NEXT SHOW

Relief in the Cabin

Howdy to you folks out here in blogville.  I'm sitting here thinking about the most recent show we did in Brewer, which we billed as a Cabin Fevah Relievah.  This is Larry (guitar guy) by the way.  In spite of the fact that it had been a little while since we dusted off the old sound system, things pretty much went off without a hitch.  That is, until Phil's guitar cord made such a noise that we thought the entire place had been engulfed in a magnetic field.  Phil said it was his defibrillator, or was it his defibillator, or his fundibulator....We had a great crowd, a full room which we appreciate, and really a wonderful time.

We're always trying to recreate the sound and the feeling we get when we play in Phil's living room, which doesn't always happen.  But surrounded by friends and family, and a few new fans, I think we came pretty close.  A number of songs new to the Nevah repertoire made their debut at this show.  Ed's "A Rare But Serious Side Effect" (replete with an extended reading of possible side effects by Ed) and Phil's "Hometown Open Road" (probably the most rock-oriented song we play now) and Jack's "semi-classical" (truck that is) tune "Semi (Drive, Drive, Drive)" were real highlights of the evening.  "Road Less Travelled" another of Phil's originals featured Hal on "pianjo" - more of a hybrid "style" than a hybrid instrument!  There is truly only one Hal in this world!  Another tune new to the band - "Moonlight and Music" which came to us by way of the Persuasions, featured acapella singing and a tip of the hat to another great musical tradition, Doo Wop.  We in Nevah are true music lovers and try to pay tribute to all of the great musical styles we have heard and have been moved by over the years.  A special moment was when Phil called up his brother Peter to sing "Moonlight and Music" with us.

So gang, that's all the news until the next time we mount the horse and take another trip around the musical carousel.  Stay tuned - we try to make each show different, and we have lots of ideas we have to get through!

NEVAH January 2012 Newsletter

Phil,

Thank you once again … the January NEVAH 2012 NEVAH Newsletter is here!

NEVAH in CONCERT - SATURDAY Jan 21, 2012

Just a quick reminder that NEVAH is in concert tomorrow …

See you there …

NEVAH

Comments overheard pertaining to Mike Dow's NEVAH Article

Leave it up to Ed Russell our on the ball NEVAH lead Vocal, Sax and Flute guy to overhear important and pertinent comments pertaining to Mike Dow's recent Maine Edge NEVAH Article (that's Mike Dow of Mike and Mike from Kiss 94.5). 

Ed thought he'd share some of the comments he heard with Mike, and Mike was kind enough to pass these comments along to the rest of the band. So, we thought we'd share them with you, the fans of NEVAH.

Way to stay on top of things Ed …

Mike,

Some feed back on your article:

“ If Dow likes’em  they must be ok”

“I don’t know from music, it’s all the same since ABBA broke up, so I just do whatever Mike Dow says in that arena. I pay a lot of very smart people from a lot very expensive institutions. My people tell me he is a ‘tastemaker’ and that I’m safe with him.”

“Like, life is so dangerous, ya know. We could go any minute with cancer or something. That’s why I don’t gamble with my music. For me and my crew, it’s Mike

Dow, stone genius”

“ Not so much Carrie or Salem’s Lot , but a lot of the more recent stories are based on ideas originally inspired by a real  guy who just called himself ‘Mike Dow’, a local celebrity sort of like a cross between Hunter Thompson  and  Eddie Driscoll. He did this radio show for years where he pretended he was two guys named Mike, called it Mike & Mike, but you never saw the other guy, like in the Parent Trap with Hayley Mills or the Patty Duke show. He was amazing and way ahead of his time.”  

“His hand is on the pulse of this city, like a young Richard Chamberlain George Clooney on ER ”

“His hand bestows the touch of the Almighty on all it graces”

“I don’t know where his hand is, but Mike Dow just makes me feel better (about my musical choices).”

“Let me break it down for you, muttonhead. In this town, Dow can make or break a band, it’s that simple. Now come on back inside and we’ll find a safe place for you to get the help you need. ”

“I’m sorry, Ralph. Eloping with you to get married is all I’ve  dreamed about since that first night, but Mike Dow says I should  go to this concert in Brewer Saturday night. How about Sunday?”

