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City Fritter: News

Festival Season - June 7, 2008

Howdy y'all!
How's your spring been going?
We've had a busy one with a festival almost every weekend-
First there was Topanga Earth Day-
we booked and ran the Mountain View Talkhouse acoustic stage, hosting a diverse line up of groups - from the Tibetan singing bowls and chanting of Gaia Mama to the reggae infused feel good pop of Cipes and The People plus 2 tremendously fun CITY FRITTER sets. Soul brother Steve Seifert was with us every step of the way, helping to run sound in between playing his juicy bass lines. We closed each day with an all star jam session that left the hills of Topanga ringing with good vibrations.
Next came the VERY HOT
(the weather AND the music)
Topanga Banjo/Fiddle Contest-
not held in Topanga anymore but on the Paramount Ranch, a groovy old western set in Malibu Canyon. We had a blast jamming with Killing Cassanova and old friends Fur Dixon and Steve Werner. Merle Jagger played late in the day, which was good, because it had finally cooled down enough to DANCE!
The following weekend was the biggie - TOPANGA DAYS!
Were you there? Although the weather was the coldest anybody could remember for a T. Days, we still rocked it bundled up in hats and sweaters. So much good music and so many good friends all packed into 3 days. To get the full experience, go to
http://myspace.com/topangadays
and check out the photos. Our set was so much fun, we welcomed guitarist Christopher Hawley to the Fritter family as well as Funky Jenn on vocals and extra tambourine. Remo held it all together on the drums.
Then it was out to the desert for the 5th year of the Chuckwalla Festival - 3 days of local musicians playing to benefit The High Desert Living Arts Center which brings the arts to kids all over the Morongo Basin. We're so honored to be included in that group of musicians - Ellen & Billy Shoo, Barking Pupfish, Thrift Store All Stars, Walt Young, Ted Quinn, and latin ska combo Trucha amongst others. This is a really sweet, special gathering out back of Pappy & Harriet's - we hope to see you there next year!
So our festival season is over for now, whew! It sure was a good one! Now we're going to sleep for a week, see you soon!

Save Topanga State Park! - March 7, 2008

Hey y'all-
Here's a cause that's close to our hearts, and close to our home!
The Governator is looking to cut the state budget by closing our precious state parks!
Click on this link to find out more and please send e-mails, make calls, and help us protect our beautiful parks.
Thanks for your help!

We're gettin' hitched! - December 5, 2007

Howdy friends and Fritterfans!
We're taking a break from gigging for a while because we're getting married......that's right, City Fritter's tyin' the knot in December in Joshua Tree. After that we'll be honeymoonin' in Mexico.
Thanks for all your love and support in 2007,
lookin' forward to playing again for ya in 2008!
Happy holidays and peace on earth for all-
Jewels and Johnny

"DON'T YOU KNOW" featured on UNITED STATES OF AMERICANA Compilation CD - July 26, 2007

The kind folks at Shuteye Records
have included "Don't You Know" on Volume 6 of their popular
UNITED STATES OF AMERICANA compilation CD series!
Check out their website for info on the other artists on the CD including
Webb Wilder, Grant Langston and The Stone Foxes
http://shuteyerecords.com
We'll have copies for sale at our shows, come get yours!

Live video on Myspace! - May 18, 2007

Our friend Dave Spark shot a little video at The Starry Plough show in Berkeley - check it out on our myspace page. A nice montage of "Laurel Canyon", "Before Too Long", "Heart of Gold" and "Tonight I'll Be Stayin' Here With You"

http://myspace.com/cityfritter

Individual song downloads available now! - May 15, 2007

Wanna download a song or two?
Go right ahead! Our Snocap store is now available right here on our "Buy" page. We're also on iTunes if you prefer downloading through them.

"From the Ocean..." available now on Miles of Music - May 14, 2007

We're so proud to have been hand picked by Miles of Music for distribution through their very popular roots music website!
Check them out-

Had a great time playing "Tied to the Tracks" - April 11, 2007

Hey y'all
Ever listen to KCSN - 88.5
Arts & Roots radio? Great station!
We were guests recently on "Tied to the Tracks"
(Sat morning 6-10AM)Hosted by the enthusiastic, knowledgable and politically aware Larry Wines, it's the only all-acoustic Americana radio show in LA! We played "See You", "I Know What to Bring" and "Lotta Love" and talked about the Topanga Earth Day Festival.
There's pix on the photo page (thanks Jimi!)
We were so happy to be invited on Larry's show, he plays a great mix of music and he recently added us to the playlist.
So did Pat Baker, host of another great show on KCSN, Tangled Roots- Sundays 4-7PM

Check out their shows and let the station know you want another serving of the Fritters!
Listen online at http://kcsn.org

FLICKA released on DVD - February 5, 2007

The 20th Century Fox family feature "FLICKA" releases 2/6 on DVD. Put it in your Netflix queue! Then when it comes, listen real close during the rodeo scene for our song "DON'T YOU KNOW" - then rewind and listen again!
It's a lovely movie about a girl, her dad, and a wild mustang. Features a terrific performance by Tim McGraw!

FROM THE OCEAN TO THE DESERT now available on iTunes! - October 16, 2006

Yee haw!
Load up your iPod with plenty of City Fritter-
FROM THE OCEAN TO THE DESERT and our first self-titled EP are both now available on iTunes!
We'd sure appreciate it if you wrote us a review-http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?playListId=192506646

"FROM THE OCEAN TO THE DESERT" finished! - September 10, 2006

Our first full length release!
10 brand new tracks recorded with producer Eric Corne at Dusty Wakeman's Mad Dog Studios, headquarters of LA's rockin' Americana sound. "FROM THE OCEAN..." features Johnny's warm acoustic and twangy electric guitar work perfectly complemented by Chris Lawrence's shimmering pedal steel, 12 string and b-bender.
Jewels expressive harmonica accents add a rootsy quality to "See You" and "I Know What To Bring" the latter a pied piper sing along that adds David White's mandolin and banjo along the way. Holding everything together, master drummer Fabian Jolivet kicks out a wide variety of drum styles from dirty Bakersfield shuffles to jazz inflected fills.
Eric Corne lends his considerable skills on the bass as well as his incredible ear and knowledge of the vintage Neve 8088 board.
Jewels and Johnny's organic harmonies float over the carefully layered instrumentation.

The result? A beautifully crafted album, each song realized to its fullest potential collectively adding up to a whole that is more than the sum of its parts. A complete work, clocking in at just under 40 minutes, you'll want to let it spin and take the trip "FROM THE OCEAN TO THE DESERT" again and again!