New management team
May 7, 2013
Guess what? We couldn't be more pleased to welcome Billy Cohen and Colleen Kennedy over at Labyrynth Productions as our official management team. Billy was a talent buyer, manager, bon vivant, event manager, and a whole lot more for an eternity in the bay area and Colleen worked with Bill Graham for many years. They organize ginormous events, like Bay to Breakers. They rock! www.labyrynth.com
Special guest Diego Garcia at Jenny Kerr and Friends show June 8
April 10, 2013
We are pleased to welcome Diego "El Twanguero" Garcia (Spain, Argentina, Mexico)who will be joining Jenny Kerr and Friends for a special show on Saturday, June 8 at the Plough and the Stars for his premiere San Francisco appearance. We shared the stage at the International Guitar Festival in Zihuatanejo and were wowed by this phenomenal guitar player. Diego mixes flamenco and Americana styles into an astounding and fiery brew. Please join him and other special friends for this special night. Did we say "special"? More details on the tour page.
Zihuatanejo International Guitar Festival
December 26, 2012
We are honored to announce that we have been selected to perform at the 10th anniversary of this wonderful non-profit festival. It is held in Zihuatanejo, Mexico from March 3-10, 2013. It will be our seventh appearance. It's really fun. You should hop a plane and come on down.
Radio Valencia
December 15, 2012
Tune in to SF's own Radio Valencia 2-4 pm this Sunday for Quarterman Jack's show, Bakersfield Backbeat at . Philbillie and I are gonna be on the air live singing some new tunes off the soon-to-be released CD, "Head of Fire."
"Blossom in the Dust" chosen by BMI Song of the Month
December 7, 2012
Jenny just won the BMI Community Song Pick of the Month for December. It's "Blossom In The Dust" which she just finished up. You could have a listen for yourself here on soundcloud.
Jenny Kerr featured on Hermonicas website
November 2, 2011
A very cool website that focuses on women who play the harp is running an article I wrote about our recent tour in Maui. Lots of pix, too. www.hermonicas.com
Maui Tour with Eric McFadden
August 15, 2011
Yes, we're going to Maui for a string of shows from the end of August to mid-September. Eric will be joining us at Stella Blues, Charleys, and Casanova. Yeah! Check this site and Facebook for complete dates and latest pix. We'll be posting for sure.
New festival Just Strings Music Festival in Geyserville
August 14, 2011
We take the stage Sunday Aug. 14 at 5 PM, just before headliners Charles Neville & Youssoupha Sidibe with The Mystic Rhythms Band. David Grisman Quintet headlines Saturday. Brought to you from the super-cool friends who were responsible for the Zihuatanejo International Guitar Festival in Mexico, they have organized what promises to be a super-string fest in Geyserville. Hey, I even helped figure out the name! Get the details at www.juststringsamusicfestival.com
Jenny Kerr song chosen for indie film at SF International LGBT Film Festival
May 28, 2011
"Suzy's Blues" has been chosen for "Running in Heels: The Glendon "Anna Conda" Hyde Story" that will premiere June 19th. The film follows Glendon “Anna Conda” Hyde on the campaign trail during his run for San Francisco District 6 Supervisor during the 2010 election season. This heartwarming documentary features interviews with campaign workers and community members, as well as real footage from the campaign trail, highlighting Hyde’s commitment to grassroots efforts in the city. Running in Heels is a flattering portrait of the drag queen and community organizer’s commitment to social change.Directed by Dain Percifield
Women who Play Harmonica
May 28, 2011
Jenny is featured on a cool website, that focuses on women who play harp, put together by Norman Davis.
Bill Bottrell track on upcoming CD
February 10, 2011
Philbillie and I have been working feverishly on the new CD, "The Good Life." We have some of the finest musicians in the Bay Area and beyond, and a special track produced by Bill Bottrell. I'm very excited about this CD. It's been a long time coming and has some of my best material on it. I just know you're gonna love it. We've got some videos posted of some of the sessions on our youtube channel jennykerrband and on my blog, "Jenny's Kitchen." We'll post some tracks and other fun stuff, too, so you can get on down to the real nitty gritty and see what goes on behind the scenes.
Parents' Choice Silver Medal Award for "Chicken and ABC's"
October 8, 2010
Marisa Martinez just got the word that the kids' CD we released last May has received the very prestigious Parents' Choice Silver Award. Phil produced it here at Okey Doke Studio and Marisa wrote most of the songs (I wrote one of them, "Schroedinger's Cat")with special guest appearances from Eric McFadden, Paulo Baldi, Sam Bass, Mike Anderson and myself.
Here's the review:
Aimed at the pre-K to second grade set, the eighteen songs on Chicken & ABC's help kids learn counting, naming the days of the week, spelling, social skills and other important lessons. Marisa Martinez has been a full-time kindergarten teacher for ten years, and she has sung and played these songs with her classes for years. Martinez gathered a few friends, who happen to be some of the most noteworthy players in San Francisco, to contribute bass, drums, guitars, cello and tuba to the recording. Martinez herself provides acoustic guitar and sings in a strong, clear voice, reminiscent of Maria Muldaur. Song highlights include her "Phonic Song," "Vowel Song," "Days of the Week," "Months of the Year," (in English and Spanish), the "Four Seasons," and a couple of nice songs about self esteem ("Believe in Yourself" and "Flying to the Moon"). Also of note is "Schroedinger's Cat," a fun science song about a scientist and his cat, and a Bo Diddley influenced rendition of the African American poem "Dem Bones Dem Bones." The album ends with a curious version of Jimi Hendrix's "Little Wing," that somehow works as a kid's number.
