JD Valerio: Journal/News

If you travel as a musician, "bad" things can happen. You can make them a "good" thing by doing things like writing a new song about the experience or writing a good "on stage story" to engage your audience.

Bad things don't happen, they are simply seeds for good things.

MY OLD NUMBER: 612-226-3923 IS CHANGING SOON TO A CALI NUMBER. TO GET MY NEW NUMBER EMAIL ME.

did you know i play the piano on my latest cd? it is called Hot Apple Cider. Here is some stuff of me playing piano at the Freakin Frog last night:

anyway if you are interested in buying any of my music you can get physical and digital CD's of hotapple cider at a lot of media outlets online like iTunes, CD Baby etc. if you want to get my christian cd, it is only available digitally. I finished that album in 2001 and was hiding from that record for a while. Partly cuz i like playing new stuff, but partly cuz religion and spirituality are different, and i didn't know that back then when i did the record. But if you want to explore the christian stuff go to http://www.amazon.com/Come-Undone/dp/B001UIIAJE

I just got super excited about the fact that I get to crash at my little brothers house in sacramento this weekend. gonna be good to be back in town!!!!!!!! tomorrow i get to sing with my mom at a show in vegas, that is gonna be awesome too.

Hey there, if you aren't doing anything Friday here is a beer list to consider. . .


ALSO, I PUT SOME CLIPS OF MY LITTLE IMPROMPTU SHOW AT http://www.youtube.com/user/jdvaleriomusic

Hey there folks. Got three of my own shows in NV and CA to let you know about and four shows of my friend Josh Misner's band that is going on a quick tour of CT, NY, IL, TN. The band is called Gasoline Silver. Josh played violin at my CD release at the Blue Nile in Minneapolis last November.

But before I go to the calendar dates: Check out my friend Brother Dan's new CD, Fishnet Stockings. It has one of my favorite Brother Dan songs, Fishnet Stockings. Also, Dan and I wrote several songs together this year and he put one of those songs on the record! The song we co-wrote is called "While You Dream". It is track 13. You can sample some of it here: http://www.digstation.com/AlbumDetails.aspx?albumid=ALB000055206. The CD was released on Aug 14th.

Ok now to Josh and Gasoline Silver. So here is a video for them: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZiBx1vRRfg&feature=youtube_gdata and their electronic press kit http://gasolinesilver.com/epk/. They are a Minnesota based band.

Their dates are:

8/20
NEW HAVEN, CT
Cafe Nine
8/21
LE POISSON ROUGE
New York, NY
8/23
CHICAGO, IL
The Whistler
8/29
Memphis, TN
TBA

And here are my dates in NV and CA

August 19th at the Freakin Frog in Las Vegas, NV. Line up is JD Valerio, Ken Osborne, and Topher Koza. The Freakin Frog is one of the coolest bars in Vegas. Check out their beers, they have 800 to choose from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dP4UwEatuo. Howard runs the music venue there and Barbara is the one who booked me at the Freakin Frog, and they are really nice folks. I thought they were the owners, they treated it with such pride. But the owner is Adam Carmer. Well done Adam! Great place. The show on the 19th is at 8:30pm, free show.

August 28th - a show at the marina in Sacramento, CA. Free show, all ages. 12pm-to 6pm. The Marina, where the boat dwellers live, is at 3505 s river road. This show is extra special cuz I get to share the stage with Sandra Dolores, Justin Davis, Doug Cash and more! A local singer/songwriter, Mike Markov takes a lot of video of local sacramento musicians - you can find all of these artist and more at his channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/mikemarkov. Mike passed the threshold of 1000 video uploads to YouTube this summer, and is a big supporter of other musicians, so give his song "Jerry" a listen to if you stop by his YouTube Channel.

And last, but certainly not least. September 3rd is the big show down. I've been looking forward to this one for a couple of months. I get to play with G Fragamino and Justin Davis at The Naked Lounge in Sacramento on the corner of 11th and H. Don't let the name decieve you, it is a family friendly coffeeshop with a killer sound system for the kind of music the three of us do. My sibblings all brought their kids last time. The show is from 8-11pm. $3 cover. Each of us will do a full set. I've got some guests sitting in with me on this one. . .so its gonna be groovy!

Thanks for supporting independent musicians. It is my absolute joy to be doing this, I love it. Thank you for making it worth while.

Later,
JD

PS I'll be teaching acoustic guitar and doing songwriting coaching starting in Sept. If you know a Sacramento local that wants to learn to write songs and play acoustic singer/songwriter style, send them my way! I have room for 5 students. I am also available for music programs for kids as I did that a lot at camps and group homes in the past (above 6th grade - don't want to deal with the tots - except family of course).

one more thing: if you don't want to be on this email list anymore, please let me know.

