Price Bennett- Street Musician on Liberty Ave
Vanessa’s Party Shoe Presses the Piano Pedal Plus Nina’s High Heel, Too
Young and trendy. Stylish and chic. These fancy shoes separate the youthful fashionable and the older woman’s footwear. I wore brown clogs. Quite a different look!
It was a good party. The live music made it great. The singing, the piano playing. The friends. The snow was falling as the night wore on. We’d seen a bad pileup on Bigelow Boulevard and the exit ramp due to black ice on our way to the party. Wondered if we should turn around and go home and avoid the first treacherous driving of the season.
But we were almost there so went forward with the evening’s plans-
the weather discussion goes on forever around these parts and it is usually not good
……Vanessa said she is 5’1″ and that these shoes are really comfortable. I had to ask. I was fascinated with the glamorous high heel.
I can’t even imagine. She seemed to maneuver perfectly. Vanessa and Nina sang and Luke played the piano and sang, too. He can transpose into any key. Incredibly talented young man looking at colleges now.
I had asked to blog the women and they agreed but didn’t get permission to show Luke on the blog. Nina has a website here. I’ll email and ask so it may be up with the three of them.
Vanessa sitting down and Nina standing
Night Neon & the Double-Wide Grill
Friday night music was great at the Club Cafe on the South Side. I loved the contrast of the neon’s warm colors of Jack’s and cool blue neon of Club Cafe. I know the “e” is missing but I liked the image of Jack’s going around the corner so I chose this one. I took this shot from across the street as we left to go home.
But wait, we didn’t go right home-
Even though we were exhausted, R invited us to go to the Double-Wide Grill where the onion rings satisfy that deep urge to eat something not really good for you but doesn’t it taste great. (seem to be doing a lot of that type of eating lately) You know I have a thing for old service stations and auto mechanics, right? The old fashioned kind. I did not photograph the food. Hmmmm. But you get a feel for the place.
And when we left I took a shot from the outside and the old gas tank had the amount 37 cents on it. Remember that price per gallon?
Jack's Bar at the corner of Carson and South 12th Street, Southside
Order a basket of onion rings and enjoy!
Vintage gas pump with the 37 cent price- remember when???
A close-up in case your eyes (like mine) couldn't see the 37!
“Suburban 2-Step” Songwriter at Club Cafe – Live – Friday Dec 2nd- Pittsburgh PA
If you want to hear some good music in Pittsburgh this Friday night, head down to the Club Cafe on South 12th Street for the Early Show.
Christopher Mark Jones- Songwriter will be performing with the band. You might remember two of his tracks from his Heartland Variations CD were featured in the poet bio I filmed- Michael Wurster: CIty Books Session.
Christopher’s new CD Suburban 2-Step will be released in Spring 2012.
Eve Goodman will be performing with John Caldwell, too.
You can listen to some samples here and also see another photograph I shot of Christopher. Tickets are $10 at the door. Show is 7-9 PM.
Bagpipes and Drums Celebrate 174th Saint Andrew’s Festival
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St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Highland Park, Pittsburgh. 174th Patronal Festival.
What the Rector said in the neighborhood List Serve ”November 20, the people of St. Andrew’s observe our patronal festival, the Feast of St. Andrew the Apostle, with festive services including, at 11 a.m., our good friends of the Syria Highlanders Pipe and Drum Band. The bagpipes will begin in front of the church at about 10:45 and will play as well during the service.
A festive reception after features a traditional Pittsburgh cookie table . .” I saw a woman enter the Parish Hall with a square plaid tin of butter biscuits. Sorry to miss the cookie table. One of the bagpipers came 140 miles today. They practice once a month.
If you want to check out all things Scottish in Pittsburgh including the Syria Highlanders click here
Pittsburgh jazz scene alive and well at CJ’s in the Strip
My Funny Valentine expertly played by Sean Jones on trumpet- we stopped in for about twenty minutes as we headed to megabus. Matthew was here for about ten hours.
