Skip to Content Skip to Navigation

David Roe & The Royal Rounders: The Latest

Goin Back To New Orleans - January 10, 2006

People look at me at say, "Are they gonna have a Mardi Gras this year? "
I try not to look incredulous. "Of course, you idiots, the calendar, moon, sun and stars will stop and skip ahead a day." Just because we live in turbulent times. And, in fact BECAUSE we live in turbulent times, we need a little Mardi Gras, now. Do the citizens of Belize and the islands of the Carribean not celebrate Carnivale with full fervor and the brightest dyes? Have they not been battered by wind and wave, yet, they make their mid Winter cry for Spring and so will the citizens of New Orleans.
And I will be there with my Krewe, dancing with wild abandon and frenzied motions, scaring the devils away again for one more year, the devils of war and hurt and famine and flood, hate and mistrust, laziness and despair.
I hope everyone will come to New Orleans February 28th, and spread a little joy, a little peace, and yes, some money, a pretty costume and lots o' love.
I will be in New Orleans Feb 21, playing with Flipper, Jack Fine, Robert Harris and Tim Paco- The Angel Of New Orleans Band. We fly out Thursday to Deadwood for our annual parade in the chilly Black Hills. We are back on time to catch a parade Sunday and will spend Monday either working on floats or hanging at Coops.
Thursday- Ash Thursday?, Chandler and I will be doing a very special show at the Goldmine in the 1/4s.

Chandler and DR dates for January, February, and a peek at Spring - January 10, 2006

January, 2006
8th

Sunday
Frederick, MD

7:30pm
WestSide Cafe
Chris Chandler
13th

Friday
Wheaton, MD

8pm
The Inwood House Apartment manager presents
Inwood Coffeehouse
Chris Chandler
[ more info ] 14th

Saturday
Baltimore, MD

7pm
Red Emma's Bookstore Coffeehouse
Chris Chandler and David Roe
[ more info ] 20th

Friday
Waverly, NY

8pm
Neutral Ground Cafe
Chris Chandler and David Roe
[ more info ] 21st

Saturday
Oxford, NY

8pm
Ken Millet Presents
Night Eagle Cafe
Chris Chandler
[ more info ] 22nd

Sunday
Liverpool, NY

8pm
Yvette Hewitt residence
Chris Chandler and David Roe
[ more info ] 24th

Tuesday
Middletown, CT

8pm
Chris Chandler and David Roe
Klekolo World Coffee
Chris Chandler and David Roe
[ more info ] 25th

Wednesday
Amherst, MA

8pm
Chris Chandler and David Roe
Amherst Unitarian Meetinghouse
Chris Chandler and David Roe
[ more info ] 26th

Thursday
Cambridge, MA

8 pm
split bill with Jim Infantino
Passim
Chris Chandler and David Roe
[ more info ] 27th

Friday
Amherst, MAThe People's Music Network Winter Gathering
Amherst College
Chris Chandler and David Roe
[ more info ] 28th

Saturday
Amherst, MAThe People's Music Network Winter Gathering
Amherst College
Chris Chandler
[ more info ] 28th

Saturday
Kent, OH

tbd
"Something's In the Air" Video Screening - Standing Rock Cultural Arts Film Festival
The Kent Stage
Chris Chandler
[ more info ] 29th

Sunday
Amherst, MAThe People's Music Network Winter Gathering
Amherst College
Chris Chandler
[ more info ] February, 2006
4th

, B.C. Canada

tbd
Screening of "Something's In the Air / But It's Not on the Airwaves" Video
World Community Film Festival
Chris Chandler
[ more info ] 9th

Thursday
Ft. Worth, TX

8:30pm
Fort Worth Slams presents Chris Chandler & David Roe
Black Dog Tavern
Chris Chandler and David Roe
[ more info ] 10th

Friday
Austin, TXThe North American Folk Alliance
Austin Hilton Hotel
Chris Chandler and David Roe
[ more info ] 11th

Saturday
Austin, TXThe North American Folk Alliance
Austin Hilton Hotel
Chris Chandler
[ more info ] 13th

Monday
Austin, TXThe North American Folk Alliance
Austin Hilton Hotel
Chris Chandler
[ more info ] 14th

Tuesday
Austin, TXThe North American Folk Alliance
Austin Hilton Hotel
Chris Chandler
[ more info ] 15th

Wednesday
Austin, TX

8:30pm
The Cactus Cafe
Chris Chandler and David Roe
[ more info ] 18th

Saturday
Dallas, TX

8pm
Chris Chandler and David Roe
House Concert
Chris Chandler and David Roe
[ more info ] March, 2006
2nd

Thursday
New Orleans, LA

8pm
Chris Chandler and David Roe
The Gold Mine
Chris Chandler and David Roe
[ more info ] May, 2006
7th

Sunday
Worchester, MA

7pm
Java Hut
Chris Chandler
[ more info ] 12th

Friday
Darlington, MDChris Chandler and David Roe
Susquehanna Music and Arts Festival
Chris Chandler
[ more info ] 13th

Saturday
Darlington, MDChris Chandler and David Roe
Susquehanna Music and Arts Festival
Chris Chandler
[ more info ]

longer nights/ shorter daze - December 2, 2005

I am currently in Skaneateles NY doing the Dickens Christmas Show with my old buds and fellow monks- Michael Marzella, Jim Greene, Ray St Louis, the Nunny Nuns and a host o' local talent. We run weekends through December 18th.
This week former Queen and King of WooHoo!- Jim Havlin and Stacy St John- along with Curmudgeon Chef Clarence, formerly of Coops, Arnauds and Bernies passed the health and liquor boards in Havre De Grace, MD and will be opening their creole kitchen and Nawlins themed bar right across from the Aberdeen Proving Grounds just north of Baltimore. I will be spending the week helping them get up and going. Congrats!!! And WooHoo!
Thursday, December 15th, Chandler and I will be doing a showcase in DC for local house concert presenters.
Friday, December 16th, I will be playing in Waverly, NY
Monday, I will be playing on the radio Steve Daub's
Stormy Monday Blues
WRPI 91.5 FM www.wrpi.org 1 WRPI Plaza
Troy, NY 12180
The next night, I will be playing at the Klekolo Coffee House and will spend Solstice with the lovely Yvette Elliot and Miss Holly Rose.
Chandler and I have a handful of dates in DC area the first weeks of January and will be heading to New York and New England January 20th. check out ChrisChandler.org fordetails.
I plan on splitting my non musical time between getting OkeeDokee Gardens ready for Spring and helping out at Clarence's Kitchen
How am I able to do all this travelling? In my new (1996) Escort Station Wagon. Yes. I own an infernal combustion engine for the first time in nearly 10 years.
I miss the French Quarter and the ability to attain anything I needed on my bike, but those days are gone. I dream of New Orleans as it was, is , and could be, and ever the optimist, fear the worst. Fortunately, I knew New Orleans when Buster Holmes beans and rice were under a buck, and Booker played the Toulouse Theater almost every afternoon. I pray for my friends and fellow musicians who are struggling to bring the city back to life. God Bless Us, Every One.
Commercial note:
Only 19 shopping days till solstice. My two CDs on CDBABY.com are on sale for $11.11. Such a deal. And so easy to wrap.
Also go there for the finest recording I have ever produced- Chris Chandler's American Storyteller. Great tales and pomes, Beautiful music and even a video shot at Mardi Gras 97, and The Rounders playing at Toulouse and Royal.
I hope the New Year is not so eventful, and that the republicans and their crony insiders get what is coming to them for their willful acts of violence around the world, and their lack of help to those who are suffering from the effects of their violence and lack of compassion.
As the keepers of the sacred flame say, "Blessed Be"

Home to Okeedokee - November 14, 2005

Twas a mighty fine trip w/ Chandler. We had a grand time, but our butts are sore from all those miles in the Subaru. I will be playing Mr Fezziwig in Skaneteles NY every weekend from Thanksgiving to Christmas and then going back out with Chandler in January.
December 13th, I will be playing with Thomas, the Nappy Violinist in Fredericksburg, VA, and I will be playing a solstice concert at Klekolo in Middletown CN Dec 20. Still looking for a New Years gig. Hope Fall was kind to y'all. Don't forget. New Orleans still needs help. Always did. For those wondering how best to assist, plan on making a Mardi Gras pilgrimage or donat all your $ to the New Orleans Musicians Clinic. Unlike the Red Cross, and other large charities, you know your money is getting to the folks who need it.

OTR Again - October 17, 2005

Chandler and I hit the road once again, heading for St Louis and then East to NY. Thanksgiving to Christmas I will be playing Mr Fezziwig in The Finger Lakes of NY and hopefully spreading cheer across CNY.

NOMC Benefit in Baltimore - September 28, 2005

From Hons to Dawlins, Bawlmer To Nawlins
Benefit for The New Orleans Musicians Clinic


Sat Oct 1, 8pm
$20 adv tix sug

In this port to port benefit artists and audiences of Baltimore come together to help their cultural contemporaries in a sister waterfront town.

Creative Alliance is donating the venue --The Patterson -- as well as production and promotional services. The performers are volunteering and all proceeds will go directly to NOMC.
"It's not if you can afford to care for musicians, it is if you can afford not to."
Dr. Jack McConnell, founder, New Orleans Musicians Clinic

Two long time New Orleans based performers join a coalition of Baltimore musicians, as le bon temps roulez in a fabulous night of music, comedy and cuisine benefiting an effective, innovative New Orleans clinic working hard to offer medical assistance, prescriptions, and other social services to the city's musicians.

Pianist, vocalist and multi-instrumentalist David Roe has been an iconic figure on the streets of New Orleans for many years performing with his rolling piano, often joined by native Southerner Chris Chandler, an unpredictable, dynamic performance poet. Comedian and kids' TV star Bob Heck (aka Bob the Vid Tech on MPT,) his long time collaborator pianist David Zee, musician Nick Newlin (of Jamnation,) cartoonist and musician Tom Chalkley, and musician Bob Friedman (of Mambo Combo,) mime and juggler extraordinaire The Queen of Whimsey join a host of other area musicians to present a night of "Nawlins" music and performance benefiting the displaced New Orleans Musicians Clinic. The all star line-up will coalesce into Bayside Nation performing many great songs from the Big Easy. Numerous names will be added to the bill in upcoming days. Nancy Longo of Pierpoint Restaurant will reinterpreting recipes by her friend Chef Paul Prudhomme and offering Louisiana culinary delights to benefit the cause. Creative Alliance is donating the venue --The Patterson -- as well as production and promotional services. The performers are volunteering and all proceeds will go directly to NOMC.