Later (for real this time),
JD

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SP7ycJVwyqc

last night i was playing at a bar here in vegas. A guy said had looked at some of my songs online before coming to the show. I thought that was cool. Even cooler that he also listened to my little brother's music. Jeffry Valerio is my little brother. An incredible and innovative music maker. He used to front Sacramento's regea infusion band, for 8 years. I have always been a fan, but my appreciation for his music has extend beyond obligatory family support. . . I think he is a true refreshing talent. Check out his newest (and undiscovered) material.

PLAYER WAS REMOVED. TO FIND JEFFRY VALERIO GOOGLE HIS NAME AND RIOTMAKER MUSIC. . .MAKE SURE IT IS JEFF AND NOT THE OTHER RIOTMAKER DUDE.

The impromptu show tonight (or last night as it is now 1:49am), was a gift. What I mean by that is that my life, is different . . . better, because of this show. I opened for Vegas local, Ken Osborne. He writes a lot of drinking songs, and sings from the heart. A couple of times he had me on stage to do some harmonies. I could tell from the first harmonized notes that our voices made. . . that a match had been lit. Boom. We were supposed to do music together tonight.
I had fun dreaming and sceeming with Howard, Ken, and heroes from the past, who made their ways into our conversation through song lyrics, famous business stories, and word of mouth legend.
I also played “Utah” for the first time. I was in Nevada though. Heh. . .
The Freakin Frog is a great place. They have 800 beers to choose from. That is right, eight freakin hundred! It is a hyper local bar. A haunt for famous legends. The Killers used to play there before they got big. Howard, the owner said that they aspire to be for music, what famous comedian clubs were for up and coming comedians. A launching pad. They want to be a catalyst for aspiring musicians to reach their full potential. The place just had the greatest vibe. So if you are around in Vegas come on down on August 19th. Ken Osborne will be there too.

hey thanks for checking on me here. life is good. i am in las vegas and working on some music projects until my show here on August 19th at the Freaking Frog.

Wanna help me spread the word? Can you tell people about my videos via email, facebook, twiiter, word of mouth etc? Well then share my videos. That's a great and free way to help me on mission to prove that a bald guy can get out of utah with enough inside jokes to. . . , any way, it would help a lot.

Here is a video to start with.
The link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTQdpgmN1pI
The Video (two songs, Open Mic Surgery and Light it Up)


Thanks to everyone who helped me along the way this summer! Here are some of the things people did to help me along: a place to crash this summer, food, company, jam sessions, hundered dollar tips!, buying cd's, buying me beer, jamming with me, teaching me new music, taking me hiking, showing me idaho, hugs, sometimes you can tell a stranger everything - thanks for the ears, jokes, pranks, demon squirell, rick, cousins, yeah the list goes on and on. I am greatful.

HERE IS MY TOP 20 PLAYLIST I SET UP FOR THE VIDEOS OF THE "LIVE YOUR lIFE TOUR OF 2010"

my youtube channel is jdvaleriomusic.

just finished a long drive from atlanta, ga to virginia city, nv for my granpa's 80th birthday. had a blast with the fam. my cousin chris and i played guitars around a campfire one night - that was a highlight for me. now i am in vegas and will be playing a show here at the freakin frog on aug 19. then it's back to sac for some recording and scheduling more shows. the utah song is coming. . .

Today in a hotel in Rock Springs, WY, I put some chords to some lyrics I'd been working on about the "Utah" incident. If you don't know the story, ask, or scan the blog.

Anyway. . .I am diggin the song, I just need to work on rythm and a few tweaks on lyrics.

I also saw this praire dog today here in Wyoming (my youtube channel is http://www.youtube.com/user/jdvaleriomusic):

Tonight I am playing at Smiths Old Bar in Atlanta, GA. Then I head home tomorrow.

Life on the road has been good. I am excited to play back in Sacramento at Naked Lounge on September 3rd and at the Freaking frog in Vegas on Aug 19th.

I have many stories and song ideas and plan to spend the rest of the summer and fall writing and hopefully recording a new record with Pirates, Fire, Deep End, Black Widow, Droid, Inside the Artist, You BE I'll Be, and a bunch of other songs. I have about 20 tunes that I would like to get on CD soon so maybe I'll do two CD projects. Who knows. . . I'll just focus on one for now.

Anyway, thanks to you readers and supporters. I've had fun reading your nots on the GUESTBOOK section of this site and also emails, phone calls, and facebook messages.

This tour has been a great experience and I am so happy to have people like you who listen to the music and support the adventure.

All the best.

JD

I am in Brooklyn right now in the Bushwick neighborhood. My cousin Adam Pateman hosts a comedy show at a bar on Monday nights so I went to that the other night and got my laugh on. Afterwards I went to a party with about 20 comedians. Wow!
Can you imagine. . .

