Historic Oysterville cannery to play host to CD release showOYSTERVILLE – “I thought about having an open mic, then I thought I’ll have a ‘no-mic’ experience,” said Oyster Man Dan Driscoll recently when asked about the format for his CD-release show Miscellaneous Mayhem, scheduled for 3 p.m. this Sunday, Feb. 27 at the old Oysterville cannery.

The format for the show will echo the sentiment behind Driscoll’s latest album, “Acoustic Home Detention,” which was recorded in the cannery with just his voice and guitar to carry him. The title of the show, “Miscellaneous Mayhem,” is culled from the 14th track of the album, which shares the same name. Driscoll is holding the show to officially release the CD which he recorded two years ago but never really made it into the public’s hands.

“Maybe people will listen to it and say, ‘who can blame them?'” joked Driscoll referring to the record label Peace Works, which had released his previous two albums with the collective Oysterville Underground, “Warning to Swimmers” and “Tsunami.”

But according to Driscoll, the main goal of the show is to share the space of the old cannery.

“Almost daily people want to go in there, which surprises me because the room has a bunch of oyster workers with hatchets and knives in there,” he said.

Driscoll said the show will take place after the work is done for the day and will be free of any “hatchets and knives,” just in time for the show.

“We will harvest and process oysters that day but we’ll probably close the processing down by about 2 (p.m.) and have our clean-up done by 2:30 (p.m.). It’ll still be a little damp when people come in.”

The cannery building, which was bought by Driscoll in 1990, who took on the building in an effort to preserve the last cannery building in the town that got its name from the harvesting of oysters, is the storefront for his business, Oysterville Sea Farms.

And though when talking about performing music he says, “I like doing it, it beats work,” Driscoll emphasizes that being a father and operating his business comes first.

“At this point in my life, music isn’t the main focus, it’s trying to be a good father, take care of my business. But the music part just won’t die, won’t go away.”

On this day in fact, the Seattle Post-Intellegencer used a line from one of Driscoll’s songs as a headline on its front page and featured quotes by Driscoll in a story about the recent tsunami conference. Driscoll’s second album, with the title “Tsunami,” uses references to the phenomenon to pepper the dialogue of the tunes. He said that since the tragic events of Dec. 26 in the Indian Ocean, his album has actually seen a resurgence in interest.

“Acoustic Home Detention” was recorded in one night, all on one-track cassette format, with the help of long-time producer Fran Ashcroft. Driscoll notes on the back of the CD cover that the album is “the oysterman’s odyssey: an audio-verite journey in story and song ” – a good explanation for an album made up of an audio tour of the old town intermixed with 22 songs.

Driscoll touts the acoustics of the old cannery room, which is basically a big concrete box. The sound is surprisingly good in terms of the natural amplification and reverb. Back in January the cannery room played host to around 70 students from Evergreen College, who listened to an impromptu performance by Driscoll. He said that the room might not be the most comfortable, in terms of how much space you have, but its not bad either.

Among those scheduled to perform are Driscoll and his brother Dennis Holway Driscoll – who is signed to Olympia’s K Record label – Ramier Frank, Russell Wilson, Emily Pickrell, Damian Mulinix and Everett Pace.

“I think it’d be nice to have the contrasting styles in music, the different voices,” said Driscoll.

Each performer will get to do two songs a piece and then as the program rotates through, if people want to go again, they can.

“The main thing is to keep people entertained,” said Driscoll. “I think audiences tend to really appreciate sincere, original efforts. I want people just to share what’s unique about them and their music with other people. I think it will be very interactive event where people are sharing part of themselves and the (audience) is just a few feet away.”

Driscoll said that he wishes he could offer a space like the cannery to performers more regularly, but said that he is just so busy to be committed to anything like that right now.

“I’d love to do this all the time. I think it would be great for the performers and I think it would be great for the people here,” he said.

Miscellaneous Mayhem will begin at 3 p.m. at the historic Oysterville Cannery, Sunday, Feb. 27. Driscoll’s CD’s will be available for purchase at the show.