Well Hello 2014!

After a week away from home I am glad to be back in the bay although I had tons of fun up north with my folks in Cottonwood, California. 

We chillaxed, played music, watch movies, played boardgames, hit the casinos, hung out with their many animals and ate and ate and ate. 

I was excited to sit in with my parents' band (The Pine Dogz Band) up in a small old gold mining town called the French Gulch. 

The place is said to be haunted as well as there are still bullet holes in the walls from the Wild West days and lots of antiques. Our friend even caught some strange lights in her camera and felt a definite presence. I will try to get the video from her camera...

Looking forward to a new year of friends, family, music, love and travel! Aaron and I will be in Europe in the spring we are so excited!

 Lots of love to you all and be well :-) chow 4 now 

Spring Has Sprung

Ok, so the weather may not be totally cooperating but I am saying so long to old man winter anyway... until next time, dude.

I am happy to be recording again with my band, The Amber Snider Band or TASB for those who like to create acronyms for everything. YKWYA (You Know Who You Are)

I can't wait to share new recordings with ya'll. I can say "ya'll" because my family on my mother's side were from Oklahoma and Arkansas, respectively. I just can't help slipping into a southern drawl every now and again. Not to mention, I grew up around peeps from the streets and of course "ya'll" fits in nicely there as well. It's really an all purpose word for all intensive purposes.... Tangent alert.

This group of songs will be a little country, a bit folk, a tinge of rock and you guessed it, 100% Ambericana.

Thanks for staying tuned.

Happy Spring!

- Amber

http://ambersnider.com/

Cyndi "Freakin" Lauper @ The Uptown

BUY CYNDI LAUPER'S NEW CD HERE
OK, so I took a part-time job as a volunteer usher at a theater so I could get my live music fix. So please don't envy me by thinking I have tons of disposable income which affords me to go to a couple of shows a week or something. No, I am simply a music junkie looking to mainline some magical stage action straight into my soul.

The Uptown theater is gorgeous and the acts are great so no complaints over here (except please pick up your trash when you leave). Now if I can only perform my act on a stage like the one at the Uptown Theater... (oh please, oh please, I am so ready, I was born to be on that stage! Every time I see it I want to jump around on it and sing at the top of my lungs!!). Ahem. Meanwhile, back at the ranch.

Now imagine this. Cobalt blue lights streaming down endlessly long folds of drapery, enter a cherry-red ferociously wild and curly head of hair (think 80's crimped meets Marie Antoinette)and a short cheetah print mini skirt paired with a black-lace fringy wrap dress. Top that off with an amazing black shiny belt and platform heels to match! The woman knows how to dazzle her audience with appearance alone that is fo sho.

She tore into her first number with the megagusto of a cannon firing into the audience, including dancing down the aisles (usually people work up to this move) but she jumped right into the water. Amazing.

Granted, she did lose a few audience member's attention (most likely due to ADTD = Attention Deficit Theater Disorder) when she told lovely and endearing (though at times lengthy) stories in between songs... but on the other hand... Scaw-rew em'.

Now I feel like I have known the woman all my life because she feels comfortable enough to be herself on stage. This is hard to do yet she somehow made it look easy. What a pro...

She did many great, beloved blues songs and even some songs of her own. I am glad she did "True Colors", "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" and "She Bop" because if she hadn't, there may have been a riot (just an amateur observation).

I watched in awe as this woman who's music I grew up listening to, did stage gymnastics that I have never even considered and all I could think of was wow, she must be in really good shape.... vocally and otherwise. Sure, her band was smokin' hot, too, including harmonica legend, Charlie Musselwhite. What was extra special was hearing her play the lap steel guitar (she was great).

Tonight, I have learned a lot about showmanship as well as an artist's responsibility from Cyndi (we are only on a first name basis in my head, I couldn't even get close enough to her for a decent picture). But as she says and I quote "that's neither here nor there".

