Mark E. Deutsch brings the psychedelic power-pop

I think it's about time to revisit our old friend Mark E. Deutsch. You may remember the musician/composer/Jewish song-leader from a blog entry earlier this year, or perhaps you've seen him plucking away in an Oakland cafe.

No matter. The point is, he's back with two upcoming shows. The first of which will take place on Nov. 21 at the Resource Center for NonViolence in Santa Cruz. There, Deutsch will perform a solo set backed by his own pre-recorded psychedelic power-pop jams. Deutsch confessed he may open the concert with his twisted-up version of "Eliyahu Ha-Navi" (Elijah the Prophet).

"When I play on a Saturday night, I always think of the spiritual themes I can incorporate," the multi-instrumentalist divulged.

He continued: "My grandfather passed away recently and the memorial ended with a reading of this super utopian Messianic reading by Judy Chicago - what stuck out to me was a line that said something like 'someday men will be gentle and women will be strong.' I was thinking about how much I like talking about a utopian society and that's what Elijah's song is about."

Deutsch's second upcoming show will take place Nov. 24 at the Hemlock Tavern in San Francisco, where he'll perform in an avant-garde soft rock East Bay super-group called Soft Shells. Deutsch described Soft Shells as a super-group because every member is also a member of other local bands and projects — but when the four of them come together, something awesome happens.

The group is highly improvisational.

"We've had more shows than we have practices," he laughed. "A lot of the time we play a song at a show that I have never heard before."

In Soft Shells, Deutsch plays guitar, keyboard and percussion along with sharing vocal duties.

The gist:
Mark E. Deutsch (opening for Karl Blau)
Nov. 21 @ The Resource Center for Nonviolence, Santa Cruz

Soft Shells (opening for Them Hills and Neal Morgan)
Nov. 24 @ The Hemlock Tavern, 1131 Polk St., San Francisco

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