PocoNotes Newsletter 2007-4: August, 2007
We hope that you are enjoying your 2007 Summer of Love. Here's a bit of how we've been spending our days!
Many of you already know that we hosted Hot Tuna Electric ...and... Oteil and the Peacemakers at The Mellow Theater at Lackawanna College on July 24th. We were thrilled that it surpassed even our own very high expectations. How proud were we to be able to welcome these masters to Scranton with an audience of well over 600 people - on a Tuesday night!
We can attest that these men are not only incredible musicians...they're also some pretty awesome human beings, too. We spent three hours with them at dinner on Monday night, where they were relaxed and happy and comfortable - with us and each other. They took the stage on Tuesday night and, without a doubt, had as much fun as anyone in their audience. Oteil, who some of you know as the bass player for The Allman Brothers Band , was having such a good time that he even had his road manager, Penn Robinson, join them for the last song of their set which, we're happy to note, included Green Eyed Lady...done Peacemaker-style. And...when was the last time anybody else heard Jack Casady play that infamous bass line to White Rabbit , which is one of the best-known in history! We did! It was a rare and wonderful night of music!
Jorma and Jack's parting words to us were that The Mellow Theater would be a spectacular venue for their acoustic set. So, we're taking that to heart and are bringing them back. This time, we'll ensure that we get a date during the school year so that we can expose some of the thousands of college students in the area to these incredible musicians. Of course, since you're on our mailing list, we promise that you'll be the very first to know.
There won't be too much rest for us, though, because on August 17th, we're debuting another musical event, Hear 'Em at The Hideout . As the title suggests, it will be held at The Hideout on Route 590 in Lake Ariel, which is our very own community. It's actually a series of events that is open to the general public , each of which will feature both a nationally-acclaimed artist as well as one of local renown.
For our launch event, we're proud to be featuring Roy Book Binder , who has been entertaining audiences with his unique brand of blues and storytelling since the folk revival of the 60's, playing at venues such as B.B. Kings in Manhattan and MerleFest in North Carolina and who, at our request, is now coming to NEPA! Opening the show for Roy is Robert Bobby of Central Pennsylvania, who has been touted as being the "best singer-songwriter who've never heard of." Actually, we've heard of him, and we've actually traveled - twice - to hear him play. The first time was at Vanessa and Jorma Kaukonen's Fur Peace Ranch in Pomeroy, Ohio, and the second was at The Whitaker Center in Harrisburg, where he was opening for one of our other favorite musicians, Chris Smither . We think his brand of humor is a perfect complement to Roy's and know that our friends and neighbors in and around The Hideout will enjoy him as much as we do.
Tickets for this event are a mere $20 in advance and $25 at the door - for two amazing musicians. There will be a cash bar and complimentary hors d'eourves available. Seating is limited so call us now at (888) 800-POCO to be sure that you'll be one of the lucky ones that'll be there for the show and the Meet and Greet with the artists afterward.
Believe it or not, we're pretty busy in-between these two events, as well, because we have the privilege of being able to attend our 2nd Annual Couples Weekend at Fur Peace Ranch where we plan to enjoy every second of our four-day workshops - Pat with Jorma and me with Vanessa. We'll be seeing friends that we met there last year , will make new ones this year and plan to bring some with us next year.
Yep...starting next year, we are going to give a workshop a year to a local NEPA musician, compliments of PocoNotes. Next year's "scholarship" will be given to Pat Flynn , who is not only a stellar musician (Bent Blue, Mere Mortals, Music for Models and...Underground Saints) but also a true friend to us. We see him every single Saturday when he gives Pat a weekly guitar lesson and graciously allows me to observe...and all that that entails. Right, Pat? The 2008 schedule will be out on or about August 15th, and Pat Flynn can pick whichever of the instructors he'd like. We hear Tommy Emmanuel in on the 2008 roster!
Well, that's it for me for now. We hope that you are taking advantage of the 2007 Summer of Love's great line-up of live music. The local musicians need your support as do the greats , whose touring is a gift for all of us to enjoy while it's still being offered.
So, if you'd like any additional information about Hot Tuna, Oteil and the Peacemakers, The Mellow Theater, Hear 'Em at The Hideout, Roy Book Binder, Robert Bobby - or PocoNotes, just let us know. You can send us an e-mail at notes @ PocoNotes.com or we'd always welcome a call at (888) 800-POCO.
See you out there!
Peace...really!
Dolores & Pat
"It's About The Music!"
