So, this has nothing to do with music.

Forwards. I hate them. Well, that's a bit of an overstatement. I like some of them. I've gotten a few good ones in my day. I would say the percentage of good forwards to bad ones is 1:100. And my mom is one of the biggest culprits of bad forwards. She'll send me the ones that say, basically, "Multiply the number you picked in question four by the number of hours you sleep every night and then by the number of meals you eat every day, and forward this email to that many people OR SOMETHING VERY BAD WILL HAPPEN TO YOU!" I hate that! Most times, I just don't open stuff that comes from her and a few other notorious forwarders, but when curiosity gets the best of me (or I just mistakenly open something), then I usually just hit "reply all" and hope that takes care of the jinx.

Thank you for letting me vent.

Oh, and on the music front, Scott Regan was back at Open Tunings on 88.5 this morning. Happiness.

Yours in music,
t

I must be getting old 'cuz . . .

I just watched (probably the last person on the face of the earth) the Jimmy Kimmel, Sarah Silverman, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck thing on YouTube. I guess it's funny, though I must admit Sarah and Jimmy are only slightly familiar. I did enjoy the assembly of stars in the Kimmel rebuttal all singing in a "We Are The World" type of situation. I don't know, though. I'm thinking, what's the point? That's when I realized . . . I must be getting old.

On the morning ride into work, I usually listen to NPR on 88.5 and then, because I'm usually running at least a few minutes behind, I hear the first few minutes of Open Tunings with Scott Regan. I really like that show. Today, Scott wasn't there and the guy who was filling in had some interesting taste in music. If this morning was the first time I'd ever heard it, I wouldn't tune in again. Can't wait for Scott to be back.

So I switched over to my other favorite station 90.1, and that is one that never disappoints. So, basically, the best two stations in town are both reliant on member support. Let's get the dollars out there, shall we? Quality music programming is hard to come by, we have to support it if we want to have the opportunity to hear diverse, excellent music. 88.5 comes out of the University of Rochester and 90.1 out of the Greece Central School District. These local folks putting on top quality music need our support--listen and give.

So, it's almost time for me to run out and torture my voice coach. She is a patient, encouraging and helpful young woman. TTFN.

yours in music,
Tracy

And the crowd went wild . . .

Prime Time, baby, that's what was going on last night! The boys were in top form and that handsome lead guitarist, Joe Chiappone, was leading them there. The horns, holy cow! Vince Ercolamento had some crazy solos, and the last one was just phenomenal. How his head did not explode, I'll never know. Ronnie Leigh can sustain a note longer than one would think humanly possible. And when I talked with him about it after the show, he said, "Oh, I had to cut that one short." Wow.

The house was standing-room-only and the crowd was loving PTF. There were lots of dancers hitting the dance floor. We even got an encore out of the band. It was that good. I hope to hear them playing out at clubs more than they have been, and I hope with Joe playing that sweet guitar.

yours in music,
Tracy

Don't Forget! Prime Time Funk tonight.

Come on out to see the best band in town - Prime Time Funk - at Hi Fidelity (formerly Milestones) on East Avenue between Spot Coffee and the East End Garage. The band plays from 7:00 to 9:00, and this week Joe will be sitting in at his old spot on guitar.

This group has been my favorite for as long as they've been playing. They've got one CD out and are finishing up a second. I have seen a lot of bands, and no one has them beat on talent or energy. They belong places other than Rochester, that's for sure, but aren't we lucky to have them!

Hope to see you there tonight.

yours in music,
Tracy

Oh, yeah, Murray Street Station . . . Interesting place

Let me start by saying that I've just begun to recover my hearing. The band was loud, but louder still was the "music" the bar piped in between sets. The crowd was diverse. And that diversity led to the start of a fight at about 1:20 just before the band's last song. Luckily, Murray Street staff were able to get the warring parties outside, but it was hairy enough there for a minute that I was looking around for a "safe place" to go.

