You Don't Know What You've Got 'Til It's Gone

Certain things you just always assume are going to be there. We all know that's not a safe assumption, but it still came as a shock to me to learn that the Spot is closing at the end of September. It caused me to make a pilgrimage and take this photo, which is making me extremely hungry even as I type.

If you're a local as many of you gentle readers are, you remember the Spot when it stood on Market Square. Muggy hot Friday nights, my Dad would put us all in the car and we'd drive down and get a bag of one-e-ups (a word I've never seen in print before, so that's an approximation.) The guy would line the buns up his arm and make them assembly line style. None of us wanted the one the farthest up his arm. The car and then later our house would fill with the fragrance of chili dogs, and after we ate we would be allowed to sleep in the living room and watch Johnny Carson, another rare treat. We never stayed awake for more than the monologue, but that wasn't the point.

As I walked downtown towards the Spot, I couldn't help but think of other landmarks that are gone like the Canton Inn, which was the only Chinese restaurant I was ever in for many years, and Mike's Kwiki-Lunch, a/k/a Dirty Mike's, where I ate the majority of my meals while working at Bell of Pennsylvania (there's another one gone), most often grilled blueberry muffins or BLTs for breakfast and chili dogs or ham subs for lunch.

Nostalgia is powerfully tempting at times like this, on a warm summer night, making me wish we could pile back in the car and go to Sam's -- no, not the symbol of Corporate Evil and Greedy World Domination, but the absolute best ice cream place in town. When our car got close to Sam's, we'd get more and more excited until there it was, like the Gates of Paradise, only with more neon. Sam's was right next to the City Line Diner, where everybody went for eggs and home fries after a night on the town or playing gigs. In fact, for a short time you could play gigs in the basement of the City Line, and it was on one of them that I learned/stole The Gloria Joke.

Yes, so many great places and great cases of heartburn, only a memory now. What's the point? I guess gratitude is in order, to have lived long enough and in times prosperous enough to have had so many cool food places around. The neon is still on in my memory long after the buildings have been torn down to make room for banks and parking lots and other crap. For me, it becomes more important all the time as we get closer to the end of Summer and the end of other things to remember the advice of Warren Zevon:

Enjoy every sandwich.

Back in the Saddle Again

Apologies to those who have been checking for new posts. We came home from Portsmouth (reluctantly) and jumped right back into the slipstream, starting with singing Sunday night Mass. It was great to be back with our peeps again, Sean and Alex, praising the Lord on stringed instruments just like it says we should in the Bible (Tridentine-agers' opinions to the contrary notwithstanding).

Just Friends roared back to life at the Lawnton Legion Saturday night after our vacation break, and it was just like riding a bicycle: hard, sweaty work -- er, that is, it just came naturally. Really, we had a great time, and thanks to our family and friends who filled the place with love and dancing.

Sunday afternoon was a different kind of job for the band, playing at the Tall Cedars Muscular Dystrophy fundraiser and car show at the Colonial Park Mall. We nearly had the show stolen from us by a young man named Riley, who sang the National Anthem quietly and reverently, and in a way that gave new meaning to those familiar lyrics. When the words "the land of the free and the home of the brave" are coming from a child in a wheelchair who has muscular dystrophy, it makes you think twice about complaining about anything. We were honored to play for this fundraiser, and thank the event organizers for asking us to participate.

Next weekend, the band will be playing a private function, the 82 Airborne's convention at the Hilton on Friday and Saturday. Don't forget to mark your calendars for Saturday, August 24th, when Just Friends rocks the Verhovay. Cheap drinking, great people, huge French fry orders and Just Friends: what's not to love? Get there early if you want a table.

Just Friends is working on updating our e-mail list so as to keep you folks better informed of our whereabouts. Most of you who are readers of this blog have my e-mail, so contact me, or else go to www.justfriendsband.com and e-mail our very own Manager Jack. There's some interesting things on the horizon for the band.

Stay tuned for further news about the Just Friends New Year's celebration at the Sheraton Harrisburg-Hershey. We're getting excited about this and it's not even Labor Day yet. There's a real possibility this event will sell out even though it's in a large venue, so plan to attend now, and let us know so we can reserve tickets for you.

