The Sue Orfield Show

I’ve written and written and written and written Sue Orfield.  I’m writing her again and will most definitely write her in the future.  

Many musicians have a “day job.”  They need one, because making a living playing music is hard, unpredictable and often grueling. Talent in itself isn’t sufficient.  There’s tons and tons of talented, brilliant musicians and artists in this world and while some will rise to the public consciousness through pure luck, most will remain unrecognized and unappreciated.  Partly because they don’t or won’t put in the hard work.  This is not Sue.  Not only is Sue Orfield talented and prolific, but she’s the hardest working musician I know.  And she’s the best.

Sue is a smart woman.  Sue is flexible.  Sue is responsible. She’s punctual, grounded, assertive and a quick learner.  Sue could be successful in a variety of venues.  She could settle down, work her 9-5 and collect a paycheck, living contentedly with Randy, getting a solid 8 hours of sleep. But she chooses to chase her passion: Music.  And we’re darned fortunate, because we’re reaping the benefits of her hard work.

Her most recent project takes us to the next level.  The project is the brainchild of Donna Berry the Development Director of Chippewa Valley Community Television (CVCTV). Donna, like me, is a fan of the local music scene. Donna not only recognized Sue’s talent, but also all those other qualities needed to make a great idea solid. She teamed up with Production Manager Aaron Rigby, Rick and Maryann Wold of Studio One Teleproductions and Alex Kolb of Eau Claire Steadi  and The Sue Orfield Show was born.

The Sue Orfield Show airs on Chippewa Valley Community Television on Saturday nights at 8:00 PM on cable channels 993 and 994 or via digital tuner 93-13 and 98-14. The show repeats at 8:00 pm Thursday on 993,  It  streams live at 8:00 pm Saturday and if that’s all too confusing for you (it certainly is for me) or if you miss a show never fear, you can catch it anytime on your computer.  Just go here.  A new episode will air the first Saturday of the month.

I’m really hoping you’ve already heard about the show, but if you haven’t, let me fill you in.   The show is hosted by Sue Orfield and each show features a musical guest or guest from the Chippewa Valley and upper Midwest.  To date there have been six featured guests.

Eddie Beavers is a Nashville refugee with a renegade’s heart, now living in the Chippewa Valley.  He sings old-style country and blues as only a hard-living man can--with soul and conviction.  The show is beautifully filmed and captures Eddie’s musical style and his loveable bad-boy personality.

Greg Gilbertson is a reclusive family man.  His musical genius occasionally flashes across the Chippewa Valley like a meteor.  And, like a meteor, if you’re not at the right place at the right time, looking in the right direction you’ll miss him.  Sue has captured him in all his original glory.

The Mike Malone Jazz Trio is comprised of three gifted young men: Mike Malone on drums, Jordan Jenkins on bass, and Josh Gallagher on piano.  Young and passionate, they're all still in college and while I haven't caught the trio I've seen Josh Gallagher sit in with Sue in other venues and I'm looking forward to seeing The Sue Orfield Show's episode featuring them.

            

  The Michael Rambo Project is a 5-piece band offering a little bit of rock, a healthy dose of jazz-funk fusion and a ton of Soul.  Michael’s music is influenced by the 70s and 80s and while he looks to be in his mid 30s, he attracts young, vital and versatile musicians into his fold. His songs are a reflection of his faith and is accessible to people of all beliefs.

Softly, Dear is local 5-piece indie-band.  This is a wonderfully multi-faceted group of young musicians and singer-songwriters, all from the Eau Claire area.  Their music is fresh and interesting and their lyrics approach poetry: “I’m digging for colors by my fingernails find only black/the wings on my feet are matched by the weight on my back.”  Watch this band, it’s going to go places.

The very first taping was with Eggplant Heroes. The last music show taped by CVCTV in front of a live audience was years ago and most of the current team hadn't worked on this type of project before.  I’ve been pleased to be in the audience for three of the five shows and have watched with pleasure the progression of this show.  The first set was, to the layman's eye, a controlled chaos of wires and cameras. Many of the production team are volunteers,some in their teens, and it’s shocking to see how young many of them are and even more shocking to see how professional they are.  

