ABOUT US
HOSTS:
Greg & Juliet B. Pool
LOCATION: Monterey Peninsula, California
MUSIC: acoustic, Americana, roots, folk, and Celtic
WHEN: Sundays, six times a year
VENUE: 40 seats (stage: full, right,
back)
INVITATIONS: sent via email
TICKETS: none, donations encouraged
CONTACT: RSVP, mailing list, or comment
- Frequently Asked Questions
- More house concerts around the Monterey Bay
- How to put on a house concert
- Radio promotion opportunities
- Other venues and promoters around the Monterey Bay
Our house concerts are small, invitation-only parties on the Monterey Peninsula (California) for friends who tire of having to drive to Santa Cruz or the Bay Area to see great music.
Our group likes to hear acoustic Americana, roots, folk, and Celtic, and we like to book Sunday's, letting performers route through ... you guessed it ... Santa Cruz or the Bay Area on a Friday or Saturday night.
We tend to book by season (e.g. Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter) and our house can hold 40 people. For performers, we have two beds and plenty of floor space for sleeping bags, and we'd be happy to cook you a wild-caught salmon dinner (if it's in season!).
And all proceeds collected at the door go to the performer.
After the show, we like to interview the performer for about ten minutes, which results in a regular show we post off our website that people can download and listen to on their portable media devices. We call it the After Show Podcast at Tree House Concerts.
We put it all up on a page dedicated to the performer, along with pictures from that night as well as a web log of interesting anecdotes, and send it out to the 500-member House Concert discussion group at Yahoo. It means your exposure at our house concerts goes well beyond the 30 folks who show up!
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Q. What's a house concert?
A. Exactly that! A performer stands on our rug in front of 30-40 invited guests and sings their heart out.
Q. Why isn't this at some coffeehouse?
A. We'd love to book for a coffeehouse (hint, hint!), but when we started in 2003 there weren't any that were doing live music, much less those who wanted to book the artists we like. So we did it ourselves!
Q. Why do I have to be invited? Can't I just come by?
A. For lots of reasons, we hold invitation-only private parties where it just so happens a performer shows up and you can donate directly to their pocketbook. That means we aren't a "public accommodation," like a coffeehouse or concert hall.
Q. So I can't buy a ticket in advance?
A. Nope. We aren't a business, so we can't sell you one. You can ask for an invitation, and upon RSVP you can come by and donate directly to the artist. We'll also put you on our email list for future shows!
Q. Where are you located?
A. The Tree House is tucked away in a wooded part of the Monterey Peninsula, easily accessible from the known highways yet secluded from the buzz of modern life. Once you RSVP you'll be given all the details!
Q. Is it really a tree house?
A. Before the sun goes down, if you stand in our living room and look out east towards the Pacific Ocean, yes...it does look like you are way up in the pine trees!
Q. How do you find these artists?
A. We write to most of them, via email. A few have written us out of the blue. We check out their music on their websites or at CDBaby.com and look where else they've played. We also look for recommendations on the House Concerts Yahoo Group.
Q. Who designed your logo?
A. Steve Zmak, a local graphic designer and black/white photographer. He also did my contact card (GIF). We had a wire-frame version done by Sten Hoiland while at the Strawberry Music Festival in 2006. We hang it in the window behind the stage (picture).
ARTISTS
Q: Do you accept a guarentee?
A. We can't. We're not a business. We're a residence and this is merely a private party where the artist just happens to perform.
Q. Do you have a PA?
A. Nope. We do have a guitar/mic amp (Crate TX15), one mic stand and one guitar stand, but they rarely get used except for those folks who's fingerpicking style is very subtle (e.g. Michael McNevin in 2005). Otherwise, sound carries well in our living room, and our guests are quite and attentive because they think a pop quiz is coming up after every song.
MORE HOUSE CONCERTS AROUND THE MONTEREY BAY
PENINSULA ACOUSTIC MUSIC SCENE
The promoters of the area have formed an announcement-only mailing list for all the events that occur around the Peninsula and elsewhere. We'll still use our own lists to promote shows, but this is the one-stop-shop for all live acoustic music shows in our area. To join, send mail to peninsulamusic-subscribe @ yahoogroups.com or visit http://groups.yahoo.com/group/peninsulamusic/
ARDEN'S GARDEN (MONTEREY)
We proudly associate with Arden's Garden, a local public-access television show in Monterey that is non-commercial and community-supported. Arden is a local DJ at KPIG who offers performers a 80-seat venue for a three camera, hour-long taping of your performance. She books once a month, always on a Friday night. More information at http://ArdensGarden.org
HEADRUSH CONCERTS (PACIFIC GROVE)
HeadRush Concerts is Marc & Sue Rush, who feature Celtic and traditional music acts in their home and at the Pacific Grove Arts Center. Contact them at (831) 333-1493 or headrushes @ sbcglobal.net
NOTE: Marc & Sue will be curtailing his house concert series in 2007. Stay tuned to when they might start up again.