Quick Hello from Portsmouth

We are taking refuge in a coffee place called Me & Ollies where the temperature is not 95 and the Internet connection is better than our hotel. No pictures for now, but we've had an eventful stay so far. The local beers are kind of disappointing but we've seen two good musical acts already. The first was a guy and guitar named Peter Whitehead, playing at the Red Hook brewpub (a huge, noisy place). Think Rhyne McCormick but without the originals. Great voice. On the way out of the place I heard a band playing on the other side of a stand of trees, and we found ourselves on the patio of a Marriott Residence Inn with a band called Rhythm Method.

This connection is unreliable. I'll publish for now and report more later.

Cape Cod rocks

Sorry, couldn't resist the pun. Cape Cod rolls, too.

You will notice that there's a bite out of it. When the waitress put it in front of me I went temporarily insane and started eating before I realized I should have taken a photo. This is the best sandwich in the history of eating. Harwich, MA, I forget the name of the restaurant, but Joreen had the best cod sandwich she's ever had. We stumbled into this award winning place and had a blast.

The owner of the place we're staying is a fine arts photographer and inspired me and Joreen to go out and take pictures all over the place. This is not fine art, but it's just fine for me, for now. I really have to learn what all those icons on this camera are for.

We went to the Cape Cod National Shore, first stopping at the National Parking Shakedown Booth. It was worth it, because the scenery was beautiful.

Really beautiful. Ask Joreen to show you her seal photos. She was going all Animal Planet on me again.

I can only post five pics at a time, so the report on the Cape Cod baseball league will have to wait. All our vacations are great, because Joreen and I travel well together, but this one is just off the hook. It's Thursday morning, and I'm typing this to avoid packing the car and leaving. We're heading for Portsmouth, NH today. More later.

Thar She Blows!

Sunday evening we drove up to the tip of the Cape, Provincetown, for the Dolphin Fleet Whale Watch cruise. This was one of Joreen's dreams come true, to see whales somewhere other than on Animal Planet. These photos are all Joreen's.

You have to be really fast and alert, not only to get the shot but to elbow the other tourists out of the way.

It was the last cruise of the evening and we saw quite a few whales. The naturalist/snack bar operator on the boat gave us a lot of details; ask Mrs. Discovery Channel about them. It was a three hour tour, and very enjoyable.

We've declared today as a Sit On Your @$$ Day, so there may not be much to report. Don't forget that Wednesday is Jerry Garcia's 65th Birthday. Close the blinds and twirl like an idiot; I sure will.

Sunday dinner...

was a pair of New York strip steaks that we brought from home, done on the grill, cole slaw and peas. Mass this morning at St. Francis Xavier, formerly St. Patrick's, where John and Bobby Kennedy served as altar boys back in the day.

Tentative plan to go peep some whales up in Provincetown later, on a three... hour... tour...

The Kellys Have Left The Building

Twizzlers? Check. Pistachios? Check. Bailey's? Check. It's 7:00 a.m. and the Kellys are on the road to Hyannis.

Joreen's always impeccable Internet skills have done it again, and we have the nicest room in all of Cape Cod.

See what I mean?

It's really, really, cool and it has a view from the balcony that looks like this:

We'll be posting throughout the week, hopefully.

Life Is Good

We're getting ready to vacate Saturday, finishing up transcripts, getting groceries together. Hopefully we can post from the road. Meanwhile, check out the GrandBoy. He's always on vacation.

Just Friends July

It's been an eventful week for the Just Friends Band. We played for the Fourth of July party on the veranda of the Hotel Hershey, thanks to whoever put St. Joseph in the window. We waited out the hurricane warning and then played to a spectacular fireworks display. Unfortunately, I have no photos, so just use your imagination. Thanks once again to Mr. Ron Suski and the staff of the Hotel Hershey for their accommodation and assistance. We look forward to this event every year, and hope to see you all there next year.



Friday evening, we played the wedding of Susan Sunchych and Dage Gardner at the Carlisle War College, and a good time was had by all. We were warmly received by the guests and the staff as well.


Noteworthy: This was the premiere of Parker's new gear configuration, playing rhythm guitar in addition to horns and percussion. Two necks are better than one.


For those of you who could not attend the Knoebel's show on 07/07/07, you missed all the excitement. The weather was glorious and the crowds were responsive and mostly under control -- until Gio pulled out The Trombone.


Pandemonium ensued. As you can see, the capacity crowd nearly emptied the bleachers as they rushed the stage.

Fortunately, the new Just Friends security detail was on hand to keep Gio from being ripped to shreds by the adoring fans.