The New Orleans Musicians' Clinic (NOMC) is an innovative not-for-profit occupational medicine and wellness partnership offering comprehensive health care on a sliding scale to the community's most precious resource: our musicians. NOMC's sponsors are the Daughters of Charity Services of New Orleans, The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Foundation, and the LSU Health Care Network. Dedicated on May 2, 1998, NOMC became the first such health initiative in the United States, addressing the health care needs of musicians and their families, an under-served segment of the population. To date NOMC's dedicated consortium of service providers has treated more than 1000 local musicians providing everything from prescriptions to gasoline to rent assistance to school uniforms. NOMC and the Daughters of Charity Services were flooded out of their headquarters on the LSU campus in downtown New Orleans as a result of Katrina. Temporarily relocated to Lafayette, Louisiana, NOMC is working hard to help the city's desperately challenged musicians even as the organization fundraises to build new quarters in New Orleans.

Red Emmas - September 15, 2005

Chris Chandler and David Roe will be performing songs and stories from their new album, American Storyteller at Red Emmas Friday September 16th at 9PM. They will be joined by the Baltimore musicians who played on the album, Maia Sobelman, Thomas Falcone, Justin Nurin, and Kathryn Falcone.
David Roe has played the streets and bars of New Orleans since 1976. Having had “a bad feeling” last year, he moved his gear to higher ground. Currently on tour with Chris Chandler, a former 9th Ward resident, he has been spreading songs and tales of a better world, past and future. Their most recent collaboration is an elegy for The Crescent City can be heard at http://peacevids.org/audio/9th_ward_new_orleans_2b.wav or http://peacevids.org/audio/9th_ward_new_orleans_2b.mp3 AND, can be seen on the net at http://chrisvids.org/videos/9th_ward_new_orleans.html 100% of the CDBABY.com sales of DR’s albums, Angel Of New Orleans and Carnival Girls are going to The American Red Cross. http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/therubes http://cdbaby.com/cd/droerrf To arrange an interview, please contact David at (504) 525 1973. (You may have to call many times. Do not leave a message. The phone system is still iffy.) Chris at BaldChandler @yahoo.com or by calling (240) 476-4976
Chandler has been annoying and amusing anyone and everyone within earshot since the early 80’s at festivals, poetry slams, bars, coffeehouses and peaceful public assemblies. He is a modern pioneer of the ‘poetry as performance’ movement, and his use of the spoken word intertwined with live music makes him a difficult act to categorize. Its up to you to decide whether to send the music, book, or theater reviewer, the news of the weird and wild editor, or simply send them all.
100% of the sales of Generica are going to The American Red Cross
With the release of his “American Storyteller” album www.cdbaby.com, Chandler shows maturity in vision and a knack for combining storytelling, social commentary, music, and imagery, and weaving them into a compelling and entertaining experience. . Their music video “Something In The Air “ at www.chrisvids.org asks why there are no songs of peace and protest on the mainstream radio today.
We hope to see you at the show and look forward to talking with you, either before or after the performance.

They're tryin to wash us away - September 6, 2005

This is an appeal to the displaced, the dispossessed, the discontented and the disenfranchised.
The September 24th March on Washington to End the War in Iraq takes on new importance this week in light of the Federal Government's blatant mishandling of the crisis following Hurricane Katrina and the possibly premeditated destruction of The City of New Orleans, the first major overt strike in the cultural/ class/ race war here in America.
At the very least, the reduction of the levee protection budget, the deployment of so many National Guardsmen, Army Corps of Engineers, medical, police and construction personnel in Iraq, and a failure to implement any of the post 9-11 improvements to the emergency preparations for the Gulf Coast, are more reasons for you to come to Washington DC on September 24th and join unitedforpeace.org and hundreds of other peace loving organizations and hundreds of thousands of fellow citizens under the Washington Monument, in full view of George Bush's current domicile, and demand our country back. The Bush Dynasty must be dismantled. Impeachment and criminal charges are not enough.
My phone is obviously, not functioning, but Chandler's # is 240 476 4976. We will be in DC from 9-11 through the end of the month, performing all over. Our previously scheduled CD release concerts for American Storyteller will now also be fundraisers for the relief effort.

I watched the Southern Decadence Parade on TV today. Two dozen masquers, a guitar, a couple drums and a decorated Radio Flyer. I saw beads being tossed from a balcony on Chartres Street, and, oh, I so wanted to reach out and grab a pair.
My greatest hope now is that we can all meet down by the river next February, on Mardi Gras Day and watch our sins roll away down the river, mingled with the ashes of our dead, tears for what we have lost, and prayers for a better tomorrow.

More dates-
Sunday, September 11th, 2005 11 a.m.
Takoma Park
Takoma Park Folk Festival
Takoma Park Middle School , 7611 Piney Branch Road ,
Grove Stage

Monday, September 12th, 2005
Silver Spring, MD
Unitarian Universalist Church of Silver Spring
10309 New Hampshire Avenue ,
The Institute of Musical Traditions A brief guest appearance at the Acoustic Showcase to promote our CD release Party!


Tuesday, September 13th, 2005 9PM
Washington , DC
hr57
1610 14th St NW ,
A brief appearance at The Washington Storytellers Speakeasy Hosted by Amy Saidman!To promote the CD Release party!!!

Friday, September 16th, 2005 9PM
Baltimore, MD
Red Emma's Bookstore Coffeehouse
800 St. Paul ,
phone: 410.230.0450

Saturday, September 17th, 2005
Takoma Park
The Seekers Church
274 Carroll Street NW ,
phone: 202-545-6840
Across from the Takoma Park Metro - next to the Electric Maid and the new Savory (which now has beer!)

Friday, September 23rd, 2005
Washington DC
Video Screening: Something's In the Air / But Its Not on the Airwaves


Friday, September 23rd, 2005 8:00PM
Chevy Chase, MD
Oneness-Family School
6701 Wisconsin Avenue ,
phone: 301-652-7751
Venue: www.onenessfamily.org/ Tickets $10, no one turned away due to lack of funds

Saturday, September 24th, 2005
Washington, DC
Video Screening: Something's In the Air / But Its Not on the Airwaves
All Souls Unitarian Church
September 25th Interfaith Service and Non violent training and grassroots organizing programs
September 26th Non Violent Direct Action at the White House and Grassroots Congressional Lobby Day
Busses and carpools are coming from all over the country. You are either on the bus or ...




A report from the 9th ward
BREAKING NEWS ALERT:

The entire city of New Orleans is under evacuation orders. I just spoke to my friend Daniel in the
Bywater (9th ward). He reports that unmarked police vehicles (cadillacs) are driving through the
neighborhood with SWAT team police armed with 'big black machine guns' telling people through
bullhorns they are under orders to evacuate and must leave the city now. People in that neighborhood
are being told to go to the big pool on the corner of Lesseps and St. Claude (this is one block from
my house) to be airlifted out, tho people are allowed to leave by their own means if they can. He
reports helicopters all over the place of all kinds - everything from large Army helicopters with
guns to Red Cross helicopters - they are swooping down low in the neighborhood and 'buzzing'
houses - he said one just flew low enough over him to blow shingles off the roof. He is starting to see
National Guardsmen marching through the streets with guns to make sure people obey evacuation
orders. He wanted to get into a neighbor's house to save their dog that is locked up in there, but was
told by a National Guardsman that unless he has keys to the house, if he tries to break the door
in he will be shot on the spot.

He also reported that Dr. Bob, Bywater artist, was beaten by NOPD who thought he was a looter -
they beat him up severely and took his weapons.

We are being forced out of our city, with no word as to if and when we will be allowed to return.
We've been wondering what they would do after enough people were forced to die of starvation.
Population reduction has been accomplished.

Here are the updates I was working on before this latest call from Daniel:

Yesterday I finally spoke with my best friend Daniel who stayed in New Orleans as he finally was
able to make a call on his cell phone. He was calling from the upstairs of the house he lives in,
sitting on the porch with an AK-47 in his lap. More details on that call to follow.

He just left me a message about 5 minutes ago telling me that there are cops driving around the
neighborhood with bullhorns telling everyone that there is a mandatory evacuation and EVERYONE must
go. There are helicopters all over the skies. He is not sure if they are just trying to scare
people into leaving, or if they are serious, but he has found a ride and they are leaving the city.

We do not yet know how this will affect our plans to return to the city. We will be monitoring the
situation as we drive towards New Orleans today and will assess our plans when we arrive in Baton
Rouge, our first stop before heading into the city. If we are not able to gain access to the city
- which we will still try to do - we will be assisting with relief efforts in Baton Rouge and
Covington, where there are hundreds of thousands of refugees from New Orleans in desperate need of
assistance.

People that are on their way to Louisiana to help or want to come down - right now we do not
advise people to try to enter the city of New Orleans until we know better what the situation is,
especially with the breaking news about the forced evacuations. However, there are hundreds and
thousands of refugees in the areas around New Orleans, and there is a desperate need for help there.

We need to make it very clear that if you want to go to Louisiana to help, you must be prepared
for hard and exhausting work. If you are not up to this, you will merely add to the already
overwhelming problems. There is plenty of work to be done in other places - helping raise money - put on a
fund raiser, hold a vigil or rally in solidarity, spread the word about what is really going on in
New Orleans - all these efforts are just as important and crucial to what needs to be done as
physically going down to help.

If you are ready and willing to help, here are some places you can go to help:

In Baton Rouge:

Volunteers are asked to go to the LSU P-MAC Assembly Center on the LSU Campus. Very important:
they WILL NOT be able to put you up, so it is a good idea to come in a vehicle you can sleep in, or
bring a tent and sleeping bag.

In Covington:

People and supplies are needed in Covington at the Pine View Middle School, 28th Street. Please
contact Albert Marino at loveisinyourmind@yahoo.com for more details - I have heard that some kind
of official permission may now be needed to get into Covington.

In Donaldsonville:

The 'Dream Center' Shelter is in desperate need of volunteers. To help them, please contact the
Dream Center in Los Angeles at
www.dreamcenter.org or in louisiana call (it’s mostly busy- but keep trying) 225-474-6688.

We will continue to post more locations that need volunteers as we get the information.

NOW FOR SOME UPDATES:

As I mentioned above, my friend Daniel Finnigan who also lives in the Bywater neighborhood, 9th
Ward, of New Orleans was finally able to call me yesterday. He and a group of friends have been
holed up in the top floor of the building he lives in, guarding the property with guns. As of
yesterday, the people he was with had all left - he has his dog and our two cats (we were roommates for
many years) and refuses to leave without them - and he has described himself as the now being the
New Orleans SPCA so I have a feeling he has adopted a number of abandoned and lost animals in the
area. When I asked him what he wanted us to bring him, he asked nothing for himself, but requested
cat and dog food. That's my Daniel ;) You'll never meet a bigger animal lover.

Daniel says that in 6 days they have not seen or received any help. In 6 days they saw one
policeman - flying through the neighborhood in a police car at 40 miles an hour. He reported that for the
first two days after the storm, Wildlife and Fisheries were rescuing people from the flooded out
lower 9th ward, blocks from my house and his house by boat - and just dropping the people off on
the dry side of the levy, with no food or water or anywhere to go. He said that after two days the
boats just stopped coming. He had no idea why until I explained the situation with the National
Guard to him, and that the rescue boats were told to stand down and stop rescuing people. The people
locked down in the city have no idea that supplies are sitting just outside the city and being
turned away. The only reason they have food is they managed to gather what they could from friends'
apartments, etc., but again, no one has come to help them or bring them food. Other than the people
left stranded in the neighborhood, it has been completely abandoned by all official entities.

