Nigel Egg: News

OK, I’m playing there, obviously, at 9pm, but for some people that might not be quite enough because if you’ve never been to a place before, there’s probably a good reason.  From your perspective it might be too far away or maybe you’ve heard about the alien abductions that happen there regularly and you’d really prefer to stay on this planet thank you very much.

If you’re already a Dusty’s person, the extra reasons aren’t really “extra”, they’re  just why you go there, and let’s hope that I don’t spoil it for you this weekend.

First, the food – not ordinary. Here is a “foodie” review from Heavy Table. Then the bartenders, also not ordinary, but don’t tell them, it might hurt their feelings. The beer and cocktails? Quite ordinary, probably a good thing. But mostly it’s the people and the comfortable atmosphere; it doesn’t take long to feel at home here.  Unless the aliens drop by. Again.

Coming up later this month – Wednesday Sept 28th at The Coffee Grounds, I am honored to be part of Lonny Knight’s Songwriter Showcase.  The next day I start a six-day tour through Wisconsin and Illinois, beginning at the Acoustic Café in Eau Claire. More about that in the next newsletter, or check my website calendar here.

Hope to see you soon!  If you didn’t see my triumphant appearance on KARE 11 news, live from the State Fair with the New Minnesota State Song, here is a link to the Facebook page. My web site has information about all my gigs, directions, etc. just click here.

 

Well I hope so because I've written it.

Background. A few years ago, State Rep Dean Urdahl (District 18B) proposed that we put the official state song Hail Minnesota in mothballs and call it the State Anthem. This would leave room for a new State Song which, according to Rep. Urdahl, should “have a catchy tune to make it easy to learn.” He hoped it would be performed at the 2008 State Fair, to celebrate 150 years of statehood for the 32nd state.

News. OK, I’m three years late, but I’ve been refining and testing my contender for Minnesota State Song. It is called Why Minnesota My Minnesota and I shall be performing it at the 2011 State Fair – on Sunday August 28th, 5pm at the Farmer’s Union on Dan Patch. Many of you have sung along at venues this summer – if you are at the fair on Sunday, show up and sing for the TV cameras! I’m going to milk this opportunity and try to get on some live-from-the-fair news broadcasts.

This will open the Minnesota Songwriters State Fair showcase, one of two songwriter showcase gigs I have in the next week.  If you’d like to hear the song, here is a link to a silly video I put on YouTube. 

On  Monday August 22nd I’m one of five MAS performers outdoors at the Nicollet Island Amphitheater, beginning at 7pm.

 For details, directions, etc. please click the underlined links.

(Newsletter August 2nd 2011)

Well, depends what you’re scared about. Bugs? Short answer is No, not safe. Heat index? Probably not safe. Stepping on a beetle and hearing it crunch under your shoe? Possibly safe if you are wearing headphones. Having an alien cut out your pineal gland to squeeze on her taco salad? Actually, quite safe!

But I probably shouldn’t expect too many people to show up at my gig on Thursday evening at Minnehaha Falls Bandshell because it is outside and of course there is that extra danger of being carried down the waterfall and dashed to the rocks below. Like Hiawatha.

Is this going to stop a daredevil like you  or will you thumb your nose at fate and nonchalantly crunch beetles as you clamber over the rocks, swatting away the bugs and succumbing to heat exhaustion as you climb up the stone steps from Minnehaha Creek to the Bandshell? 

If you do, I pledge you the honor and respect you deserve! And a coupon for Dairy Queen.

The details – 7:00pm to 8:30pm at Minnehaha Falls Park. Rain or shine – the concert moves inside the big pavilion if the weather is bad. The sound crew does a great job, and I’ll be performing the same show I did at Lake Harriet last month.

Click here for directions and information. The concert is free, courtesy of the Minneapolis Parks Department, but you’ll need to pay a couple dollars for parking if you don’t arrive by canoe.

 It would be great to see you! Please feel free to forward this email to your friends – the more the merrier! I have created an event on Facebook where you can Invite Friends by clicking on the button on the left side. 

My vacation from performing is over. I got a bunch of new songs finished, caught up on my to-do list at home, took a couple of trips, including 10 days at the Kerrville Folk Festival (inspiring!). But I miss the showing off, I mean sharing my music and I’m revving things up again.

June 26^th - Monday evening from 7:00 to 8:30 pm, I’m playing at the Nicollet Island Amphitheater.

July 7^th – Thursday evening from 7:30 to 9:00 pm – Lake Harriet Bandshell.

