mission, the festival will also be practicing what it preaches by leaving the Y with a newly planted 30’ x 30’ garden plot that is going in on Saturday, Oct. 18 – the week before the Sunday, Oct. event. According to Wetzel, “We have to leave something behind that’s sustainable.”

The Envision Tucson Sustainable Festival takes place on Sunday, Oct. 26 at the YWCA, 525 N. Bonita Ave. from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information visit EnvisionTucsonSustainable.org.

Living on the Fringe

September 1, 2014 | Jim Lipson

Being an average middle class, culturally enriched, baby boomer (formerly a euphemism for middle aged but now just a way to say older) white male, I like theater as much as the next guy of similar background and demographic. When I was a kid, my parents took me to see Hello Dolly on Broadway (sans Pearl Bailey—she was sick) and I even got to see a Noël Coward play which, by the way, was terrible. My mom said it was his only flop. I know, who the hell is Noël Coward? (First rate example as to why Google was invented). And finally, at Centennial Hall, I saw Jersey Boys the summer, which anyone can tell you was great (whether they’ve seen it or not).

So, I was excited when my editor gave me the assignment of doing a theater piece — Tucson’s fourth annual Fringe Festival. Say what? Oh, you know, the local version of a semi obscure international theater phenomenon that produces various performance and performance art pieces where anyone can do virtually anything, provided they get their application in on time and pay the nominal application fee.

"Burlesque Vanguard – Advice from a Homeless Stripper/Clown" written and performed by Paco Fish. Photo by Stereovision Photography

“Burlesque Vanguard–Advice from a Homeless Stripper/Clown” by Paco Fish.
Photo by Stereovision Photography

Seriously, it’s that easy. No complex juried application processes to sweat through where you have to hope someone will really get your vision and inspiration, or understand your bizarre sense of humor or unique take on the world. Instead artists have the freedom to be as creative as their imagination and resources will take them. In a world of reality TV where we are constantly judging or being judged, it’s both freeing and refreshing to have an institutional platform that will support the creative spirit in this way.

How creative and how freeing? Hah! Well, non-juried also means uncensored which also means anything goes. And before your mind goes to that place that equates uncensored with some kind of inappropriate video montage, allow yourself to consider the following brief synopses of performance pieces which are being offered up in this year’s Tucson Fringe Theater Festival.

“In a cinematic collage weaving storytelling, painting, music, and dance, Jeanmarie Simpson reflects upon the death of her father in this one-woman show.” Multi-dimensional, heartfelt – nice; and then this, courtesy Maryann Green: “Four old college friends reunite for a wedding. Over drinks they discover that what they think they want may not in fact be what they need. Irrevocable choices are made and bombs are dropped. Turns out The Rolling Stones were right.” An ensemble performance and good use of the Stones as a cultural metaphor. And then my favorite blurb…”Crazy Standup By a Grownup, by Hillary Pursehouse. 10 minutes of hand written strange realities of life in Southern Arizona.” Best part about this, perhaps, is that it’s short and it’s free (unlike all the other Fringe performances, which require a mere $5 cover).

Other offerings will include a performance of Slideshow Fairytales where returning Fringe performer Catfish Baruni adapts The Facts in the Case of the Great Beef Contract by Mark Twain. It has something to do with Civil War General William T. Sherman, 30 barrels of delivered beef and a bill that still has yet to be paid.

Catfish Baruni presents "Slideshow Fairytales" adapting Mark Tawin's "The Facts in the Case of the Great Beef Contract" at this year's festival. Image courtesy Tucson Fringe Theater Festival

Catfish Baruni presents “Slideshow Fairytales” adapting Mark Twain’s “The Facts in the Case of the Great Beef Contract” at this year’s festival.
Image courtesy Tucson Fringe Theater Festival

Another performance is an experiential and partially improvised one act play by Hilary Bluestein-Lyons about a boy with severe ADHD who uses computer games to cope; then there’s comedy from the four members of the Christopher Walken Club who will take impersonating Walken to a whole different level. There’s even a show by the venerable performance artist/musician Fish Karma sub-titled, “A musical celebration of the end of human civilization.” And there is more, nine pieces in all, none of which will be like anything anyone has ever seen before.