Brian just sat there and ran sound, like he always does -- impeccably.

Actually, we did put on an amazing show, and we are grateful to the Knoebel family for inviting us. We hope to return again next year, when we'll probably share the billing with Pat Davison, the World's Greatest Juggler, and his long-suffering wife and kid. (They're really sweet people, and he's actually very good.) I have more photos from this day, and when I get the chance I'll post them to Flickr and put the link here.

Finally, we played the Lykens concert series Wednesday, the 11th, which was held indoors to keep us from getting soaked like we usually do in the gazebo. We always enjoy playing for Kevin and the great citizens of Lykens. Sorry, no pics, but imagine a really big, cool stage with a large crowd enjoying our performance.

Just Friends is now on vacation until August 11th, when we return to the Lawnton Legion with all our gear properly tweezed and the band all tanned and rested. Hope you're having a great summer, just like this guy:

Check out the new Papist

Saturday was the Baptism of Theodore a.k.a. Theo a.k.a. Teddy a.k.a. TJ a.k.a. T'Jhon a.k.a. Theodorable a.k.a. Prince Theo the Spoiled. Thanks to our family and friends who helped us welcome him into the Church.

The prize for the one who traveled the farthest goes to Johnny Yulich, who drove all the way from Erie where he is a chef in a successful Italian restaurant to be the godfather of the son of an old classmate -- one who tortured him mercilessly when they were in grade school together. He's a fine young man and we hope to see him again soon. Thanks also to his godmother, Stephanie Grossnickle, who taught Andie and was also her Confirmation sponsor. She has been a great friend of our family and a positive influence on Andie's life, as well as on the lives of countless other students over the years. We are blessed to have such good people as family friends.

This may be the last blog entry for a little while. I'm starting a weeklong gigstravaganza, playing almost every day until the 11th of July. Hope to see some of you at Hotel Hershey, or Knoebel's, or somewhere soon.

Meanwhile, for those in town tomorrow, Bill Nork will be playing twice at the American MusicFest on the Riverfront on July 4th: with the Bayou Bandits at noon on the World Stage and with Robert Bobby at four on the Coca-Cola Community Stage.

Both acts are worth checking out. I've reviewed the Bandits in an earlier post. Robert Bobby was the lead singer and songwriter for The Speedboys, formerly the West Philly Speedboys, one of my favorite bands of the Eighties and a world class good time bar band. Robert Bobby continues to write, record and perform, recently opening for Chris Smithers. He's not exactly a gig hog, so this Wednesday will be a great opportunity to go hear him, and for no cover. You won't be disappointed.

Just Friends Summer

Saturday evening we traveled to the Sunbury Legion and played for a small but enthusiastic crowd who stayed and danced the whole night. We've made many new friends with the management and locals of this Legion and we look forward to returning there on August 25th. This is an old-school social club dance hall with a great stage. The building is fifties vintage, and the tiles on the floor take me back to St. Francis of Assisi kindergarten.

Along with the locals, we were privileged again to play for a special table full of fans: Renna Kenyon, Kathy Patti, Pat Roth and Angelina Traino, a/k/a "The Band Wives." These wonderful women have been at almost all the band's performances since the very beginning. By my rough estimate they've listened to some of these songs about 500 times, and applauded every single time. The Wives have been joined recently by bassist Mark Evans' wife, Sharon. The members of the band are fortunate to have that kind of support at home, and we appreciate them.

(There should be a photo here of the wives, but the picture I took turned out to be pretty hideous, and if I put it here the four of them would beat me to a pulp. I'll post one later.)

The Just Friends Band is gearing up for some of our favorite summer performances. We will be playing at the Hotel Hershey on the Fourth of July. These are the best fireworks you'll see in central PA. The traffic is always pretty heavy, but it's a great chance for the general public -- that's you! -- to come and hear us in a unique setting. We will be performing the Patriotic Medley during the fireworks display.

"Saturday, in the Park, I think it's on the Seventh of July." The park is Knoebels Grove, and this is another chance to see the band in a unique setting. If you've never been to Knoebels, you owe it to yourself. Find some kids to bring along so you'll have an excuse to ride the coolest rides around. For more information, contact Manager Jack at 717-985-9797. For park info, check out http://www.knoebels.com/ The park is about 90 minutes from Harrisburg and you'll be glad you made the trip. Hope to see you there. Yes, we'll be playing "Saturday in the Park."