These are part of the Minneapolis Parks Outdoor Concert series. The sun WILL be shining and I have some lovely new pink and gold clothes to wear in celebration.

 The Nicollet Island Amphitheater is just east from the Nicollet Island Inn, tucked behind the Pavilion. The Mississippi river is spectacular right now from all the rain we’ve been enjoying (you can see the upper falls from the amphitheater) but I am glad the rain stops tomorrow morning. Bring something to sit on – the grass may still be damp.

 We’ll sing the new State Song together - Why Minnesota My Minnesota. You can preview it by clicking this link to YouTube.

 Thanks!

Last week I told you I’d be playing at Dusty’s Bar on March 31st. Well actually, I’m playing at Dusty’s THIS Thursday, March 10th, which is also my sister Karen’s birthday. Due to the time difference between here and Ramsgate, England, her birthday will technically be over by the time Richard and I start playing at 9:30, but we’ll dedicate every song to her nonetheless! Things that Karen and I have in common. Well, same parents obviously. We both had to wear green school uniforms, and we had cold knees in winter. At my all-boys school, long trousers were not allowed until the Third form (age 13) and Karen’s school was skirts-only. They even had to wear green undies (the only reason I know that is because Mum hung the washing on the clothes line, OK? Though, as a teenager, I did have a bit of a reputation at that school.) And that’s about it, really. We share a dark sense of humor and a superb grasp of irony, though Karen tends to find the ironic absurd, while I find it hilarious. And we love one another despite everything.   The Dusty’s gig is my last in-town gig until June – I’m holing up for a couple of months to finish writing and recording a new album, which will be mostly original blues tunes. Out of town gigs this month – Friday March 18th I’m playing at the Acoustic Cafe in Eau Claire, and Thursday March 31st at the White Horse in St Cloud. For details, addresses and so on, please click here to go to my web site. I really appreciate your taking the time to read these newsletters, and it is such a thrill when you actually come to the gigs! Out on the town - I heard a couple of amazing musicians this week you might want to check out - Bethany Larson and Kevin Steinman. Crazy good singers and songwriters! See you soon, Nigel.

Is three times in one week too much to ask? Three Minneapolis gigs coming up next week – no time to chat, sorry, just the facts: Tuesday March 1st - showcase gig at The Acadia Cafe, I play at 8:00pm. Thursday March 3rd – Mad Ripple Hootenanny at the Aster Cafe 6:00pm Friday March 4th – Nigel Egg in 2G at the Riverside Cafe and Wine Bar 8:00pm  Here's a little detail (with links to click): Acadia Cafe 3/1 at 8pm. The Natural Sound Studio Showcase. I recorded most of my recent CD at Natural Sound Studio, owned and operated by Steve Janega. The studio is presenting five artists and bands who recorded there in the past year – it’s sure to be a strange and fearsome mixture of music. I asked to be on first so I wouldn't miss my bedtime! See you at 8pm. This link will take you to the Facebook Event that lists all of the performers. Aster Cafe 3/3 at 6pm. Jim Walsh, aka The Mad Ripple, hosts a weekly, wild, wingding of a songwriter showcase - he's been doing it for years, and his guests on any particular evening might include musicians you'd pay multo dollars to see live. Jim is a much-published and nationally respected music writer and critic. Since January 2011 these have been at The Aster Cafe, right on the river across from downtown Minneapolis in St Anthony Main.  Once you've experienced a Mad Ripple Hootenanny you'll be back for more! There are usually 4-6 singers on stage at the same time, taking turns to play songs, with lots of jamming and singing help from the others, and everyone trying not to crack up completely. It’s a rush. Every time I go, it inspires me to get back home and write a new song; this is my first time as a performer.  Riverview Cafe and Wine Bar 3/4 at 8pm. Richard and I are back for another three hours of trying to reach higher ground. We may stumble on the way, but as Robert Browning said, “a man’s reach should exceed his grasp, else what’s a heaven for?” Nigel Egg in 2G means it’s me and Richard Kronick on bass. Two of us (2). So then, when we play as a trio, it’ll be in 3G! Like 3D except its 3G. Is that too wacko? It’s my favorite band name so far, probably because my own name dominates.  Off on the horizon – Dusty’s Bar on Thursday March 31st, 9:30 to late.  Here's a tip - in case you haven’t heard them yet, go to Psycho Suzi’s any Friday or Saturday night from 7 to 11 and hear Exotik-a-GoGo. Wow – unique and incredibly tight! These guys have the chops to play anything, and they are blowing the lid off the tiki-tiki exotica genre that fits this venue perfectly.   You can find venue addresses and all that on my web site. I would be really happy to see you at all of these gigs!