For the record, Fringe is not a fly by night anomaly but a festival and concept with roots overseas that date back to the mid-1940s. Co-organizer Sara Tiffany says she and Yasmine Jahanmir, her friend and co-producer of Fringe, are excited to think that the festival can be a part of the ever evolving face of Downtown. “Art history and performance art give us an opportunity to take something we are passionate about and connect that with the community.”

All performances are limited to 60 minutes (or less) with discounts available for viewing of multiple shows. If you like performance art and theater you will undoubtedly find something here that will tweak your fancy. But just so you know, Jersey Boys this ain’t.

The Tucson Fringe Theater Festival is Friday, Sept. 12–Sunday, Sept. 14 with multiple performances at various times at Club Congress (311 E. Congress St.) and Fluxx Studio (414 E. 9th St.). For a complete schedule visit the festival website at TucsonFringe.org.

The Christopher Walken Club presents “Walken in his Shoes” at the Fringe Fest. From left to right: Brandon Howell, Michael Howell, Stephanie Howell, Ruben Rosthenhauler, Luke Howell.
photo courtesy Tucson Fringe Theater Festival

The Sea of Glass Center for the Arts

January 14, 2014 | Jim Lipson

The small complex with the cute little dome at 330 E. 7th St. has taken on many personas over the past 30 years; almost all of them somehow focused on community building, self-actualization and a connection to the arts.

In the early- to mid-1980s this was the original Ortspace, home to the innovative (currently in transition) OTO Dance troupe. When OTO Dance moved down the street it became the Zenith Center, a funky but accessible space that held everything from concerts to yoga classes to massage school graduations.

Rahman Jamaal performs at The Sea of Glass grand opening Jan. 17.
photo courtesy: Global Change Multi-Media

Years later, under the ownership and direction of Jason Auerbach and Janice Herradora, the 6,700 square feet of enormous potential became known as Anjali. With extensive renovations to not only the big room used for yoga classes, workshops, dances and concerts (Krishna Das once packed almost 400 people inside for an evening of ecstatic chanting), but also the interior, formerly used as living space, Anjali was beautifully refreshed, anything but funky, and stood in stark contrast to its more “lived in” surroundings on Fourth Avenue.

Part of the Anjali vision was to renovate the east end of the complex so that it could house a raw foods/vegetarian restaurant. This in conjunction with a small retail space, on-going yoga classes and a concert and dance venue available for rent to the community, all seemed like great ideas housed within an exquisite and newly designed space. Unfortunately the restaurant never opened, yoga classes came and went and the concert/workshop facility was vastly under-utilized. Eventually Anjali closed and for several years remained dark.

Now, with the opening of The Sea of Glass Center for the Arts, the Food for Ascension Café, CosmoArt Studio and Sacred Treasures, a retail space for “fine arts, jewelry and clothing,” the space once again holds the promise for becoming a hub of activity looking to bridge spirituality and new age sensibilities with 21st century alternative consumerism. The restaurant bills itself as “all local, all organic, all love” and comes with a delightful, outdoor rooftop patio while the Sea of Glass comes complete with a large stage, built in sound system and lights and acoustic sound baffles built into the roof. It looks like a great place to play as well as hear a performance.

With the Sea of Glass subtitled “A Center for Global Change Through Higher Consciousness,” and words like ascension and sacred as a part of its branding, the complex also comes with a certain vibe – what some might consider baggage – as well.

Bought for a price well into seven figures, the complex is owned and run by the Avalon Organic Gardens and Eco Village. Located in Tubac, Arizona, Avalon is an intentional community running a large organic farming operation and very much committed to the principles of permaculture and sustainable technologies. Avalon is also a part of the Global Community Communications Alliance, a church and religious organization founded in 1989 in Prescott, Arizona by Anthony J. Delevin, publicly known as Gabriel of Urantia.

