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[click "Play" to hear Eileen's airport (noisy)  interview with George Clinton on his way to T-Ride]

Get Yes, Telluride funksters and funksterettes, the godfather of Funk himself, George Clinton will headline the 13th annual KOTO Doo Dah today, in Town Park, with opening act Rusted Root.  The legendary architect of P-Funk has  also been called one of the most important innovators of funk music, next to James Brown and Sly Stone.  Clinton came from a background in R and B and went on to create a new genre of music.

His leap from doo wap to psychodelic space rock was influenced by many artists, including James Brown, Jimi Hendrix.  According to his bio, "Parliament and Funkadelic dominated and revolutionized the music scene in the latter half of the Seventies—particularly in 1978 and 1979, when they racked up four #1 R&B hits: “Flash Light,” “One Nation Under a Groove,” Aqua Boogie” and “(Not Just) Knee Deep.” Clinton’s main collaborators during Parliament-Funkadelic’s heyday included keyboardists Bernie Worrell and Walter “Junie” Morrison and bassist William “Bootsy” Collins."  George Clinton and Parliament-Funkadelic were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on May 6, 1997.   Clinton recently released a solo album titled George Clinton and His Gangsters of Love, which is largely a cover with many great songs such as Fever, Gipsy Woman and Let the Good Times Roll.  Gangsters features guest appearances from many artists including Sly Stone, Santana  and Red Hot Chilly Peppers and gospel great Kim Burrel.

11 July, 2009 /
[click "Play" to hear Eileen's interview with Michael Glabicki]


by Eileen Burns

Rralbumcover_tn There may be another tarp run in Telluride Town Park on Saturday, July 11th.  Rusted Root rolls into town kicking off an evening of invigorating and energetic music that promises to leave townies dancing all night long.  Gates opening at 3 P.M. with the ultimate jam band,  Rusted Root, taking the stage at six followed by the Godfather of Funk, George Clinton and Parliament-Funkadelic.

Rusted Root’s bluegrass/rock sound has always been heavily influenced by world music such as African, Native American and Latin America, and their long awaited new release Stereo Rodeo is climbing the charts.

11 July, 2009 /

Ahhaa_auction As much spectacle as fundraiser, the theme of the 2009 Ah Haa auction encourages everyone around Telluride to embrace their love of art and discover their inner artist: "Celebrate Art ! Be The Artist You Want To Be!"

Now in it’s 17th year, Ah Haa’s annual fundraiser is not to be missed. The event includes a live and silent auction, featuring over 100 pieces of original art, services, and excursions, donated by the regional artists, locals businesses and Ah Haa. The monies raised in this single evening support scholarships, supplies,
teachers, the Visiting Artist series, and keeping the spirit of Ah Haa going for another year.

In years past, local celebrities such as General Norman Schwarzkopf have contributed art work they created in conjunction with Ah Haa teachers in support of the school. (Joanne Corzine bought Stormin' Norman's first effort for $17,000.)

08 July, 2009 /
Download Jacques Parker, 10th Mtn Div [download file to hear Jacques Parker talk about his experience with the 10th Mtn in WWII]

IMG_3588 I had the unique opportunity to talk to a living legend in my Telluride living room on July 3. Jacques Parker had agreed to an interview, and what a treat to hear from one of the participants what it was like to be at Camp Hale (near Leadville, CO for the uninitiated) for training, how he came to be a combat artist, about the camaraderie among the men of the 10th Mountain Division during the Second World War, and generally to have a good conversation with a real gentleman.

Fourteen years ago, Beth and George Gage, Telluride locals and well known documentary filmmakers made "Fire on the Mountain" about the 10th. The film is being screened at 6:00 pm, Monday, July 6, at the Sheridan Opera House. The movie is the highlight of Telluride Mountainfilm's Summer fundraiser.

05 July, 2009 /
[click "Play" to hear Susan's conversation with Philip Glass]

Portrait2a There is nothing minimalist about Philip Glass when it comes to loving.

