New Year's Eve at TAV CAFE

Celebrate New Year’s Eve 

with the Muddy Basin Ramblers 

TAV CAFE at Taipei Artist Village

In the old days, life was in black and white. Since we’re an old time band, the Muddy Basin Ramblers are kicking it old school this New Year’s Eve. We’re pulling out the stops, donning tuxes and tails, top hats and bowlers, spats and wing tips. It’s going to be a stylish affair, a Black and White Ball, with all the panache we can muster for the party of the year.  Admission is NT$800 per person, and that includes two drinks.

TAV CAFE at the Taipei Artist Village will swing to the sounds of the 1920s and 30s, as David Chen leads the Ramblers in a celebration of the music we love to play -- swing jazz, delta blues, jug band -- a mix of classic covers and originals. Tap your toes, wave your hips, and break a sweat on the dance floor. The music will be hot and fast, slow and smooth, tight and loose, but always with that unique spirit that sets the Ramblers apart.

The Muddy Basin Ramblers formed in 2003, so this show will mark the beginning of our tenth year of playing together. We hope you can join us at the Taipei Artist Village for what promises to be a night to remember (or just a hazy recollection, if you stay real late).

The Muddy Basin Ramblers are

David ‘Chillicothe’ Chen is front and center, calling the tunes, singing lead, and playing one of his vintage guitars or the banjo.

Conor ‘Ginger’ Prunty, our virtuoso harp player, is a shadow of the great Will Shade, and he does double duty on the washtub bass.

Will ‘Slim’ Thelin, the dashing cad on the end, tap dances, blows the jug and trombone, and sings up a storm (although it’s always “a beautiful day” when he’s at the mic).

Sandy ‘Sandman’ Murray, our dapper gent, wails for all he’s worth on the saxophone and strums like there’s no tomorrow on the ukulele.

Tim ‘Thumper’ Hogan puts his tourette’s hand to good use, scratching the Basin beat on the washboard and brushing the blues away on the snare drum and cymbals.

TC ‘Tuff Cat’ Lin plucks the cord of the washtub bass, made from the finest Taiwan PVC, and blows his trumpet like he never did on a Florida high school marching band.

Joining us for this show, and perhaps others if we’re lucky, is Serena ‘Bean’ Engel, cello prodigy, fiddle wrangler, and dulcet-voiced firecracker.

The Ramblers released our self-titled CD in 2007, and it's available at all of our shows, so if you feel like taking the Ramblers home with you after our last set, that can be arranged.

Intimate Show at Bobwundaye, Saturday, Nov. 24, 9:30PM

As a touring band, the Ramblers always seem to be on the road. Last month, we were in Taichung at the Jazz Festival. Over the summer, we spent more time on a boat in Tamsui than we did at the riverside in Bitan. For a change of place, our upcoming show will be a down home affair. We're not taking the medicine show to you; we're inviting you to our home-away-from-home -- Bobwundaye.

Date: November 24
Time: 9:30 P.M. (UPDATED)
Venue: Bobwundaye
Address: 77 Heping E. Road, Section 2, Taipei, Taiwan
Cover charge: NT$200

Scratch that information on your wall and clear your schedule. This promises to be a riotous affair.

Truth be told, the Ramblers gather almost every week at Bobwundaye (we call it Bob's), but we keep the security door down almost all the way. Inside, we're working on our music. We are not totally unnoticed, however. A fair number of innocents hear an unexpected blues or swing number in the air as they walk by on the sidewalk and bend down and peer into the darkness to look for the source.

Oddly enough, for as much time as we spend there, we've never had our own public show at Bob's. There was a private show for Dave's family once, and a few times when we shared the evening's stage with other artists, but this Saturday's show will be the first time we bring to bear the full Muddy on this bastion of bohemian basin bars, Bob's. Got carried away with the alliteration there for a moment.

Some call our music jug, others blues, but there's no denying the jazzy swing. You'll hear brass and strings, harp and horn, jug and board, drum and tub, songs old and new (but mostly old), and a tap or two. We'll be giving thanks the best way we know how, shaking the walls and rattling the panes with our wound up, twisted round, straight ahead, double-back, sweet yet savory sound.

Oh, yeah. It's an intimate show, so grab someone you care about deeply, or a stranger on the street that you'd like to know better, and come on along to Bob's this Saturday. We'll be raising a ruckus!

Taichung Jazz Festival 2012

The Ramblers are heading south this Saturday, October 20, to perform at the Taichung Jazz Festival.

