Sundays are Fundays - January 7, 2008
4PM Jazz Jam every Sunday. All skill levels and instruments are invited. Come on down and jam on some good ole Dixieland Swing with DR and Stephen Rufus.
David Roe & The Royal Rounders: The Latest
Happy 12th Night- Here is my schedule for Carnival Time and Lent at Botak Jones - January 6, 2008
Tuesday through Friday evenings from 6-10PM at Botak Jones Toa Payoh North Block 970A, The Second Street Café next to Singapore Press Holdings.
Saturday January 19th from 6-10PM at the Botak Jones in Clementi Blk 325 Clementi Ave 5
Saturday January 26th from 6-10PM at the Botak Jones Blk 422 Bedok North Ave 2
Mardi Gras weekend Saturday February 2nd from 6-10PM at the Botak Jones in The Woodgrove 30 Woodlands Ave 1
Valentines Day +2 Saturday February 16th from 6-10PM at the Botak Jones Blk529 Ang Mo Kio Ave 10
February 23 Depot Rd
March 1 Grand Opening Bukit Batok
Saturday January 19th from 6-10PM at the Botak Jones in Clementi Blk 325 Clementi Ave 5
Saturday January 26th from 6-10PM at the Botak Jones Blk 422 Bedok North Ave 2
Mardi Gras weekend Saturday February 2nd from 6-10PM at the Botak Jones in The Woodgrove 30 Woodlands Ave 1
Valentines Day +2 Saturday February 16th from 6-10PM at the Botak Jones Blk529 Ang Mo Kio Ave 10
February 23 Depot Rd
March 1 Grand Opening Bukit Batok
Jazz is... - January 5, 2008
...music originating in New Orleans around the beginning of the 20th century and subsequently developing through various increasingly complex styles, generally marked by intricate, propulsive rhythms, polyphonic ensemble playing, improvisatory, virtuosic solos, melodic freedom, and a harmonic idiom ranging from simple diatonicism through chromaticism to atonality.
jazz. Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/jazz (accessed: January 06, 2008).
...A form of American music that grew out of African-Americans' musical traditions at the beginning of the twentieth century. Jazz is generally considered a major contribution of the United States to the world of music. It quickly became a form of dance music, incorporating a “big beat” and solos by individual musicians. For many years, all jazz was improvised and taught orally, and even today jazz solos are often improvised.
"jazz." The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2005. 06 Jan. 2008.http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/jazz>.
...American music developed especially from ragtime and blues and characterized by propulsive syncopated rhythms, polyphonic ensemble playing, varying degrees of improvisation, and often deliberate distortions of pitch and timbre b: popular dance music influenced by jazz and played in a loud rhythmic manner
Merriam- Webster
...syncopated popular music: popular music that originated among black people in New Orleans in the late 19th century and is characterized by syncopated rhythms and improvisation.
-MSN Encarta
...a. A style of music, native to America, characterized by a strong but flexible rhythmic understructure with solo and ensemble improvisations on basic tunes and chord patterns and, more recently, a highly sophisticated harmonic idiom.
b. Big band dance music
-The FreeDictionary
...a type of music of black American origin characterized by improvisation, syncopation and usually a regular or forceful rhythm emerging at the beginning of the 20th century. Brass and woodwind instruments and the piano are particularly associated with jazz music. Styles include Dixieland Swing, Bebop, and Free Jazz.
-OED
For a comprehensive list of jazz vocalists, visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:American_jazz_singers
jazz. Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/jazz (accessed: January 06, 2008).
...A form of American music that grew out of African-Americans' musical traditions at the beginning of the twentieth century. Jazz is generally considered a major contribution of the United States to the world of music. It quickly became a form of dance music, incorporating a “big beat” and solos by individual musicians. For many years, all jazz was improvised and taught orally, and even today jazz solos are often improvised.
"jazz." The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2005. 06 Jan. 2008.
...American music developed especially from ragtime and blues and characterized by propulsive syncopated rhythms, polyphonic ensemble playing, varying degrees of improvisation, and often deliberate distortions of pitch and timbre b: popular dance music influenced by jazz and played in a loud rhythmic manner
Merriam- Webster
...syncopated popular music: popular music that originated among black people in New Orleans in the late 19th century and is characterized by syncopated rhythms and improvisation.
-MSN Encarta
...a. A style of music, native to America, characterized by a strong but flexible rhythmic understructure with solo and ensemble improvisations on basic tunes and chord patterns and, more recently, a highly sophisticated harmonic idiom.
b. Big band dance music
-The FreeDictionary
...a type of music of black American origin characterized by improvisation, syncopation and usually a regular or forceful rhythm emerging at the beginning of the 20th century. Brass and woodwind instruments and the piano are particularly associated with jazz music. Styles include Dixieland Swing, Bebop, and Free Jazz.
-OED
For a comprehensive list of jazz vocalists, visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:American_jazz_singers
D.R. LIVE at Toa Payoh - December 27, 2007
We got it!!!
We have a performance license. (Actually- an exemption from license- jazz and folk music don't need a license. Its a long story.)
So, I will be performing nightly from 6- 10 this week, including New Years Eve. So, if you are in the neighborhood, come sit at the bar, sip one of Miss Samantha's fine margaritas, and sing along at Singapore's first eating house piano bar.
Toa Payoh North Blk 970A
And tune in to 91.3 FM to hear Bernie's latest ads.
We have a performance license. (Actually- an exemption from license- jazz and folk music don't need a license. Its a long story.)
So, I will be performing nightly from 6- 10 this week, including New Years Eve. So, if you are in the neighborhood, come sit at the bar, sip one of Miss Samantha's fine margaritas, and sing along at Singapore's first eating house piano bar.
Toa Payoh North Blk 970A
And tune in to 91.3 FM to hear Bernie's latest ads.
News From New Orleans - December 26, 2007
Locked Outside the Gates: Tasers, Pepper Spray, and Arrests in the
Struggle for Affordable Housing in New Orleans
By Bill Quigley.
Bill is a human rights lawyer and
law professor at Loyola University New Orleans. Bill
is part of the team of lawyers representing displaced
residents of public housing. You can reach him at
Quigley@loyno.edu
In a remarkable symbol of the injustices of post-Katrina reconstruction, hundreds of people were locked out of a public New Orleans City Council meeting addressing demolition of 4500 public housing apartments. Some were tasered, many pepper sprayed and a dozen arrested.
Outside the chambers, iron gates were chained and padlocked even before the scheduled start.
The scene looked like one of those countries on TV that is undergoing a people’s revolution - and the similarities were only beginning. (See video at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMBWAXfGsc4 )
Dozens of uniformed police secured the gates and other entrances. Only developers and those with special permission from council members were allowed in - the rest were kept locked outside the gates. Despite dozens of open seats in the council chambers, pleas to be allowed in were ignored.
Chants of “Housing is a human right!” and “Let us in!” thundered through the concrete breezeway.
Public housing residents came and spoke out despite an intense campaign of intimidation. Residents were warned by phone that if they publicly opposed the demolitions they would lose all housing assistance. Residents opposed to the demolition had simple demands. If the authorities insisted on spending hundreds of millions to tear down hundreds of structurally sound buildings containing 4500 public housing subsidized apartments, there should be a guarantee that every resident could return to a similarly subsidized apartment. Alternatively, the government should use the hundreds of millions to repair the apartments so people could come home. Neither alternative was acceptable to HUD. A plan of residents to partner with the AFL-CIO Housing Trust to save their homes was also ignored.
Outside, SWAT team members and police in riot gear and on horses began to arrive as rain started falling. Those locked out included public housing residents, a professor from Southern University, graduate students, the Episcopal Bishop of Louisiana, ministers, lawyers, law students, homeless people who lived in tents across the street from city hall, affordable housing allies from across the country and dozens of others.
Inside the chambers, Revered Torin Sanders and others insisted that the locked out be allowed to come and stand inside along the walls - a common practice for over 30 years. No one could recall any City Council locking people out of a public meeting. The request to allow people to stand was denied. The Council then demanded silence from those inside. Those who continued to demand that the others be let in were pointed out by police, physically taken down and arrested. Ironically, some young men were tasered right in front of the speaker’s podium.
This was a meeting the council had repeatedly tried to avoid. It was only held after residents (100% African American and nearly all mothers and grandmothers) got an emergency court order stopping demolitions until the council acted. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced long ago it was going to demolish 4500 public housing apartments despite the Katrina crisis of affordable housing no matter what anyone said. HUD had no plans to ask the council or anyone else for approval. The judge said otherwise, so the meeting was scheduled.
Leaders of the U.S. Congress, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, asked that the decision be delayed 60 days so they could try to move forward on Senate Bill 1668 which would resolve many of the demolition problems. This request was backed by New Orleans Congressman William Jefferson, Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu and Presidential candidates John Edwards and Barack Obama.
Opponents cited the affordable housing crisis in New Orleans. Homeless people camped across from City Hall and for blocks under the interstate. The number of homeless people doubled since Katrina. Thousands of residents in FEMA trailers across the Gulf Coast were being evicted.
(More on the reasons to oppose demolition can be found here: http://www.justiceforneworleans.org/index.php? module=article&view=99&page_num=2 ).
Solidarity demonstrations opposing demolition were held in Washington DC, New York, Oakland, Minneapolis, Houston, North Carolina, Maine, Philadelphia, Cleveland, New Jersey, and Boston. Thousands of people across the country contacted city council members. Dozens of community, housing and human rights groups petitioned the Council not to demolish until there was an enforceable requirement of one for one replacement of housing.
But hours before the meeting began, a majority of the council publicly announced on the front page of the local paper that they were going to approve demolition no matter what people said at the meeting. The paper, the developers and others were delighted. Residents and affordable housing allies were not.
Inside, the council started the meeting surrounded by armed police, National Guard and undercover authorities from many law enforcement agencies.
Outside, the locked out could see the people who had been arrested on the inside being dragged away to police wagons. A few of the protestors then pulled open one of the gates. The police started shooting arcs of pepper spray into the crowd. A woman’s scream pierced the chaos as police fired tasers into the crowd. Medics wiped pepper spray from fallen people’s eyes. A young woman who was tasered in the back went into a seizure and was taken to the hospital.
Inside and out, a dozen people were arrested - most for disturbing the peace. They joined another dozen who had been arrested over the past week in protest actions against the demolitions.
The City Council meeting continued. Supporters of demolition were given careful, courteous attention and softball questions by council members. Opponents less so.
Despite pleas from displaced residents, dozens of community organizations and federal elected officials, the New Orleans City Council voted unanimously to allow demolition to proceed. In their approval the Council did promise to urge HUD to listen to residents and to work for one for one replacement of affordable housing. Several city council members read from typed statements about their reasons to support demolition: the deplorable state of public housing; the lack of available money for repair; the oral promises of all, the federal government and developers, to do something better for the community.
After the meeting, residents vowed to continue their struggle for affordable housing for everyone and to resist demolitions - putting their bodies before bulldozers if necessary.
The struggle for affordable housing continues as does the campaign to stop demolition until there is a real right to return and one for one replacement of housing. Residents and local advocates applaud and appreciate the support of allies from across the nation. Critics label national supporters as “outside agitators” - exactly the same charge leveled at civil rights activists historically. But people understand that injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. Public housing residents and local affordable housing advocates welcome the humble participation of social justice advocates of whatever age, of whatever race, from whatever place, who join and act in true solidarity.
Residents vow to make sure that the promises made by the Council and the Mayor are enforced. For example, the Mayor of New Orleans, Ray Nagin, announced that he would not allow HUD to demolish two of the four housing developments until HUD gave documentation of funded plans including one for one replacement of the housing demolished and details of the developments and their plans.
The Senate will continue to be lobbied to pass SB 1668 - which would really guarantee one for one replacement of housing. It is currently stalled in the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee because of opposition by Louisiana Republican Senator David Vitter.
Litigation is still pending in state and federal courts to enforce Louisiana and U.S. laws that should protect residents from illegal demolitions. Investigations into the legality of locking people out of a public meeting, the legality of a law passed at such a meeting, the indiscriminate use of tasers and pepper spray, are all ongoing.
Padlocked and chained gates will only amplify the voices of the locked out calling for justice. Pepper spray and tasers illustrate the problems but will not deter people from protesting for just causes. Bulldozers may start up, but just people will resist and create a reality where housing is a real human right.
Stephanie Mingo, a working grandmother who is one of the leaders of the residents, promised to continue the resistance after the meeting: “We did not come this far to turn back now. This fight is far from over. We are not resting until everyone has the right to return home.”
Those wanting additional information should look to:
http://www.justiceforneworleans.org or
http://www.defendneworleanspublichousing.org
Struggle for Affordable Housing in New Orleans
By Bill Quigley.