“So this Dow guy writes this one article and all of a sudden we’re the hottest thing around,  packed houses every night. Everybody in the business wants a piece of us. Oprah, Conan, Ellen, Charlie Rose, Rosie Greer, Hal Greer, Hal Kemp. It’s outrageous. The music’s better, the songs are better. Everything is just better, you know. And the wives are eating it up. If we’d  had half a brain we would have saved a lot of practice and driving to every grange hall in creation for free and just kidnapped Dow until he wrote one of those stories he does. But, like Mike  Dow says “ Better late than Nevah.”

Mike Dow Talks NEVAH on Downtown with Rich Kimball

Mike Dow of the Mike and Mike Show Talks about NEVAH on the radio show 

Downtown with Rich Kimball. 

Once again, we were floored by Mike Dow's second NEVAH plug, this time with radio host Rich Kimball on his Downtown with Rich Kimball program January 18, 2012.

Mike, we can't thank you enough and Rich, thank you too for having Mike on your program.

For those of you who were not able to catch the show you can follow the "January 18th" link to listen to the broadcast. We are in the archive section right under Livingston Taylor's interview.

Mike and Mike 

(Mike Dow is on the Right)

Rich Kimball

Mike Dow Talks NEVAH in the Maine Edge

When Mike Dow of the Mike and Mike Show from Kiss 94.5 FM proposed an article about NEVAH for the Maine Edge we were thoroughly delighted. When we saw what he had written we were blown away …

Below you will find the on-line article page as it appeared, followed by the full article.
(you can also visit the Maine Edge directly at: http://www.themaineedge.com/)

THANK YOU MIKE DOW!

The Men of NEVAH

Nevah in Concert Saturday Jan 21, 2012

Hey everyone … just a quick reminder

                 (the  last  one  prior  to  the  show,  I  promise)

NEVAH 

presents a 

"cabin fevah relievah concert"

(with a lot of surprises a-waitin' the audience)

 

at the Next Generation Theatre

Brewer, Maine

this Saturday - January 21, 2012

(yes, we know, we know, it's this Saturday)

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call: 989-7100 for tickets or contact NEVAH directly -nevahband@gmail.com

