Sunday, August 17, Harbes Family Farm, Earthtones
Mother Nature made up for Friday night with yet another ideal late summer day. Was long looking forward to playing this venue for the first time with Rick because it seems like a good fit — folk and countrified folk to go with the corn on the cob, hayrides, and lemonade. Not to mention a fellow with a megaphone bellowing "Yeehaw..." every so often and entreating people to sign up for potato sack races. Missing in action was the perennial favorite, Warren the Banjo Man.
At times we seemed to blend in a little TOO much for my liking in spite of a much better tip day than the more likely high-yielding venue of the day before... a friend in attendance noted that as Rick and I were earnestly throwing out tidbits of rock trivia people were otherwise occupied with their corn. Hey, the corn is REALLY good. What can I say?
At the end of the gig, which these days means leaving the audience with the feel-good "Ripple," I looked down at my left hand and saw that I had permanent creases from the frets on my blackened fingers. I little respite after three consecutive days of concerts is obviously needed.
Was nice to finally meet owner Monica and one of her employees, Judith, who was serving up mozarella, basil, and tomato samples on baguettes.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Saturday, August 16, Route 48 Vineyards, Earthtones
A picture-perfect day to play our sole gig of the summer here. The vineyard has undergone some incredible additions in the form of a fountain and tables with umbrellas. Rick and I set up under the white pine tree, which provided shade for at least the first third of the afternoon. A group of 20-somethings from Chicago that featured cigar-smoking women requested Sweet Home Alabama" and "Sweet Home Chicago" and instead got "City of Chicago" and blues in the form of "Can't Hold Out." Sounds like they had a bit of a sweet tooth. When pressed for who they preferred, the Cubs or the White Sox, they were vociferously unanimous in support of the Cubbies. This group added to the party atmosphere by dancing in the center of the courtyard.
A tall, urbane gentleman from Lexington, Kentucky approached me after hearing a John Prine song and purchased Nasty Weather. After playing "Paradise" later on, I would have another Prine fan check in with us. He said he loved Prine but feared that if we kept playing his songs we would lose our entire audience. A Dylan devotee also requested some Bob and we obliged with "My Back Pages," which he said was his favorite Dylan. He did, however, ask to sing and I had to invoke the no karaoke rule.
The most bizarre request of the day was for Mariah Carey. This same table also wanted "Hotel California" and some other incongrous choices. However, the alpha male of the group did tell us that we made his day playing whatever we played.
At the end of the performance, Rick and I were able to taste the featured peach wine, which was delicious, and at the vineyard's Little Cigar Shop, Rick bought some cigars for a dinner party he was attending. A wonderful spirit named Jim, a corporate attorney, told us that we played his favorite music, citing Dylan...
A picture-perfect day to play our sole gig of the summer here. The vineyard has undergone some incredible additions in the form of a fountain and tables with umbrellas. Rick and I set up under the white pine tree, which provided shade for at least the first third of the afternoon. A group of 20-somethings from Chicago that featured cigar-smoking women requested Sweet Home Alabama" and "Sweet Home Chicago" and instead got "City of Chicago" and blues in the form of "Can't Hold Out." Sounds like they had a bit of a sweet tooth. When pressed for who they preferred, the Cubs or the White Sox, they were vociferously unanimous in support of the Cubbies. This group added to the party atmosphere by dancing in the center of the courtyard.
A tall, urbane gentleman from Lexington, Kentucky approached me after hearing a John Prine song and purchased Nasty Weather. After playing "Paradise" later on, I would have another Prine fan check in with us. He said he loved Prine but feared that if we kept playing his songs we would lose our entire audience. A Dylan devotee also requested some Bob and we obliged with "My Back Pages," which he said was his favorite Dylan. He did, however, ask to sing and I had to invoke the no karaoke rule.
The most bizarre request of the day was for Mariah Carey. This same table also wanted "Hotel California" and some other incongrous choices. However, the alpha male of the group did tell us that we made his day playing whatever we played.