All the businesses are celebrating with a grand opening on Friday, Jan. 17, starting at 7:30 p.m., with performances by VansGuard, an 8-piece activist folk rock band with ties to Avalon, along with hip hop artist Rahman Jamaal from San Francisco and with Tucson DJs Kirkout and Humblelianess spinning.

Saturday, Jan. 18 features a freestyle rap workshop at 2 p.m. with Rahman Jamaal followed by a screening of indie film “The Beat” at 4:30 p.m.

For more information on these and other upcoming events, along with ticket prices, visit TheSeaofGlass.org or call (520) 398-2542. Event proceeds benefit the organization’s Personality Integration Rehabilitation Program, Avalon Gardens Internships and scholarships for instructional classes in music, dance and other arts at The Sea of Glass.

Grateful Dead Still Alive…sort of (and coming to Tucson)!

February 23, 2013 | Jim Lipson

Bob Weir

Ah, the Grateful Dead…love ‘em, hate ‘em , ignore ‘em…whatever your personal feelings, they refuse to go away. While their reputation as the quintessential Frisco jam band may not be everyone’s cup of herbal tea, for 30 years, this group had been fertile ground for a creative process that has spawned hundreds of original tunes, many exquisitely crafted as evidenced by the likes of the Indigo Girls, Elvis Costello, Los Lobos, Burning Spear and many others who have covered their songs. Unfortunately, with some notable exceptions, the recordings and live execution of much of their work, have left many who have not drunk the kool-aid (metaphorically and literally), to wonder aloud, “What’s the big deal?”

Well, to the millions who had consistently made them one of the highest grossing concert acts in the world, it was always about the songs and the jams, or as some folks in the education world like to put it, “content and delivery.”

When lead guitarist and band icon Jerry Garcia died in 1995 it was if a fast and smooth running train had been derailed. The Dead were playing 80-100 shows a year, averaging three hours plus in length and a different show every night. And while there were many jokes made about tour junkie Deadheads now being forced to “get a life”, the symbiotic nature of the Dead’s relationship with its fans meant it was only a matter of time before the band, either individually or collectively would find its way back onto the road.

Since that time there have been a handful of reunions amongst the four original surviving members—Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Bill Kreutzman and Mickey Hart. First came The Other Ones (a couple of tours and one great recording) and then a single tour under the moniker The Dead. Now there are periodic shows and short seasonal tours with Weir and Lesh fronting the group Furthur. While these shows have provided a relatively authentic GD experience, it’s been the band members’ various solo projects that seem to have captured most of their imagination and interest.

Much can be written about the Phil Lesh and Friends experience, but it is the impending arrival of the Mickey Hart Band and the Bob Weir shows that is currently piquing interest. Weir’s principal post Dead project has been Ratdog, a group he founded with bassist Rob Wasserman shortly before Garcia’s death. While that group has undergone various transformations in substance and style (there’s that content and delivery again) it has evolved into a terrific Grateful Dead cover band with Weir actively working to keep Garcia’s legacy alive by continuing to sing many of his songs.

Weir’s last Tucson appearance was a few years ago at the Rialto with Ratdog, where that theater’s vastly improved sound system helped make for a memorable night. This time, Weir heads down the block to the Fox Theatre which should also provide the perfect backdrop for his solo acoustic show. While this show will be free of improvisational jams, acoustic arrangements will allow listeners to experience the music as it was created and before songs morphed into jams. It’s also a given he’ll also include tunes written by Garcia and Robert Hunter. Jonathan Wilson will open.

Mickey Hart

In sharp contrast, drummer and percussionist Mickey Hart, with a band, returns to the Rialto where he rocked the house more than ten years ago with a band that not only covered the Dead but offered some creative rearrangements as well.

Since the death of Garcia he has recorded and toured with various ensembles including the Planet Drum experience as well as the superb Mickey Hart’s Mystery Box. While Hart has bravely attempted to handle vocals on previous tours, he appears happy to be giving up these reigns to others better suited for this, most notably Crystal Monee Hall and Joe Bagale. While there will be plenty of drums and percussion, this is a full-on electric 8 piece band which will be augmented by opening act the African Showboyz from Ghana.

