With traffic and car lights beaming brightly, a serene shade of blue sky and weather slowly cooling down, last Thursday night’s indie folk show at the John Natsoulas Gallery presented a great opportunity to enjoy the sounds of downtown Davis while soaking up the summer atmosphere.
Local artist Ally Hasche performed at the John Natsoulas Gallery (located on the corner of First and E Street) with a set featuring various covers and some new music from her upcoming EP. Later, Scott Bartenhagen followed with a mellow folk set featuring new music from his own upcoming album, 10 Songs, 10 Men.
“We like to showcase diverse music – such as jazz one week and folk the next,” said Marly Young, Natsoulas Gallery summer music coordinator and DJ for KDVS 90.3 FM. “The Natsoulas Gallery is becoming a cultural center – we have live music [and] we have a café that brings in people from all over. Bands play for free just because they want a venue to showcase their music.“
Hasche, a Colorado native and Sacramento City College alumna, moved to Davis in January and recently began to work at the Natsoulas Gallery. She began writing music since the age of 12, performing shortly after and releasing her first album at the age of 13. She considers her music “alternative indie folk.“
“I’ve been playing [both] new stuff and covers,” Hasche said. “I’m releasing a new EP in 3 months and [UC Davis student] Kris Lorenz is helping record it.“
Hasche’s set on Thursday night featured some of her covers, such as “Eleanor Rigby” by the Beatles and “Sweet Dreams” by Eurhythmics.
A few songs during her set also featured UC Davis student Kyle Carsillo on violin. In recent years he has been getting together and making music with other local musicians, and the pair have performed together for about two months.
“[Hasche and I] met at Delta of Venus and saw each other play at open mic night,“ Carsillo said.
Hasche’s next show will be on Friday, Aug. 14 at Sophia’s Thai Kitchen. For more information, visit myspace.com/allyfosho.
Scott Bartenhagen, a native of Lathrop, California, plays a variety of instruments, including the guitar, banjo, spoons, kazoo and piano. A jazz studies major at Sacramento State University, Bartenhagen has been working with different musical genres in his solo projects for about a year.
Bartenhagen took time to explain the lyrics in his songs.
“‘Hell Fire‘ is about an assassin who came out from retirement to rescue his wife who has been kidnapped,” he said. “‘Fall Out‘ is about people living after the apocalypse and they come out of a vault and have no idea what’s going on.“
Featured in some of his songs is Emily Messick, a classical vocal major at Sacramento State University.
Bartenhagen describes his music as “more story based.“ His upcoming album, 10 songs, 10 Men is a concept album.
“Each song is about a different man,” he added.
The album will be released later this month. Bartenhagen’s next show will be on Aug. 21 at Luna’s Café in downtown Sacramento. For more information, visit www.myspace.com/scottbartenhagen.
Every Thursday from 7 to 9 p.m., the John Natsoulas Gallery presents free live music to the public. The free shows at the Gallery will continue on into October.
In preparation for the Jazz and Beat Fest beginning on Oct. 10 the gallery will also feature live poetry hosted by Andy Jones.
Young commented on the promotional link between KDVS and the John Natsoulas Gallery performances.
“KDVS has been a huge help in helping artists, letting them use equipment,” Young said. “If it weren’t for KDVS we would not have this venue for live music. If musicians are looking to perform at the gallery, they can e-mail me at marlyyoung@natsoulas.com. The live music shows started as a summer thing and we’ll see how it goes.“
SIMONE WAHNG can be reached at arts@theaggie.org.
