Just what is "Sundilla music?" (click here)

"ALL music is folk music; I never did see no horse could play an instrument." -- Louis Armstrong

Somewhere, there is probably someone who lived in England in 1960 who turned down a chance to go to The Cavern Club because he had never heard of the band.

"The band" in question was, of course, The Beatles. They went on to have a bit of success in the music business; enough success that the guy who didn't want to go see them play because he had never heard of them is still kicking himself black-and-blue 40 years later.

So when you're trying to decide whether or not you want to drag yourself out to see some unknown play at Sundilla, just remind yourself that every musician was once an unknown, and that every musician who sells out arenas for hundreds of dollars per ticket once played somewhere for under ten bucks. And someone who paid hundreds of dollars to sit in the last row of an arena once turned down the chance to sit on the first row of a small venue for next to nothing. Don't be this person!

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UPCOMING CONCERTS and LATEST NEWS

Friday, January 27 Chuck Pyle (Burke Ingraffia opens) 7:30 PM  Admission $12; Advance tickets will be available at The Gnu's Room for just $10!  

"Chuck Pyle’s music is good medicine. It starts my thoughts turning, gets my heart breathing, sends my imagination flying. His wild, solid rhythm keeps me thankful I have a body to move. . . His songs take me to the horizons of the mystic southwest. Thanks to Chuck for making good medicine so delicious." –David Wilcox

Love, or a dazzling concert, or some chance moments in the spotlight are typical inspirations listed when musicians explain what propelled them into the performing arts. But for Southwestern Acoustic singer-songwriter Chuck Pyle, it was a busted piano string.

"When I was about 5 years old, my parents brought a friend to the house to play piano to inspire me. They knew I loved music because I'd already picked melodies out on the piano by ear," he recalls. "This guy was a professional, and played so loud and hard that, not only did he rock the whole house, but broke a string on our upright Grand. I never forgot it and, after that, always wanted to learn to play."

And so he did, leaving his native state of Iowa for the more creatively fertile Colorado Front Range 30 years ago. In those anything-goes early days, Pyle paid his dues playing guitar "at the bottom of the food chain," doing cover songs at Colorado ski lodges and other resort areas. Sheer love of playing music helped him overcome his essentially introverted nature: "I practically threw up before I'd go onstage because I was so shy ... [but] the first time I made an audience laugh, I wanted to do it again." So much so that now, despite his respected songwriter status, he considers himself a performer first and foremost, deadpanning that when he started writing songs he just "wanted them to be good enough that I at least wouldn't be embarrassed." Looks like he succeeded - Tish Hinojosa, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Suzy Bogguss, and the late John Denver all recorded songs by Pyle, as have Chris LeDoux, who had a top country hit with "Cadillac Cowboy" in 1991, and Jerry Jeff Walker, whom Pyle cites as a "huge influence" on his early musical career. He jokes that he first learned to play music so he wouldn't have to be a businessman, but his songs are far more observant and thoughtfully crafted than that jest implies.

Famously labeled "the Zen Cowboy" by a reviewer, Chuck recently released his 11th CD; THE SPACES IN BETWEEN is twelve all-new songs, each with finger-style guitar out front of a crackerjack rhythm section. The embellishments are elegant, with everything from fiddle to uilleann pipes, grand piano to ukulele; each song's a hummable melody guaranteed to make you tap your inner feet. In the middle of the night, Chuck began writing down the words to the CD's opening song, called Dream Song, and the more awake he became, the better it sounded. Picking Out My Outfit is about Man's need to look casual, Copper John is about the favorite nymph of fly-fisherman and Wide Open is about Wyoming's bigness. The rest of the songs are classic Chuck Pyle truth-telling; one man's outlook seen from a life-in-motion as he continues to gather traction and gravity.

At this point in his career, Pyle considers himself as much a philosopher as a troubadour. "I'm certainly entering into geezerhood," he wisecracks. "Most of us, when we're this old, tend to get philosophical - what else is there to do? So I definitely will sit around and sound like I know what I'm talkin' about."

"I started to learn how to entertain people in my shows and that was a breakthrough for me," he says, recalling a pivotal moment in his artistic growth. "When I became more social and started listening to other people's stories, I began to realize that all I needed to do onstage was talk truthfully about my life, and that that would be the funniest and most moving thing I could talk about. Nobody ever thinks their story is very interesting because they lived it. But everybody's life is a great story. Everybody's." 

Here are a few songs from Chuck Pyle. But remember that nothing compares to a live performance!

There is still a place in the world for independent music, despite what the corporate bigwigs would like to think. Support Sundilla, support the Quality Music Revolution, support the community, and have a great time while you're at it. Come see Chuck Pyle at Sundilla, because good music needs to be heard. Showtime is 7:30, and admission is just $20, $17 if you go to The Gnu's Room and buy them in advance. We'll have free coffee, tea, water and food, though as always you are welcome to bring whatever food or beverage you prefer. 

"Chuck Pyle was one of our favorite songwriter discoveries of this year. Every song lover in town should make it a point to seek out this man's music."– Music Row Magazine

                                 Here is a peek at some of what we have in store for 2012.                                                             

                                           2011

As always, things happen, so check this site often for new additions and the occasional (and regrettable) change.

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Although Sundilla is not affiliated with any church or religion, it is deeply indebted to the Auburn Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, without whose support it would not be possible. The Fellowship Hall is one of the finest listening rooms you will ever experience, and we would be lucky to be able to use it, even if the use was not donated, free of charge, by the AUUF.