Video from Strings Attached White Album show discovered by Alicia Keys

Several past Strings Attached collaborators are making it big.

Nakia who's featured on our Sgt. Pepper remake made it to top of popular show The Voice. and now Gary Clark, Jr.

Remember the White Album show in 2006? Well Gary was one of about 30 different artists from Abra Moore to Joe Ely that joined us to give a live interpretation of one song from the Beatles White Album.

Gary performed While My Guitar Gently Weeps with the Strings Attached 9 piece band.

So I just read that Alicia Keys disocvered Gary Clark Jr. by way of a Strings Attached video. 


From this blog (http://www.austinchronicle.com/music/2012-03-16/spotlights/):

"....Clark's impressed Paul McCartney, jammed with the Roots on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon, and collaborated with Alicia Keys, that last one inspired by the R&B singer discovering Clark's rendition of "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" with Will Taylor & Strings Attached.

"She saw a video on YouTube of me doing the song down in Austin," he confirms.

Here’s that video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sl4AZtLZe6o

Buy the album with that song here: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/wtaylorsa2

The source: http://www.austinchronicle.com/music/2012-03-16/spotlights/

See Strings Attached next on March 23rd at Jovitas.

See more Strings Attached shows at http://stringsattached.org/shows.php

Strings Attached return to Historic Church Setting for Show with Boys Choir Friday Night

Tomorrow night at 7pm Strings Attached along with Stephen Zirkel on trumpet will be back in a Historic Church just north of the U.T. Campus.

We're really excited to announce this one time collaboration as a part of the Front Porch Project.

More about that soon, but first, a bit about the show.

Will has arranged three pieces to perform with the The Saint James Boys Choirfrom Maryland.

They will perform several on their own and the Strings Attached Jazz quartet will as well.

This is all a part of the Front Porch Project. Not only will there be music, but there will be an open Q and Q session at the end of the short concert!

Here's your chance to interact and ask that question you've been always wanting to pose Will Taylor.  Right?  Maybe I'm dreaming here.

In any case, here's some info from the folks that put this on:

The Front Porch is a non-profit café and event space that celebrates the power of gathering through music, art, ideas, books, food, drink, social networking, and dialogue. It is a forum, a market, a table, a stage, and a sanctuary in the heart of Austin.  

On the Porch, we will feed those hungry in mind, body, and spirit by listening to, learning from, and working with one another to create community and spiritual connection in a seriously divided world.
The Front Porch affords opportunities for people to be inspired and moved by its diverse offerings, hoping to become the parish hall for folks without a parish and a sanctuary for folks without sanctuary.

You can also download more info here: http://allsaints-austin.org/misc/Lenten_Series_Poster.pdf 

The details:

All Saints Episcopal Church
209 West 27th Street  Austin, TX 78705

7pm Show Time
FREE

Hope to see you soon!


Otherwise here's a look at what's coming soon on the Strings Attached calendar:

Upcoming Shows:

Mar 23, 2012 - Austin, TX (US) @ Jovita's - Strings Attached Dance Variety Band Returns to Jovita's
Apr 13, 2012 - Austin, TX (US) @ The Grove @ Southpark Meadows - Strings Attached Zeppelin Show
May 4, 2012 - Austin, TX (US) @ Jovita's - Strings Attached Dance Variety Band Returns to Jovita's
May 19, 2012 - Round Rock, TX (US) @ Bayou House Concerts - Bayou House Concert with House of Wills
Jun 8, 2012 - Austin, TX (US) @ Central Market Cafe - Austin: Zeppelin Show with Strings Attached
Jun 21, 2012 - San Antonio, TX (US) @ San Antonio Botanical Gardens - House of Wills Plays San Antonio Botanical Concerts Under The Stars

How the House of Wills was Built

WHO: Will Taylor & Strings Attached
WHAT:  House of Wills: Songs of Willie Nelson in the Style of Bob Wills
WHERE: Austin, San Antonio, Houston, San Angelo, Marble Falls, all the way to Saint-Agrève, France
WHEN: Album Release February 8, public performances begin February 11
WEB: www.stringsattachedhouseofwills.com
TIX: http://StringsAttached.org or http://houseofwills.eventbee.com
MEDIA: Photos, on-air performances, and interviews via david@wyattbrand and 512/450.4395

Will Taylor & Strings Attached presents House of WillsSongs of Willie Nelson in the Style of Bob Wills
Wistful Re-Imaginings of Lone Star Musical Heritage via Album, Tour, DVD