Here is a bit of heart breaking news. There is only one radio station people can receive in the
city. Daniel said that people trapped in their attics in the lower 9th ward have been calling the
station saying where they are and asking that some one come get them. But there is no one to come.
Those that are not already dead are dying. Daniel estimates that there are easily some 40-50,000
people dead in their homes in the lower 9th ward. I can not imagine listening to this on the radio,
knowing that these peoples pleas are falling on deaf ears. They have simply been left to die.

Daniel affirmed reports of people marching through the streets with guns, taking what they can out
of sheer desperation, though he says that situation has largely calmed down. This is why he is
sitting on his porch with an AK-47 - he ways if someone asks him for water he will give them water,
but if they point a gun at him he will have to shoot them. He does not blame people for these
actions - again, they are desperate and abandoned. Now, as with others we have had contact with in New
Orleans, the people are afraid to leave their homes because of the National Guard, who have
permission to shoot anyone on the spot.

There are many more small details Daniel relayed, but I do not have time for them all now. Just to
say that he confirms reports we have received about supplies and relief not getting through.
Apparently some assistance is starting to get into the city, but not to the poor neighborhoods.

OK, I have to go now - we need to get on the road towards New Orleans. We will be stopping in
Baton Rouge where we will be meeting up with Daniel (they have found a car to get out of the city) and
we will then assess the situation and take things from there. It looks more and more like we will
not be able to enter the city without the extreme likelihood of being killed in the process. So we
will regroup in Baton Rouge and start relief efforts with the refugees already there and the rest
of the people being airlifted out of New Orleans. If we deem it at all possible, we will still try
to enter the city of New Orleans, but we will not put ourselves in the position of being killed as
then we can be of no help to anyone.

All these people will need places to go. Please start finding housing, campsites, etc. in your
communities and forward any information to us.

Oh, I also received word that Bill Quigley from Voices in the Wilderness was last known to be
trapped in Memorial hospital in New Orleans. I assume that those folks will now be airlifted out as
well. If anyone hears from Bill, please let us know asap.

SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT WHAT IS GOING ON.

WHY DID OUR GOVERNMENT DELIBERATELY STARVE THE POOR PEOPLE OF NEW ORLEANS?

WHY ARE THEY FORCING US OUT OF OUR CITY AND DO THEY PLAN ON 'GIVING IT BACK'?

QUESTIONS NEED TO BE ASKED AND ANSWERS GIVEN. WILL THE REFUGEES BE GIVEN ANY FOOD AND WATER NOW?
WHAT ARE THEIR PLANS FOR THE PEOPLE THAT MANAGED TO STAY ALIVE.

NEW ORLEANS HAS BEEN TAKEN OVER BY THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT. BEWARE, THIS MAY COME TO A
NEIGHBORHOOD NEAR YOU.

A few more points I'd make to like in the name of the C3 organization in New Orleans:

- no involvement by Halliburton, Kellogg, Brown and Root
or any other contractor for which elected representatives
have a financial interest, such as dirty Dirk Cheney

- full restoration of affordable housing for all residents
of New Orleans as of midnight, August 29, 2005

- complete hearings on all aspects of this disaster,
including sabotage of plans for Category 5 levees,
repair of existing levees, total budgeting for all needed
drainage projects for City being constructed by the
Corps of Engineers

- cease removal of low income residents from any Section 8,
or public housing unit, a full accounting of all residents
displaced from St. Thomas Housing Project and all other
projects

- full investigation of public subsidies for real estate developers
including Press Kabacoff and Canazzaro and how those subsidies
cut into funds not provided for needed social services for the poor,
infirm, elderly, and disadvantaged

- full investigation of the role of the city's preservationists in the
seizure of properties, arsons, murder, and other crimes

- demand that from the point that the state of emergency
ends in the city, government will be conducted in such
a way that it is transparent and accountable. Hearings on
proposals for how that could be accomplished will be held
and the best ideas passed into law by the City Council...and
if they don't pass them, those ideas will be the issues for
the coming elections....NO, those elections will NOT be
cancelled...this disaster HAS to on the agenda for change.


Peace out - we must hit the road now and go see what is happening to our city and do our best to
help save our people. Please keep sending donations and supplies, everyone has been so generous,
but it is still but a drop in the bucket. We will post more info when we arrive in Baton Rouge.

With sorrow and a broken heart -

Andrea Garland
Sep 1 David Roe 1111 wrote:

I just had to leave the hotel lobby. There are natl guardsmen and some local citizens discussing going to New Orleans because it is "open season on crackheads and niggers." "A once in a life time opportunity liscence to kill." Another table, watching the Buste Projects burning, passed around comments that it should have been done long ago, and that that is ONE way to solve the poverty and negro problem.
This country is filled with small minded bigots. Where are the good people, the "We are all one" folks? I fear this descent into hell has come sooner than I anticipated.
If you believe in an afterlife, a heaven with a test to get in, the great mandala, rings of hell, redemption through prayer and action, now might be a good time to get right with your God.
America, it has been said, is one paycheck away from revolution. The check is in the mail. The revolution is here. Only , it is not pretty or orderly. Chaos is spreading from New Orleans. I wish I knew where my band is. Tim Paco, Robert Harris, Flipper, The Andrews Brothers, Jack Fine, Freddie Staehle, Punchy and Shep. Stonee, Grandpa and the other Royal Street musicians would have all stayed in town. It is what the band does.

"It was midnight on the sea. The band was playing "Nearer My God To Thee."
Fare thee, Titanic, Fare Thee Well."

Peace and love,
DR
DavidRoe@RoyalRounders.com
www.chrischandler.org (504) 525-1973
www.royalrounders.com

From: Chris Chandler Date: September 1, 2005 4:15:15 PM EDT
To: davidroe@royalrounders.com
Subject: Chris Chandler's Muse and Whirled Retort September, 2005

T.h.e. .M.u.s.e. .a.n.d. .W.h.i.r.l.e.d. .R.e.t.o.r.t.


To buy “Something's In The Air” DVD : http://cdbaby.com/cd/chrischandler5
TO GET THE BRAND NEW 2 VOLUME ENHANCED CD SET “American Storyteller:”
http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/cchandler3
To check out the new CD Vol 1 for free: http://www.ohms.nu/chandler/disk_1/index.htm
To check out the new CD Vol 2: http://www.ohms.nu/chandler/disk_2/index.htm
Exile on Bourbon Street coming soon: Washington, DC; Baltimore, Pensacola, Gainesville, Atlanta, Blacksburg, Richmond Austin, SA, Dallas, Houston, Waco, St Louis, OKC, Carbondale, Indianapolis, Champaign, Bloomington, Louisville, Cincinnati, Akron, Athens, Kent, Syracuse, Boston, Western MA NH NERFA, SWRFA and surrounding areas. We need dates, can you help?

And now after the above crass commercial announcements!. . .

************

Hey everybody, its that time of month again, and what a month its been. My city, my poor city.

9 th Ward #2

By Chris Chandler and David Roe

9 th Ward New Orleans, the river has always run through you – but never so literally.

She has always been a part of you – but rarely like this. Your 19 th century widow’s peaks are all that peak from a river once held temporarily at bay by the hands of man. Now 21 st century widows stand on your widow’s peaks once again staring in vain for the horizon to materialize the lost.

But from the lost your culture has always been found.

It is with you – 9 th Ward New Orleans the melting pot of America melts.

It is from you OUR culture has sailed in from all directions

From wayfaring sailors seeking the roughest of trade as well as barges filled with amber waves of grain.

Here the wholesome and the whore are changed forever. Wholesale.

Whether watching the tops of tankers crest the hands of man while endlessly rocking on stoops, or now on roofs watching the river flow on the streets below. You are Alive.

As we watch your desperate desperados – maybe now we know they have always been there – and that you 9 th Ward New Orleans, like the lands beyond your levees, have always been armed.

The desperate do desperate things when made more desperate. And you 9 th Ward New Orleans have been made the lowest of the low – but like a savior born in the feeding trough of a jack ass – you are the birth of the blues.

America does not understand that you cannot feel the joy of song without the blue note of pain. And it is pain you have felt. So who can blame you when you never do ask “Good Morning America how are you?”

I don’t recall America ever asking you.

9th Ward New Orleans, it is you that is alive.

Yes, Lake Pontchartrain once again had it’s evil wicked way with you, and you will bear it’s pain for a coon’s age, and a slow painful birth will come as a distant trumpet joins your blues.

And when the world asks, “What is that sound?”, a Caribbean accent will answer, “It’s just music. It’s Jas Music – yes, it is Jazz music.” Your water will break and a new Louis Armstrong will spring from your loins to blow his trumpet with the mouth of your river – and that music – 9 th ward new Orleans , will turn the gulf of Texaco into the sea of Galilee.

************

Louisiana 2005 (1927) David Roe and Randy Newman

What has happened down here is the winds have changed
Katrina roared in from the Gulf and it started to rain
Rained real hard and rained for a real long time
Six feet of water in the streets of That Old Town Of Mine
The Levee broke to the left
The levee broke to the right
Some people got lost in the flood
Some people got away alright
Ponchartrain has busted right down the Canal Street Line
Six feet of water in the streets of That Old Town Of Mine

CHORUS

Louisiana , Louisiana
They're tryin' to wash us away
They're tryin' to wash us away
Louisiana , Louisiana
They're tryin' to wash us away
They're tryin' to wash us away

President Bush flew over in a big jet plane
Didn’t stop for a photo op or to shake a hand.
The President say, "They didn’t vote for me or my old man, Still look what the water done to these poor people’s land."

**********

My dear friends, I try my best to be an optimistic positve person. But I love – no I really love the city of new Orleans . I see her right now as another casualty of the Iraq war. Please allow me to vent for just a second.

Our resources are so stretched that we can not meet our real needs. These are real American citizens being reduced to the basest level of survial because of hapless inept leadership. Where are the black hawk helicopters, the amphibious personnel carriers?

I actually have a great deal of faith in the Army Corp of Engineers. They have accomplished some of the world's greatest feats of engineering ever – HOWEVER Where are they? Iraq .

If we cannot bring order in a city without a cultural barrier, without a language barrier – how can we be expected to bring order in Baghdad ?

Where is the national guard – we are so stretched that my city is being patrolled by The Hattisburg, MS junior High ROTC. And why wouldn’t the National Guard be slow to respond? As a general rule people follow by example. George, you were in the National Guard. Perhaps you could explain how this could be.

And tell me, how can one fly from Crawford , TX to Washington DC and NOT fly over NOLA? OK, my bad, you did fly over it – 8 miles high.

