I am a bad bloggist.

Bloggist. Though it may not be a word, I like it better than "blogger" which sounds too much like logger (or lager--not that there's anything wrong with that--depending upon how you say it). "Bloggist" or "Blogger." It really doesn't matter as I am not much of either, lately. Work . . . life . . . stuff . . . All of it equals not much time to sit in front of my computer and subject you to my random thoughts and music musings.

As far as this past weekend goes, I do regret not getting my butt over to Corn Hill Landing to see the Mambo Kings with the RPO and, I heard, fireworks. It was a beautiful night for that. I should have been there. Also, I completely missed Boulder Fest. Though some of that music is out of my age range, I should have been there to post about it in my Insider blog. I can't believe the D&C hasn't kicked me off the Insider yet. I haven't had much to say there either. And I hate to admit it, but I might just be too old to be blogging for them.

I did get to see a few of my favorite musicians on Sunday at the Perinton Summer Fest at Perinton Park. The Bill Welch Band performed two great sets. These guys should be gigging out more often. I love them--the incomparable Bill Welch on lead vocals, keyboard and acoustic guitar; Gene Rogalski ripping it up on electric guitar; the sweet and soulful Bill Tiberio on sax; Mike Keefe keeping it real on bass; Fred Welch killing on the drum set while Tony Padilla was equally amazing on Latin percussion. What a group! And they played my all-time favorite song, Why Don't You Ask. It was a day well spent in the park. If I don't have a link for them on my blog, I will in a minute, so check them out. If they have something on their schedule you can get to, I highly recommend it.

yours in music,
Tracy

I messed up.

I missed Footnote's CD release party last night. I'm a whole week behind. I thought next week was the Tuesday in question, when, in fact, it was last night. And I missed it. And I had promised to blog about their CD release. I suck. Sorry, Footnote, I'll make it up to you. Do you have a link to buy the CD that I can put in the blog? Or a link to your website, perhaps, with some cuts to sample. I'm so sorry. Life has been having a way of getting away from me these days.

So as not to screw up again, here is a little bit I got from an email to my MySpace.

"My name is Christopher Bell, I am a singer-songwriter from Jamestown, NY. My Canoe Tour brings me into Rochester the 4th week of July with a show on the 24th at Boulder Coffee. In total its a 6 week journey on the Erie Canal and Hudson River from Buffalo to New York City."

The Boulder gig is at 8:00 pm Thursday night. I have a conflict and, once again, I cannot make it. However, you should go. You've got to give props to someone who paddles that far to play. Let me know how it is.

And Footnote guys, please forgive me.

yours in music,
Tracy

The Regulars and a short rant.

We stopped at The Landing in the village of Fairport last night to catch the relatively new band, The Regulars--Kevin Hart on guitar, Dave Tiberio playing bass, and Joe Passamonte on the drum set. Joe and Dave were also the vocalists, and they both have nice, strong voices. All accomplished musicians, they were fun to listen to, and their covers of current music were right on. There were dancers on the floor, and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves--even the band! Sadly, I couldn't find a website or a MySpace for them. Guys, if you've got one, let me know.

Went to a movie in Pittsford on Friday night. We were out at 10:45. We stopped at Black & Blue because we wanted a light dinner. It was 10:50 by the time we got there. "Sorry, the kitchen is closed down and all cleaned up." Benucci's, closed. Brio--tried the door because people were in there, and it was locked at 10:55 on a Friday night! What if all we wanted was a drink? They don't want bar business at 10:55 on a Friday night? What kind of city do we live in? What a drag. Our only choice, if we wanted a nicer meal then Denny's, was Cheesecake Factory. So, CF it was, and it was pretty good, too. Thank goodness they are there, and their kitchen is open until midnight. Those crazy folks! And guess what? There were plenty of people in there eating and others came in behind us. Maybe not so crazy after all. Other restaurants should take note.

yours in music,
Tracy

Bop Fest 2

Bop Fest, in conjunction with the 26th anniversary of the Bop Shop, is happening this weekend, and boy, is it happening! I’m going to try to hit it on Saturday. Here is the lineup as it appears on the Bop Shop website: Bop Fest 2 is held in the courtyard of The Village Gate 274 N. Goodman St., located in the heart of the Neighborhood of the Arts. The event is being presented by the fine restaurants and retailers of the Village Gate and is free. Headlining Saturday’s festivities will be the Hammer of the Honky Tonk Gods Bill Kirchen at 6:00pm www.myspace.com/billkirchen preceded by Nashville legend David Olney at 4:30pm www.myspace.com/davidolney. Starting off the day’s festivities will be two of our finer local bands, Krypton 88 www.krypton88.com who will kick off the show at 2:00pm, followed by an amazing new local band, The Alpine Black at 3:15pm www.myspace.com/thealpineblack. On Sunday, The Asylum Street Spankers www.theasylumstreetspankers.com will appear at 4:00pm and warming up for the Spankers at 2:00pm will be Todd Kraz and at 3:00pm The Varnish Cooks www.myspace.com/thevarnishcooks.

(Sorry if the above links don’t work; as I’ve told you, I’m not “technologically enhanced” like the Steely Dan crowd was!)

I’ve wanted to see the Spankers for a long time, so I’m looking forward to that. However, I’ve also heard great things about his new local band, The Alpine Black, and I definitely want to check them out. Tom Kohn, owner of the Bop Shop, is understandably excited about this event given the success of last year’s and this great lineup. I hope the weather cooperates, and he gets the crowd that he should.

The above is a complete cut-and-paste from my Insider blog, but I wanted to be sure to get this information out in as many ways possible.

yours in music,
Tracy

Question.

Who, among the local musicians I know, has a new CD coming out before the "holiday buying season" that I need to know about? Help me out, here.

yours in music,
Tracy

Lots to say . . . no time to say it

Having the Insider version of this blog has really hampered my ability to post regularly here. And, in fact, I just posted two things on the Insider blog after having posted nothing for almost two weeks.

And I have so much to say!!! Of course, what I say here is not the same stuff that I would say there. So, that means writing two different posts, etc. And now with my new position at the A&CCGR, I am totally focusing on what is required to do a good job with that, so both blogs are being neglected a bit.

If I can't start posting regularly in both, I'm going to ditch one.

Coming up in August - a few gigs for the New Bill Tiberio Band--one at Glenora on the 17th and one at the Fairport Food & Music Fest on the 23rd as well as one the same day at Bristol Harbor--and John Hiatt is coming to Rochester on the 19th!

All for now . . .

yours in music,
Tracy