St. Patrick's Parade

2007 St. Patrick's season with Folkloric (Meself, Jim Donnelly and Ira McIntosh) was a huge success!

On Sunday 3/11/07, we played music on the Ulster county Highway Department's Float in the City of Kingston St. Patrick's Parade as we do each year . It's a yearly ritual. It starts out at 10 am, crawling around on top of a large truck, attaching speaker wires and microphones. It was between snowfalls, but it was still cold up there. There was snow on the ground. I was nursing a cold and didn't really want to be there. But there is excitement in the air. All the bagpipe and drum bands are rehearsing. People are in costume and there are brightly colored floats. The parade kicks off at Kingston Plaza, goes down Broadway and ends at the strand. Hanniford's bathrooms in the Plaza always breakdown, or more likely they just put the "out of order" sign up. The Mayfair Renaissance group was behind us while we were setting up, which gave a nice foreshadowing of the spring to come. There was the usual worries as the generator seemed not to be working, but it finally kicked in. Chicks' Restaurant sponsors us and the float won "Best Irish Spirit" in the parade. There was a great crowd of people all along the parade route and a very bumpy ride back to Chicks.

We started playing at Chicks at 4:30. There was not a great crowd at first, but the people there seemed to like the music. Owners Art and Bev Daley were very nice and accommodating. we finished our 4 hours and then a few people came in so we played an extra hour and someone at the bar payed us to play still another hour! That made it a total of 8 hours singing including the parade and a 14 hour day of work including set up and breakdown time. By then my body was wracked in arthritic pain and I had no voice, my hands were so sore I could barely hold a pick. We had Robin Carey, drummer with the AOH pipe band join us and she kept the energy up while we croaked out a few more St. Paddy's Day standards. All in all we had a great time and we knew that nothing to come the next week would be hard in comparison.

On Wednesday, we played at the Ulster County Health Related Facility on Golden Hill in Kingston. The staff led by Vinny Uvino was very energetic and did a wonderful job of hosting the party.

On Thursday, I did a solo performance at Wingate at Ulster in Highland, NY. A more relaxed experience - just what I needed!

On Friday, we started off at noon at the Hurley Mountain Inn in (where else), Hurley, NY, right off Route 209. Unfortunately the second Northeast Blizzard of the year came in and we packed up early and got to the Holiday Inn in time to be snowed in. I don't know where the people came from but mayor James Sottile and alderman Jim Noble were there. We played from 3:30 to 6:30 and then fiddler Lee Eaton drove me home in his 4 wheel drive. thanks to WKNY and Warren Lawrence for sponsoring us.

On Saturday, St. Patrick's Day itself, we went back to Chick's Restaurant at Kingston Plaza and played from 5 to 10 pm. This felt like the "real" St. Patrick's party. The usual Irish lasses leading "green alligators", the drunken college guys grunting along with the words to the songs. Baby's crying, elderly couples singing along, people dancing. All in all a very appreciative audience.

And yet another Obituary : Mark Spoelstra - wonderful '60's folksinger

From Mark Spoelstra's son Joshua:

Dear Friends,
Today my father passed away here in his lovely but modest home in the Sierra Foothills of California. There was snow on the ground and we could see the trees which surround the house like sentinels sway with the force of another approaching storm. We held him as he left us and I know he had no fear and felt no pain, and even though his life was cut short he found the strength to remind each of us that he loved us. I will miss him greatly.

Regretfully,
Joshua Spoelstra

Classes next week

Classes starting at OldSongs

 

Instrument Classes begin next week. Still time to sign up for:

Bodhran (one more opening), Fiddle, Accordion, Recorder, Irish Guitar, Jazz Guitar, Mandolin, Mountain Dulcimer, Hammered Dulcimer, Pennywhistle, Banjo and African Rhythms (which is scheduled for May).

Full info at www.oldsongs.org/classes.html or call 518-765-2815 to register.

 

Medieval tech support

I try and keep this blog focused on musical items as much as possible, but this is just too much fun - sent by Marcus.

Subject: Medieval tech support 

Medieval tech support

The Book

 - Warning - It`s in foreign (but with subtitles) :)

http://www.devilducky.com/media/57946/

St. Patrick's Month

The Irish world of Folkloric (me, Jim and Ira) is heating up. St. Patrick's season looks to break all records. Our public gigs are at http://blschedule.blogspot.com/. In addition to the Kingston St. Patricks Parade, Chick's Restaurant, The Holiday Inn and the Hurley Mountain Inn, we seem to have a lot of nursing homes and private parties too! Come see us when you can, eat corned beef and cabbage and drink green beer!

A Real Folksinger

From friend Steve Suffet - You can see his blog at
http://www.soundclick.com/members/default.cfm?member=suffet&content=myBlogs

Thursday, February 15, 2007. Note: I wrote this piece in 2001 to console a friend whose application to perform at the Old Songs Festival in upstate New York had been rejected. When that same festival later rejected my own application, I read it again and found that it was still just as true. It has since been reprinted several times. The accompanying photo is of Pete Seeger. He was performing at the People's Music Network Winter Gathering at the Renaissance Charter School in Jackson Heights, Queens, New York, in January 2005.

A real folksinger...

A real folksinger doesn't worry about bookings. A real folkinger creates his/her own venue. On street corners In campgrounds. In parks. In schools. At parties. At family gatherings. Wherever and whenever the opportunity arises. A real folksinger plays in hospitals, and hospices, and old age homes. A real folksinger plays in prisons, and libraries, and bus stations, and at street fairs. And a real folksinger doesn't whine and bellyache and complain because such and such club or festival wouldn't have him/her.

A real folksinger understands that folk music is not a genre. A real folksinger understands that any song can be a folksong. A real folksonger knows there is no such thing as singing a folksong wrong. If a real folksinger forgets the words, he/she makes up new ones on the spot. If a real folksinger can't quite remember the melody, he/she invents one that fits his/her own vocal style, perhaps flatting a 7th here, jumping an octave there, or changing a major key into a mountain modal.

A real folksinger never calls him/herself as a singer-songwriter. And yet a real folksinger is always writing songs to sing and singing the songs he/she writes. And a real folksinger doesn't write self-centered contemplate-one's-navel type songs. A real folksinger writes songs that tell interesting stories. Yes, real folksingers have written songs about bad relationships, but those songs include Pretty Polly, Banks of the Ohio, and Rose Connolly!

Real folksingers have written some of the greatest lines in the whole English language. Three examples:

And all she said as she neared his bed,
Was, "Young man, I think you're dying."

Rise up, rise up, little Matty Groves,
And dress as quick as you can,
For never shall it be said in old England,
That I slew a naked man.

Dig the beets from your ground,
Cut the grapes from your vine,
To set on your table,
Your light sparkling wine.

A real folksinger borrows from others, and in turn expects that others will borrow from him/her. A real folksinger understands that all "anon" and "trad" songs had real live authors, and perhaps the greatest honor that can ever befall a real folksinger is to become the author of an anonymous/traditional song.

If a real folksinger wants to make money, he/she gets a job.

A real folksinger doesn't sing to an audience. A real folksinger gets the audience to sing. And if the audience whips out kazoos, tambourines, Jew's harps, and harmonicas and starts to play along, so much the better.

Feel free to add your own comments.

--- Steve

Airports

From Mark Rausher
Musicians Face Tougher Airport Security
NEW YORK, Feb. 18, 2007(CBS) For four decades, wherever jazz trumpeter Valery Ponomarev flew, his rare 1961 Constellation trumpet flew with him...as carry-on luggage.

"This is the prized possession of Valery Pomonarev," says Pomonarev as he points to his trumpet.

So prized, reports CBS News correspondent Trish Regan, that when screeners at a Paris airport told him he needed to check his trumpet as cargo before boarding a plane home to New York City recently, he refused.

"For me or any musician to put an instrument under, it's the same like for a mother to put her baby into luggage compartment," says Ponomarev.

