Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen

[mandopete]

Hey, I just caught Frank Solivan and his new band called Dirty Kitchen last night here in Seattle. They put on an outstanding show and you should check 'em out if they come to your area.

Many here may recall Frank from his time the U.S. Navy Band, Country Current, but he's a civilian now and this new group is hot! He has Mike Munford on banjo, Lincoln Meyers on guitar and Stefan Custodi on the bass.

Here's the schedule for his current tour. (http://web.me.com/mando_fiddle/Site/Schedule.html)

5 Stars!

[AlanN]

Awesome, Pete.

Frank is a mando monster.

[Jim MacDaniel]

Just heard an interview with him, including several of his songs, on the Sirius BG channel this morning. Though I am not much of a BG fan, I really liked what I heard -- although from what I heard he doesn't seem to be a hardcore traditionalist (which might be why I liked him ;) ).

Seems his Dad, a roofer by trade, is also active in the local BG scene, and that is the reason for his interest in the genre. That, plus he said he wanted to learn to play the fiddle better (at the time he was focused on fiddle), so he could quit his day job and no longer have to roof houses in the middle of the summer in the Central Valley. :mandosmiley:

[Alex Orr]

Just heard an interview with him, including several of his songs, on the Sirius BG channel this morning. Though I am not much of a BG fan, I really liked what I heard -- although from what I heard he doesn't seem to be a hardcore traditionalist (which might be why I liked him ;) ).

Seems his Dad, a roofer by trade, is also active in the local BG scene, and that is the reason for his interest in the genre. That, plus he said he wanted to learn to play the fiddle better (at the time he was focused on fiddle), so he could quit his day job and no longer have to roof houses in the middle of the summer in the Central Valley. :mandosmiley:
Frank is actually a terrific fiddler and in concert he probably drags out the ol' fiddle and bow for about a third of the tunes. I've been lucky to see these guys a fair amount in Dc for the last few years. I've actually been seeing their banjo man (Mike Mumford) for about decade. Mike's other band, Big Hillbilly Bluegrass, has been playing almost every wednesday night in DC at a bar called Madams Organ for seemingly forever. For years I used to go down there and catch those guys at least a couple times a month, although it's probably beena few years since I made it down there. Mumford is one of the best and most creative banjo pickers I've ever heard, and a hell of a nice guy to boot. If you get a chance to catch Frank Sollivan and Dirty Kitchen, don't miss it!

[citycountryguy]

Yep, Frank and his band are terrific! (And Frank gives me mandolin lessons on occasion.) First rate, world class, all around.

[Daniel Nestlerode]

Frank senior is a cool cat. Runs the "Kids on Bluegrass" program for the California Bluegrass Association, and pesters me twice a year to learn Blackberry Blossom. ;)

Frank junior is a taller chip off the old block but with impressive mando-chops.

Daniel

[Skip Kelley]

I heard these guys on Sirius radio track by track! Awesome band!

[PJ Doland]

They played the first set tonight at the WAMU Bluegrass "Stars at the State" concert in Falls Church, VA. As far as I was concerned, it was the highlight performance of the evening. Great songwriting and a lot of energy.

They're definitely worth seeing. I just wish they did more shows locally here in the DC area.

[Ivan Kelsall]

I've been a great fan of Frank Solivan ever since hearing him play a few years back.Here's a nice clip of him singing "Good Morning Country Rain". Nice sounding Mandolin - what make is it ?. FS plays very much the way that i play - he uses both hands !:grin:
Ivan:cool:
http://youtu.be/jbJjxvj3Igs

[Treblemaker]

Frank is a serious talent.
His dad is an awesome musician too and great guy.
My band opened for Dirty Kitchen in San Francisco in April.
We are entertaining but Frank and Dirty Kitchen are seasoned pros with a story to tell and are one of those acts where the sum of the parts creates a huge amount of power, skill and talent on stage.

Frank plays a Michael Lewis Mandolin.

Michael Lewis is a great guy, a fantastic luthier and regular Cafe visitor....

[Ivan Kelsall]

Thanks for the info. Ted - I know of Michael Lewis' work,i've oggled the instruments on his website many times,
Ivan