RICK PARK, MUSICIAN & ARTIST
Gen-U-Wine Bottleneck Guitar Slides
& Woodlark Music
Saturday, May 19 - Beachcomber II, Sunny Brae, 1602 Old Arcata Rd. 12- pm.
CLICK HERE for more info!
Tuesday, June 19 - Arcata Farmer's Market, Wildberries Parking Lot, 13th & G Sts. 3:30-6:30pm
Thursday, August 2 - McKinleyville Farmer's Market, College of the Redwoods/Post Office parking lot on Central. 3:30-6:30pm
Hello,
AU REVOIR, PARIS—HELLO, ARCATA!
I returned from Paris in late January, no thanks to United Airlines, which did its best to leave me stranded in several different hell-holes, and bereft of my wallet, but eager to join the "Rockestra," a 13-piece all-star band, for a gala at the Arcata Theatre Lounge. And I am just back, 12 weeks later, from the Bay Area—here are those stories, one at a time:
FINIS LE "BUCKET TOUR"
In almost every respect, the "Bucket Tour" of Europe was a joy. In the last week, in Paris, I managed to complete my duet portrait (see Art Page) of Donna and Shawn Scarlett, my Holland hosts. Donna came down to Paris to visit before I left, and I presented her with the painting, as thanks for their 3 weeks of hospitality. As we set off to visit the Rodin Museum together, my pocket was picked on the Paris Metro, leading to all sorts of complications for the next 6 weeks, but my passport and traveller's checks were back in the hotel safe, and the comical aspect was in reporting all this to the Surete, the French police, which remained true to their image in the Peter Sellers movies. They thought I was worried about being declared an illegal alien, without my ID; I just wanted my wallet back. I still have their officially stamped 6-page report, in a combination of my fractured French and their almost non-existent English.
Donna's father back in the States fell ill in Feb., and passed away in March. From those of you who know her, I'm sure messages of condolence would be welcome. (If you didn't know her, you can still hear her on my Shakespeare album, as one of the "Sonettes" in the chorus—she is greatly missed in the SF Folk Music Club, and has continued her music with groups in Holland, where she and Shawn now live and work.)
In March, I had a piece featured in an art show: "Rosita" (see Art Page again), at the Ink People's latest gallery space in Eureka, and have since been playing catch-up with the rest of my life, trying to sell my trailer and my Gen-U-Wine slides. I have just returned from a short rain-break in the sunny Bay Area, house-sitting for the other "Sonette," Suzanne Fox, who was playing a wedding at Yosemite. My 32-year-old Bluesmobile weathered the trip beautifully, running smoothly as a new car with some engine-tweaking and an oil change.
Also, THREE POEMS ACCEPTED by the Steelhead Special. Watch for them in the next issue, #54. The "Steelie" is to my mind, the most interesting and legit literary mag around, so I am very pleased. Watch for it!
Please let me hear from you!
RECORDINGS: The Used LP's listed in our Recordings Page have all been sold, but 3: the mint operatic version of West Side Story, Meet the Beatles, and an Ian & Sylvia, Play One More, including the Phil Ochs tune "Changes."
ART NEWS: Still working on the first portrait in our Muses series (Mnemosyne, Mother of the Muses), and the Self-Portrait as Dutch Painter in oil, on which we hope to make progress during our up-coming house-sit in the Bay Area, July 15-25.
POETRY/LIT NEWS: "THREE POEMS ACCEPTED by the Steelhead Special. Watch for them in the next issue, #54. The "Steelie" is to my mind, the most interesting and legit literary mag around, so I am very pleased. Watch for it! "
We heard from the enigmatic songslinger Van Rozay from San Jose, weighing in on our newly established literary round-table (see the Poetry page): "Vaya Salonista" was his word. Didn't even know Van spoke any Spanish, but it means approximately, "You Go, Salon-Boy." And Justin Green, the legendary cartoonist and sage, alerted us to a long meditation on Moses Asch, author of East River, a novel, and father of Norman Solomon, the founder of Folkways Records. It's beautifully laid out and written almost as a rhapsody. Just google Justin's name, and navigate to ""The Depression of '09."
 |
ACTRESS Yesterday by the bookshop I watched you leaning On an imaginary cane. Won 1st Place at Humboldt County Fair Poetry Competition, August 2011 |
COWBOY HAIKU III I ain't done Seventeen syllables worth of Nothin' since I was born. Won 3rd Place at Humboldt County Fair Poetry Competition, August 2011 |
A small number of copies of "Rick's Blues / Live at Blue Lake" is available @ $12, post-paid. This is the KHUM radio transcript of my set at the Buddy Brown Blues Fest last August, except for one tune, "Walking Blues" by Robert Johnson, studio-recorded and inserted in place of the live version. Half of the tunes (13) feature blues harp by Doug Holsclaw. Eight of the tunes are originals by Rick. Cover photo on the disc by Lori Oehlert. View CD image.
The new slide guitar CD, Mr. Gen-U-Wine Plays Bottleneck Slide Guitar," has now been printed. Rick has advance copies at $10.95 for the CD only, while he is still working on the book to accompany the CD. Contact Rick Park to order the CD only, or wait for the full package of CD, booklet and slide. View CD image.
Only a few dozen copies remain of the second edition of Rick's latest major musical work, Shakespeare and the Sonettes: The Bard's Blues. On this CD, there are five songs telling the stories of the great plays in blues form and five actual Elizabethan guitar pieces. Rick has since written two new Shakespearean blues songs: "MacBeth's Blues" and "Julius Caesar's Blues", the latter actually telling some of the story of Antony and Cleopatra as well, the tales being continuous. "MacBeth's Blues" was debuted at Peacemas '07. There is certain to be a third edition of the album, and it may include these 2 new pieces. Read 3 reviews of this CD. Please see Recordings Page
The CD is available on this website's Order Page for $16.95, which includes shipping. It is also for sale in a number of stores: Music Millennium, the biggest music store in Portland, Oregon; Buffalo Brothers Guitars in Carlsbad, CA; Folk Music Center in Claremont (East LA), CA; Central Coast Music in Morro Bay, CA; Down Home Music in El Cerrito, CA; Bird & Beckett Books in San Francisco, CA; Bookpeople in Moscow, Idaho; and BWI Distributors, who specialize in marketing to libraries.
Rick Park is accepting guitar
students in the Arcata area! Rick is beginner-friendly, can
teach note-reading and tab, but
can also teach advanced melodic fingerstyle a la Hurt, Kottke,
Kaukonen,
and in slide guitar. Musical styles include blues, folk, standards,
some
jazz and classical. Call Rick
at 707-826-0357 or contact
Rick by email for more info or to set up a lesson. Listen to Rick playing guitar.