Bill is a human rights lawyer and
law professor at Loyola University New Orleans. Bill
is part of the team of lawyers representing displaced
residents of public housing. You can reach him at
Quigley@loyno.edu
In a remarkable symbol of the injustices of post-Katrina reconstruction, hundreds of people were locked out of a public New Orleans City Council meeting addressing demolition of 4500 public housing apartments. Some were tasered, many pepper sprayed and a dozen arrested.
Outside the chambers, iron gates were chained and padlocked even before the scheduled start.
The scene looked like one of those countries on TV that is undergoing a people’s revolution - and the similarities were only beginning. (See video at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMBWAXfGsc4 )
Dozens of uniformed police secured the gates and other entrances. Only developers and those with special permission from council members were allowed in - the rest were kept locked outside the gates. Despite dozens of open seats in the council chambers, pleas to be allowed in were ignored.
Chants of “Housing is a human right!” and “Let us in!” thundered through the concrete breezeway.
Public housing residents came and spoke out despite an intense campaign of intimidation. Residents were warned by phone that if they publicly opposed the demolitions they would lose all housing assistance. Residents opposed to the demolition had simple demands. If the authorities insisted on spending hundreds of millions to tear down hundreds of structurally sound buildings containing 4500 public housing subsidized apartments, there should be a guarantee that every resident could return to a similarly subsidized apartment. Alternatively, the government should use the hundreds of millions to repair the apartments so people could come home. Neither alternative was acceptable to HUD. A plan of residents to partner with the AFL-CIO Housing Trust to save their homes was also ignored.
Outside, SWAT team members and police in riot gear and on horses began to arrive as rain started falling. Those locked out included public housing residents, a professor from Southern University, graduate students, the Episcopal Bishop of Louisiana, ministers, lawyers, law students, homeless people who lived in tents across the street from city hall, affordable housing allies from across the country and dozens of others.
Inside the chambers, Revered Torin Sanders and others insisted that the locked out be allowed to come and stand inside along the walls - a common practice for over 30 years. No one could recall any City Council locking people out of a public meeting. The request to allow people to stand was denied. The Council then demanded silence from those inside. Those who continued to demand that the others be let in were pointed out by police, physically taken down and arrested. Ironically, some young men were tasered right in front of the speaker’s podium.
This was a meeting the council had repeatedly tried to avoid. It was only held after residents (100% African American and nearly all mothers and grandmothers) got an emergency court order stopping demolitions until the council acted. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced long ago it was going to demolish 4500 public housing apartments despite the Katrina crisis of affordable housing no matter what anyone said. HUD had no plans to ask the council or anyone else for approval. The judge said otherwise, so the meeting was scheduled.
Leaders of the U.S. Congress, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, asked that the decision be delayed 60 days so they could try to move forward on Senate Bill 1668 which would resolve many of the demolition problems. This request was backed by New Orleans Congressman William Jefferson, Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu and Presidential candidates John Edwards and Barack Obama.
Opponents cited the affordable housing crisis in New Orleans. Homeless people camped across from City Hall and for blocks under the interstate. The number of homeless people doubled since Katrina. Thousands of residents in FEMA trailers across the Gulf Coast were being evicted.
(More on the reasons to oppose demolition can be found here: http://www.justiceforneworleans.org/index.php? module=article&view=99&page_num=2 ).
Solidarity demonstrations opposing demolition were held in Washington DC, New York, Oakland, Minneapolis, Houston, North Carolina, Maine, Philadelphia, Cleveland, New Jersey, and Boston. Thousands of people across the country contacted city council members. Dozens of community, housing and human rights groups petitioned the Council not to demolish until there was an enforceable requirement of one for one replacement of housing.
But hours before the meeting began, a majority of the council publicly announced on the front page of the local paper that they were going to approve demolition no matter what people said at the meeting. The paper, the developers and others were delighted. Residents and affordable housing allies were not.
Inside, the council started the meeting surrounded by armed police, National Guard and undercover authorities from many law enforcement agencies.
Outside, the locked out could see the people who had been arrested on the inside being dragged away to police wagons. A few of the protestors then pulled open one of the gates. The police started shooting arcs of pepper spray into the crowd. A woman’s scream pierced the chaos as police fired tasers into the crowd. Medics wiped pepper spray from fallen people’s eyes. A young woman who was tasered in the back went into a seizure and was taken to the hospital.
Inside and out, a dozen people were arrested - most for disturbing the peace. They joined another dozen who had been arrested over the past week in protest actions against the demolitions.
The City Council meeting continued. Supporters of demolition were given careful, courteous attention and softball questions by council members. Opponents less so.
Despite pleas from displaced residents, dozens of community organizations and federal elected officials, the New Orleans City Council voted unanimously to allow demolition to proceed. In their approval the Council did promise to urge HUD to listen to residents and to work for one for one replacement of affordable housing. Several city council members read from typed statements about their reasons to support demolition: the deplorable state of public housing; the lack of available money for repair; the oral promises of all, the federal government and developers, to do something better for the community.
After the meeting, residents vowed to continue their struggle for affordable housing for everyone and to resist demolitions - putting their bodies before bulldozers if necessary.
The struggle for affordable housing continues as does the campaign to stop demolition until there is a real right to return and one for one replacement of housing. Residents and local advocates applaud and appreciate the support of allies from across the nation. Critics label national supporters as “outside agitators” - exactly the same charge leveled at civil rights activists historically. But people understand that injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. Public housing residents and local affordable housing advocates welcome the humble participation of social justice advocates of whatever age, of whatever race, from whatever place, who join and act in true solidarity.
Residents vow to make sure that the promises made by the Council and the Mayor are enforced. For example, the Mayor of New Orleans, Ray Nagin, announced that he would not allow HUD to demolish two of the four housing developments until HUD gave documentation of funded plans including one for one replacement of the housing demolished and details of the developments and their plans.
The Senate will continue to be lobbied to pass SB 1668 - which would really guarantee one for one replacement of housing. It is currently stalled in the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee because of opposition by Louisiana Republican Senator David Vitter.
Litigation is still pending in state and federal courts to enforce Louisiana and U.S. laws that should protect residents from illegal demolitions. Investigations into the legality of locking people out of a public meeting, the legality of a law passed at such a meeting, the indiscriminate use of tasers and pepper spray, are all ongoing.
Padlocked and chained gates will only amplify the voices of the locked out calling for justice. Pepper spray and tasers illustrate the problems but will not deter people from protesting for just causes. Bulldozers may start up, but just people will resist and create a reality where housing is a real human right.
Stephanie Mingo, a working grandmother who is one of the leaders of the residents, promised to continue the resistance after the meeting: “We did not come this far to turn back now. This fight is far from over. We are not resting until everyone has the right to return home.”
Those wanting additional information should look to:
http://www.justiceforneworleans.org or
http://www.defendneworleanspublichousing.org
Solstice Epiphany - December 23, 2007
Well, I was hanging here in Singapore feeling very un Merry. No snow, no tree, no family nor friends. (Apologies to Bernie, Jake, Elias- 3 wise guys, and good friends who are too busy frying turkeys to just hang out with me.) Christmas is mainly a marketing tool here. As it is in much of the world, and to many people.
I played some Christmas music the other night at our Ang Mo Kio outlet's grand opening, but the only real response I got was from singing Rudolf The Red Nose.
Angels We Have Heard, Joy To The , Have Yourself A, all pretty much drew blanks. English is a third language in the heartlands of Singapore. But with Rudolf, all the children were dancing and singing along.
Botak Jones Catering IS selling a lot of Cajun Fried Turkeys, and I will have some turkey, dressing and Ocean Spray canned cranberry sauce on Tuesday. I brought my little creche set, and have it set up in my bedroom. I am tuned in to the Sirius satellite Xmas in New Orleans special, but still all in all feeling Grinchish.
So last night as I went out to find some good duck rice and veggies, I stumbled on a huge tent set up in a park. Inside were 12 altars (stations of the cross?), a stage with a pop band, fronted by singers in spangled and glittered outfits off to one side, a table selling incense, oranges, pastries marked "prayer cookies," and ghost money. People who have partied with me know about ghost money- paper with gold markings you burn to send money to dead friends, relatives and ancestors- in heaven or hell, currency to keep the dead happy in the after-life. So I bought a packet which also included wrapping paper and boxes to send gifts out in to the ether, put my bag of cookies and paper gifts on the main altar where a priest was dancing and blessing the offerings, before they were collected and taken outside to a big fire.
As a large drum and crashing cymbal band played, a parade of dragons wound through the crowd and confronted some characters, whom I guess represented the past, present, and New Year (He wore diapers, and had a pacifier in his mouth. There was also a hobo like guy who appeared to be drunk. With the help of a gentleman with a great cracking whip, they each confronted the demons who then gave way and allowed these holy men to visit each of the altars. I lit my joss sticks and visited the altars, saying prayers and conversing with my ancestors, my ghosts, my demons, my past and present.
I am not certain of any of the particulars of this gathering, as I was the only anglo (ang mo) in the crowd. All I know is I was made to feel welcome. The woman selling the offerings asked me if I was here to pray,(in gestures, not words) and pointed me to the $3 package, not the more expensive offerings.
The ghost money comes with different symbols, but my package serendipitously had my favorite- 3 guys bearing fancy boxes.
We Three Kings of Orient Are.
So there i am, on the longest night of the year, in a space filled with music, families, and incense, just like midnight mass, thinking of how much more alike than different we all are. "ALL ONE ALL ONE" says Doctor Bronner;
How the message of Allah, Jaweh, Jah, God, Jehovah, I AM WHO AM,the Bhuddha, Krishna, Mohammed, and the Baby Jesus is the same one.
Love, forgive, tolerate, respect one another. Tread lightly on the Earth.
There I am in a temporary church, crying in the chapel, praying for my soul's salvation, praying for my friends, my family, those I have loved and lost, those I have failed, knowing how much I need to be loved, forgiven, respected, and how many times i have forgotten to do right by those I love.
So, whether you have just finished 8 nights of candle lighting, just finished slaughtering a goat in remembrance of Abraham's sacrifice, are dancing nekkid around an oak tree with some mistletoe in your hat, are wrapping presents for your children, drinking your way across the quarters in Santa suits, going to church, watching Miracle On 34th Street or feeling Grinchish and alone on the top of Mount Crumpit yourself, know that you are loved and will be remembered, always.
God(s) Bless Us, Every One.
I played some Christmas music the other night at our Ang Mo Kio outlet's grand opening, but the only real response I got was from singing Rudolf The Red Nose.
Angels We Have Heard, Joy To The , Have Yourself A, all pretty much drew blanks. English is a third language in the heartlands of Singapore. But with Rudolf, all the children were dancing and singing along.
Botak Jones Catering IS selling a lot of Cajun Fried Turkeys, and I will have some turkey, dressing and Ocean Spray canned cranberry sauce on Tuesday. I brought my little creche set, and have it set up in my bedroom. I am tuned in to the Sirius satellite Xmas in New Orleans special, but still all in all feeling Grinchish.
So last night as I went out to find some good duck rice and veggies, I stumbled on a huge tent set up in a park. Inside were 12 altars (stations of the cross?), a stage with a pop band, fronted by singers in spangled and glittered outfits off to one side, a table selling incense, oranges, pastries marked "prayer cookies," and ghost money. People who have partied with me know about ghost money- paper with gold markings you burn to send money to dead friends, relatives and ancestors- in heaven or hell, currency to keep the dead happy in the after-life. So I bought a packet which also included wrapping paper and boxes to send gifts out in to the ether, put my bag of cookies and paper gifts on the main altar where a priest was dancing and blessing the offerings, before they were collected and taken outside to a big fire.
As a large drum and crashing cymbal band played, a parade of dragons wound through the crowd and confronted some characters, whom I guess represented the past, present, and New Year (He wore diapers, and had a pacifier in his mouth. There was also a hobo like guy who appeared to be drunk. With the help of a gentleman with a great cracking whip, they each confronted the demons who then gave way and allowed these holy men to visit each of the altars. I lit my joss sticks and visited the altars, saying prayers and conversing with my ancestors, my ghosts, my demons, my past and present.
I am not certain of any of the particulars of this gathering, as I was the only anglo (ang mo) in the crowd. All I know is I was made to feel welcome. The woman selling the offerings asked me if I was here to pray,(in gestures, not words) and pointed me to the $3 package, not the more expensive offerings.
The ghost money comes with different symbols, but my package serendipitously had my favorite- 3 guys bearing fancy boxes.
We Three Kings of Orient Are.
So there i am, on the longest night of the year, in a space filled with music, families, and incense, just like midnight mass, thinking of how much more alike than different we all are. "ALL ONE ALL ONE" says Doctor Bronner;
How the message of Allah, Jaweh, Jah, God, Jehovah, I AM WHO AM,the Bhuddha, Krishna, Mohammed, and the Baby Jesus is the same one.