Nonetheless, having The Heroes as the first taping was overly ambitious for a couple of reasons.  First off, it’s a 7-man band.  That’s a lot of sound to handle for a pilot.  Second off, there’s Joel Pace.  One of Joel’s charms is he has a hard time keeping still.  And he likes to climb.  The camera-people just weren’t equipped to follow him around the studio, nor was the lighting.  Sue told me later that the set just looked too messy and in the end they decided to scrap the first taping.  But it wasn’t a wash, because the team learned and adapted.  Sue called Evan Middlesworth, owner of Pine Hollow Audio, in to run the sound, the team figured out how to make the set look cleaner and, when it came for the second taping of Eggplant Heroes, Joel showed admirable restraint and--for the most part--stayed in place.

The finished product of these tapings, of The Sue Orfield Shows are amazing.  Professional.  Remarkable.  

The Sue Orfield Show IS the Chippewa Valley and it is a gem.  A treasure.  And it needs our help. Funding for Chippewa Valley Community Television has been cut drastically in the past few years and the show needs our help to keep on air. There is an Indigogo Campaign to raise $9000 for the production and airing of this show.  The campaign launched on Monday, May 5th and has already raised just over $2000.

Music adds color and texture and meaning to our lives. It reflects our emotions and our personal experiences.  It gives words to our inner thoughts.  Our local musicians add to our quality of life and the value of our community.  And The Sue Orfield Show spotlights us.  Elevates us.  Showcases the talent of the Chippewa Valley in all its glory. This is us.  

I’ll be donating a small part of my paycheck to support the Sue Orfield Show until it reaches its goal, because I believe in Sue, I believe in the show and I believe in the Chippewa Valley. 

I hope you will too.

 

Tune in.  

Watch Sue.  

Watch our people.  

Listen, enjoy and revel.

And be a part of it.

Please donate.

Listen to Sue talking about her show on WEAU here and here.

AcoustiHoo

 

The polar vortex lifted on Thursday and by Friday the night air was positively balmy. A whole raft of cabin-fevered sub-zero refugees eschewed the snow and hit From TheVine to see AcoustiHoo. We were amply rewarded.

AcoustiHoo is a 4-piece ensemble and I've written about each of its members at least once. And I will probably write about each of its members again. And again. And again. Full self disclosure: I've got a huge bias toward this band. I'm a fan. I also have a social relationship with some of the band-members. In my defense, the relationships developed because of their music, not vice versa. I don't know if this lends credibility to the blog, but I doubt anyone who hit From The Vine for AcoustiHoo would disagree with my assessment of the band.

The band members include Sue Orfield on tenor sax, Randy Sinz on upright bass, Olaf Lind on violin, and Lucas Fischer on guitar. Superlatives will be added later.

They shook off the residual vortex-chill with “Sweet Georgia Brown,” a lively country-Hee-Haw-like jig that set Olaf's violin-strings a-smokin'. They followed up with “2:15,” a Sue Orfield original which started out with a lovely violin solo. The intertwining of the sax and violin caused my chest to swell with inchoate nostalgia—a longing to return to a place I'd never been. The next song was “Kansas City” featuring Luke, who kicked the number off with a down-low-and-dirty blues intro. You haven't really heard this classic song until you've experienced Luke's version. Olaf's violin enhances it with a Kentucky-Mountain-Justified feel. Next up was “Az Du Furst Avek,” a traditional Klezmer tune in which Luke's solo evoked the feel of old-world gypsy music.

Are you getting it? Klezmer. Classic blues. 1920-era pop-songs. Originals. And that was just the first four songs. Next Sue called for “My Heart Belongs To Daddy.” They have a set list, but Sue once confided that she's not very good at sticking to it. Consequently there was a tiny pause, during which she said, “You'll pick it up.” And they did. She blew Cole Porter's song like the May West-sultry, old-time jazzy tune it was meant to be. If her soul had a mirror, it would be the music coming out of her saxophone. Luke cooled us down with one of his originals, “Close,” a slow, sweet love-ballad and Olaf and Sue harmonized on “Ashoken Farewell” a Jay Ungar tune that left me remembering a childhood I'd never had.