We'll be appearing in a parade at 1:30 and on the J2 Stage at 4 P.M. If you've never been to this event, it's free and held on Civil Boulevard near Sogo. You can find directions and a map here.

There will be many great acts from the 20th to the 28th, including the Ellis Marsalis Trio with Jason Marsalis on the evening of the 28th.

This is a gig we've wanted to do for a long time, and we're glad to finally have the chance. This won't be our first trip to Taichung. We played at the first Blues Bash and also at the club 89K in November 2005. 

At 89K

The first Blues Bash was a warm-spirited but freezing cold inauguration to D.C. Rapier's more-than-annual celebration of the Blues. That year, Joanna Connor and Peter "Bonzo" Radvanyi, founder of the Dobrofestival in Trnava, Slovakia, were the headliners. David went out to Trnava to perform at the Dobrofestival in 2006.

Peter "Bonzo" Radvanyi

Memorable events for us at the first BSOT Bash were having our set interrupted by Taichung's mayor and (Sandy's old boss) Jason Hu, and the sight of flaming 50-gallon drums surrounded by musicians and fans trying to warm their hands in the courtyard of Tiger City Mall.

We made another journey to the Central City to play at Luv Stock in 2010. That was an unforgettable event for so many reasons, not the least of which were Landis picking us up at the HSR station in his redneck jeep, a homemade airplane buzzing the former amusement park where the event was held, and the audience standing in an empty swimming pool in front of the stage.

If you're making plans for this weekend, come to the 10th annual Taichung Jazz Festival this Saturday.

An MBR Double-Header for the Ides of September

September 2012 is a busy month for the Ramblers; we've got two shows this weekend, and another next Sunday. We hope you can make it to at least one of these shows. Geographically, they're spread around the Taipei Basin, so one of them should be conveniently located.

I'm not really sure what the significance of a flying saucer (washtub) is, but Rambler TC's photographic artistry is undeniable. That's Slim at a park we affectionately call the Trainyard, since that is what used to occupy this space between Huashan Arts District and the Taipei Artist Village.

Tomorrow, Saturday, September 15, we'll be performing at the Black Town Music Festival in Nangang. We're on stage from 3:50 to 4:20 P.M.

Here's the poster for that gig. It's interesting that our band's name is listed in Chinese, while other groups have their English name posted instead.

You can find information about the venue via the link above, but we've also marked the spot on Google Maps. All of the Ramblers are looking forward to this gig because we'll be performing for people who probably haven't had much exposure to the type of music that we play. Plus, the old factory in Nangang where we'll be playing reminds us of performing at Huashan prior to its makeover by the city. We've previously worked with one of the promoters when we performed at an art gallery/workshop on Tihua Street, in Taipei's old Tataocheng district. Here's a video shot when we played on the sidewalk in front of that gallery. You can see we had a few swing dancers in attendance, and we expect that a few might follow us to Nangang as well. Here's a link to our Facebook page. Perhaps you want to advertise to your FB friends just how hip you are by liking it.

On Sunday, September 16, we'll be taking part in the Blues Queens Cruise organized by bluesman Cooky (from Cooky and Friends) at Asicom International. This is a charity event, with the proceeds being used to help the people of Orchid Island recover from Typhoon Tembin in late August.

Tembin flattened the supermarket on the island Aug. 28, destroyed six houses and damaged about 40-50 others when it slammed ashore.

The storm kicked up six-meter high waves that sank boats seeking shelter in Kaiyuan Harbor. Electricity was knocked out islandwide during the typhoon but had since been restored in most areas, according to the Taitung county government. The island's only gas station was also destroyed.

The Ministry of the Interior said it had transported 2,000 kg of food and 1,500 kg of other relief supplies to Orchid Island a day earlier. from Focus Taiwan

 If you heard about the Blues Cruise Maiden Voyage in July but were not able to attend, here's your chance to experience a blues extravaganza on the Tamsui River's only steamboat-esque party boat, the Ying Fong.

As far as I know, the only Blues Queen who will be performing is Japan's own Nacomi, who along with her amazing band, regularly makes the pilgrimage to Taipei to perform at the Blues Bash. Also appearing is Shun Kikuta, a Japanese blues guitar sensation who came to Taiwan via Chicago, where he was in Koko Taylor's band.

The Ramblers, the only band without a Japanese member to perform at this event, will be playing twice, once on the dock alongside the Ying Fong as passengers arrive to board, and once more on the third level of the boat. That's the best place to enjoy the view along the river and the famous Tamsui sunset.


