Saturday, July 29, 2006

At the Woodshed

Kate and Friends' performances at Kulak's Woodshed last night were amazing! The place was small and intimate. Kulak's Woodshed is small storefront space. It was filled with chairs, cushions everywhere for you to sit. Even a large bed just in front of the stage. The atmosphere was fantastic. We got there early, so we got to choose where to sit, or lie down even. And that's just what my partner and two friends did. They took the bed. I felt like sitting and they really wanted more people in the front for the webcast, so I sat right down next to the stage. I could just pinch the singers if I wanted to. It was that close. LOL

It's not a club or coffee house. It is purely a place to showcase artists. They don't serve food or drinks. They just have a fridge with ice cold water that you can just go up and grab one for yourself. You can read how it all came about on their website. Check out the press reports too. You'll see the bed in one of the articles. LOL

No door fee. The funds come from donations on the spot or online. Volunteers put in time making the place work. There are numerous cameras throughout. I mean, they were serious about doing a good job with the video webcast. You won't believe the effort they put in until you see them at work in person. Check out their video archive on the website.

People can also interact with the performers through emails. We got one from someone who was visiting Germany but signed on to watch the performance. When the email arrived, a light in a plastic watering can started flashing. It was quite funny.

Kate, Claire Holley and Jay Matsueda were amazing singers/artists. They are those people that just make you wonder why they are not better known? I've known Kate for a little while, but never had a chance to hear her sing live until last night. And she was mighty funny too. They all were. And at Kulak's Woodshed, when the show's over you just stick around and talk to the artists like old friends. There's no backstage for them to go to. If they are done performing, they just sit down next to you and watch the rest of the show. How wonderful is that? LOL

What an amazing experience. I highly recommend it. So, check out their calendar, their videos. Go hang out or go online and watch the performances. I would. I would do it again and again. LOL

Note, 08.02.2006, updated Jay's link. Check it out!
Note, 08.02.2006, also found that Kate has a myspace page. Link updated for Kate too.

3 comments:

Charles said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...

Jason~ I ran into this blog doing a web search... Thank you for the complimentary words about the Kulak's show... Yeah, wasn't that funny that someone from GERMANY was tuning in to hear me and everyone? By the way, my actual URL is http://www.myspace.com/jaymatsueda because the FOUR YEARS OLD site is my old band (although we still play once in a while and also continue to use tha site for individual and groups shows/announcements). Next show is at the Talking Stick with an upright bassist on Aug 7, and after that SEVERAL SPECIAL GUESTS with me at Genghis Cohen on Aug 26th!!!!!! thank you for your support! ~Jay Matsueda

Jason said...

Hey Jay! Thanks for the updates! You are an amazing performer. Hope to see you soon!