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Elko Daily Free Press, August 12, 2005

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Emith coming to Brews Brothers

By Tom Martin, City Editor, Free Press

Stevie Gurr says emith (pronounced eh-mith) can be considered alternate pop but it is not a garage band.

But Gurr, who teams with Carol Ann Ives to produce this duo’s unique sound, is no name-dropper. He describes esmith as a musical recipe that includes blues, folk, country and rock with some Celtic mysticism mixed in there somewhere. Whatever it is called, Elko listeners can make up their own minds when esmith appears at the Brews Brothers coffee house Aug. 25. Be there at 7 p.m. for the first of three sessions.

And this is a tour date that is not carved in stone, rather some intrepid searching on the Internet, according Carol. “We were looking for a date between a stop in Colorado and on the way to Reno,” she said.

“So I looked up ‘coffee houses’ and ‘Elko’ and wrapped up the deal,” she said of her arrangements with Brews Brothers at 1850 Idaho Street – the place known for its drive-thru window and your favorite espresson confection.

“And the three sessions that evening will be free,” said Bert Fox, who owns Brews Brothers with wife Sue. “But we know everybody will buy coffee…right,” said Sue.

The free entry is partly because it is a celebration for the weddings of their two sons. Jesse is already married (July 30) to the former Amy Bohn of Elko and his brother, Casey, will be married on Aug. 27 to the former Morisher Heider fo Ely, who now lives in Elko.

They will be among those who can hear all original material from Gurr and Haverty, wo have performed in nightclubs and some larger venues in this country and Europe.

“We need atmosphere, too,” Gurr said of such stops as Brew’s Brothers, which he and his partner have never visitied.

Gurr and Haverty found emith in 2002 after Gurr had performed guitar with Dr. John and Elvin Bishop among others.

Emith has one EP in limited release on several web sites and is working on a full-length CD. This effort will include producer/bassist Sheldon Gomberg and Robin Sylvester, bassist/mixing engineer.

The duo won a Garageband award in 2004, were nominated for Enchantress Radio’s “Artist of the Year,” and were featured in the Inisheer International Songwriters Retreat. They have co-written several songs with overseas writers.

The Web site is www.emith.com.

Gurr and Carol Ann live in Valley Village, Calif. (yes there really is such place with suburban generic name).

Bert Fox said that whether the performance will be indoors or outdoors will depend on the acoustics and the weather. The outside is a large parking lot he shares with another business and inside are three rooms, a large area downstairs and two smaller rooms upstairs.

Fox said the place is deliberately low key with a book and magazine exchange downstairs – where there are also tables for those who like to park instead of go through the drive-in window. Upstairs is gallery area intended for works of local students, a reading room and a small conference room. There are wi-fi hookups for those who use laptops instead of paper for reading.

Fox said his place is known for blended frappe coffee mixes – hot or cold – and fruit smoothies. He offers frequent-customer discounts. In the future he hopes to install his own coffee bean roaster. Hours are 6 a.m.-5 p.m. on weekdays; 7 a.m.-3 p.m. on Saturdays and 7 a.m.-1 p.m. on Sundays.

“I can’t take credit for developing this market,” he said, referring to a well-known worldwide retailer that has been around a while. “But since mining started to boom we have a lot of people from other places with awareness for these products,” Fox said.

Fox, an Elko native, is also well-known as a biker, hosting the Gnatsass (Greater Nevada Adventure Touring Society Around the Silver State) Tour – a one-day event mostly on dirt roads. This year’s event is scheduled Sept. 10, he said.

Photo: Stevie Gurr (voice, guitar, harmonica) and Carol Ann Ives (voice, guitar) strike this unusual pose on a park bench.