Friday July 5
Baby Gramps is a high energy performance conduit of humorous and comprehensive musical history equipped with an endless repertoire of sounds and styles. His acoustic antique resonator National Steel guitars pop, ring and sizzle with his very original arrangements of rags, jazz, and blues songs from the 20’s & 30’s, folksongs, wordplay and plenty of throat singing.
He’s been tagged “The Salvador Dali of Folk Music” for good reason. He’s a psychedelic Popeye-voiced being struck by lightning. Thanks to Baby Gramps, we can have archaic and eat it too. Folk and jamband, punk and old timey trads find him original, nonpareil, always relevant and extremely entertaining. His First Friday performances at Laurelthirst Pub for the last 20+ years are the stuff of legend as no two shows are even remotely the same.
He’s toured Australia, England and Ireland as part of the Rogues Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs, and Chanteys CD Concert Tour along with Tim Robbins, Marianne Faithful, Martha and Rufus Wainright, Jenny Muldaur, Lou Reed, The Watersons, Martin Carthy and Eliza, Suzanne Vega, Ralph Steadman, and others. Produced by Johnny Depp and Hal Wilner, that CD landed Grampy on the Letterman Show (of course it is youtubed for posterity).
CD or video are fine, but nothing can compare to the real same ol’timeous live 3D experience of him at the Laurelthirst. Visit his synchronous-anachronistic website at babygramps.com .
Other Laurelthirst Pub highlights this month: Friday, July 19, Michael Hurley & the Croakers, 6 pm and Garcia Birthday Band at 9:30 pm; Saturday, July 20, James Low Western Front Farewell Party, 7 pm and Wednesday, July 24, the long-awaited return of Truckstop Honeymoon with guest Peter Wilde! Every Sunday is Kris Deelane & the Sharp Little Things at 9 pm; Thursday happy hours with Lewi Longmire and the Left Coast Roasters at 6 pm 2958 NE Glisan 503.232.1504. www.laurelthirst.com .