Gipsy Moon at Caribou Room – Photo by Jeffrey V. Smith

By Jeffrey V. Smith
NEDERLAND
Nederland’s top musicians will “mix and match” in special ensembles during a unique variety show planned at the Cariobu Room, Sept. 9. Gipsy Moon, Dango Rose, Bonnie Paine, Dan Rodriguez and Arthur Lee Land will join forces as Nederland Stampede Society for this one-off night of local musical fun and circus performance.

“The Nederland Stampede Society is the coming together of long-time friends to create a musical and visual extravaganza,” Caribou Room Talent Buyer and House Manager Kimba Stefane said. “They will present a unique blending of their music in addition to some old favorites.”

According to Rose, the show came about from Stefane’s idea to get Paine, Rodriguez and himself together with Gipsy Moon, and put on a “conglomeration-type” show at the Caribou Room. “Our friend, Arthur Lee Land, who is an incredible musician all around, is joining the fold as well,” he said. “And, so, it kind of sounded like a fun night. A good deal all around.”

Dango Rose

Nederland’s Gipsy Moon is a favorite of the participating Elephant Revival members, which also include Paine and Rodriguez. “They are one of our favorite bands,” Rose said. “I’ve had their CD in my car on repeat for the last few weeks. And, Arthur Lee Land is, honestly, one of the tastiest lead guitar players that I know. He’s also a great ‘live looper’ although that wont be happening at this show. He’s a great song writer, so playing with him is just a pleasure.”

While Gipsy Moon standards and participating musicians’ originals are to be expected, anything is possible with a group this talented. The Elephant Revival members, for example, have been rehearsing for a show they are doing with Donavon in Iowa. “It’s his 50th Anniversary Sunshine Superman Tour and we have been rehearsing… a collection of Donovan songs, so we might break some of those out,” Rose said. “Then we are trying to get a conglomeration together so we can all potentially run some tunes together for more of a variety show feel. That’s sort of the idea behind it, it’s like mixing and matching a little bit, and not being like a straight ahead two band bill, but really just kind of getting creative with it as it goes.”

There is a visual component as well. “We also have our friend Ariana doing aerial performance, which is exciting,” Rose said. “We will have an acrobat at the show doing silks, and possibly lyra, so some circus arts will be incorporated as well. There is nothing more natural to me than members of Elephant Revival doing stuff with Gipsy Moon, honestly. It just feels so natural.”

Gipsy Moon is a four-piece from Nederland with members who mix indie-folk with Celtic melodies, Latin rhythms, jazzy vocals, bluegrass drive and a gypsy swing “that brings acoustic music into an exciting new dimension.” The band includes Silas Herman on mandolin, guitar, and vocals; Mackenzie Page on guitar, tenor banjo and vocals; Matt Cantor on bass and vocals; and Andrew Conley on cello.

Arthur Lee Land offers a “groundbreaking style that is driven by the integration of sophisticated musical, emotional and spiritual juxtapositions.” Musically speaking, “electro-Americana” may best describe the musician’s eclectic fusion of folk-rock, AfroGrass and electronica.

Rose is a founding member, upright bassist, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist for Elephant Revival. As a longtime resident of Nederland, Rose has gathered much inspiration from the mountains, valleys, rivers and streams he calls home. The Caribou Room show is meant to be a celebration of the local scene, which has produced a number of outstanding players over the years.

The bassist first discovered Nederland and its music scene in 2001 when he came to NedFest. “My friends were in town playing that weekend in a band called The Slip, which is now the Bar Brothers. And, it just really cradled me. It sounds weird, right,” he said. That day he decided he was here to stay, but needed a job. When he walked by Neapolitan’s the same afternoon, he asked the owners mother, who was bussing tables, if they needed help. She said, “yes,” and Rose suddenly had a job.

Soon after arriving in town, Rose met the band High on the Hog in September 2001, and got a gig within a month as a bass player in an old time string band. “Everything was just so natural and confluent,” he said. “And, the jams at the Pioneer Inn. That was the hay day; when Jeff Austin and Dave Johnson would be there and all the guys from Shanti Groove, Johnny Hiland and those jams at the Pioneer Inn were integral in feeling together in the community. And that still goes on, to a point.”

The area’s prolific scene goes much further back in time as well. “Nederland has had a long standing history of musical camaraderie based in a place of real sincere giving and joy, and it’s just a beautiful thing. It’s been that way for decades, even before the Caribou Studios,” Rose said. “It was going on all the way back in Eldroa in the ’20s and ’30s, I think there were music convergences. In Gold Hill as well. I mean people, writers, literates and also musicians would gather up in Gold Hill. People have been jamming in the hills, in and surrounding Nederland since the miners were there. So, the music is just as ingrained in the mountains as is the minerals and the ores and the precious metals.”

The Nederland Stampede Society, Sept. 9, begins at 9 p.m. with doors at 7 p.m. at the Caribou Room, a brand new, premier concert venue and events center in Nederland featuring a state-of-the-art, premier sound system and room for more than 500. Food and drinks will be served and a special happy hour and a half is at 7:30 p.m. featuring $1 off drinks and dinner specials.

Tickets for the 21 and over show are $15 in advance or $18 at the door. Advance tickets are on sale online at holdmyticket.com/event/255157 or in person at The Caribou Room and Blue Owl Books.

The Caribou Room is located at 55 Indian Peaks Dr. in Nederland. Visit thecaribouroom.com, dangorose.com and gipsymoon.net or e-mail info@thecaribouroom.com for more information.

Originally published in the September 2016 issue of the MMAC Monthly