Unfortunately, for Valery, those feelings were not shared by the French police.

"They just smashed me against the wall like that and ripping away the horn from me," adds Ponomarev. "Imagine this, four big guys, one of them lines up my arm behind me like that and breaks it, just like that."

Musicians like Valery are getting caught in the cross hairs of increased security. They need to get to their concerts but they can't bear the idea of leaving their instruments, many of which are centuries old and often worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, at the mercy of baggage handlers.

"That's not how you take care of works of art and these are all works of art, useable works of art," says Krista Bennion Feeney.

Krista Feeney practices her art on a 230 year old, handmade Italian violin. Rather than risk checking instruments, she and her fellow musicians with St. Luke's Orchestra in New York cancelled a European tour this fall, amid a heightened security alert.

The Transportation Security Administration does say instruments are permitted as carry-ons, but the final decision on whether an instrument will wind up in the cargo hold or under a seat is up to the individual flight
crews.

As for Valery, a metal plate now holds the bones in his arm together and he's beginning to play again. But his travel nightmare was not over. When he finally boarded his flight to New York, French authorities insisted that his prized possession come home.as cargo.

One last sour note to end the worst gig of his life.

C MMVII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.

***Be a link in a larger chain--if you see something interesting, pass it
along and share the wealth!**

B Flat

Krulwich on Science

By Robert Krulwich

Have You Heard About B Flat?

Morning Edition, February 16, 2007 · For reasons that remain mostly mysterious, the note we call B flat does the oddest things. Here are a few of them.
B Flats and Alligators
During World War II, the New York Philharmonic was visiting the American Museum of Natural History. During rehearsal, somebody played a note that upset a resident live alligator named Oscar. Oscar, who'd been in the museum on 81st Street, suddenly began to bellow. Naturally, with so many scientists in residence, an experiment was quickly devised to see how to get Oscar to bellow again. Various musicians — string, percussive and brass — were brought to Oscar to play various notes. It turned out the culprit was B flat, one octave below middle C.
The experiment was described back in the 1940s.
I repeated the experiment on an ABC News broadcast in the 1990s, playing a B flat to a collection of gators in at a roadside attraction in Florida and recording their bellows.
Why B flat?
You'd have to ask an alligator.
B Flat and Glenway Fripp the Piano Tuner
Jay Alison (of "This I Believe" fame) and radio correspondent Viki Merrick live in Massachusetts and help run public radio stations on Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket. In their capacities as managers-poets-reporters in residence, they regularly devise short promotional "moments" featuring local personalities.
One of their promos described a trip that Glenway Fripp took up a staircase.
Mr. Fripp, a piano tuner by trade, was humming in B flat while climbing the stairs at his dad's office building, when he noticed that his hum had somehow escaped him and was hanging, resonating without him, on the staircase landing. He couldn't quite explain what was happening; only that his hum (and it was definitely his hum, no one else's) had gone off without him.
If you listen to the broadcast, you can hear this for yourself. Viki Merrick recorded it. Glenway has no idea why B flat had this particular property on that particular staircase. He suspects that the walls were porous and may even contain cavities that are very B-flat friendly. That's all he knows. But the truth is, he doesn't have an explanation.
B Flat and Black Holes
This one's a bit of a stretch, but here's what happened.
In September, 2003, astronomers at NASA's Chandra X-Ray Observatory found what can be described as sound waves emanating from a supermassive black hole. The black hole can be seen in the Perseus cluster of galaxies located 250 million light years from Earth.
Andrew Fabian of the Institute of Astronomy in Cambridge, England, analyzed the waves and announced, "We have detected their sound…." The sound he found (which is really the waves passing through gas near the black hole) translate to the note B flat.
But this is not a B flat you or I can hear. It is 57 octaves below middle C. A piano, by comparison, contains only seven octaves. So if a black hole hums, it hums at a frequency a million billion times lower than you can hear.
A Song in B Flat
While you may not be able to hear a black hole humming, this story is, to a considerable extent, sung.
The vocalist (who is also the lyricist, and a journalist) is Josh Kurz of Los Angeles. His partner this time out is Shane Winter, who composed the song "Have You Heard About B Flat?" — which wasn't easy, since he decided to hang with B flat for as long and as often as possible.
Josh Kurz's other work can be found at the Web site he shares with Adam Raitano of Brooklyn, N.Y.

"Detailed instructions destroy initiative"

Robert Henlein - Sixth Column

Donations needed for musicians

From: mooseherd@peoplepc.com

Sent: Tuesday, February 06, 2007 11:29 PM
Subject: February Redwood Moose

My friends Redwood Moose (Mike Dmoch) and Reb (Rebekah Lowden) had a fire recently and can use a variety of donations including extra sound equipment you might have lying around. - Bob

Last Wednesday night at 4:45 PM Redwood Moose Manor burned down. We lost almost everything, MOST IMPORTANTLY our beloved Lilly Lowden, the queen of our feline neighborhood, celebrated in song by Reb's work Lilly the Tabby. Her brother Louie survived. I did manage to save our four most irreplaceable guitars, Reb's '72 Martin, the 2001 Alvarez, the '75 Guild twelve, and the Hilo Hawaiian steel. We lost Reb's brand new koa Little Martin, her 70's Gibson SG, a Johnson dobro, and Reb's banjo. Charlie Kniceley came down the same night and presented Reb with a banjo he bought at an auction, and my family chipped in for a second time to get Reb another Little Martin. We also lost the bulk of our sound and other musical equipment, all CD's, records, tapes, etc., a buffalo drum, harmonicas and holder. I also moved and thereby saved Reb's Hyundai, but my Subaru got somewhat melted. Still runs.

In addition, due to Reb's recent hospitalizations, I failed to complete the paperwork to raise the amount of insurance coverage, so we will get only $7,000 instead of the 70 grand the house is worth. The silver lining is our friends, neighbors, and even total strangers have been ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL to us. The street festival music committee has put together a benefit for February 25th at the Rosendale Rec Center, details at http://rosendalestreetfestival.com:80/fire/ which includes a Paypal account, a bank account has been started for a fund to help us either pay back the loan from the addition we built last year, and/or perhaps help us start re-building. It may be that some kind of community barn raising type event may be necessary and may take place. For donations, checks can be made out to and mailed to the fund as described at the end of the email.

We already have had enough clothes donated to last the rest of our lives, although Reb lost all of her jewelry, and in addition could use some grace notes like decorative scarves, etc--performing clothes. We have purchased a few absolutely necessary items like two gig bags, but we could use 4 or so guitar stands, mike stands, mike, guitar, and speaker cords, speaker stands, a music stand. Charlie Kniceley had borrowed our little 4 channel and a speaker, so we can manage the next gig, but we lost our Behringer 10 channel powered mixer, and some speakers and speaker stands, most of our mikes, cords, etc.

So we are grateful for each other, our dear cat Louie, our families, neighbors, and friends, and recognize a challenge when we seen one, but know that we are surrounded by love and light. We are staying at my mother's, with a two room upstairs suite, that a group of neighbors and friends helped us work on all day Saturday to get ready for us so we're not just camping out. We can be reached at 845 658 8811, and hope to re establish Reb's phone soon. Reb's mailing address is POB 25, Rosendale, NY 12472. My family is POB 209. We do hope to see all of you soon to celebrate our love and friendship

Rebekah Lowden and Mike Dmoch Fire Account
PO Box 441 Rosendale, NY 12472-0441
Peace and Love, and deepest appreciation
the Moose and the Redwood

Fiddler's Tour

I've just added Fiddler's Tour to my links page -
http://boblusklinks.blogspot.com/
They are a wonderful group of people in the Albany area who do participatory jam sessions with a different location each month. A traveling drop in fiddle band! Very welcoming. They meet on Tuesdays at 7:30. Go to their site at
http://www.fiddlerstour.com/ft_home.html
This month they are at Carney's Restaurant 17 Main St (Rte 146A) Ballston Lake, NY(Across from Stewart's).