Love, forgive, tolerate, respect one another. Tread lightly on the Earth.
There I am in a temporary church, crying in the chapel, praying for my soul's salvation, praying for my friends, my family, those I have loved and lost, those I have failed, knowing how much I need to be loved, forgiven, respected, and how many times i have forgotten to do right by those I love.
So, whether you have just finished 8 nights of candle lighting, just finished slaughtering a goat in remembrance of Abraham's sacrifice, are dancing nekkid around an oak tree with some mistletoe in your hat, are wrapping presents for your children, drinking your way across the quarters in Santa suits, going to church, watching Miracle On 34th Street or feeling Grinchish and alone on the top of Mount Crumpit yourself, know that you are loved and will be remembered, always.
God(s) Bless Us, Every One.
Have Kurzweil, Will Travel - December 12, 2007
I am the proud owner of a new 88 key stage piano, and a lovely sound system that should be installed at Toa Payoh this weekend.
I'm gonna be playing at the new Ang Mo Kio outlet grand opening- sometime next week.
Christmas Carols and the Blues- the perfect accompaniment to fried turkey, burgers and gumbo.
Meanwhile, I take advantage of my lack of a musical outlet by hitting the pool daily and spending lots of time shopping- I have a favorite fruit vendor- and am trying some new fruit every few days- dragon fruit, anyone?
And I'll never tire of roti for breakfast- beats granola, any day.
I'm gonna be playing at the new Ang Mo Kio outlet grand opening- sometime next week.
Christmas Carols and the Blues- the perfect accompaniment to fried turkey, burgers and gumbo.
Meanwhile, I take advantage of my lack of a musical outlet by hitting the pool daily and spending lots of time shopping- I have a favorite fruit vendor- and am trying some new fruit every few days- dragon fruit, anyone?
And I'll never tire of roti for breakfast- beats granola, any day.
S Pass approved - November 27, 2007
TB negative. HIV negative. Approved to work in Singapore.
Stood in line in two buildings this morning. One more line on Saturday to pick up my S Pass. Then its off to buy a keyboard and sound system, get the music license for the venue, and... play tunes!
Besides playing at Toa Payoh, I will be joining the Botak Jones management team. 5 outlets now, One new joint in December, 1 in Jan/Feb, and ...
Bernie is in China scoping spots. Beijing, here we come.
On my way home, I hit my closest local market for Roast Duck, and fresh squoze juice, bought a perfectly ripe pineapple, then ran in to a Chinese funeral, compleat with marching band in turquoise cowboy hats, a lorry carrying astring band, and a neon and LED blinking hearse. Just like NOLA, but different.
I love this place.
Stood in line in two buildings this morning. One more line on Saturday to pick up my S Pass. Then its off to buy a keyboard and sound system, get the music license for the venue, and... play tunes!
Besides playing at Toa Payoh, I will be joining the Botak Jones management team. 5 outlets now, One new joint in December, 1 in Jan/Feb, and ...
Bernie is in China scoping spots. Beijing, here we come.
On my way home, I hit my closest local market for Roast Duck, and fresh squoze juice, bought a perfectly ripe pineapple, then ran in to a Chinese funeral, compleat with marching band in turquoise cowboy hats, a lorry carrying astring band, and a neon and LED blinking hearse. Just like NOLA, but different.
I love this place.
Local News - November 25, 2007
http://wineanddine.asiaone.com/Wine%252CDine+%2526+Unwind/Features/Topics/Story/A1Story20071030-33021.html
Botak that grew and grew
BOTAK Jones owner Bernie Utchenik was placing advertisements for his stall in The Finder, a magazine for expatriates here, a year before he opened his burger stall. It ran in 2002 with just the name 'Botak Jones' and the logo of a botak, or bald, man.
'I wanted people to start wondering what this Botak Jones was about,' says the 55-year-old American of Ukrainian descent, who came to Singapore in 1993 as an engineer with an oil service company.
No one's scratching his head over what the name means now.
Four years after the first Botak Jones opened in an industrial park canteen in Tuas, the business has grown to include five other outlets in heartland coffee shops and foodcourts located in Ang Mo Kio, Clementi, Toa Payoh, Depot Road and Woodlands.
The self-taught chef, who makes almost 90 per cent of what he sells from scratch, including the dressings and sauces, is adamant about selling authentic American food, both in flavour and portion.
'I don't want my customers who eventually visit the US and try the food there to say, 'Aiyah, Botak Jones' food is not like it is here'.'
He also opened Brewski Jones, a standalone pub stall in the same foodcourt as his Toa Payoh outlet earlier this year.
And he has more up his sleeves: Look out for Spaghetti Jones opening next to his Depot Road outlet this week. It will be serving American-style pastas such as Cajun chicken spaghetti.
A seventh Botak Jones outlet will open in Bedok in December and, yes, there's even going to be a Sawadee Jones selling Thai food, Mr Utchenik's favourite cuisine, some time in the future.
He also started a catering arm two months ago. It has been catering two events a week on average.
The Singapore permanent resident is no newcomer to the F&B scene. He was a partner of the popular Bernie's Restaurant in Changi Garden but left in 1999 to open gastropub Bernie Goes To Town in Boat Quay. Though it drew in the crowds, high overheads forced him to close it in 2000.
He was depressed for a brief spell but after attending a seminar by motivational guru Anthony Robbins in 2001, where he walked on hot coals, the plucky man was back on his feet.
He is married without kids and met wife Faudziah Utchenik, 45, some 10 years ago when she was working near Bernie's. She is the director of Great Big Food, the parent company of Botak Jones.
With the expansion of the Botak chain, maintaining the consistency of his food is crucial, so staff at each outlet do a daily taste test of the food they receive from a 5,000 sq ft central kitchen in Defu Lane.
And the next thing he wants people to be puzzling over is 'David Roe'. 'All I'll say is that it refers to a person and it has to do with my food business.'
BOTAK Jones owner Bernie Utchenik was placing advertisements for his stall in The Finder, a magazine for expatriates here, a year before he opened his burger stall. It ran in 2002 with just the name 'Botak Jones' and the logo of a botak, or bald, man.
'I wanted people to start wondering what this Botak Jones was about,' says the 55-year-old American of Ukrainian descent, who came to Singapore in 1993 as an engineer with an oil service company.
No one's scratching his head over what the name means now.
Four years after the first Botak Jones opened in an industrial park canteen in Tuas, the business has grown to include five other outlets in heartland coffee shops and foodcourts located in Ang Mo Kio, Clementi, Toa Payoh, Depot Road and Woodlands.
The self-taught chef, who makes almost 90 per cent of what he sells from scratch, including the dressings and sauces, is adamant about selling authentic American food, both in flavour and portion.
'I don't want my customers who eventually visit the US and try the food there to say, 'Aiyah, Botak Jones' food is not like it is here'.'
He also opened Brewski Jones, a standalone pub stall in the same foodcourt as his Toa Payoh outlet earlier this year.
And he has more up his sleeves: Look out for Spaghetti Jones opening next to his Depot Road outlet this week. It will be serving American-style pastas such as Cajun chicken spaghetti.
A seventh Botak Jones outlet will open in Bedok in December and, yes, there's even going to be a Sawadee Jones selling Thai food, Mr Utchenik's favourite cuisine, some time in the future.
He also started a catering arm two months ago. It has been catering two events a week on average.
The Singapore permanent resident is no newcomer to the F&B scene. He was a partner of the popular Bernie's Restaurant in Changi Garden but left in 1999 to open gastropub Bernie Goes To Town in Boat Quay. Though it drew in the crowds, high overheads forced him to close it in 2000.
He was depressed for a brief spell but after attending a seminar by motivational guru Anthony Robbins in 2001, where he walked on hot coals, the plucky man was back on his feet.
He is married without kids and met wife Faudziah Utchenik, 45, some 10 years ago when she was working near Bernie's. She is the director of Great Big Food, the parent company of Botak Jones.
With the expansion of the Botak chain, maintaining the consistency of his food is crucial, so staff at each outlet do a daily taste test of the food they receive from a 5,000 sq ft central kitchen in Defu Lane.
And the next thing he wants people to be puzzling over is 'David Roe'. 'All I'll say is that it refers to a person and it has to do with my food business.'
In Sing - November 23, 2007
All is swell here in Singapore. Shaharin and I went keyboard and sound system shopping yesterday- Looks like a Kurzweil is in my future. We are working on the music license for the Toa Payoh outlet first.
I am busy eating my way across the island.
The hawker stall closest to Bernie's central kitchen already know I take my coffee black and 3 Roti with my chicken curry. Of course, it helps that I am Bernie's brother. (Big, bald, white boys all look alike.)
Check BotakJones.com for updates.
I am busy eating my way across the island.
The hawker stall closest to Bernie's central kitchen already know I take my coffee black and 3 Roti with my chicken curry. Of course, it helps that I am Bernie's brother. (Big, bald, white boys all look alike.)
Check BotakJones.com for updates.
Seattle Is Cool! - November 19, 2007
How come I never stopped here before? The Pike Place Market is everything the French Market could be, with great fish, restaurants crafts and local produce- I lost count of the wild and farmed mushroom varieties. No beads, no gator heads.
I was in the market for 10 minutes when I ran into:
Artis The Spoonman
Jim Page
Paul Kemnitz
Slim Nelson
Gil Landry's brother- Jake
Annie Ford
Jim Hinde
Johnny Half Piano
What a hoot!
My li'l sister Susan and I followed The Slim Pickenz Band to Pies and Pints up in the University district- great chicken pot pies and, well, the band transported me to a happy Nawlins Zone. The next day in the market, as an old wino woman harangued Paulie, I heard a familiar voice say, "Only Paulie plays washtub bass with duct tape gloves." I was about to correct him (Lots of tubbers use the tape glove),when I turn and there is Thomas Nuendel and family, who were stopping in Seattle on their way to Turkey Day in Alaska. Small world- and one resembling Royal Street. Thomas and I closed the Irish Pub in Post Alley that night. So good to hang with the Nappy Boy.
My baby sister- Susan and I bonded over many great meals, and she indulged me in a showing of "Bound To Lose" -a documentary on the lives and times of The Holy Modal Rounders- a major influence on young DR.
I love this town. I'm glad this will be my first stop when I return from Singapore.
******
******
******
******
************
(,)(,)
u
*.....*
I was in the market for 10 minutes when I ran into:
Artis The Spoonman
Jim Page
Paul Kemnitz
Slim Nelson
Gil Landry's brother- Jake
Annie Ford
Jim Hinde
Johnny Half Piano
What a hoot!
My li'l sister Susan and I followed The Slim Pickenz Band to Pies and Pints up in the University district- great chicken pot pies and, well, the band transported me to a happy Nawlins Zone. The next day in the market, as an old wino woman harangued Paulie, I heard a familiar voice say, "Only Paulie plays washtub bass with duct tape gloves." I was about to correct him (Lots of tubbers use the tape glove),when I turn and there is Thomas Nuendel and family, who were stopping in Seattle on their way to Turkey Day in Alaska. Small world- and one resembling Royal Street. Thomas and I closed the Irish Pub in Post Alley that night. So good to hang with the Nappy Boy.
My baby sister- Susan and I bonded over many great meals, and she indulged me in a showing of "Bound To Lose" -a documentary on the lives and times of The Holy Modal Rounders- a major influence on young DR.
I love this town. I'm glad this will be my first stop when I return from Singapore.
******
******
******
******
************
(,)(,)
u
*.....*
Goin Back To Bernie's - November 6, 2007
I Am Off To Singapore, Again!
I'll be flying there November 20th, and staying with Bernie for a couple weeks while I hunt for housing, buy a keyboard, reunite and rehearse with Dr. Stephen & the band, and get my little stage ready at Botak Jones'- Bernie's latest restaurant.
Its adventure time for DR. And time for Rhoti Prata and curried chicken, and pepper crab, and good goat, and ++++plus plus plus, as they say, lah.
Until then, I'll be here on Vancouver Island- going out to the stormy west coast for crab and fish and chips this weekend, then to Seattle for the flight out.
Hey, Nick Newlin is in New Orleans. Read his blog.
http://web.mac.com/nnewlin/Nick_and_SPS_77_New_Orleans/Nick_and_SPS_77_New_Orleans_Blog/Nick_and_SPS_77_New_Orleans_Blog.html
I'll be flying there November 20th, and staying with Bernie for a couple weeks while I hunt for housing, buy a keyboard, reunite and rehearse with Dr. Stephen & the band, and get my little stage ready at Botak Jones'- Bernie's latest restaurant.
Its adventure time for DR. And time for Rhoti Prata and curried chicken, and pepper crab, and good goat, and ++++plus plus plus, as they say, lah.
