PROGRAM NAME: Blue Lunch
DATE/TIME: 9/29/2016  12:00- 2:00 PM              
DEPT/GENRE: Blues

1. Truckin' With Albert Collins - LABEL: MCA Records  MCABD 10423, 1969, SONG: Frosty  3:06
2. Eric Johnson - Europe Live, LABEL: Provogue 2014, SONG: Last House On The Block 11:32
3. Jimmy Carpenter - Walk Away, LABEL: VizzTone 2014, SONG: C King Blues  6:09
4. WTCC Drop
5. Zak Harmon - The Blues According To Zacariah, LABEL:  Bluestone,  2005, SONG: Mannish Boy 6:03
6. Moving Sidewalks - Texas Rock Music Heritage, LABEL: Lone Star Records 1994, SONG: Joe Blues 7:37
7. Smokin' Joe Kubek & Bnois King - Fat Man's Shine Parlor, LABEL: Blind Pig 2015, SONG: Done Got Caught Blues 5:14
8. WTCC Drop
9. Steve Earle - Terraplane, LABEL: New West 2015, SONG: You're The Best Lover That I Ever Had 4:07
10. Southside Johnny - Grapefruit Moon, LABEL:  Leroy Records 2008, SONG: New Coat Of Paint 4:40
11. Slam Allen - Feel These Blues - LABEL: American Showcase 2015, SONG: Feel These Blues 4:11
12. Anthony Gomez - Electric Field Holler, LABEL: Up 2 Zero Entertainment 2015, SONG: Nowhere Is Home 4:08
13. Kentucky Headhunters - Meet Me In Bluesland, LABEL: ALCD 2015, SONG:  Meet Me In Bluesland 5:44
14. WTCC Drop
15. Lazer Lloyd - Lazer Lloyd, LABEL: LL Records 2015, SONG: Time To Love 6:34
16. Victor Wainwright - Boom Town, LABEL: Blind Pig 2015, SONG: Genuine Southern Hospitality 4:52
17. Mitch Mann - Blackwater Creek, LABEL: Crazy Chester 2014, SONG: Tom Clark 4:39
18. Warren Haynes - Ashes & Dust, LABEL: Concord Music Group 2015, SONG: Spots Of Time 8:24
19. WTCC Drop
20. Joanna Connor - Believe It, LABEL: Blind Pig 1989,  SONG: Doctor Feelgood 5:06
21. Kal David - Living The Dream, LABEL: Crytone Records 2015, SONG: Sweet Feelings 6:34
22. Scott Bradley & Post Modern Jukebox - Twist Is The New Twerk, LABEL: CD Baby 2015, SONG: Story Of My Life 4:23
23. Shawn Murphy - Loretta, LABEL: Vision Wall Records 2015, SONG: 24 Hours From Memphis 4:20
24. WTCC Drop
25. Life As We Know It - Sky Of Blue, LABEL: www.lifeasweknowit.us, SONG: What It Was 4:38
26. Mother Earth - Bring Me Home, LABEL: Wounded Bird Records 1971, SONG: Tonight, The Sky's About To Cry 5:01
27. Rachel Coba - Mother Blues, Mono Records 2013, SONG: Telephone Song 4:55
28. Janet Ryan - Mama Soul, LABEL CSP Records 2013, SONG: Say Goodbye 3:18
29. WTCC Drop
30. I'm Out Via the Bluesbike


Listen on Thursdays from noon til 2 P.M. Eastern Time.
Send your CDs for airplay to me directly to the radio station:
WTCC FM
attn: Blues Director
1 Armory Square
Springfield, MA 01105
Blue Lunch: Every Thursday from noon til 2 P.M. Eastern Time.
Stream the show: http://tunein.com/tuner/?StationId=23078 or www.wtccfm.com

End Of Summer 2016

So long, Summer, I will miss you.

Hello Fall,

Bring on the colors...

Come and visit me every Friday as I play the 350 Grill, 350 Worthington Street in Springfield, MA, from 9-12.

Hello Spring!

Hi there, people!
Lots of good things are on the horizon. I am working on my latest CD, teaching young minds full of mush all about music, and booking festivals for this summer and fall.
If you would like me to play for you this year, please email me:
gigmom123@aol.com

Thank you!

It is September 9, 2015 and we just had the first heat wave of 2015. There has not been a heatwave in September here since 1973...

We had a good summer of shows: We host an open mic every Thrusday from 7-10 in Holyoke, Massachusetts, at Holyoke Turn Hall, and perform every Friday in Springfield, MA, at the 350  Grill.
We did a few outdoor festivals, and are making headway on our latest CD.

Stay tuned...

House shows for the rest of March:

Friday the 20th and 27th at the 350 Grill, 350 Worthington Street in Springfield, MA

On Sunday, March 22, 2015, Ray will be playing guitar on the Elks float in the Holyoke, Massachusetts St. Patty's Day parade.

Big fun in the little city...

Janet has a bunch of songs in demo form for the next CD. Stay tuned...

Winter 2015

On Saturday the 24th we got our first snow of the 2015 season, about four inches of heavy fat snow.
Then on Monday the 27th we got the "storm of the century" which was forecast to be a foot and a half or more of the white stuff.
We got about seven inches of snow here. Some storm.
Boston did get hammered, though.
We did gig all weekend long, no problems, man.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

December performances:
 Friday the 5th, 350 Grill, 350 Worthington Street, Springfield, MA
Sunday the 14th, Guest Hosting Wildcat O'Halloran's show at City Sports, Northampton
Dec 13, 18, 19 and 20: Private Parties
Dec 26th, 350 Grill
Dec 31st, 350 Grill

See you next year!

Summer has ended. We're sad.
Janet and the boys had a great summer, playing all kinds of gigs all over. She would like to thank everyone for their support. The band is starting pre-production for her next CD, and welcomes song ideas to incorporate into the next release.
Send ideas to ray at janetryan dot com.

Many Thanks

September 17, 2014

Hi there!
In September, Janet Ryan has some cool performances:

Monday, the 1st, The Blue Cube, Easthampton, MA
Saturday, the 6th, The 350 Grill, Springfield
Friday the 12th, The 350 Grill, Springfield
Saturday the 13th, Private Party, Readsboro, VT
Sunday the 14th, Holyoke Elks Scholarship fundraiser
Saturday the 20th/Sunday the 21st, Vine Festival, Mount Snow, Vermont
Saturday the 27th, Private Party, VT

It's going to be a great winter.

Sunday, August 31st, we are playing at the Preaching The Blues festival on the Three County Fairgrounds in Northampton, Massachusetts. There will be great music all day.

Other recent shows include:
In August,
The 23rd, we opened for Debbie Davies at the Iron Horse in Northampton, MA,
The 21st, Chandler's Restaurant at the Yankee Candle Flagship store in Deerfield, MA,
The 16th, New England Blues Festival in Middleboro, MA,
The 9th, The 350 Grill in Springfield, MA.

In July,
The 26th at Michael's in Agawam,MA,
The 25th at Michael's in Wilbraham,MA,
The 22nd, FCAT-TV in Deerfield, MA,
The 19th at Arts Block in Greenfield, MA,
The 18th, 350 Grill in Springfield, MA,
The 12th, Big Brothers/Big Sisters Benefit on the Amherst, MA, town common,

In June,
The 26th at Chandler's Restaurant in Deerfield, MA,
The 22nd, Hosted the Wildcat Show at City Sports in Northampton, MA,
The 15th, Charter Days in Granby, MA,
The 14th, The Taste Of West Springfield, MA,
The 12th, The Loft at The Clarion Hotel, Northampton,
The 8th, Private Party
The 1st, Private Party

It's summer!
Happy 39th birthday, Janet Ryan.
Janet and the band have some cool outside performances this summer. They have played Granby (MA) Charter Days, and have lined up performances as Blues festivals.
Their June performances included College graduation parties, hosting the Wildcat Blues jam in Northampton, MA, private parties, and a performance at Chandler's Restaurant at the Yankee Candle Flagship store in Deerfield, MA, this Thursday the 26th from 6-9 PM.

Happy New Year, everyone! This Saturday, February 8th, 2014, we are playing a benefit for Lenny at the Polish American Citizen's Club. on Route 202 in South Hadley, Massachusetts. The Vallen Brothers open. The benefit starts at 1:00.

Janet wishes all her fans a Merry Christmas! Her next gig is Friday, at Arts Block in Greenfield, Massachusetts. We are opening for Seth Glier, a wonderful talented person.

Happy Thanksgiving, all! Do something nice for someone today!

BRRRR, supposed to be 10 degrees tonight...