George, you remind me of the scene with you in the library when you are told about the terrorist attacks on September 11 almost exactly 4 years ago. Your doe-in-the-headlights expression has cost priceless hours and days. How many more Americans at home or abroad have to die at the hands of this hapless leader. George, Dick. Please resign your office immediately. Bow your head and say I am sorry. I tried but I just wasn’t up to the task. Ask for forgiveness and turn the reigns of power over.

**********

CDBaby is doing a promo. ALL proceeds from “Angel of New Orleans ” http://cdbaby.com/cd/droerrf and “Generica” http://cdbaby.com/cd/chrischandler6 are going to the Red Cross.
Check out their list of all artists who are giving 100 %
So, buy a CD.
And pray for the City Care Forgot.

**********

FLASH FLASH FLASH ! CHECK THIS OUT! This video is the best thing I have ever done! See it by clicking: http://chrisvids.org
************

Thursday, September 1st, 2005 6PM
Pensacola, FL
Chris Chandler and David Roe
The Commerce Museum
Zaragosa and Tarragona Streets,
phone: 800 239 9893
Radio Live -- Pensacola Chris Chandler and David Roe The Commerce Museum 6:00 PM Zaragosa and Tarragona Streets http://www.wuwf.org/
Friday, September 2nd, 2005 8PM
Gainesville, FL
American Storyteller with David Roe and the Orchestra
Home of Joe Courter and Jenny Brown
1701 State Rd 26,
phone: 352 378 5655
RSVP jbrown72073@cs.com

Saturday, September 3rd, 2005
Lake City, FL
Chris Chandler and David Roe
Marion St Cafe
279 N. Marion St .,
phone: 386- 755-4004

Sunday, September 4th, 2005 8PM
Decatur, GA
Chris Chandler and David Roe
Java Monkey
205 Ponce de Leon Ave. #5 ,
phone: 404.378.5002
Open Mic feature 1 - 20 min set Chris Chandler and David Roe

Wednesday, September 7th, 2005
Woodstock, GA
CANCELLED

Thursday, September 8th, 2005
Chris Chandler and David Roe
Eddie's Attic
515-B North McDonough St .,
phone: 404-377-4976

Friday, September 9th, 2005 9pm
Blacksburg
Chris Chandler
The PlopHouse
307 E. Roanoke St ,
phone: 540-961-2256

Saturday, September 10th, 2005
Richmond , VA
Chris Chandler and Anne Feeney
The Domes
1505 Webster Street

Sunday, September 11th, 2005 11 a.m.
Takoma Park
Chris Chandler and David Roe
Takoma Park Folk Festival
Takoma Park Middle School , 7611 Piney Branch Road ,
Grove Stage

Monday, September 12th, 2005
Silver Spring, MD
Chris Chandler and David Roe
Unitarian Universalist Church of Silver Spring
10309 New Hampshire Avenue ,
The Institute of Musical Traditions A brief guest appearance at the Acoustic Showcase to promote our CD release Party!


Tuesday, September 13th, 2005 9PM
Washington , DC
Chris Chandler and David Roe
hr57
1610 14th St NW ,
A brief appearance at The Washington Storytellers Speakeasy Hosted by Amy Saidman!To promote the CD Release party!!!

Friday, September 16th, 2005 9PM
Baltimore, MD
Chris Chandler and David Roe
Red Emma's Bookstore Coffeehouse
800 St. Paul ,
phone: 410.230.0450

Saturday, September 17th, 2005
Takoma Park
American Storyteller with David Roe and the Orchestra
The Seekers Church
274 Carroll Street NW ,
phone: 202-545-6840
Across from the Takoma Park Metro - next to the Electric Maid and the new Savory (which now has beer!)

Friday, September 23rd, 2005
Washington DC
Video Screening: Something's In the Air / But Its Not on the Airwaves


Friday, September 23rd, 2005 8:00PM
Chevy Chase, MD
Chris Chandler and David Roe
Oneness-Family School
6701 Wisconsin Avenue ,
phone: 301-652-7751
Venue: www.onenessfamily.org/ Tickets $10, no one turned away due to lack of funds

Saturday, September 24th, 2005
Washington, DC
Video Screening: Something's In the Air / But Its Not on the Airwaves
Chris Chandler will be in attendance
All Souls Unitarian Church

Sunday, October 2nd, 2005 10am
Takoma Park, MD
Chris Chandler, David Roe, and Nick Annis as "Three Wise Guys"
Takoma Park Street Festival

Wednesday, October 5th, 2005 2 pm
Atlanta, GA
Kennesaw State University
Wilson Bldg. Rm 227
workshop with theatre students

Thursday, October 6th, 2005 TBA -- tentative
Chris Chandler and David Roe
Atlanta
Kennesaw State U

Friday, October 7th, 2005 8 pm
The Spoken Word
Chris Chandler
Stillwell Theatre at Kennesaw State University

Saturday, October 8th, 2005 8 pm
The Spoken Word
Chris Chandler
Stillwell Theatre at Kennesaw State University

Tuesday, October 18th, 2005 8:00
Austin, TX
Chris Chandler and David Roe
The Cactus Cafe

Sunday, October 30th, 2005 7:30PM
Cincinnati, OH
Chris Chandler with David Roe and Anne Feeney
Maitri Center
4120 Hamilton Avenue ,
phone: 513-477-4298
$10

Friday, November 11th, 2005
Monticello, NY
Chris Chandler and David Roe
The North Eastern Regional Folk Alliance
Kutsher's Resort & Conference Center

Saturday, November 12th, 2005
Monticello, NY
Chris Chandler and David Roe
The North Eastern Regional Folk Alliance
Kutsher's Resort & Conference Center

Sunday, November 13th, 2005
Monticello, NY
Chris Chandler and David Roe
The North Eastern Regional Folk Alliance
Kutsher's Resort & Conference Center

Thursday, November 17th, 2005
Columbus, GA
The School of the Americas Watch Protest - Ft Benning GA
Chris Chandler and David Roe
Ft Benning, GA

Friday, November 18th, 2005
Columbus, GA
Chris Chandler and David Roe
Ft Benning GA


Saturday, November 19th, 2005
Columbus, GA
Chris Chandler and David Roe
Ft Benning GA


Sunday, November 20th, 2005
Columbus, GA
Chris Chandler and David Roe
Ft Benning GA



TENTATIVE SCHEDULE - STILL NEED DATES:

OCTOBER
SAT 01
SUN 02 Takoma Park Street Fest - FIRM

MON 03
TUE 04
WED 05 Kennesaw State College - FIRM
THR 06
FRI 07 Kennesaw State College - FIRM
SAT 08 Kennesaw State College - FIRM
SUN 09 SC ANYONE? ALABAMA?

MON 10
TUE 11
WED 12
THR 13
FRI 14 Houston (tentative)
SAT 15 Dallas (tentative)
SUN 16

MON 17
TUE 18 Austin - FIRM
WED 19 Waco (speculative)
THR 20 Norman or OKC (speculative)
FRI 21 ST. L (speculative)
SAT 22 Carbondale (speculative)
SUN 23 western IL (speculative)

MON 24 Champaign, IL - FIRM
TUE 25 Indainapolis (tentative)
WED 26 Louisville (speculative)
THR 27 Bloomington, IN (speculative)
FRI 28 Kent (Tentative)
SAT 29 Akron (tentative)
SUN 30 Cincinnati - FIRM
MON 31 Dayton (tentative)

NOVEMBER

TUE 01 Cleavland (tentative)
WED 02 Pittsburgh (speculative)
THR 03 Allantown (speculative)
FRI 04 Philly (speculative)
SAT 05 somewhere Eastern PA
SUN 06 SOME COMBO OF N.E. INCL BOSTON, CT, WUSTA, W.MASS, prtsmth

MON 07 COMBO OF N.E. INCL BOSTON, CT, WUSTA, W.MASS, prtsmth
TUE 08 COMBO OF N.E. INCL BOSTON, CT, WUSTA, W.MASS, prtsmth
WED 09
THR 10 SYRACUSE - firm
FRI 11 NERFA
SAT 12 NERFA
SUN 13 NERFA

MON 14 Richmond or Roanoke
TUE 15 Chapell Hill
WED 16 Winston-Salem
THR 17 Atlanta
FRI 18 SOAW – COLUMBUS GA
SAT 19 SOAW – COLUMBUS GA
SUN 20 SOAW – COLUMBUS GA

GET OUT OF NEW ORLEANS - August 30, 2005

From: thechuck@mac.com
Subject: Hurricane Update #12
Date: August 31, 2005 12:12:48 AM EDT
To: thechuck@mac.com
Cc: thejanis@mac.com

All:

I have my web site back up and running. Right now, all it has is an archive of these updates, but I hope to add pictures I have found with my descriptions, as well as maps with landmarks, contact information, and links by the end of this week. Once all that is done, updates will be via the web site, and you will just be informed when there is a new entry.

The plan to fill the breech of the 17th St. Levee failed tonight. The pumps are failing, overheating or being overcome with water. (Only 3 out of 10 or 12 are working, anyway). The governor has ordered everyone to leave as soon as possible as 15 feet of water is expected throughout the east bank (between the river and the lake) by tomorrow AM. The governor has ordered everyone to leave, but how? It is thought there are thousands of people still in St. Bernard Parish awaiting rescue on their rooftops. No food or water for almost two days now.

It is 100% certain that both Coop's and Adam's houses are completely engulfed in water. Pictures of areas around our house would indicate we are still dry, which also means water may not make it into the house even when it floods.

The Jefferson Parish president said residents would be allowed into the area with proper ID next week, but only to get belongings, and then they must not return for at least a month. That seems optimistic to me. I doubt they can get the water out by then. If Orleans Parish does the same thing, we will go in and see what we can salvage.

The looting is rampant - and things are turning violent. Two people have died in the Superdome. One is rumored to have just jumped from a balcony on purpose, yelling goodbye to everyone just before he jumped. Two people opened fire on the police station with AK-47's hurting at least one policeman.

But there is good news to be reported as well...

We heard from Barry Franklin, a good friend and Bartender at Coop's. He is still in New Orleans. His landlord, who also stayed, went down to the quarter and visited Coop's Place today. Tom Taylor was serving drinks. Molly's was also open.

Sean and Juli Green are in Beau Bridge apparently, west of New Orleans - closer to Lafayette, if I remember correctly. They heard from Cheryl, who reported that Bubba and Laura are OK as well.

Fay called from Stanton, TN where they are doing OK.

Jason and Amber are still unaccounted for. The fact that they have not made it to Coop's yet leaves two options: either they went to the Superdome or... (let's just not think about that option).

Speaking of the Superdome, WWL-TV is reporting that it now has 60,000 people in it. (It holds 77,000 for football games, probably another 5,000 or so on the playing field.)

Our plans are firming up. We are going to rendezvous Saturday in southern Illinois. Adam and Megan will fly up to join us after her Dad returns to the US from Egypt, where he has been for the last few weeks. From there we will continue our work for MacSpeech until such a time that we can get back into the city.

I should have a contact page on the web site soon. The site's URL is www.macchuck.com.

Chuck!

