Blues band and San Diego favorites Lady Dottie and the Diamonds were on These Days this morning,  doing their best to get Tom Fudge to stand up and pull out some James Brown moves in the studio. Though the band brought their trademark raw bluesy sound, Tom remained seated.  He did, however, have a big smile on his face.  It would take a lot to get Tom to dance, but I swear Lady Dottie almost made him testify!  The band has a new, self-titled album out which you can buy here.  if you haven't seen the Lady and her diamond boys before, you have plenty of opportunity.  They play all over town, including a show on Wednesday, November 12th at the New Children's Museum as part of  San Diego City Beat's "Best Of" Party.  All proceeds go to support the New Children's Museum. 

The band also has regular gigs every Monday night at U-31 in North Park, and Wednesdays at Henry's Pub and Thursdays at The Harp.  Block off the entire evening since they are known to play four-hour sets.  If heaven's a juke joint with whisky, gambling, and all-night dancing, Lady Dottie and the Diamonds are surely on the bill.  

San Diego could once lay claim to Grammy-winning violinist and composer Mark O'Connor.  He lived in Vista on an avocado farm, having left Nashville and a demanding schedule as a studio musician.   O'Connor composed Vistas while there, inspired by the landscape around him.  It seems inspiration is everywhere for O'Connor, but especially in the mountains and hollows of Appalachia.  His album Appalachian Journey, on which he collaborated with Yo-Yo Ma and Edgar Meyer, was a critical and popular success.  Their effort led to O'Connor's Appalachia Waltz Trio, a chamber group that includes Mike Block on cello and Gillian Gallagher on viola.

For the last three years, O'Connor has been living in New York City, but San Diego is still home to his string camp, which takes place each summer at Point Loma.  O'Connor and his Appalachia Waltz Trio performed on These Days and O'Connor talked about his passion for teaching and mentoring young musicians, his own mentors, like Stephane Grappelli and Benny Thomasson, and how he fuses his interests in roots, jazz, and classical music.  Watching O'Connor play is really something -- kind of other-worldly.  His skill and craft boggle the mind.  You can see O'Connor and the Appalacian Waltz Trio this Saturday night at the Birch North Park Theater. 

I'm a Steve Poltz fan, I'll admit it at the outset.  The guy can make up a song at the drop of a hat, and it will likely be clever and observant and touching...and off-kilter.  A lot has been written about Steve's songwriting and performance style, which has been described ad nauseam as "quirky."  I'm going to go with "off-kilter" because while I know Steve to be a seeker of balance (he's a yoga devotee), he also can't help the fact that he sees the world from a totally askew vantage point. 

It's a crazy trip and a real treat to see the world through Steve's eyes, and he's generous enough to share it in music and on stage.  He certainly shared it with These Days yesterday, where he came into the studio to play music and draw a few chuckles out of Tom Fudge.  Tom and staff were quite entertained.  During sound check, Steve broke out into a cover of "Memories" - oh yes, that one - which he admitted is his favorite song right now.  He also sang a hilarious song inapproprite for public radio (featuring a job on a bus) but a tried and true fan favorite.  If you go see him this Sunday at North Park Festival of the Arts (and you should!) you may hear it.  The music that did make it on the radio included some great cuts from Steve's new album Traveling, and one from his other new album, Unraveling.  Check him out:

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