Until then, I'll be here on Vancouver Island- going out to the stormy west coast for crab and fish and chips this weekend, then to Seattle for the flight out.
Hey, Nick Newlin is in New Orleans. Read his blog.
http://web.mac.com/nnewlin/Nick_and_SPS_77_New_Orleans/Nick_and_SPS_77_New_Orleans_Blog/Nick_and_SPS_77_New_Orleans_Blog.html
calendar is up at Ical - August 16, 2007
You can view my calendar at:
http://ical.mac.com/davidroe1111/gigs
You can subscribe to my calendar at:
webcal://ical.mac.com/davidroe1111/gigs.ics
http://ical.mac.com/davidroe1111/gigs
You can subscribe to my calendar at:
webcal://ical.mac.com/davidroe1111/gigs.ics
New Sounds on the Site - October 3, 2006
This summer, I helped Nick and Joanne produce their first musical album- mostly for children, but adults will like it too.
The album should be available soon at www.nicolowhimsey.com Joanne plays tabor and drums and musical saw. Nick sings along with his sister Eliza, and plays piano and accordion. I play guitar, jews harp and tambourine and add vocals. Check out the MP3 on my music page.
And while you are there, listen to one cut from the Music City Brass' new album, www.musiccitybrass.com/page/page/1543032.htm produced by yours truly and featuring Tim Paco on Sousaphone, and me on piano and drums. Its going to be a fun Dixieland album.
Speaking of Paco, he and I will join the Rounders in Deadwood SD again this year for Mardi Gras weekend.
And, while we are on the subject of Mardi Gras, Laura and I will be reigning royalty as the Krewe of WooHoo! takes to the streets Mardi Gras Day. I hope you will join us.
The album should be available soon at www.nicolowhimsey.com Joanne plays tabor and drums and musical saw. Nick sings along with his sister Eliza, and plays piano and accordion. I play guitar, jews harp and tambourine and add vocals. Check out the MP3 on my music page.
And while you are there, listen to one cut from the Music City Brass' new album, www.musiccitybrass.com/page/page/1543032.htm produced by yours truly and featuring Tim Paco on Sousaphone, and me on piano and drums. Its going to be a fun Dixieland album.
Speaking of Paco, he and I will join the Rounders in Deadwood SD again this year for Mardi Gras weekend.
And, while we are on the subject of Mardi Gras, Laura and I will be reigning royalty as the Krewe of WooHoo! takes to the streets Mardi Gras Day. I hope you will join us.
Camp Democracy - August 30, 2006
CAMP DEMOCRACY.ORG
Beginning September 5th, we will launch a non-partisan camp for peace, democracy, and the restoration of the rule of law. Camp Casey will move from Crawford, Texas, to Washington, D.C., to create a larger camp focused not only on ending the war but also on righting injustices here at home and on holding accountable the Bush Administration and Congress. Here's the schedule of what's happening each day from September 5th to 21st.
SCHEDULE OF MUSICAL EVENTS
9/5, 9 pm - 11 pm:
Anne Feeney http://annefeeney.com
Emma's Revolution http://emmasrevolution.com
9/6, 3 pm - 4 pm: SONiA http://soniadf.com/home.php
9/8, 7 pm - 9 pm:
labor music performers TBA
Chris Chandler & David Roe http://www.chrischandler.org/; http://www.royalrounders.com/
Janet Bates http://www.janetbates.com/
John Flynn http://www.johnflynn.net/
Nadir http://distortedsoul.com
FESTIVAL DEMOCRACY
9/9, 12 pm - 3 pm: Political Songwriting: Responding to the Political Zeitgeist
Graham and Barbara Dean (moderators) http://www.commonsensesongs.com/
Wishing Chair http://www.wishingchair.com
Greg Greenway http://www.greggreenway.com/
Nick Annis http://www.nickannis.com/
Janet Bates http://www.janetbates.com/
Mike Boyd (tentative)
9/10, 12 pm - 3 pm: Political Commentary and Satire
Graham and Barbara Dean (moderators) http://www.commonsensesongs.com/
Dave Lippman, AKA George Shrub the Singing CIA Agent http://davelippman.com/
Chris Chandler & David Roe http://www.chrischandler.org/; http://www.royalrounders.com/
Eric Schwartz http://www.ericschwartz.com
Nadir http://distortedsoul.com
Tristan James http://www.proletariatproductions.com/tj.htm
9/11, 12 pm - 3 pm: In Memoriam - Remembering Five Years Ago
John Flynn http://www.johnflynn.net/
Tom Chelston http://www.tomsongs.org/
Chris Chandler & David Roe http://www.chrischandler.org/; http://www.royalrounders.com/
Nadir http://distortedsoul.com
Spook Handy http://spookhandy.com
Other artists may join in -
CAMP DEMOCRACY
9/16, time tba: Joe Jencks http://www.joejencks.com/
9/17, 12 pm - 3 pm: Songwriting for Peace
Dream Kitchen http://www.myspace.com/thedreamkitchen
Spook Handy http://spookhandy.com
Sue Jeffers http://www.fbirecords.com/
Beginning September 5th, we will launch a non-partisan camp for peace, democracy, and the restoration of the rule of law. Camp Casey will move from Crawford, Texas, to Washington, D.C., to create a larger camp focused not only on ending the war but also on righting injustices here at home and on holding accountable the Bush Administration and Congress. Here's the schedule of what's happening each day from September 5th to 21st.
SCHEDULE OF MUSICAL EVENTS
9/5, 9 pm - 11 pm:
Anne Feeney http://annefeeney.com
Emma's Revolution http://emmasrevolution.com
9/6, 3 pm - 4 pm: SONiA http://soniadf.com/home.php
9/8, 7 pm - 9 pm:
labor music performers TBA
Chris Chandler & David Roe http://www.chrischandler.org/; http://www.royalrounders.com/
Janet Bates http://www.janetbates.com/
John Flynn http://www.johnflynn.net/
Nadir http://distortedsoul.com
FESTIVAL DEMOCRACY
9/9, 12 pm - 3 pm: Political Songwriting: Responding to the Political Zeitgeist
Graham and Barbara Dean (moderators) http://www.commonsensesongs.com/
Wishing Chair http://www.wishingchair.com
Greg Greenway http://www.greggreenway.com/
Nick Annis http://www.nickannis.com/
Janet Bates http://www.janetbates.com/
Mike Boyd (tentative)
9/10, 12 pm - 3 pm: Political Commentary and Satire
Graham and Barbara Dean (moderators) http://www.commonsensesongs.com/
Dave Lippman, AKA George Shrub the Singing CIA Agent http://davelippman.com/
Chris Chandler & David Roe http://www.chrischandler.org/; http://www.royalrounders.com/
Eric Schwartz http://www.ericschwartz.com
Nadir http://distortedsoul.com
Tristan James http://www.proletariatproductions.com/tj.htm
9/11, 12 pm - 3 pm: In Memoriam - Remembering Five Years Ago
John Flynn http://www.johnflynn.net/
Tom Chelston http://www.tomsongs.org/
Chris Chandler & David Roe http://www.chrischandler.org/; http://www.royalrounders.com/
Nadir http://distortedsoul.com
Spook Handy http://spookhandy.com
Other artists may join in -
CAMP DEMOCRACY
9/16, time tba: Joe Jencks http://www.joejencks.com/
9/17, 12 pm - 3 pm: Songwriting for Peace
Dream Kitchen http://www.myspace.com/thedreamkitchen
Spook Handy http://spookhandy.com
Sue Jeffers http://www.fbirecords.com/
My Godchild's take on NOLA - July 30, 2006
Heres an article Gabe Barryrecently published in a local activist journal.
http://www.peacecouncil.net/pnl/06/755/755nola.htm
http://www.peacecouncil.net/pnl/06/755/755nola.htm
KPIG interview - July 30, 2006
To hear the KPIG Santa Cruz Public Radio interview, go to:
http://chrisvids.org/audio/kpig-chandler-0606.mp3
http://chrisvids.org/audio/kpig-chandler-0606.mp3
Celtic Stone Rolls Again - June 19, 2006
Just found the C Stone CD on CD BABY. Also found a website with the band's history up to my actually joining the band officially. http://celticstone.celticmp3s.com/
Now if we could find the masters to Dulcitronic Wonderland and Enchanted Rock and get them digitized. http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/celticstone/from/celtic/
Summer Tour - June 1, 2006
Chandler and I have a busy Summer. Hope to see you out on the road. Meanwhile, back at OkeeDokee the squash peas radishes and greens are good eating. Everything else is growing like mad.
We have a new DVD available only at shows! It is what I have always wanted to do.
It features the new videos – many of which we are projecting as we perform.
Something’s in the Air, St Augustine, Cracker Jack Cure, and many others – very
cool!
The New CD is doing great! by Far the best record I have ever made.
TO GET THE NEW 2 VOLUME ENHANCED CD SET "American Storyteller:" <http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/cchandler3>
Please check out our three videos at http://www.chrisvids.org/
Friday, June 2nd, 2006, 930PM
High Falls, NY
EPWORTH CAMP and RETREAT CENTER
http://www.peoplesmusic.org
Friday, June 2nd, 2006, 7pm
Akron, OH
VIDEO SCREENING ONLY: 9th Ward New Orleans & Little Pink Houses
Benefit for New Orleans Displaced Musicians
The Lime Spider
207 South Main Street
http://thelimespider.com
Saturday, June 3rd, 2006, 8pm
Rosendale, NY
Rosendale Cafe
434 Main St
(845) 658-9048
http://www.rosendalecafe.com
Saturday, June 3rd, 2006
High Falls, NY
EPWORTH CAMP and RETREAT CENTER
Sunday, June 4th, 2006
High Falls, NY
The People's Music Network Summer Gathering
Wednesday, June 7th, 2006, 8 PM
Takoma Park, MD
Sangha
7014 Westmoreland Avenue
301.891.3214
http://www.sangha.ws
Friday, June 9th, 2006, 7:30pm
Pittsburgh, PA
Friendship House Concerts
412.361.6051
Saturday, June 10th, 2006, 7pm
Cleveland, OH
Barking Spider Tavern
11310 Juniper Rd.
216-421-2863
http://www.barkingspidertavern.com/
Sunday, June 11th, 2006, 4 PM
Detroit, MI
Detroit Festival of the Arts - Litfest Tent
http://www.springfed.org
Saturday, June 17th, 2006, 5:15pm
Telford, PA
X-Fest (country creek winery)
133 Cressman Road
973 809 1930
http://www.xfsmusic.org
Thursday, June 22nd, 2006, 8pm
Lawrence, KS
Gaslight Tavern
317 N 2nd Street
http://www.gaslighttavern.com
Sunday, June 25th, 2006, tbd
Watsonville, CA
Radio interview at KPIG!
