Casual Water

Casual Water is a 2-piece band made up of singer/songwriter/guitarist Derek Lyons and percussionist/conga player Elijah Gere.
Hailing from the hills of NEPA this funk folk duo is making music in every nook and cranny from NEPA musical venues to the streets of Asheville, NC
and opening at Woofstock for the 2nd time. Influenced and inspired by nearly everything they experience from music, traversing landscapes, and life’s obstacles. Casual Water plans on taking a bigger stage
with their roots clinging deep into self declaration and introspective awareness. This homegrown hybrid is trying to set
a new pace to creative influx of rhythmic lyricism in NEPA.

Booked act # 3,720

Mike Vial with special guest Denny Cottle (everybody knows Denny !)

Mike Vial is a singer-songwriter from Ann Arbor, MI. He discovered his love for music as a kid when he found a guitar at a family member’s house and gave it a strum; since then, he has never put a guitar down.

Mike’s music has been marked by two existential crises, the first being his experience auditioning at Michigan music programs, but not being accepted. “That failure made me a better person,” he reflects. “I was forced to examine my identity and how music would still be a part of my life.”

This disappointment lead to a change of direction, one that developed his writing voice and poise in front of an audience. Mike attended WMU in Kalamazoo to study education and English. Getting nostalgic, Mike says, “I wrote a lot of songs between those hours attending classes, reading literature, and public speaking. I found my songwriting voice in Kalamazoo.”

During his college years, Mike caught wind of the new, emerging singer-songwriter scene, artists like John Mayer, Ellis Paul, Peter Mulvey, Iron & Wine, Matt Nathanson, and Ari Hest; and he discover the appeal of attending smaller venues, like the Ark and Blind Pig in Ann Arbor, to see his favorite performers before they hit mainstream.

For eight years, Mike performed music part-time while teaching high school English in a rural town of Michigan. He released two EPs–including working with producer Dan Achen (City and Colour; Feist)–between a busy schedule of grading papers and teaching English to high school students.

In 2011, Mike faced a second big crisis: “I loved the teaching part of education, but the grading and stress never stopped,” he says. “There were moments where I abandoned music, and it was eating away at me. I needed to make a big change to reclaim life.” Mike left his teaching position to focus on music.

Throughout 2012-2013, Mike toured a large part of the USA and Canada–playing 200+ shows last year alone–sometimes finding himself on the same club stages where he had seen his favorite performers. “Stepping on stage at the Ark last year was a milestone for me,” he said.

Another milestone for Mike was releasing his third EP, Where the Sand Meets the Tide, produced by moon:and:6 (Whitehorse, the Coppertone). The release made the top downloads list on Noisetrade. Since then, he has also released various singles, embracing the freedom of sharing music spontaneously and digitally.

Mike’s music captures his appreciation for classic songwriters (like James Taylor, Jim Croce, and Cats Stevens) and new American voices (like Ari Hest, Ben Gibbard, and Ryan Adams).

When not writing or performing, you can find Mike with his wife, writer Natalie Burg, enjoying a long walk with their giant, energetic dog Lois, through the lovely streets of Ann Arbor.

http://mikevial.com/

Booked act #3,719

Grayson David Schick

Grayson is a daydreamer, writer, & creator 25 year old from Southwestern Ohio. Raised outside of Dayton, Ohio. Grayson first learned his craft by growing up watching & witnessing his father, mother, siblings, aunts, uncles, & cousins dance and sing at any opportunity. His mother taught him piano beginning around six years old. Due to a parental grounding and home lockdown, he then began playing guitar & writing at the ripe age of 14.

He’s been compared to David Ramirez, Gregory Alan Isakov, and the Decemberists. The work from his first EP was described as “just nostalgic enough to make you smile, but not enough to make you cry; aged enough to feel rusty, but not old fashioned”. His songs have been spoken of as “oaky with a raspberry finish to them”- melodies as “thoughtful” and his voice as “a distant & melancholy feel” while having a “musty quality”.

His EP was released in Feburary 2014 and his first full-length album Part Time River (produced by Joshua) was just released in December.

https://graysonschick.bandcamp.com/album/part-time-river

Donna Frost  Fri. Oct 14th 8pm at TAFFYs

“Even when Donna Frost picks up her acoustic guitar, the point of view is that of a brass-in-pocket rock chick. Even when her country influences show, there’s a rocker’s grit and guts in her words and attitude. As the singer of the Bunnies, one of Nashville’s first punk-rock bands, she burned a path for others to follow. “Girls Like Us,” her new CD, proves she’s still blazing a trail all her own” Michael McCall, Nashville Sce

“Like a chameleon, her smooth vocals transition from track to track. She reminds one of an early nineties Mary Chapin-Carpenter, mixed in with some Heidi Newfield, and a little soul a la Janis Ian from Seventeen. But she never falls into the trap of letting the music overtake the musician…This is one artist that I believe will be able to stay true to her indie roots no matter how mainstream her work becomes” Jenny Delamotte, Music News Nashville

“Sometimes songwriters are so busy writing a lyric that they forget to wrap it in a good tune. Not so with Donna Frost. Each lyrically sound cut is enveloped in a well-acted scene of musical imagery. A folky edge with a bluesy overtone and a country passion, this diverse disc is a musical résumé for this talented Texan”..Lucky Boyd, My Texas Music

“ …Her songs display a rocker’s attitude vocally and especially lyrically even though the songs are smooth, not ragged and punky”…Jess Marich, Shake Magazine

“…Donna is the real deal” – Rick Grant, “Rick at Night”

“Frost’s music hits you like a wry smile from a waitress that serves truckers food by day & rocks out on her Stratocaster at night”-Chicago Acoustic Underground

Donna Frost is a true traveling troubadour, one voice, one guitar, and many stories to share in song, based on true-life experiences. She logs thousands of miles year round performing shows in cities all across the US & has also performed in the UK & the Caribbean. She is promoting her third CD “Girls Like Us” which was released in March 2009 on SPAT! Records. Two singles from the CD, “Jacksonville” and “Runaway Train” cracked the top 15 on the indie charts in Europe in 2009. She is currently recording a rockabilly project with rockabilly legend Billy Hancock at Sun Studios in Memphis for release in 2011. Donna has been an ASCAPlus recipient for the past 7 years for her work as a performing songwriter and was a Kerrville New Folk finalist in 2004. Donna also is lead singer and rhythm guitarist for the BUNNIEs, who were part of the Nashville New Wave scene in the 1980s. The band reunited in 2007 & have played a number of shows in Nashville & Chicago. She worked with the late Skeeter Davis as her background singer from 1996-2002. Donna is an actress as well and starred as Janis Joplin in the musical “Kozmic Blue” for 3 years in Nashville. She has contributed to Marley Brant’s book, “Tales from the Rock and Roll Highway” and a new book coming soon by Rev. Keith A. Gordon called “The Other Side of Nashville.”

http://www.donnafrost.com

Booked event #3,712 at TAFFYs

Bill Price

with Paul Holman on guitar and Grover Parido on cello.

http://www.billprice.info/

Special Guest :

Josiah Whitley 7:45pm to 8:30pm