Weekend Update

Saturday night, Just Friends played at the Iberian Lounge. We are pleased with the progression in the size of the crowd and the good response from the dancers. Despite using a stripped down system and going without a sound man, we have managed to keep the sound good and the crowd happy. The management of the hotel is going to a smaller band format for next year, but we will be making an appearance on the veranda during the warmer months. Stay tuned for details.

This morning the St. Catherine choir was in fine voice. We've picked up some new members and are up to 19 singers now. It's a fun bunch of people, and the sound is sweet. We did O Sacrament Most Holy and at one point the accompaniment dropped out, and it was all a cappella and very nice. People came up and complimented Joreen on the sound of the choir. Any more new members and we'll need to buy new robes. That's a good problem to have.

Tonight after the 7:00 Mass I went over to Dad and Rose's to celebrate Dad's birthday with him by watching the Eagles with him and David and sharing a pizza. That was fun. I may have to do it again, which means I better work on becoming a football fan. I left after I think it was the second inning.

On the way home, I stopped and got the ingredients for the most important dish of all on Thanksgiving: the green beans, mushroom soup and those dried onions. I love that stuff, especially for lunch the next day with whatever stuffing the kids don't inhale. Thanksgiving rocks.

I Know One Thing True: I Was Born To Play For You

The title is from a tune of mine, "Steady Love," and it describes what I did pretty much all weekend. Friday, I played a solo acoustic show at the Cornerstone Coffeehouse in Camp Hill, PA. It's a nice venue, and I stacked the deck by inviting a bunch of friends. Thanks to Ginny and Bill (Hi Ginny I said hi to you first!), Ed and Grace, Chris and Roger, my dear friend from back in the day Maria Gardner Reedy and her husband Ron, Terry, Alex and his buddy Mark, Sean, Dave Weyl, the multi-talented Karen Gray, the one and only Susie Carter from our first band The Cards, and of course my dear wife, the mighty Mrs. Kelly for their support. This show went more smoothly than the first, and thanks to Alex I actually have a bootleg of it. The above photo is from the CD cover. It's great to have technologically savvy friends.

Some of us went over to Ed and Grace's after the gig to help me celebrate my birthday. We sang and played some more, ate some of Grace's Pampered Chef creations, and did the traditional coconut cake and Jamison's thing (hey, it's our tradition, go get your own!). Before you know it we were partying like kids again -- well, maybe a little more intelligently than kids, but we had a blast. I've said this to all of them and I'll say it again here. There's lots of people with lots more money, but in terms of the friends I've made and kept over the years, I am one of the richest men in the world. It's been a rough patch in some ways recently, and this was a welcome oasis of fun and relaxation. Thanks to you all.

Saturday, my actual birthday, we attended the wedding of Vince's daughter Megan. Joreen played the organ at the Grace United Methodist Church and I accompanied her on guitar for the candle lighting song, "Grow Old With Me," by John Lennon. Nice touch, eh? The reception was a great time. Just Friends were invited as guests, which meant we could scarf hors d'oeuvres and hit the open bar without feeling guilty. We also brought our axes and did a quick set, ending with the father of the bride and I singing a duet on "Volare." Man, how cool is that? Laredo, featuring my brothers Dave and Bill, were the actual wedding band for the day, so we didn't have to load any gear in or out. Bonus!

Sunday was another peak musical experience. Fr. Sullivan organized a solemn vespers to honor those who have died this past year, parishioners and relatives of parishioners. The church was candlelit, with beautiful flowers on the altar and votive candles on a table in the front of church with the names of those who had passed away. My sister in law Jinny had a candle there. Joreen and I and a young man from McDevitt, Tony Bender, who has an amazing voice, did the music. It was deeply moving, and some of the family members of the deceased were visibly touched. Frank DiNatale, another friend from high school and before that, lost his father recently. He came up and embraced me with tears in his eyes. I felt honored to be a part of something so healing and consoling to people who need it.

And now it's back to the grindstone. We've been scaring up a few gigs for next year and hoping we can find the right audience for our band. If any of you know anyone who's getting married, let me know. There's at least a toaster oven in it for you. I hope that doesn't sound too needy.

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but I'm still able to sing, sort of. I'm still going to do the Cornerstone show tomorrow, hopefully coughing and hacking between songs instead of in the middle of them. Just Friends rehearsed tonight, and it's amazing how tight we're getting. The new material is sounding good and we're revisiting old pieces and refurbing them. There's an Italian swing tune called "Tu Vuo Fa L'Americano" which is a blast to play, and Vince just plain pwns it as you can hear here. We've been tweezing it up and it sounds even better now. We're going to "sit in" for Vince's daughter Megan's wedding, which is being played by Laredo.

Meanwhile, days are getting shorter and leaves are getting thicker. I'll have to get around to leafblowing one of these days, unless it snows first.

Now, Where Was I?

It's time for the usual apology for not posting for a while. There's been so much going on and it's coincided with one of those spells where I just don't feel like blogging. The change of seasons is bringing more changes in our lives, and as many of you know I'm not known for hitting the "like" button on change. I know it's cryptic, but you'll get it in context as we go along.

I'm playing a solo acoustic show at Cornerstone Coffeehouse in Camp Hill tomorrow, November 12th, 8:30 to 10:30: a mix of originals, off-the-wall covers and any requests I feel like taking, assuming I can fake my way through them. No, Freebird will not be one of them.