1851 BRANCIFORTE DR
http://www.kpig.com
Monday, June 26th, 2006, 8pm
Downtown Felton, CA
Don Quixote's International Music Hall
6275 Highway 9
831-603-2294
http://www.donquixotesmusic.com
Tuesday, June 27th, 2006, 7pm
Berkeley, CA
House Concert - Hali Hammer
1609 Woolsey Street
510-649-1423
Wednesday, June 28th, 2006, 8pm
San Francisco, CA
House Concert
339 Pierce St., SF 94117
Thursday, June 29th, 2006, tbd
Quincy, CA
High Sierra Music Festival
Plumus Fairgrounds
510.595.1115
Friday, June 30th, 2006, 10 AM
Quincy, CA
High Sierra Music Festival
Plumus Fairgrounds
510.595.1115
Saturday, July 1st, 2006, 6:45
Quincy, CA
High Sierra Music Festival
Plumus Fairgrounds
510.595.1115
http://www.highsierramusic.com
Sunday, July 2nd, 2006, 11 PM
Quincy, CA
High Sierra Music Festival
Plumus Fairgrounds
510.595.1115
http://www.highsierramusic.com
Tuesday, July 4th, 2006, tbd
Vashon Island, WA
tbd
206 408-8058
http://www.backbonecampaign.org
Wednesday, July 5th, 2006, 8pm
Nevada City, CA
Cooper's
235 Commercial St.
http://www.CoopersNevadaCity.com
Thursday, July 6th, 2006
Eugene, OR
Oregon Country Fair
http://www.oregoncountryfair.org
Friday, July 7th, 2006, 4 PM
Eugene, OR
Oregon Country Fair
http://www.oregoncountryfair.org
Saturday, July 8th, 2006, 1:00 PM
Eugene, OR
Oregon Country Fair
http://www.oregoncountryfair.org
Sunday, July 9th, 2006, 3:30 PM
Eugene, OR
Oregon Country Fair
http://www.oregoncountryfair.org
Sunday, July 9th, 2006, Dusk:30
Eugene, OR
Oregon Country Fair
http://www.oregoncountryfair.org
Tuesday, July 11th, 2006, 7pm & 9pm
Olympia, WA
KAOS 89.3 FM & Fertile Ground Guesthouse
The Evergreen State College & 311 9th Ave SE
http://fertileground.org
Wednesday, July 12th, 2006, 9pm
Seattle, WA
Café Venus & Mars Bar
609 Eastlake East
206 624 4516
http://www.cafevenus.com
Thursday, July 13th, 2006, 9pm
eugene
sam bonds garage
407 blair
431-6603
http://www.sambonds.com
Friday, July 14th, 2006, 9pm - 12:30am
Portland, OR
Mississippi Pizza
3552 N Mississippi Ave
(503) 288-3231
http://www.mississippipizza.com/
Friday, July 14th, 2006, tba
Portland, OR
Mississippi Studio
Saturday, July 15th, 2006, tbd
Port Townsend, WA
Sirens
832 Water Street
Phone: 360-379-1100
Sunday, July 16th, 2006
Victoria
Norway house
1110 Hillside Avenue
250-413-3213
http://www.pacificcoast.net/~vfms
Tuesday, July 18th, 2006
Vancouver, BC
Spartacus Books
319 W. Hastings St.
604.688.6138
http://www.spartacusbooks.org/
Wednesday, July 19th, 2006, 8pm
Duncan, BC
The Duncan Garage Showroom
201-330 Duncan St
250-748-7246
http://www.duncangarageshowroom.ca
Thursday, July 20th, 2006, 8:00pm
Courtenay, BC
Comox Valley Art Gallery
580 Duncan Ave
Meg Cursons 336-8187
Friday, July 21st, 2006, tbd
Duncan, BC
Islands Folk Fest
250 748-3975
http://www.folkfest.bc.ca/
Saturday, July 22nd, 2006, tbd
Duncan, BC
Islands Folk Fest
250 748-3975
http://www.folkfest.bc.ca/
Sunday, July 23rd, 2006, tbd
Duncan, BC
Islands Folk Fest
250 748-3975
http://www.folkfest.bc.ca/
Monday, July 24th, 2006, tba
Bellingham, WA
Stuart's At the Market
1530 Cornwall Street
360-714-0800
Thursday, July 27th, 2006
Seattle, WA
House Concert at the Home of Paul Trebach
Saturday, July 29th, 2006, 5pm-6:30pm
Washington, DC
The Warehouse Theater, Main Stage
1021-21 7th Street NW
Sunday, July 30th, 2006, 8PM-9:30pm
Washington, DC
The Warehouse Theater - Main Stage
http://studioeight.tv/events/cabaradiofringe2006.html
Saturday, August 5th, 2006, tbd
Greenbelt
New Deal
113 Centerway
301-474-5642
http://newdealcafe.com
Sunday, August 6th, 2006, 6-8pm
Baltimore, MD
Waterfront Hotel
1710 Thames St
(410) 537-5055
Wednesday, August 9th, 2006, 7:30pm-8:30pm
Bethlehem, PA
Muskifest
Liederplatz stage
n/a
http://www.musikfest.org
Saturday, August 12th, 2006
Newtown, PA
Ray and Kati's House
RSVP for address
215 860 7741
We have a new DVD available only at shows! It is what I have always wanted to do.
It features the new videos – many of which we are projecting as we perform.
Something’s in the Air, St Augustine, Cracker Jack Cure, and many others – very
cool!
The New CD is doing great! by Far the best record I have ever made.
TO GET THE NEW 2 VOLUME ENHANCED CD SET "American Storyteller:" <http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/cchandler3>
Please check out our three videos at http://www.chrisvids.org/
Friday, June 2nd, 2006, 930PM
High Falls, NY
EPWORTH CAMP and RETREAT CENTER
http://www.peoplesmusic.org
Friday, June 2nd, 2006, 7pm
Akron, OH
VIDEO SCREENING ONLY: 9th Ward New Orleans & Little Pink Houses
Benefit for New Orleans Displaced Musicians
The Lime Spider
207 South Main Street
http://thelimespider.com
Saturday, June 3rd, 2006, 8pm
Rosendale, NY
Rosendale Cafe
434 Main St
(845) 658-9048
http://www.rosendalecafe.com
Saturday, June 3rd, 2006
High Falls, NY
EPWORTH CAMP and RETREAT CENTER
Sunday, June 4th, 2006
High Falls, NY
The People's Music Network Summer Gathering
Wednesday, June 7th, 2006, 8 PM
Takoma Park, MD
Sangha
7014 Westmoreland Avenue
301.891.3214
http://www.sangha.ws
Friday, June 9th, 2006, 7:30pm
Pittsburgh, PA
Friendship House Concerts
412.361.6051
Saturday, June 10th, 2006, 7pm
Cleveland, OH
Barking Spider Tavern
11310 Juniper Rd.
216-421-2863
http://www.barkingspidertavern.com/
Sunday, June 11th, 2006, 4 PM
Detroit, MI
Detroit Festival of the Arts - Litfest Tent
http://www.springfed.org
Saturday, June 17th, 2006, 5:15pm
Telford, PA
X-Fest (country creek winery)
133 Cressman Road
973 809 1930
http://www.xfsmusic.org
Thursday, June 22nd, 2006, 8pm
Lawrence, KS
Gaslight Tavern
317 N 2nd Street
http://www.gaslighttavern.com
Sunday, June 25th, 2006, tbd
Watsonville, CA
Radio interview at KPIG!
1851 BRANCIFORTE DR
http://www.kpig.com
Monday, June 26th, 2006, 8pm
Downtown Felton, CA
Don Quixote's International Music Hall
6275 Highway 9
831-603-2294
http://www.donquixotesmusic.com
Tuesday, June 27th, 2006, 7pm
Berkeley, CA
House Concert - Hali Hammer
1609 Woolsey Street
510-649-1423
Wednesday, June 28th, 2006, 8pm
San Francisco, CA
House Concert
339 Pierce St., SF 94117
Thursday, June 29th, 2006, tbd
Quincy, CA
High Sierra Music Festival
Plumus Fairgrounds
510.595.1115
Friday, June 30th, 2006, 10 AM
Quincy, CA
High Sierra Music Festival
Plumus Fairgrounds
510.595.1115
Saturday, July 1st, 2006, 6:45
Quincy, CA
High Sierra Music Festival
Plumus Fairgrounds
510.595.1115
http://www.highsierramusic.com
Sunday, July 2nd, 2006, 11 PM
Quincy, CA
High Sierra Music Festival
Plumus Fairgrounds
510.595.1115
http://www.highsierramusic.com
Tuesday, July 4th, 2006, tbd
Vashon Island, WA
tbd
206 408-8058
http://www.backbonecampaign.org
Wednesday, July 5th, 2006, 8pm
Nevada City, CA
Cooper's
235 Commercial St.
http://www.CoopersNevadaCity.com
Thursday, July 6th, 2006
Eugene, OR
Oregon Country Fair
http://www.oregoncountryfair.org
Friday, July 7th, 2006, 4 PM
Eugene, OR
Oregon Country Fair
http://www.oregoncountryfair.org
Saturday, July 8th, 2006, 1:00 PM
Eugene, OR
Oregon Country Fair
http://www.oregoncountryfair.org
Sunday, July 9th, 2006, 3:30 PM
Eugene, OR
Oregon Country Fair
http://www.oregoncountryfair.org
Sunday, July 9th, 2006, Dusk:30
Eugene, OR
Oregon Country Fair
http://www.oregoncountryfair.org
Tuesday, July 11th, 2006, 7pm & 9pm
Olympia, WA
KAOS 89.3 FM & Fertile Ground Guesthouse
The Evergreen State College & 311 9th Ave SE
http://fertileground.org
Wednesday, July 12th, 2006, 9pm
Seattle, WA
Café Venus & Mars Bar
609 Eastlake East
206 624 4516
http://www.cafevenus.com
Thursday, July 13th, 2006, 9pm
eugene
sam bonds garage
407 blair
431-6603
http://www.sambonds.com
Friday, July 14th, 2006, 9pm - 12:30am
Portland, OR
Mississippi Pizza
3552 N Mississippi Ave
(503) 288-3231
http://www.mississippipizza.com/
Friday, July 14th, 2006, tba
Portland, OR
Mississippi Studio
Saturday, July 15th, 2006, tbd
Port Townsend, WA
Sirens
832 Water Street
Phone: 360-379-1100
Sunday, July 16th, 2006
Victoria
Norway house
1110 Hillside Avenue
250-413-3213
http://www.pacificcoast.net/~vfms
Tuesday, July 18th, 2006
Vancouver, BC
Spartacus Books
319 W. Hastings St.
604.688.6138
http://www.spartacusbooks.org/
Wednesday, July 19th, 2006, 8pm
Duncan, BC
The Duncan Garage Showroom
201-330 Duncan St
250-748-7246
http://www.duncangarageshowroom.ca
Thursday, July 20th, 2006, 8:00pm
Courtenay, BC
Comox Valley Art Gallery
580 Duncan Ave
Meg Cursons 336-8187
Friday, July 21st, 2006, tbd
Duncan, BC
Islands Folk Fest
250 748-3975
http://www.folkfest.bc.ca/
Saturday, July 22nd, 2006, tbd
Duncan, BC
Islands Folk Fest
250 748-3975
http://www.folkfest.bc.ca/
Sunday, July 23rd, 2006, tbd
Duncan, BC
Islands Folk Fest
250 748-3975
http://www.folkfest.bc.ca/
Monday, July 24th, 2006, tba
Bellingham, WA
Stuart's At the Market
1530 Cornwall Street
360-714-0800
Thursday, July 27th, 2006
Seattle, WA
House Concert at the Home of Paul Trebach
Saturday, July 29th, 2006, 5pm-6:30pm
Washington, DC
The Warehouse Theater, Main Stage
1021-21 7th Street NW
Sunday, July 30th, 2006, 8PM-9:30pm
Washington, DC
The Warehouse Theater - Main Stage
http://studioeight.tv/events/cabaradiofringe2006.html
Saturday, August 5th, 2006, tbd
Greenbelt
New Deal
113 Centerway
301-474-5642
http://newdealcafe.com
Sunday, August 6th, 2006, 6-8pm
Baltimore, MD
Waterfront Hotel
1710 Thames St
(410) 537-5055
Wednesday, August 9th, 2006, 7:30pm-8:30pm
Bethlehem, PA
Muskifest
Liederplatz stage
n/a
http://www.musikfest.org
Saturday, August 12th, 2006
Newtown, PA
Ray and Kati's House
RSVP for address
215 860 7741
whirled retort - March 7, 2006
THE DOCTOR IS IN
My Poor Noble Painted Lady, My Sweet New Orleans, once again at the crossroads between
the Old and
New Worlds.
Tabula Rasa.
Clean slate.
A chance to start again.
Rebuild. Rebirthed. ReNew Orleaned.
Down in the Quarters, all seems normal. Quiet, but normal. Art hangs on the fence
by the
Cathedral. Restaurants hose down the sidewalk in the morning.
But there is not a single vegetable vendor left in the French Market.
No band in the Square. Here and there a blue tarp.
Mardi Gras Day, our Beautiful Krewe of WooHoo!
(http://www.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=38268444/a=28850837_28850837/t_=28850837)
rolled throught the Bywater and the Quarters, spreading confetti, beads, cheer and
wildflower seeds everywhere. There were more tears than usual down by the river,
and the frenzied dancing on Frenchmen went into the dark as we rolled our new float
home and had a nightcap at Coops. (http://coopsplace.net)
And all was right with the world. Until Ash Wednesday arrived and we went East to
spread more
cheer and wildflower seeds at the Rainbow Kitchen down below New Orleans in Saint
Bernard Parish.
All is NOT normal. Half the city is gone. Uninhabitable. Toxic.
There are practically no groceries to be made below Elysian Fields, no apartments
available, garbage and debris everywhere.It is ugly and still smells.
But this is the chance. The big chance for the City That Care Forgot to Remember
to Care. Tourism and gambling are not coming to the rescue. New Orleans needs to
create a real economy, based on the arts culture, music, and trade of this once
great port city. Until then, New Orleans is a third world city, in need of all the
skills and tools of survival in the wilderness.
Here is what my friends who are staying in New Orleans need.
Clean Organic Soil by the truckloads
Hydroponic garden setups
Seeds
Solar Panels for power and hot water
Water Purifiers
Bio Diesel setups
Composting Toilets
Generators
Bicycles and carts
green building materials
Small boats
The Rainbow Family and Common Ground need volunteers who have their own RVs, trucks,
tools, and skills.
The New Orleans Musicians Clinic continues to be my personal favorite charity if
you have spare cash.
Everybody- Plant a garden this year. Give the excess to your local food bank.
