Tad Dreis

Heya! I’m playing the early show at The Cave in Chapel Hill, this Friday, May 20. Showtime is 7:30 pm, and there will be a solo set from me and then a set where I’ll play electric guitar, backing up singer-songwriter and pianist Brit Price.

For most of Brit’s set, I’ll be playing normally, but on a couple of tunes I’m trying out some dreamy echo sounds. It’s a little bit of a tightrope. No net. Come see if I make it to the other side!

If you haven’t been to The Cave recently, there’s no smoking now, and it’s a private club, which means you have to either buy a $5 membership or get a member to sign you in.

The upside to this is they now serve mixed drinks. No kitchen, but they do have crackers and Slim Jims.

I’ve had some inquiries as to whether kids can come, and I think under-18 folks may well be ok if they sit with their parents and just drink soda. I went to joints like this all the time with my dad and it was no problem, but call ahead to be sure.

Thanks for reading, see you Friday!

PS: I’ll also be at the Eno River Farmers Market this Saturday at 10 am, downtown Hillsborough.

It’s February already! What’s been happening lately? Let’s see. I played a show with Mark Kroos last week at The Cave. He plays a doubleneck guitar, which is like two guitars at the same time. There was a meatloaf-tasting contest and Wii tournament before we played.

I saw Rodney Brannigan play two separate guitars a few years ago on the same stage, but Mark has a whole slew of songs in that style, and it seems like Rodney mostly does one or two showcase tunes that way. Different strokes, different folks. Rodney can do an amazing drumming thing on his guitar while he plays and sings; haven’t seen Mark do that. The gauntlet is thrown. I can’t do any of that stuff, I should add.

There’s nothing on my calendar right now, gig-wise, but here’s what I’m up to, day-to-day: most weekdays, I work with a bunch of kids and adults on their own music, and I recently did a miniproject to test-run my new studio and give me some writing practice. I look forward to doing more of that. I’ve started refilling my birdfeeder regularly, too, which is a good metaphor for other stuff.

Thanks for reading. Keep warm, stay off the ice. I’ll continue to keep ya posted on what I’m up to. If you’re a longtime fan and you still haven’t heard my most recent album “The Reluctant Hook,” a new world awaits you on the Music page.

I’d like to see the shots the actual event photographers took this weekend at Centerfest and SparkCon, especially Friday night at SparkCon, where I played on the main stage with a huge live video projection of myself on the screen behind me. The sound there was clear and colossal, bouncing off the buildings. After me Friday night was FashionSpark, a runway show for local fashion designers. I had on a t-shirt, I think, and remember feeling a little underdressed.

Saturday was kind of a marathon, with a farmers’ market show in Hillsborough at 10 am, accompanied by my frequent bass accompanist Seth Barden. The take was heavy on baked goods this time out.

After that, I went home, took a shower, and headed back out to Durham for Centerfest, where parking was aided by insights gained over the last year into the one-way secret passageways of downtown Durham.

The gig was at 4 pm, and seemed to only last 25 minutes instead of 30. They run a pretty tight ship at Centerfest, and as I was preceded by flamenco dancers and followed by Indian classical dance, they had to keep things moving to get everybody on and offstage in time. As I understand it.

And then of course, Raleigh. The gig was at 10 pm, and it was cool to run into my old friend Drew, who used to live in my Chapel Hill apartment complex a decade ago and just returned to the area from Wilkesboro. He’s a member of the band “The Crinkle,” third on the bill Saturday night.

My second SparkCon set was loud and distorted, which I didn’t mind so much, considering the size and volume level of the festival crowd crammed into the little bar. If your words aren’t going to be understood, maybe it’s better if it’s because you’re SO LOUD, rather than because you’re so shy, quiet, demure, retiring.

Too stereotypical by far, for a solo acoustic act. Better to go all Hammell On Trial on their asses.

I’ve already played two shows this month and I’m only now making announcements. Sorry! The photo here is from Weaver Street Market in Hillsborough, where I played the featured spot at the Lilac Lounge open mic’s outdoor summer edition, with Casey Toll on bass. The photo was taken by the event’s impresario, Pete Pawsey.

A couple days later I played my monthly set at the Eno River Farmer’s Market with Seth Barden on bass, again in Hillsborough. Two shows in Hillsborough in the same week – when it rains, it pours. Literally. There was a huge, fierce thunderstorm today that cut our second set short. We still made a good haul, thanks to produce donations from the vendors, even if a few tomatoes were squished in our haste to clear out.

Coming up, I’m playing solo at Jack Sprat Cafe in Chapel Hill on Tuesday July 20 at 10 pm, along with Jeff Hart and the out-of-towners Black Mountain Symphony.

What else? Last month I played one out of town show at UNC Charlotte, and I’ve also been having fun experimenting in the latest edition of my home studio with some new toys, using a Linux-based system. And even though it’s the summer, my teaching schedule has kept me busy working with guitar folks and a number of harmonica students in Carrboro. That’s all for now. The last webcast went well, it’s archived for your reviewing pleasure. Hope you’re enjoying your summer!

This past week, me and my trio played four shows in three days, starting Thursday with a noon gig at Brightleaf Square in Durham, followed Friday by an evening show at Harry’s Market in Whitecross, and then morning duties at the Eno River Farmers Market on Saturday for Hog Day in Hillsborough and two sets Saturday night at Broad Street Cafe in Durham.

Each day, we’d be setting up to play, and Seth or Charles would nonchalantly mention that they’d already played one, maybe two gigs that day, or were headed to do the same after our show. Casey Toll filled in on bass for the first time at Harry’s, and even he, the pinch hitter, had a similar schedule. Meanwhile, I was apparently swimming in leisure time, playing “only” 1.3 gigs a day. Every band’s gotta have a slacker, I guess.