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Hurricane Dave: News

Summertime Redux - June 15, 2010

Holy cow! What a great summer it's been so far, and there's still a whole bunch of it left to enjoy. (I know, technically it's not even summer yet, but hey, this is Alaska -- when the snow melts, it's summer!) The Valdez Fly-In was great fun, the Forks Roadhouse was wild, and Chickenstock was a hoot (albeit a rainy one). But the big news right now is the pending release of my new CD, "The Cheechako Chronicles -- Postcards, E-mails & Tweets From Alaska." Josh and I have finished all of our work on it, and it's in the hands of Disc Makers, with shipping scheduled for June 18. That means I'll have copies for sale soon, and we can start getting ready for the dual CD release parties: Sunday, July 11 at the Snow Goose Theater (tentative) in Anchorage -- with a full band -- and Friday, July 16 (for sure) at RezArt in Seward -- just me, the guitar and the harmonicas. More dates have been added to my summer weekend tour of the Great 49th. The rest of the summer will find me doing the acoustic solo thing at Sutton Summerfest, Girdwood Forest Fair, Music Between the Ranges in Kenny Lake, Deltana Fair Music Festival in Delta Junction, Talkeetna Bluegrass Festival, Tanana Valley State Fair in Fairbanks, Kenai Peninsula State Fair in Ninilchik, Anchorage's Music in the Park, and the Big Kahuna, the Alaska State Fair in Palmer! And, as always, I'm at Phyllis's Cafe & Salmon Bake in downtown Anchorage every Thursday night. Come out and say hey!

Summertime, Summertime, Sum, Sum, Summertime - May 4, 2010

My summer weekends are filling up fast, as Roadie and I prepare to take to Alaska's highways in our new "tour bus." I'll be playing at the May Day Fly-In in Valdez, Chickenstock Music Festival, Girdwood Forest Fair, Talkeetna Bluegrass Festival, Music Between The Ranges (Kenny Lake), Deltana Fair Music Festival in Delta Junction, Kenai Peninsula State Fair in Ninilchik, with others TBA soon. Back home in Anchorage, I'm at Phyllis's Cafe & Salmon Bake every Thursday night and have a couple of dates lined up at the Downtown Partnership's Music In The Park. Click "CALENDAR" for more details. Hope to see you out there!

New CD progressing - May 1, 2010

Well, I've finished my parts for the new album, "Wide-Eyed Cheechako." Josh is still holed up in the studio, putting the finishing touches on the project, adding some instruments and backup vocals. I'm hoping to have it out by Memorial Day, but it could be early June.

FUR RONDY CONFIRMED! - February 15, 2010

Hibernation time is over! Let's raise the roof at Fur Rondy on Saturday, Feb. 27! See CALENDAR.

THE ARM'S WORKING AGAIN - January 28, 2010

Whoo-hoo! I just got clearance from my surgeon to start pickin' again. The operation was successful, and the shoulder seems to be working just fine. So it's back to work. So far I've been booked by Babes in the Woods Gallery in Girdwood for March 20 (see "Calendar"), and the summer music festivals are starting to fall into place nicely. Now, if I could just find a radio station that's not afraid to play "Please Don't Ask Me About Her," life would be darn near perfect.

THANKS, MIKE & STEVE - January 25, 2010

I couldn't sign up for the Anchorage Folk Festival this year because the shoulder surgery kept me from picking up a guitar. But the Mountain Echo boys took pity on me and let me play harmonica with them Sunday night at the festival. Thanks, guys.

RECUPERATING AND LOOKING AHEAD - January 16, 2010

I'm on a short hiatus after undergoing surgery on my right shoulder the morning of New Year's Eve. What a way to ring in 2010, eh? The shoulder is healing well, but I can't pick up a guitar for a few more weeks, so I'll have to miss the Anchorage Folk Festival. I'm not doing too bad with the harmonicas, though. I sat in at Patti Greene's jam at the Spenard VFW last Sunday, played a little one-handed harmonica and sang some blues. A fun night, as always, at the VFW. I hope to be back to gigging by the end of February and am looking forward to the summer music festivals. I'm already booked for Music Between the Ranges at Kenny Lake, July 23-25, and hope to add more dates soon.

THANKS FOR HELPING THE KIDS! - December 25, 2009

I want to send out a big, warm, albeit belated Subarctic hug to the pickers and singers who participated in my Country Christmas Jams in Anchorage and Palmer and helped raise a big wad of money for Mat-Su Special Santa and the Marines' Toys for Tots: Stu Schulman, Keith Junot, Richard Nurre, Alison King, Harriett Warner, Jennifer Lucas, Tucson Don Hesson, Charlie Rogge, Bob Horowitz, Manuel Cuba, Frank Iarossi, Pat Wendt, Dave Norman, Mike Collins and the inimitable Suzy Crosby. Thanks especially to Stu and Keith for doing both jams, to Richard for printing up a ton of posters and fliers, and to Frank and Pat, who jumped in at the last minute when the dreaded Aqua Net Crud felled our would-be rhythm section for the Palmer jam, Patti Greene and Sandy Heikes. Both gentlemen made up for their lack of cleavage with outstanding musicianship. Thanks also to the East Anchorage United Methodist Church and Vagabond Blues in Palmer for letting us use their stages.