My Beloved New Orleans - August 29, 2005

my beloved new orleans.my beloved new orleans.my beloved new orleans.my beloved new orleans.my beloved new orleans.my beloved new orleans.my beloved new orleans.my beloved new orleans.my beloved new orleans.my beloved new orleans.my beloved new orleans.my beloved new orleans. I weep.
My krewe is accounted for. All evacuated except Coop above the bar, and Laura and Cheryl in a hotel in the CBD.
Juli and Sean outside Lafayette.


This from Chuck-
- We heard from Joe Fontana. He is OK in Natchez and is going to head to Chicago, where he has a place to stay.

- We heard from Steve and Marta. They are fine at Marta's mom's house in Chicago. Marta is working on getting the kids into school there.

- We heard from Fay. She and her group are safe in Stanton, TN. The storm did go through there, but was a tropical storm. They are in a hotel and they still have electricity.

- We heard from Katai. She, Kathleen and Allen are OK in Houston.
- Adam and Megan and her mom are fine in Winter Haven, Florida.

I just watched a Mayor Ray Nagin, in a video I found on www.wwltv.com from last night. Here's a summary:

- Marshall Law has been declared.

- 80% of New Orleans is under water, some of it up to 20 ft.

- 3 huge boats have run aground

- an oil tanker has run aground and is leaking oil

- People are stuck in attics.

- Twin spans between New Orleans and Slidell are gone.

- The high-rise bridge over the Industrial canal (between New Orleans and the twin spans) was hit by a barge and may be unsound.

- Metaire is under water.

- Slidell is completely under water - no building escaped damage.

- In some places gas flames are shooting up through the flood waters in a "flame spout."

- Yacht Club in Lake Ponchartrain is burned to the ground.

- Canal street was dry yesterday, today there is about 6" of water in it and it is rising.

- It will be at least 2 months before power will be restored to most of the city.

- 40,000 homes in St. Bernard Parish have been destroyed. The Parish president reports "total devistation."

There is some good news: the uptown area (where our house is) seems to be pretty dry - so we are still hopeful that our house escaped flood damage.

I am having my web server redirected to my host out in California, and will let you know as soon as it is up. I will put contact information up there as well as other info as soon as I can (probably tomorrow).

We are going to do an online chat tonight, probably around 8 or 9 CDT. If any of you want to participate, send me your AIM screen name (you can get one for free on aol.com if you don't have one). Mac users can use iChat. PC users would need to download the AOL Instant Messanger.

Anyway, if you let me know your screenname, I will let you know what time and send you an invitation to participate.

Chuck!

My Sister Lies Cheats and Steals - August 29, 2005

Yes, my baby sister stole my parent's rolodex, invited a hundred of their best friends to celebrate the 50th anniversary of their meeting, then lied to them repeatedly, and forced my brother and I to lie and also to cheat my father of the chance to pay for the wine at dinner. Judging by the faces of the folks as it dawned on them that the tent was full of well wishers waiting for THEM, the surprise was total. Also surprising was sitting down and playing with Doug Keith and Mark McKay for the first time in 31 years and finding out that we can swing. Thanks to Ed Volmer for filling in the role of Erik Ludwig.

Pictures from House Concert- Syracuse NY - August 9, 2005

Something Is In The Air video on line - August 9, 2005

American Storyteller- Tour Wrap Up - August 5, 2005

The Doctor Is In

Whirlwind. Zephyr. Blitz.
2 coasts. 2 cars. 2 countries. 3 frontmen. 40 days. Not too many all night drives. 1 cord lost. 1 cable broken. 0 breakdowns. 0 drama.
What a beautiful tour, traveling with the cleanest, on time, ready for the radio, ready for anything, best-dressed, campfire-loving folkies on either coast. Cruising in the Pacifica up and down I-5, listening to Pete and Maura Kennedy’s show on Folk Town on the Sirius spinning Dan Bern and Lucinda Williams and tunes we never heard before but made sure we listened at the end of the set. “Who is that?” “Don’t miss the credits.”
We played for Wobblies striking the pizza joints for better conditions for delivery guys. We played for the absolutely wonderful Victoria Folk Music Society on the night they reproduced the top 10 Canadian Folk Songs Of All Time. Live. And they all knew ALL the words. And so did I. Well, except for The Canadian Trilogy by Gordon Lightfoot, his thirty-minute opus that somehow flew under my young folk absorbing radar. About halfway through the piece, I realized that Canadians wrote more songs on Carnival Girls than I did. I opened the set with Dance Hall Girls and they ALL sang along. Quite a gratifying moment, bringing two countries and cultures together.

So, what did I learn on my summer vacation?
It pays to be nice.
Be kind to beggars and strangers.
Whatsoever you do to the least of my brothers…
The people you meet on the way up are the same people that you meet on the way back down.
How do I know these aphorisms are true?
Chandler and I met Maggie and Jim at The Susquhanananananana Folk Fest this Spring. They were nice folks traveling with 4 or 5 singer songwriters in a tiny RV. They seemed like quiet, folkie, living on the edge of society, poor-but-happy folks like Chandler and me, and they invited us to camp with them at The Falcon Ridge Folk Festival.
When we arrive at Falcon Ridge, at the camp farthest from electricity, at dusk, can’t even find a flashlight, we find our tents are already set up behind The Front Porch, the swankiest, swingin’ist camp site at the whole festival. They have meat flown in from Argentina, or Trenton, I don’t know. They got hors d’oeuvres at happy hour, they got percolators and drips and all the caffeine a caffiend could want. They have flashlights. And extra tarps, and chairs, and water, and a bar, and the best view of the main stage. And the best part, Frankie and I got to play until sunrise every night, with Adam Brodsky and Josh Cole and Maggie and Lisa Beth and The Front Porch Serenaders. And Chandler. The tune swapping, jamming, limericks, and general merriment were moderated by the most modest Dennis
whose talent at giving every one a chance, encouraging the kids in the second line to step in to the circle and not be afraid was so beautiful and understated that many folks sitting around listening had no idea the nights entertainments were conducted, directed and arranged by the quiet man who never plays the guitar sitting in front of him, though he could.
Anyway, the point is, be nice. The quiet unassuming couple in the parking lot may be the Captains of a Very Merry Krewe.

Other times on tour this happened.
Short list.
Frankie Hernandez- my brother I never knew I had- both sons of Colonels; between us, there ain’t a genre, era, type, tune we don’t know or can’t figger out if ya give us a mo’. How many sunrises did we see, hair-product-wearing, 40 minute shower guy?
Doctor Doug
Jeremy, Scott and The Sugar Beets (thanks for the 88’s)
Harry Levine
Microbrewers and late night piano players in Seattle
Adam and Kris (thanks for the cheesy keys and EVERYTHING)
Jim and The Mississippi Studios (Can we get 100 more Storyteller CDs, now?)
Misha
Maggie and Patsy and the fine folks of Cumberland BC
The Klekolo Krewe
Patty Smyth and Courtney
Oregon Country Fair Recycling Crews and Fire Marshals
Anne Feeney
Faith Petric
Mark Ross
Artis
QTN
Crazy Grass and all the kids from Chico
Mad Tea Party
The Ritz Band
Chez Ray
Isabella who sings from just behind my left ear.
Every tunesmith still playing with me and Frankie at Sunrise around The Fire Pit. (Why doesn’t every fire pit have bleachers and lockers?)
Everyone Knew Her As Nancy and everyone running sound or moving equipment at all the stages at the OCF especially the Main Stage Krewe. To have a CD and video of your show within minutes is amazing anywhere, but especially out in the woods.
Everyone we hosted at the Sunday Morning Jubilee at Solar Fest.
Remember the “Be Nice “ thing up above? The stage krewe at Solar Fest was heavily peopled by folks Chandler went to NCIA with, way back when. Apparently, he was nice to them in those halcyon college daze, because they were so nice to us.

OK, we finish the tour with a rainy Christmas Eve, caroling at the Sterling Renaissance Faire, with Rio and Bob and Doug and Martha, the three original wise guys and the original wiser woman, at the home of Christi Potter and Jim Hancock, followed by a sweet concert at Brian and KB’s. Can’t wait to hear Jim Hancock’s recording.



As I am writing this, I get the email with the video for Something In The Ai,r produced and directed by Karen Kilroy and Chandler. Did I mention that I think Chandler is a genius and more people need to hear his tales? Also, I want to bear Karen’s babies. She did all the enhanced CD stuff on American Storyteller and she knows more tech stuff than most dudes will ever absorb, and she has an artist’s ability to use the new media to it’s fullest.

If you have been waiting for the REAL American Storyteller CDs, they are in. Buy one for your mother. Buy one for anyone you know who needs the perfect mix of stories and singalongs for those traffic jam hours.

We are still looking for that Bio Diesel 15 passenger van. Did I mention I belong to the Benevolent Order of Scurrilious Monks, a 501c3 tax exempt organization? BOOSM.org

I am having a lovely month off here at the Farm on Pleasant Valley Road, outside of Eugene, doing a little Hatha Yoga and veggie loving, eating lots of berries and practicing the piano at least an hour every day.

Can’t wait to get back on the road with Chandler in September.

Frankie Comes To NY - July 15, 2005

Frankie Hernandez will be joining Chandler and I for the next three weeks on the East Coast- That means 21 more days of happy swinging music, and thought provoking interjections.

Playing for Change on TV - July 6, 2005

Thomas and I are on TV! In a documentary on Street Musicians. The CD can be heard/ bought at- http://www.higheroctave.com/catalog/catalog.asp?wci=ShowTitleDetail&PKTitleID=2688 Anyone out there with Sundance Channel? Please tape the show for me.



Sunday 07.10.05
04:35 PM

Monday 07.18.05
08:00 AM

Monday 07.18.05
06:45 PM

Friday 07.29.05
06:35 PM

Friday 07.29.05
05:15 AM

directed by Mark Johnson and Jonathan Walls

2003 70 MINS Color

WHAT'S THIS?


Celebrating the joy, freedom and accomplishments of American street musicians, filmmakers Mark Johnson and Jonathan Walls conduct a breezy and spirited odyssey, showcasing musical artists in New York, Los Angeles and New Orleans. For some, the streets and subway platforms provide the ultimate performance space; for others, the pay-as-you-listen model of income avoids the usual constraints and compromises of the commercial marketplace. An award-winning glimpse into the lives and work of a diverse, talented and inspiring group of performers. TVG

Greetings from thePacific North West - July 2, 2005

How do the cars survive here so long in the rain? Why are there V Dub Micro Vans and Scoobyrus and Fine Kenosha Steel Ramblers everywhere? This is a magical place.
From the moment Chandler and I touched down in Portland, this has been a beeeautiful journey. Adam and Chris and her Mom and Brian Cutean and Harry and Harry and Woobly Wimmen and Dr Doug and friendly waitresses and doormen and even the girl who got us into the larger (we sho need it) Pacifica Touring Car.
It holds Chandler and me and FRANKIE- my musical other- my brother from a different mother- the match to my voice and keys.
We have The Chandler repertoire down already and are expanding the horizons and harmonies daily.
Attendance has been spotty, but enthusiastic. American Storyteller is going home with everyone.
The show resonates- musically and thematically. We are spreading the love and joy and concern for the worldasitis.
Looking forward to picking up Chad at the Oregon Country Fair.
Vashon Island tonite. Canadia tomorry.

