As the group’s name suggests, the Tumbleweed Jones Band hails from up on cripple creek. Figuratively speaking, that is.
The six musicians actually reside in places no more rural than Skaneateles and Camillus. Their lady vocalist and viola player, Denise Shuart, is city gal for crying out loud. She lives in the Westcott Nation.
The fact remains, however, that Tumbleweed Jones rarely performs in the city.
“Over the past year or so, we’ve gigged mostly in Skaneateles, Camillus, Auburn, Marcellus and only occasionally in Syracuse,” said mandolinist Tom Wanamaker. “Last Saturday, [Jan. 29], we played to a packed house at a beer and wine tasting at Joe’s Pasta Garage as part of the Skaneateles Winterfest.’
This Saturday, Feb. 12 at about 9:30 p.m., the folk-rock sextet brings its blend of Dead and Dylan, Clapton and Katrina to Phoebe’s Restaurant & Coffee Lounge, 900 E. Genesee St., on the corner of Irving Avenue, a stone’s throw from downtown. Admission is free; 475-5154.
Intriguing instrumentation
The Tumbleweed Jones Band includes Chris Kuhns on drums, Bob Paul on bass, Denise Shuart on viola, Dave Walton on rhythm guitar, Todd Wetmore on guitar and lap steel and Tom Wanamaker on electric mandolin.
The sextet’s set list ranges from Jimi Hendrix and the Rolling Stones to Neil Diamond and Ricky Nelson.
Tumbleweed Jones’ favorite jammin’ tunes include “Jack Straw” by the Grateful Dead, “Up on Cripple Creek” by the Band and “Last Dance with MaryJane” by Tom Petty. They also throw in the odd contemporary cover such as “Under the Milky Way” by The Church and “Walking on Sunshine” by Katrina & the Waves.
“We like to think of ourselves as an interpretive band which I suppose is more-or-less synonymous with the beat-to-death term jam band,” Wanamaker said. “But we like to let loose and let the song go where it goes. Then we’ll chase it down, add some three- and four-part harmonies, wrap it up and move on to the next one.”
Back to the ‘burbs
After its Phoebe’s performance this Saturday night, the TJB returns to the suburbs, playing Feb. 26 at the Cedar House Lanes in Skaneateles, March 11 at the Red Rooster Pub in Skaneateles Falls, and March 19 at McNamara’s Pub in Camillus.
With a sonorous viola, a trebly mandolin and a wailing lap steel adding extra flavor to the proceedings on top of its vibrant vocals and riveting repertoire, the Tumbleweed Jones Band forges a sound that deserves to be heard downtown more often.
Symphony sympathy
The Syracuse Symphony Orchestra is about a quarter of the way toward reaching its emergency fund-raising goal of $1.75.
At a Feb. 5 press conference on the stage at the Mulroy Civic Center’s Crouse Hinds Theater downtown, SSO officials said they’ve raised $473,787.
A gift of $100,000 from the Panasci family was the single highest of the 1,374 donations which came in over the past two weeks. The late Henry A. Panasci Jr. was the founder of Fay’s Drugs and chairman of Cygnus Management Group.
The orchestra’s public fund-raising campaign is called “Keep the music playing.” The SSO hopes to raise $1.75 million by August.
Ambitious Akiyama
One of the SSO’s best-loved former music directors, Maestro Kazuyoshi Akiyama will return to the Crouse Hinds Concert Theater podium to conduct a program called Nexus at 8 p.m. on Feb. 25-26. Akiyama will lead the SSO as it performs an ambitious, program featuring Steve Reich’s “Music for Pieces of Wood,” Toru Takemitsu’s “From me flows what you call Time” and Jean Sibelius’ Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 43.
Tickets cost $15, $25 and $40, and buying tickets is another great way to support the SSO during its ongoing financial travails.
SU hoops roots
If, like thousands of CNYers, you’re fascinated by the Syracuse Orange basketball tradition, you’d enjoy hearing from Mark Allen Baker, author of “Basketball History in Syracuse: Hoops Roots.” Baker will speak about his book at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 10, at Liverpool Public Library, 310 Tulip St., on the corner of Second Street (Route 370), in the village of Liverpool; 457-0310; lpl.org.
Baker will trace the evolution of Syracuse’s “hoops roots,” and books will be available for purchase and signing.