Re assess your own survival kit.
Get to know your neighbors.
Buddy up.
The road ahead is looking rocky, and washed out in places, but as my Krewe has recently
discovered- together, we ALL get out alive.
DR
http://royalrounders.com
da dates
***************
The Muse and Whirled Retort is a monthly newsletter subscribed to by thousands. To
subscribe click: http://chrischandler.org/index.php?page=signup
To unsubscribe reply with unsubscribe in the subject line
If you would like to see any of the new videos or the Brand NEW NEW NEW slide show
of 9th Ward New Orleans #3 (6 months after Katrina) check out http://chrisvids.org/pink_houses.html
If you were considering a copy of American Storyteller Vols I &II – the 2 vol
CD complete with computer enchantments such as 3 short films - NOW would be a very
good time: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/cchandler3
Check out my film partner Karen Kilroy's Impeachment shop: http://www.cafepress.com/nomorein2004
****************
We look forward to returning to the mid Atlantic and North East.
Boston, P'Town, Albany, Baltimore, DC, Allentown, PA then to the west coast this
summer
***************
T.H.E. .M.U.S.E. .A.N.D ..W.H.I..R.L.E.D. .R.E.T.O.R.T
Hey everybody,
It's that time of the month again.
There is nothing funny to say. So if you were looking for a funny newsletter – maybe
check back next month. I hope my humor will have returned.
Below the balcony where I sit - on the sidewalk along St Claude - there is a mannequin
torso seated in a wheel chair. She evokes a memory of the streets here in New Orleans
just 6 months ago when the bodies in wheel chairs were not mannequins. In this case,
hot rod tail pipes extend from the chair to the street, and she is blindfolded with
yellow "Bio-Hazard" tape. She is made entirely of the flotsam and Jetsam
still littering the urban beach head now that it is low tide in the By Water. Across
the street in the Neutral Ground amongst the piles of refrigerators, mattresses
and plaster that line St Claude is a succession of white crosses made from lath
board ripped from the gutted houses and a tombstone made of gutted plaster. They
are both part of an exhibit called "Toxic Art" at a gallery that sits
at the very edge of a neighborhood known as "The By Water" before crossing
the bridge at the industrial canal into my old neighborhood – the 9th ward.> The
exhibit serves as a reminder that until only very recently the bridge served as
a military check point.
On this side of the bridge, it was only waste deep in water, but the other side,
is a different story. But still, here, the plaster and lath must be removed on this
side as well. I have been down here swinging a hammer in the hopes of getting this
spot in the by-water reopened. It was here that one could get passes to cross the
check point – often press passees printed and laminated in the gallery office, by
any means necessary, in the hopes of getting actual residents in to assess their
property. Also, it served as a key activist spot and independent media site in the
early days of the worst manmade disaster this country has seen.
Yes, I say manmade disaster. I repeat it like a mantra. It was not the hurricane,
the wind, the rain or any of the other ways God farts, It was a man made disaster. Like
a mantra, a man made disaster, but I digress.
The moment I arrived, we crossed the bridge into the 9th ward, something I could
not have done a week earlier without proper credentials. It is six months since
the hurricane and you can now go into most of the ninth ward, St Bernard Parrish
and New Orleans East. I went over with my friend Andrea, who runs the gallery and
is one of the many unsung heroines in this debacle. We went to take pictures - the
exact same pictures - she had taken 6 months earlier. Little has changed but the
water level.
She pointed to a cheap plastic stereo system lying in the middle of the many impassable
roads. She remembered it because she photographed it as it floated by six months
ago – it's speakers sttill attached floating behind the larger unit like little
dingys trolling the wake of a carnival cruise liner. And there it sits washed now
ashore untouched as if it had been beached upon a deserted Island instead of the
middle of a city street.
Whole houses block city streets. Over turned automobiles poke through piles of debris. Entire
lives piled upon other lives in a giant potter's field for the positions of the
poor. Framed photographs, children's toys, lawn mowers, kitchen sinks are ubiquitous. Doll's
heads poking from Piles of dishes, sofas, and abandoned bio hazard suits. A white
Ikea couch pokes from the driver's side window of an overturned Mack Truck on the
corner of what was Reynes Westborn. Refrigerators sit on rooftops.
You see something like that, and you first you think, "How did that get there?"
"Oh, Refrigerators float. Houses do not," I get it. It floated there. Then
you realize houses float too.
Almost all of the houses here are built above ground and many became rafts floating
away until they crash into another one – sometimes landing blocks away. Yes, there
are still houses on top of cars, on top of other cars, on top of other houses, with
cars on top.
There was a barge that broke loose – ((for those of you who are not river people
– a barge is about two city blocks long, or about half the size of one of the World
Trade Center towers) and floated a few blocks from the canal taking out everything
in it's path. It is slowly being cut apart and hauled away. It will be years before
the big money interest will sort out just who failed to anchor the barge. It will
be years after that that any of the home owners whose houses were run over by a
barge will see a dime. Not to mention the residents are scattered from Key West
to Anchorage. It is interesting – that it is the removal of the barge is the only
sign of visible progress. Well, except for that coming from grass roots organizations.
Ya see, that's the thing – a strange synergy is forming between the hippies and
the biible thumpers, and the locals. I have to admit as much as I identify with
the poorest of the poor, I can't say they have ummm…ALWAYS identified with me.
In St Barnard Parrish (immediately east of the Ninth Ward) the tallest building
is a giant geodesic dome. A colorful hand painted sign adorns the Neutral Ground
that looks more like it should be pointing the way to a show at the Fillmore in
1969 than anything than anything that could be in St Bernard Parish, Louisiana before
August of 2005.
The sign reads "Free hot food."
Judge Perez Road winds past miles of destruction and standing in the middle of it
is The Emergency Kitchen inspired by the Rainbow Family. There are no restaurants,
no grocery stores, very little infrastructure, and until last week, no banks. Also,
last week a Home Depot opened. The home Depot is also in a giant circus tent.
Fifteen-hundred meals a day are served from the Emergency Kitchen. They have showers
and laundry. They have a "Free Store" from which Relief donations are
distributed. There are "store managers" who sort and size truckloads of
donations while living in tents and tee-pees There is a yoga tent and even a sewing
room and an Internet cafe. There is nightly entertainment on a stage (musicians
climbing over each other to get scheduled.) Hell, they have Movie Nights with a
projection screen. There are pool tables in the doom. You should see the dread locked
pechuli wearers rackin balls with the Dixie Sugar gimmie cap old spice wearers. Dr
D and I were scheduled to perform there and while standing in the back of the food
line, the doctor hears a child tell her father, "Daddy, the line is real long
today, do you think they will have food for every one?" Needless to say, appetites
were lost.
But, the cross cultural phenomenon is impressive and works in both directions. I
am sure Chalmette residents will no longer cross the street when they see a face
piercing, and it did not take long for the hippies to figure out they were going
to have to learn to cook meat. And not unlike FEMA, the hippies should have figured
out that Ash Wednesday is not the best day to serve pork.
FEMA's just another word for nothing left to lose.
FEMA chose March 1st (Ash Wednesday, the day after Mardi Gras) to kick evacuees
out of hotel rooms. In case ya can't figure it out – it is pretty hard to get anything
done on Ash Wednesday in New Orleans. Also, they choose the day to stop the public
meal kitchens on the cruise-liners-turned-giant-relief-kitchens. It will be interesting
to see how that effects the volunteer kitchens in StBP. Good thinking guys. I mean
even George Bush, as he flew over that fateful August day he famously boasted he
had partied in The City That Never Sleeps Alone. He's a former drug user - he ought
to know and understand Mardi Gras. I mean, what use is it of have a former coke
addict in The White House is he doesn't even understand Mardi Gras. Apparently even
as a drunk George W is an amateur.
So, with these cuts – who is going to feed the people trying to rebuild the vast
areas of the city where there still is no food, limited if any electricity and water? FEMA
trailers that STILL have not arrived.
Well, that's the thing… The Red Cross and FEMA are coming to the hippies asking
them HOW they do it. The Red Cross and FEMA are located up the street – housed in
the StBP Convention Center parking lot and acres of adjacent land. It is a NASCAR,
Indy Car, Merlfest triple Feature full of trailers. Each one brand new, costing
more than 60 grand a piece – and these clowns can't come up with 300 hotdogs or
MREs (meals Ready to Eat) a day. BTW, civilians are not allowed to live in FEMA
trailers – government employees live in them.
But I have to say the trailers are a sight to behold next to the tee-pees. Construction
workers and locals, volunteers, and even red cross workers come to the tee-pees
to eat.
New Orleans officials have a storied history of corruption and waste – and rightfully
so – but compared to what is co coming out of Washington, DC these guys are purse
snatchers in a jail cell with bank robbers.
Further west in the heart of the 9th ward there is a blue house with a blue tarp
roof. The Common Ground Collective - http://www.commongroundrelief.org/ - is one
of the few residencies in my old neighborhood, and doing astonishing work. They
are organizing volunteers to load dump trucks full of debris, they are helping the
neighbors find the right agencies for assistance and teaching people what plants
to grow. You have to understand, the soil, after an oil spill from Murphy Oil and
years of an industrial canal (and all of the implications) having overlowed – the
soil is dead. It is filled with arsenic. Sweet potatoes and other tubers have to
be planted and their output discarded. It is dangerous, sad and desperate. They
are doing terrific work, but, bless their souls, Common Ground is waste paper basket
next to the landfill.
It was desperate before. Now it is apocalyptic. I can't think of a nice, uplifting,
clever way to say it. Also, it is surreal. As if Revelations was written by Tom
Robbins. Ya see, because it just opened up to traffic, and the Mardi Gras tourists
are in town, the 9th Ward became a peculiar tourist destination".Let's see
honey, Preservation Hall, Congo Square, St Louis Cathedral, and the Lower Ninth,
then off to Bourbon."
I have never seen so many expensive cars in the lower ninth. Before Katrina, it
was a dangerous place. Now there is no one, yet there are blocks and blocks and
blocks of rich tourists stopping to take pictures. Well, not stopping, more like
slowing down by houses lying on there sides, snapping a picture and driving on. This
is the only place where I have ever actually witnessed murder (1998). I was afraid
of this place 6 blocks from my house. Now during Mardi Gras 2006, Mercedes and SUVs
with license plates from Ohio and Indiana festooned in purple green and gold beads
came the apocalypse.
I only hope, that some of them will show their friends there pictures and it will
inspire them to come back, get out of their cars and swing a hammer.
"If I had a hammer."
Well, if you ever had a hammer, now would be a good time.
**************
Here is the slide show of the photos I took on my trip to New Orleans. http://chrisvids.org/pink_houses.html It is in Windows Media Player now (which also plays on Mac) and will be in more
formats shortly. Please tell your friends.
***************
Please check the web sites of emergencykitchens.com and http://www.commongroundrelief.org/.
And toxic art http://www.lartnoir.com/.
****************
Dr D and I are looking for work in the Northeast in late April and early May. The
schedule is below – if you have a house or know of a venue and would like to present
us – we would love to do it.
*****************
We are also looking for work on the west coast this summer.
******************
HERE'S DA DATES:
Friday, March 10th, 2006 7pm
Akron, OH
The Lime Spider
207 South Main Street
Screening of "9th Ward New Orleans" Video
at the Displaced New Orleans Musicians Benefit
for details see:http://activemuse.org/pages/news.htm
Friday, March 10th, 2006 10pm
Chicago, IL
Something's In The Air But Not On the Airwaves
Chicago Independent Television - CAN TV - Cable Channel 21
Sunday, March 12th, 2006 6PM-8PM
Baltimore, MD
Mud Luscious Records and The Waterfront Hotel Present:
Chris Chandler and David Roe
Waterfront Hotel
1710 Thames St ,
phone: (410) 537-5055
Friday, March 17th, 2006 10pm
National USA TV
Something's In the Air / But It's Not on the Airwaves
Chicago Independent Television on
Free Speech TV, broadcast to 17 million homes on DISH Network
Saturday, March 18th, 2006 4:15PM
Cleveland, OH
Screening of Something's In the Air / But It's Not on the Airwaves
Cleveland International Film Festival
Tower City Cinemas, Tower City, downtown
buy advance tickets at http://clevelandfilm.org - we are in Independent Shorts Program 2
Sunday, March 19th, 2006 11pm
Chicago, IL
Something's In the Air / But It's Not on the Airwaves
Chicago Independent Television - CAN TV - Cable Channel 21
Friday, March 24th, 2006 8:30PM
Greenbelt, MD
The Chris Chandler and David Roe Show
New Deal
113 Centerway
phone: 301-474-5642
Monday, May 1st, 2006 8PM
Haledon, NJ
The Chris Chandler and David Roe Show
Botto House Labor Museum
83 Norwood Avenue,
phone: 973-595-7953
Saturday, May 6th, 2006
private workshop
Philadelphia, PA
The Philadelphia Folk Song Society Presents
The Chris Chandler and David Roe Show
For more information, please see www.pfs.org
Sunday, May 7th, 2006 7pm
Worchester. MA
The Chris Chandler and David Roe Show
Java Hut
1073A Main Street,
phone: 508/752-1678
Tuesday, May 9th, 2006
The Chris Chandler and David Roe Show
Waltham
Wednesday, May 10th, 2006
Provincetown, MA
Bob Weiser Presents
The Chris Chandler and David Roe Show
Thursday, May 11th, 2006 tbd
Boston, MA
The Chris Chandler and David Roe Show
Split Bill with David Rovics
check back for details
Friday, May 12 - Sunday, May 14, 2006
Darlington, MD
The Chris Chandler and David Roe Show
Susquehanna Music and Arts Festival
2564 Silver Rd
Saturday, June 3rd, 2006 time tbd
Albany, NY
The Chris Chandler and David Roe Show
Rosendale Cafe
Saturday, June 17th, 2006 8pm
Telford, PA
The Chris Chandler and David Roe Show
XFEST 2006 : (country creek winery)
133 Cressman Road ,
phone: 973 809 1930
Saturday, July 15th - Sunday, July 16, 2006 8pm
Tinmouth, VT
The Chris Chandler and David Roe Show
SolarFest
12 MacNamara Road
phone: 802 235 2718
My Poor Noble Painted Lady, My Sweet New Orleans, once again at the crossroads between
the Old and
New Worlds.