My point is that she used her larger-than-life "stage power" to help others feel "empowered" (I am not really quoting anyone just using the quote symbols for emphasis). She is a huge supporter of those who are treated unfairly and unequally in our society, specifically the gay and lesbian community and she spent time speaking out about Civil Rights and how change requires action from everyone. She is not only an amazing singer-songwriter-performer, she is also an activist/humanitarian and an inspiration to us all.

With stories of her humble beginnings as a DJ, and in the most adorable east coast Betty Boop voice and with enormous heart, she told her audience "so don't give up on yourself, cause' you neva know".

Thank you Cyndi, I needed that.

Napa City Nights - 2010

In the heart of any city is a "Downtown". There was even a popular song written about it because it is so special. For years now, I have been lucky enough to be a part of creating music in the heart of Napa even when it was merely an idea to have a fantastic outdoor amphitheater. Sure, back then, it was fun to play in the tiny gazebo at Veteran's Park and there were a few cars that would honk as they drove by and waved in support... and I remember feeling excited to hear of the big amphitheater plans and thought "hey that would be neat". Flash forward a few years and no longer are musicians playing to a few park benches full of gleeful listeners, now we are a part of something much greater. Massive amphitheater concerts with children dancing (please keep them away from the speakers though for the preservation of their hearing). People even dress up their pets to join in the fun. It is full on family fun for all ages with a professional sound crew who work hard at doing what they do best... putting on one heck of a show! (Every Friday throughout the summer)

There was a sea of happy faces surrounding the stage at Napa City Nights and many were recognizable to us in some way or another. Playin a show like this can be somewhat like showing up at your own birthday party or the scene in the movie "Titanic" when Rose walks through the ballroom and everybody she's known in life and loves is standing there smiling and cheering at her. It can be very surreal and dream-like. You never know who you might see...

My only regret from this show was wearing my seemingly cool rock star pleather pants simply because I lost a few pounds and could "finally" fit into them. This jolt of enthusiasm overshadowed whether they actually looked flattering or not. My style watchdog pointed out later that I should never wear them again (I didn't know I had one either). The pants self-destructed at the end of the show magically splitting right down the middle in a "wardrobe malfunction" thankfully and now I will never have to deal with them again. Hey not everyone can be Olivia Newton John in Grease (note to self)!

I even saw my old high school teacher and anytime I see someone from that era of my life I remember how much of a handful I was and how much music has helped me grow as a person. Back then music and theater was a great outlet for me as is for any youth (troubled or otherwise). Though I was self-conscious about my speckled past, my former teacher didn't seem to recall what a pain I was (or who I was at all) so that made me feel a lot better.

All and all, I believe our band put on our best show ever! The sound crew was great and we were lucky enough to get a recording of the show.

We are grateful to again have been a part of the Napa City Nights Concerts and would like to thank the crew as well as the City of Napa.

Click here to see our video from Napa City Nights

Photos by Samantha Madnick - http://www.samanthaphotos.com/

For more info on Napa City Nights - www.napacitynights.com

Other performers that day include: Johhny Smith and Whitney Nichole.

The Castro, SF

Yesterday, I made it over to The Castro Farmer's Market in San Francisco where I played music for almost 4 hours. I watched the dense fog flow by overhead and even felt a sprinkle on the 2nd day of Summer 2010. I had slight technical difficulties setting up with my new battery-powered amp that puts out just enough amps to make me really work for it. A nice passerby came over and started helping me set up, calling me by my first name and telling me about his day. He runs a music day camp for children and this year he received a grant to help him. I love hearing stories like this and was grateful for his help. Even though I may go somewhere without knowing anyone, someone always manages to make me feel right at home. So thank you.

The Castro folks were pretty nice as they trickled through on their way to their destinations. I even sold a CD and made a few extra bucks. I have hung out there before with an old friend who use to live down the street. I love the wide diversity in fashion. From pink boas and chaps to a vibrantly colored suit made of small rubber bands, it was an exotic visual feast for the eyes.