Sunday, August 12th, Just Friends will be playing for a worthy cause at the Car Show to be held in the parking lot of Boscov's at the Colonial Park Mall to benefit the Muscular Dystrophy Association. This will be an afternoon event and we hope to see all of you come out and support the band and this important fundraising effort. More information to follow.

"I Bless the Day I Found You"

Just Friends played a memorable occasion on June 16th -- the wedding of Chrissy Carbonaro and Joel Worrall. You may hear occasionally of musicians who mock "wedding bands." They've apparently never had the honor of participating in an event such as this. Two hearts became one, two families were joined, and we were privileged to provide the soundtrack for this celebration. Well, okay, some of the soundtrack was pre-recorded, like the theme from Raiders of The Lost Ark, but that was cool, too.



This wedding took place at Visaggio's. You've heard of the restaurant, but may not realize that they specialize in wedding receptions. If you can't afford to fly your entire wedding to a villa in Italy, Visaggio's is the next best choice. John, Rosemary and the entire staff of Visaggio's have continually impressed me with their hard work, attention to detail and staggering skills in the kitchen. Check out this wedding cake. It's almost as classy as our business manager, Jack Traino.




The evening was perfect, marred only by the appearance of an armed robber disguised as a groomsman, who ordered all the dancers to "reach for it!" as he pulled a weapon out of his rented vest. (Sorry, I couldn't resist.) Yes, it's the "Y" in "YMCA."



Playing weddings is more than just a business. Some of the highlights of my playing life have been thanks to brides and grooms. The bride's parents were married in 1977. Their first dance was to the Everly Brothers' "Let It Be Me." The band, unfortunately, did not know the words and so just faked their way through the tune. The bride requested that we play the song for them, a song Joreen and I have been playing since our days in The Cards. When we announced the song and performed it, the bride's mother was deeply touched.



You may not be aware of this, but our friend Parker has been consorting with bluegrass musicians, namely Reese and Dave of the band Heart and Soul. Here we see them performing at St. Thomas Roaster Coffeehouse in Linglestown. This Sunday, June 24th, the Heart and Soul bluegrass band will be at St. Thomas UCC church in Linglestown (6490 Linglestown Road) for a picnic at 6:30 pm. (Go to the square at the Eagle Hotel and turn right.) Joreen and I cannot attend because we'll be at Mass, but if you go, say hi to them for us. Dave and Reese are exceptional bluegrass musicians, and Parker will surprise you with his ability to play I and V without stopping to hit I-1/2 and III-3/4.

Theo's First Road Trip/Just Friends Summer Events

Here we see the world's youngest rock star chilling out on the first night of the tour.


Ah, yes, a hotel room full of beautiful women holding bottles. Livin' the dream.



Meanwhile, Just Friends was hard at work at the Chambersburg VFW, again pleasing the entire crowd (well, except for one guy, but ask me about him privately). I'm playing with the settings on my camera, and took this without flash. If you listen hard, you can hear Vince tearing up "Harlem Nocturne."

The next night we came back "home" to the Lawnton Legion. It was great having so many friends and family in attendance. Ed and Grace stopped by, and my brother Bill and sister-in-law Ginny were there. (I sure hope I didn't just misspell her name or I'll hear about it for the rest of my life.) And yes, we did Route 66, as a tribute to Rudy. "Thank you, music lovers" -- wherever you are.

Coming events: Just Friends will be doing the fireworks at the Hotel Hershey again July 4th. The traffic is atrocious going home, so be ready for it, but the pyrotechnics are the best around. We'll be doing the Patriotic Medley arranged by Joreen in the best possible setting for it. Bring your lawn chairs and prepare to go "ooh, aah" a lot.

Saturday, July 7th, Just Friends plays at Knoebel's Grove. I've mentioned this before here, but I can't stress to you enough what a cool park this is. If you're old enough to remember Hershey Park when it was two words and it didn't cost 50 bucks to get in, you'll love Knoebel's. Free parking, best roller coasters around, bring your own food or buy it there (you're a winner either way, although the pizza is a bit too sweet), and check out the band in a real live band shell. We'd love to make this a reunion of as many folks who can come as possible. Be in touch with us or contact Manager Jack at 717-985-9797 for more information.

Just Friends On Tour

The band will be playing in Chambersburg this Friday at the VFW. Saturday, we'll be at the Lawnton Legion from 9 to 1. If any of you are interested in attending, call me and we'll make sure you get signed in.

