Music and more tonight & tomorrow

Tonight (Friday): the smooth and comfy acoustic stylings of Mr. Lloyd Rohr. 8:00pm. Come on down and unwind after a long week (it was long for me anyway).

Lloyd Rohr

Tomorrow (Saturday): Matt & Steph Davies in from Chicago. 8:00pm. Really wonderful folk music. Steph is an artist who will have an exhibition here on Nov. 7, and her hubby Matt is a heckuva fine guitar player and songwriter, and the two of them make a very fine combo. BUT WAIT, there's more! Our own Becky Markvart will be sitting in a bit with Matt and Steph too. Now that should be fun and I'm anxious to see and hear them perform together (Becky also told me that she has written a special "Stumpjack song" that she'll be unveiling Saturday night...gonna be a fun evening).

We've been working hard on trying to pull things together for the wine and tapas bar thingy (my excuse for the lack of posting this past few days). Have a few sets of images to put on from the last week or so as well...today I promise, maybe within the hour.

The knee is packed in ice and I am thinking that I may have to go see a witchdoctor after all (the "rub some dirt on it" remedy was only moderately successful).

Art exhibit and EthnicFest music

Sunflowers by Keith Smith

Currently on display through early November: The Landscape Photography of Keith Smith. We put these photos up last week and have received numerous compliments on them every day since then. These photos are quite nice, and have helped give the shop a very relaxing and comforting vibe. They make me want to get outside and take a walk through the woods or a boat down a stream.

Goose Family by Keith Smith

Saturday is the annual EthnicFest celebration in Two Rivers. It's a big deal around here with several thousand folks milling about and enjoying the food, music, weather and community. It's a busy day for us, so be sure to stop in for a coffee...jump in the long line that inevitably forms and you'll have a story to tell your friends (Stumpjack was busier than a beehive!).

Whiskey Jars... Nick and Brian

And then either stick around town or come back around 8:00 for the return of Whiskey Jars & Scandals, the Milwaukee blues rock duo of Nick Weiland and Brian Sanchez. These guys play raw, tough and rockin blues...their own tunes and full of with a lot of passion and energy. We're planning on recording them for a later CD release so come on down, shout and clap a lot and be a part of the recording.

This weekend: a mid-day musical soiree

Eric Nassau

This Friday night (Sept 12th) Mr. Goodtime, Kerry Michaels, will be groovin' the Stump at 8:00pm. Fresh off of his successful and finely received SputnikFest performance with guitar whiz Tom Reynolds, Kerry will be playing some new tunes from the new CD he's working on.

Kerry Michaels

Eric Nassau poster...click to enlarge

Then, on Saturday (Sept. 13th) for a not-entirely-unusual noontime show (I think we've had three noontime shows now in the past couple years), folk troubadour and talented songwriter Eric Nassau will be performing at Stumpjack while on his current tour of Midwest cities. Eric is the real deal and you can get a taste of what I'm talking about by going to his myspace site and listening to some of his music (http://www.myspace.com/ericnassauandfriends). Eric has performed with a lot of well-known artists, a few of whom are mentioned in this release that the Herald Times Reporter published online here. So come on down for lunch and the chance to hear some mighty fine live music from a man with a beard that makes those guys in ZZTop jealous.

Nick Venturella at Stumpjack this Saturday!

Becky Markvart will be performing at the Stump this Friday at 8:00. More to come...

But first I want to post this excellent press release from Nick Venturella announcing his show here this coming Saturday (that's KiteFest weekend in Two Rivers). Nick's shows are simply the most fun shows of just about anyone who plays here, you will thoroughly have a blast, I promise.

Here's the release:

Nick Venturella is a folk/rock/garage/pop singer-songwriter who delivers smart songs with simplistic savvy and contagious enthusiasm.

While only 28 years old, Venturella has been writing and performing his music for 14+ years. On more of a pertinent note, Venturella has been performing locally in Two Rivers, Wisconsin at Stumpjack Coffee Company regularly for close to a year now. So, if you’ve missed his previous shows the upcoming August 30^th performance will be your next opportunity to catch Nick Venturella.