For the most part here in New York I’ve been taking it easy. Small walks around the city. Exploring the Subway. Talking with random strangers. Yep, that is my way of soaking in a city.

As fate would have it I ran into an acquaintance, Margret, who used to run and art community center across the street from my pad in Minneapolis. We were both walking through some random park and “Wham!” the small world showed her colors. I remember going to underground punk shows at the Belfry, the name of the art center. So Margret might come to the show tonight, which is good because if nobody shows up the bar tender said “if nobody shows, you don’t play”. Or get paid. ..

So my stops before New York were Cleveland and Chicago. In Chicago I played a show with Nathan Cotter and Tucker Jameson and the Hot Mugs. Tucker and his band are on a mini-tour and are planning to move to Austin to make a run at the music scene full- time. I was thankful for Tucker and his band because they had some connections in Chicago that brought about 20 extra bodies to the show. These guys have a youth and energy fighting in their corner and I wish them the best.

Cleveland. Hmm. Not much I really want to say about Cleveland but here is a short poem to sum it up:

Double booked at the bistro
Had to negotiate with the maestro
Got to do a set for two-thirds of the pay
But at least I had gas in the car and a fun place to play
Lined up a last minute gig at a bar
That was supposed to happen after the first bar
But when I got to gig two, the venue was closed
So I said goodbye to Cleveland
Better luck next time I suppose. . . .
Cleveland was fun and I enjoyed playing my songs
Just wasn’t expecting all the things gone wrong
But fate was making an “unplanned move”
So we’ll see where the universe takes this groove

Here are some clips:

Nathan Cotter


Tucker Jameson And The Hot Mugs


JD Valerio


Cleveland


Pre-show chatter with some of Tucker Jameson and the Hot Mugs


Band packing stuff in

Show with breaking laces:
Playing at the Frequency in Madison. . . wow. I walked in to the eerie and intriguing guitar sounds from Orcha Age. Jeff, who was orcha age, was ripping it up with swelling guitar licks that sounded kind of like killer whales which he admits proudly. After Orcha Age, was Massachusettes band The True Jacqueline. It was fun to see a band alternate lead vocals so much. I admit my favorite vocalist was the female, kate, who also did a great job on bass.

After I went up, the headliner was Breaking Laces. I had the pleasure of chatting astrology and life over beers before and after the show with the front man, Wilhem. The bassist, Rob, and drummer, Seth were also cool to hang out with. Didn’t know what to expect but they sounded kind of like postal service meets alt country rock. I love postal service and fronted by Ben Gibard (spelling?) and his other band Death Cab For Cutie. This band Breaking Laces was just as good if not better (as a band). I saw Ben Gibard play a solo show at First Avenue a couple of years ago and that show is in a league of it’s own – no live performances that I have seen by solo artists lately have compared to that show.

Anyway here are some clips from July 6th at the Frequency:

Breaking Laces


Orca Age and Intro to Venue


The True Jacqueline

JD Valerio

The Green Room

It was so good to be back in Minneapolis. I probably gained eight pounds from eating at all of my old favorite places (over eating at all my favorite places). But beyond the food, I truly enjoyed reconnecting with old friends. The three shows around the area at The Beat, 318, and Dunn Brothers were like coming home. Seth Levine joined me on bass, TJ Stroebl on Drums and vox, Jennifer Levenhagen on violin, and Neal Swanger on harmonica. On July 2nd, Neal and I shared sets at Dunn Brothers and Jennifer Levenhagen did some of her original, heart melting, piano music in between our sets.

On the 4th of July I learned how to make foil bombs and went to two parties with old friends. Now if that doesn’t define “good times”, I don’t know what does!

Here are some clips (sorry, didn’t think to record the foil bombs or fireworks)

Neal Swanger “My Hands”


Jennifer Levenhagen


Fourplex with TJ on Drums


The Tower with: tj on drums and vox, Jennifer on violin, seth on bass, and jd on guitar and vox


Tons of more videos available at: http://www.youtube.com/user/jdvaleriomusic

I met Matt Taylor about 7 years ago or so when he was running for City Council in Brainerd. He owned a venue I played at a few times in Brainerd. So, this time through MN I thought I'd try out his new place the eSquared Cafe. My camera was almost full so I couldn't take music video but here is Matt Saying hello:


This trip to Brainerd ended with one of three consecutive conversations about spirituality with three of my good friends: Travis, Jon and Paul. It will be interesting to see how these conversations mingle their ways into future lyrics.