Thank You, Music Lovers

It's been a week of comings and goings. This past weekend, we learned that a good friend and former member of Just Friends, Rudy Thomas, passed away. Rudy was a real character, and the stories about him are part of the lore of the band. The tag line of this entry, for example, was a quote from Rudy. The picture here shows him performing with us at the Lawnton Legion. It was a tradition that at some point we would begin "Route 66," and Rudy would stroll up to the stage with that confident smile, and sing that song like he owned it. He will be sorely missed.

Joreen and I also send our prayers and condolences to Barry's family on the passing of his father. Barry was raised in a family that loved good music, and that love lives on in every performance Barry gives. God's peace to all who mourn, until we're reunited again.

So, What's New?

He is. His first name is Theodore. His middle name is John. His last name is the same as his mother's. (I'm preventing his full name from being a Google hit at his tender age.) In this photo, he is about nine hours old. He was born May 23, 2007, before breakfast, and after his mom had a very, very hard night's work. He came in at eight pounds, seven ounces, 20 inches, whip-smart, dangerously handsome and poised for greatness. As of Saturday morning, he will be residing with his mother and grandparents.





Surprised? So are we. The details of the story are unimportant to share here. Those who need to know them will. What I'd just like to say for now is that perfect love really does cast out fear. A mother's love is a miraculous, transformative thing. Prayers are heard by a loving Father, and sometimes answered faster than you would believe possible.

Hold on to your hats, kids. This next part of the trail isn't on any map I've ever seen.

Gonna Break out the Hats and Hooters

Sorry for the delay in new content here. We've been busy. The big news is the band management has signed a contract with the Sheraton Harrisburg-Hershey for New Year's Eve, and I have some details.

The celebration begins at 8:00 p.m. Tickets are $55 per person and include dinner (Italian, of course), a champagne toast/coffee and pastries at midnight, and of course music and dancing with The Just Friends Band. Tickets are at this moment in the process of being printed and will be available directly from Jack Traino, Sr., band manager, at 717-939-4462. Or, of course, Joreen or I will hook you up.

We are really getting excited about this as we begin to fine-tune the details. I personally want to thank Jack, Vince and Gio for all the hard work in negotiating with the Sheraton. If you've shopped for New Year's events in the past, you know that $110 a couple for a complete dinner, live music and other goodies is a bargain. We're going all-out for this, and in the words of that guy from Animal House, "This is gonna be great!" Stay tuned for more information as it develops.

A. Ginger Ale, Dayquil and Lipton's Chicken Soup

Q. Why hasn't John updated the blog since May 2nd?

I have lots to report but no energy to report it with. I started with a cold that went into flu symptoms. Talk to you all later.

Just Friends at the Verhovay

Just a reminder that the Just Friends Band will be at the Verhovay Friday, May 4, from eight to midnight. We don't have many shows on the schedule that the general public (that's you!) can come to, so we expect a good crowd. We hope to see as many of you as can make it. Drink prices are reasonable, the menu of bar food is filling and tasty (don't order the fries unless you have someone to split them with) and the dance floor is always open. We'll even turn the mirrorball on for you.

Now, That's Funny

Some of you already know about the Central PA Gazelle, another blog on Blogger. Those who don't, check this out:

http://centralpagazelle.blogspot.com/index.html

This is satire at its best. Whoever the writer is, they have the journalistic style nailed, and some of these entries are hysterically funny. It helps to know the central PA area and some of its newsmakers, and they're not all direct hits, but for instance, here's a quote from the latest entry, in which Gov. Rendell admits to having broken 140 separate laws:

(HARRISBURG) - In response to a Freedom of Information Act request from the Gazelle, Governor Ed Rendell today released a list of local, state and federal laws he has broken during his time in office. The 317-page document seemed to indicate that the governor's recent admissions about speeding were just the tip of the iceberg.Included in the list are several traffic violations Rendell has committed through orders to his state trooper escort, including failure to yield to pedestrians, tailgating and a litany of aggressive driving-related offenses.In addition, Rendell said he once urinated from the top of the reserved section bleachers at a Harrisburg Senators game. "I should note that I was high as a kite at the time, so I guess that's another one," he wrote.

This is funny stuff. Make sure you dig through the earlier entries, like the one in March where Mayor Reed enacts mandatory smoking for all Hbg. employees.