At the end of the performance, Rick and I were able to taste the featured peach wine, which was delicious, and at the vineyard's Little Cigar Shop, Rick bought some cigars for a dinner party he was attending. A wonderful spirit named Jim, a corporate attorney, told us that we played his favorite music, citing Dylan...
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
August 15, Copaigue Library, Earthtones
In spite of leaving two and a half hours to reach our destination and armed with some pretty detailed instructions, I managed to lead Rick and myself astray just enough to make set-up interesting. It got tricky by Deer Park Road and I had to roll a window down at a stop light to ask a very helpful man for directions. His last words were, "Follow me," before a chorus of carhorns serenaded us and forced me to jettison off into a highway hell. I wasn't sure if I was supposed to take the Sunrise Highway west or east after that and so I correctly opted for west. But it seemed as if it was taking forever to get where we were going without any more signs for Copaigue so I kept wondering if I should have gone east. After what felt like about ten miles I finally saw the sign and took it and then we found our way into the charming village of Copaigue but of course got stuck in rush-hour traffic.
At any rate, we pulled into the library parking lot with about 55 minutes to set up and quickly found Lisa Taylor. She apologized in advance that there was an Our Lady of Assumption Festival of some kind going on and it might draw many of the 70 people who signed up away from our concert. At 5:50, she began letting the 30 or so folks who showed up into the decent-sized concert room. We were up on a stage, which gave it more of a concert feel and I know I've never been so chatty.
It was a polite and attentive crowd and although I'm not altogether sure that we were what they thought we were supposed to be, we had four or five people, including a guy who claimed to play guitar, come up to tell us they enjoyed it. One guy told us we made his night. A woman who was related to a little boy named Jack whose christening we played at in June 2007 was there with her children.
I wasn't really supposed to be selling CDs at the library out of respect for their policy so I didn't make any sales but we were well compensated and all in all it was an enjoyable venue for us. While we were playing, a long line of thunderstorms was entering the area and we road home in torrential rains after stopping for a quick Mexican dinner in the village of Babylon. A wild ride indeed!
In spite of leaving two and a half hours to reach our destination and armed with some pretty detailed instructions, I managed to lead Rick and myself astray just enough to make set-up interesting. It got tricky by Deer Park Road and I had to roll a window down at a stop light to ask a very helpful man for directions. His last words were, "Follow me," before a chorus of carhorns serenaded us and forced me to jettison off into a highway hell. I wasn't sure if I was supposed to take the Sunrise Highway west or east after that and so I correctly opted for west. But it seemed as if it was taking forever to get where we were going without any more signs for Copaigue so I kept wondering if I should have gone east. After what felt like about ten miles I finally saw the sign and took it and then we found our way into the charming village of Copaigue but of course got stuck in rush-hour traffic.
At any rate, we pulled into the library parking lot with about 55 minutes to set up and quickly found Lisa Taylor. She apologized in advance that there was an Our Lady of Assumption Festival of some kind going on and it might draw many of the 70 people who signed up away from our concert. At 5:50, she began letting the 30 or so folks who showed up into the decent-sized concert room. We were up on a stage, which gave it more of a concert feel and I know I've never been so chatty.
It was a polite and attentive crowd and although I'm not altogether sure that we were what they thought we were supposed to be, we had four or five people, including a guy who claimed to play guitar, come up to tell us they enjoyed it. One guy told us we made his night. A woman who was related to a little boy named Jack whose christening we played at in June 2007 was there with her children.
I wasn't really supposed to be selling CDs at the library out of respect for their policy so I didn't make any sales but we were well compensated and all in all it was an enjoyable venue for us. While we were playing, a long line of thunderstorms was entering the area and we road home in torrential rains after stopping for a quick Mexican dinner in the village of Babylon. A wild ride indeed!