Chicken & ABC's is a very enjoyable and educational CD for young children.
Lahri Bond ©2010 Parents' Choice.
Lyrics, additional activities and supplemental educational material are available at her website.
Mrs. Martinez and Kinder Rock Band
http://www.abcandchickens.com and Amazon.com
49th Annual International Camel Races with Sopwith Camel
September 10, 2010
Sept. 10 and 11 Jenny Kerr will perform with the seminal SF psychedelic group, Sopwith Camel, at one of first-ever pyschedelic venues, the Red Dog Saloon in historic Virginia City, for the year's best-attended albeit strangest event, the International Camel Races.
In true Virginia City spirit, the Camel Races began as a hoax. History has it that in the late 1800s camels were used in the Nevada desert country to carry the salt used to reclaim silver and ore. But when the country drooped into a depression, most mining operations were forced to abandon their mines. What did they do with the surplus of their fur-humped friends? The bankrupt operators decided to let them run loose into the desert, where many camels roamed wildly until their American extinction in 1936. But in 1960, camels returned to the desert when Clark Gable, Marilyn Monroe and director John Huston were in Virginia City filming The Misfits. The story goes that two newspapers, the San Francisco Chronicle and the Phoenix Sun, challenged each other to a camel race. Huston, riding for the Chronicle, won.
To celebrate this unique history, Virginia City now imports camels for their annual September race, where an average of 27 jockeys climb on top of these curious creatures every year and try to get them to run, which isn't always so easy.
Camels are known to have short attention spans but can also get pretty crazy, which means sometimes the camels leave their riders in the dust, face first in the dust. The race is "International" because Australians show up every odd year to try to take the crown away from us namby-pamby Americans. While you have to be a pro camel jockey (there was one?) to ride, all you need is $8 to watch. Other events include ostrich races and the rare water buffalo stampede.
Twang Nation Jamboree
August 25, 2010
We are tickled pink to be headlining Twang Nation's first-ever Americana Jamboree at the Red Devil Lounge in San Francisco. From the home of the premier Americana music event in the country, the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival, Twang Nation Americana and roots music blog is proud to present the Twang Nation Jamboree showcasing the best of local Americana and roots bands and performers. We're appearing with Mars Arizona and Pork Chop Express.
Mark Karan (Ratdog) to perform with Jenny Kerr Band for "Twang 4 Tots" Benefit
June 4, 2010
This just in: guitarist Mark Karan who for 12 years was lead guitarist with Bob Weir's Ratdog will be playing with us Friday, June 4th. (As you may remember, Bobbie played in a little band call The Grateful Dead.) Our own Philbillie got to know him back when he was a guitar tech for Mr. Weir. Also on this amazing show will be San Francisco's own Guitar God, Eric McFadden, neo-ragtime guitar stylist JL Stiles and singer/songwriter Leon Bristow, who we know you're gonna love.
Thanks to all for your support. We and the tots look forward to seeing you.
Smokin' Studio 'n' Stuff
February 18, 2010
Well, Philbillie finally reached deep into his pockets and bought some of the coolest gear for our studio, including a Royer R121 ribbon mic that makes your voice sound like the voice you hear in your head. Warm, round and scrump-tili-umptious. He's working on a slew on cool CDs, too. Eric McFadden's latest (I'll be singing, playing piano and harmonica--aren't you proud of me?). Marisa Martinez is doing an incredible children's CD. She's a teacher out at Hunter's Point, the poorest and most neglected district in SF--Philbillie will be out there recording the kids singing backup vocals, and Marisa has been received a grant from donations to do this. Wilson Gil (Wilson Gil and the Willful Sinners) cut a killer CD that should be released shortly. Lastly, J.Byrd Hosch, formerly of the Kuntry Kunts, rad lesbo band from the 90's, is doing her latest release in a long long time. She's the best writer. In fact Crystal Gayle picked up at least one of J. Byrd's songs, and it will be appearing on Gayle's next CD.
"Clear A Path" featured on PBS Series Road Trip Nation
November 11, 2009
Listen to "Clear A Path" on the PBS series "Road Trip Nation." Here's the link to Episode 5. The entire episode is great, but it you want to skip to our little bit, we're on at 4:49 where the gals are learning how to drive a big ol' RV. If you haven't been hipped to it yet, the show is oddly addictive and they are a big supporter of independent artists, so check it out.
Thanks to all of you who participated in the Children's Book Project Benefit this year.
June 8, 2009
The venue was extraordinary, the sound stage sublime, and the Meyer sound system positively explosive. It was great to see some of the old music crowd from days gone by, folks who had worked with Chet Helms, Dave who worked at the Paradise, guys from the Maritime Hall, and a gaggle of the usual freaks and weirdos that we love so well. All in all, a great event for a great cause. Children's Book Project
Tweet, Tweet!
April 20, 2009
Well, I have checked it out, seen all the hype and twittering and tweeting and it still seems like a really fun and effective way to keep in close touch with all one's peeps. So if you are among the legion with an account, then come on over and let me know what you're doing. My Twitter name is "frailinjenny". If you have not yet checked it all out, you can sign up here
Back from Mexico and back to work!
April 14, 2009
We had a great time at The Zihuatanejo International Guitar Festival this year. There's a new blog entry about all the fun we had with some photos, too. And now we're back in the studio working on new material for the upcoming release as well as remixing instrumental versions of old material for licensing, and we might release some of these as free bonus downloads for you, our special fans. Keep your eyes peeled here!
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