PROGRAM NAME: BLUE LUNCH
DATE/TIME: 11/14/2013 - Noon - 2 PM            DEPT/GENRE: BLUES

1. Truckin' With Albert Collins - LABEL: MCA Records  MCABD 10423, 1969, SONG: Frosty  3:06
2. Robben Ford - The Authorized Bootleg, LABEL: Blue Thumb/ GRP, 1998, SONG: Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying 9:57
3. GRP All Star Big Band - All Blues, LABEL: Universal Japan, 1993, SONG: Cookin' at the Continental 5:42
4. Yellowjackets - Twenty Five, LABEL: Universal Music Distribution (May 2006), SONG: Jacketown 10:56
5. WTCC Drop
6. Tommy Z - Sometimes, LABEL: Indie 2012, SONG: Livin In A Blue State 5:10
7. Murali Coryell - The Same Damn Thing, LABEL: Murali's Music 2008, SONG: Standing The Test Of Time 4:46
8. Danny Kalb - Moving In Blue, LABEL: Sojourn Records 2012, SONG: My Baby's So Sweet 5:57
9. Chris Toefield & The Bluesbenders - Live At The Berlin Blues Fest, LABEL: Indie 2004, SONG: Broken Strings 12:31
10. WTCC Drop
11. Tinsley Ellis - Speak No Evil, LABEL: Alligator, 2009, SONG: Loving For Today 6:02
12. Chris Cain - Hall Of Shame, LABEL: Blue Rock'it, 2003, SONG: First Time for Everything 3:48
13. Kid Ramos - 2 Hands 1 Heart, LABEL: Black Top, 1995, SONG: You Don't Love Me 4:38
14. Roomful Of Blues - Hook, Line & Sinker, LABEL: Alligator, 2011, SONG: Gate Walks To Board 4:02
15. Chris Bell - The Devil, My Guitar & Me, LABEL: SilverBridge Records, 2010, SONG: The More Things Change 5:39
16. Damon Fowler - Devil Got His Way, LABEL: Blind Pig, 2011, SONG: Tight Rope 3:40
17. ** Dessert** Ellie Lee & Blues Fury, Ellie Lee & Blues Fury, LABEL: Bluesfury.com 2010, SONG: Hard Lovin Man 5:05
18. Rita Chiarelli - Sweet Paradise, LABEL: CDBY 2010, SONG: Rest My Bones 4:31
19. Tracy Nelson - Victim Of The Blues, LABEL: Delta Groove  2011, SONG: Stranger In My Own Home Town 3:16
20. WTCC Drop
21. Janet Ryan - Mama Soul, LABEL CSP Records 2013, SONG: Tired Of Talking 4:53
22. Erma Franklin - Piece Of My Heart, LABEL: London 1967, SONG: Piece Of My Heart 2:29
23. Blues Broads - Blues Broads, LABEL: Delta Groove 2013, SONG: Blue Highway 3:33
24. Valerie June - Pushin' Against A Stone, LABEL: Concord 2013, SONG: The Hour 3:52
25. WTCC Drop
26. I'm Out

Blue Lunch. Listen on Thursdays from noon til 2 P.M. Eastern Time.
Send your CDs for airplay to me directly to the radio station:

WTCC FM
attn: Blues Director
1 Armory Square
Springfield, MA 01105

Blue Lunch: Every Thursday from noon til 2 P.M. Eastern Time.
Stream the show: http://tunein.com/tuner/?StationId=23078

We had a great gig at Theodores' in Springfield, Massachusetts this past Saturday night. We brought in three horn players and had a full house.
I love playing music.

When Everything falls into place.

As a performing musician, I live for those special moments when everyone in the band is in that special space, a place where the individual band members are feeling the magic, and the band becomes more than the sum of its parts.

Performing live can be such a magical experience: the rhythm section locks together, and the soloists fly, dragging the perceptive audience members along for a wonderful roller coaster ride. For me, very few things in life can approach the high of those moments, and I live for them.

That magic feeling is an elusive thing, too. It doesn't automatically happen everytime I perform, yet it's always lurking around the next corner, ready to put in an appearance on its own terms. It cares not of the particular venue you happen to be in that night, nor who might be in the audience. It stands defiantly, needing no one. Catch it if you can: there is no map to follow, voodoo doesn't help, and you can't buy it nor bottle it when it finally puts in an appearance. You can only ride it, in a fashion similar to that person with the surf board catching the ultimate wave and riding it all the way home.

The variables of live performance can be daunting: Creating music is a collaborative effort, and every person in the band has a huge influence on the outcome. If a bandmember has had a less than stellar day, that can affect the music in a negative way. On the other hand, if one has a great day, the music can fly high and free. There are, of course, exceptions to every rule, yet I have observed the highest highs when my day has gone well, and vice-versa.

So get out there and support live music. Take a chance on a band that you aren't familiar with. When they ask you for the five dollars or whatever at the door, just pay it and invest some time .Usually the musicians will perform with everything they have, and you will be a happy camper. If they moved you, buy one of their CDs in a show of support. Your efforts will not go unnoticed. If the sun and stars happen to line up on that day you might be a participant on the best roller coaster ride of all time.

And if they didn't move you that night, you will still have the satisfaction of knowing that you did something to support your music scene. If you don't, that "scene" might someday sound like the junk that you hear on your car radio...

Janet brings The Bigger Band™ to Theodores at 201 Worthington street in Springfield, Massachusetts this Saturday night. Horn included! We start at 9. Come check it out! Thank you.

Three gigs last week, two more this week: Saturday we headline the Riverside Blues and BBQ Festival in Greenfield, Massachusetts from 4 till 5:30 http://www.riversidebluesandbbq.com/

Then on Sunday we share the stage with Sweet Daddy Cool Breeze at the Holyoke Elks at three.

First gig at the Arts Block

First gig at the Arts Block.

On Friday night the band bus rolled up to Greenfield, Massachusetts, for our first gig at the Arts Block.We kicked butt, and I think they had to call the fire department to hose the building down. It's gonna be a good summer.

Checking in.
April was a good month for Janet and the Band. They held their CD release party at Theodore's in Springfield, MA, to an energetic full house. The record label, CSP Records, flew in from Dallas with a crew of booking agents, publicists, and the like. The label rented out the back bar and put a big buffet out.

Janet had her big band, complete with horns and backing singers, and they were on fire. It was a great night, everyone went home happy, and the band is ready to make some major moves.

The next big gig is June 28th, at Arts Block in Greenfield, MA. Be there!

The new CD is finished!

 

Janet Ryan was signed by CSP Records out of Texas, and after a few trips to Dallas to record, 
the new CD is finished!
The CD release party will be held on Thursday, April 18th, at Theodores, 201 Worthington Street in Springfield, MA.  http://theodoresbbq.com/ Click on the "Blues" tab for the live music schedule.
The record label executives will be there, handing out some free goodies.
Janet and the band would like to extend an invitation to you and yours to attend this CD release
party.

The hours are from 8 till 10:30. See you there!


www.JanetRyan.com



###

February 2013 performances

Saturday, Feb 16, Janet Ryan Jazzy Trio at the Loft in the Clarion Hotel, Northampton, MA
Wednesday, Feb 20 to Sunday, Feb 24, Road trip to Dallas Texas

Just returned from Dallas, Texas where we are working on Janet Ryan's new recording for CSP Records. Vocal and instrumental overdubs. It's sounding great. CD release party is Thursday, April 18th at Theodores, 201 Worthington St, Springfield, MA 8 - 10:30

Six inches of snow!

December Performances

Friday, Dec 1 - The Loft, Northampton, MA
Friday-Monday, Dec 7-10, Dallas, Texas
Thursday, Dec 13, Private Party
Friday, Dec 15, Private Party
Saturday Dec 16, Christmas Party
Wednesday, Dec 19, Private Party
Saturday, Dec 29, Monthly Residency at the Polish American Citizen's Club, Route 202, South Hadley, MA

November Performances

Thursday, Nov 8 - Janet Ryan Jazzy Duo at the Loft in the Clarion Hotel, Northampton.
Friday, Nov 16, Private Party
Saturday, Nov 24 - Full band performance at the Polish American Citizen's Club, Route 202, South Hadley, MA

Catch Ray's Blues show every Thursday from noon til 2 P.M. 


on WTCC, 90.7 FM. Stream it:
 
http://www.WTCCFM.org

Jnet signs a recording contract.

Janet was in a movie about local singer/songwriter Roger Salloom a few years ago. She performed one of her original songs live, and it sounded good.

Fast forward a few years, and the movie is playing on television in Texas, where a record label executive sees and hears her.

He was impressed. Impressed enough to fly her to Texas, where she went into a recording studio and recorded an album for the label.