Seeger Family Tribute (American Folklife Center of the Library of Congress)

So if you're not going to see me and Folkloric play St. Patrick's Day Weekend, you might want to go to this -

How Can I Keep From Singing? A Seeger Family Tribute
March 15-16, 2007 Library of Congress, Washington, DC

Preliminary Program
Please note that panel presentations and the film screening will take place in the Mumford Room, 6th floor, Madison Building and that advance registration is required to attend

PLEASE NOTE: Due to very high demand, tickets to the Seeger Family concert have already sold out. We will have overflow rooms equipped with closed-circuit televisions to broadcast the event. We are also exploring other avenues to see that symposium registrants who were unable to obtain tickets for the concert will be able to hear the Seegers perform. Please understand that we cannot guarantee symposium registrants without tickets a seat in the auditorium or the overflow room. We very much hope that you will still plan to attend the symposium.

* Indicates that the participant is still to be confirmed

MARCH 15, 2007 -- THURSDAY

8:00-9:00 pm -- THE PETE AND TOSHI SEEGER FILM COLLECTION
Screening of film clips from the documentary film footage collection of world musical traditions recorded by Pete and Toshi Seeger and their children during their travels around the world in the 1960's. The screening will be followed by a discussion period.


PLEASE NOTE THAT THE TIME FOR THE SCREENING IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE

MARCH 16, 2007 -- FRIDAY

9:00-10:00 am -- WELCOME and INTRODUCTION: Library Officials and Peggy Bulger (Director, American Folklife Center)

KEYNOTE ADDRESS: Neil Rosenberg (Professor, Memorial University of Newfoundland)

10:00-11:30 am -- CHARLES SEEGER AND RUTH CRAWFORD SEEGER

Moderator: Peggy Seeger
Betty Auman (Music Division) will describe Charles and Ruth Seeger collection materials.
Judith Tick (Northeastern University) will discuss Ruth Crawford Seeger's accomplishments.
Taylor Aitken Greer (Pennsylvania State University) will discuss Charles Seeger.

11:30-1:00 pm-- ANOTHER GENERATION OF SEEGERS: PETE, MIKE & PEGGY SEEGER

Moderator: Michael Taft (American Folklife Center)
Todd Harvey (American Folklife Center) will discuss LC collections featuring material concerning Pete, Mike and Peggy Seeger.
Jeff Place (Smithsonian Folkways Records) will discuss Smithsonian Folkways' efforts to maintain their Seeger materials.
David Dunaway (University of New Mexico) will discuss the legacy of Pete Seeger.

1:00-2:30 LUNCH

2:30-4:00 pm -- PERFORMING THE SEEGERS

Moderator: Ray Allen (Brooklyn College, CUNY)
Anthony Seeger (UCLA) will discuss his use of American folksongs as an ethnomusicologist in the field.
Mike Seeger will discuss his overlapping roles as a fieldworker and performer
James Durst of the singing group "Work O' the Weavers" will discuss his group, and what it means to perform Pete Seeger.

4:00-5:30 pm --POLITICS, THEORY AND THE FOLK REVIVAL

Moderator: Joe Hickerson (Folklorist, Performer)
Bill Ivey (Vanderbilt University) will discuss the different ways "folk" and "country" music are theorized
Robert Cantwell (University of North Carolina) will discuss the origin and development of the folk revival
Millie Rahn (Independent Folklorist) will discuss the Seegers and the American folk scene

5:30-5:45 pm -- CLOSING REMARKS & SING ALONG WITH PETE SEEGER*

8:00-9:30 pm -- CONCERT (COOLIDGE AUDITORIUM, JEFFERSON BUILDING)
Pete, Mike and Peggy Seeger with family and special friends

The Seeger Family concert will begin at 8 pm on March 16 in the Coolidge Auditorium, located on the ground floor of the Thomas Jefferson Building, 101 First Street, S.E.

Eric Von Schmidt

From: Suffet@worldnet.att.net
To: peoplesmusic@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Fri, 2 Feb 2007 5:30 PM
Subject: [peoplesmusic] RIP: Eric Von Schmidt

Greetings:

More sad news: Eric Von Schmidt, the great blues and folk singer and guitarist from Cambridge, Massachusetts, died in his sleep last night, February 1, 2007. I have no further details at this time. It is nearly impossible to overstate the importance of the role Eric Von Schmidt played in the folk music revival of the 1950s and 1960s. Brother Eric sits among us in our souls. May he rest in peace.

--- Steve

Piping Weekend

The Saugerties Piping Weekend is scheduled this year for April 20-23, 2007 and will once again be held at St. Joseph's Villa/Falling Waters in Friendly Saugerties. 

We always have a huge variety of bagpipes show up at this event: Northumbrian Smallpipes, Scottish Smallpipes, Uilleann Pipes, Border Pipes, Cornish Pipes, Spanish Gaitas, Breton Binous, etc.  In addition to pipes any other acoustic musical instruments are welcome.  In the past we've had harp, fiddle, mandolin, guitar, tin whistle, ukulele, bodhran, didgeridoo and more!  Also feel free to bring your audio/video recorders and cameras.

Costs

The cost for the entire weekend is $210 for Friday through Monday room and board.  That includes dinner on Friday, three meals on Saturday and Sunday and a continental breakfast and brunch on Monday.  If you can't stay until Monday, then the cost from Friday through Sunday afternoon is $140.  Please send a $25.00 non-refundable deposit before April 15, 2007 to:Ernie Shultis, 4055 Rt. 32, Saugerties, NY 12477.

For local people who wish to stay elsewhere and would like to have their meals with us the costs are:

Breakfast $3, Lunch $4 and Dinner $8 per person.  If you are coming for a meal, I need the full amount for each meal before April 15, 2007.  Please send a non-refundable check to: Ernie Shultis, 4055 Rt. 32, Saugerties, NY 12477.

For questions about the weekend I can be reached at (518) 678-3375 or cmcpiper@gmail.com

For the rest who would just like to come to listen, or possibly join in and play along on your own musical instruments the cost is, as always, FREE.

Directions to Falling Waters.

If coming from the south: Take NY State Thruway (I-87) to exit 20 (Saugerties), turning right after toll booth onto NY Route 212 East/32.    If coming from the north: Take NY State Thruway (I-87) to exit 20 (Saugerties), turning left after toll booth onto NY Route 32.     Follow  Route 32 through the village of Saugerties for 1.08 miles.  Turn Right onto Rt. 9W South/32 at Partition Street, the "Inquiring Mind" bookstore will be in front of you at the corner of Main Street and Partition Street.  Continue following signs for 9W South. (You will make several turns: just keep following signs.) Cross the steel bridge and continue up the hill one more mile to Spaulding Lane on your left. "Cups and Cones" Restaurant is at Spaulding Lane. Take Spaulding Lane to the end where you will see the entrance to Falling Waters.  43 Spaulding Lane, Saugerties, NY 12477

---

Search for grocery stores. Find gratitude. Turn a simple search into something more.

The Healing Power of Music

From: Maryellen Healy

To: mhealy@frontiernet.net

Sent: Thursday, February 01, 2007 11:09 PM

Subject: The Healing Power of Music

2/1/07

The Healing Power of Music

 

Do you have an unused instrument sitting in your attic, basement or closet?  You could send it down to kids in the areas hardest hit by Katrina, Rita and the tornados.  We're taking the minivan down to the Gulf Coast.

 

We leave early on Sunday February 11^th  Bring donations to us at the February Beacon sloop club meeting tomorrow night, to our home in Pine Bush or call or email to work out another way to get it to us.

 

We know Bill Hudson www.bill-hudson.com through the sloop Clearwater community.  Bill has been working on us to join him and Al Coffey on the Feel Good tour www.feelgoodtour.blogspot.com from the start.  Bill came through the valley last week and asked again.  Short notice but perfect timing.

 

There is also a need for kid's jackets and sweaters.  They asked for easy to play instruments for the special needs classes, like tambourines, drums, sticks and shakers.

 

Mel's webpage is www.homepage.mac.com/maryellenhealy . 

We'll send notes from the road to www.melandvinnie.blogspot.com

And www.myspace.com/melandvin

 

Hudson Valley Happenings

I get most of my information about local folk music events from several volunteer e-mail lists. The two I rely on most are sent by John Rogers jrogers@hvc.rr.com and Deborah Osherow deborah@fiddlehawk.com. Theoretically they are intended for Irish music, but do a good job of covering the rest of the folk field. If you write them, I’m sure they will add you to their list.

Sam Boyce

My father-in-law, Sam Boyce just passed away.  He was a wonderful person, a person that anyone would be proud to emulate. - Bob Lusk

Ernest E."Sam" Boyce, 86, a resident of  Woodstock and World War II veteran,died at his home on  Saturday, January 27, 2007.  Born May 15, 1920  in  Wyoming  Park, Grand Rapids, Michigan, he was  the youngest of  seven children of the late Ernest E. and Flora  Lanfear  Boyce.

A U.S. Army Staff Sargeant in the ETO during World War II, he received the  Silver Star for gallantry in action near Sterkrade, Germany, March 29, 1945. During the  Vietnam era, he  volunteered as a draft  counselor, and  during recent years marched  with the Veterans  for Peace.  His descriptive letters from the  ETO will  be preserved in the Library of Congress, Washington  D.C.

A graduate of Wyoming  Park High School  in Grand Rapids, he joined his lifelong  friends in class  reunions, the last in 1990.   He attended Michigan State University, majoring in horticulture,and received his B.S.in  1942.

He retired as a food chemist  after  a  career with Gerbers, Red Wing,  Mitchell Foods, and American Foods. He spent two years before entering  the army as  an inspector of U.S. Army food for the U.S.D.A.

He moved to Woodstock  in 1973, where he hand  built his dream house on the West Saugerties/Woodstock Road.   A lover of nature,swimming  and the outdoors,  he donated to  Sierra Club,and  enjoyed his pond and woods on Band  Camp Road.  A longtime volunteer for Family of Woodstock  and board  member of the Woodstock Chamber Orchestra, he was a member of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the Catskills.   He was  known for his  love of family, as a doting grandparent,and his willingness to help others, acting as a Migrant chairman, church Elder,  sponsoring children through World Vision.

He  married Jean Garcia Boyce on May 28,1943.  They  celebrated  their 60th  anniversary with family and friends in May 2003.   In  addition to  his wife,  survivors include his sister, Flora Buckhout of  Grand Rapids;  his children, Barbara Boyce and son in law BruceAckerman  of  West Saugerties, Penelope Lusk,  son in  law Robert Lusk and grandson Roberto Lusk of Kingston, Rebecca S.Boyce of Miami Beach, Florida and children Daphne Gomez-Mena of NYC and Niccolo  Gomez-Mena of Coral Gables,  Steven E.  Boyce and wife Miriam Boyce and children Michael and Naomi of  New York City, and Robin Boyce and Richard Bixby and children  Taylor, Eli, and  Chunmei of Portland, Oregon.   In addition, he leaves six nieces, two nephews, and several grand and great  grandneices and  nephews.

A  memorial service will be held at 2 pm on Saturday, February 3, 2007 at the Unitarian Universalist  Congregation  on  Sawkill Road,Kingston,  the Reverend Dr. Linda Anderson officiating.  In lieu of flowers, he  family asks  that donations  be  made to the Unitarian Universalist Congregation  of the Catskills (UUCC) 320  Sawkill Road, Kingston, NY 12401.

Join the Hudson Valley Folk Guild

In case you didn't know- I'm a member of The Hudson Valley Folk Guild -
They've been around for a good 30+ years, run several coffeehouses, concert venues, etc.
Membership is $10 a year, you can send a check to Hudson Valley Folk Guild - Membership, P.O. Box F, Poughkeepsie, N.Y. 12602 or drop it off at one of their events - look on their website for a schedule. http://www.hudsonvalleyfolkguild.org/,

Lusk Family Music Party 2007

The Lusk Family Music Party 2007 was a blast! Check out details at http://bobluskmusicparty.blogspot.com/

The Robert Burns celebration next week at Vincents was cancelled. Boo Hoo.

Cabin Fever Concert Series

If you are looking for something slightly more sedate on 1/27, but still very good music, check out the Cabin Fever Concert Series in Pine Hill.

The Cabin Fever Concert Series takes place at 7:00 pm at the Pine Hill Community Center on January 27th.
Join four sets of performers for an evening of great acoustic music. Warm up with friends and neighbors,
good song, coffee and snacks.

Featuring: Dennis Havel (with Bruce Hildebrand); Kimberly; James Krueger; and Jeanne Weiss and Ernie
Mortuzans (with Wayne Nord).

The cost is $6; $4 for Community Center members; 7-9 PM.

Take Rt. 28 west from Kingston to Pine HilL, take fork left onto Main St. The center is at 287 Main St.

"Follow the Drinking Gourd" history

Here is a wonderful compilation of history by Joel Bresler related to the song "Follow the Drinking Gourd".
www.followthedrinkinggourd.org
He will be presenting on Saturday, February 24th at 1:30 pm at a conference: "The Underground Railroad: Uncovering the Voices of Women"Organized by: The Underground Railroad History Project of the Capital Region, Inc. Site: The College of St. Rose, Albany, New YorkDates: February 23, 24, 25, 2007
http://www.ugrworkshop.com/conference/index.html

Bob

Chord Changer

From Pat Lamma

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bexIdm0awwo

 

Can someone please give me one for my birthday?! - Bob

 

Robert Burns' Celebration

Sat, Feb 3rd. Robert Burns' Scottish Celebration at Vincents in Saugerties. With Ernie Shultis, Bagpiper's, songs, instrumental music, reading of the Haggis.....more! Call 338-8587 for more information.

The Winds of Forgiveness

A wonderful story from my music teacher, Anjali Nandedkar.

The Winds of Forgiveness
When someone does something to harm you, write your hurts in the sand. A parable for today.

Two friends were walking through the desert. During some point of the journey, they had an argument, and one friend slapped the other in the face. The one who got slapped was hurt, but without saying anything wrote in the sand:

Today my best friend slapped me in the face.

They kept on walking until they found an oasis, where they decided to take a bath. The one who had been slapped got stuck in the mire and started drowning—but the friend saved him.

After he recovered from the near-drowning, he wrote on a stone:

Today my best friend saved my life.

The friend who had slapped and saved his best friend asked him, "After I hurt you, you wrote in the sand and now, you write on a stone. Why?"

The other friend replied: "When someone hurts us, we should write it down in sand where winds of forgiveness can erase it away. But, when someone does something good for us, we must engrave it in stone where no wind can ever erase it.

Learn to write your hurts in the sand and to carve your benefits in stone.

My Songs Back on Line!!

I finally got my audio files going again and you can listen to some of my old songs at http://boblusksongs.blogspot.com/

Pete Seeger's Prophetic Words

From: John Pietaro

To: leftmus@earthlink.net

Sent: Thursday, January 11, 2007 3:50 PM

Subject: Pete Seeger's Prophetic Words

Friends,

 

Always interested in any posting concerning either Pete Seeger or the prophetic words of the Left, I was pleased to see this one by Matthew Weinstein, who generates an intersting political list-serve of his own. The more we look back on the works of artists such as Pete, Woody Guthrie, Paul Robeson, Bertolt Brecht, Joe Hill, Phil Ochs, Sis Cunningham, or the hordes of others who've used their music for social change, we can best understand our own surroundings and times.

 

Please do read over the following anti-war song lyric by Pete as you think over the false modesty of George Bush's speech last night. Other than the calculated decision to finally stand up and admit to wrong, it was simply more of the same old thing. Left to his own devices, this man would have US troops committed for decades this war. Surely, a civil war that his intervention has caused.

 

And the big fool says to push on...

 

In Solidarity,

John Pietaro

www.flamesofdiscontent.org

-----Forwarded Message-----
From: Matthew Weinstein
Sent: Jan 11, 2007 9:57 AM
To:
Subject: Pete Seeger's Prophetic Words

Jan 11, 2007

 

Friends,

 

Apropos of my previous post, I thought you'd enjoy reading the words to Seeger's 1963 song (and the notes that precede it).

 

Matt 

Waist Deep In The Big Muddy

by Pete Seeger 1963, planned for the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour in 1967 but CBS objected to the blacklisted Seeger making obvious references to the"big fool" in the White House, finally sung by Seeger on the Comedy Hour in 1968 as the finale in a medley of anti-war songs

It was back in nineteen forty-two,
I was a member of a good platoon.
We were on maneuvers in-a Loozianna,
One night by the light of the moon.
The captain told us to ford a river,
That's how it all begun.
We were -- knee deep in the Big Muddy,
But the big fool said to push on.

The Sergeant said, "Sir, are you sure,
This is the best way back to the base?"
"Sergeant, go on! I forded this river
'Bout a mile above this place.
It'll be a little soggy but just keep slogging.
We'll soon be on dry ground."
We were -- waist deep in the Big Muddy
And the big fool said to push on.

The Sergeant said, "Sir, with all this equipment
No man will be able to swim."
"Sergeant, don't be a Nervous Nellie,"
The Captain said to him.
"All we need is a little determination;
Men, follow me, I'll lead on."
We were -- neck deep in the Big Muddy
And the big fool said to push on.

All at once, the moon clouded over,
We heard a gurgling cry.
A few seconds later, the captain's helmet
Was all that floated by.
The Sergeant said, "Turn around men!
I'm in charge from now on."
And we just made it out of the Big Muddy
With the captain dead and gone.

We stripped and dived and found his body
Stuck in the old quicksand.
I guess he didn't know that the water was deeper
Than the place he'd once before been.
Another stream had joined the Big Muddy
'Bout a half mile from where we'd gone.
We were lucky to escape from the Big Muddy
When the big fool said to push on.

Well, I'm not going to point any moral;
I'll leave that for yourself
Maybe you're still walking, you're still talking
You'd like to keep your health.
But every time I read the papers
That old feeling comes on;
We're -- waist deep in the Big Muddy
And the big fool says to push on.

Waist deep in the Big Muddy
And the big fool says to push on.
Waist deep in the Big Muddy
And the big fool says to push on.
Waist deep! Neck deep! Soon even a
Tall man'll be over his head, we're
Waist deep in the Big Muddy!
And the big fool says to push on!

Words and music by Pete Seeger (1967)
TRO (c) 1967 Melody Trails, Inc. New York, NY

Lusk Annual Music Party

I've made a site for the Lusk Family Annual Music Party at http://bobluskmusicparty.blogspot.com/

John St. Jam - This Saturday

From: Steve Massardo

Subject: John St. Jam - This Saturday

Hey everybody!

The John St. Jam starts its 4th season this Saturday with these terrific musicians:

Helen Avakian
Terry Seeley
Anne Loeb
RV Henninger
Erin Hobson
Doc Howells
Valerie Turner
James Krueger


Don't miss this once-in-a-lifetime combination!!

The Jam is located at 16 John St., Saugerties:

Doors open at 7:00, music starts at 7:30
Admission is still only $3 and refreshments are available.

Frame Drumming Intensive: 6 Month Program

 

----- Original Message -----

From: Layne Redmond

To: Layne@layneredmond.com

Sent: Saturday, January 06, 2007 7:06 PM

Subject: Frame Drumming Intensive: 6 Month Program

Hi, I wanted those of you in the NE to know that my wonderful students Deb Reed and Hollie Marron will be teaching the 6 month frame drumming intensive that Tommy Brunjes and I developed back in 98.  I don't teach that program anymore but my advanced students do.  Deb and Hollie completed the very first 6 month program I taught back in 98 I think!  They have taken many advanced workshop since and studied with many other teachers.  This is a great opportunity!  And you will be using the material I recorded and created for the program.

Very soon I will be launching a new website that will have podcast and video clip long distance training available.  I have bought my apartment in Brazil and my new recording/music video studio there is half built.   I hope to move to Salvador sometime this summer.  I will have to leave every three months for awhile because I only have a tourist visa at this time, so I'll be teaching in the US on a regular basis!

Happy new year, and many blessings, Layne

Frame Drumming Intensive: 6 Month Program

Learn to play the frame drum, the ancient instrument of ritual, trance, community building and healing in the Mediterranean and Middle Eastern world. Originally played by women, the small, hand-held tambourine and tar inspire meditative, energizing, and joyous rhythm making when played together in circle. Playing the frame drum can compliment meditative or movement practices, music, dance and percussion jams, and rituals and celebrations or simply add to your personal enjoyment and wellness. 

The program's core techniques and concepts will be derived from the GBTO (Giving Birth To Ourselves) curriculum as taught by Layne Redmond, master percussionist, author, educator and frame drum historian. We will explore and practice the sacred technologies and historical context of this style of drumming as handed down from Layne Redmond, including:

o     entrainment through rhythm, movement, breath, and voice
o        invoking the elemental energies of fire, water, air, and earth
o shifting states of consciousness for meditation and healing
o    slideshow presentation of documented frame drum history  

Deb and Hollie will infuse the curriculum with their unique professional experiences sharing rhythm and drumming with youth and adults in education, recreation, and mental health recovery settings.  Upon completion of this program, participants will have the skills to:

o maintain a personal drumming practice for health and wellness
o  teach basic frame drumming classes in the community
o    facilitate rhythm circles for educational, healing, or workplace settings

Prior drumming experience is not necessary, though it is suggested that participants attend an introductory class prior to attending the program. A commitment of a daily one hour practice at home to maximize and accelerate your learning and playing potential is expected from all participants. Practice CDs and worksheets will be provided (included in cost)

Deb Reed and Hollie Marron began studying the frame drum in 1996 and have been teaching and performing frame since 1998.  They are senior students of Layne Redmond, author of When the Drummers were Women, and bring a light, joyful approach to playing this ecstatic drum! Hollie is an occupational therapist, authorized Rhythmic Entrainment Intervention (REI) provider, and outdoor educator. Deb has a background in rehabilitation counseling and massage therapy; currently she is a doctoral student in audiology at UMass Amherst.


Location:  Institute for the Musical Arts, Goshen, MA    www.ima.org
Dates: May 18-20, June 15-17, *July 13-15, Aug. 24-26, Sept. 28-30, Oct. 19-21
*July's weekend: advanced drummers workshop with Layne Redmond in Portland, ME
Cost: includes 2 nights housing and 6 meals $1200, exclusive of July weekend

Registration:  a non-refundable deposit of $50 due by March 1, 2007
             50% of program cost due by April 1, 2007
                Register on-line at www.ima.org or call 413-268-3074

Questions: contact Deb Reed at 413-268-8313 or deebed@earthlink.net

(please put drumming in subject text to get through spam filter)

-

--  

Layne Redmond

Golden Seed Productions

PO Box 2210

Chiefland, FL 32644-2210

Layne@layneredmond.com

www.layneredmond.com

 

Martin Luther King Celebration

On 1/14/07 I'll be singing at the Martin Luther King Celebration at the Woodstock Community Center. 2-4 PM With Deborah Burger, many speakers, poets, etc.

LUSK ANNUAL MUSIC PARTY

LUSK ANNUAL MUSIC PARTY

On Saturday, January 27, 2007 the Lusk family will have our Annual Mid-Winter Folk Music Party at 61 Wurts Street, Kingston, New York. It starts at 6:00 p.m. and runs until people leave, which is usually pretty late.

All kinds of music and musicians are welcome, but no amplifiers please. Usually there is a healthy mix between folk singing, fiddle music, blues and bluegrass, with several different jamming spaces available, so people can find their niche, or float from one to the other. It's not a big food party, (it's a music party!) but we have the basics - you won't go hungry - and you can bring a dish to share if you wish. Also, this is an open party, so feel free to spread the word.

No illegal drugs please, although moderate alcohol use is fine. All smoking must take place outside, (preferably down the block, over the river and through the woods.)

Directions are at the end of this e-mail. Any questions please call (845) 338-8587, but no rsvp is necessary. If you call the night of the party we may have trouble hearing the phone!

Thanks,

Bob, Penny and Roberto Lusk
61 Wurts Street
Kingston, NY 12401
(914)338-8587
boblusk@hvc.rr.com

Party Directions
From the South: Take 9W north past the Poughkeepsie bridge. Keep on going. You will go through Highland, a turnoff for 299, Esopus, then Port Ewan. At the end of Port Ewan there is Laundromat on your left at the rear of a large parking lot. There will be a turnoff after this to the left that goes into Kingston. You will go over a small bridge. Go straight and you will be on Wurts Street. Go to the top of the hill and park opposite the park near the corner of Spring St. The house will be lit up. If you miss the turnoff in Port Ewan, you wind up going over a larger bridge on a more major highway. Make your first left turn and go straight 2 blocks up the hill. This will put you at the corner of Wurts and Spring St. (Be careful driving across Wurts Street if you come this way). Look for parking. The house will be lit up with lights and spirit.

From the NYS Thruway: Get off at the Kingston exit. Go around the traffic Circle to the 3rd exit (it is the 2nd exit that says "Kingston"). This is Chandler Drive. Follow it to the end (about 1/4 mile) At the light cross over and bear left. You will be on Broadway. Take Broadway all the way through Kingston. You will pass the High School, Kingston Hospital. Shortly after you pass Burger King and the road bears around and down to the right. At the bottom there is a light. Broadway makes a sharp 90 degree left turn. Don't make that turn. Go straight one more block and make a left. You will be on Wurts Street. Go about 2 blocks to the corner of Spring street and look for parking. The house will be all lit up.

Steve Suffet: Shameless Self-Promotion!

I don't promote very many people's CD's especially if I haven't heard them myself, but Steve and I go way back and he is, in fact, as he says, an "old fashioned folk singer". Worth checking out, I'm sure. - Bob

Greetings,

As the subject line warns, this message is an act completely shameless self-promotion. If you find that to be a problem, read no further. Just hit the delete button.

If you are still with me, then here's what it's all about. My new CD, "I've Been Up On the Mountain," is now available for purchase on-line through CD Baby. Here's a link:

http://cdbaby.com/cd/stevesuffet2

Of the eighteen songs, four are ones that I wrote by myself in traditional style, one I wrote in collaboration with Joel Landy, and another I wrote with some help from Anne Price. One is a little known Woody Guthrie song , and another is by Utah Phillips. The remaining ten songs are all my arrangements of traditional folk songs. You will find among them quite a variety of genres, styles, themes, and moods.

I was blessed to have some truly fine musicians work with me on this CD. They are Jody Kolodzey, Ray Korona, Joel Landy, Chris Lang, Heather Lev, Eric Levine, Bruce Markow, Anne Price, Gina Tlamsa. I hesitate to call these folks "back-up musicians," for "I've Been Up On the Mountain" is truly a collaborative product. You are welcome to listen to sound clips from any or all of the songs. But if that is not enough to convince you, you can download five complete songs from the CD for free from my music site, or you can listen to them on-line as streaming audio. They are the first five songs at the top of this page:

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/1/stevesuffet_music.htm

I know some folks will tell me that giving away so many freebies means I have lousy business sense, but you can prove me wrong by buying the CD.

Oh, one more thing. Just in case you missed it, CD Baby also carries my first CD, "Now the Wheel Has Turned." Here's a link:

http://cdbaby.com/cd/stevesuffet

If you would rather buy either or both of my CDs directly from me, you will have to do so in person. Otherwise, I'm very happy to let CD Baby deal with the order taking, billing, shipping, and tracking while I concentrate on making music. I will, nevertheless, make these two exceptions:

1. If you are a member of People's Music Network, the Peoples' Voice Cafe, or AFM Local 1000, you can order either CD from me for just $13 each or both for $25, postpaid to anywhere in the USA. You don't even have to pay me in advance. Just submit your order to my by e-mail, include your postal mailing address, and send me a check when the package arrives.

2. If you would like to buy 5 or more CDs at one time, please contact me and we will work out a discount based upon how many you want. My phone number is 718-786-1533.

Kindest regards for a healthy holiday season and a happy New Year.

--- Steve Suffet

Old Fashioned Folksinger
Website: http://suffet.home.att.net
Music website: http://www.soundclick.com/bands/1/stevesuffet_music.htm
E-mail link: mailto:suffet@att.net

Phil Ochs lyric: 'No Christmas in Kentucky', etc

Here is a note from John Pietaro of "Flames of Discontent"

Friends,

Though we are taught differently, the holiday season usually finds us doing very little reflecting on loved ones or spiritual concerns. We may think of the poor, but we usually move on quckly enough to thoughts of our hurting check-books. Few of us remember to sign up to work in a soup kitchen or to help with gift-wrapping at local charitable organizations. God knows, I always mean to. I envy those among you who insist on ONLY celebrating the Winter Solstice,for the holidays really have become deeply commercial. Yeah.

I guess being a full-time activist also implies working overtime around this time of year, but its just so hard to get it all in. So, we run around and buy the gifts we need--those we meant to get weeks before. The presents for the folks we'll be seeing at Christmas or Chanukah or Kwanzaa or New Year's Day. Then don't forget to buy the bottle of wine or the holiday cake. But--wait--you almost forgot to hang the twinkly lights around the doorway! I squeeked by and actually did so only a week ago). There's so much to do. So what was this holiday time really all about?

One of the things that keeps it all in perspective for me is a song by Phil Ochs. Each year when we perform for a Phil Ochs birthday tribute (as we did this Dec 16 in Woodstock), the following song is a must. It is a little-known piece that never actually appeared on any of his regularly released albums. He wrote it long ago, while traveling throughout Harlan County, Kentucky during one of the harshest labor struggles of the past
fifty years. Though the miners in "Bloody Harlan" had actually become organized years prior, there were always renewed fights as well as terrible oppression. The early 1960s saw a resurgence among the miners who were fighting for safe working conditions, decent pay, and benefits. Strikes and other labor actions saw many of the workers being locked out and as the months wore on, Kentucky became a battleground.

The life-long Labor activist and member of the IWW, Phil Ochs, traveled to Harlan County during the holiday season of 1962. He met with the miners, sang with them on picket lines, sat with them in cold makeshift union halls, joined them in pot-luck dinners and stood with them as they braved corrupt deputy sheriffs with dogs and loaded rifles. Ochs proved his worth as not only a topical singer, but a die-hard radical. He became one with the miners and they offered him the chance to write some of his great early works including "Harlan, Kentucky" and the lyric which follows - "No Christmas in Kentucky". The latter offers us a lesson not only of history, but of all time. Please read this over as you contemplate the next holiday party or gift purchase. It is not intended to sadden you during the holidays, as far as i can see. But it will make you think and consider the issues in your life that actually DO matter.

Please enjoy and pass this on to others.