AUSTIN, Texas—This February, one modern and pioneering “Will” of Texas music is uniting two legendary other "Wills" with the innovative and wistful House of Wills album and tour. Strings Attached founder and director Will Taylor has taken beloved songs from the Willie Nelson songbook, and re-imagined them in the style of western swing pioneer: Bob Wills. The album, mastered by John Hanlon—Neil Young's producer of 25 years—features vocals by Karen Mal and Steve Carter with arrangements for guitar, mandolin, trumpet, cello, upright bass, and Will Taylor on fiddle. The resulting album, making-of DVD, and Texas tour all began in Will’s south-of-South-Austin place in the country, which he and girlfriend/collaborator Karen Mal call "Woody's Place" after their dog. Literally conceived and recorded in the house of Will, this is far from the first foray into tributes for violinist and tireless Strings Attached leader Taylor. For the past decade, Taylor’s group has made a name for itself by reworking iconic music like the Beatles ‘White album’, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, and Rubber Soul as well as the hits of Led Zeppelin, Joni Mitchell, Pink Floyd, Paul Simon, Peter Gabriel and Jimi Hendrix—adding jazz and roots flavors along with string arrangements to lovingly assembled acoustic renditions. Their performances in churches and sanctuaries are akin to a religious experience for fans of music so the act of reworking the renowned songs and sounds of two of Texas' most legendary country artists was not entered into lightly. In fact, the classically-trained Taylor went the long way around to playing fiddle in a country band.

How the House of Wills was Built Taylor grew up in the heart of Willie Nelson country. Central Texas: home of the Broken Spoke, Soap Creek Saloon, Willie's picnics, the Stallion, the Armadillo World Headquarters, Gruene Hall, and the Kerrville Folk Festival. He muses, “You'd think these musical institutions would occupy more than the periphery of my childhood musical landscape. But I was more interested in performing classical chamber music and playing the solos of [French jazz violinist] Stephane Grappelli.” Twelve years later he started Strings Attached as a genre-blurring collaboration with folk artists. Will’s vision was to fuse jazz and classical flavors with the contemporary singer/songwriter genre; to ‘dress it up with different jewelry.’ Taylor was working with Austin musicians like Eliza Gilkyson, Jimmy LaFave, Slaid Cleaves, Shawn Colvin, Sara Hickman, Jimmy LaFave, Darden Smith, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Ian Moore, Patrice Pike, and Abra Moore. Slowly, his ears started turning toward the fiddle side of the violin spectrum. And inevitably, toward what became House of Wills and an extensive exploration into the musical heritage of Texas.

Willie and Wills Willie Nelson has called Bob Wills one of his idols, even paying tribute to him on the 2009 “Willie & the Wheel” album with Asleep at the Wheel. Nelson said in an NPR interview "I've been in a band—ever since I was 10-12 years old—of one kind or another, and we always sang Bob Wills because that was the hot music of the day." And of course there's Willie's famous 1973 cover of Wills’ "Stay All Night (Stay A Little Longer)" from Shotgun Willie. “King of Western Swing” Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys was a musical pioneer—immensely popular and influential, especially from the 1930s to the 1950sWhat's more, this year Nelson's "On The Road Again" and Bob Wills' recording of "Steel Guitar Rag" are among The Recording Academy's 2011 Grammy Hall of Fame inductees. The Nelson and Wills titles are part of a 2011 class that includes Hank Williams' "Lovesick Blues," the Beatles' "Penny Lane," the Jackson 5's "I'll Be There" and Prince & The Revolution's "Purple Rain."

Confirmed Performances—check www.stringsattachedhouseofwills.com for the latest
Friday, Feb. 11 Austin, Texas  Album Release at Mercury Hall
Saturday, Feb. 12 Taylor, Texas   Armadillo Hall, 8 pm
Sunday, Feb. 13 Marble Falls, Texas  Uptown Marble theater, 2pm
Sunday, Feb. 13  Jonestown, Texas  House Concert, 7pm
Friday, Feb. 18 San Antonio, Texas  Casbeers, 9pm
Saturday, Feb. 19 Spicewood, Texas   Poodies Hilltop, 9pm
Wednesday, Feb. 23 San Angelo, Texas   Cultural Affairs Council 
Saturday, April 23  Houston, Texas    Anderson Fair
Sunday, August 14 Saint-Agrève, France EquiBlues “Festival Rodéo & Country Music”

Album Release Event: Friday, Feb. 11 at Mercury Hall After the album comes out on February 8, the tour starts on the 11th with a special release party at the Mercury Hall in South Austin. More than just a concert, this Valentine-tinted event—with flowers—will include a section set aside on the oak floor for swing dancing, scintillating light art projected on the walls during the performance, dance lessons between shows, beer and wine, a western swing workshop in the afternoon and a full band featuring trumpet, cello, violin, mandolin, guitar, acoustic bass, and two swinging vocalists.