HANS & ELIZABETH JANNASCH (MONTEREY)
Hans & Elizabeth are just starting out, but are already hosting great musicians at their house. Contact them at ejannasch @ mac.com
UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST CHURCH OF THE MONTEREY PENINSULA (MONTEREY)
Audrey Fontaine serves up live acoustic performances of all genres at the hall of the UUCMP. Contact her at silkentreasures2000 @ juno.com
THEMLA & CHARLIE CLARK (MONTEREY)
Thelma & Charlie feature roots, folk and Contra dance music in their home. Contact them at thelma @ mbay.net
HENRY MILLER MEMORIAL LIBRARY (BIG SUR)
Magnus Toren has produced a wide spectrum of shows around Monterey County, from singer/songwriter Ellis Paul to rocker Patti Smith. More information at HenryMiller.org
DANISH AMERICAN HOUSE CONCERTS (SANTA CRUZ)
Ron Sandidge, brother to Sleepy John of Snazzy Productions, has returned to the Santa Cruz after starving for Americana music in Denmark. More information at DanishAmericanHouseConcerts.com
BACKROADS HOUSE CONCERTS (FELTON)
Jeff Emery and Andrea Webster inspired our house concert series, held in their beautiful home in Felton, on the way to Henfling's. Call (831) 335-1310 or write to jefmry at cruzio.com for more information. They try to book once a month and have had years of wonderful shows.
Jeff is a DJ on KZSC on Sundays from noon to 2 pm. His show is called "Backroads" after the Kate Wolf song, and he features lesser known and upcoming singer-songwriters.
NOTE: Jeff will be curtailing his house concert series in April 2005 due to an addition to their family. Stay tuned to when he might start up again.
MUSICA DEL RIO (ATASCADERO)
Fred and Sharon Munroe have started up a house concert series north of San Luis Obispo. It's the nearest house concert venue south of Tree House Concerts (about two hours south), so we hope to route many of the same artists along the California coast! More information at MusicaDelRio.org
HOW TO PUT ON A HOUSE CONCERT
We learned by going to them, but Tom Neff's guide has been very handy. He runs Grassy Hill Acoustic Concerts in Lyme, CT.
A great resource is the Yahoo discussion group dedicated to House Concerts. Another is by performer TR Ritchie.
And Russ and Julie in LA keep up a list of house concert resources and venues.
RADIO PROMOTION
These are stations we pick up on the south end of the Monterey Bay that play music heard at Tree House Concerts and who would gladly plug your Tree House show if seats are still available. Many would offer the chance to play live.
Sundays, 10 am-noon
KPIG 107.5 FM
http://www.kpig.com
Show: "Please Stand By"
DJ: Sleepy John
Email: sleepy at cruzio.com
Location: Watsonville
Weekdays, 11 am - 1 pm
KUSP 88.9 FM
http://www.kusp.org
Show: "The Open Road"
DJs: Robin & JT
Contact: http://www.kusp.org/reach.html
Location: Santa Cruz
Fridays, 9 am-noon
KZSC 88.1 FM
http://www.kzsc.org
Show: "Heaven's Bar and Grill"
DJ: Clytia Fuller
Email: clytia at cruzio.com
Location: Santa Cruz
Sundays, noon-2 pm
KZSC 88.1 FM
http://www.kzsc.org
Show: "Backroads"
DJ: Jeff Emery
Email: jefmry at cruzio.com
Location: Santa Cruz
VENUES AND PROMOTERS
MONTEREY PENINSULA
The Ol' Factory Cafe
Location: Sand City
Owner: Morgan Christopher, from the old Morgan's Coffee and Tea
East Village Coffee Lounge
Location: Monterey, located at the old Morgan's Coffee and Tea
Owners: Yvonne Boltze, Nancy Mouat and Dean McAthie
Phone:
831.373.5601
Monterey Live!
Location: downtown Monterey
Various promoters
Venue: Sunset Center
Location: Carmel
CSUMB World Theater
Venue: CSU Monterey Bay
Location: Seaside
SANTA CRUZ
Snazzy Productions
Venues: Kuumbwa Jazz Center, Rio Theater, Santa Cruz Civic
Locations: Santa Cruz
E3 Playhouse
Location: Santa Cruz
Don Quixote's International Music Series (formerly located at Henfling's)
Venues: Don Quixote's Restaurant
Location: Felton