Randy, all dapper behind his bass in a black beret, called the next song: “Fever.” I love, love, love the way Randy sings this song. It's new to their repertoire and there's no question that it's a love song between him and Sue. In the song he sings, “My heart burns for Sue,” and Sue's saxophone lets us know her heart burns for Randy.

Looking around From The Vine over the break I saw that it was standing room only. The establishment is owned and operated by Kathy Nuenke and has been open about 2 and a half years. It's long and open, and the lighting is perfect—low, without being dim. There's a bar running down one side and two- and four- top tables. The musicians are set up the middle of the place, in a living-room-style set- up with couches and deep, comfortable chairs. Behind the musicians is a half-wall and there's a darker, more secluded area in the back. It's a great place for music: avid fans can sit comfortably in a front row seat, music fans who prefer to socialize can sit at the tables in the bar area and lovers can cuddle in a dark corner. The service is fabulous; attentive without being overly friendly. They know you're here to see music or appreciate their wine or catch up with your friends, not to make new best friends with the staff. As soon as you come in you get a glass of water and it's easy to find a waitress when needed. They stock over 80 different wines and Kathy is always changing her stock. She offers wines by flight (I didn't know what this was and had to google it: tastings of multiple wines, which allow tasters to get a feel for breadth or depth of the selection), monthly wine tastings and wine and painting classes. I don't drink so I try to support local music venues by ordering food. I thought this would be a challenge in a wine room and was tickled to see From The Vine offers Legacy Chocolate truffles. They've also added snack mixes and a cheese-and-crackers plate. I spoke to Kathy, briefly, and while I can count the number of times I've been there on both hands, she remembered me. This wine room is a solid music venue and offers great service with great music.

AcoustiHoo's second set offered a couple of pleasant surprises. After Luke's cover of Tom Waits' “Make It Rain,” Sue called Gregg Wheeler with his harmonica to the stage to accompany the band on one of Randy's originals, “Desert Blue.” Randy's voice-as-instrument is wonderful and Gregg's harmonica was about as smooth as it gets. Gregg stayed on stage for another of Sue's originals and there was some fun call-and-response between his harp and Sue's sax. Olaf put down his violin in favor of the mandolin. After Gregg sat down the band launched into another Sue Orfield original, “Can't Shake The Sadness,” all forlorn and noble, with a classic violin-solo and delicate harmonic interplay between Luke and Olaf. Sue stood back, listening, an appreciative smile on her face. Olaf then performed his original “Caravans,” a lively tune with an old-world feel. I understand they're working on a music video for this song. Luke performed another original, “5 AM Blues,” all smooth, romantic and slow rhythm & blues-y.

Then Catya, my very best friend in the whole world, was asked onto the stage where she performed one of her originals, “I Like It.” Though it was unrehearsed, there was an ease and enjoyment on that is only seen when really good musicians play together.

The next number was “Bouf Chonsko” a Macedonian folk song. I spelled it phonetically and know it's wrong. I call it “The Clapping Song.” It starts up slow and every time around they speed it up just a little bit until they're playing faster then we can clap. So fun. Another Sue original, “Cut From Terry's Cloth” was next. The final number was Luke's amazing version of Donovan's “Season Of The Witch.” Luke played his guitar like a mandolin, Olaf played his mandolin like a guitar and Randy tried to play his upright like a violin and did a great job of playing it like a guitar. Sue's saxophone tied the whole song together and as the last note died away the audience leapt up in a spontaneous standing ovation. It was a magical night that left us all wanting more. 

If you're reading this blog you must be a music fan. Believe me when I tell you that if you haven't seen AcoustiHoo you're missing out. Big time. Check them out—you can find their self-titled CD on their website,  look them up on Facebook or catch them live.  You won't be disappointed. Promise.

You can read more about Sue and Randy as Two Rivers here.

You can read more about Sue, Randy and Catya in Catya's Trio here.

You can read more about Gregg Wheeler in Stage Fright and Randy, John and Gregg here and here.

You can read more about Olaf and Luke in Eggplant Heroes here.

You can read more about Luke as a solo act here.