Next the label flies the whole band to Texas and records five songs. The band then did a well received show in Dallas. People were impressed.

It looks like Janet will be doing a lot of flying soon.





###

The band is off to Dallas for recording and gigs!

October Performances

Friday October 5th - The Loft at the Clarion Hotel- Northampton, MA

Saturday October 6th- Poor David's Pub - Dallas, TX

Monday & Tuesday October 8-9th - Recording Session - Garland, TX  

Saturday October 27 - Polish American Citizen's Club - route 202, South Hadley, MA 

 

Catch Ray's Blues show every Thursday from noon til 2 P.M. on WTCC, 90.7 FM. Stream it:

 
http://www.WTCCFM.org

 

Hey Everyone! Good news from Janet Ryan.

CSP Records has just signed Janet Ryan to an exclusive Recording contract. Janet's new CD 

on CSP Records will be released in April 2013. CSP also signed singer/songwriter Janet

Ryan to an exclusive Worldwide Film and TV music representation agreement. Check out 

CSP Records here:

http://www.csprecords.com/CSPHOMEPAGE.html

September Performances

Saturday, September 1- Private party

Thursday, September 6 - Janet Ryan Jazzy Duo at the Loft in the Clarion Hotel, Northampton, MA

Saturday, September 15- Janet Ryan Jazzy Trio at the Loft in the Clarion Hotel, Northampton, MA

Saturday, September 22 - Private Party

Sunday, September 23 - Blues Booze and BBQ t the Holyoke Elks by the Holyoke Mall. Working with Sweet Daddy Cool Breeze

Sunday, September 30 - Festival Of The Hills, Conway Mass. Janet and the Big Guns, TJ and the Peepers, and more. Music and entertainment all day.

Catch Ray's Blues show every Thursday from noon til 2 P.M. on WTCC, 90.7 FM. Stream the show at 

http://www.WTCCFM.org

August Performances

Thursday, August 9th,  Janet Ryan Jazzy Duo, The Loft, Northampton, MA
Thursday August 16th, Janet Ryan Jazzy Duo, Chandler's Restaurant at Yankee Candle, Deerfield, MA
Saturday August 18th, Janet Hosts the open mic at Bishop's Lounge, Northampton, MA.  5:30 Start
Friday, August 24th, Private Party
Saturday August 25th, Private Party


Catch Ray's Blues show every Thursday from noon til 2 P.M. on WTCC, 90.7 FM. Stream the show at 

http://www.WTCCFM.org 

July 2012 Performances
Tuesday, July 7th - Janet Ryan's Singing Stars - Amelia Park, Westfield, MA
Saturday, July 8th - 11 AM, Janet Ryan Duo at Amherst Common, Amherst, MA then Private Party
Thursday, July 19th - Janet Ryan Jazzy Duo - The Loft At The Clarion Hotel, Northampton, MA 5:30 - 8:30
Friday, July 27th - Private Party

Catch Ray's Blues show every Thursday from noon til 2 P.M. on WTCC, 90.7 FM. Stream the show at http://www.WTCCFM.org

June 2012 Performance Dates

Friday, June 1 with Wildcat O'Halloran at Liston's in Worthington, MA
Saturday, June 2 Private Party
Sunday June 3 Mike Rock Memorial, Elks, Holyoke
Friday June 8 Private Party
Saturday June 16 Polish American Citizen's Club, Rt 202, South Hadley
Thursday June 21 The Janet Ryan Jazzy Duo, The Loft at the Clarion Hotel, Northampton
Friday June 22 Private Party
Sunday June 24, NFED benefit at Crossroads in Palmer
Saturday June 30, Autism benefit sponsored by the Holyoke Firefighters and the Fire and Iron motorcycle club. Pilsudski Hall, County Road, Holyoke

Catch Ray's Blues show every Thursday from noon til 2 P.M. on WTCC, 90.7 FM. Stream the show at http://www.WTCCFM.org

May Performances

Thursday May 3rd, the Loft at the Clarion Hotel in Northampton, MA. Janet Ryan Jazzy Duo. 5:30 start time.

Saturday May 5th at Ghepetto's in Ware, MA. This is the first time here for the Janet Ryan Jazzy Duo.

Saturday May 12th at the Polish American Citizen's Club on Route 202 in South Hadley, MA. This show will feature the full band, and will be our last show here until the fall.

Saturday May 26th at the Loft Lounge at the Clarion Hotel in Northampton, MA. The Jazzy Duo will be augmented by Joe Elliot on drums and piano.

Catch Ray's Blues show every Thursday from noon til 2 P.M. on WTCC, 90.7 FM. Stream the show at http://www.WTCCFM.org

April Performances

Thursday, April 5th. Loft Lounge at The Clarion, Northampton, MA
Saturday, April 14th. Private Party
Thursday, April 19th. Loft Lounge at The Clarion, Northampton, MA. Jazz duo
Friday, April 27th. Private Party
Saturday, April 28th. Monthly showcase at the Polish American Citizen's club on Route 202 in south Hadley, MA

Catch Ray's blues show every Thursday from noon till 2 PM. Listen at 90.7 FM in the Springfield, MA, area. Stream the show at http://www.wtccfm.org/

March Performances

March 1, 2 and 3. MMEA conference, Boston
Friday, March 16, Private Party
Saturday, March 31, Polish American Citizen's Club, Route 202., South Hadley, MA. Janet's monthly residency continues, come out and meet the band!

Catch Ray's blues show every Thursday from noon till 2 PM. Listen at 90.7 FM in the Springfield, MA, area. Stream the show at http://www.wtccfm.org/

57 degrees on February 21!

This winter has pretty much been a non starter.The price of heating oil is closing in on $4 per gallon, so when  the temperature is this warm I am a happy camper.

February Performances

Friday February 3rd, Private Party
Friday February 17th, Pages Loft, Northampton, MA, Janet Ryan Trio, 7 PM Start
Saturday February 25th, Janet Ryan  Straight Up monthly showcase at the Polish American Citizen's Club on Route 202 in South Hadley, MA

Catch Ray's blues show every Thursday from noon till 2 PM. Listen at 90.7 FM in the Springfield, MA, area. Stream the show at http://www.wtccfm.org/

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all. Check back in January for Janet's next performances.

Well, it looks like winter has arrived.

The weather people are predicting -8 degrees tonight. Looks like old man winter finally got home.

Bummer. I was digging the moderate temperature.

Still wondering where the big snow is hiding.



January Performances

Sunday, January 8th, Page's Loft, Northampton, MA
Friday the 20th, Private Party
Saturday, January 28th, Polish American Citizen's Club, Route 202, South Hadley. Come out for the first of our residencies at the PACC. We will be playing there on the last Saturday of the month through June.

Catch Ray's blues show every Thursday from noon till 2 PM. Listen at 90.7 FM in the Springfield, MA, area. Stream the show at http://www.wtccfm.org/

December Performances:

Thursday Dec 1, Private Party
Monday Dec 5, Private Party
Saturday Dec 10, Private Party
Monday Dec 12, Private Party
Friday Dec 16, Private Party
Saturday Dec 17, Private Party
Friday Dec 30, Private Party

Catch Ray's blues show every Thursday from noon till 2 PM. Listen at 90.7 FM in the Springfield, MA, area. Stream the show at http://www.wtccfm.org/

November performances

November 5 - Private Party

November 10 - Private Party

November 12 - Private Party

November 17 - Private Party

November 19 - Private Party

November 26 - Polish American Citizen's Club, 515 Granby Road, Route 202, South Hadley, MA 9 PM Start.

October Snow.
The power has finally returned after almost 24 hours. Tree limbs were down everywhere. It was very cold here last night.

October performances:

Sunday, October 2nd, Festival of the Hills, Conway, MA
Saturday, October 8th, Polish American Citizens Club, Route 202, South Hadley, MA
Sunday, October 9th, Private Party
Friday, October 14th, Private Party
Saturday, October 15th, Private Party
Thursday, October 20th, Private Party
Wednesday, October 26, Private Party
Thursday, October 27th,  Polish American Citizens Club, Route 202, South Hadley, MA

September Performances

Sunday, September 4, Blues Fest at the Three county Fairgrounds, Northampton, MA
Saturday, September 10, Private Party
Saturday, Sept 17, Private Party
Sunday, September 25, Guest Hosting the Blues Jam at Tommy D's in Westfield, MA

Catch Ray's blues show every Thursday from noon till 2 PM every thursday. Listen at 90.7 FM in the Springfield, MA, area. Stream the show at http://www.wtccfm.org/

August performances:

Thursday the 11th, hosting the open mic at the Polish American Citizen's Club in South Hadley, MA.