About Strings Attached Beginning in 1999, Will Taylor implemented a new idea after brainstorming with other Austin musicians. Taylor began collaborating with both local and nationally renowned artists, rearranging their known material, bringing in his own crew of seasoned jazz and contemporary roots musicians to play, and moving from the traditional smoky club scene to pristine performance settings. Since then Will Taylor and Strings Attached has presented over 50 concert collaborations to more than 12,000 audience members. In 2006, over 1600 Beatles fans saw Strings Attached re-create the entire White album. They've also presented the music of Led Zeppelin, Joni Mitchell, Pink Floyd, Peter Gabriel and Jimi Hendrix. Guest artists they’ve collaborated with include: Shawn Colvin, Joe Ely,Dar Williams, James McMurtry, Fastball's Tony Scalzo, Jimmy Dale Gilmore, Ruthie Foster, Abra Moore, Darden Smith, Tish Hinojosa, Sara Hickman, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Eliza Gilkyson, Slaid Cleaves, Suzi Stern, Beth Ulman, Kellye Gray, Patrice Pike, Guy Forsyth, Michael Fracasso, Jimmy LaFave, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Albert and Gage, Jon Dee Graham, John Aielli, Barbara K, Kimmie Rhodes, Ian Moore, Chip Taylor and Carrie Rodriguez.

About Will Taylor Young Will arrived in Austin in 1973 and spent summers swimming at Barton Springs, playing in the garden of the infamous Armadillo World Headquarters, while living two blocks from the Rome Inn where Stevie Ray Vaughan played the blues weekly. He studied viola from the age of 10, and pursued performance at UT’s School of Music while playing jazz-fusion in 6th Street clubs on the weekend. His jazz string quartet was invited to play at the keynote of the 1988 SXSW music festival. Will is an accomplished arranger, composer, and bandleader—actively performing the viola, violin, guitar, and piano. He has played for 21 years in the Austin Lyric Opera orchestra, and has played with orchestras all over Texas, plus toured the U.S. and Canada. ###

Strings Attached for Weddings and Parties. Click below:
Austin Cover Bands Tx Wedding Soloist

Tickets Available for House of Wills Release Show February 11th 2011

Brenda Ladd Photograhy

GET TICKETS
Advance tickets are available now for  Strings Attached fans.
Only 300 seats available for this show.
Tickets to the public go on sale very soon.
Two shows 7 p.m. and 10 p.m.

On tour celebrating the release of "House of Wills", Will Taylor & Strings Attached plays the classy and elegant Mercury Hall in South Austin.  More then just a concert, this ideal Valentine destination event will include a section set aside on the oak floor for swing dancing, scintilating light art projected on the walls during the performance, dance lessons between shows, a full bar, a western swing workshop in the afternoon and a full band featuring Trumpet, cello, violin, mandolin, guitar, acoustic bass, and two swinging vocalists.

Dancers, Listeners and Non-Dancers are all welcome!

What if you took 2 Texas legends, Willie Nelson and Bob Wills, the king of Texas Western Swing, and put them together in new elegant jazzy arrangements?

See video and more info here:

http://www.youtube.com/songsofwillienelson

http://stringsattachedhouseofwills.com

Here's a little about the project:

I've always been inspired and seduced by sounds that mix different styles. This project came about from two separate show ideas from fans that we grafted together. Both Willie and Wills draw from diverse influences: blues, classical, folk, traditional bluegrass, jazz. As we researched the Bob Wills style, we fell in love with the raw, unpretentious and old-fashioned quality wrapped up in elegant arrangements. We heard Big Band sounds dressed up in cowboy hats, with fiddles and steel guitar in the foreground (instead of horns) with consummate musicianship and playful improvisation throughout. When we started to explore Willie's catalogue, the wealth of material to choose from was astonishing. From outlaw country to standards to Gospel, the possibilities of twining Texas Swing through it were dazzling. We were drawn to his rhythmic sensibility, his casual and masterful ease. The way he sings a melody, or flirts with a guitar solo -- now that's jazz. And the tender economy of his lyrics …Well, we don't have to tell you. See our youtube site or just come to the show.

http://www.youtube.com/songsofwillienelson

http://stringsattachedhouseofwills.com

GET TICKETS