GOING GLOBAL - November 11, 2009

While Sarah Palin prepares to go rogue, the song all of Alaska is talking about, "Please Don't Ask Me About Her," is going global. My song about a love affair gone sour was posted today at www.cdbaby.com and can be purchased (downloaded) there from anyplace on the planet. Now, if I can just get a few radio stations to play it...

SANTA'S ELVES ARE COMING TO TOWN - November 10, 2009

Plans are coming together for Hurricane Dave's Country Christmas Jam II, which actually will be two jams this year, to raise money for kids' Christmas gifts. This week we've confirmed the venues and lined up an all-star band, hereafter known as Santa's Subarctic Cyclones.

The Anchorage jam will benefit Marines' Toys For Tots. It is planned for 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 12, at East Anchorage United Methodist Church on Patterson Street, two blocks south of DeBarr Road, and will feature Stu Schulman on pedal steel, Keith Junot on fiddle and guitar, Alison King on bass and Richard Nurre on drums.

The Valley jam is scheduled for 3 to 5 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 13, at Vagabond Blues in the heart of downtown Palmer and has the Mat-Su Special Santa program as its beneficiary. The band for that event will include Schulman, Junot, bassist Patti Greene and drummer Sandy Heikes.

Other singers and musicians will be announced later.

Admission to both shows is free. We'll be passing around a big red stocking to fill with donations. As always, donations are requested but not required. We know times are tough for a lot of people, but music should be for everyone, regardless of finances, so come on down and sing some Christmas songs with us.

NEW SONG RELEASED !!! - October 20, 2009

Well, I've finally recorded "Please Don't Ask Me About Her." The song has been getting lots of positive feedback at my gigs, so, with a lot of help from Josh Noland, Stu Schulman and Keith Junot, it's finally out. Here's the news release we're sending out with it:

PALIN-INFLUENCED? SINGER WON’T SAY, BUT SONG TELLS OF LOVE AFFAIR GONE SOUR

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – While the reading public anticipates Sarah Palin’s autobiography, music fans can listen to a new song that may reflect many Alaskans’ views of their former governor. “Please Don’t Ask Me About Her,” a song by Anchorage-based singer-songwriter Hurricane Dave, is being released this week.

“It’s not a political number; it’s more of a country song about a love gone bad,” said Hurricane Dave, who declines to say if the song is specifically about Palin, who resigned as governor in the summer of 2009. It never mentions her by name but contains lyrics such as “Our love was a bridge to nowhere,” “She left me in the middle of our song,” and “ ‘Going rogue,’ she said, and flew off like a bird.”

The song was written and produced by Hurricane Dave and recorded in studios in Perry, Fla., and Anchorage.

“On my trips to the Lower 48 over the past year and a half, people always asked me what it’s like to live in Alaska,” Dave said.

“But their first question wasn’t about the mountains, the glaciers, the cold weather, the bears or the salmon. It was always something about HER,” he said, declining to specify who “her” is.

“Please Don’t Ask Me About Her” is as much about living in Alaska as it is about the tragic end of a love affair. For example, the first chorus concludes with “You can ask me about the Iditarod or the Rendezvous of Fur, but please don’t ask me about her.”

The tune is akin to a Western shuffle and features legendary Alaskan musicians Stu Schulman on pedal steel and Keith Junot on fiddle.

“I figured the folks who don’t pay any attention to lyrics might like something to dance to, so the song serves multiple purposes,” Dave said.

Schulman engineered the Anchorage portion of the recording and mixed the single, after noted country music producer Josh Noland recorded the rhythm tracks in Florida.

Singer-guitarist Hurricane Dave has been entertaining for about 35 years, getting his start in the clubs of Washington, D.C., and spending time in Nashville, Las Vegas, Southern California and South Florida. He moved to Anchorage from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., in the spring of 2008. The North Carolina native performs his solo acoustic act regularly in Southcentral Alaska venues and was featured this past summer at the Alaska State Fair and music festivals in Sutton, Kenny Lake and Delta Junction.

Hurricane Dave also organizes benefit “jams” with other Alaska musicians from time to time, including a country-gospel concert in May 2009 that raised money for Kids’ Kitchen, a free-meal program for underprivileged children in Anchorage, and a Country Christmas Jam in December 2008 that benefited the Special Santa program for youngsters in the Mat-Su area. Hurricane Dave’s Country Christmas Jams 2009, which will benefit organizations that distribute Christmas gifts to children in need, are planned for Dec. 12 in Anchorage and Dec. 13 in Palmer or Wasilla. Details are forthcoming.

Dave’s CD, “Bar Stools & Church Pews: Songs for Friday Night & Sunday Morning,” recorded in 2007 for the Big Blue Dolphin label, continues to draw new listeners to his traditional country sound.

“It’s half party songs and half church songs, depending on what you’re in the mood for,” Dave said.

“Please Don’t Ask Me About Her” is not on that album and will be available initially only as a single download. It can be purchased soon from www.cdbaby.com, iTunes and other Internet sources.

For more information, go to www.HurricaneDaveMusic.com.

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“Please Don’t Ask Me About Her,” © 2009 Hurricane Dave (BMI)
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