Tuesday the 16th, Private Party

Friday the 19th, Private Party

Tuesday the 23rd, Private Party

Thursday the 25th, hosting the open mic at the Polish American Citizen's Club in South Hadley, MA.

Satrurday the 27th, Private Party

Verizon is stopping FTP support, so I am looking for a new place to host JanetRyan.com

Anyone have ideas? Hit me up at Ray AT JanetRyan DOT com

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

I am ready for spring.

My oil heating tank is almost empty,

the snows have all melted away,

and my motorcycle battery is on the charger.

This winter was a record breaker in regards to snowfall. It seemed like I was out there shoveling snow much more than during the usual winter. I managed to break a shovel and my back this winter. I'm going to look for a used snowblower this summer because I am getting too old to use the wooden stick with the plastic piece on the end.

I am doing demos for the bands next CD project. I'll keep you in the loop...

Sixteen Inches Of Snow

and my back is hurtin tonight...

First snow of the season on the day after Christmas.
Not much more than 5 inches of the white stuff.

77 degrees outside today. Fired up the bike and went for a ride. The leaves are still on the trees and look great.
Gotta get in a ride while the weather is cooperating.

The fall and the trees.

We played a gig on top of a mountain today. It was a very nice gig, a birthday party for a hard working guy. As we drove to Shelburne, Massachusetts, the roads got skinnier and more tree lined.

When we got to the address where the directions said was our destination, at first I thought they rented out a state park, as we drove up a mountain on a twisting tree lined road.

Being a city boy, I was awestruck with the views. Rolling hills, Bright crimson and orange colored leaves in the trees. Beautiful. Autumn in New England is really beautiful.

Arriving at the top of the mountain, I observed a cool house with a couple of interesting buildings scattered around the property. I parked our tour bus and scouted the area for the best way to load in out equipment.

Unfortunately for me, the roadie on this trip, the only way to the tent we were to perform in was up a hill, across a lawn. There was no paved access to the performance area. I humped the PA and our instruments up the hill and proceeded to set everything up.

Everything went well, and we were ahead of schedule. I fired up the ipod, which Janet had filled with cool tunes that the birthday party hosts had requested.

Every guest to this party brought a platter of food, and there was SO much good food and drink there. I felt like Dom DeLuise in a Mel Brooks movie.

We played all afternoon and had the birthday boy and his buddies singing backup vocals by the end of the show.

Doing these kinds of gigs makes me feel great, as everyone who attended had a lot of fun, and we did, too.

Ray did sound reinforcement for the Festival of the Hills in Conway, MA. It was a beautiful day to be outside, and the music was good. http://www.festivalofthehills.com/

The highlight of the day? Seth Glier & Ryan Hommell.

Heat Wave.

We did two performances today. The first show was in building that wasn't air conditioned. They squeezed a bunch of people into the room, and off we went.

Management did supply a window fan, which was better than nothing until someone fired up a charcoal grill outside the window, and the fan sucked the wonderful smell of the charcoal burning right into the room.

The people there were very appreciative, which made me feel better about the show, although loading in and out in one hundred degree temperature meant that it didn't take very long for me to get soaked.

The second show was held in a brand new space complete with a big ole honking air conditioning unit. I liked that performance lots more, although the load in and out still sucked.

Winter in western Mass

It seems like every place but here got whalloped by the snow.

All we got was a slushy mess...

I'm ready for spring.

I Muse U2

It happened way under the radar.

I read a link on the wires that said a band named "The Muse" was opening up for U2 on their latest tour.

Color me excited.

Then I read a bit deeper and the found out that U2 was schooling this new kid band.

Right.

Calling Mister Google.

He responds thusly:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PN6egPgazA&feature=player_profilepage#

OK, these guys get a slot. Damn,

Awakened the other night by a loud crash, I got out of my warm bed and went downstairs where I discovered that the gutter had been ripped from the eave of my house and was laying in my backyard.

It was very windy that night.

After a few failures, I gave up on the idea of replacing it, and I will wait until spring for my next attempt. My center of gravity has shifted over the years, and climbing up 2 stories doesn't really appeal to me...

Happy New Year!

Here's wishing you the best new year possible, filled with lots of great music, interesting people, and cool gigs.

And boom, there goes the dynamite.


We got our first taste of snow on December 5th this year.
It wasn't much more than a dusting, and I still saw cars that had skidded off the highway.

December 3, 2009

I was 62 degrees out today, so I fired up the old motorcycle and drove it to Springfield where I do my radio show.

I never thought I would be riding the bike in December! It was a great day to feel the wind in my face as I cruised southward on the highway. I saw a few other bikers out today, too. Gotta get in every day that I can, because this year was not the best for riding. It was monsoon season this year, and I prefer not riding a bike in the rain.

There is something special about jumping on a motorcycle and just going. It really helps me recharge my internal battery.

Now that I wrote this, expect the foot of snow to fall anyday now...

Raindrops are falling on my head.

Woke up to the sound of water in the bathroom. The roof had started to leak. Fortunately it was leaking right into the bathtub! Time to re-roof the old homestead.

My roof seems to have gotten steeper in the years since I last repaired the roof.

Set up the ladder and started removing the roofing shingles. I used to be comfortable on the roof, not any more. My center of gravity has changed over the years.

Ripped off all the old shingles, installed plywood and new shingles, and hopefully I am good for another twenty years.

Those dumpster guys are greedy bastards. Dumping the old roofing materials has become a very expensive operation.

I liked the view of my neighborhood from my roof. It was pleasing to me to look out over the neighbor's houses and soak in my little place in the city.

It looks like a few other homeowners are working on their houses, too.

Spring 2009

Spring is finally attempting to break through the bindings of winter. I can tell, because I have new neighbors next door, and they are in lawn maintenance mode.

Some backstory is needed. The house next to mine has been sort of a transient space for the last few years as the owners, a couple in their fifties, both died unexpectedly in a close span of time. Their son took over the house. He's a young man in his early twenties, and he preferred to focus his energies in other areas rather than in the mundane chores of home ownership. He really wasn't too interested in things like lawn mowing and painting.

He's since moved on, and the new owners are pretty much absentee landlords. They did, however, make an attempt at fixing up the ole place; the fixed the roof and painted the outside. I have no complaints about them. They are ok, and the house looks one hundred percent better than it did.

We have come full circle; the house is rented, and the renters have a couple of small kids who run around in the yard. It's a good thing.

The renters have taken rakes and clippers and saws to the jungle that was the backyard. For a very long time the backyard was in a bad state of disrepair, and the new renters have basically cleared away all the debris. The yard is looking good now, and I am sure it is a much safer place for their kids to play in.

There are a lot of renovations going on in my neighborhood lately. A new roof on a house the next street over, new sheetrock going in across the street. The sounds of hammering and sawing. Spring seems like a good time for this. While people might not be buying houses, I am glad that others are repairing their places; it's good for the neighborhood.

Soon: it will be time to start up the motorcycle and prepare for riding season.

I can't wait.

It's a new day today!
It was quite the election last night. Let the healing begin.

Happy New Year.

Waking up to a new white blanket of snow today was just perfect for my 2008 attitude. The white stuff covered everything here, and made things look nice and new.

As I look back at the past year, the first thing that grabs me is that time is flying by.

I spent a lot of time in the studio, recording all kinds of music from bands to singer songwriters. I scored some drum hardware on Ebay and fixed up my recording kit. Purchased a Line 6 modeling guitar and have been having fun playing in alternate tunings, switching them on the fly. Picked up a firewire Mackie mixer and have been experimenting with it. The firewire stuff works nicely. Got a Mac and have been learning to record with it.

I will work on more recordings and plan on expanding the full band's performances after I record our next CD.

Have a great New Year!


and now I shovel my driveway.

Thursday, July 12
Checking in once again. I was watching a documentary about the great Les Paul tonight.

Any musician that uses electricity or records their music owes that man a huge debt of gratitude. Check him out here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Les_Paul

Winter finally kicks in, or here comes Punxsutawney Phil 2007

I was so enjoying the warm weather that we here on the east coast had up until this point. I hadn't used much heating oil this winter heating season, which is a good thing.

Now, however, the old boiler is running a lot more often as I crank up the thermostat to stay warm.
This Friday is Groundhog Day, and I am hoping that Phil doesn't see his shadow.

With a little luck, we might get out of this winter with minimal snow coverage, which I would appreciate as I am a motorcycle rider and not a skier.

More later...

Reflections

Many years ago I was what might be qualified as a frequent flier
I flew so often that I got so tired of the whole concept
re fly, so you can be there much quicker than you would be if you drove.
I got to SO want to drive
because it meant more quiet time for me

In the pre 911 days flying was much more enjoyable
security was basically non existant
you could carry your stuff without scrutiny
no one cared, nor did they pretend to

I always stressed over the connecting flights,
many were the times that I was reduced to an OJ Simpson parody,
madly dashing between terminals
almost always missing the connecting flight
only to be told that, hey,
too bad, kid.

I found that if I pounded the countertop with my fist
and raised my voice
I would get comp tickets
and sometimes the ticket person would actually call a competing airline and get me a seat!
Back then, they would also comp me a room
now they let you swing
no more rooms, it got too expensive for them
and I got too tired of having to amp up to get anyone to deal with me.
They usually wore me down
and I would walk away


Other times I remember layovers of many hours
walking from one terminal to another.
At least the large cities had a lot of diversions in their airports
I can remember doing things like going into the stores
reading books and magazines,
going into the arcades and playing video games
always losing, BTW
Tasting the extremely overpriced foods.
Finding my way to the bar and sampling the horribly overpriced drinks
Watching local crap on the little TV set.

Walking around
looking at the people
and the ATM machines
and the stores
and the insurance machines.
I never bought any insurance from them, though.

One thing that I thought was kinda cool was a massage table set up in Ohio.
One could get rubbed down for $25
I was always too cheap to spring for it
I knew, in the back of my mind,
that I was a better masseuse than the people manning the table
Sometimes it is easy to feel things about people by looking in their eyes
and those people had dead eyes
So I never went in for it.
I did think that ,
Hey, I could do this someday,
if I ever needed $$ bad enough

Security was composed of fools back then
in those innocent days
Which makes me wonder just how much better (or worse) security could actually become.
I think a subversive could always find ways to beat the system,
which is a scary thought.

I always had trouble breathing
when I returned home
and took the bus to the long term parking lot
wondering if my ride was still there

it always felt good to see it sitting there
waiting for me
yet I had to walk around it
and look for new dents, or flat tires
Rarely was I disappointed

And as I drove north
seeing the "Entering Massachusetts" sign always felt pretty good
as did driving down familiarly named streets
Returning home always felt good

Being away stirs strange emotions
I was always the oldest one in the classes
and the kids always went out to party after classes

Dinner
then many drinks
and always felt like crap in class the next day


The older I got, the less I was interested in joining in the festivities
I got to the point where I would
hit the restaurant closest to the hotel
and then head to my room
leaving the party people to revel without me

I always took note of the house bands
Holiday Inn bands are composed of the same people
They are low rent wannabe's
Over the course of 15 years
I watched the SAME BAND
at the same hotel in Ohio
they kept buying more equipment over the years
yet
their talent was marginal at best
and they had worked the same place for more than a decade and a half
Can you say Twilight Zone?


I would watch their shows and ask to sit in
after a few years they knew me
and would make a big deal out of inviting the bluesguy from the northeast up to their stage
and I would drag their terrible rhythm section through a shuffle or two

There ain't enough $$ for me to do that for so long
they looked so worn down
yet that was all they knew
if they stopped doing that
they woulda had to wait tables or wash dishes
and They thought they were SO special
so they were trapped in the prison of their own making

When I travelled
I spent most of my time as an observer
I watched the kids from the sticks
get loaded and get into trouble
I watched the foreigners from overseas
get sidetracked by drunken hillbillies
All I ever wanted was to just get the hell outta there

Sitting in the room
watching TV
in another tonezone
is very strange

locals are settled in
yet it's so early
I could never sleep enough
when I was on the road
I sat up alone
wondering what was I doing there

Watching the weather on the local TV channel always made me sad
the weatherperson would point to some unfamiliar area of the map
while giving out the forcast
sigh
I just wanted out

At the end of the seminars
I would always try to finagle an early exit
back in those days you could call the airport and reschedule your flight out for free
so I would

They started charging $50 to reschedule flights
towards the end of my working career
which kinda killed the whole "get out of class early" thing for me
I got to the point where I never had the desire to fly again.

So I thought
hey,
a cruise would be so cool

Until I read about the people getting sick while on a ship
so that kinda killed the ship thing for me

Now I think quiet nights looking at the full moon are just fine

The Pines Theater

The Pines Theater, located at Look Park in Northampton, MA, is a wonderful outdoor venue for experiencing live music. We were lucky enough to be invited back, (for the 6th year in a row) to be a part of the 23rd annual Picking in the Pines festival, put on by Roger Salloom.

www.Rogersalloom.com

Performing outside is always special to me. Watching all the families out there on their blankets, with their small children running nonstop all over the area, makes me appreciate summer even more.

Next week: Biker party in Monson!

Got Strings?

If it's got strings, I'll try to play it.

Spring.

Turn off the oil burner for the season. Get some propane for the grill. Prepare the bike for riding. Hang the clothes 0utside on the solar clothes dryer (clothesline)
Hang up the heavy coat in the closet. Swap out the snow tires on the bus. Record Janet's solo CD. Write some tunes for my solo CD. Learn new tunes for the live show. Book some festivals.

It's going to be a great summer...

Testing 1,2,3

I like recording. I enjoy the whole process. Moving microphones around, searching for that elusive audio sweet spot, the place where the microphone sounds best. I like the rush when the playback sounds just the way I had envisioned it in my head.

Tweaking settings on microphone preamps, compressors, EQ's, and outboard toys has always enthralled me.

Hooking things up "wrong" while searching for new tones.

Dragging the studio to remote locations to capture the wild musician in his/her native habitat.

It is certainly a great time to record music: technology has driven down the costs to the point where anyone with a few bucks can set themselves up with a very efficient recording rig. The latest rig I built is based on a firewire mixer, and it runs so well, it's hard to remember back 15 or so years ago, when I first got into building computers for the express purpose of recording musicians. No more configuration problems, just plug things together and 9 times out of 10 they work flawlessly.

Yeah, it's a good time to be a recording musician.

Springtime

I cranked up the old Triumph and took her out for a ride in the country. The feel of the wind in my face is very theraputic to me. Riding on a motorcycle is a wonderful way to get around.

Western Mass is a great place to take trips on two wheels, too. Head a little bit west, and the rolling hills of the Berkshires make for an unparalleled biking experience. There are many places to explore, and many side roads to discover.

A day of cycling makes all the pain go away. You really ought to experience it at least once.

Only a few more weeks until spring!

We are in pre production for Janet's solo CD. This time around, she is going to do a recording of all jazz standards, and we are auditioning material for inclusion. We plan on doing a lot of the legwork this month, and hope to have the new Cd ready for a summer release.

I am looking forward to this project, as I can focus on the engineering and production, and not have to worry about playing. This is a very nice feeling, and it allows me to concentrate fully on the recording process. I am shooting for a traditional jazz sound this time, and fromthe sound of the experimental tracks recorded thus far I am very happy with the direction things are going.

and it's a good excuse to update my Not Really a Blog...

Iron Horse.
On Friday, Feb 18th we opened up for Guitar Shorty at the Iron Horse. What a great bunch of people in that band! They had been on the road for a while and were glad to be at the Horse that night. The house was packed, and both bands did a great job!

During load in, Shorty uncrated 5 beautiful G and L strat type guitars, and he was telling me the story behind each one. Shorty knew Leo Fender personally, and Leo made guitars for specially for him. How cool is that?

Shorty looked at one of my strats, said that the pickups were all wrong, whipped out a screwdriver and proceeded to "Shorty-ize" my guitar. He raised the height of my pickups so the guitar got louder! Silly me, I never messed with the pickups, cause I thought the guitar sounded fine already.

It's finer now.

The rhythm section guys hung out with my rhythm section, and the keyboard players were going over the fine details of the keyboard on stage. ( Push THAT button to get a piano sound, and then push THIS button for the organ tone. ROFL)

We made a lot of friends in the audience that night, too, as well as selling a few CDs to boot.

It's nice to play for an appreciative audience...

Sometimes ya just can't win

There seems to be a lot more hacker types out there lately. My firewall is always letting me know it has blocked another attempt at accessing my puter. The last few days I seemed to be suffering a virus, as my machine was getting slower and slower.

So when I went to sign on yesterday, I got error messages about trouble with the modem not being able to connect. I ran my virus software, (found no problem) uninstalled and reinstalled my modem, uninstalled and reinstalled my internet provider software, and was still unable to get online. Grrrr.

Ok, time to reformat the hard drive. first, I dragged all of my email and my ISP files onto a DVD, then I went ahead and did the deed. Reformatted the hard drive, reinstalled windows and my ISP software, and I was able to reconnect. Yay. Another problem taken care of.

I consider myself fairly computer literate, and I wonder what the "average" person does when things go awry. If I couldn't fix the thing, I would have tossed it out the window years ago. I have actually helped many people with their computer issues, and I get great satisfaction out of it.

Maybe someday there will actually be such a thing as a user friendly computer.

NAH.

American Cancer Society

On Friday, June 4th, the band performed for the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life, which is a fundraiser designed to heighten awareness about cancer and cancer survivors. This is the ACS's largest event, and has been held for the last fifteen years. More details are here: http://www.cancer.org/docroot/GI/gi_1.asp

The relay was held at the racetrack in Greenfield, MA. We set up in the center of the track, and the relay'ers circled us as we performed. The weather was very nice for this event; it was a little bit cool and perfect for walking.

We brought our own PA, which was a good thing as the modest PA that was provided wasn't really up to par. Our PA has quite a bit more power, and that allowed us to be heard at all points of the racetrack. We rocked em for a couple of hours, made some new friends, and got asked to return for next years event.

It's nice to do these benefit gigs as they offer us the chance to perform for lots of different people who might never get the opportunity to see us perform in the traditional places where bands can get gigs. All of the people we talked to were wonderful towards us, and we made many new friends and fans that night.

American Cancer Society

On Friday, June 4th, the band performed for the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life, which is a fundraiser designed to heighten awareness about cancer and cancer survivors. This is the ACS's largest event, and has been held for the last fifteen years. More details are here: http://www.cancer.org/docroot/GI/gi_1.asp

The relay was held at the racetrack in Greenfield, MA. We set up in the center of the track, and the relay'ers circled us as we performed. The weather was very nice for this event; it was a little bit cool and perfect for walking.

We brought our own PA, which was a good thing as the modest PA that was provided wasn't really up to par. Our PA has quite a bit more power, and that allowed us to be heard at all points of the racetrack. We rocked em for a couple of hours, made some new friends, and got asked to return for next years event.

It's nice to do these benefit gigs as they offer us the chance to perform for lots of different people who might never get the opportunity to see us perform in the traditional places where bands can get gigs. All of the people we talked to were wonderful towards us, and we made many new friends and fans that night.

My trip to the The Academy of Music

The Academy of Music, located in downtown Northampton, MA, is a wonderfully restored movie theater. It has a cool vintage vibe, and the architecture is very eye catching. I really like how the place ids laid out, and there are some very nice private box seats along the walls.

On Thursday night I had to opportunity to see myself playing guitar on that very screen as I had a part in the new movie about Roger Salloom. This was my first time appearing in a movie, well, in a "real" movie, anyway. I don't think my many appearances in home videos qualify. Over the past four years, Roger has hired Janet Ryan and me to augment his band during his annual concert at the Pines theater in Look Park in Northampton. We rehearsed for the shows in an old mill in town where a couple of guys repair pianos. As I walked into the piano factory building, I noticed the film crew setting up extra lighting in preparation for the days film shoot, and I thought to myself, yeah, that is interesting. As we ran through the material that we would perform at the Pines Theater show, I noticed one of the camera operators was swinging a camera in my direction, and as my solo slot in the tune came up, I saw the red light on the camera illuminate. The timing was perfect, and I was pretty animated during my solo. I played well, too. I had wondered if my scene would actually make it into the movie, or end up on the cutting room floor, and to my great amusement, I filled up the screen about one half hour into the movie. Janet Ryan was featured singing one of her great original songs, and then I got to rip a cool guitar solo.

The movie was well done, and paced well. There were many shots of Northampton, MA, and a lot of locals made it onscreen.

All in all it was a great experience to be involved with the movie.

I found this promo piece in the Greenfield Recorder newspaper.
Thanks Sheryl.

ROGER SALLOOM
by Sheryl Hunter

Local singer songwriter Roger Salloom has a long list of
accomplishments to his credit and he's now about to add movie star to
the list.

Salloom, a resident of Northampton, is the subject of a new
documentary film by award winning filmmaker Chris Sautter of
Washington D.C. The film is titled "So Glad I Made It: The Saga of
Roger Salloom, America's Best Unknown Songwriter." It will make it's
area debut at the Academy of Music in Northampton on Thursday, June
10 at 7 p.m.

The film, which was shot mostly in the Northampton area in 2002,
follows Salloom as he decides to revive his career after giving up on
the music business for some 20 years. The movie also looks back on
his days as a folk singer in Worchester and his life during the
late '60 music scene in San Francisco. Back then, Salloom fronted a
psychedelic band that shared the stage with Santana, Van Morrison and
Love. He later went to Nashville where he worked as a songwriter and
briefly played with the remaining members of Credence Clearwater
Revival, released an acclaimed album, and ultimately ended up in
Western Mass. raising a family.

Local viewers will enjoy the movie not only because Salloom is
well known to music fans here, but the film also includes plenty of
area shots including scenes at the studio of WRSI (93.9 FM) and the
Daily Hampshire Gazette. Local blues singer Janet Ryan also makes an
appearance.

Sautter chose Salloom as subject for this film because he knew
him when they were both students at Indiana University in the
late '60s.

"In those days, Roger Salloom was a charismatic folk singer
turned rock and roller who was hailed as the next Bob Dylan," said
Sautter.

Sautter's first film, "The King of Steeltown," won "Best
Political Documentary" honors at the New York International
Independent Film Festival in 2001.

Salloom said, "America's Best Unknown Songwriter? I am not sure
what to say about that but it makes me feel great. It is an opinion
and if enough people have it then democracy-in-art works its miracle
again. All I know is that I am a very good songwriter, some days it
feels that that is all I know!"

The film will be followed by a question and answer session with
Sautter and Salloom. Tickets are $7 in advance and $10 at the door.
They are available in advance at State Street Fruit Store and the
Academy of Music Theater in downtown Northampton, and Cooper's Corner
in Florence. Presented by Academyarts, the proceeds will be split
between the Northampton Arts Council and the Academy of Music Theater.

Copyright c. 2004 by Sheryl Hunter.

The Movie Theater

In the city I grew up in there were three movie theaters. Every weekend I would gather together a few coins and run downtown and get in line for the matinee. I seem to recall most of the movies were in the cheesy horror movie vein, still the title of the movie mattered not. It was the whole "going to the movies" experience that I enjoyed as much as the actual movies themselves.

I remember that those lines were quite long, and sometimes the person selling tickets would slam the little window shut as they yelled, "ALL SOLD OUT." We would then run to the next theater that was located two blocks away, jump into that queue, and await out turn at the ticket window.

I really enjoyed the movie theater: It was comfortably air conditioned against the summer heat, the lights were always kept mysteriously low, and one could really experience the escape that moviegoing was. We had no video games, computers, VCRs, etc back then, hell, even television was limited to five or six channels, and that was only if you lived in an area that had a decent enough flat space so you could tune in your TV antenna. The movie theater was inexpensive big time fun for me.

After forking over the right amount of coins and getting the ticket, I would proceed into the lobby where the doorman would rip the ticket in half and allow my entry. On the walls, enclosed in huge glass cages, were the promotional posters for the current movie, and more posters of coming attractions. The images on those posters always caught my eye and my attention, and I eagerly awaited the next weeks posters.

Looking around the lobby one would notice the candy stand down at the far end of the room. Back then the popcorn was always popped right on location on the day of the show. Nowadays they pop the popcorn somewhere in middle America and ship it to the theaters in huge plastic garbage bags. Bleaah! Nothing beats the taste of freshly popped popcorn. I still enjoy it to this day.

Let's look in the counter, through the smudged glass, where you can spy Good N Plenty, Junior Mints, jujuB's, and lots more. A few more coins later, and I am armed with ample goodies and head off to the soda machine. The soda machine was very tempramental, and often did its thing out of sequence. Here's how it was supposed to work: you pointed the dial at the flavor of soda you wanted and inserted the appropriate number of coins. A cup would drop down, soda concentrate followed by water came next, and lastly you got a few ice shavings to keep it cool.
Unfortunately the darn thing worked correctly less than fifty percent of the time: usually the cup came out last, after the soda and ice had nicely decorated the front of the machine and the floor in front of it. If you complained to the manager, he usually laughed and said something like"You tried to buy a soda? Bwa Ha Ha, get outta here kid, ya bother me." Important life lessons presented at an early age.

Ok, now well provisioned, I headed into the theater proper. going from the brightly lit lobby to the near total darkness of the theater made me instantly blind. I couldn't see anything for a few moments, so I hung back as my eyes adjust to the low level of light.

Ok, I can see now. Let's try to locate the usher. I have to find out where the usher is hiding, so I can then plot my route to the closed off balcony. The theater manager always kept the balcony closed until the entire lower section of the theater had filled up, because keeping it open all of the time would increase the theater's cleaning bill.

Some kids are yelling at each other in the front row. Off goes our little movie version of the police, Mister Usher. Because I could see where he is headed, I could now sneakily access the balcony. Yeah! Up the stairs to the lobby, and then through more doors to the tippity top of the balcony we go. I have to be careful not to get caught up there, as they would toss me right out on my ear if they catch me in the restricted area.

Once in the balcony, I have to choose my perch properly. The lighting created lots of shadows and bright spots, and it was to your advantage to find a dark section from which to view the feature.

After spending a lot of my formative years in the movie theaters, I thought it would be a great life experience to actually work in the movie house. One spring day I opened up the local newspaper and spied an advertisement for an usher at my movie theater! I hopped on my bicycle and flew down there that day. After fibbing about my age I got the job! I was now a movie theater usher. Little did I know that there were a lot of behind the scenes activities for which I was responsible. In addition to controlling noisy kids in the theater proper, I was also expected to sell candy, change posters weekly, and also to change the marquee before every new show started. It was a lot of fun doing the marquee, as you got a box full of letters and a hand written note from the manager with the correct layout for the new movie. I remember doing things like putting my name on the marquee, putting up my favorite movies instead of the current movie, and generally having fun.

I had keys to the building and pretty much had the run of the place to myself, which I enjoyed immensely. This theater was originally a vaudeville theater, and there was a full compliment of dressing rooms under the main stage. One of the first responsibilities I had was to take a box of lightbulbs and go into every dressing room and see what I could find. I took a three foot length of iron pipe, a big flashlight, and the box of light bulbs, and off I went, exploring old eerie memories of a bygone era. I would kick open the door, shine the flashlight around to locate the light fixture, and change the bulb. I found lots of very old things, like old uniforms. posters and clothing. I gave them all to the manager. I was a good teenager.

I found some great memories in those dressing rooms. I found original King Kong and Fay Wray posters, which I presented to the manager. He looked especially pleased with me, and said that my current job was a lock. Years later I found out that those old posters were extremely valuable! Had I known that THEN, I might have put a few of those posters away for my future. Oh well...

The manager had a buddy who was a contractor, and he was hired to refurbish the aging theater. I got hired as his go-fer, and really enjoyed the work.

The theater had a plaster and wire lath curved ceiling that was surrounded with spotlights. Most of the bulbs had burnt out over time, and we had to replace them one by one. It was a lot more work that I though it would be, as we worked on a forty foot ladder, and we had to move it every few feet to access the next light fixtures. We also got the curtain running again, and we hooked up a stereo system to play music in between movies. We pulled out every other row of seats to allow a lot more legroom. We were building something that was ahead of it's time, and we were proud as we completed each section of the work.

Kids need good honest work. It feels good to have pockets lined with hard earned spending money when you are young.

Frank Zappa interview


Frank Zappa: I tend to view the whole thing as a conspiracy. It is no accident that the public schools in the United States are pure [naughty bits deleted]. It is no accident that masses of drugs are available and openly used at all levels of society. In a way, the real business of government is the business of controlling the labor force.

Social pressure is placed on people to become a certain type of individual, and then rewards are heaped on people who conform to that stereotype. Take the pop music business, for example. Look at the stereotypes held up by the media as great accomplishment. You see guys who are making millions of dollars and selling millions of units. And because they are making and selling millions they are stamped with the seal of approval, and it is the millions which make their work quality. Yet anyone can look at what is being done and say, "Jesus, I can do that!" You celebrate mediocrity, you get mediocrity. People who could have achieved more won't, because they know that all they have to do is be "that" and they too can sell millions and make millions and have people love them because they're merely mediocre. And that is reinforced over and over and over.

Few people who do anything excellent are ever heard of. You know why? Because excellence, pure excellence, terrifies the shit out of Americans because they have been bred to appreciate the success of the mediocre. People don't like to be reminded that lurking somewhere there are people who can do some [naughty bits deleted] that you can't do. They can think a way you can't think, they can dance a way you can't dance. They are excellent. You aren't excellent. Most Americans aren't excellent, they're only OK. And so to keep them happy as a labor force, you say, "OK, let's take this mediocre chump," and we say, "He is terrific!" All the other mediocre chumps say, "Yeah, that's right and that gives me hope, because one day as mediocre and chumpish as I am I can..." It's smart labor relations. An MBA decision. That is the orientation of most entertainment, politics, and religion. So considering how firmly entrenched all that is right now, you think it's going to turn around? Not without a genetic mutation it's not!

Reviewer: If you would focus on the message of pop music for a moment, what do you see as the issues of the 1980's that music can address today?

Frank Zappa: It can address anything it wants to, but it will only address those topics that will sell. Musicians will not address topics that are controversial if they want to have a hit. So music will continue to address those things that really matter to people who buy records: boy-girl relationships, boy-boy relationships, boy-car relationships, girl-car relationships, boy-girl-food relationships, perhaps. But safe. Every once in a while somebody will say "War is Hell" or "Save the Whales" or something bland. But if you talk about pop music as a medium for expressing social attitudes, the medium expresses the social attitude perfectly by avoiding contact with things that are really there. That is the telling point about the society that is consuming the product. If society wanted to hear information of a specific nature in songs, about controversial topics, they would buy them. But they don't. You are talking about a record- buying audience which is interested in their personal health and well-being, their ability to earn a living, their ability to stay young at all costs forever, and not much else.

54 was much to soon for FZ to leave us...

Fall and Ham Sandwiches

Time sure flies by. It's October 1st already, and the nights are getting cooler. Looking back at this past summer, the big thing I remember is that rained a whole bunch of times. Quite a lot of our outdoor gigs this summer got rained on. We actually got very efficient in breaking the stage down when the weather threatened to turn ugly on us.

We played a lot of parties and festivals, and had a lot of fun. Our CD has been sent all over the world through CD Baby and Garageband.com, and we are negotiating with a management company in Sweden for a possible tour next fall.

Janet got herself a nice new job as the Choral Director of EagleBrook Academy in South Deerfield, MA. They actually liked her so much that they created a position for her! All of us in the band wish her all the best.

Janet and I are also in preproduction for our next CD project. We are experimenting with different tones and tunes and plan on doing demo's this fall and winter, with an eye on doing the formal recordings in the spring, and we plan on having a summer 2004 CD release.

I suppose I ought to retitle this column, as the word Blog seems to indicate that daily postings are a prerequisite. I have been writing on line very sporadically since 2000. I have never felt the need nor had the desire to force myself to write something just so I can say that I wrote something every day. I prefer to work on my music at that pace. Writing in this space will continue to happen when the muse strikes me. I can't see the usefulness of writing just for writing's sense. I will write when I have something that I want to rant about.

And yes, I like my ham sandwiches with mustard, thank you.

25th anniversary

We had a gig this past weekend. Outside. The contract called for full PA and soundman. Way out on a farm in the hills of Western Mass. Sounds nice. The prospect of this gig pleased me no end, as it is so nice to get out of the smoky bars and out into the fresh air. After mapquesting the directions from the internet I loaded up the bus and head westward.

Internet maps leave a lot to be desired. The directions I downloaded, while technically accurate, were terrible. Left for 1.2 mi, then slight right for .32 mi, then right for 1.5 mi, etc, etc. It all sounds good until the reality comes up and bites you in the hindquarters. This particular bite in the butt came via a missing road sign: I missed my turn and was off on my merry way, in a completely wrong direction. Eventually, I put things together and arrived at the gig, with plenty of time to set up all of my gear. I am going to grab another regular map for the next trip, though.

Here's the turn, it's marked by a tiny cardboard sign with an arrow pointing into the woods. Cool. I'm on it, and soon I am driving by rows of campers and tents, until I see a bandstand set up by a lake. Yeah, this will do, I'm thinking to myself. I see families, people tossing frisbees. There were kids jumping off the raft in the center of the lake, and other kids were taking turns paddling a rowboat around the lake. Off to one side they had a BBQ pit with three porkers on spits browning up nicely.

They also had built a little tiki bar by the lake , and set up a well stocked bar inside. It was quite the place for a party. It turns out that they have been having a party every summer for the last twenty-five years!

Playing outside can be a lot of fun. Having the big PA system set up with all the instruments mic'ed up just added to the happy factor. I got things set up quickly, and I discovered two bad cables in the process.We had a ball playing for them, and were very happy to be a part of their twenty-fifth bash!
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submitted by ®acy

When Everything falls into place.

As a performing musician, I live for those special moments when everyone in the band is in that special space, a place where the individual band members are feeling the magic, and the band becomes much more than the sum of its parts.

