BACONSTOCK/Dan Janisch/Happy Halloween

Well, it seems my entries occur on a monthly basis and it'll have to do I suppose.

October proved to be an inspiration music-wise due to some very fun, spontaneous gigs. On Saturday the 17th, I had the good fortune of fiddlin' and singin' with former bandmates and new members of Murphy's Flaw (Donn Cunningham-guitar, John Bryan-banjo, Matt Witler-mandolin, Peter Blackwelder-fiddle and Paul Dorn-upright bass) at an outdoor charity gig which was the fall harvest festival for Tierra Del Sol (a great organization I might add).

Then the following weekend (10/24) played again with Donn, John and Paul as part of Baconstock over at The Cinema Bar.

Baconstock was a hoot! It was a special 3-day music fest/going away party for The Cinema's beloved bartender Sara Bacon who is leaving for Maine in a week or so. Everyone played in such fine form and the joint was jumpin'! Here's a pic (borrowed from Facebook, thanks Hampton!) of Sara gettin' her grove on and me grinnin' away during Dan Janisch's set.

So, I'm hanging out on the back patio taking a breather from all the Baconstock festivities and I notice all these cool Halloween posters promoting Dan Janisch's "Vicious Draculicious" show. So I ask Dan, who's coincidentally taking a breather too, about his show and he invites me to play a tune special for his Halloween gig.

Well, that show was last night, and man did I fun playing "Devil Went Down To Georgia" with Dan and his god-damn awesome band! The Cinema Bar was all decked out in Halloween gear: smoke poured from a coffin, spiders and ghosts dangled from the ceiling and cool black lights lit the joint. "Devil" and Dan's encore of "She's So Wild" were highlights for me.

And now, I get to do Halloween all over again! My favorite LA rockabilly singer, Brian Hogan, is having me sit in tonight for a special spooktacular set over at The Fox and Hounds Pub in Studio City. And yes, there'll be a repeat performance of "Devil Went Down To Georgia." I can't wait!

With all this performing activity, I'm feeling inspired to get my solo act out there on the scene. Stay tuned...

I will miss you dear Amy

I just heard the very sad news that fiddler/singer/songwriter Amy Farris died over the weekend. I'm at a loss for words and can't believe she is gone.

Amy was so talented and had this magical energy every time she played and sang. I am deeply honored that she touched my life with music and friendship.

My fondest memory of Amy are the few, but very fun fiddle jams we had over iced coffee, giggles and girl talk in her cozy Silverlake apartment with her cute little dachshunds Frances and Keysha.

Amy, I miss you.

PICTURED: Me and Amy peforming with the Hollow Trees at a children's winter festival Dec 2008 and of us twin fiddlin' at the Cinema Bar Sept 2008.

The summer has passed me by

Figured I'd better hurry up and write a little quickie blog so that there's at least one entry for August.

Been keeping a low profile music-wise, but having a little fun checking out the off-the-beaten-path film stuff Hollywood has to offer. Found a great cinema hangout (other than the Cinema Bar) over at the Silent Movie Theater on Fairfax. They even serve free Tecate beer! Diggin' it so much, I'm gonna become a member.

In honor of all the Beatlemania going on these days surrounding the upcoming release of the Beatle Rock Band game, the fine folks at Cinefamily are presenting their British Invasion program at the Silent Movie Theater every Thursday night starting this week (9/3/09). They're even gonna play the Beatle Rock Band game on the big screen. Sounds like fun.

I highly recommend checking this particular cinema scene out!

Star Sighting: Elvis Costello at Amoeba Records

FINALLY! I got to reap the benefits of living in L.A.

Last week, 6/22/09 to be exact, I saw Elvis Costello perform a free show at Amoeba Records THE COOLEST record store in Hollywood AND it was worth every minute of my 4 hour wait.

First, I'll start out this entry with a really good Elvis photo from Amoeba's website and then post pictures from my sucky camera.


