How I'm Spending My Summer Vacation (So Far) - July 25, 2010
Michael Stanley once said, “If you ain’t sweatin’, than you ain’t rockin’!” Well, no one can accuse me of not rocking on July 4, when I played an outdoor gig at Presque Isle Coffee in 90-degree heat. My tongue was hanging out like a red necktie!
I love animals: beef, pork, poultry… But seriously, anyone who helps animals has an immediate claim on my friendship. Such was the case last week, when I played at Hog Heaven Rescue Farm in Cochranton. Check out the excellent work they do at
http://www.hogheavenrescue.org/
Classical guitarist David Allen Coester hosts an open mic Wednesday evenings at Webb’s Captain’s Table, a high-end restaurant/bar in Mayville, NY. I had written off trying to make it in western New York two years ago, when the Chautauqua Region Word gave my CD a scathing one-star review.
My singing was compared to Kermit the Frog (and not favorably, at that). However, the audiences at David’s open mic have been very receptive. There’s a lot of really good musicians and songwriters, too. With so much talent, it’s surprising that the Chautauqua area doesn’t have more of an acoustic music scene.
Closer to home, my buddy Jerry Gaff plays at the Casablanca restaurant in Erie every Friday evening, joined by either Mean Max of myself on bass. I’m a burger-and-fries man from way back, but their Middle Eastern cuisine is to die for!
But let’s get the focus back where it belongs… on me! There’s a new addition to my family: a dobro mandolin! It’s an ordinary mandolin, but it’s metal-bodied with a resonator cone inside. I bought it as a birthday present to myself.
I brought it to Charlie’s Pub in Edinboro, where Salmon Frank play every Saturday, because I wanted to show it to Ron Mumme, Salmon Frank’s excellent mandolin player. My unique instrument caught the eye of a couple of other patrons, who managed to get me on stage to play a couple of numbers with the band. I felt a little ill-at-ease, playing mandolin right next to one of the best mandolin players in northwest Pennsylvania!
When I’m not playing out, I’m usually recording. So far this summer I’ve recorded three more songs (“Humble Street”, “June”, “The Man I Can Be”) for my as-yet-untitled follow-up CD, with more on the way. I’ll definitely keep you posted.
Just two more chances to see me play live before the end of the summer: Sat. Aug. 7 at Eclectic Etceteras in Edinboro, and Sun. Aug. 8 at Presque Isle Coffee in Erie. I haven’t scheduled anything for the fall; however I will be doing another “senior tour” through the Meadville Council on the Arts.
Have a happy and safe rest of the summer!
I love animals: beef, pork, poultry… But seriously, anyone who helps animals has an immediate claim on my friendship. Such was the case last week, when I played at Hog Heaven Rescue Farm in Cochranton. Check out the excellent work they do at
http://www.hogheavenrescue.org/
Classical guitarist David Allen Coester hosts an open mic Wednesday evenings at Webb’s Captain’s Table, a high-end restaurant/bar in Mayville, NY. I had written off trying to make it in western New York two years ago, when the Chautauqua Region Word gave my CD a scathing one-star review.
My singing was compared to Kermit the Frog (and not favorably, at that). However, the audiences at David’s open mic have been very receptive. There’s a lot of really good musicians and songwriters, too. With so much talent, it’s surprising that the Chautauqua area doesn’t have more of an acoustic music scene.
Closer to home, my buddy Jerry Gaff plays at the Casablanca restaurant in Erie every Friday evening, joined by either Mean Max of myself on bass. I’m a burger-and-fries man from way back, but their Middle Eastern cuisine is to die for!
But let’s get the focus back where it belongs… on me! There’s a new addition to my family: a dobro mandolin! It’s an ordinary mandolin, but it’s metal-bodied with a resonator cone inside. I bought it as a birthday present to myself.
I brought it to Charlie’s Pub in Edinboro, where Salmon Frank play every Saturday, because I wanted to show it to Ron Mumme, Salmon Frank’s excellent mandolin player. My unique instrument caught the eye of a couple of other patrons, who managed to get me on stage to play a couple of numbers with the band. I felt a little ill-at-ease, playing mandolin right next to one of the best mandolin players in northwest Pennsylvania!
When I’m not playing out, I’m usually recording. So far this summer I’ve recorded three more songs (“Humble Street”, “June”, “The Man I Can Be”) for my as-yet-untitled follow-up CD, with more on the way. I’ll definitely keep you posted.
Just two more chances to see me play live before the end of the summer: Sat. Aug. 7 at Eclectic Etceteras in Edinboro, and Sun. Aug. 8 at Presque Isle Coffee in Erie. I haven’t scheduled anything for the fall; however I will be doing another “senior tour” through the Meadville Council on the Arts.
Have a happy and safe rest of the summer!