The 2021 Seven for Seven Festival
I’ve always enjoyed playing music of different genres, and since all live shows have been canceled because of the coronavirus, I decided to instead put my time into exploring new musical projects.
In January, I will be sharing live music from each of these projects, streaming live from the amazing Audible Images recording studio. This wonderful place has allowed me to rehearse safely, with musicians in separate enclosed areas, and now will be a perfect environment to share us playing together.
These performances will take place at 5 pm ET sharp, and will be simultaneously streamed on multiple platforms, listed below schedule. All performances are free of charge and will last 60-90 minutes.
SCHEDULE
(click project name to jump to more info)
SUNDAY, JANUARY 3 – LIBERTOCA (Latin-flavored instrumental guitar duo)
MONDAY, JANUARY 4 – DARYL NEWS (vocal songs with backing vocals, vibraphone, dulcimer, and more)
TUESDAY, JANUARY 5 – THE KILLIFISH (modern surf-rock trio)
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 6 – SWANWELDER (solo improvised soundscapes with analog cassette tape)
THURSDAY, JANUARY 7 – CISTERN & BUCKETS (indie-rock quartet)
FRIDAY, JANUARY 8 – THE DARYL SHAWN COMBINATION (high-octane instrumental rock)
SATURDAY, JANUARY 9 – DARYL SHAWN (solo instrumental guitar)
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LIBERTOCA
Sunday January 3 at 5 pm ET
Jon Bañuelos – nylon-string guitar
Daryl Shawn – nylon-string guitar
LIBERTOCA is the guitar partnership of Daryl Shawn and Jon Bañuelos. Jon spent years studying flamenco in Spain, and now plays in a number of Pittsburgh ensembles including the renowned Alba Flamenca, Alma Mura, and the Uptown Quartet. Daryl draws on his own flamenco studies as well as five years spent in Mexico, and together they create a Latin-influenced sound full of energy, passion and pure fun.
Libertoca on Facebook
Libertoca on YouTube
Hear Jon Banuelos’ newest album
Here’s the Libertoca set from Day 1:
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DARYL NEWS
Monday January 4 at 5 pm ET
Daryl Shawn – vocals & guitar
Deborah Dimasi – vocals
Jeff Berman – vibraphone, dulcimer, percussion
Eli Naragon – bass
DARYL NEWS is Daryl Shawn’s acoustic songwriting project, with Shawn’s voice and acoustic guitar backed by various Pittsburgh musicians from the jazz, classical and folk worlds. Their first song, “Not There Yet”, involved a complete five-piece band plus two backing vocalists. For this special performance, it will feature Jeff Berman (of Appalasia and Blink, among many others) on drums, plus classically-trained vocalist Deborah Dimasi and jazz fixture Eli Naragon on standup bass.
Daryl News on Facebook
Daryl News on YouTube
Daryl News on Instagram
Daryl News on Instagram
Set list and lyrics from the Daryl News set
Video from Day 2:
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THE KILLIFISH
Tuesday January 5 at 5 pm ET
Daryl Shawn – guitar
Hollis Greathouse – 6-string bass
Jeff Berman – drums
THE KILLIFISH features Jeff Berman (of Appalasia and Blink, among many others) on drums, Daryl Shawn on electric guitar, and 6-string bassist Hollis Greathouse. They add a sophisticated sense of improvisation and interplay to their original music, with the classic surf rock sound as a launching pad for deep exploration.
The Killifish on YouTube
The Killifish on Facebook
The Killifish on Instagram
Here’s the Killifish set from Day 3:
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SWANWELDER
Wednesday January 6 at 5 pm ET
Daryl Shawn – guitar, four-track casssette player, microcassette Dictaphone
SWANWELDER is one of Daryl Shawn’s longest-running projects, dating back to 2007 when he was living in Mexico. It’s purely improvised music, utilizing a cassette four-track loaded with an endless loop cassette, connected to a microcassette dictating machine. A sound source (usually a nylon-string guitar) is fed into the tape machines, both of which feature tape-speed controls and other idiosyncratic features which are used to process the recorded and live sounds. This can result in pastoral soundscapes, thick clouds of sound, or pure electronic noise. It’s never the same thing twice, and may not sound like anything you’ve heard before.
Stream the latest Swanwelder album on Bandcamp
Swanwelder on Facebook
Swanwelder on Instagram
Here’s the Swanwelder set from Day 4:
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CISTERN & BUCKETS
Thursday January 7 at 5 pm ET
Daryl Shawn – vocals, electric guitar
Heather Kropf – vocals
Hollis Greathouse – bass guitar
Jeff Berman – drums
CISTERN & BUCKETS is an indie-rock band based around Daryl Shawn’s songwriting and his paired vocals with Heather Kropf, widely recognized as a singer-songwriter in her own right, plus the rhythm section of Jeff Berman and Hollis Greathouse. Fitting somewhere between the scruffy heart of The Replacements and the erudite craft of the Smiths, with a touch of the arena-sized yearnings of Muse, this band isn’t afraid to rock out while diving deep into carefully-considered wordplay.
Set list and LYRICS for the Cistern & Buckets show
Video from the Cistern & Buckets set:
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THE DARYL SHAWN COMBINATION
Friday January 8 at 5 pm ET
Daryl Shawn – electric guitar
Hollis Greathouse – electric guitar
Anthony Pecora – electric bass
Jeff Berman – drums
THE DARYL SHAWN COMBINATION is Daryl Shawn’s newest project, formed only since the pandemic began, featuring once again Jeff Berman on drums, and Hollis Greathouse switching to rhythm guitar, plus Anthony Pecora on bass guitar. Bristling with a potent high-gain guitar tone and unabashedly progressive instrumental songwriting, this is music of great intensity and ambitious scope. And if it makes you want to do donuts in a Camaro, we don’t mind a bit.
The Combination on Facebook
Video from the Daryl Shawn Combination set:
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DARYL SHAWN
Saturday January 9 at 5 pm ET
Daryl Shawn’s most well-documented project features him playing instrumental acoustic guitar, both steel-string and nylon-string. He has released five albums of original music in this vein, and has logged over 500 live performances in 33 states plus Canada and Mexico. Extremely active online, since 2017 he began broadcasting regular concerts from home, and now streams every weekday to a dedicated group of followers on six social media channels. Since the COVID epidemic began, he has performed over 200 online concerts of solo music. Drawing from a variety of sources for inspiration, especially African music, Spanish music, and contemporary chamber music, his compositions make full use of his training in classical and flamenco guitar as well as his studies in jazz.
Though he has a repertoire of over 500 arrangements of cover songs, for this performance he will exclusively perform original music.
Daryl Shawn on Facebook
Daryl Shawn on YouTube
Daryl Shawn on Instagram
Daryl Shawn website
Video from the Daryl Shawn set: