Karen Cathers, Arts for Peace member was hit hard by the storm last week and is currently not able to live in her flooded home. She is looking for an RV to live in (or a tent.) If you can help, please contact her at
kcathers@earthlink.net
Southern Tour
I am planning a tour from New York to Florida next February. I am prepared to do a variety of shows including General Folk Music, Irish bar music, Johnny Cash Tribute Show, Senior Citizen Programs, Vocal Toning workshops and Kirtan (Hindu Gospel). If anyone can give me suggestions for venues to approach, I would be grateful.
Bob
Bob
The Saugerties Bard
On Sunday April 29th from 3- 5 pm, Rich Bala, folk balladeer will present a program of historic music including songs of the 19th Century songwriter (1798-1861), Henry Backus. Mr. Backus was known throughout the Northeast as the "The Saugerties Bard". He was the composer of romantic, regional and historic songs such as “"My Hearts in Old Esopus" and “Explosion of Steamer Steindeer “.
The concert will be at the historic Dutch Arms Chapel, 16 John St. in the village of Saugerties, NY. Admission is $10.
Following are several articles about Henry Backus by John Thorn that may be found at
http://www.ulsterpublishing.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=article&articleID=347538
http://www.ulsterpublishing.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=article&articleID=348029
The concert will be at the historic Dutch Arms Chapel, 16 John St. in the village of Saugerties, NY. Admission is $10.
Following are several articles about Henry Backus by John Thorn that may be found at
http://www.ulsterpublishing.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=article&articleID=347538
http://www.ulsterpublishing.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=article&articleID=348029
"Run, Al, Run" on YouTube
From friend and songwriter Paul Kaplan
My daughter Brittany has made a video of my new Song "Run, Al, Run," and it is now on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMczQP8gfpU
She says she'll work on it some more soon, but I wanted to let you know about it now, as I think she did a great job with not a lot of time to spend. If you like it, please rate it with five stars, which should help more people see it.
Also, audio of the song is still on http://www.draftgore.com/ , if you want to compare versions.
Peace,
Pau
Handmade Music
Neat webpage of Dennis Halvena's which includes how to make bagpipes out of vinyl fabric and PVC pipe and how to make a variety of stringed instruments on the cheap. Check it out! http://www.ehhs.cmich.edu/~dhavlena/
May 5th. Change of Venues
5/5/07 Instead of playing at the Visitors Center, I'll be joining Jim Donnely on the Kingston Tourist Trolly starting at lower Broadway at 6 pm. Hope on board and give us your requests. You can throw money. (My friend Dan Paashus will be playing some listening guitar music with his son that eveing at the Visitors Center - go and hear them)
Guitar Tuner
I've added an on line guitar tuner to my site - mostly for my own convenience. Go to http://boblusktuner.blogspot.com or click on Guitar Tuner on the links to the right.
Roscoe "Rocky" Maxim
I sang with Jim Donnelly at Rocky Maxim's funeral last night. Rocky was a great guy, he and his wife Margaret were our biggest fans. He loved Irish music and would go out of his way to hear it whenever he could. He especially liked the Jimmy Walsh band.
I played an evening of anti-war songs some years ago with Melissa Ortquist at the Canal House on Veteran's Day. Rocky, a Navy Vet of WWII came and although I'm sure his politics were very different than mine, sat and enjoyed the show.
He will be missed.
I played an evening of anti-war songs some years ago with Melissa Ortquist at the Canal House on Veteran's Day. Rocky, a Navy Vet of WWII came and although I'm sure his politics were very different than mine, sat and enjoyed the show.
He will be missed.
A Wonderful Story
There is a wonderful story at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/04/AR2007040401721.html. It is too long to post here. Briefly it describes the classical violinist Joshua Bell's attempt at street performing in a Washington DC subway. The story goes into incredible detail and is really a pleasure to read.
A wonderful day
Anything to avoid working on taxes!
Slept late, reading a great book. Then stood with Jay and the gang at King's Mall outside the Army Recruiters reading the names of the soldiers who have died in Iraq.
A little bit of grocery shopping, took a nap, then off to Ed Pells where I sang a few songs, met some local musicians including the Virginia Wolves. Then went to the Hudson Valley Folk Guild Open Stage where I dropped off some flyers about the 4/28 Heritage Concert, then to the Contra Dance at the Woodstock Community Center to do the same.
The evening was capped off with a wonderful Veena concert at the Kleinart Gallery.
Everywhere I went today I saw a lot of old friends and made a few new ones.
Now it's time (11:30 pm) to put together the Easter basket for the kid and start preparing the food for tomorrow.
Vocal Toning class in June
On Tuesday evenings in June, I will be doing a Vocal Toning Class at Dutchess County Ccommunity College on tuesday evenings from 7-9:00 pm. The cost is $95 for 4 sessions. To register call 845-431-8910. If you have any questioons, call me at 338-8587.
These are participatory workshops and all participants will learn to create a variety of vocal tones including harmonic overtones. Vocal Toning is a non-verbal conscious elongation of sounds, using the breath and voice. It has applications for meditation, movement and musical performance. It is used for ceremonies and rituals in many traditional cultures including Mongolia and Tibet. Toning does not strain the voice. As with other forms of vocal production, it is healthy exercise and helps oxygenate the body and expand the lung capacity. Toning is more "free form" than singing and doesn't require previous vocal training, although many singers find that learning toning techniques has expanded their repertoire of techniques.
There will be 4 sessions
1. General principles – This session will introduce the history of toning, help group members make their first tones and introduce techniques for modifying vowel sounds and making harmonic overtones.
2. Expanded practice – We will discuss the concept of “intention” when making sounds, discuss and practice sending sound to the chakra centers in the body and the use of toning with meditation, movement and healing practices
3. Styles of toning. - Using demonstrations and recordings and this session will focus on accompaniment and solo styles used in Tibetian chant, Tuvan throat singing, American Gospel, and modern New Age performing groups.
4. Vocal toning performance – The final session will give an opportunity for participants to create their own vocal toning composition and to participate in a group toning experience.
These are participatory workshops and all participants will learn to create a variety of vocal tones including harmonic overtones. Vocal Toning is a non-verbal conscious elongation of sounds, using the breath and voice. It has applications for meditation, movement and musical performance. It is used for ceremonies and rituals in many traditional cultures including Mongolia and Tibet. Toning does not strain the voice. As with other forms of vocal production, it is healthy exercise and helps oxygenate the body and expand the lung capacity. Toning is more "free form" than singing and doesn't require previous vocal training, although many singers find that learning toning techniques has expanded their repertoire of techniques.
There will be 4 sessions
1. General principles – This session will introduce the history of toning, help group members make their first tones and introduce techniques for modifying vowel sounds and making harmonic overtones.
2. Expanded practice – We will discuss the concept of “intention” when making sounds, discuss and practice sending sound to the chakra centers in the body and the use of toning with meditation, movement and healing practices
3. Styles of toning. - Using demonstrations and recordings and this session will focus on accompaniment and solo styles used in Tibetian chant, Tuvan throat singing, American Gospel, and modern New Age performing groups.
4. Vocal toning performance – The final session will give an opportunity for participants to create their own vocal toning composition and to participate in a group toning experience.
This 'n That
I had a good time on Saturday playing for a benefit for the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the Catskills at the Hurley Reformed Church in Hurley, NY. The theme was "Unity". Constance Rudd and Holly also performed. I played "Raag Bhoopaalee" on my Hindustani slide guitar and then channeled Pete Seeger, having everyone in the place make up verses for "Our Roots Go Down". It was wonderful seeing old friends there. I left my million dollar slide there along with some picks, but Constance saved them for me.
Starting next Wednesday, I plan to play instrumental guitar music lunch times at the Queens Galley at Washington Manor, Washington Ave, Kingston, NY. This is a free adult lunch program in Kingston. Anyone is welcome to come for lunch. I hope to do this weekly.
Starting next Wednesday, I plan to play instrumental guitar music lunch times at the Queens Galley at Washington Manor, Washington Ave, Kingston, NY. This is a free adult lunch program in Kingston. Anyone is welcome to come for lunch. I hope to do this weekly.
Indian Music Concert Apr 7th/ Om for Peace Apr 8th]
South Indian Music Concert
with eenai Jayanthi Kumaresh
"The best and most versatile Veena artist we have today." - The Statesman
"Fascinatingly profound ...clearly brought out the intricacies and radiance of Veena music". - The Hindu
Music Academy Chennai Voted as the 'Best Veena Artist' on four different occasions.
She will be accompanied by Shree Arjun Kumar on the Mridangam (drums) and Shree Pramath Kiran on the Morsing (jaw's harp) and special percussion.
Date: Saturday, April 7
Time: Doors at 7:30 pm. Show starts at 8 pm
Cost: $15 for Members. $20 for Non-Members
Reservations: 845-679-2079
Place: Kleinert/James Arts Center, 34 Tinker Street,
Woodstock, NY 12498
+++++++++++
Sunday April 8
6:00 pm till 7:00 pm
OM For Peace
Mountain View Studio
20 Mountainview Ave
Woodstock, NY 12498
Come sing with Baird & and Prana at this uplifting event or organize your own meeting to happen at the same time. Free
It's a simple idea: gather people together and sing a continuous OM as a meditation for peace. On Easter Sunday April 8th at 6:00 PM EDT, people, all over the world, who want to give expression to their wish
for peace will gather in groups to join in the sound of many voices singing as one in an extended OM.
Each person, as a meditation on peace, sings their own note at their own rate guided by their breath. Within the group this builds an exquisitely beautiful, rising and falling, subtly changing, continuos
chord. Many voices resonating together in one sound.
How to do this? Set a place to gather; yoga studio, mediation center, dance studio, theater, or living room. Spread the word and invite as many people as you can. Begin at 6:00 PM, Eastern Daylight Time, and
sing OM as long as the sound wants to go on, hopefully for at least an hour. Even if you can't get together with other people sing on your own knowing that people in other places are singing with you. People of all faiths and beliefs are welcome. No musical experience is necessary only the willingness to add your voice for peace to the sound of OM.
This is our fifth year. Last year I heard from people all over the country who had participated. Please forward this to anyone who might be interested or your mailing list. And PLEASE let us know how it goes.
Here in Woodstock we will be coming together at Mountain View Studio off of Rock City Road. www.pranasound.com
SAVE THE DATES: YOGA VEDANTA WEEKEND JUNE 1-3
with eenai Jayanthi Kumaresh
"The best and most versatile Veena artist we have today." - The Statesman
"Fascinatingly profound ...clearly brought out the intricacies and radiance of Veena music". - The Hindu
Music Academy Chennai Voted as the 'Best Veena Artist' on four different occasions.
She will be accompanied by Shree Arjun Kumar on the Mridangam (drums) and Shree Pramath Kiran on the Morsing (jaw's harp) and special percussion.
Date: Saturday, April 7
Time: Doors at 7:30 pm. Show starts at 8 pm
Cost: $15 for Members. $20 for Non-Members
Reservations: 845-679-2079
Place: Kleinert/James Arts Center, 34 Tinker Street,
Woodstock, NY 12498
+++++++++++
Sunday April 8
6:00 pm till 7:00 pm
OM For Peace
Mountain View Studio
20 Mountainview Ave
Woodstock, NY 12498
Come sing with Baird & and Prana at this uplifting event or organize your own meeting to happen at the same time. Free
It's a simple idea: gather people together and sing a continuous OM as a meditation for peace. On Easter Sunday April 8th at 6:00 PM EDT, people, all over the world, who want to give expression to their wish
for peace will gather in groups to join in the sound of many voices singing as one in an extended OM.
Each person, as a meditation on peace, sings their own note at their own rate guided by their breath. Within the group this builds an exquisitely beautiful, rising and falling, subtly changing, continuos
chord. Many voices resonating together in one sound.
How to do this? Set a place to gather; yoga studio, mediation center, dance studio, theater, or living room. Spread the word and invite as many people as you can. Begin at 6:00 PM, Eastern Daylight Time, and
sing OM as long as the sound wants to go on, hopefully for at least an hour. Even if you can't get together with other people sing on your own knowing that people in other places are singing with you. People of all faiths and beliefs are welcome. No musical experience is necessary only the willingness to add your voice for peace to the sound of OM.
This is our fifth year. Last year I heard from people all over the country who had participated. Please forward this to anyone who might be interested or your mailing list. And PLEASE let us know how it goes.
Here in Woodstock we will be coming together at Mountain View Studio off of Rock City Road. www.pranasound.com
SAVE THE DATES: YOGA VEDANTA WEEKEND JUNE 1-3
April Meeting - Princeton Chapters of the ACM and IEEE Computer Society
April 2007 Meeting
The Geometry of Music
Dmitri Tymoszko
This talk will show how to use orbifolds to model the way listeners, composers, and performers abstract away from musical information.