Whirled Retort - June 24, 2005

The new 2 enhanced CD set of stories and poems that make you go "hmmm?" set to music that makes you go "hummm" is at the pressing plant. There are 3 Chandler shot music videos (including one of Thomas Nuendel, Dave Mazeka and I playing "Saint James Infirmary" on the streets during Mardi Gras 1998) and pictures, collages, links and more buried inside the discs. Unlike my last two CDs, Carnival Girls and Angels, which were recorded pretty much live in the studio, this one was recorded track by track, layer by layer, and using the latest digital technology. We are pre- selling CDs at ChrisChandler.org which is the best place to keep tabs on us as we tour the Pacific Northwest.



T.h.e. .M.u.s.e. .a.n.d. .W.h.i.r.l.e.d. .R.e.t.o.r.t.

To subscribe to this news letter click: http://www.chrischandler.org/index.php?page=signup To unsubscribe type unsubscribe in the subject and hit reply

Banner head Line: American Storyteller is ALMOST here!
It is at the manufacturer and I will have it for this tour! More about that below - or cut to the chase and click here:http://ohms.nu/chandler/disk_1/index.htm http://ohms.nu/chandler/disk_2/index.htm
Coming this month: Ashland, OR; Portland, OR; Eugene, OR; Seattle, WA; Olympia, WA; Tacoma, WA; Victoria, BC, Cumberland, BC, Port Townsend, WA; Vashon Island, Upstate NY, Vermont, Massachusetts, The Oregon Country Fair, The Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, SolarFest!

And now!
The Muse and Whirled Retort
Volume 6 Issue 10
July, 1 2005
Ashland, OR


Hey Everybody,
It’s that time of the month again. Ahhh
The summer solstice is behind us and her full moon still lingers over the bright and darkened lands of the earth. I think of Dennis Pearn who wrote, “She said, ‘Your love is like the moon – it comes and it goes.’ He said, ‘No, my love is like the moon because it’s there when it does not show.’”

I am sending this out a bit early (OK, very early) this month because I am out here on the west coast and starting a new tour so, I wanted to let the good folks in Ashland, Oregon; Olympia, Tacoma and Seattle Washington that I would be in town at the end of the June. Check the dates for the deets.

It’s great to be back on the road! I was off for a couple of months while working on this new record and WOW what a record it is! A double CD enhanced with 3 never before seen short films Please do let me know what ya think! More about that in the announcements or click either one of these (one for each of the two CDs.)

http://ohms.nu/chandler/disk_1/index.htm http://ohms.nu/chandler/disk_2/index.htm
(there is a special treat in there for you - a prize hidden amongst junk.)

This is a little preview of the album and how the enhanced CD will work as well as what it sounds like.


For now I wanna say I can’t wait to get a few mile markers in my rear view. This is gonna seem like a vacation! I mean I have been so busy getting this tour and this new record together that the grind of the road will be relaxing. I think I sleep better in the back seat of a car in a rest stop off I-5 than I do in my own bed. It’s like boiling water just to cool it off. So, I am sorry if I have been slow in my correspondence – but please know I truly appreciate your generosity and support! Please, keep the emails coming, and more importantly keep up the fight!

Maybe it’s because I have been working on a record for so long that I have been thinking about the radio lately. Every time I turn on the radio or the TV I think, the real truth is:
We have GOT it together. There ARE people in the streets. At the very onset of Oil War II there were already more people on the streets protesting than there were at the height of the Vietnam war. And now the thing has been going on longer than we were in what we call World War I. I tell you, there is something in the air, but it is not on the airwaves.

If there are a half a dozen Jaycees in Cincinnati on a street corner waving yellow ribbons Fox news acts like it’s A Republican Woodstock. “By the time we got to Fallujah we were half a million strong.”

But put a million people on the street and they build a fence around you and call it a protest zone.

We like to look at Vietnam through the soft focus of Holly wood – which took the blood of war and turned it in to rose-colored glasses. We see 1000s of beautiful semi-naked 20 something’s putting daises in the barrels of M16s all to the tune of Country Joe McDonald singing “one two three what are we fightin for.”

It makes for spectacular video. Sometimes I see these images and I want to run naked through the streets singing “Why don’t we da do it in the road!”

But I know better.

When the first American troops went in to Vietnam in 1964 there was barely a soul on the streets, yet people already singing Blowin’ in the Wind, and Waist Deep in the Big Muddy and I Ain’t Marchin’ Anymore. These songs were being released on major record labels. Mega hits would follow. Today we have more people on the streets and there is not yet there has not been a single hit song on the radio. How could this be?

There is something in the air but it is not on the airwaves.

It’s not like Barry McGuire was a deep thinking anti-war intellectual when he sang “Eve of Destruction.” No, he was jumping on a bandwagon made possible by people in the streets. Yet right now, there are more people on the streets than there was then, but you have to think twice before jumping on that bandwagon for fear it might be a paddy wagon bound for Guantanamo Bay.

If you speak the truth on national TV your show will be dropped, regardless of the ratings...ask Bill Maher. A show doesn’t need an audience as much as it needs sponsors. Sixties protesters were brought up in the brand-loyal fifties, these kids were major consumers of all kinds of goods. They queued up to buy groovy Carnaby Street “Mod Gear” and “Wear Your Love Like Heaven” cosmetics. Today’s protester does not BUY anything. They won’t shop at GAP - they boycott Taco Bell – hell, they won’t even go to Starbucks.

Oh, before the Berlin Wall fell we loved to talk about how the Soviet Union would broadcast only the songs of the state and we romanticized that is was our radio broadcasts wafting in from West Berlin that tore down the wall. .

Yet now, the shoe’s on the other foot. There is a new wall running down divided America. And it is American radio that is being manipulated by the agenda of the state because the state has become indistinguishable from the corporation – which, as I said before, needs sponsors more and than it needs an electorate.

But I am warning you, there is something in the air, and soon it will be the people’s broadcasts wafting in from The Indie Media and Free Speech TV, that tears down the wall, and this time it will not be the Berlin Wall that falls, It will be Wall Street.

Because the revolution is now, there is something in the air and we have got it together.

*********
For the next few weeks I will be out there with Dr D. David D. R. Roe – a new Orleans street music legend and Frankie Hernandez – the living Gabriel - on trumpet. This tour will be over the Eiffel tower. Highlights will include main stage at The Oregon Country Fair, The FalconRidge Folk Fest, and SolarFest!

**********
DR and I are still looking to fill some dates on the east coast this month between SolarFest and FalconRidge. So if you are in the north east and know of a house concert or some event that could use this bizarre act to shake its rafters – please drop us a line!

********
The art work will not be done at the top of this tour so we will be selling the new CD “American Storyteller” with temporary art – sure to be a ummm
collectors item. Hopefully by the end of the west coast swing we will have the real thing. For those of you who have purchased an advance copy – I will wait for the real thing before I mail them.

So, now that you’ve checked it out – I’m sure you are saying – how can I get a copy
Well, advance copies are best done by clicking: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr
**********
If you would like an advance copy and can use pay pal please click here: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr or drop me an email by responding to this missive.

Till then – check this out!
http://ohms.nu/chandler/disk_1/index.htm http://ohms.nu/chandler/disk_2/index.htm Thanks-o-Rama to Karen Kilroy for putting this together!

This a double CD enhanced with three never before seen short films – put it in your computer or a regular CD player.

************
I am most appreciative of those of you who contributed to this project! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! It is still not too late for you. I am a bit over extended on this project – if you have always wanted to be a patron of the arts click here: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr
**************

Monday, June 27th 2005 9PM
Ashland, OR or Medford
Chris Chandler with David Roe and Frankie Hernandez
TBA
Keep an eye on the website!
I am sure it is happening – I just don’t know where


Tuesday, June 28th, 2005 9PM
The Clipper -- Olympia, WA
Chris Chandler with David Roe and Frankie Hernandez
402 4th Ave East,
website: http://www.pioneermusic.org/

Tuesday, June 28th, 2005 6PM
Radio8Ball with Professor Andras and Tammy T. – Olympia, WA
Chris Chandler with David Roe and Frankie Hernandez
TESC,

phone: 360 867 KAOS
website: http://www.myspace.com/radio8ball This is a call in show. People questions are answered by picking a number that corresponds with a song from Chandler's set list. Chandler plays the song and then the song is interpretted as the answer to the question. It's fun and profound. Try it.


Wednesday, June 29th, 2005 8pm
Northern Pacific Coffee Company – Tacoma, WA
Chris Chandler with David Roe and Frankie Hernandez
401 Garfield Street South,
Tacoma
phone: 253-537-8338
[FREE Tickets available at DISC CONNECTION] 405 Garfield Street Tacoma, WA 253-539-5632 Door prizes - we will be giving away CDs and DVDs all night. [HALF PRICE BEER ALL NIGHT!]


Thursday, June 30th, 2005 7:30 PM
Paul Trebach's Home / A house concert – Seattle, WA
Chris Chandler with David Roe and Frankie Hernandez
6755 27th ave NW ,
Seattle
phone: 206.719.5962


Friday, July 1st, 2005
Sirens -- Port Townsend, WA
Chris Chandler with David Roe and Frankie Hernandez
823 Water,
Port Townsend
phone: 360.379.1100

I have now brought Avoiding Godot, The Convenience Store Troubadours, Over the Counter Culture, The Flying Poetry Circus and Now David Roe and The Orchestra to this venue in nearly ten years of semiannual shows there!


Saturday, July 2nd, 2005 8 pm
Blue Heron Art Center -- Vashon Island, WA
Chris Chandler with David Roe and Frankie Hernandez
Vashon Hwy. & Cemetary rd.,
phone: 206-463-1839
website: http://vashonalliedarts.org

Sunday, July 3rd, 2005
Norway house – Victoria, BC
Chris Chandler with David Roe and Frankie Hernandez
1110 Hillside Avenue,
Victoria
phone: 250-413-3213
website: http://www.pacificcoast.net/~vfms

Monday, July 4th, 2005
The Abbey – Cumberland, BC
Chris Chandler with David Roe and Frankie Hernandez
2689 Penrith Ave,
Cumberland
phone: 250-336-2224


Tuesday, July 5th, 2005 8:30
Crazy Fish -- Port Angeles, WA
Chris Chandler with David Roe and Frankie Hernandez
229 West 1st Street,
phone: 360-457-1944


Wednesday, July 6th, 2005 8PM
The Matrix – Chehalis, WA
Chris Chandler and David Roe
434 NW Prindle St,
phone: 360.740.0492
website: http://www.matrixcoffeehouse.com

Thursday, July 7th, 2005
The Oregon Country Fair – Eugene, OR
Chris Chandler with David Roe and Frankie Hernandez
website: http://www.oregoncountryfair.org/

Friday, July 8th, 2005
The Oregon Country Fair -- Eugene
Chris Chandler with David Roe and Frankie Hernandez
website: http://www.oregoncountryfair.org/ 1:00 PM Monkey Palace
3:00 PM Blue Moon Stage

Saturday, July 9th, 2005
The Oregon Country Fair -- Eugene
Chris Chandler with David Roe and Frankie Hernandez
website: http://www.oregoncountryfair.org/ Sat 12:40 PM Shady Grove Stage – opening for the 100 year IWW Celebration!
Sat 4:00 Main Stage!!!!!!!