Well, video travisty has struck again. One of the most frustrating things I've experienced on this trip was the loss of video. I've accidentally wiped out about 6 hours of video. but the biggest loss so far was video from June 29th and July 1st. I had video of shows with TJ Stroebl9drums and vox with me) , Seth Levine (bass with me), Jennifer Levenhagen (violin on my songs, and she did her own piano set), Neal Swanger (his wonderful set from last night). The music sounded really good and I got some of the best video we've had so far. So I'm over it almost, just needed to vent. Coming to the Twin Cities has been a treat. The opportunity to reconnect with these musicians, friends, and going to old haunt I used to hang out at when I lived here. It simply has been a rich experience. I will mourn the fact that I won't be able to watch the musical performances again on video, but glad I was there to experience it live. Next stop - Brainerd, MN

There was an exciting storm on June 25th in Minneapolis. Hail, heavy rain, flooding, lightening, the whole shebang. I enjoyed the storm with the exception of the fact that it kept a lot of people home. Ben Cook-Feltz, Mother Banjo, and I performed a show at the Beat Coffeehouse during the storm and the folks who did show up were in for a treat. It was truly a great night of music.
Here are some clips, I have also included some off the cuff JAM SESSIONS WITH TJ and SETH (the three of us play together tonight at the 318):

Ben Cook-Feltz and the Glorius Percussion Armada

Mother Banjo


JD Valerio

Jam sessions with Seth and TJ

The show at Everyday Joe’s in Fort Collins was quaint. An intimate night of sharing songs with Sarah Spinner, Jeremy Dion and JD Valerio. Here are a few clips.

Jeremy Dion - Interview


Jeremy Dion – song


Sarah Spinner – song


JD Valerio – Pirates

For the past few days I’ve been staying with my Aunt in Fort Collins, CO. Today we went on a bike ride to the Odell Brewing Company and New Belgium Brewery. Yum! Tonight I play at Every Day Joe’s Coffee House in Fort Collins with Sarah Spinner and Jeremy Dion. Then we are off to celebrate Randy’s Birthday (my aunt’s sweetheart). Life is good.

Boulder was fun. Met the brother duo, CK Rust and enjoyed their tunes. Here are some clips.

CK Rust with their friend Grace


My new Song “The Matrix”


Lyrics to “The Matrix” by JD Valerio
Ready for danger I muster my plan, got kung-fu uploaded and ammo in hand

Gonna hop in the Matrix and find my Trinity

Gonna pull that wool over my eyes, and it’s alright by me cuz it’s my choice this time

Gonna find me an agent and kick some obscenity

I can leap over the buildings. I can see bullets fly by.
Morpheus, am I changing?
Call me Neo, Mr. Anderson has died.

The Nebuchadnezzar is a nebulous thing, in the film it’s a space craft in the Bible (Torah) a king
It’s also a symbol for fighting tyranny.

Gonna pull that wool over my eyes, and it’s alright by me cuz it’s my choice this time

Gonna find me an agent and kick some obscenity
I can leap over the buildings. I can see bullets fly by.

Morpheus, am I changing?
Call me Neo, Mr. Anderson has died.

The last thing I want on this road trip are traffic tickets and cop trouble. So, I’ve been driving under the speed limit, using my blinker, and trying to avoid doing anything stupid. In Utah, I messed up.

I had just finished a gig at the Tin Angle in Salt Lake City and was on my way through Utah to Fort Collins, CO. Between two towns (Park City and Coalville) I was going the advisory speed limit through the mountains which is 10 miles under the normal limit.

There weren’t a lot of cars out that late at night, just some semi- trucks trudging up the mountains at about 30-40 MPH. I was in the slow lane the entire trip except for when I passed trucks. It was during one such attempt to pass a truck that a car from behind me came up at a very fast speed and began flashing their headlights at me.

Like a fool, I slowed down fast enough to “make a point” to the car behind me, slipped in behind the semi I was trying to pass, rolled down my window and yelled at the maniac “What???!!”. Right about then, the driver turned on his siren and lights and my heart sank 1000 feet as I realized that I had just yelled out my window at a state trooper!
Still, there was no real valid reason in my opinion to give me a ticket etc. I was being safe, and my “break check” as the cop put it was not bad enough to warrant the kind of hassle he ran me through. When he pulled me over I tried to argue my way out to no avail. He said if you don’t want to sign the ticket you can go to jail. In a sarcastic voice I said “Ok let’s go”, and he ended the conversation there and took me to jail.

The $50 ticket turned into:
Cost of Bail - $50
Remainder of traffic violation - $40
Taxi to the next town where they impounded my car - $45
Getting car out of impound - $160

Story - PRICELESS

Oh yeah, I left my laptop at the justice center the next day where I went in to settle the remainder of the ticket. I realized it 300 miles later when in Wyoming. Not wanting to go back to Utah or tack on the additional 600 miles to my trip I had it overnighted to Colorado where I am staying for a few nights. That cost about $120.

What an expensive lesson. I recorded some of the conversation with the cop, but won’t bore you with the whole thing but here is a juicy clip. The cop was being a jerk, but had I not done any of the foolish actions mentioned above I could have avoided the whole thing. Oh well live and learn. Hopefully I get a good song out of it.