And, of course, I had the requisite drunk guy hanging over me asking me why I wasn't smiling. Well, "because you're bugging me" is what I wanted to say, but I didn't. I really have to work on my "Piss Off" face because instead of coming across as intimidating and a woman worth not bugging, I come across as sad and someone in need of cheering up. Yes, a drunk, slurring, spitting man up too close to my face is definitely going to cheer me up!

Murray Street Station had an interesting ambience, to say the least. The first thing I noticed when I walked in was that there were mounted animal heads all over the walls. I ended up sitting under a small black bear ("What large claws you have!"), and Joe had a large deer just about whispering in his ear as he played.

All that being said, the band sounded great, as usual. And Joe, especially, was on fire. Every note he played was filled with his sweet, soulful sound. And the guys play so well together; they appreciate each other's talent. It's so cool to watch and wonderful to hear.

Jimmy Richmond's wife sat with me. She was a blast; and she loves to dance! So, for the first time in a long time, I was able to hit the dance floor!

Next Saturday night (2/23) at Hi Fidelity (formerly Milestones) Joe, Jimmy, Dave and Ralph will be joined by the rest of PrimeTimeFunk for a two-hour set from 7:00 - 9:00. I have been looking forward to this. And I think I'll have enough friends there with me that I'll be able to hit the dance floor again. I know Jimmy's wife will be there, so I'm assured of at least one partner! And I'm pretty sure there will be no animals' heads mounted on the walls. Hope to see you there!

yours in music,
Tracy

Looking forward to U2 3D!

Release date of 2/22; hope it makes it to Rochester then. It sounds like it will be almost better than being there in person--great views and no being jostled by crowds or being behind the standing drunk guy (as I usually am).

yours in music,
Tracy

It's Friday!

That means music at Murray Street Station in Newark! I have no idea what this place is like. I tried to Google it and found, pretty much, nothing. The Aldis Blues Band and the Mary Rose Band have played there. I'll let you know if it's a lovely place like McCool's used to be in Geneva (I miss that place.) or if it's the kind of place that you're afraid to use the bathroom or something in between.

Tonight's gig is a Hot Sweets gig, and I haven't seen the guys play in a while, so I'm looking forward to it.

One thing that I said I was going to do a while ago is mention what music I'm listening to and/or review CDs once in a while. Well, I've been listening to the CD that Joe bought me at the All Star Guitar Night in Anaheim, and that is LJ Plays the Beatles (Laurence Juber, formerly of Paul McCartney & Wings). We heard him at the concert; he played While My Guitar Gently Weeps, and it was beautiful. I'm enjoying that CD. Check out Vicki Genfan on YouTube; I'm listening to her CD "Up Close & Personal" that I bought when I saw her at NAMM. I actually just went to YouTube to make sure there were some, and I also got Laurence Juber as part of the thread of videos that started with her. Funny.

Speaking of YouTube, my daughter's vocal performance last week with the FHS Day Jazz Band is going to be on soon. I can't wait to find it. The bassist's dad recorded it, and is going to post it--hopefully within the next week or so.

The other CD I'm listening to is the one my son recently sent me: Appetite for Destruction (Guns 'n' Roses). The reason he sent it is because Sweet Child O' Mine was the number one song the week he was born, and I used to have the tape but lost it. He, for whatever reason, decided to buy it and send it to me! I thought that was very sweet. I'm quite a sentimental sap, so I love stuff like that. Anyway, who would think that a Guns 'n' Roses tune would make anyone all misty, but it does bring back some wonderful memories of the first few weeks of Drew's life. I played lots of different kinds of music all the time when the kids were little, but Drew told me this summer that the first "real music" he remembers from his childhood is Rusted Root, and he still likes them pretty well. He told me that when I took him and Caroline to see them this past June at the Jazz Fest. I think that's kind of cool.

That's all for now; got to get ready for work.

yours in music,
Tracy