Sunday, July 10th, 2005
The Oregon Country Fair -- Eugene
Chris Chandler with David Roe and Frankie Hernandez
website: http://www.oregoncountryfair.org/ Dusk Thirty The annual Library Show

Monday, July 11th, 2005
Sam Bond's Garage -- Eugene
Chris Chandler with David Roe and Frankie Hernandez
407 Blair,
phone: 541-431-6603
website: http://www.sambonds.com

Tuesday, July 12th, 2005 9PM
Mississippi Studios – Portland, OR
Chris Chandler with David Roe and Frankie Hernandez
Chris Chandler with David Roe and Frankie Hernandez
3939 N Mississippi ,
Portland
phone: 503 753 4473
website: http://www.mississippistudios.com

Wednesday, July 13th, 2005 6:00
House Concert at ABC (Alexander Berkman Collective) House – Olympia, WA
Chris Chandler with David Roe and Frankie Hernandez
Chris Chandler with David Roe and Frankie Hernandez
105 Sherman Street NW,
Olympia
phone: (360) 352-9524
Outdoor party!! (weather permitting) Possible hot tub!

Saturday July 16th Northampton, MA
TBA

Sunday, July 17th, 2005 TBA
Forget-Me-Not Farm -- Tinmouth
Chris Chandler and David Roe
Chris Chandler and David Roe
McNamara Road,
Tinmouth
phone: (603) 847-9049
website: http://solarfest.org Ticket price is for the entire weekend


Monday, July 18th, 2005 8 PM
The Living Room -- New York
Chris Chandler with David Roe and Frankie Hernandezand Anne Feeney
Chris Chandler with David Roe and Frankie Hernandezand Anne Feeney
154 Ludlow Street (between Stanton and Rivington),
New York
phone: 212-533-7235
website: http://www.livingroomny.com/ We are looking for anything in Upstate NY or Western, MA during these few days
Anybody got any ideas?

Friday, July 22nd, 2005
Long Hill Farm -- Hillsdale
Chris Chandler and David Roe
Route 23,
Hillsdale
phone: 860 364-0366
website: http://www.falconridgefolk.com tix are on sale now. $85 earlybird*, $95 advance**, $115 regular price 4 day with Camping - 4 day no camping - $65 earlybird*, $75 advance**, $95 regular price Thursday - $30 Friday - $30 Saturday - $35 Sunday - $30


Saturday, July 23rd, 2005
Long Hill Farm -- Hillsdale
Chris Chandler and David Roe
Route 23,
Hillsdale
phone: 860 364-0366
website: http://www.falconridgefolk.com tix are on sale now. $85 earlybird*, $95 advance**, $115 regular price 4 day with Camping - 4 day no camping - $65 earlybird*, $75 advance**, $95 regular price Thursday - $30 Friday - $30 Saturday - $35 Sunday - $30


Sunday, July 24th, 2005
Long Hill Farm -- Hillsdale
Chris Chandler and David Roe
Chris Chandler and David Roe
Route 23,
Hillsdale
phone: 860 364-0366
website: http://www.falconridgefolk.com tix are on sale now. $85 earlybird*, $95 advance**, $115 regular price 4 day with Camping - 4 day no camping - $65 earlybird*, $75 advance**, $95 regular price Thursday - $30 Friday - $30 Saturday - $35 Sunday - $30

Washington and Baltimore CD Release Parties TBA

Last Half of August First half of September we are looking to do a loop of
Pittsburgh
Cincinnati
Louisville
St Louis
Carbondale, IL
Cape Girardeau, MO
Baton Rouge, LA
New Orleans
Pensacola, FL – September 1
Florida – any takers?
Atlanta
Ashville
Richmond
DC

American Storyteller- liner notes - June 21, 2005

Chris Chandler
American Storyteller
With David Roe And The Orchestra

WORDS
~Chris Chandler
~David Roe ~Jo Smith ~Joe Dicey ~Kathryn Falcone
~Laura Cerulli ~Maia Sobelman ~Nick Annis ~Pat Humphries
~Sandy O ~SONiA ~Stephanie Lichtman-Price ~Thomas Nuendel

MUSIC
~Chris Chandler~ Guitar, Sound FX
~David Roe~ Piano, Acoustic Guitar, Jews Harp, Drums
~Henry Cross~ Bass, Drums
~Jo Smith~ Piano
~Joe Dicey~ Electric Guitar
~Justin Nurin~ Trumpet, Cornet, Piccolo Trumpet
~Maia Sobelman~ Cello
~Nick Newlin~ Organ, Accordion
~Stephanie Lichtman-Price~ Pennywhistle
~Thomas Falcone~ Tenor Saxophone, Flute, Clarinet
~Thomas Nuendel~ Violin
~Tom Derr~ Electric Rhythm, Slide, and Lead Guitars

Recorded 5/5/5 – 6/15/5 Red Sky Studio
Henry Cross~ Engineer Recording Mixing Mastering
Except Barflies recorded Melville Park Studio Steve Friedman~ Engineer
Additional tracks recorded at Red Sky Studio
Karen Kilroy ~ Enhanced CD Authoring
Tom Daly- Crooked Cove~ CD Production
Chris Chandler~ Producer
David Roe~ Producer and Music Director
All additional music conceived by David Roe with each musician contributing his own part.
Nothing is written. Authorship belongs to the collective soul and ability of those involved.
All Arrangements (P) © David Roe and Chris Chandler
All covers by permission of author/ publisher or Harry Fox
Album Cover by Chandler Layout by DR and Chandler
Executive Producers~ claire, dorothy, franklin and kevin chandler, Anne Feeney, Jeanee Goliher, Agneszka Grazikdzik, Shirley Shultz~Meyers, Amy Neihouse, David Rovics, Caroline Schweiter, Wiktor Szotalo
Associate Producers~ Barry Bachrach, Shelly D’Amour, Sarah Guthrie, Cheryl Kagen, Susan Martin,
The Murray Family, Sig and Liz Nagys, Brian Starr, Small Wonder Video, Brian Wolfsohn

Chandler Gives Thanks to: My Family (blood and extended) Caroline, DR, Kathryn Falcone, Quiet Valley Ranch, Oregon Country Fair, Shirley, Anne, Dan Bern, Maverick, Lisa, Camp Calm, Andras Jones, Frankie Hernandez, Oliver Steck, David Eisner, Nick Annis, The Washington Storytellers, The Botto House, Bob Reid, Karen Kilroy, David Newby, Courtney Mallery, Sam Cohen, Catherine and Jim Infantino, Pete Cassani, Xtreme Folk, Berk N Suz, Leslie and Bob Tower, Jo & Nathan Smith, Magda Hiller, Phil & Angie, Amanda Stark, Bob Jenson, Lyle and Roxanne, Paul Manly, Andrew Geoghan, J Mongo Nealer, Frankly, Mudcat and crew, Michael Kapecknick.

DR would like to thank The Colonel and The Nurse (50 Years In Love) and The Sibs, and wishes
Cora, Aurora, Nick, and Sophia, all the happiness and success possible.
Respect and Regards to The Krewe of WooHoo, Captain’s Advisory Council.
Gratitude to and for my teachers: Dave Van Ronk, Randy Newman, Pete Seeger, Mike Stark, Freddie Staehle, PJM, JTM, Jug Band Musicians, Street Musicians, Clowns and everyone who does what they love for a living.
Dedicated to the Memory of Tuba Fats, born Anthony Lacen; The Mayor of Jackson Square, teacher, band leader, politician, big man with a bigger heart. I will always hear your bent bruised horn, rumbling low, holding it all together.
This album utilizes the talents of some real fine musicians, writers, and miracle workers. If you enjoyed this collection, please check out disappearfear.com NicoloWhimsey.com RedSkyAudio.com NickAnnis.com emmasrevolution.com joanasmith.net AnneFeeney.com geocities.com/jnurin/intro jtfWoodwindsAndStuff.com MagdaHiller.com NursesWithoutBorders.com EricShwartz.com www.swans.com/contrib/procks.html CrookedCove.com CDBaby.com and, of course, RoyalRounders.com and ChrisChandler.org




Lightning Bugs and Barflies Chandler
John Brown’s Body. The Battle Hymn of the Republic. Solidarity Forever. This Land is Your Land. Bye Bye Miss American Pie. Smells Like Teen Spirit. Just a Li’l Bit. Koo Koo Ca Choo. Jo Smith was invaluable in the creation of this piece. Thank you. - jcc
As much as I hate to admit it, karaoke is the campfire of today, and the arbiter of what will become folk music in a generation or two. ~DR
~Jo Smith~ Vocal, Piano
~Tom Derr~ Electric Guitar
~Henry Cross~ Bass, Tambourine
~Thomas Falcone~ Flute
~Stephanie Lichtman-Price~ Vocal
~Chandler~ Sound FX
~DR~ Drums

I Dreamed I Saw St Augustine (Florida) Chandler and Lisa Stolarski
Swimming To The Other Side Pat Humphries
Anne, Eric Schwartz, Mary Lightfine and I found ourselves in Titusville, FL watching a predawn space shuttle launch. I wrote about the magnificence of that launch in my monthly newsletter, which happened to go out the next day. Well, kismet and cosmos joined that February morning. A subscriber read it and e-mailed my newsletter to her friend who just happened to be an astronaut on that shuttle. Yes, the beginnings of what would soon become this piece about the fountain of youth, has actually been read in outer space! Anne Feeney and I spent eighteen days in the hot sun of Texas cobbling together a medley of songs to go along with the poem. We could not make it work. On day nineteen the obvious hit us. “Let’s cover that Pat Humphries song.” It began to rain. – jcc
Hysterical History Tour!!! A fractured fantasia on conquering, the conqueror and the conquered, accompanied by a wing and a prayer. ~DR
~Kathryn Falcone~ Vocal
~Nick Annis~ Vocal
~DR~ Piano, Guitar, Drums, Vocal
~Thomas Nuendel~ Violin
~Maia Sobelman~ Cello
~Henry Cross~ Bass
~Thomas Falcone~ Tenor Sax
~Justin Nurin~ Trumpet