Tabula Rasa.
Clean slate.
A chance to start again.
Rebuild. Rebirthed. ReNew Orleaned.
Down in the Quarters, all seems normal. Quiet, but normal. Art hangs on the fence
by the
Cathedral. Restaurants hose down the sidewalk in the morning.
But there is not a single vegetable vendor left in the French Market.
No band in the Square. Here and there a blue tarp.
Mardi Gras Day, our Beautiful Krewe of WooHoo!
(http://www.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=38268444/a=28850837_28850837/t_=28850837)
rolled throught the Bywater and the Quarters, spreading confetti, beads, cheer and
wildflower seeds everywhere. There were more tears than usual down by the river,
and the frenzied dancing on Frenchmen went into the dark as we rolled our new float
home and had a nightcap at Coops. (http://coopsplace.net)
And all was right with the world. Until Ash Wednesday arrived and we went East to
spread more
cheer and wildflower seeds at the Rainbow Kitchen down below New Orleans in Saint
Bernard Parish.
All is NOT normal. Half the city is gone. Uninhabitable. Toxic.
There are practically no groceries to be made below Elysian Fields, no apartments
available, garbage and debris everywhere.It is ugly and still smells.
But this is the chance. The big chance for the City That Care Forgot to Remember
to Care. Tourism and gambling are not coming to the rescue. New Orleans needs to
create a real economy, based on the arts culture, music, and trade of this once
great port city. Until then, New Orleans is a third world city, in need of all the
skills and tools of survival in the wilderness.
Here is what my friends who are staying in New Orleans need.
Clean Organic Soil by the truckloads
Hydroponic garden setups
Seeds
Solar Panels for power and hot water
Water Purifiers
Bio Diesel setups
Composting Toilets
Generators
Bicycles and carts
green building materials
Small boats
The Rainbow Family and Common Ground need volunteers who have their own RVs, trucks,
tools, and skills.
The New Orleans Musicians Clinic continues to be my personal favorite charity if
you have spare cash.
Everybody- Plant a garden this year. Give the excess to your local food bank.
Re assess your own survival kit.
Get to know your neighbors.
Buddy up.
The road ahead is looking rocky, and washed out in places, but as my Krewe has recently
discovered- together, we ALL get out alive.
DR
http://royalrounders.com
da dates
***************
The Muse and Whirled Retort is a monthly newsletter subscribed to by thousands. To
subscribe click: http://chrischandler.org/index.php?page=signup
To unsubscribe reply with unsubscribe in the subject line
If you would like to see any of the new videos or the Brand NEW NEW NEW slide show
of 9th Ward New Orleans #3 (6 months after Katrina) check out http://chrisvids.org/pink_houses.html
If you were considering a copy of American Storyteller Vols I &II – the 2 vol
CD complete with computer enchantments such as 3 short films - NOW would be a very
good time: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/cchandler3
Check out my film partner Karen Kilroy's Impeachment shop: http://www.cafepress.com/nomorein2004
****************
We look forward to returning to the mid Atlantic and North East.
Boston, P'Town, Albany, Baltimore, DC, Allentown, PA then to the west coast this
summer
***************
T.H.E. .M.U.S.E. .A.N.D ..W.H.I..R.L.E.D. .R.E.T.O.R.T
Hey everybody,
It's that time of the month again.
There is nothing funny to say. So if you were looking for a funny newsletter – maybe
check back next month. I hope my humor will have returned.
Below the balcony where I sit - on the sidewalk along St Claude - there is a mannequin
torso seated in a wheel chair. She evokes a memory of the streets here in New Orleans
just 6 months ago when the bodies in wheel chairs were not mannequins. In this case,
hot rod tail pipes extend from the chair to the street, and she is blindfolded with
yellow "Bio-Hazard" tape. She is made entirely of the flotsam and Jetsam
still littering the urban beach head now that it is low tide in the By Water. Across
the street in the Neutral Ground amongst the piles of refrigerators, mattresses
and plaster that line St Claude is a succession of white crosses made from lath
board ripped from the gutted houses and a tombstone made of gutted plaster. They
are both part of an exhibit called "Toxic Art" at a gallery that sits
at the very edge of a neighborhood known as "The By Water" before crossing
the bridge at the industrial canal into my old neighborhood – the 9th ward.> The
exhibit serves as a reminder that until only very recently the bridge served as
a military check point.
On this side of the bridge, it was only waste deep in water, but the other side,
is a different story. But still, here, the plaster and lath must be removed on this
side as well. I have been down here swinging a hammer in the hopes of getting this
spot in the by-water reopened. It was here that one could get passes to cross the
check point – often press passees printed and laminated in the gallery office, by
any means necessary, in the hopes of getting actual residents in to assess their
property. Also, it served as a key activist spot and independent media site in the
early days of the worst manmade disaster this country has seen.
Yes, I say manmade disaster. I repeat it like a mantra. It was not the hurricane,
the wind, the rain or any of the other ways God farts, It was a man made disaster. Like
a mantra, a man made disaster, but I digress.
The moment I arrived, we crossed the bridge into the 9th ward, something I could
not have done a week earlier without proper credentials. It is six months since
the hurricane and you can now go into most of the ninth ward, St Bernard Parrish
and New Orleans East. I went over with my friend Andrea, who runs the gallery and
is one of the many unsung heroines in this debacle. We went to take pictures - the
exact same pictures - she had taken 6 months earlier. Little has changed but the
water level.
She pointed to a cheap plastic stereo system lying in the middle of the many impassable
roads. She remembered it because she photographed it as it floated by six months
ago – it's speakers sttill attached floating behind the larger unit like little
dingys trolling the wake of a carnival cruise liner. And there it sits washed now
ashore untouched as if it had been beached upon a deserted Island instead of the
middle of a city street.
Whole houses block city streets. Over turned automobiles poke through piles of debris. Entire
lives piled upon other lives in a giant potter's field for the positions of the
poor. Framed photographs, children's toys, lawn mowers, kitchen sinks are ubiquitous. Doll's
heads poking from Piles of dishes, sofas, and abandoned bio hazard suits. A white
Ikea couch pokes from the driver's side window of an overturned Mack Truck on the
corner of what was Reynes Westborn. Refrigerators sit on rooftops.
You see something like that, and you first you think, "How did that get there?"
"Oh, Refrigerators float. Houses do not," I get it. It floated there. Then
you realize houses float too.
Almost all of the houses here are built above ground and many became rafts floating
away until they crash into another one – sometimes landing blocks away. Yes, there
are still houses on top of cars, on top of other cars, on top of other houses, with
cars on top.
There was a barge that broke loose – ((for those of you who are not river people
– a barge is about two city blocks long, or about half the size of one of the World
Trade Center towers) and floated a few blocks from the canal taking out everything
in it's path. It is slowly being cut apart and hauled away. It will be years before
the big money interest will sort out just who failed to anchor the barge. It will
be years after that that any of the home owners whose houses were run over by a
barge will see a dime. Not to mention the residents are scattered from Key West
to Anchorage. It is interesting – that it is the removal of the barge is the only
sign of visible progress. Well, except for that coming from grass roots organizations.
Ya see, that's the thing – a strange synergy is forming between the hippies and
the biible thumpers, and the locals. I have to admit as much as I identify with
the poorest of the poor, I can't say they have ummm…ALWAYS identified with me.
In St Barnard Parrish (immediately east of the Ninth Ward) the tallest building
is a giant geodesic dome. A colorful hand painted sign adorns the Neutral Ground
that looks more like it should be pointing the way to a show at the Fillmore in
1969 than anything than anything that could be in St Bernard Parish, Louisiana before
August of 2005.
The sign reads "Free hot food."
Judge Perez Road winds past miles of destruction and standing in the middle of it
is The Emergency Kitchen inspired by the Rainbow Family. There are no restaurants,
no grocery stores, very little infrastructure, and until last week, no banks. Also,
last week a Home Depot opened. The home Depot is also in a giant circus tent.
Fifteen-hundred meals a day are served from the Emergency Kitchen. They have showers
and laundry. They have a "Free Store" from which Relief donations are
distributed. There are "store managers" who sort and size truckloads of
donations while living in tents and tee-pees There is a yoga tent and even a sewing
room and an Internet cafe. There is nightly entertainment on a stage (musicians
climbing over each other to get scheduled.) Hell, they have Movie Nights with a
projection screen. There are pool tables in the doom. You should see the dread locked
pechuli wearers rackin balls with the Dixie Sugar gimmie cap old spice wearers. Dr
D and I were scheduled to perform there and while standing in the back of the food
line, the doctor hears a child tell her father, "Daddy, the line is real long
today, do you think they will have food for every one?" Needless to say, appetites
were lost.
But, the cross cultural phenomenon is impressive and works in both directions. I
am sure Chalmette residents will no longer cross the street when they see a face
piercing, and it did not take long for the hippies to figure out they were going
to have to learn to cook meat. And not unlike FEMA, the hippies should have figured
out that Ash Wednesday is not the best day to serve pork.
FEMA's just another word for nothing left to lose.
FEMA chose March 1st (Ash Wednesday, the day after Mardi Gras) to kick evacuees
out of hotel rooms. In case ya can't figure it out – it is pretty hard to get anything
done on Ash Wednesday in New Orleans. Also, they choose the day to stop the public
meal kitchens on the cruise-liners-turned-giant-relief-kitchens. It will be interesting
to see how that effects the volunteer kitchens in StBP. Good thinking guys. I mean
even George Bush, as he flew over that fateful August day he famously boasted he
had partied in The City That Never Sleeps Alone. He's a former drug user - he ought
to know and understand Mardi Gras. I mean, what use is it of have a former coke
addict in The White House is he doesn't even understand Mardi Gras. Apparently even
as a drunk George W is an amateur.
So, with these cuts – who is going to feed the people trying to rebuild the vast
areas of the city where there still is no food, limited if any electricity and water? FEMA
trailers that STILL have not arrived.
Well, that's the thing… The Red Cross and FEMA are coming to the hippies asking
them HOW they do it. The Red Cross and FEMA are located up the street – housed in
the StBP Convention Center parking lot and acres of adjacent land. It is a NASCAR,
Indy Car, Merlfest triple Feature full of trailers. Each one brand new, costing
more than 60 grand a piece – and these clowns can't come up with 300 hotdogs or
MREs (meals Ready to Eat) a day. BTW, civilians are not allowed to live in FEMA
trailers – government employees live in them.
But I have to say the trailers are a sight to behold next to the tee-pees. Construction
workers and locals, volunteers, and even red cross workers come to the tee-pees
to eat.
New Orleans officials have a storied history of corruption and waste – and rightfully
so – but compared to what is co coming out of Washington, DC these guys are purse
snatchers in a jail cell with bank robbers.
Further west in the heart of the 9th ward there is a blue house with a blue tarp
roof. The Common Ground Collective - http://www.commongroundrelief.org/ - is one
of the few residencies in my old neighborhood, and doing astonishing work. They
are organizing volunteers to load dump trucks full of debris, they are helping the
neighbors find the right agencies for assistance and teaching people what plants
to grow. You have to understand, the soil, after an oil spill from Murphy Oil and
years of an industrial canal (and all of the implications) having overlowed – the
soil is dead. It is filled with arsenic. Sweet potatoes and other tubers have to
be planted and their output discarded. It is dangerous, sad and desperate. They
are doing terrific work, but, bless their souls, Common Ground is waste paper basket
next to the landfill.