Monday, August 11, 2008
Friday night, August 8, Osprey Dominion Vineyards, Acoustic Inner Sleeve
Had to cancel this gig and find a replacement at the last minute because I lost my voice after the back to back Inner Sleeve performances last weekend. I babied my voice after losing it on Monday evening and even took a day off from work, trying everything from slippery elm lozenges to throat coat tea with honey to avoiding all dairy products. But by Thursday I knew I wouldn't be able to harmonize and still had no range so I just decided in the interest of fairness to the public and the place that hired me I just had to shut it down and get a stand-in.
So I called my friend Cork Maul and he gladly accepted and then I did the hardest thing there is for a musician to do — went and listened to him at the very gig I had to give up. It was a beautiful night, with thunderstorms rumbling through Nassau and western Suffolk Counties and making the sky a visual delight. Anvil-shaped battleship-gray clouds and beautiful towering cumulonimbus clouds shared the sky, and yet all we got was a few minutes of sprinkles.
Corky was at the top of his game mixing in original compositions with bits of popular music like Mother Nature's Son, El Condor Pasa, and Moondance into the mix. Thanks, friend, for bailing me out.
Seth (Inner Sleeve) who was to be my playing partner, took it in stride and I got another gig at Laurel Lake Vineyards to make up for it.
Sunday, August 10, Piping Plover Cafe, Earthtones
It was a delight to return to action after a 21-day layoff, although our start was less than auspicious. We set ourselves up on the patio under a big standing umbrella but a passing shower clipped us, delaying our start for about 15 minutes. Finally, we just decided to move ourselves under the total protection of the umbrella and we were able to go on.
For the most part, very few patrons came outside, and who could blame them, with the air conditioning going full blast and feeling so refreshing inside the cafe. Still, we had people tossing us tips on the way out and one woman told us that Full Circle, a Byrds song, was beautiful.
We were joined by Rick's wife, Ellie, and her friend Donna, for the second half of the afternoon, and they served as a wonderful audience.
Afterwards, co-owner Jenny came out and chatted with us as we packed up. She and her husband Ken had survived a sleepless night coming back from visiting relatives in Atlantic City. Brave souls.
Had to cancel this gig and find a replacement at the last minute because I lost my voice after the back to back Inner Sleeve performances last weekend. I babied my voice after losing it on Monday evening and even took a day off from work, trying everything from slippery elm lozenges to throat coat tea with honey to avoiding all dairy products. But by Thursday I knew I wouldn't be able to harmonize and still had no range so I just decided in the interest of fairness to the public and the place that hired me I just had to shut it down and get a stand-in.
So I called my friend Cork Maul and he gladly accepted and then I did the hardest thing there is for a musician to do — went and listened to him at the very gig I had to give up. It was a beautiful night, with thunderstorms rumbling through Nassau and western Suffolk Counties and making the sky a visual delight. Anvil-shaped battleship-gray clouds and beautiful towering cumulonimbus clouds shared the sky, and yet all we got was a few minutes of sprinkles.
Corky was at the top of his game mixing in original compositions with bits of popular music like Mother Nature's Son, El Condor Pasa, and Moondance into the mix. Thanks, friend, for bailing me out.
Seth (Inner Sleeve) who was to be my playing partner, took it in stride and I got another gig at Laurel Lake Vineyards to make up for it.
Sunday, August 10, Piping Plover Cafe, Earthtones
It was a delight to return to action after a 21-day layoff, although our start was less than auspicious. We set ourselves up on the patio under a big standing umbrella but a passing shower clipped us, delaying our start for about 15 minutes. Finally, we just decided to move ourselves under the total protection of the umbrella and we were able to go on.
For the most part, very few patrons came outside, and who could blame them, with the air conditioning going full blast and feeling so refreshing inside the cafe. Still, we had people tossing us tips on the way out and one woman told us that Full Circle, a Byrds song, was beautiful.
We were joined by Rick's wife, Ellie, and her friend Donna, for the second half of the afternoon, and they served as a wonderful audience.
