Show number 1: RADIO WEBCAST – April 21st at School of the Wise 2 Bistro in Chanhassen, MN. 7pm. This gig is also being streamed live on twincitiesradio.net. If you can’t make the show, be sure to tune in.

Show number 2: CHILDREN’S SHOW – April 24th at the Ginkgo Coffeehouse in St. Paul, MN. 10am. This really is a children’s show. I’ll be playing the piano, talking about its history and generally getting the little ones enthused about music. So, if you are a kid, or have kids, show up. It’s free and it will be spectacular.

I love those two words next to each other. Gas cat. It is just fun to say. Gas cat, gas cat, gas cat.

Today I arrived home to a house that smelled heavily of natural gas. I caught a whiff even before I put my key in the door. I entered cautiously, careful not to turn on a light (lest the spark blow me to smithereens), and was greeted by a slightly loopy cat sprawled on the kitchen floor. The front burner of the stove was on and gushing gas. I shut off the stove, scooped up the cat and stepped back out onto the porch. Questions swirled in my head:

How did the cat manage to get the stove-burner lit without also getting a flame to go? Did the cat try and fail to burn my house down? Is he that unhappy with me? Would he really prefer the wet food over the cheaper dry stuff I buy on sale? Or maybe he hadn’t meant a sinister plot but a tragic one… maybe he wanted to end it all? Gas himself like a lonely housewife at the end of her wits? Maybe I interrupted his suicide.

Puzzled, I went back inside, opened all the windows, fed the little wretch, locked him safely in a basement bedroom and retreated to a safe distance. I figured the cat could stay in the house and deal with whatever fate had in store. You make the bed you lie in and all.

Hours later, after dinner at Chipotle and the buying of several books at Barnes and Noble, I returned home. No explosion, just the key in the door, the flicker of the overhead bulbs and the meows from the basement bedroom. Lonely meows from a  sobered, possibly suicidal gas cat vying for attention and the comfort of his saving grace.

–Grant Dawson

I have a new homepage banner! (Alas, I have the same ugly face)

I like the new banner so much, I’m having stickers made up to match (minus the aforementioned mug).

Get ‘em while they’re hot. Two for a dollar at my upcoming shows.

-Grant Dawson

Well, I failed again. My goal for 2010 is to take a picture from the stage of each show I do, and so far, I’m 0-2. I forgot to even bring my camera to the Acadia on Friday night. Oh well.

Seriously… I will remember next time.

On a separate note, I ate lunch at Joe’s Garage near Loring Park in Minneapolis today and the food was excellent. Try it out.

–Grant Dawson

Fun show last night at the Ginkgo. Great to have people come out and hear the music. I meant to take a picture of the audience from where I was sitting on stage, but forgot to do so. Oh well, I’ll try to remember to do it tonight at the Acadia Cafe. If I remember, I’ll post it here tomorrow.

Tonight I’ll be playing keyboards for the band Cosmoline. It should be a great show.

So, if you want to claim a small measure of internet fame (a very, very small measure), you can show up at the Acadia Cafe tonight in Minneapolis and have your picture taken by me from the stage.

The music gets rolling around 8pm. I think we go on at 9pm.

Cheers,
–Grant Dawson

I’m just reminding everyone that on Thursday night, I’m playing a show at the Ginkgo Coffeehouse on Snelling Avenue, right in my hometown of St. Paul, MN.

You can find them here: ginkgocoffee.com

The show starts at 7:30pm. Come at 7pm. Drink coffee. Eat a scone. Listen to live music.

Exciting notes: I cut my hair for the show. The Spring buzz-cut has arrived. The Ginkgo has a real, honest-to-goodness piano. They seem to be harder and harder to find these days.

See you there,
–Grant Dawson

It’s official: I’m breaking out of my hibernation. It’s time to shed my winter coat. I need to warm up the fingers, shake some rust off the pipes and get ready to perform. I have a busy Spring.

Next Two gigs (and on successive nights no less):

1. March 11th – 7:30pm – Gingko Coffeehouse
This should be a rad show. I’m opening up for Jake Armerding, I’ll play a 1/2-hour set and (insert pregnant pause here) they have a real piano. I’ll still spend most of my time at my keyboard, but rest assured I’ll slide over to their old, creaky upright at least once. Joy. From what I know, the cost is $10.00.

2. March 12th – 9:30pm – The Acadia Cafe
On this night I’ll be playing with the alt-country band Cosmoline. I hear rumors from the powers-that-be that this show might be acoustic and quite honestly, that would please me. The Acadia doesn’t handle big sound very well. Too many hard surfaces. Cross your fingers and come on out to hear a great band. It’s possible I’ll sing a song or two.

You can find all of these details and more on the “shows” page of this site, but I thought I’d reinforce the message here.

Cheers,

–Grant Dawson

Exciting news!

The Twin Cities-based americana band Cosmoline asked me over a year ago to join them in the studio as they recorded their first album, Give Me Back My Pride. Shortly before Christmas, they released the album on iTunes and CDbaby.com.

I think the album turned out nicely. I especially like “Crawl Back In” and the title track “Give Me Back My Pride.”

My kudos to Cosmoline for their great work and many thanks for asking me to be a part of the project.

Additional news: Cosmoline is planning several shows for 2010, and I’m planning on playing in as many of those shows as my own performance schedule allows. So, if you like what you hear on Give Me Back My Pride, be sure to come out and see a show.

My January-break is nearly over, so expect to see more regular posts and lots more shows appearing on the calendar.

–Grant Dawson

It has been brought to my attention that if you type into Google this phrase: “the most influential man in music” (no quotes), and you hit the “I’m feeling lucky” button, you are delivered directly to my website. I have tried it out and it seems to be true. If I could mail a thank you letter to the nerds in Palo Alto, I would.

Take that Paul McCartney. Take that Bob Dylan. Take that Prine and Petty and Newman and Waits.  Eat your heart out Timberlake. Hey Kanye, take a seat.

Grant Dawson is the most influential man in music.

I’m still laughing.

I think the reason that this has happened is that I wrote a cheeky blog entry about being named the 50th most influential man of the last year (which, of course, I wasn’t). I’m not even the most influential male in my house (Barabbas the Cat wins that honor). I guess the Google crawlers picked up on that and somehow seem to be under the impression that I’m influential. How mistaken can they be?

–Grant Dawson