I ran into some friends there (shout out to Cleo, Laura, Doug & Kent) and made some new ones too. Pictured below are my Cinema pals Laura and Doug and Steve, a jazz guitarist I met while standing in line along Ivar.

I LOVED THIS SHOW! Elvis performed mostly new material from his latest album Secret, Profane & Sugarcane and a really cool Grateful Dead cover of "A Friend Of The Devil."

And now, the show from the perspective of my sucky camera.

This in-store concert and Elvis's new CD has truly inspired me right now. My favorites are "Down Among The Wine And Spirits," "My All Time Doll," "Crooked Line" and "Sulphur To Sugarcane."

Here's a good crowd shot courtesy of Amoeba.com:

My inner-teenager was so thrilled that with the purchase of a CD you get a free (and way cool) Elvis Amoeba poster plus Elvis's autograph on any one item you choose. I had him sign my poster. Picture taking wasn't allowed in the autograph line, but I was able to sneak this one.

All in all a very fun event! Thanks Amoeba Records and Elvis!!!

In other news, I'm in the beginning stages of recording my DIY mini-CD. It's going pretty good too. Gonna lay low performing solo-wise to dedicate time to recording, but will be playing a few gigs with Murphy's Flaw.

Hopefully, July will have more entries than lately.

Entry #15 Spinal Tap Unplugged

My concert tickets for Unwigged and Unplugged at the Wiltern arrived this morning. Woo-hoo! The show is tomorrow (Sunday 4/26) night and my sister Christy and I can't wait!

Unwigged and Unplugged is Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer. You know, the Spinal Tap dudes! To celebrate the 25th anniversary of This Is Spinal Tap, the famous trio is currently on tour performing all their Spinal Tap and Folksmen (A Mighty Wind) hits acoustically and it goes a little like this . . .



It's been a while since my last post. Been busy working on my new website ediemurphy.com which is up now! My blog is up on the website too.

My next post will likely be about the Unwigged show. I love everything about those guys. I dig what the do! When I grow up I wanna be Harry Shearer.

Entry #14 Happy Easter

Happy Easter everyone! Thought I'd make a quick little post to brag about my friend Peter Kavanaugh. I'm so thrilled that Pete will be playing guitar for my big solo debut, and even more thrilled to discover that he's a songwriter too!

His tune "Pendulum Swing" aired on the Discovery Channel's show Time Warp ("Blades and Volts" episode) last Wednesday. Pete and his band we're also IN the episode too. Way Hollywood!!

So I proudly introduce to my under-a-dozen blog readers, Peter Kavanaugh's "Pendulum Swing" featuring Todd Eckart and Laura Jo DeWitt on vocals and the The Phat Cat Swinger horn section.



And if you're a swinging gate like me, I highly recommended this swingingest dance hall over in Pasadena with live swing music from none other than The Phat Cat Swingers with Peter Kavanaugh on guitar. See ya there, daddy-o!!

Saturday 4/25/09
7:30 - 11:00 pm
Pasadena Baptist Church
75 N. Marengo Ave.
Pasadena, CA 91101
Cost: $15.00

Get there at 7:30 if you want a fun, easy and quick swing dance lesson!!

Entry #13 Hollywood hangout to close the weekend

Another Hollywood live music venue that I enjoy supporting is The Grand Ole Echo over at the Echo, a cool club in that hipster neighborhood Echo Park. The GOE kicks off it's new season today.

My friend Christine Ortega will emcee today's big event and sing a few tunes too. The show will feature: Old Californio releasing their new record, Whispering Pines opening and the pride of the Golden State, I See Hawks In LA closing the night.

In between sets, head outside to the back porch for burgers on the grill and live acoustic music from banjo player Tommy Santee Claws.

The GOE is a free all ages show held every Sunday from 5 - 9 pm through the end of summer at The Echo, 1822 Sunset in Echo Park.

See ya there!