Last year, the iconic musical wizard came to town for the Telluride Musicfest just to watch his ladylove, bravura cellist Wendy Sutter, perform. Caught up in the electrifying energy of the world-class chamber music event, he wound up giving an impromptu performance in the Mais' living room at the old Skyline Guest Ranch, home base for the concert series. At the end of the season, Glass asked artistic director, virtuoso violinist Maria Bachmann, if he could return as the 2009 Composer-in-Residence. Who would turn down the man described by renowned New Yorker critic Alex Ross as  "Without a doubt, America's most famous living composer of classical music?"

03 July, 2009 /
[click "Play" to hear Keith Wicks]

104-0416_IMG_2-1 Telluride has artist Keith Wicks to thank for helping everyone see the light.

Wicks is a founding member of the Sonoma Plein Air Foundation. On a visit to Sonoma County and Napa Valley in Fall 2003, Sheridan Arts Foundation board chair Mark Dalton and his wife Susan happened upon an outdoor show of paintings in the Impressionist tradition in the Sonoma town square. Impressed, as it were, by the quality of the work on display, the couple met with the show’s organizer:Wicks.

Seeing an opportunity for a great addition to Telluride's summer cultural calendar and a new and interesting way to raise funds for SAF’s family programming, Mark Dalton retained Wicks to mount the first local Telluride Plein Air event.

03 July, 2009 /

JeffreySchafer NEW YEAR'S EVE Telluride is experiencing an art attack.

Since Monday, 30 top plein air artists have been in the region for the Telluride Plein Air event, painting the town fuzzed up, fluid, atmospheric, and tonal in the style of the Impressionists, reducing subjects to dots, dashes, blobs, and swaths of scintillating color to reflect our changing light.

On Thursday, July 2, the Sheridan Opera House hosts an Artists' Choice Gala Premiere/Silent Auction/Wine Reception, showcasing the work produced during the week. The event is an exclusive chance to bid on the paintings and meet the artists. At 8 p.m., Imagine, A Beatles Tribute Band performs.

July 2 is also the first Thursday Art Walk of the summer season, a daylong showcase of Telluride's fine art scene, including galleries and studios, which stay open late until 8 p.m. The Telluride Council for the Arts & Humanities conceived of the event as a way to deepen ties between the town's  business and cultural economies, exposing locals and guests to emerging and established artists and the town's retail scene. Almost all participating venues are located in and around Colorado Avenue, within walking distance of one another, and many hold opening receptions, 5 – 8 p.m.

02 July, 2009 /

Plein Air artists in Telluride (see Slide show of their work below)

This week, 30 nationally recognized artists have been painting in and around Telluride for the Sheridan Arts Foundation's 6th annual Telluride Plein Air event.

Bottom line: Impressionist style plein air painting is an old idea updated by new blood.

Eugene Boudin was one of the more adventurous 19th-century painters, known primary for his beach scenes and seascapes of northern France, and luminous skies. When Boudin taught his young student, Claude Monet, the importance of painting a scene directly from nature in the light, in the air, just as it was, painting en plein air was born. In the stroke of Monet’s agitated brush, the dark palette of Realism (and the Barbizon School) gave way to the brighter highlights of painting directly from nature.

02 July, 2009 /

17Nemirov This week, a group of 30 artists, the winners of a juried process, are in Telluride for the Sheridan Arts Foundation's Plein Air event, culminating with a show of their work over the Fourth of July weekend. These painters are visiting town from all over the country, except for two: locals Wayne McKenzie and Meredith Nemirov also made the cut.

Both McKenzie and Nemirov  were selected to participate Telluride Plein Air 2008, when Nemirov won the Sheridan Arts Foundation's Quick Draw & Sale, happening this year, Thursday, July 2, 10:30 a.m. – noon, Main Street.

A longtime contributor and instructor at the Ah Haa School for the Arts, Meredith Nemirov is teaching two classes at the school this month.

01 July, 2009 /