In Solidarity...and Peace,
John Pietaro
www.flamesofdiscontent.org

________________________
"No Christmas in Kentucky"
By Phil Ochs

G C
Christmas shoppers shopping on a neon city street
D C G
Another Christmas dollar for another Christmas treat
G C
There's satin on the pretty dolls that make the children glow
D C G
While a boy walking ragged in the cold Kentucky snow

G C G
No, they don't have Christmas in Kentucky
C D
There's no holly on a West Virginia door
G C G
For the trees don't twinkle when you're hungry
C D G
And the Jingle Bells don't jingle when you're poor

There's lots of toys for children when then Christmas time is near
But the present for the miners is a stocking full of beer
In the dark hills of Kentucky there's one gift that may be found
The coal dust of forgotten days that's lying on the ground

No, they don't have Christmas in Kentucky
There's no holly on a West Virginia door
For the trees don't twinkle when you're hungry
And the Jingle Bells don't jingle when you're poor

Let's drink a toast to Congress and a toast to Santa Claus
and a toast to all the speeches that bring the loud applause
There's not enough to give, no, there's not enough to share
So let's drown the sounds of sorrow with a hearty Christmas cheer

No, they don't have Christmas in Kentucky
There's no holly on a West Virginia door
For the trees don't twinkle when you're hungry
And the Jingle Bells don't jingle when you're poor

Have a merry, merry Christmas and a happy new year's day
For now's a time of plenty, and plenty's here to stay
But if you knew what Christmas was, I think that you would find
That Christ is spending Christmas in the cold Kentucky mine

No, they don't have Christmas in Kentucky
There's no holly on a West Virginia door
For the trees don't twinkle when you're hungry
And the Jingle Bells don't jingle when you're poor

Notes:
From the Remembering Phil Ochs website
Chords supplied by James Barnett

Happy Blessed Holidays - THE TRADITIONAL MUSICIAN'S PRAYER

THE TRADITIONAL MUSICIAN'S PRAYER
(with apologies to St Francis)

Lord, keep always before me
The appreciation of music as one of Your greatest gifts.
Never let me stray far from the tune;
Help me to remain faithful to the spirits
Of those musicians who have gone before
Leaving this lovely legacy in my care.

Lord, let me always remember
What Your Golden Rule instructs
So that I treat other musicians
As I would wish to be treated myself.

Lord, let me always remember
That You give Irish musicians a special gift:
The opportunity to praise and glorify You
While sitting around playing jigs and reels
In dark pubs, on cruise ships,
In kitchens, on concert stages.

Lord, give me patience always
And help me to remember
That the word "tradition"
Implies sharing.

Lord, give me tolerance always
And help me to appreciate
The Great Mystery:
Not everybody likes what I like.
Never let me slip too far into self-importance
And help me use as necessary
Whatever sense of humor
You may have imparted to me.

Lord, let me never forget
That I don't have all the answers
And that there's nobody
That I can't learn from
(Even bodhrán and banjo players)

And finally, Lord - if it's not too much to ask -
Make me competent first
Then respected
And eventually brilliant.
(But Your will always be done.)
Amen.

- Bill Black

Anti-House Concert Blog

Here's a great blog about political repression of folk music house concerts! http://livingroommusic.blogspot.com/atom.xml

"C"Tuning blog

I've added a blog for "C" Tuning at http://ctuning.blogspot.com/.

Caroling in the Neighborhood

Had a wonderful time caroling with the neighbors again this year. It's called "Cocktails and Carols". Starting with "snuggles" (hot chocolate and snapps) at pianist Liz Tolinos's House on Ravine Street at 4:30, we made the rounds of the neighborhood singing in front of houses that looked as if they might be occupied. There were a lot of good singers including a High Falls contingent, people from NYC, midtown Kingston, Abeel St, etc. We had some wonderful cider at Dimitri & Linda's House on President's Place, caroled for Azara Farell and other neighbors, then went to the church on the corner of Spring & Wurts Street to 3 seperate apartments.

First was Herman & Andy's, who had fancy drinks and tequila meatballs. Then upstairs to Amanda & Amy's Church Penthouse for "White Christmases". Peter came in playing the accordian, so we wound our way around the corner to His and Julies wonderful space where we had more to drink and Peter sat down at his grand piano and led us through some more carols.

Then it was home sweet home at 61 Wurts street where Penny made Irish Coffees in the kitchen and I played with Peter in the diningn room while drinking egg nog that Penny had made from my mother's old recipe. Then it was roll down the block to Paul and Ingrid's church where, Peter played the organ, I played fiddle and several great singers sang with us.
On our way out we each got to pull the rope and ring out the church bells across the valley. Penny and I abandoned the group as they continued down to The Bridgewater Bar on Abeel Street.

All in all a wonderful evening of Christmas song and cheer!

Peace Symbol

 What a great ending to this story!

Pro-Peace Symbol Forces Win Battle in Colorado Town

By KIRK JOHNSON

Published: November 29, 2006 (New York Times)

DENVER, Nov. 28 — Peace is fighting back in Pagosa Springs.

 

Randi Pierce/Durango Herald, via Associated Press

Bill Trimarco and Lisa Jensen with their symbolic wreath.

Last week, a couple were threatened with fines of $25 a day by their homeowners’ association unless they removed a four-foot wreath shaped like a peace symbol from the front of their house.

The fines have been dropped, and the three-member board of the association has resigned, according to an e-mail message sent to residents on Monday.

Two board members have disconnected their telephones, apparently to escape the waves of callers asking what the board could have been thinking, residents said. The third board member, with a working phone, did not return a call for comment.

In its original letter to the couple, Lisa Jensen and Bill Trimarco, the association said some neighbors had found the peace symbol politically “divisive.”

A board member later told a newspaper that he thought the familiar circle with angled lines was also, perhaps, a sign of the devil.

The peace symbol came to prominence in the late 1950s as the logo for the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, a British antiwar group, according to the group’s Web site. It incorporates the semaphore flag images for the letters in the group’s name, a “D” atop an “N.”

Other people have said the upright line with arms angled down, commonplace in the United States in the Vietnam War, especially, has roots in the early Christian era, representing a twisted or broken cross.

Mr. Trimarco said he put up the wreath as a general symbol of peace on earth, not as a commentary on the Iraq war or another political statement.

In any case, there are now more peace symbols in Pagosa Springs, a town of 1,700 people 200 miles southwest of Denver, than probably ever in its history.

On Tuesday morning, 20 people marched through the center carrying peace signs and then stomped a giant peace sign in the snow perhaps 300 feet across on a soccer field, where it could be easily seen.

“There’s quite a few now in our subdivision in a show of support,” Mr. Trimarco said.

A former president of the Loma Linda community, where Mr. Trimarco lives, said Tuesday that he had stepped in to help form an interim homeowners’ association.

The former president, Farrell C. Trask, described himself in a telephone interview as a military veteran who would fight for anyone’s right to free speech, peace symbols included.

Town Manager Mark Garcia said Pagosa Springs was building its own peace wreath, too. Mr. Garcia said it would be finished by late Tuesday and installed on a bell tower in the center of town.

Amy Fradon this Saturday

Friends of AIR~ This Saturday will no doubt be one of the finest shows we've ever had & I hope you don't miss it. I say that not just because Amy is so talented & has one of the sweetest voices I've ever heard, but because 2007 is going to be bringing down some major changes for AIR Studio. After over 15 years of art & music events, renovations, restorations & child rearing (3 down, 2 to go!), Nina & I have decided that the time is right for her to open her own private PT practice here on O'Neil Street. I ask you to look ahead to January 13th, the next 2nd Saturday & join us for a Pot Luck party, to Jam with Bobby & friends, & also discuss our plans for the future & how you can continue to be a part of it. Keep lookin up! Peace&LovePrevails...(:-)>jbo

*******************************

A.I.R. Studio Gallery

(Artist-In-Residence)

71 O'Neil St, Kingston, NY
http://www.airstudiogallery.com/

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

2nd Saturdays @ AIR: Live Music, 8-11PM

Acoustic Artists Coalition ~ Hosted by Bobby Kennedy

$10pp, admission includes coffee, tea, juice, seltzer, chips, dips & assorted munchies.

