philadelphia

Oct

2019

Philly Podfest

Dan May, Lizanne Knott, and Ciara Grace

Live at the Tattoed Mom at 535 South Street in Philadelphia

Photo by Carolyn Miller

Welcome to TotRW live – presented by the Philadelphia Podcast Festival at the Tattooed Mom (535 South Street in Philadelphia PA)

Guests Dan May, Lizanne Knott and her daughter Ciara Grace. Congratulations to Lizanne who just released her brand new album “Bones and Gravity” and it’s already getting stellar reviews.

Daughter Ciara is working on her debut album and the buzz is crazy good. Dan’s starting work on a new music project, too, but even more exciting, he’s also putting the finishing touches on his new book, a sequel to his best seller, Adventures In Grocery Shopping.

Topics we talk about include,

Tattooed Mom’s Poutine Fries

Cheese curds

Changing guitar strings (or not)

Changing strings on a lute

Pets and gigs

Staying hydrated.

Billy Eilish

Cds, streaming, and vinyl

How we listen to albums now vs then

What to include in a musician’s survival kit?

Favorite places to perform.

cell phones at concerts

Dan’s book

James Taylor’s Fire and Rain Update

Parking issues

There’s a whole lot of me talking too much and not doing a very good job at moderating. It was about the 5th day in a row of a heat wave (about 102 degrees that day. I had never done a podcast with more than one other person before, so I apologize in advance for the looseness of this episode. Still, we did get some good stuff out of this little bull session.

LINKS TO THINGS WE TALKED ABOUT

Dan with Lizanne and Ciara – “Imagine” at Sellersville Theater July 5th, 2019

DAN MAY

Beacon

Dan’s Previous Conversation with Hal on Tales of the Road Warriors

Dan’s book: Adventures in Grocery Shopping

LIZANNE KNOTT

Lizanne’s Website

Lizanne’s Music Video
Be Careful With My Heart

Lizanne Knott Video
Miss You

CIARA GRACE

Ciara live Songwriter Circle on Youtube
This Is The End I Swear

Overrated

James Taylor – “Fire and Rain” Updated Version

HOW TO VIDEOS

Tuning a Guitar with a String Winder

Stringing a Lute

Tuning a Lute

Get the D’Addario String Winder $10.99

D’Addario String Winder/Wire Cutter/Pin Puller

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GIG MATE Guitar Care and Tool Kit $33.95

Carbon steel String Cutters, 2-in-l Screwdriver (Philips/Flat), Led Flashlight and 2 AAA Batteries
5 Allen Wrenches. Made in USA: 0.050inch for Fender USA saddles -1.5mm for MIM Fender & most import saddles – 2.5mm & 3mm for Floyd Rose. Plus 5mm long Ball End Acoustic Truss Rod Wrench (Takamine, Martin and most Asian truss rods and more)
6 Pockets for string storage, Pick Pocket for picks, gauge and business cards etc.
Stainless Steel String Action/Set Up Gauge. String Winder with bridge pin remover. Trem Poker. Strings/picks are not included. Ships by USPS
The reviews of the GIGmate Guitar Tool Kit are not paid for in any way with discounts for reviews – unlike other similar products.

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Mar

2019

Kenn Kweder

The Not So Secret Kid

During the late seventies, while I was working as a singing waiter in Los Angeles and cutting my own teeth as a performer, I was missing a phenomenon in my own home town of Philadelphia… a guy by the name of Kenn Kweder. While I was bartending, bussing, waiting, and singing Beatles songs tableside to my customers, Kenn Kweder and the Secret Kids was taking Philly by storm on every stage in town.

Now here we are in 2019 and, Kenn Kweder, like me, is still actively gigging all over the tri-state area. He sometimes performs solo, sometimes accompanied by a friend or two, and occasionally with his full band, the Men From Wawa.

It wasn’t until the the past year or so that I became aware of Kenn Kweder, but through a mutual friend, Jim Fogarty, who occasionally accompanies Kenn, I began seeing his name in Facebook posts and reading about him online. Eventually, I checked out some of the Youtube videos posted by his friends and fans – and I knew I had to talk to this guy.

This conversation barely scratches the surface of the nearl y mythological figure that is Kweder. There are much more in depth interviews, music videos and even a documentary or two you could find floating around cyberspace. Just be prepared to be awestruck if you go down that rabbit hole.

In this episode of Tales of the Road Warriors, Kweder delivers some Kweder history and I did learn a thing or two about the East coast during the years I was out on the West Coast. Kenn recounted some very trippy times he spent driving Tom Waits around. We also swapped a few stories about playing different types of gigs and venues. Of course I was a much smaller fish in a much larger pond, so I can’t really compare notes on the same level. But I can tell you this, we had a great talk and hopefully, we’ll do it again, because, as i said, we barely scratched the surface. Even now, Kweder 2.0 is making Kweder history.