The understanding of music involves ignoring, or abstracting away from, certain information. For example, we understand the violinist's middle C and the vocalist's middle C to be two instances of the same pitch, ignoring the differences in tone quality (timbre) and pitch variation (vibrato). If we were not able to ignore non-essential information, we would be trapped in a sea of unrelated particulars, unable to hear the general patterns that make music meaningful.
Orbifolds are a way to give a simple mathematical explanation of certain musical ideas. Orbifolds are geometrical quotient spaces formed when we identify or "glue together" points in a parent space. Orbifolds were first discussed in the 1950s, and play an important role in string theory. One example orbifold in music: the set of two-note chords. This set is a geometric space which is a Mobius strip whose boundary is a mirror. Analogous spaces exist in higher dimensions, containing chords with more notes. These spaces provide fundamentally new representations of musical structure, representations that are intrinsically beautiful and have a wide range of potential applications.
Dmitri Tymoczko is a composer and music theorist who is a member of the Music Composition faculty at
Date: Thursday, April 19, 2007, 8:00 pm (Refreshments and networking at 7:30 pm.)
Place: Sarnoff Corp., Routes 1 and 571,
Information: Rebecca Mercuri (609) 587-1886, David Soll (215) 854-3491, Dennis Mancl (908) 582-7086
On-line info: http://www.acm.org/chapters/princetonacm
All ACM / IEEE-CS meetings are open to the public. Students and their parents are welcome. There is no admission charge, and refreshments are served.
A pre-meeting dinner with the speaker is held at 6:00 p.m. at Ruby Tuesday's Restaurant on Route 1. Please send email to princetonacm@acm.org in advance if you plan to attend the dinner.
New Photos
I have added a new photo from St. Patrick's Day 2007 at http://bobluskphotos2.blogspot.com/
Also have added a few more photos to my spiritual and musical autobiography site.
New Paul Kaplan song "Run, Al, Run"
New Paul Kaplan song "Run, Al, Run"
No matter who you're supporting for president, you might find Paul Kaplan's new song "Run, Al, Run" entertaining. And, who knows, it may change your mind!
You can hear it at http://www.draftgore.com/ or on my website, http://www.paulkaplanmusic.com
Paul Kaplan
Gigs
A couple of small gigs I'll be doing - drop by if you can.
3/31/07 Benifit for Unitarian Universalist Congregation at the Hurley Reformed Church in Hurley, NY. It will be early evening, probably 6:00. I reserve the right to change my mind, but I think I will be singing and playing some Mohan Veena and banjo. Constance Rudd, Jean Boyce and others will also be performing. The theme is "Unity".
4/7/07 Songs and Music for a Better World - 5 to 7 pm, Hudson River Valley Art Gallery, 24 Spruce Street, Kingston, NY. There will be several performers including music and poetry with dinner. Contact Ed Pell <pellphd@yahoo.com>
4/7/07 Songs and Music for a Better World - 5 to 7 pm, Hudson River Valley Art Gallery, 24 Spruce Street, Kingston, NY. There will be several performers including music and poetry with dinner. Contact Ed Pell <pellphd@yahoo.com>
Petition to Nominate Pete Seeger for the Nobel Peace Prize
Eleanor Walden posted a petition on a site named petitionthem.com. The aim is to persuade the American Friends Service Committee to nominate Pete Seeger for the Nobel Peace Prize. I thought you would be interested in adding your support. I'm asking everyone to circulate the petition information to at least 5 other people asking them to notify 5 other people. Could you each do that?
To read about the petition and to sign it just visit
http://www.petitionthem.com/default.asp?sect=detail&pet=3774 There is also a forum where you can talk about this petition and of course many other worthy petitions that need your support.
Overview of this petition: -Pete Seeger has been a crusader for Peace and Social Justice over the course of his 83 year lifetime. As a prominent musician his songs, messages and performance style have worked to engage other people, particularly the youth, in causes to end the Vietnam war, ban nuclear weapons, work for international solidarity, and ecological responsibility. It is time that a cultural worker receives the recognition that this work has great influence and global reach, that it is not only a medium of entertainment but of education, compassion and fraternity.
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.
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
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