David Roe & The Royal Rounders: The Latest

Living Will

I, _________________________ (fill in the blank),
being of sound mind and body, do not wish to be kept alive indefinitely by artificial means.

Under no circumstances should my fate be put in the hands of
peckerwood ethically challenged politicians who couldn't pass
ninth-grade biology if their lives depended on it.

If a reasonable amount of time passes and I fail to sit up and ask
for a cold beer, it should be presumed that I won't ever get better.
When such a determination is reached, I hereby instruct my spouse,
children and attending physicians to pull the plug, reel in the tubes
and call it a day.

Under no circumstances shall the hypocritical members of the
Legislature (State or Federal) enact a special law to keep me on
life-support machinery. It is my wish that these boneheads mind their own damn business, and pay attention instead to the health, education and future of the millions of Americans who aren't in a permanent coma.

Under no circumstances shall any politicians butt into this case.

If any of my family goes against my wishes and turn my case into a
political cause, I hereby promise to come back from the grave and make his or her existence a living hell.
_______________________________________

Signature
Witness
DATE__________
DATE__________

Thanks for joining me this Wednesday at Stella's. Please come early, stay
late, tell your friends! Stella's will validate for 3 hours parking --
access the garage from Duke Street. Stella's is a big place -- full dinner
and bar service -- and our show is in the Starlight Room, closer to the Duke
Street entrance, it's only one block from the King Street
Metro station.

The three wise guys were joined by the two wiser women- Kathryn and Elizabeth on stage at the Maid. The result was warming and enlightening.
We will be writing and rehearsing this week for Chandler's next CD and Kathryn and I will be collaborating with Nick and Elizabeth on the Cass Elliot Show and for other 4 part harmonic purposes. I am looking forward to the May Day tour at the end of April with Chandler. We are still trying to work out a Texas trip in May and some New England bookings in July.

The first mention of musicians going on a gig comes from Downbeat magazine in 1926. Before that the only mentions of gigging involved catching fish or frogs with a spear. A whirligig is a toy that spins. Was also a dance.
Possible connections.
But if you go back to 17th century France, gig is another word for vulva. Also gigi. Hence, the Broadway play and movie regarding prostitutes, GIGI.
So a musician on a gig is fishing for twirling pudenda.

download it from our tunes page- Its Nick's song, Chandler's poem and DR adding keyboard textures- get the whole album at NickAnnis.com

With Joe Dicey singing and strumming, Nicky rollicking the 88s or 76s or however many keys that accordion has, and DR banging out the rhythm, Neptunes swung til closing time. Guest vocalists abounded. Looking forward to returning April 30th.

Spring is just around the bend, so come on out this Saturday, Feb.19th
to feel the warmth! Jamnation members Nick Newlin and Joe Dicey,
and the amazing Royal Rounder himself, David Roe (DR), will be playing this Saturday
from 10 PM to 1 AM at Neptune's Seafood Pub in North Beach, MD.
as they lay down a full night of sizzling Summer sounds.

Get ready for an amazing repertoire of fun and rockin' tunes.
And if you're lucky, we may be joined by the amazing Denise Dicey!

The food is great too, so come early,
and eat the seafood special.

Neptune's Seafood Pub
800 Chesapeake Ave. (at 1st St.)
North Beach, MD
(410) 257-7899.

Keyboards, guitar, piano, and drums
will be swingin', while we three cats
will be groovin' and singin'!

Don't miss this!

Directions to Neptune's from the beltway:
Take exit 11A MD 4 South toward Upper Marlboro.
Follow for 13.8 miles.
Take slight right onto MD 260 Cheseapeake Beach Rd.
Follow for about 9 miles.
Turn left on MD 261 Bayside Rd. (turns into Chesapeake Ave.)
Neptune's is less than a mile on the left at the corner of 1st St.
Just as you enter North Beach.

Great news on the CD front!: David Roe (DR)
has put together and amazing new cd
entitled Carnival Girls recorded on Jim Hancock's
state of the art mobile studio in the Oakey Dokey Acres Barn
in Brandywine, MD.
or at Neptune's!

DR has 3 beautiful original songs on the cd, and
he plays guitar and piano and sings with all his heart.

Nick has 2 originals on the disc, including "For Another Heart",
and he plays piano and squeezebox.

Rounding out "The Rubes" playing bass is it's recording engineer
and an amazing musician: Jim Hancock
http://www.jimhancock.com
This disc tells a story of the heart: step right up!

Upcoming: Catch the full Jamnation ensemble
on Saturday, March 5th from 9 PM to 1 AM
at Beach Cove Restaurant
8416 Bayside Rd.
Chesapeake Beach, MD
http://www.beachcoverestaurant.com

barbarian, bear, boob, brute, buffoon, bumpkin, cad, chuff, churl, clodhopper, clown, countryman, hayseed, hick, hobnail, lout, lubber, lumpkin, mucker, oaf, peasant, philistine, rube, rustic, swain, vulgarian, yokel

http://nola.com/mardigras/photos/ then go to French Quarter Revelry

All Hail Queen Juli and King Sean Green! What a wild ride.