Infinity Chris Chandler and Anne Feeney
“Is there no heaven – or is this it?” I was thinking about this the other day as I was riding down the highway counting mile markers and exit signs… 97, 98, 99… …tenity, tenity-one, tenity-two… wait that’s not right…but then, I saw a sign at a church that read “count your blessings” well, naturally I did as I was told – it was a church after all. As I started counting –tenity-seven, tenity eight, tenity nine… eleventy, eleventy one, eleventy two…I think I had gotten to about twelveity-four or five when I realized that my blessings are infinite – and this was going to take a while. The notion of infinity is deep – so deep it is sits in the shallow end of a swimming pool somewhere in china. Anne “Snoop Dogg” Feeney continues to collect children’s counting songs. One day she may have infinity. – jcc
Music is numbers. Kids games is numbers. Our days are numbered. It’s enough to make you numb. ~DR
~ Maia Sobelman, (Fleegle), Nick Annis, (Bingo) Kathryn Falcone, (Drooper) Thomas Nuendel, (Snork)
Joe Dicey, DR, Sonia, Laura~ Vocals
~DR~ Piano, Jews Harp, Drums
~Henry Cross~ Bass

Cracker Jack Cure Chandler and Phil Rockstroh/ The Dutchman Michael Smith
This is the most recent piece Phil Rockstroh and I have collaborated on. It was written originally to go with a song called “Cracker Jack” by Magda Hiller. I never got my Cap’n Crunch Treasure Chest, and sometimes go to my mother’s mailbox with hope still in my heart. Michael Smith generously gave me permission to use his timeless classic. – jcc
Childhood reminiscence and fading memory. I play this one for all my Chicago friends be they living, or be they dead. I remember. ~DR
~DR~ Piano, Guitar, Vocal
~Kathryn Falcone~ Vocal
~Thomas Nuendel~ Violin
~Maia Sobelman~ Cello
~Henry Cross~ Bass
~Thomas Falcone~ Tenor Sax

Hard Times May Follow You Chandler
I found a collection of my journal entries on E-Bay. Really. I could not afford them. I have arrived. I need a job. - jcc
Chandler is as much a child of Woody as Cisco, Arlo, and Bob, and he doesn’t need to make up nearly as much as they do. All the facts in his stories are true. ~DR
~DR, Kathryn Falcone, Maia Sobelman, Thomas Nuendel~ Chorus
~DR~ Piano, Drums
~Thomas Nuendel~ Violin
~Nick Newlin~ Accordion
~Henry Cross~ Bass

September 1, 1939 W.H. Auden /Green Field of France Eric Bogle
I was comforted by this poem when it circulated widely on the internet shortly after 9-11. ~jcc
This poem, written at the crucial turning point as the European conflict became World Wide Conflagration just fits with Eric Bogle’s musical journey through a WWI graveyard. This is the one “cover” poem on the album. I have a personal connection to the song. The DA used the words in his summation that lead to the conviction of the man who murdered my college buddy, Reggie Reynolds, who was 19 when she was taken in 1975. ~DR
~DR~ Piano, Guitar, Vocal
~Nick Annis~ Vocal
~Thomas Nuendel~ Violin
~Maia Sobelman~ Cello
~Henry Cross~ Bass
~ Stephanie Lichtman-Price~ Penny Whistle
~Justin Nurin~ Cornet

Something in the Air Thunder Clap Newman / But it’s not on the Air Waves Chandler
Not even on the left hand side of the dial, mostly. ~DR
Eric Balkey challenged me to write a poem to go on his album and suggested he sing this 60’s era pop protest song. When I thought about at the hook: “There is something in the air,” the call and response theme seemed obvious. More than 50% of the American public disapproves of this war. Everybody knows it. No one is saying it. I AM proud to be an American. I am embarrassed to be occupying Iraq. - jcc
˙~DR~ Piano, Guitar, Drums
~ Henry Cross~ Bass
~Nick Newlin~ Organ
~Thomas Nuendel~ Violin
~Justin Nurin~ Piccolo Trumpet
~Thomas Falcone~ Tenor Sax
~Tom Derr~ Electric Guitars
~Joe Dicey~ Electric Guitar
~Chandler~ Sound FX
~DR, Nick Annis, Kathryn Falcone, Thomas Nuendel, Maia Sobelman
Emma’s Revolution, disappear fear~ Vocals
Recording of Ellis Paul and John Svetkey singing Chandler’s Republican Woodstock from “As Seen On No TV” Flying Fish 1993

The Pageant of the Paterson Silk Strike Chandler and Lisa Stolarski/ John Henry’s Slow Drag David Roe
The Botto House stands in Haledon, NJ as a testament to this strike. If you’re ever in the neighborhood stop in and pay the museum a visit. There is a photograph on the wall. See it for yourself. ~jcc
My grandmother sewed back pants pockets in The Baxter Factory in Trenton, NJ for 25 years. My father taught me John Henry when I was just a baby. The Slow Drag is that tune distilled with some Mississippi mud, Leadbelly records and years of playing Royal by day and Bourbon by night. ~DR
~DR~ Piano, Snare, Vocal
~Thomas Nuendel~ Violin
~Thomas Falcone~ Clarinet
~Justin Nurin~ Cornet
~Henry Cross~ Bass

Top Banana Chandler and Rockstroh/ People Get Ready Curtis Mayfield
“...Competition is fierce-- the law of the jungle prevails in these days of unfettered capitalism-- One must be top banana in order to earn any bananas at all... But, perhaps, the man in the ape suit dreams of living by more than jungle fruit and jungle fruit alone.” – Phil Rockstroh. Magda Hiller and I worked out this medley. ~jcc
9 out of 10 funded focus groups agree: advertising doesn’t cost. It pays. Sign here and climb aboard. ~DR
~Kathryn Falcone~ Vocal
~DR~ Piano
~Thomas Nuendel~ Violin
~Maia Sobelman~ Cello
~Nick Newlin~ Organ
~Henry Cross~ Bass, Drums
~Tom Derr~ Lead Guitar
~Thomas Falcone~ Tenor Sax

Talkin’ Woody Guthrie and Bob Dylan Blues Chandler
Ya should’a seen me pull up to Bob Dylan’s High school in my 1978 Chevy LUV pick up truck and a home-made, graffiti colored camper on the back. It was 3 in the afternoon. The kids waiting on the bus gathered round. I sang them songs like “Watergate Generation,” and “Emotional Dyslexia.” The principal came out and asked me to leave. I asked him for a baseball jersey. I still have it. The Hibbing Blue Eagles. I don’t think Bob played much ball. He was in the Latin Club. - jcc
I’ve been to Okemah, but never The Masabi Range. Everyone should read “Bound For Glory” and “Chronicles Volume One.” Chandler and I saw Bob play the Bowie Bay Sox Baseball Stadium the night after the album was finished. He played Chimes of Freedom and Masters of War ~DR
~Chandler~ Vocal, Guitar

This is Not A Folk Song Chandler
Yes, it is. -DR
I have gotten so many requests for this song over the years I thought it warranted re-recording. More often than it is requested, I am asked a question. So, yes, it is a true story. - jcc
~Nick Annis, DR, Kathryn Falcone, Thomas Nuendel~ Vocals
~DR~ Piano, Guitar, Vocal
~Thomas Nuendel~ Violin
~Maia Sobelman~ Cello
~Henry Cross~ Bass
~Tom Derr~ Lap Steel
~Thomas Falcone~ Tenor Sax
~Justin Nurin~ Trumpet

AFTERLIFE (For Rachel Bissex) Chandler
See you there. –DR
People who think life is great have nothing to compare it to. - jcc

In To The West - June 21, 2005

Chandler and I are off to join Frankie Hernandez on a tour of the Pacific Northwest. Your best source for info- chrischandler.org
The new album- 2 CDs of stories poem and some really sweet music is finished. Karen Kilroy is adding 3 movies- including one of Thomas Nuendel, Dave Mazeka and me in New Orleans 1998. Buy your copy in advance from Chandler's site. This is the best recording I have ever done.

Studio Magic - May 11, 2005

Chandler and I began recording tracks for his major opus- AMERICAN STORYTELLER on 5/5/5 in a lovely studio in Silver Springs, MD.
This week, we were joined by singers, Nick Annis, Kathryn Falcone, Sonia and Laura of DisappearFear, Nick Newlin and Joe Dicey of Jamnation, Thomas Nuendel and Maia on violin and cello. Much merriment, both in studio and upstairs at the picnic/ rehearsal and cribbage parlour. We have only begun to play with this album. There is much to be done. We have nearly 3 CDs worth of material and want to include a DVD, so anyone interested in being an investor / associate producer- visit chrischandler.org.
What we have so far is inspiring and amazing, and the stories and poems are some of Chandler's best ever.

Susquehannananana Folk Festival - May 9, 2005

What a lovely place- The Ramblewood. What lovely people- what beautiful music. And to play with Reggie, Kim, Freebo and all on Sunday morning was inspirational. I wish I knew Rachel. Looking forward to catching back up with the gang at Falconridge. Safe travels all.

To Brooklyn and Back - May 2, 2005

Chandler and I battled torrential downpours, the loss of a windshield wiper in the middle of said drenching, and Mapquest quirks, to bring words and music to PA, NY NJ and almost Delaware. Anyone know anyone who has played in Delaware?
I finally met the wonderful Anne Feeny. What an honor to be on the bill with her and the remarkable Mr. Julius.
Thanks to all our hosts- Howard, Randy, Jake, Morgan, Wendy.
Carnival Girls has arrived! Get yours today.
Chandler and I go in to the studio this week to begin recording his American Storyteller album.
I recorded a piece with Russian poet, Irina Astra, www.irinaastra.com Look for it on her album to be released this summer and featuring many Austin and DC musicians.
Chandler and I will be hanging at the Susquehanna Folk Festival this weekend.

Spring Has Sprung... - April 24, 2005

...And LIFE is popping everywhere. The Cass Elliot script is in the hands of director Tony Tsendeas.
Chandler and I have arranged a bunch of new pieces and are rehearsing two different sets of musicians for the new album. We are working with Nick Newlin and Joe Dicey of Jamnation for a couple rock n roll inspired poems and we have discovered a wealth of talent from the Peabody Conservatory located around the corner from DONNAS coffeeshop where I am waiting tables and busting bubbles.
So, the new album gets a string quartet, too.

Carnival Girl CDs have been shipped from the manufacturer, and should be here soon.
Plans for summer CD release parties in NY and environs are underway.
Meanwhile, Chandler is booking gigs faster than I can post em, so check out his site for the latest dates.

Weekends were made for Cherry Blossoms - April 6, 2005

Recent visitors to the BWI Metro area, Ranger Rick and the Lovely Jack-eeee! joined DR, K, Nick and Joanne for fun and frolic in our nations capital Sunday. Kites, art, treasures and discoveries abounded. Monday, we all did Fells Point in Balmer and ate more crab cakes than the law allowed. The Spring Fling continues with an ALL ARIES Birthday party Saturday night and a Roe Family event in DC on Monday.
All this, and Chandler and i are working feverishly on the new album. We are looking for more dates in July/ August in New England.
<< Previous Page    Next Page >>

RSS feed