Here's a video (shot by friend of the band G. Smoke) of us making waves on the dock in Guandu at the Maiden Voyage. The Blues Queens Cruise will be starting and finishing at the ferry terminal in Tamsui. You can find a map with directions on the Blues Queens Cruise website, but the easiest way to get to the boat is to take the MRT to Tamsui, take a left when you exit the station, and walk up the waterfront (that's downstream, if you're watching the way the water flows) for about 10 minutes. You'll see the Ying Fong in all her glory, and probably a crowd of locals checking out the Ramblers as we share our southern basin sound with a northern audience.

Tickets go on sale at 3:30, we'll play our first set at 4:30, and the boat leaves the dock at 5. Admission to this event is only NT$300 per person, but if you feel like kicking in extra for the recovery efforts on Orchid Island, I'm sure your donation will be welcomed.

Looking forward to partying with you this weekend, and if you can't make it to either of these two shows, we'll see you at Blues Bash 9 on September 23 at Taipei Artist Village.

August 25 at Taipei Artist Village

You are hereby invited to spend an evening with David Chen & the Muddy Basin Ramblers at Taipei Artist Village on Saturday, August 25.

The show will begin at about 8:30 and be finished by 12.

Entry is NT$350 and includes one drink.

Now that you've made plans to come see us, let me fill you in on what we've been up to.

We've been busy rehearsing over the summer. As much as we like air conditioning and privacy, we love playing down on the riverside at Bitan even more. We've had a couple of great Sunday afternoon/evenings with the crowds in Xindian.

Our most recent public event was July 28 on the Blues Cruise organized by the Blues Society on Taiwan (BSOT). A three-level riverboat carried 200 guests and seven blues acts, including Shun Kikuta, Bopomofo, the Blues Vibrations, BB Cooky, Nick Brown, Mike Mudd, and the Ramblers, from the wharf at Kuandu down to the mouth of the Tamsui River and back. It was an awesome evening. We played on the dock as people boarded the boat, and then once more on the top level as the sun set over Kuanyin Mountain. Here's a video shot by our friend Gary Smoke.

Looking ahead, the 2012 Blues Bash Party will be taking place at Taipei Artist Village on September 23 from 2 PM to 11 PM. The headliners this year are Magda Piskorczyk and Aleksandra Siemieniuk, both from Poland. Check the BSOT website to learn more about this event. The Ramblers will be there, and so should you.

If you haven't already, follow David Chen & the Muddy Basin Ramblers on Facebook. You'll learn about upcoming shows and find links to photos and videos.

New Year's Eve 2012 at Taipei Artist Village

Most holidays, the Ramblers celebrate on their own. This year, we're inviting you to join our party.


We'll be back at one of our favorite venues, the Taipei Artist Village. By now, you know the place from earlier posts, so it hardly seems necessary to remind you that it's at No. 7 Beiping Road. near the Shantao Temple MRT Station.

This event is being billed as a black-tie affair, and yes, the Ramblers will be turned out in their finest, but we always are. This black and white party will be a chance for the audience to dress to impress us, instead of the other way around.

The show kicks off at 10 and will go until the wee hours. I expect there will be a countdown to midnight.

We've invited a few guest artists to join us if they can, but you'll have to show up at the gig to find out who they are. If you've got a reasonable excuse for seeing in the New Year somewhere other than at TAV, well then I suppose you could check back here for the post-party wrap up in a few days.

We'd much rather you came down and celebrated the New Year with us. 2012 has received some bad press in the past, but the latest forecast is no doomsday for at least a couple more years.

We didn't get around to making a poster for this affair, but here's a photo of the Ramblers getting ready for our show last year at the Flower Expo.

That's the state of mind we're in right now. Getting ready for a big show. Looking forward to seeing you at TAV on Saturday, December 31, at 10 PM.

Blues Bash Blues Party 8

The Muddy Basin Ramblers will be playing at the Blues Bash Blues Party 8 this Saturday at Dream Girls, Core Pacific Mall (Living Mall) 京華城購物中心. For those unfamiliar with the (Death Star) Living Mall, it's at 138 Bade Rd. Sec. 4. Dream Girls is located on the 12th floor.

We'd like to invite all fans of the Blues to come join this annual event. It's hard to believe this will be the 8th one, but the number is there on the ad for the show, so it must me true.


DC Rapier, organizer of BBBP8, released this schedule of the acts that will be performing.