I played my usual set of songs and the face painter next to me played peek-a-boo with two small boys who were obviously twins. One had a fully painted tiger face and the other was all natural. The children squealed with joy as the happy-go-lucky face painter in a tecni-colored, candy-stripped suit with balloons attached to her crocks acted surprised every time she heard the little lion "roar". They played this game for a good thirty minutes. They were extremely loud but I didn't mind the entertainment. Many people couldn't keep their eyes off of their little game, it added to the fun of the market. I imagined her having her own television show because she was so good with children. She even cheered for me after almost every song "Yay Amber!!" and had the children chime in with her. It was very cold and my nose was running...I really appreciated her enthusiasm.

After a cup of hot green, Jasmin tea and a hooded jacket, I was able to last through until the end feeling myself desperately wanting a warm environment. One of the vendors shouted "closing special, five dollar ravioli"!. That sounded like music to my ears so I dipped into my tip bucket and bought dinner. Butternut squash ravioli with a bit of pesto sauce. Now that's good living! Thank you SF :)

Recent Shows

What a strange and wonderful few weeks it has been! First we played at the Black Cat Bar and Grill in Penngrove to a few close friends and staff joined by our friend "BOXX". Then last week we had a great experience playing as a band at The Russian River Brewing Company in Santa Rosa, CA. The patrons and staff were very friendly and the sound guy, Jonathon was great. We made a lot of new friends there :) It was packed full of people partly due to the street festival happening there downtown right before we went on and partly because it is just a happening spot. I've never seen so many people walking around downtown before. The weather was perfect and there must have been 300+ people there wandering in and out, sitting at tables, the bar or dancing. So, young man at the Dixon Farmer's Market I performed at the week before, to answer the question you asked (is my band famous?), and according to your definition of famous as being known by at least 150 people, yes, The Amber Snider Band is quite famous :) I was told we were even mentioned on the local radio station, KRSH in Santa Rosa which never hurts. We played at The Last Day Saloon in Santa Rosa a couple days later and had less of a crowd though we didn't mind too terribly because we were very happy to be playing there and hope to be back soon. We met some of Ram's friends that he has known for years; which was nice. They stayed for the whole show :) The next morning, I went to Vacaville to perform at the Farmer's market from 9a-noon. It was very warm and windy and reminded me of violent bathwater. I had to make sure that when I opened my mouth while singing, nothing flew in there on account of how windy it was. I barely had a voice that morning because I was so tired from singing at the top of my lungs the night before in Santa Rosa but I made it through. Thank you to everyone who threw a lit bit of change into my bucket, you bought me some fresh produce :) Later that Saturday night, Aaron and I went to San Francisco and played a benefit show for Rocket Dog Animal Rescue at El Rio. We opened for a singer-songwriter named Deborah Crooks and her band was very good. You can check out the video of that night below (I didn't turn my camera on when Aaron and I were playing though I could've sworn I did - oh poop). I also have some video from the Last Day Saloon, Silo's and The Black Cat to post. More soon....

Happy New Year!

I want to wish you all a very Happy New Year and welcome 2010! It feels like such a milestone already. I am submitting to all of the fairs and festivals I can think of for this year and the band is ready. We had our first rehearsal in months last Sunday and we sounded as together as ever. It was nice to have a small break (though I kept playing solo shows here and there) we welcomed some changes during the last part of the year and in general needed a bit of band downtime.

I am pursuing a marketing degree as well as pursuing licensing deals for the over 100 songs I have been writing for the last 10 years. I am also releasing all my music digitally for now. It is a lot of work but I love it.

Last year I had the honor of meeting and performing with some wonderful and talented singer-songwriters. Grace Woods and Vanessa Verlee.

I hope to see you soon. Take care and many blessings for 2010!

Amber