It was desperate before. Now it is apocalyptic. I can't think of a nice, uplifting,
clever way to say it. Also, it is surreal. As if Revelations was written by Tom
Robbins. Ya see, because it just opened up to traffic, and the Mardi Gras tourists
are in town, the 9th Ward became a peculiar tourist destination".Let's see
honey, Preservation Hall, Congo Square, St Louis Cathedral, and the Lower Ninth,
then off to Bourbon."
I have never seen so many expensive cars in the lower ninth. Before Katrina, it
was a dangerous place. Now there is no one, yet there are blocks and blocks and
blocks of rich tourists stopping to take pictures. Well, not stopping, more like
slowing down by houses lying on there sides, snapping a picture and driving on. This
is the only place where I have ever actually witnessed murder (1998). I was afraid
of this place 6 blocks from my house. Now during Mardi Gras 2006, Mercedes and SUVs
with license plates from Ohio and Indiana festooned in purple green and gold beads
came the apocalypse.
I only hope, that some of them will show their friends there pictures and it will
inspire them to come back, get out of their cars and swing a hammer.
"If I had a hammer."
Well, if you ever had a hammer, now would be a good time.
**************
Here is the slide show of the photos I took on my trip to New Orleans. http://chrisvids.org/pink_houses.html It is in Windows Media Player now (which also plays on Mac) and will be in more
formats shortly. Please tell your friends.
***************
Please check the web sites of emergencykitchens.com and http://www.commongroundrelief.org/.
And toxic art http://www.lartnoir.com/.
****************
Dr D and I are looking for work in the Northeast in late April and early May. The
schedule is below – if you have a house or know of a venue and would like to present
us – we would love to do it.
*****************
We are also looking for work on the west coast this summer.
******************
HERE'S DA DATES:
Friday, March 10th, 2006 7pm
Akron, OH
The Lime Spider
207 South Main Street
Screening of "9th Ward New Orleans" Video
at the Displaced New Orleans Musicians Benefit
for details see:http://activemuse.org/pages/news.htm
Friday, March 10th, 2006 10pm
Chicago, IL
Something's In The Air But Not On the Airwaves
Chicago Independent Television - CAN TV - Cable Channel 21
Sunday, March 12th, 2006 6PM-8PM
Baltimore, MD
Mud Luscious Records and The Waterfront Hotel Present:
Chris Chandler and David Roe
Waterfront Hotel
1710 Thames St ,
phone: (410) 537-5055
Friday, March 17th, 2006 10pm
National USA TV
Something's In the Air / But It's Not on the Airwaves
Chicago Independent Television on
Free Speech TV, broadcast to 17 million homes on DISH Network
Saturday, March 18th, 2006 4:15PM
Cleveland, OH
Screening of Something's In the Air / But It's Not on the Airwaves
Cleveland International Film Festival
Tower City Cinemas, Tower City, downtown
buy advance tickets at http://clevelandfilm.org - we are in Independent Shorts Program 2
Sunday, March 19th, 2006 11pm
Chicago, IL
Something's In the Air / But It's Not on the Airwaves
Chicago Independent Television - CAN TV - Cable Channel 21
Friday, March 24th, 2006 8:30PM
Greenbelt, MD
The Chris Chandler and David Roe Show
New Deal
113 Centerway
phone: 301-474-5642
Monday, May 1st, 2006 8PM
Haledon, NJ
The Chris Chandler and David Roe Show
Botto House Labor Museum
83 Norwood Avenue,
phone: 973-595-7953
Saturday, May 6th, 2006
private workshop
Philadelphia, PA
The Philadelphia Folk Song Society Presents
The Chris Chandler and David Roe Show
For more information, please see www.pfs.org
Sunday, May 7th, 2006 7pm
Worchester. MA
The Chris Chandler and David Roe Show
Java Hut
1073A Main Street,
phone: 508/752-1678
Tuesday, May 9th, 2006
The Chris Chandler and David Roe Show
Waltham
Wednesday, May 10th, 2006
Provincetown, MA
Bob Weiser Presents
The Chris Chandler and David Roe Show
Thursday, May 11th, 2006 tbd
Boston, MA
The Chris Chandler and David Roe Show
Split Bill with David Rovics
check back for details
Friday, May 12 - Sunday, May 14, 2006
Darlington, MD
The Chris Chandler and David Roe Show
Susquehanna Music and Arts Festival
2564 Silver Rd
Saturday, June 3rd, 2006 time tbd
Albany, NY
The Chris Chandler and David Roe Show
Rosendale Cafe
Saturday, June 17th, 2006 8pm
Telford, PA
The Chris Chandler and David Roe Show
XFEST 2006 : (country creek winery)
133 Cressman Road ,
phone: 973 809 1930
Saturday, July 15th - Sunday, July 16, 2006 8pm
Tinmouth, VT
The Chris Chandler and David Roe Show
SolarFest
12 MacNamara Road
phone: 802 235 2718
Local 1000 Members Raise funds for Katrina victims - February 17, 2006
Local 1000 members raised nearly $2,000 for the American Federation of Musicians (AFM) Gulf Coast Relief Fund and the New Orleans Musicians Clinic in a benefit concert at the 18th annual North American Folk Alliance conference. Fifteen acts rocked the house at the Hilton in Austin, TX on Friday, February 10.
The AFM has established the Gulf Coast Relief Fund to help union members affected by Katrina. The International union will match every dollar contributed, up to $100,000. The New Orleans Musicians’ Clinic (NOMC) is a not-for-profit occupational medicine and wellness partnership offering comprehensive health care to musicians. The clinic reopened in a temporary location last month.
Performers included the Kennedys, Cris Williamson, Jay Mankita, Chris Chandler and David Roe, Freebo, Dave Hawkins, Peter Yarrow, Tret Fure, Linda Allen, Joe Jencks, Ken & Ben Whiteley, SONiA, John McCutcheon, Arlo Guthrie, Kim & Reggie Harris, Wishing Chair and Sarah Jarosz.
The AFM has established the Gulf Coast Relief Fund to help union members affected by Katrina. The International union will match every dollar contributed, up to $100,000. The New Orleans Musicians’ Clinic (NOMC) is a not-for-profit occupational medicine and wellness partnership offering comprehensive health care to musicians. The clinic reopened in a temporary location last month.
Performers included the Kennedys, Cris Williamson, Jay Mankita, Chris Chandler and David Roe, Freebo, Dave Hawkins, Peter Yarrow, Tret Fure, Linda Allen, Joe Jencks, Ken & Ben Whiteley, SONiA, John McCutcheon, Arlo Guthrie, Kim & Reggie Harris, Wishing Chair and Sarah Jarosz.
You are Invited to Join The Krewe Of WooHoo! - February 6, 2006
Arise, Krewe of WooHoo!
Arise, ye citizens of New Orleans, ye citizens of Earth and Sea, ye who
have risen from the waters once more, whether by intelligent design,
divine intervention, or sheer will, amazing life force, and the strength
of the bonds of The Krewe that has kept our family intact and ready to
heed the call of Bacchus, Rex, Orpheus and our ancestors, and gives us
a chance to greet the Sun as one, and gather at the river all on a
Mardi Gras Day, February 28th, 2006, the day we raise to the throne their
most serene and benevolent majesties, Kattai Barrow and Joe Fontana,
and celebrate the natal anniversary and miraculous recovery of our Queen
Mother, Kathleen Barrow, the Soul of The City.
All Hail the Green King and Silver Queen, Sean, and Juli, who reigned
with majesty over this most tumultuous year.
Peace be with all of us, and may the Krewe of WooHoo! continue to roll
on as a shining example to this sad world that beauty and joy triumph
over adversity and that we all have TALES TO TELL, STORIES TO RELATE AND
MYTHS TO LIVE AND BELIEVE.
~ Captain DR
The Krewe of WooHoo! Is pleased to announce that the Theme for Mardi Gras 2006 is “Storybook”. We would like to request that when creating your costume, you fashion a drinking vessel for yourself. The Krewe of WooHoo! Is taking an anti beer can stance.
In light of the recent trials, tragedies and tribulations that have befallen our city and Krewe, the Krewe of WooHoo! Is hereby requesting, as previously threatened and for the very first time ever, annual membership dues of 50.00 per person. These dues will go towards the replacement of our storm damaged float and wagon, as well as help defray the costs of our libations and merry feasting. If you have questions regarding the annual dues, please contact HYPERLINK "mailto:julisilvergreen@gmail.com" julisilvergreen@gmail.com – dues should be paid in full no later than February 14, 2006. *IMPORTANT – if you are a first time marcher or the guest of a Krewe member, Marching fees are reduced to 25.00*. Come check out the Krewe and see if we make you WooHoo! We’ll be here next year if you are ready to join!
As so many of our members are scattered to the four corners, the Krewe of WooHoo! Is in need of volunteer workers and New Members. Remember – New Member marching fee is a reduced 25.00. We need people to assist with Float Decoration, Feasting Detail and a myriad of other duties.
Please respond to the Krewe Proclamation as soon as possible to let us know if we can expect your presence on this, the most jubilant, personal and important of our celebrations – the 150th Anniversary of Mardi Gras. To RSVP for the Krewe of WooHoo!, please contact Laura Roe at HYPERLINK "mailto:lauracroe@msn.com" lauracroe@msn.com no later than February 14, 2006. Updates and Schedules will follow this email.
“We are the Storytellers – and We are the Makers of Magic!”
~ Captain Laura Roe
~Her Royal Left Hand- Juli Green
Arise, ye citizens of New Orleans, ye citizens of Earth and Sea, ye who
have risen from the waters once more, whether by intelligent design,
divine intervention, or sheer will, amazing life force, and the strength
of the bonds of The Krewe that has kept our family intact and ready to
heed the call of Bacchus, Rex, Orpheus and our ancestors, and gives us
a chance to greet the Sun as one, and gather at the river all on a
Mardi Gras Day, February 28th, 2006, the day we raise to the throne their
most serene and benevolent majesties, Kattai Barrow and Joe Fontana,
and celebrate the natal anniversary and miraculous recovery of our Queen
Mother, Kathleen Barrow, the Soul of The City.
All Hail the Green King and Silver Queen, Sean, and Juli, who reigned
with majesty over this most tumultuous year.
Peace be with all of us, and may the Krewe of WooHoo! continue to roll
on as a shining example to this sad world that beauty and joy triumph
over adversity and that we all have TALES TO TELL, STORIES TO RELATE AND
MYTHS TO LIVE AND BELIEVE.
~ Captain DR
The Krewe of WooHoo! Is pleased to announce that the Theme for Mardi Gras 2006 is “Storybook”. We would like to request that when creating your costume, you fashion a drinking vessel for yourself. The Krewe of WooHoo! Is taking an anti beer can stance.
In light of the recent trials, tragedies and tribulations that have befallen our city and Krewe, the Krewe of WooHoo! Is hereby requesting, as previously threatened and for the very first time ever, annual membership dues of 50.00 per person. These dues will go towards the replacement of our storm damaged float and wagon, as well as help defray the costs of our libations and merry feasting. If you have questions regarding the annual dues, please contact HYPERLINK "mailto:julisilvergreen@gmail.com" julisilvergreen@gmail.com – dues should be paid in full no later than February 14, 2006. *IMPORTANT – if you are a first time marcher or the guest of a Krewe member, Marching fees are reduced to 25.00*. Come check out the Krewe and see if we make you WooHoo! We’ll be here next year if you are ready to join!
As so many of our members are scattered to the four corners, the Krewe of WooHoo! Is in need of volunteer workers and New Members. Remember – New Member marching fee is a reduced 25.00. We need people to assist with Float Decoration, Feasting Detail and a myriad of other duties.
Please respond to the Krewe Proclamation as soon as possible to let us know if we can expect your presence on this, the most jubilant, personal and important of our celebrations – the 150th Anniversary of Mardi Gras. To RSVP for the Krewe of WooHoo!, please contact Laura Roe at HYPERLINK "mailto:lauracroe@msn.com" lauracroe@msn.com no later than February 14, 2006. Updates and Schedules will follow this email.
“We are the Storytellers – and We are the Makers of Magic!”
~ Captain Laura Roe
~Her Royal Left Hand- Juli Green
Gone To Texas - February 6, 2006
Chandler and I saddle up tonight for Nashville, and Fayetteville, Arkansas and then on to Texas- I think my last trip to Texas was with Chandler in 1997. We'll be showcasing in Austin at the Folk Alliance for a week, then on to NOLA. Gonna be a bittersweet Mardi Gras. Hope to see everyone there.