By John Pluntze
Fans of local singer-songwriter-guitarist-keyboardist Sheryll Mae Grace ( www.myspace.com/sheryllmaegrace ) -- who is one of the lead singers, along with Hailey resident Aaron Pugh ( www.myspace.com/aaronjamesmakesmusic ), of the newly-formed and increasingly-popular Wood River Valley band, FREEhand ( www.myspace.com/musicbyfreehand ) -- is currently a semi-finalist once again in an international, online-only contest involving tens of thousands of video entries from all over the world designed to highlight up-and-coming musicians that is being sponsored by www.yobi.tv
In the 2008/2009 www.yobi.tv contest, Grace won 2nd Place -- and over $5,000 -- during the contest that year (she was bested, finally, by a young musician in Australia after a very close finish that year).
Voting for the current yobi.tv semi-finalists is ongoing every week (see the direct link below:
http://www.yobi.tv/yobising/semifinalists/view/209 )
and if you click on where it says "Profile", you'll see a number of other, more recent music videos that Sheryll Mae Grace has posted there at the www.yobi.tv site as well.
Voting for the semi-finalists runs for the next four weeks, and people who want to support Sheryll Mae Grace's very competitive endeavor need to vote for her EVERY week, since yobi.tv contestants whose performance video receives the least votes are eliminated at the end of each week. (Contact "Gracie" directly at sheryllmaegrace@yahoo.com for more info).
Prizes for this year's yobi.tv contest include $10,000 and tickets to the Grammy Awards (with backstage VIP party passes for both the winner and a guest).
Grace, who first came to the attention of Wood RIver Valley residents se
veral years ago as one of the featured singers at the 2007 post-Castle Rock FIre "Haul Ash Bash" concert, as well as at the Big Wood and Northern Rocky folk festivals here in the Valley, is a former solo singer who appeared regularly for years at Valleywide venues such as Strega, Papa Hemi's Hideaway, and Penelope's Cafe (all in Ketchum) before joining forces with Pugh late last summer and forming the aforementioned FREEhand band ... which originally began as a duet, but then eventually became a quartet after east Texas residents (and former college roommates of Pugh's) Joel Adams (who plays drums) and Ray Brown (who plays bass) joined the band as well, in early December.
Since then, FREEhand has played at a myriad of Wood RIver Valley locations -- everywhere from The Brickhouse Bar & Grill (in Bellevue) and the Sun Valley Brewery Bar & Restaurant (in Hailey) to numerous Ketchum venues, including the Apple's Bar (in Warm Springs), the Ketchum Town Plaza (during the ongoing Cox Winter Concert Series), and at Papa Hemi's Hideaway (also in Ketchum), where they once again will appear this coming Saturday (March 13th), from 6:30-9:30 p.m. (Call 726-3773 for more information).
All four members of the FREEhand band are also teachers at Mitzi Mecham's Music n' Me Music Academy schools ( www.notesmusicnme.com /788-3348) in both Hailey and Ketchum.
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In other weekend local music scene-oriented news for this "Harmonic Convergence" column, tonight (March 12th) sees the return to Papa Hemi's Hideaway (from 6:30-9:30 p.m.) of The Mighty Shims, featuring Fletcher Brock, Jim Paisley and Chip Booth. Offering an eclectic mix of Americana music -- everything from swamp, indie garage, and '30s swing, to folk, contemporary ballads and pop interpretations (with some blues and a good dose of lively originals thrown into the mix as well) -- this very talented trio all happily share duties on vocals, acoustic and electric guitar, acoustic and electric bass, and occasionaly mandolin as well. And although this is the first time these three have shared the stage as a band, The Mighty Shims' three members have been part of the Wood River Valley music scene for decades now -- working with the Kim Stocking Band, The Toast Points, The Bobos, Public Radio, and many other acoustic and electric projects.
Also tonight, in Ketchum, at around 10:15 p.m., The Roosevelt's fun, cozy and relaxing Main Street restaurant in Ketchum will be transformed once again into a full-on and verrry lively entertainment venue, when local musician Piers Lamb ( www.myspace.com/pierslambartist ) takes enter stage there. Call 726-0051 for more info.
And finally on Friday night, at Hailey's Sun Valley Brewery Restaurant & Bar (202 N. Main Street/ 788-0805), the very popular band, New Transit (aka, Kill Uncle) -- www.myspace.com/seanhattonbluekettlediscography -- once again returns to that Hailey venue, where they enjoyed a terrific turnout just last Friday. Featuring Sean Hatton and Adam Gates (sharing lead guitar and bass duties), and Louis McFarland (on drums), this well-established trio frequently conjurs up images of a number of similarly-accomplished musicians ... everyone from Son Volt, Whiskey Town, Grahm Parsons, Ethan Johns, George Harrison, and Uncle Tupelo.
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Comments or questions regardng this "Harmonic Convergence" local music scene-oriented column can be sent to John at: WriteStuffIdaho@gmail.com And to read any of John's previous "HC" columns -- which include raves on local faves The Paul Tillotson Trio, Bruce Innes, Cow Says Mooo, Leana Leach, and FourStroke Bus -- simply type "Music Rules" (and also "John Pluntze") into the SVO search engine here.
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