Afterwards, co-owner Jenny came out and chatted with us as we packed up. She and her husband Ken had survived a sleepless night coming back from visiting relatives in Atlantic City. Brave souls.
Monday, August 4, 2008
Monday, August 4
A disturbing trend is taking place that I just have to address — last-minute cancellations. I've Iost six dates this summer from three venues and was double-booked at another (luckily they worked it out after much back and forth and late-night phone calls) and yet I understand that business is business and profit takes precedence but I have never encountered a summer in all of my years of playing where so many venues are leaving the musicians hanging on short notice.
It may force me to rethink my whole approach to try and protect this much smaller business of playing music. Those establishments who have cancelled or doublebooked should really take a minute and try to understand what that does to the musician. It forces him or her to lose revenue without any chance of making that revenue up because there is no time to rebook at another venue when it is done last minute. For those venues who have cancelled like this, I may have to ask for a contract that will protect both parties — the venue AND the band.
Not sure if it's the wobbly economy that is the culprit but everyone seems to be hurting and that may be forcing venue managers and owners to find ways to not only trim their entertainment budgets but to pay more attention to what their clients tell them they want or in some cases to book a wedding to bring in some big quick bucks. Totally understandable from a business perspective, but if they do that, they should be subject to paying the musicians what they would have received if they had played (and not in wine!) because that day is now lost and there is no chance for recouping the pay that is gone. Surely if you are bringing in $15,000 for a wedding you can pay the musicians who you have reneged on a few hundred dollars and still make a huge profit.
I also believe it is a two-way street and if a band has to cancel last-minute even if there is a family emergency, the band should either be held to find a suitable replacement, play an engagement for free at a later date, or possibly pay the venue the fee they would have received on that given day. Fair is fair, ultimately. It is the only way that we can honor one another's word and commitment. And not get too badly burnt monetarily.
I implore people to think of the little guy or gal trying so hard to make a living, who will play their hearts out for you in all weather conditions and ask for little in return relative to what they have to expend in terms of energy, gas, and the intangibles of heart and soul.
A disturbing trend is taking place that I just have to address — last-minute cancellations. I've Iost six dates this summer from three venues and was double-booked at another (luckily they worked it out after much back and forth and late-night phone calls) and yet I understand that business is business and profit takes precedence but I have never encountered a summer in all of my years of playing where so many venues are leaving the musicians hanging on short notice.
It may force me to rethink my whole approach to try and protect this much smaller business of playing music. Those establishments who have cancelled or doublebooked should really take a minute and try to understand what that does to the musician. It forces him or her to lose revenue without any chance of making that revenue up because there is no time to rebook at another venue when it is done last minute. For those venues who have cancelled like this, I may have to ask for a contract that will protect both parties — the venue AND the band.
Not sure if it's the wobbly economy that is the culprit but everyone seems to be hurting and that may be forcing venue managers and owners to find ways to not only trim their entertainment budgets but to pay more attention to what their clients tell them they want or in some cases to book a wedding to bring in some big quick bucks. Totally understandable from a business perspective, but if they do that, they should be subject to paying the musicians what they would have received if they had played (and not in wine!) because that day is now lost and there is no chance for recouping the pay that is gone. Surely if you are bringing in $15,000 for a wedding you can pay the musicians who you have reneged on a few hundred dollars and still make a huge profit.
I also believe it is a two-way street and if a band has to cancel last-minute even if there is a family emergency, the band should either be held to find a suitable replacement, play an engagement for free at a later date, or possibly pay the venue the fee they would have received on that given day. Fair is fair, ultimately. It is the only way that we can honor one another's word and commitment. And not get too badly burnt monetarily.
I implore people to think of the little guy or gal trying so hard to make a living, who will play their hearts out for you in all weather conditions and ask for little in return relative to what they have to expend in terms of energy, gas, and the intangibles of heart and soul.