17:00   DOORS OPEN
17:10   FUNSONG BAND
17:35   TAIPEI ROCKETS 88
18:00   KENYATTA FUNK STERS
18:25   BB COOKY & STEVIE
19:00   BLUES VIBRATIONS
19:40   DAVID CHEN & MUDDY BASIN RAMBLERS
20:20   MARIMBA , CELLO & DRUM SESSION by Cadeson Musical
20:45   BOPOMOFO WITH SHUN KIKUTA
21:35   NACOMI BAND
22:15   JAM SESSION
22:30   Go to Bobwundaye's for more Blues and more fun!

As you can see from the last item in the schedule, the party will be traveling to Bobwundaye for the Blues Bash Blues Party's after-Blues Bash Blues Party.

The Blues Bash is one of our favorite events of the year. It's a great chance to see friends and listen to great music,  

We hope you make it out. We'll have CDs for sale, so if you feel like taking us home, you can.

To whet your appetite, here''s a video of us at last year's show.

Muddy Basin Octoberfest

No, we didn't play a gig to celebrate Octoberfest, but we did put on a show to welcome David's family at Bobwundaye.

Coincidentally, it was also October 10th, the 100th anniversary of the the founding of the Republic of China.I don't think any of the Ramblers made it down to the spectacle in the square in front of the Presidential building, however.

Instead, the highlight of our day was performing for David's relatives, including his father, who had never seen his son perform on guitar before.We played two sets featuring many of our favorite songs, and certainly some that will end up on our next CD.

This show was different than our last one at Daniel Pearl Day for two reasons. First, Sandy had returned from Scotland, so we had our usual sax sound. Much thanks to Louis Goldford for filling in for Sandy while he was away. Louis has now left Taiwan for the States, and we look forward to his return.

Another difference was the lack of percussion. The washboard man was recovering from surgery on his right hand and arm and was unable to accompany the band as he is accustomed to. Instead, he grabbed his one-button video camera and filmed two songs while on stage with the band. If you've ever wondered what it's like to stand amongst the Ramblers while they play, this video puts you in that very position. Hear how loud the sax and bone sound when you get in the way, and the roar that comes out of Dave's steel guitar.

The next public performance for the Ramblers will likely be at Blues Bash Party 8, being held at Dream Girls at the Core Pacific Mall on Nov. 5. According to the event's founder/organizer DC Rapier, tickets will be on sale at the door. The event will take place from 5 PM to 11 PM. Expect to see local favorites from Taiwan's blues scene as well as international acts here especially for the show. Check the above website for more information as the day approaches.

Daniel Pearl Day of Music

Harmony for Humanity

Daniel Pearl World Music Days is an international network of concerts that use the power of music to reaffirm our commitment to tolerance and humanity.

 

Taipei will be honoring the Daniel Pearl Day of Music this Sunday, September 11, 2011. More than a dozen bands will be performing on two stages at Huashan Grassland Park. The first act to perform will be our old friends Two Acres Plowed on the Roots Stage at 1 PM. The last show will be Jam w/Butter at 9 PM. See the full stage schedule at the bottom of this post.

David Chen and the Muddy Basin Ramblers will be performing at 7 PM on the Roots Stage. Dark Eyes will be on before us at 6, and Blues Vibration will follow us at 8.

 

We’ve become something of a fixture at Taipei’s Daniel Pearl Day, having performed at the 2004 show at Taipei Artist Village and many others since then. We have great memories of Daniel Pearl Days gone by, some high voltage, and others high octane.

David will never forget shorting out the sound system at the 2004 show by plugging a 110-volt PA into a 220-volt socket, while TC undoubtedly enjoyed a memorable pitcher of mojitos at the 2007 show held at 44 South Village. 

The Daniel Pearl Day show at Huashan in 2009 was unforgettable as it featured FODfest, a band that included Daniel Pearl’s friend and fellow musician Todd Mack. Here's a short video of the Ramblers jamming with FODfest member Chris Merenda.

The next evening, there was another jam bringing together the Ramblers and FODfest at Taipei Artist Village. 

Todd will be making the return journey to Taipei to perform at Daniel Pearl Day this year. He’ll be jamming with Blues Vibration, featuring the Ramblers’ Conor Prunty on harp.

In fact, Todd will perform several times in Taipei in the coming days. He’ll take the stage with Blues Vibration at Bobwundaye at 9 PM on Thursday, September 8, and he’ll also be at TEDx Taipei on Saturday, September 10.

We hope to see you at Daniel Pearl Day 2011. Bring the family.