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Maine Edge Press Release

Nevah - A seriously fun band

By Mike Dow
edge contributor

On Saturday, Jan. 21, you're invited into the warm and welcoming atmosphere of the Next Generation Theatre in Brewer for what is being billed as a "cabin fevah relievah" with the merry band of musical pranksters known as Nevah. They are serious musicians who deliver serious amounts of fun at every show.
I recently met with the group before a band rehearsal at the home of Hal Meyers who contributes banjo, vocals, web duties and occasional "conjuring." Meyers has spent most of his life working as a professional magician and inventor. These days, much of his inventive magic takes place onstage with the other members of Nevah.
According to Ed Russell, (saxophone, flute and vocals) Nevah came together through a shared love of music. "Our wives were friends and that's ultimately how the band started," Russell told me. Bass player Phil Pitula adds, "At the beginning, we were called "Never2Late" and we had fun playing at parties and in each other's homes. As time went on, we decided to take it a little more seriously and that's when we became "Nevah."
The music they play is as diverse as the band's individual real-life occupations. The group consists of three lawyers (one of them retired), a town manager, a university scientist, a medical doctor, an auto body shop owner and a graphic designer. Nevah's lineup includes Russell, Pitula and Meyers in addition to Larry LeBlanc on guitar, Richard Silver on mandolin, Jack Anderson on pedal steel and dobro, Dick Knipping on drums and Eric Brown on the congas.
Silver says that Nevah has learned the art of listening to each other. "It's all about leaving space between the notes," he says. "The more people you have playing, the harder it is to find that space. It's easy to listen to yourself when you play. The trick is to listen to those you're playing with." LeBlanc says the band's "less is more" approach has been valuable in terms of the band's overall impact. "With eight people in the group, that 'wall of sound' thing is very real," he told me. "To make a banjo stand out at a particular moment in a song, everyone pulls back to let it shine."
As Nevah was describing how they interact musically, it occurred to me that they were doing the same thing on a verbal level. During our conversation, each member of the band took turns contributing. When one of them spoke, the others were quiet (unless they were laughing) and if they had something to contribute, they waited their turn.
I took in a Nevah show at an American Heart Association benefit in October 2010 and became an immediate fan of their musicianship, humor and unpredictability. "Most people are surprised by the diversity of music," Hal Meyers said. "We hit just about every era you can imagine. There's something for everybody." Drummer Dick Knipping added, "That's why we call it 'Prograssabilly' (laughter from the band) ... "Bluegrass, rockabilly, country, swing, jazz, rock and roll, we mix it up." LeBlanc says all of the band grew up in the era of great early rock and roll - a genre he still loves. "When the guitar heroes started dying off, I then developed a love for bluegrass," he told me. "Richard brings in an eastern European flavor with his background and family traditions. We play a couple of those gypsy-sounding things." Mandolin player Silver agrees. "I never met a minor key I didn't like," he said, smiling. Each member brings their influences to the band while joining forces to create something new and uniquely "Nevah."
Hal Meyers is thrilled by the energy and willingness of his band mates to try anything. "That's the great thing about this band!",he said excitedly. "It doesn't matter what key...you start playing any song and everyone jumps in and starts playing. It could be 10, 20, 30 years old or more. Nobody says 'I don't want to do that.' We just do it and it's so much fun. It's a big sound. Everybody brings something very special to the group and it's very exciting to be hanging and playing with guys like this," he says.
Fans of intricate vocal harmony, Nevah spends a lot of time perfecting those harmonies for the stage. Phil Pitula says the audience is often taken by surprise. "On some of our songs, we have five-part harmony. We do some cover songs, but we don't do them anything like the original and that's the fun part. We do covers that are a little out of the ordinary and people are shocked when we get into it. You see the recognition on their faces - "Oh yeah! THAT song!" (laughs) The band has even been working on an a cappella tune and may perform it Saturday evening. Ed Russell quipped, "People will say, 'We were really surprised. We didn't expect you guys to be that good. Plus you're old'" (laughter from the band)
Soon, Nevah will enter the recording studio to lay down tracks for their first album of original material. In the meantime, treat yourself to a truly special evening of music this Saturday, Jan. 21 beginning at 7:30 at Next Generation Theatre in Brewer.
The Next Generation Theatre is located on 39 Center St. in Brewer in the back of the Between Friends Art Center Building. Tickets are $10 and available by calling 989-7100. Visit Nevah online at www.NevahBand.com.

Mike Dow is heard each morning as part of The Mike and Mike Show on Kiss 94.5. Catch up with him at www.Facebook.com/MikeandMike and www.MikeDow.net.

NEVAH in CONCERT Jan 21st

NEVAH 

presents a 

"cabin fevah relievah concert"

 

Next Generation Theatre

Brewer, Maine

Saturday - January 21, 2012

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call: 989-7100 for tickets or contact NEVAH directly - nevahband@gmail.com

Thoughts on Original Material by Phil

Over my many years of being involved with music I have pondered how difficult it is for any group of musicians to wrap their heads around someones original composition.  Most people have grown up listening and memorizing songs played on the radio, which they are constantly exposed to multiple times a day.  This subconscious rote learning makes it difficult for the average singer songwriter to be able to convince fellow musicians that their original song has merit and should be worked on at rehearsal, which for most, is precious time that they do not have a lot of.  Whether it is a composition on piano, guitar, or just an acappella musing, it is not a complete, orchestrated, work that we have all been conditioned to hear and as such might fall flat to those listening for the first time.  The truly frustrating part is that the writer of the song hears all of those missing parts in their minds and for them it is a complete offering.  So how does one overcome such a large obstacle and bare their soul to others?  Although not an easy or surefire solution, I suggest you find like minded individuals who share your views on original material, not your views on life, where a mix works much better for the give and take needed to create a "good" song.  You will find that a large majority of musicians out there prefer to play "familiar" songs which we all call "covers."  Although many of these musicians are extremely talented, if you are a songwriter you will end up being frustrated by throwing your lot in with them as you won't get the opportunity to develop your songs.  "Chemistry" an oft used term which, as you get older grow to understand and appreciate more,  realizing it is probably the most important attribute for creativity, but not easily found.  "Buy in" or as I like to call it "Creative give and take" where you contribute ideas, little tweaks, or suggestions to enhance the particular piece of material you are working on.  When you find musicians who possess these qualities you have found a home where your musical experience will be much more fulfilling allowing your creative juices to flow unabated.  I have found that home in "NEVAH"

NEVAH's December Newsletter

Hey there fans of NEVAH! Phil has put together the Decembah NEVAH newsletter. For those of you keeping track this is number 2.