Sunday, August 3, Inner Sleeve, Osprey's Dominion, Peconic
Perfect weather day. Nice breeze, low humidity, gorgeous azure skies. To think that only six weeks ago it was raw and freezing and felt like late April instead of Father's Day.
Was great to see my classmates from Huntington High School — Vicky and Joel Bender and Dave and Denise Cohen, who treated us to cheese and grapes and mango salsa and chips between breaks. Dave also called Beachboy Mike Love, a client, because I knew he was coming and wore a Beachboys Summer Tour of 1993 t-shirt (sadly Al Jardine, Bruce Johnston, and Carl Wilson were still in the group then) and then he put me on the phone with Mr. Love. I stammered a bit like Ralph Kramden but no doubt it was Mike Love, the voice of California Cool on the other end. I mean, this man is an icon and the Beachboys were a huge inspiration to my generation.
Also thanks to the Ruiz family and especially Rebecca, a big Beatles fan, for coming out to support us.
Another group of folks, whose names we never had a chance to get but took my business card, were also a great audience. There was a guy at that table who I would have loved to talk in depth to, who asked for a Christy Moore song.
And special thanks to Pete for all of his help with cables, bookings, and making us feel welcome
Perfect weather day. Nice breeze, low humidity, gorgeous azure skies. To think that only six weeks ago it was raw and freezing and felt like late April instead of Father's Day.
Was great to see my classmates from Huntington High School — Vicky and Joel Bender and Dave and Denise Cohen, who treated us to cheese and grapes and mango salsa and chips between breaks. Dave also called Beachboy Mike Love, a client, because I knew he was coming and wore a Beachboys Summer Tour of 1993 t-shirt (sadly Al Jardine, Bruce Johnston, and Carl Wilson were still in the group then) and then he put me on the phone with Mr. Love. I stammered a bit like Ralph Kramden but no doubt it was Mike Love, the voice of California Cool on the other end. I mean, this man is an icon and the Beachboys were a huge inspiration to my generation.
Also thanks to the Ruiz family and especially Rebecca, a big Beatles fan, for coming out to support us.
Another group of folks, whose names we never had a chance to get but took my business card, were also a great audience. There was a guy at that table who I would have loved to talk in depth to, who asked for a Christy Moore song.
And special thanks to Pete for all of his help with cables, bookings, and making us feel welcome
Saturday, August 2, Inner Sleeve, Four Doors Down, Mattituck
Got there a bit late for the Pig Roast and benefit for Hannah Prokop but there were still some hard-core folks left. And still a bit of the pig...
Enjoyed chatting with Rocky DiVello (father of musician John) and Jim (Who Are Those Guys) and Liza Gorman, who stayed through the first set. Thanks Jim for your help with the intricacies of the sound system. Helps to hear a sound engineer's bits of wisdom.
It was a great gig in that we had two groups of people during the night who kept us on our toes... The first was led by Annie, who used everything God gave her on the dance floor and got everyone around her up and working out as well.
At the beginning of our third set, another group of a dozen or so people came in and got it going again. Sorry, we were working so hard we didn't get any of your names but you all made this a really memorable show. We left our hearts out there on the dance floor.
Got there a bit late for the Pig Roast and benefit for Hannah Prokop but there were still some hard-core folks left. And still a bit of the pig...
Enjoyed chatting with Rocky DiVello (father of musician John) and Jim (Who Are Those Guys) and Liza Gorman, who stayed through the first set. Thanks Jim for your help with the intricacies of the sound system. Helps to hear a sound engineer's bits of wisdom.
It was a great gig in that we had two groups of people during the night who kept us on our toes... The first was led by Annie, who used everything God gave her on the dance floor and got everyone around her up and working out as well.
At the beginning of our third set, another group of a dozen or so people came in and got it going again. Sorry, we were working so hard we didn't get any of your names but you all made this a really memorable show. We left our hearts out there on the dance floor.
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