時間 | TIME: 9/11（日/Sun）13:00-22:00 中秋節
地點｜PLACE: Huashan Grassland @ Beiping E. Rd + Linsen N. Rd
捷運｜ MRT: 善導寺 Shandao Temple Stn
入場｜ ticket: 免費！ FREE ENTRY!

  

Roots Stage
1pm     2 Acres Plowed
130pm Opening Ceremony
2pm     BoPoMoFo -ㄅㄆㄇㄈ
3pm     Funky Brothers 放客兄弟
4pm     Passiwali 巴西瓦里
5pm     Les Enveloppes Rouges 紅包
6pm     Dark Eyes 夜暮之眼
7pm     David Chen and the Muddy Basin Ramblers
8pm     Todd Mack w/ Blues Vibration
9pm     Jam w/ butter

Rock n Reggae Stage
130pm  Mary Bites Kerry 瑪莉咬凱利
230pm  Skycruiser
330pm  The HJ’s
430pm  Taimaica Sound System 台買加音效組織
530pm  High Tide
630pm  Pan Africana
730pm  Skerrit Bwoy
8pm     Kou Chou Ching 拷秋勤
9pm     Hang in the Air 盪在空中

Bobwundaye is Back

Last evening was the soft, soft opening of the new, bigger Bobwundaye. The joint was hopping as friends old and new showed up to check out the new digs. Kat and River were behind the bar, while Conor and Paul mingled with the crowd.

The Ramblers were represented by David, Sandy, Tim, and Conor. Wee Sandy, our honorary roadie, was back o' the bar, jumping on barstools, scaring up petrified cicadas out front, and gettin his finger caught in cupboard doors.

Since it was a soft opening, the interior wasn't finished yet, but the all important bar was up and running. It is the same one from the old Bob's, so a familiar air is lent to the new establishment. The back wall mural is there, too, as are the chessboard top tables.

Conor, Lanny, Darren, and Sandy provided musical entertainment. New Bob's is quite a bit larger than its predecessor, so there is ample room for a band in the back. It remains to be seen how the interior decor will be finished, but the trial gig last night proved the space is amenable to performance.

There was talk of a jam at Bobwundaye on September 8 when Todd Mack will be in town for Daniel Pearl Day. Stay tuned to find out more about that.

The Ramblers are ramping up for our show at Taipei Artist Village on August 27. We're all looking forward to getting together for some musical high jinx. Hope to see you there.

Hot August Night

 

In some parts of the northern hemisphere, summer is winding down, but not here in Taipei. In the Muddy Basin, it’s as hot and sticky as ever. To celebrate the heat, the Ramblers will be performing at the Village Café at Taipei Artist Village on Saturday, August 27, 2011.

We played there last month with the dancers from Taipei Swing, and we had such a great time, we can’t stay away. If you missed the last show, here’s a video that our friend Chenbl shot and put up on TC’s YouTube channel.

Things will be a little different this time around. We asked one of Taipei’s hottest duos, The Red Cliff, to share the bill with us. They’ve been on our radar this year, and we’re looking forward to enjoying their show. From Indievox

The Red Cliff are a 2-piece acoustic band born from the loins of the Darvill and Cole dynasties. Although individually uncouth and erratic, their music comes together to form a refined and consistent sound. Influenced by American and English rock and folk artists, The Red Cliff seek to find the very opposite sound to that of being awoken by a Taoist parade at 6am.

You can sample some of The Red Cliff's tunes on YouTube. 

Django Saveage 

Koxinga

In Plain Clothes 

About the Show

 

We’re expecting The Red Cliff to kick off their show at about 9 PM.  The Ramblers will finish out the evening with our own brand of foot-stomping, finger-snapping, toe-tapping jazzy jug band blues. The door charge is NT$300, and that includes one drink.

We look forward to seeing you there. Bring a friend; they’re great for dancing with!

Village Cafe is at No. 7 Beiping E. Road, Taipei, Taiwan

Other News

 

Our old friend and Village Café lao ban (boss), Jason Su, bid farewell to the TAV and headed toward a new project. We’ll miss Jason’s special brand of hospitality, but we wish him the best of luck and look forward to seeing his latest endeavor take wing. Jason is a gold mine wherever he ends up, so all we can say is, Ah Bon! The Village Café will remain a venue for live music, so keep this gem on your list of Taipei treasures.

The whisper about town is that there will be a soft, soft opening for the new, bigger Bobwundaye, aka Bob’s, this Friday, August 19. If you know Kat on Facebook, you may have seen the notice, but if not, the address is No. 77 Heping E. Road, Sec. 3. That’s on the north side of the street, between Tunhwa S. Road and Anhe Road.