Folk-ish musician Muriel Anderson is preparing for the April release of her Sailing Dreams album (and accompanying board game) with a show at Boulevard Music on Saturday, alongside Weird Al Yankovic guitarist Kimo West. That’s a lot of fun to digest, and Andferson sat with the News to explain it all…
When did you start playing and performing?
A friend of the family was throwing away a guitar, so I picked it up and started finding melodies on it. I was seven or eight years old. My first performance was for my third grade class, when I played and sang “The Naughty Sweetie Blues” and “Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out.”
Describe your sound/style?
I really wish I could describe my style, although I can tell you that we’ll have fun and you’ll never know what’s coming next. I play a 20-string harp guitar that gives me a huge variety of sounds, instrumentals and vocals inspired by experiences, from different countries and in different styles.
What are your career highlights so far?
I produced Muriel Anderson’s All Star Guitar Night for 30 years, some at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. At one show my special guest was Les Paul. Les and I co-hosted and played in the show–what a great sense of humor he had. More recently, I’m really happy with my new release, in which I captured the experiences and adventures while sailing along the coast of Maine, in both music and a board game. It’s really cool when people tell me it feels like they are sailing right along with me.
What recorded music is available — particularly the most recent?
The most recent recording is Sailing Dreams, also the title of the accompanying board game. I have many other recordings available on both guitar and harp-guitar. The best place to find them is on murielanderson.com.
Have you performed at Cinema Bar before? Any memories?
I’ve played many times at Boulevard Music and have always enjoyed it – really nice folks and the audience is always so happy by the end of the show.
What can the audience expect from the set this time?
I’m having special guest Jim Kimo West (Weird Al Yankovic’s guitarist) and we’ll also play some Hawaiian slack key music together.
What else do you have coming up?
I’ll be coming to Boulevard right after my Hawaii tour, and continuing to Southern California and Florida. Then I’ll have the official release of Sailing Dreams in April, although I have pre-release copies for you when I see you in January. You can check it out at murielanderson.com/sailing
Muriel Andereson performs with Kimo West at 8 p.m. on Saturday, January 27 at Boulevard Music Go to boulevardmusic.com for more information about the show.
Elsewhere this week
The Culver Hotel will be hosting the likes of Sylvia & the Rhythm Boys, and Scotty Bramer. Go to culverhotel.com for more info.
There’s a full program of music at the Cinema Bar this week, as usual. The Hot Club of Los Angeles plays every Monday, and Wednesdays are singer/songwriter and open mic night. Other artists performing this week include Ginger Merkin, the Tone Slingers, Patrolled By Radar, Tom Gramlich, the Sallys, Stump Water, and Cats on the Bandstand. Go to thecinemabar.com for more info.