But that's what I do to be true to my passion." And, although I love people and doing public relations work, I sometimes get tired of being a shameless self-promoter. I work for the City of Seattle as the Outreach Coordinator for Restore Our Waters, and promote environmental stewardship. Luckily, my day job lines up with one of my passions. OBSTACLES: "I have a full-time job and keep my music going.
I feel very fortunate to share my music with others." I explore who I am in relation to everything else. Usually the best songs come from an intense experience or as a coping mechanism. INSPIRATION: "I believe the songs are there, and I just need to be open to them. My most notable show was the 'Nobody for President' reprise tour at the Off Ramp with Wavy Gravy." We played peace concerts and social justice rallies. When I found out, I definitely had an 'Aha!' moment."ĬAREER DEBUT: "As frontperson for the Shamaniacs in the summer of 1992. Only my mother and two of her friends knew the truth until she told me. I was actually the product of an affair and my biological father was Spanish. In my 20s, my mother disclosed to me that the man I thought was my father was not. "I was born in Spain and moved to the U.S. MONIKER: "Harper is my last name, but it doesn't really belong to me," Harper explains. WHAT: Acoustic-based folk-rock that adds blues and funk in equal parts and is led by Susan "Suzi" Harper (vocals, acoustic guitar) with Sean Lahay (keyboards),George Bullock (guitar), Don Chappell (bass) and Frank Heye (drums).
Wavy’s birthday parties are always a good time."Susan Harper Conspiracy - Seattle Noise" Toss in an auction of cool memorabilia in an adjacent room and surprise appearances by Ramblin’ Jack Elliot and Pete Sears, and you’ve got a night of fine tunes for a good cause. Wavy’s birthday parties are always a good time. With Jen Durkin belting in front, they grooved their way through a selection of RD originals, including “The Center,” “Your House,” “Fountains of Wood” and “Next Dimension,” then closed with a pair of Dead tunes: “New Speedway Boogie” (v.2!) and “Fire on the Mountain.” The place was still rocking well past the midnight hour. What a great fit he ebullient Porter turned out to be! Far from being some loose, thrown-together aggregation, however, MH&F sounded seriously rehearsed and hit the ground running. John Molo, and filling in for regular RD bassist Mike Gordon was the fantastic George Porter Jr., of New Orleans’ incomparable Meters.
However, in Bill Kreutzmann’s place was the ever-monstrous Mr. Among the group’s meaty jam tunes were “Gregg’s Eggs” and “Catalina,” the latter warbled by Judge Murphy.Ĭlosing the show was a group billed as Mickey Hart & Friends, which turned out to be sort of an extension of the current Rhythm Devils band. A nice addition to this version of the group was our old JGB pal Melvin Seals on organ a good fit for sure.
As always, Steve Kimock built his guitar solos slowly, feeling his way through a succession of melodic flights on his way to the stratosphere, while saxman Martin Fierro honked and squonked and screeched in his inimitable way, sometimes locked in with Kimock, but often flying alone. Very cool.Īfter the infamous Baby Gramps stunned the crowd with a between-sets version of a down-and-dirty Delta blues-inspired song I presume was called “Scrotum” (the cat does play a mean dobro!), the latest edition of Zero hit the stage to thunderous cheers. Working through a collection of originals and covers such as “New Speedway Boogie” and Dylan’s/The Byrds’ “Nothing Was Delivered,” they established a warm, mellow vibe reminiscent of parts of Workingman’s Dead, but nicely colored by Robinson’s soulful delivery. Then came my favorite set of the night, by Black Crowes (and occasional Phil & Friends) singer Chris Robinson & Wooden Family, a trio with Chris on acoustic guitar, George Reiff on bass and the fantastic Jonathan Wilson on electric guitar. Next was a 45-minute jaunt through the distinctive world of rising jam band Tea Leaf Green, who definitely got the crowd movin’ and shakin’ their collective groove thang. Mickey’s Global Drum Project mate Sikuru was up first, fronting an all-percussion group that banged, bopped and rumbled through an exciting set that leaned heavily on material popularized by the late, great Babatunde Olatunji (a long-time friend of the Dead’s). With Wavy acting as emcee and spinning old and new stories between sets, the evening flowed seamlessly. On May 18, at San Francisco’s intimate Grand Ballroom (upstairs from the old Avalon Ballroom), Mickey Hart was part of very strong lineup celebrating Wavy Gravy’s 71st birthday and raising a heap o’ money for Wavy’s favorite cause, SEVA.
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