Bob Weir plays at the Fox Theatre on Wednesday, February 27; The Mickey Hart Band is at the Rialto on Tuesday, March 5.

Uncovering the Great Cover-Up

December 6, 2012 | Jim Lipson

LeeAnne Savage performs at The Great Cover-Up, Saturday, December 15, at The Rialto Theatre

Several years ago Bob Dylan stunned a Tucson crowd, when seemingly out of nowhere, began singing, “Old Man look at my life, I’m a lot like you are…” While Dylan had been known to occasionally play an old country standard or something completely out of the mainstream, the idea of covering a Neil Young classic was so delightfully unexpected and out of context, it was the highlight of the night and indeed the only thing this concert goer still remembers. Such is the novelty when performers choose to go outside their well-developed comfort zones.

While organizers of Tucson’s annual Great Cover-Up, cannot claim this idea as their own, the notion of getting a bunch of original music bands together to cover any and everything (but themselves) for charity, is an idea they have continued to successfully nurture, develop and expand upon since 1998.

As Music Editor for the Tucson Weekly and author of its weekly Soundbites column, Stephen Seigel must plead guilty as one of the Cover-Ups principal co-conspirators. A huge fan of a similarly styled event he attended in Champaign, IL in the late 1990s, he cleverly managed to convince Melissa Manos, front woman for the band Shoebomb, we needed this in Tucson. Manos in turn enlisted help from Mia Proli, the booker at Club Congress, and for two years Manos and Proli delivered a wonderful one night event at the Congress to benefit the Brewster Center (providing temporary housing and counseling for victims of domestic violence).

Giving truth to the adage “no good deed goes unpunished,” Seigel eventually became the event’s chief organizer and spokesperson, effectively using his column to successfully recruit and publicize the event. “It actually wasn’t too difficult. As an established event it already had some momentum. I was mostly very pleased just to see it continue from its charity aspect as well as the fun aspect.”

Eventually it became clear that one night at one venue could not contain the growing enthusiasm for the event as interest from performers and the community continued to swell. A good part of the fascination grew from not only performers who wanted to participate and the ever expanding list of groups they wanted to cover, but also from some of the wild and wacky juxtapositions that might occur when performers unexpectedly matched themselves to artists covered. The New Orleans/Dixieland styled group, Crawdaddy-O covering music from the show Jesus Christ Superstar or the Weird Lovemakers performing Devo (completely in character) or Sergio Mendoza’s former band, 7 to Blue, covering Paul McCartney and Wings are but a few examples of great moments in Great Cover-Up history. In fact, “It was The Jons doing Tom Jones, that got me hooked,” said Mel Mason, now in her third year as one of the event’s co-organizers.

In 2010, after taking a well-deserved one year break, Seigel recruited occasional Tucson Weekly contributor and chief booker for The Rialto Theatre, Curtis McCrary. Together they brought The Rialto into the mix adding an additional stage thus allowing several more bands to participate. Last year with the addition of Plush as a Thursday night venue, and additional Saturday afternoon sessions at The Rialto and Club Congress, the event ballooned to accommodate 70 bands. This year, acknowledging the enormity of running five stages over three days, they chose to scale back just a bit eliminating one of the Saturday afternoon slots. “We don’t relish turning people down,” said McCrary, “but with 80 bands applying for 50 slots, we can only do so much.”

Adding to the charm and appeal of the Cover-Up are its attempts to keep everything shrouded in secrecy. With publicity focused on the bands and the artists covered (but not together), unless word leaks out (as it sometimes does), the unveiling of who is covering whom is not announced until the day of the show. Mason, acknowledging the wide variety of bands and genres participating, admits not everyone will like every band. “But it’s like listening to KXCI. If you just wait a little bit you’ll always find something to your liking.”