Ahhhh, it's the prograssabilly time of year again, can't you just feel it?

NEVAH's 2nd Newsletter - December issue

Nevah a Harmonious Prograssabilly Holiday

We want to wish the entire NEVAH family of fans and friends a wonderful Holiday! 

See you real soon. A heads up, we are planning a concert sometime in January.

Please check back soon for further details.

Nevah

p.s. please do not get behind the reins of a sleigh after drinking large amounts of Egg Nog.

A Nevahband Spinoff

Hi gang.  Larry here AGAIN!  I wanted to let you in the blogosphere know about a side project of Nevah - "The Prograssabillies" (or the Prograssabilly Punters if you prefer!).  This motley group includes Nevahband members Phil, Dick, Larry and Ed  - and I suspect others will be creeping in and out as time goes on!  We're delving into some of the musical genres we only get to touch on with our regular band, and - we're shameless!  Who knows how far we'll go to make a buck?  Hire us and find out!  Or better yet, hire the Nevahband (maybe they'll hire us as a warm up act!).

We're making a debut at the Bear Brew Pub on Friday night around 10 or so.  We'll be sharing the stage with Anthony B. and Ish, If and It in a Sasha Alcott-produced event.  Come check it out....say you're all tired from shopping at the mall - come up to Orono, have a beer - see what we've been up to.  All the best for the holidays!

Larry - nevah guitar guy

A Nevah Acoustic Practice Session

I look forward to Thursday nights, it's the day Nevah gets together to rehearse our current repertoire, to work on new material and to discuss our upcoming goals. There is something special about getting together with no pressure, being able to simply play music and to work out new arrangements that fit the personality of the band. Yes, we also have an occasional beer or glass of wine during the nights session.

Lately we've been rehearsing unplugged (for the most part), relying on the acoustic properties of some of our instruments; mandolin, guitar, flute and banjo. By playing "acoustically"(meaning - not using amplification) we tend to listen better, blend our tones easier and work out dynamics in our music.

The loudest acoustic instrument in the band is the banjo. It's a Stelling Sunflower banjo that has a superb tone and an amazing volume using a minor amount of picking effort. We usually try to get all the other instruments "UP" to the sound level of the Stelling for a proper sound balance. This often means that the "banjo guy" plays softer, which is not easy to do.

The other day at rehearsal, Richard, our Mandolin player who usually plugs in and plays his 1930's A4 style Gibson Mandolin used a "Flatiron" mandolin (also by Gibson) and it really held it's own with the banjo. Larry's Martin Guitar did need a little amplification to keep up, but the tiny boost of sound through his Fishman Loudbox amp really helped to level the playing field.

We're an atypical prograssabilly band and do have an electric bass played by Phil, Drums with Dick at the kit, Flute/Sax and Kazoo courtesy of Ed and Congas rhythmically beat by Eric.

Everyone participates vocally on more than one tune and the challenge of blending the voices together, keeping the lead vocal upfront, harmonies directly behind and the "music" supporting everything is why we spend at least three to four hours practicing every Thursday.

Nevah is growing leaps and bounds and working very hard to bring original tunes to the table. So far we've got four completely arranged original songs that have been performed live, several times, and well received at each performance. The exciting news is that we've got four more originals in the immediate pipeline which means we are getting very close to having an albums worth of NEVAH material. So, hopefully in the near future we will be able to offer our first NEVAH album for sale.

Ahhhh, Thursdays, my favorite day of the week.


Hal -
Nevah Banjo Guy

Nevah Performs "Driftin' With The Tide" - Live!

Nevah is excited to release their second live video performing Ed Russell's "Driftin' With The Tide" 

Larry's guitar

Hi again folks, Larry of Nevah here.  If you've seen us, I usually hang out on stage left, with a guitar.  I thought some folks might want to know a little bit about the acoustic I play on stage.  It is not your  standard-issue dreadnought guitar favored by most bluegrass players, but then again we're not a standard bluegrass band!  This guitar is a Martin M-36, which is the less adorned version of the M-38 or grand auditorium .  It is a full-sized guitar – lengthwise it is slightly larger than a dreadnought, although it does not have the big box shape, which bluegrassers favor for the booming rhythm.  This guitar has a shallower depth  which makes it more balanced overall, and with good projection.  Nothing like a dreadnought with its powerful sound – but this guitar has versatility  - it is excellent for fingerpicking, but retains enough bottom end for use as a rhythm instrument.