Venturella's music stems from personal experiences and observations of life, relationships and self-awareness…think John Mayer and The BoDeans meet Ryan Adams, Roger Clyne and Dashboard Confessional. Plus, with a loose personable performance style, Venturella connects well with his audiences making each show a memorable one (be sure to have a joke in mind if you plan to attend the show).

Venturella is originally from St. Louis, MO, but got his musical start in Waukesha, WI. For the last few years he has lived in Madison. However, in the last year Venturella traveled across the country from Anchorage, Alaska to Raleigh, North Carolina trying to figure out where he might land next and decided on a little spot just north of the Milwaukee area. Nick Venturella performs throughout the upper Midwest at colleges, coffee shops, restaurants/bars, and private parties.

Venturella has had the opportunity to open for and work with some outstanding performers, including: Jason LaVasseur (Authentic Records), Copeland (The Militia Group), Catchpenny, John Hermanson (of Storyhill & Alva Star), Sean Michael Dargan, Mark Croft (Abacus Records), Ryan McIntyre and many more.

Coming off of the momentum recently created from his appearance at Summerfest 2008 Venturella is gaining a loyal following through his live performances, online social networks, college radio, and "through the grapevine" fan distribution of his music.

Venturella has six albums available for sale. His latest is primarily a live album, Premium Blend, as well as his latest full-length studio album, SweetSonic.

Don’t forget to check out Venturella’s website, MySpace and Facebook pages:
www.nickvmusic.net (official site)

www.myspace.com/nickventurella (MySpace)

http://www.facebook.com/people/Nick_Venturella/519525136 (Facebook)

See you at the show…

Check the Kites Over Lake Michigan kite festival then come out to the show…

Saturday August 30, 2008

Show starts at 8:00 p.m. at…

Three things

Uno: We have a few copies of Tina Kugler's most excellent SputnikFest poster on hand, featuring her cool retro SputnikBabe. These are numbered, limited edition posters (100 in the edition) screen printed on heavy stock, signed and numbered by Tina. If you're into excellent art work, all things retro or vintage, one-of-a-kind (or 100-of-a-kind) cool posters, or know someone who is (cool gift), then this thing is definitely for you. It's the inaugural poster for the very first annual SputnikFest event in Manitowoc county. The second best part of this is that they're dang inexpensive too...only $18...which is really kind of a crazy cheap price for something of this quality. I'm having mine matted and framed and it's going in my home office. Get 'em while they're hot, baby!

Dos: We have a really exceptional weekend of live music scheduled this week. On Friday (the 22nd) Ethan Keller is returning from Milwaukee. If you saw Ethan when he was here a few months ago you know how exceptionally good this guy is. If you like jazzy, funky guitar and appreciate exceptional musicianship and songwriting Ethan is the man to see. Last time he played we had a bunch of local musicians in the house as Ethan "built" a number of songs from the floor up right in front of everyone...the local guys were mighty impressed and all raved about what he was doing. You can listen to some of Ethan's music on his myspace site: http://www.myspace.com/ethankeller. 8:00pm Friday night.

Tres: On Saturday night Pat Zyduck will be doing his first gig at the Stump. We're pumped for this one too, because Pat has been to a few shows here when friends of his were playing and has actually sat in once or twice during breaks to play his own music. He was excellent, and his CD ("I Never Wanna Meet Another You") is a kicker too, so we scheduled a date and this Saturday (the 23rd) is it. Pat's music is a tight mix of blues-based rock with an old time country vibe hiding underneath (I think his Dad was a session guitarist who worked in Nashville). 8:00pm Saturday. You can hear some of Pat's music on his myspace site at: http://www.myspace.com/patzyduck.

We have some new eurobrews in the beer cooler this week too, including the English Fuller's 1845 Ale and Blanche de Namur, a Belgium Witbier (it's a biggie, over pint in a cool heavy glass bottle).