>12/09~ AMY FRADON & JIM BARBARO: Amys' sweet, melodious voice is one of the Hudson Valleys finest treasures, together with our old friend & colleague Jim (master sound engineer for all of our CDs & audio recordings), will make this a night to remember.

(http://www.amyfradon.com/) &

(http://www.jimbarbaro.com/)

>01/13: The next decade at AIR; Pot Luck Party & Open Mic. Join us for a reorganizational meeting on our future plans for developing 71 O'Neil St as midtowns progressive healing arts center.

---------------------------------------------------------------

>Art Fun for Kids: Draw, Paint, Cut & Paste. Fun for all ages. By appointment, $10 per hour, group discounts. Also, Children's Art Parties, TARP; Therapeutic Art Recreation Program for special needs sessions.

>12/20~ New Moon Gatherings: ETA 2012: Every New Moon, ExtraTerrestrial Ambassador trainings & UFO watch (weather permitting) from 1130pm-1am. Time to prepare for 1st contact. Call ahead for reservation & details. INCOMING!>

http://www.detailshere.com/niburu.htm

>HELP! Johnny Asia Relief Fund~ Please help John recover from his long debilitating battle with Lyme Disease. No standard medical approach has been able to help him & none of the standard health insurance programs will cover the alternative program he using. Visit this site to offer your support in any way you can:

http://tinyurl.com/bb9ed

AIR STUDIO GALLERY, 71 O'Neil St, Kingston, NY. Ph: 331-2662, E: AirStudio@aol.com Web: http://www.airstudiogallery.com/ (New & Improved! Concert recordings, art & pics!). An going, rotating art exhibit of Friends of AIR; Robert Eggers, Jim Krzymowski, Jim Marzano, Leslie Miller, Glen River, Todd Samara, Roberta Sickler, Ruth Wolf, Lee Yaple & others. < http://www.richardzarroart.com/ > Archival reproductions available through PayPal.
Gallery hours: Stop by anytime you're in town or, call ahead, we live here! Just one block off Broadway on the corner of O'Neil St & Tremper Ave, in Midtown Kingston. Across from Boices Milk House, one block North from where Rt32 & Henry St meets Broadway. Member of the Ulster County Arts Council ( http://www.ulstercountyartscouncil.org/ ) & the Arts Society of Kingston ( http://www.askforarts.org/ ). Help make the world a more beautiful place, support the arts!

FOR FUTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

JIM MARZANO, 71 ONEIL ST, KINGSTON, NY, 12401-3509; PH# 845-331-2662, Email: AirStudio@aol.com

Taps

just had an e-mail from George that the following is a hoax. Well it makes a good story anyway. Thats the differance between folklore and history!

From: George Armstrong

If any of you have ever been to a military funeral in which taps were played; this brings out a new meaning of it. Here is something Every American should know.. Until I read this, I didn't know, but I checked it out and it's true:

We in the United States have all heard the haunting song, "Taps". It's the song that gives us that lump in our throats and usually tears in our eyes. But, do you know the story behind the song? If not, I think you will be interested to find out about its humble beginnings.

Reportedly, it all began in 1862 during the Civil War, when Union Army Captain Robert Ellicombe was with his men near Harrison's Landing in Virginia. The Confederate Army was on the other side of the narrow strip of land.

During the night, Captain Ellicombe heard the moans of a soldier who lay severely wounded on the field. Not knowing if it was a Union or Confederate soldier, the Captain decided to risk his life and bring the stricken man back for medical attention. Crawling on his stomach through the gunfire, the Captain reached the stricken soldier and began pulling him toward his encampment. When the Captain finally reached his own lines, he discovered it was actually a Confederate soldier, but the soldier was dead.

The Captain lit a lantern and suddenly caught his breath and went numb with shock. In the dim light, he saw the face of the soldier. It was his own son. The boy had been studying music in the South when the war broke out. Without telling his father, the boy enlisted in the Confederate Army.

The following morning, heartbroken, the father asked permission of his superiors to give his son a full military burial, despite his enemy status. His request was only partially granted.
The Captain had asked if he could have a group of Army band members play a funeral dirge for his son at the funeral. The request was turned down since the soldier was a Confederate. But, out of respect for the father, they did say they could give him only one musician. The Captain chose a bugler. He asked the bugler to play a series of musical notes he had found on a piece of paper in the pocket of the dead youth's uniform. This wish was granted. The haunting melody, we now know as "Taps" used at military funerals was born.

The words are

Day is done ... Gone the sun
From the lakes ...From the hills ....
From the sky .. All is well .
Safely rest .. God is nigh.

Fading light .. Dims the sight ..
And a star ... Gems the sky
Gleaming bright From afar ....
Drawing nigh . Falls the night.

Thanks and praise ... For our days .
Neath the sun ... Neath the stars...
Neath the sky . As we go .
This we know .. God is nigh.

I, too, have felt the chills while listening to "Taps" but I have never seen all the words to the song until now. I didn't even know there was more than one verse. I also never knew the story behind the song and I didn't know if you had either so I thought I'd pass it along.

I now have an even deeper respect for the song than I did before.
Remember Those Lost and Harmed While Serving Their Country.
And also those presently serving in the Armed Forces.

Ahhh!, It's the Tax Man!

From Terri Massardo. She and Steve host the John St. Jam in Saugerties http://www.chrisdepalma.com/JSJ/JSJ_home.php This post is not related to their jam, but is pretty creative.
***************************************

What Happened???

At first I thought this was funny...then I realized the awful truth of it. Be sure to read all the way to the end!

Tax his land,
Tax his bed,
Tax the table
At which he's fed.

Tax his tractor,
Tax his mule,
Teach him taxes
Are the rule.

Tax his cow,
Tax his goat,
Tax his pants,
Tax his coat.

Tax his ties,
Tax his shirt,
Tax his work,
Tax his dirt.

Tax his tobacco,
Tax his drink,
Tax him if he
Tries to think.

Tax his cigars,
Tax his beers,
If he cries, then
Tax his tears.

Tax his car,
Tax his gas,
Find other ways
To tax his ass

Tax all he has
Then let him know
That you won't be done
Till he has no dough.

When he screams and hollers,
Then tax him some more,
Tax him till
He's good and sore.

Then tax his coffin,
Tax his grave,
Tax the sod in
Which he's laid.

Put these words
upon his tomb,
"Taxes drove me
to my doom..."

When he's gone,
Do not relax,
Its time to apply
The inheritance tax.

Accounts Receivable Tax
Building Permit Tax
CDL license Tax
Cigarette Tax
Corporate Income Tax
Dog License Tax
Federal Income Tax
Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA)
Fishing License Tax
Food License Tax,
Fuel permit tax
Gasoline Tax (42 cents per gallon)
Hunting License Tax
Inheritance Tax
Interest expense
Inventory tax
IRS Interest Charges IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax)
Liquor Tax
Luxury Taxes
Marriage License Tax
Property Tax
Real Estate Tax
Service charge taxes
Social Security Tax
Road usage taxes
Sales Tax
Recreational Vehicle Tax
School Tax
State Income Tax
State Unemployment Tax (SUTA)
Telephone federal excise tax
Telephone federal universal service fee tax
Telephone federal, state and local surcharge taxes
Telephone minimum usage surcharge tax
Telephone recurring and non-recurring charges tax
Telephone state and local tax
Telephone usage charge tax
Utility Taxes
Vehicle License Registration Tax
Vehicle Sales Tax
Watercraft registration Tax
Well Permit Tax
Workers Compensation Tax

COMMENTS: Not one of these taxes existed 100 years ago,
and our nation was the most prosperous in the world.
We had absolutely no national debt, had the largest middle class in the world, and Mom stayed home to raise the kids.

What happened?

Updating

New posts at http://bhaavram.blogspot.com/, Also have added on to some song intros at http://boblusklyrics.blogspot.com/ and updated some personal history at http://journeytokirtan.blogspot.com/