I get off on these tangents sometimes. Well OK, quite often. And music is so everything everywhere, so pervasive, so wound around and through the entire universe. I slide, oblivious, down some tangent until something wakes me up, I shake the water off my fur and find myself miles away down a road I don’t remember choosing.

Oh,  before I forget, we’re playing at Dusty’s Bar this Saturday at 9:30.

The road to “Copacabana” is not the road less travelled. You might think it TOO travelled. But I started singing “At the Copa, Copacabana…” and that’s all I knew. So I downloaded the words and realized how superbly written this song is. The melody is quite tricky – I couldn’t sing along with Barry on YouTube. So I transcribed it note by note. Still working on actually playing it - there is too much information for me to be able to read and play this tune with any engagement, so I have to memorize it. And, you can bet, if I put in that much work into a song, it has to show up in the act!

 TMI? Sorry. Hope to see you at Dusty's on Saturday - NE Minneapolis - right across from where the Grain Belt Brewery used to be.

Nigel.

 

My friend Richard Kronick sent the following gig email out to his friends… I have nothing to add, except, Wow! Thank you! You made my day!  Hi y'all,  This Saturday, 1/29, from 8 to 10:30, at the Riverview Cafe and Wine Bar, 3753 42nd Ave. So., Minneapolis. I'll be playing upright bass with singer/guitarist/harmonicist/songwriter Nigel Egg.   Now, I know what some of you are thinking: Nigel Egg?!  What a weird name!  Well, I'm going to reveal what you already figured out: It's not his real name.  His name is Nigel Eccleston, but "Nigel Egg" is a good indication of his brand of creativity.  Nigel is quirky.  His humorous songs tend to be snarky and not just a little bent -- in ways that make audiences laugh and applaud loudly.  But not all of Nigel's songs are snarky and sarcastic.  He's also written some very thoughtful songs and some very beautiful songs.  But I'm tellin' ya: they're all GREAT!  And it's not just because he's so darned creative.  It's also because he is a true song craftsman.  He works at it all the time.  He hones a song until it reaches out and grabs you.  As a result, Nigel has won top awards in song-writing competitions in Austin, Texas; Telluride, Colorado; and right here in Minnesota.  You can see what I mean by clicking on this link: www.nigelegg.com .  Oh, by the way, we'll do some of my songs too.  See you out there, Dick  Thanks, Dick! Jeez, after reading that, I can hardly wait to hear myself!  I’ll also mention that we play some cover tunes that might surprise you. Dick and I have been playing music together (sporadically) since 1974 and we’ve covered some doozies in our time! Thanks for reading, hope you can make it. Next Saturday we’re playing together at Dusty’s Bar in Northeast Minneapolis, February 5th. Nigel.

I don't understand why I get so absorbed in left-field projects sometimes... most of the time? Anyway, here's a Cajun-flavored song about the North-east Minneapolis neighborhood called Bottineau. It's actually the accompanying video that took all the left-field time. It did turn out quite well, though! Here's a link to the video on YouTube.  Also, for a limited time you can download the music for free right close by, from the music tab on my web site,

Ah - you've set up the RSS feed! You're the first to hear that there are two new songs you can download for free on the Music tab of the web site. Actually, one new (Oh Bottineau) and one old (Little Stumpy's Christmas) that has not been heard in public by very many people and you'll understand why!

 We rehearsed it

 

And we nailed it in one take!

 

Here's a suggestion for balancing the budget after today's election (put the music player on pause before playing video)

Check the Music page for the original demo of the song you all sang along with at the party last Friday! Ahh, the pipes, the pipes...

Wow, I can't believe how you all showed up at the 331 Club on Friday to join in the party! It is three days later and I am still finding out people who were there but I didn't get to see. It was kind of crazy getting our stuff off the stage so that Eilen Jewell and her band could get up - probably looked like not rthe best time to come up and say Hi and you were right! Check out the photos on the photo page, and I'll have videos up soon. Thank you for coming and celebrating the end of Chapter One!

The "official" release of Big Bang Baby Boom is today, July 6th, 2010. It is available from CD Baby, iTunes, Amazon, eMusic and most places you can download music.
You can get the inside stories, pictures and a couple of videos about making the CD on the xxx page of this site - click here