Category Archives: Uncategorized

The band is back!

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Stray Muse has been on hiatus since Shelley’s accident last fall. (It’s tough to play flute with three broken bones in your hand!) Since then, Rob Bassinette (bass) and Steve Lussie (guitar) have joined the band – yay!

It’s a big effort to learn a 40+ song repertoire, but Rob and Steve have been up to it. They’ve each contributed a lot to our arrangements, and our performances are feeling revitalized and fresh. Hope you’ll come check us out – we’ll be back at the Chit Chat in Pacifica on June 18 (Father’s Day!) at 12:30pm.

Last night we played the Bay View Boat Club in SF. (Rob couldn’t make it, so friend John Sweet and ex-Muse Andy Charmotz both filled in on bass.) There was a great, friendly crowd, and it was a gas to be together playing in front of live people, indoors again. Many thanks to Mike Dingle at the Boat Club for inviting us to this exclusive venue!

Songwriter’s Showcase – March 26

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Mark will be featured at a special songwriter’s day at the Chit Chat Cafe in Pacifica this Sunday, March 26. Shelley will be doing the vocals on most of the songs, to give it a Stray Muse feel. Some of these songs are being debuted, and will find their way into the Stray Muse repertoire soon, so come get a preview.

The Chit Chat is at Manor & Esplanade in Pacifica. The show starts at 12:30 – come early and get a table and a sandwich!

The Story Behind a Song

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“Maria’s Cards from Heaven” is a song inspired by a human rights activist from El Salvador, and by a mysterious card from the sky. Here’s the story:

We sat sharing coffee, my friend Barbara and I, as a white card fluttered from the sky into my back yard. It didn’t seem like litter…it was solitary and looked pristine. Barbara retrieved it.

Written on this index card, scrawled in pencil, began a story: “My name is Maria Julia Hernandez.” Maria wrote that she was from El Salvador, where she led the fight for human rights amid the wars that claimed so many lives. And the story ended In mid sentence.

We searched the internet, and found that Maria was a real person, a beloved Salvadoran activist. She was beside Archbishop Romero when the soldiers murdered him. She founded an important rights group, and she died a decade ago. Amazingly, when Barbara asked her niece in El Salvador, she replied that she had raised money for Maria’s organization.

It’s possible that the index card from the sky was written by a student for a history project. I choose to think otherwise. While I’m not very religious, I think that in retrieving the falling card, we may have entered the mythology of a fallen hero. So I wrote her song for her.

Maria’s Cards from Heaven on Soundcloud.

– Mark

Join us at the Chit Chat in November

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The band will be back at the Chit Chat on the Sunday after Thanksgiving (November 27) with a full show, starting at 12:30pm. We’ll be introducing our new bassist, Spike Conner, and playing some favorites and a few new songs. Hope to see you there!

PS: Our SF Free Folk Festival show has been viewed almost 1000 times. If you haven’t seen it, check it out on YouTube.

Stray Muse delivers…via the SF Free Folk Festival

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We’re coming to a computer, phone or TV near you! Starting all day on July 16, you can see a 40-minute Stray Muse concert, recorded specially for the San Francisco Free Folk Festival.

We had a blast recording this in Nevada City, at the recording studio of our buddy and former Stray Muse bassist Brandon Buttrick. (Brandon is known to fans as Django Mack – check out his music). We think you’ll enjoy the results.

To check out the video (on or after July 16), go to https://sffolkfest.org/events-2022/stray-muse/.

Stray Muse and Richard Thompson

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Songwriter, guitarist and singer Richard Thompson has been a major inspiration to all of us at Stray Muse. As founder of Fairport Convention, he and singer/songwriter Sandy Denny invented a genre – rock based on traditional English and Scottish music. Since those days, he has written and recorded countless great songs, some of which we perform.

Thompson recently published a memoir called Beeswing (highly recommended), and he was just interviewed on Fresh Air by Terry Gross. The interview is definitely worth a listen.

If you’d like to hear our rendition of Richard Thompson’s songs Night Comes In, Dimming of the Day, and Walking on a Wire, click the links. Enjoy!

Richard Thompson

February (and March) at the Farmer’s Market

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After another Covid break, Stray Muse is back in action!

When we played at the Outer Sunset Farmer’s Market last fall, we had a fun show in spite of drizzling rain. The Market folks agreed, and invited us back to play on Sunday, February 20 (noon to 1pm) and Sunday, March 6 (11am to 1pm).

This is a wonderful market. They close two blocks of 37th Avenue – we’ll be between Pacheco and Ortega Streets. There’s plenty of great food for lunch, a park along 37th Ave for picnics, and, of course, crafts and farmers’ stands.

Hope you can make it!

Sunday at the Holiday Market

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The Outer Sunset Farmers Market is known for its live music – always something new and exciting. This week is the special Holiday Market. They’ll be featuring Stray Muse, playing from 1pm to 2pm. There’ll be plenty of other live acts before we play, and one band after, so come on out and do some holiday shopping!

…weather permitting, of course! The forecast is dicey, but we’ll be out there on the covered stage if there’s a bit of a drizzle. (But if it’s a rain storm, probably not.)

We’re hoping for good weather and a great turnout! (It’s at 37th Ave and Pacheco. Leave some time to park…)

November shows!

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Stray Muse will be back at the Chit Chat Cafe in Pacifica on Sunday, November 7. Show starts at 1:30pm. Location: 5 West Manor Drive, Pacifica, CA. Good eats and a great seaside location!

We’ll also be playing at The New Farm in SF’s Bayview on Sunday, November 14 at 2pm. This one should be big fun – if you haven’t been to The New Farm, you’re in for a treat. You can read about them at https://www.thenewfarmsf.org.