Performing live can be such a magical experience: the rhythm section locks together, and the soloists fly, dragging the perceptive audience members along for a wonderful roller coaster ride. For me, very few things in life can approach the high of those moments, and I live for them.

That magic feeling is an elusive thing, too. It doesn't automatically happen everytime I perform, yet it's always lurking around the next corner, ready to put in an appearance on its own terms. It cares not of the particular venue I happen to be in that night, nor who might be in the audience. It stands defiantly, needing no one. Catch it if you can: there is no map to follow, voodoo doesn't help, and you can't buy it nor bottle it when it finally puts in an appearance. You can only ride it, in a fashion similar to that person with the surf board catching the ultimate wave and riding it all the way home.

The variables of live performance can be daunting: Creating music is a collaborative effort, and every person in the band has a huge influence on the outcome. If a bandmember has had a less than stellar day, that can affect the music in a negative way. On the other hand, if one has a great day, the music can fly high and free. There are, of course, exceptions to every rule, yet I have observed the highest highs when my day has gone well, and vice-versa.

So get out there and support live music. Take a chance on a band that you aren't familiar with. When they ask you for the five dollars or whatever at the door, just pay it and invest some time. Usually the musicians will perform with everything they have, and you will be a happy camper. If they moved you, buy one of their CDs in a show of support. Your efforts will not go unnoticed. If the sun and stars happen to line up on that day you might be a participant on the best roller coaster ride of all time.

And if they didn't move you that night, you will still have the satisfaction of knowing that you did something to support your music scene. If you don't, that "scene" might someday sound like the junk that you hear on your car radio...

Posted by ®acy

A record has an influence in the world way beyond yourself and your realm. As an artist, I think you just put the best work out that you can and it will be meaningful for the people who need to find it. Those people will find it. And it will change people's lives. That's the best thing you could hope for. It's the process, you know? It's the path. I finally realized after trying to push things through for so long, that this is what you get. You get to perform. You get to play music for people. That's what you get. You don't get anything else. If you want to get money, then you have to be a businessperson. If you want to get famous, that's a whole industry networking game. But if you want to be a musician, you get to play music. That's what you get. You get that experience with the audience. That's the deal.

Posted by ®acy

So there I was:
No Vehicle

No vehicle, no transportation, I ain't going nowhere tonight.
My bus is in the shop, awaiting it's turn on the diagnostic computer.

Me? I am waiting for the results of the diagnostic testing, hoping that this is one of the less expensive fixes, knowing full well that I might need an engine for the bus. The thought of having to spring for a new engine sends a shiver up my spine. I am the type of guy who has always had to do his own maintenance on his vehicles, one who has never allowed himself the luxury of having someone else crawl under his transpo, looking up and seeing something that's not quite right.

Unfortunately, this bus is too new. I can't repair it by myself, and that really sucks...I am at the mercy of the mechanic's diagnostic computer...

More about my first legal car...

My first legal car was a 1964 Chevy Biscayne wagon. Scroll down for more another story about it.
My friend's father told me he was selling it, and he offered me a 10% finder's fee if I could move it for him. After giving it the ole once over. I knew it was the car for me.

I took the 10 % discount and applied it to the purchase price. I vividly remember driving it home. It was my buddies family car, and I remember driving in it. Rides to the store, to Mountain Park, to places that my parents wouldn't ever drive me to. I always liked that car, even though, looking back, that it really wasn't anything special. To ME, though, it was the culmination of many months of hard work. When you are sixteen years old, the prospect of having your own ride was an intoxicating proposition. I just knew I had to have that car... I had gotten a job with the express purpose of getting that car for me...

And now it was mine! Yeah! Finally I could escape from the confines of the city. I longed to go to the country, where I had heard that everything was much more relaxed than the city life that I had grown up with. I knew of a few transplanted city dwellers who had moved to the country, and every one of them talked up the niceties of country life.

So I am fiilled with anxiety now. Will the bus survive a nother day? Stay tuned.

Cars and trouble

So I load the bus up after I finish my last performance, and head off down the road towards home. It was during our last spring snowstorm, and I was playing at Mount snow in Vermont.

A few miles down the road I notice something has gone awry: The bus started bucking like a mule, and the service engine light illuminated. Turning up the radio doesn't work this time, either. Uh, oh...

So there I was, at 3 A.M. on the highway in Vermont, snow falling like crazy, it's APRIL, I have a bus full of equipment, and I am hoping that the thing doesn't break down before I get home. Going about thirty-five miles an hour certainly makes the trip home quite longer that the ride up. I had lots of time to think. I wouldn't want to leave the thing on the side of the road because there is a lot of music equipment in it, and I tend to worry about things like losing it. It would be tough to replace it all.

OK, the temperature and oil gauges are in their normal ranges, that's a good sign. When I push hard on the accelerator, as in going up a hill, (Vermont certainly has more than it's share of those,) the engine starts to sputter and shake. Which is not a good sign. I am still making forward progress, which is good, and at this time of the morning there is no traffic to speak of, which is another good thing.

Three hours later I pull into my driveway, shaken and pissed off but very happy to have made it all the way home. Let's see: one and a half hours to get there, and three hours to get home. Oh well...

Later that morning I get out the phonebook and calI my mechanic. Hmmm, I forgot there is a war going on. He's a reservist and was recently activated. Not good news. I get a few more phone numbers to try and I actually do track down my mechanic. While he was indeed activated because of the war, this time he is working at a local Air Force base in a support position. He is very happy because he is married with kids and wasn't especially happy to be trotting off to the desert like the last time they activated him. He says that he'll need to put my vehicle on a diagnostic computer to see what's going on. Fortunately for me he has a space available on Friday, and will look at the bus and determine what I need to get it running properly again.

I do miss the old days when I could repair my own car. Now the repair guy has to have access to a diagnostic computer, and the car tells him what is wrong. Gone are the simple old days of "Do It Yourself."

I dropped off the bus and now I wait for the dreaded phone call. I am reminded of Dirty Harry's little saying, "Do you feel lucky?" I dread car trouble as it's so frustrating to me to not know what's wrong. Is this one going to be an easy fix, or a nightmare? I can only hope for the former.

I'll post the update later this weekend.

posted by ®acy

Piano
A spinster lived in the house next to the house I grew up in. I have memories from many years of my youth wherein I did lots of maintenance around her house: cutting the grass during the warm months, shovelling snow in the cold months, general cleaning up around her place, etc.

The house had been in her family for generations. She was born and raised there, and lived her entire life there. For most of her time here on earth, she lived alone in that large old house.

Eventually she died, and I was the first person to enter the house in many years. It was like walking back into time: the house had gas lights that were functional, toilets with tanks overhead and chains, lots of very cool old furniture, large brown and white photographs of very rugged looking women and children.

My brother bought the place, and we spent a few months cleaning it out. As compensation for helping with the needed work, I was given a turn of the century Weber upright piano. I visited the Weber website and found out via the serial number that the piano is from 1903, and was made in New York. It's quite nice: the piano has hand carvings etched into the front, and very ornate scrollwork on the legs. The tone is dark and marvelous to my ears. I'm a happy camper.

So now I own a piano. Let's see, what comes next? The evil word "Move" comes to mind. This piano is built like a tank and must weigh one thousand pounds. Oh happy day. I pick up the phone and see if I can call in a favor from a pickup truck owning friend that I have helped out previously. After some heming and hawing I reel him in, and together with two other big burly types, we load the piano into his truck and drive off towards my place. It was quite the sight: I was playing the piano as we drove down the street. Seems to me I just saw a video recently on MTV where some young female singer was doing the same thing. When I was doing it the image conveyed was quite different, thank you.

Ah, home. We back the truck up to my door and set up two planks in ramplike fashion and succeed in getting the piano into it's new home. It is looking resplendent in it's featured place against the wall in the den.

Posted by ®acy

Long Island
The band travelled to Long Island on Sunday to play a wedding gig. It was a good day to go, as the traffic was very light, and we arrived with lots of time to set up our gear.
This was my first performance at a Jewish wedding and it was an eye opener. There was lots of ceremony that I, as a Catholic, had never seen before. Lots of dancing and not as much drinking as I have seen in other weddings. The highpoint of the dancing for me was when the crowd surrounded the bride and groom and picked them up in their chairs, and proceeded to toss them into the air, chairs and all. They repeated this for about ten minutes. The groom was digging it, and the bride looked scared to death.
The ceremony after the wedding vows consisted of a medley of songs that the crowd danced to nonstop. We played this medley of tunes for about thirty minutes. the dancers were quite resiliant, and they did their thing at full speed the whole time.
There wasn't any tossing of a bouquet, and no garter ceremony either. It was a quite different experience for me. It was fun, and I look forward to performing at the next one.

Posted by ®acy