This year’s Great Cover Up will be Thursday, December 13, at Plush; Friday, December 14 at Club Congress; Saturday, Dec. 15, in the afternoon, at Club Congress and Saturday night at The Rialto. Artists performing will include, Brian Lopez, Tryst, LeeAnne Savage, 8 Minutes to Burn, the Cordials and Silver Fox (featuring David Slutes) with artists being covered to include Leonard Cohen, Tom Petty, Hall & Oates, Alice Cooper, Weezer, David Bowie, The Doors and The Lovin’ Spoonful, and many others.

Proceeds from this year’s event will benefit the Tucson Area Musicians Healthcare Alliance.

More details at GreatCoverUpTucson.com

All Souls Procession—Homegrown at its Best

November 4, 2012 | Jim Lipson

Over the years, Tucson has played host to any number of popular and well attended annual events. The Tucson Folk and Blues festivals, Tucson Meet Yourself (see page 6), Nam Jam, the Festival en el Barrio and the Rodeo Parade are but a few of these well-established homegrown happenings. And while we celebrate them all as our own, unique to our part of the world, none seems to have captured Tucson’s collective imagination and curiosity more than the annual All Souls Procession.

“I have never been to an event that generates so much participation,” reflects longtime Tucsonan Bruce Hilpert. “There is almost no line drawn between participants and spectators. Even those who are watching the parade are dressed for the event as are participants. Very cool.”

Initially conceived in 1990 as a performance art piece by Susan Johnson, to honor the passing of her late father, and inspired by Mexico’s Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) holiday, the event has mushroomed into a ritualistic spectacle drawing tens of thousands to its two mile parade route. There, without the benefit of anyone who even remotely appears to be a parade or event organizer, a mass of humanity, decked out in all manner of costume and skeletal face paint, almost magically turns out to spectate, march or actively participate by coming in costume and/or or placing the name or names of loved ones who have passed, into the ceremonial Urn. The role of the Urn is key as its contents are later burned as a part of the event’s Grand Finale, a theatrically staged event that could easily stand alone as a separate production unto itself.

While clearly this is a cathartic opportunity to respectfully mourn and honor what has passed, the atmosphere more closely resembles that of a Marti Gras than a wake. This is especially so given the variety of elaborately conceived costumes, masks and rolling alters that help to define the event. As with any good parade, musicians of all stripes—from one man bands to drumming groups, to string ensembles, to even last year’s appearance by the University of Arizona’s Marching Band—are also an integral part of the vibe.

Sponsored by the Many Mouths One Stomach (MMOS), a local non-profit art collective, the event has continued to evolve beyond what anyone could possibly have imagined. This year’s biggest change and perhaps challenge, will be the shift in the parade route (to avoid streetcar construction) and the inauguration of a new site for the finale.

Instead of the usual gathering place at University and Fourth Ave., marchers will now gather downtown at Toole St. just west of the Congress Hotel. From there the parade will organically form and wind its way through downtown, eventually making its way onto West Congress St. where it will head west to Mercado San Agustin, new site for the finale and where MMOS hopes a permanent new site for this ritual will be established.

The finale, always coordinated by Flam Chen, Tucson’s internationally acclaimed fire dance/performance troupe, is an exercise in high theatre (literally as well as figuratively). And while this is certainly the highlight of the evening for many, for others the procession is more about the symbolic opportunity to march and pay homage to not just individuals who have passed but anything deemed sacred , including something as seemingly mundane as an institution of employment.

“In 2009, about 70 of us had to watch the decline of, report on and ultimately put the Tucson Citizen to rest,” said local writer and documentarian Dan Buckley. “That fall, most of us laid-off Citizen folks, plus a bunch of former employees from all over, came to the procession to march in memory of the now-deceased, longest published newspaper in Arizona. And it was wonderful to walk side by side with the tens of thousands of folks who were themselves recalling the people, pets and things past that brought meaning to their lives. It was hardly a funeral dirge, but a community celebration of the most affirming kind.”

This year’s All Souls Procession takes place on Sunday, November 4, with marchers gathering at 5 pm. For a full schedule of related events, including art exhibits, next year’s poster contest, mask making workshops and the Procession of Little Angels, visit allsoulsprocession.org.