Deadwood was a dream- warm weather- old friends- hot band.
The boys spent the weekend in a lovely cottage overlooking Deadwood Gulch. Breakfasts at The Historic Franklin- Thanks Bill, Larry, Ricky & All The Ladies.
Parading up Main Street and through the Silverado was a blast and we had a great time judging the Cajun Cook Off.
Special thanks to Joe Hamm for EVERYTHING, including a trip to see the fog shrouded Crazy Horse carving and the equally invisible Mt Rushmore.

Off to Mardi Gras in New orleans,but first, a stop in Deadwood

From Ambush magazine-
If I ever had a "brother" in New Orleans, it was that gentle red-bearded bear of a man called Mike Stark.

We first met in the late 60s when I walked into his shop on Bourbon Street and he said "Hey, cutie, what can I do you for?" I looked around and saw this rather full-figured man, clutching the straps on his bib overalls and smiling that broad, ever-so-enticing smile he flashed to everyone. It was love at first smile and he and I and my Life Partner, jack, have been fast friends since.

From time to time, when I needed a spot to hawk my nostalgia from, there was always Mike, offering whatever space he had. Because of this I watched Mike communicate his unique brand of catering to his congregation, for Mike was an ordained Baptist minister, and his customers, his friends and those about him were his flock.

I would watch him sit behind his desk, covered with globs of hardened glue and clusters of bits of feathers, and work magic with his hands and his imagination. Most people call him a mask maker. But he didn't make masks; he made artistic expressions of the joy of living the fun of life.

Mike's mark on our GLBT community and the city of New Orleans, especially his beloved French Quarter, is indelible. During the peak of our city's hippy days, Mike stated the Head Clinic, (health Emergency Aid Dispensary) to give medical care to those injured on the glass cluttered streets of suffering from bad drugs, or just overwhelmed by the festivities. He and Bill Rushton, then managing editor of the View Carre Courier, a weekly Quarter paper, started the flea market behind the Old Mint. Today it is but a shadow of its original function of catering to those in our community who needed a space to sell oddments and leftovers.

They also started the ABBA Foundation that included a free store, a coffee shop and a youth hostel.

He was also a major factor in the survival of our first meeting place, The Sphinx Coffee Shop, where the beginnings of our GLBT community had its origin.

In 1971 Mike and others started a home for runaways, only to be raided by the NOPD for failure to have their parents' permission for medical care. D.A. Jim Garrison dropped all charges upon pressure from City Hall and many prominent N.O. citizens.

When Mike was hit by a stroke in 1989 (?) and hospitalized at Charity, (his wealth was his friends and not money) the elevator operator asked who this man was that was visited by the Mayor, the City Council and almost every jazz figure in the city. Such was Mike's scope of friendship.

Every New Years Day it was a tradition for friends and strangers to be welcomed into his apartment for black-eyed peas and cabbage, with jalapeno corn bread on the side. Just bring your warmth and sincerity and you were welcomed. The power structure, the music world and the common folk all came together at Mike's gatherings. One might converse about movies with the star of an upcoming feature, chin with a council person, or find out about religion from a voodoo priestess, such was the variety of those mike welcomed.

He was also a major figure in the annual Fantasy Fest in Key West. There he set up shop at Fast Buck Freddy's and sold his fantastic creations. He was also King Neptune of Fantasy Fest in the mid-80s.

The Montreaux Jazz Festival called him to exhibit his art. His pieces are in museums and collections around the world and have been known to be worn by the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Ringo Starr and many other rock figures.

Mike's memorial service at the St. Charles Avenue Baptist Church was a milestone of a tribute to a man who loved people and loved life so passionately.

The Storyville Stompers played dixieland and hymns and "Little Queenie" Leigh Harris sang, accompanied by opera singer Debria Brown, and the woman Mike called "My Odetta," his longtime friend and great folk singer, Odetta.

I know Mike loved the memorial, for you could feel him there, clapping and singing along with the congregation, laughing his great bellowing laugh, and smiling, smiling, smiling.

Many times when Jack and I would drive past Mike's shop we would find him leaning against a parking meter, clad in one of his caftans, I would pull over and say to him, "Who you got hidden under that caftan, Mike?" And he would reach his arms through the window and embrace me and say "You'll never know, kid. You'll never know."

To honor and pay respect to a man who helped us all enjoy the celebration we call Mardi Gras, I would like to propose that our GLBT community dedicate our Mardi Gras celebration in 1999 in honor of one of our greats who has left us, Mike Stark.

Knowing Mike as I do, I know what he would say at such a proposal. He would straighten the colored cloth wrapped around his forehead, adjust his bear and, throwing his head high would say: "If you must, you must," and wink and then laugh, laugh, laugh.
--Roger Nelson