Finally, A Good Play

It finally happened - last night. I played at the Renforth Boating Club in a room no bigger than my kitchen with Deek McCluskey, Kenny Innis and Lorraine Goldie at a private function for some of Deek's relatives. I was totally relaxed and played the best I've ever played while standing in front of people. It was a small crowd of probably no more than 25 people.

Did I make mistakes? Sure I did, lots of 'em, but it was still one of the best playing experiences I've ever had. I'm not sure why I was relaxed so much; maybe I'm finally becoming confident that "I can do it." No, that's not it. I just had a good night. Did I sound like Earls Scruggs? Uh, no - it wasn't that good!

I sure hope this experience continues into the next several times I get to play in front of people, and I especially hope I play with as much confidence on December 8 at Harbour View High School. Wish me luck.

December 8, 2007 Christmas Show Planned, Proceeds to Local Food Banks

In my last post I talked about how I played Jingle Bells in the middle of August with a few friends while practicing for an upcoming performance at a nursing home. Since that little incident I haven't been able to get Christmas music, Bluegrass Christmas music in particular, out of my mind. I've been listening to Christmas music ever since that night. In fact, after the practice that night, I came straight home and played my Bluegrass & White Snow CD by Patty Loveless. That little Jingle Bells incident got me to thinking about last year's Bluegrass Friends Christmas party and how a group of us had practiced a few Christmas songs over and over for about a month.

Ever since I began playing music I've wanted to put on a show at a venue like Harbour View High School or at the Imperial Theatre in Saint John. I just want to produce a show with Bluegrass music in it; I don't necessarily have to perform in it. I figure now is as good a time as any and a Christmas show with all proceeds going to the local food banks is certainly a good reason to go forth.

So it's official. I'm planning a show at Harbour View High School on December 8, 2007. The format will be an all Christmas music show with an hour of Bluegrass Christmas music broken up into two 30 minute sets. In addition there will be two other 30 minute acts. One of those acts is the Living Water Quartet. The third act is unconfirmed at this time.

Believe it or not, for the Bluegrass portion of the show I've got 12 people involved and every one of them has commited to a weekly practice from now until the week of the show! I've laid out what I expect from the musicians in terms of commitment and quality and they have all agreed to produce. That's pretty encouraging, especially since Christmas is over three and a half months away.

I've got a great bunch of musicians and singers assembled and we have some excellent tunes in the works such as Bluegrass, White Snow, Santa Train, Merry Christmas From Our House To Yours and a whole lot more. I might even throw Jingle Bells in the mix since that's the song that seemed to get the ball rolling. If everything goes according to plan you can expect one of the best locally produced shows you've seen in a long time.

Come December 8, 2007, I'll be looking for your support by attending the show. Remember, all proceeds from the show will go to the Saint John and area food banks, so it's a very worthy cause. Tickets will most likely be in the $10.00 price range and will be available in late October or early November.

As the show date draws near I'll post updated information about it on the Bluegrass Friends web site so check there often. I would love to see a full house so we can present the food banks with a large donation. Please tell all of your friends, co-workers and relatives to set December 8 aside on their calendars.