I bought this guitar over 30 years ago brand new for the princely sum of $700, with my first paycheck from my first professional science job, which I got after college after about a year of working at various odd jobs in factories, restaurants and the Census Bureau!  I favored the more plain looking (and less expensive!) M-36 – I like understated guitars without a lot of glitzy flash – although the neck and body have white binding and there is a three piece back.  The M-38 (more flashy and expensive) had abalone in the soundhole and a two-pieced bookmatched back, which of course makes for a better guitar.  But mine is all solid wood (rosewood back and sides spruce top) with the then-new scalloped bracing, advertised as providing a more open sound while retaining the strength of the X-bracing.  It was still from the era when Martin was not placing truss rods in their necks – a point of pride back then, which of course means the neck has been removed and reset more than once!  True Martin aficionados mourned when Martin started added truss rods to their guitar necks – but personally I think it makes sense!  While removing the neck is a lot more laborious with a truss rod (and a lot more expensive) – the rod allows for some fine adjustments to the neck angle, due to weather-related changes and can, in some instances make neck removal unnecessary!

I've done a lot of playing on this guitar – and have brought it with me all over the country – to the tops of mountains and out to sea.  It has endured a range of weather conditions – but nowadays, I try to baby it more.  I've played with it in more bars than I can remember -  the white binding at one point turned completely yellow from cigarette smoke (not mine, I don't smoke!).

One of the best stories involving this guitar happened about a month after I bought it.  At the time I was living down in South County, Rhode Island, which was still semi-rural in those days.  The boys and I were playing a local DRINKING establishment – you know – the kind of place where people drink themselves out of their chairs!  We were being tolerated (barely) by the locals, who were used to seeing their resident band play there EVERY Saturday night, except for this one and we were filling in.  Well I got up out of my seat to go play after having taken a break and ended up hitting the speaker stand and knocking the speaker off of its jury-rigged platform.  Remember those Bose 800 speakers? - built like tanks this thing came crashing down – hit the stage once and bounced against the wall – right where my guitar was leaning and WHAM!  Unbelievably loud noise, everyone turned to look at what happened (the most attention we got all night, by the way!) and all of us were looking at my guitar.  Incredibly, it was still in one piece – although finish cracks began radiating away from the divot on the face of the guitar up near the neck, which miraculously was the only damage that the guitar sustained!

I've had a lot of repair work done on this guitar – something that one has to do especially with a guitar that is played a lot.  The plastic binding on the neck is actually a bit of a liability -  it soon caused one of the frets to partially pop out of its seat - I constantly would get the high E string caught under it.  I had the frets reseated, and replaced – three times so far over this guitar's life (normal wear and tear).  At one point the friend of a friend – who is a guitar repair person and builder (mostly of electrics) talked me into putting oversize frets on there, like an electric would have.  I'm not sure if this improved things or not – but it's what I'm used to!  After 1-2 yrs the rosewood bridge split, and I had it replaced with an ebony bridge, carved by a local maker of acoustic guitars.  Since then I have had it replaced once more with a stock Martin ebony bridge.  When the action got too high even for me, I had the neck reset (in the early 90's).  And recently the time came recently to have more major work done (another neck reset, braces reglued – bridge underpinnings reinforced – all probably loosened from that big knock 30 years prior).  All is well now, and with a new Fishman Matrix under saddle pickup, things are really humming along.  With my increasing age, I've lowered the gauge of a couple of strings (I play more of a medium-light gauge now – I used to be on the medium-heavy end of things - with ultra high action!)   The guitar plays great and I love the neck (thinner than the Martin dreadnaught neck), and it sounds pretty good.  Not the fanciest guitar on the block, but it has survived weather extremes, mishandling (I once saw a guerilla baggage handler throw this thing onto the conveyor belt into the plane – right in front of me (I was in the plane cursing and shouting!) and a really big knock that should have ended things right way.  It survived  to play many more days, which I am very thankful for!