Jazz starts at 8 on Thursdays Check out www.cjsinthestrip.com and to listen go to www.rogerhumphries.com
Mr. Lenny Moran-Burgh Nation T- Shirt Man
Saturday morning I drove down to the Strip District of the city to purchase items for the cookie table for the wedding. Ingredients; pistachios, hazelnuts, almond paste, Portuguese Pignoli Nuts, anise seed,fig jam, and some doilies for the cookie trays. Stopped by the Steeler Nation T-shirt display and told the proprietor his shirts were being worn in Zagreb. I bought them last year. We struck up a conversation and before you know it, Mr. Lenny Moran opened his a guitar case and showed me where Tom Petty had signed it T.P. and then had a well-worn leaflet autographed by Muhammed Ali. Turns out Lenny is a songwriter as well as a Steeler Nation T-shirt entrepreneur. If you’re from Pittsburgh you might have heard his Rock’n the Igloo! Check out his burghnationtees. He had a tablet with wireless capability and I was able to show him the post of the Steelers slide show where he was featured last January. Lenny had placed Steelers folding chairs to save a parking spot for a couple of nuns who came and set up a table to sell Advent wreaths. It was a nice morning. He graciously consented (I hadn’t asked last January) to be on the blog. Thanks Mr. Lenny Moran.
Lenny Moran and his autographed guitar.
Note to SELF:
Carry good camera at all times
Carry good camera at all times
Everywhere, ALWAYS!!!
All iPhone once again.
Michael Contemplates the Jukebox
Still in the COSI Progress exhibit. Last week we had a nice day trip to downtown Columbus, driving around the city to check out Laura and James wedding venue, reception and the hotel where we’ll be staying. When we went through the Columbus Science and Industry center the kids showed me their favorite room. There is a vintage soda fountain and in one corner the jukebox and the other corner a pinball machine which you can play if you have a dime.
Actual VINYL plays inside this gem of a coin-operated jukebox . Seems everything is moving to a digital file. Records, 8-tracks. cassette, CDs.
He was taking it all in......
Vinyl DOORS Playing on Record Player
Panza Gallery- the night of the Big Love show.
I wanted to post this picture and you may remember the floor from another post of the portrait class that meets on Monday nights. Panza Gallery (in Millvale) had a cool show called Big Love, no artwork was priced over $100. i saw the record player spnning and I had to photograph it. Fun night.
33 1/3
Pittsburgh Guitars on Carson Street, South Side, Interior and Exterior Shots
Floor to ceiling guitars!
Two more weeks of class, so two more posts of South Side after my Wednesday late afternoon adventures. It was raining. Had a single slice at Sola Pizza again. Then found my way into Pittsburgh Guitars. Floor to ceiling. Acoustic, Classical, Electric, (even a bright pink one!) and the cutest GuitarLele you ever saw on the wall. The guitar bodies gleam. And of course every accessory for your instrument–metal, nylon strings, capo, picks, gig bags and cases, amps and cords and straps and music and whatever else you might need or want . Did I mention knowledgeable staff? Sam helped me. ALL musicians. You can meet the entire Pittsburgh Guitars staff on their website. Not a big box store. Personalized attention. No pressure, No rush. They know they have a good thing and isn’t it great to handle and play before you buy? Superior to internet ordering. They have a very creative website which is extensive and fun. You can go in and play the different instruments and check out the sound (please ask for assistance! on yellow tags like baby road signs) If you don’t play guitar yet, it is not too late to start!
1305 East Carson St.
Peter King to Open for Jeffrey Gaines-Feb 26th-7 PM-Club Cafe Pittsburgh
Peter King on guitar at the coffee/ice cream shop on Saturday afternoon.
Aspinwall Beans “N” Cream was the scene last Saturday. Cool decor, lots of record album covers and posters and photos and Beatles memorabilia adorn the walls of the coffee house. Fun to watch a lava lamp in the corner. Peter added an expertly played instrumental combining three classic jig and reel tunes, complete with an occasional foot tap that made one want to get up and dance along to the beat. Peter invited harmonica player Marc Reisman to join him onstage for a few numbers and the two paired nicely. Peter will open for singer-songwriter Jeffrey Gaines, whom the Chicago Tribune calls “extraordinary and timeless,” at Club Cafe on Feb. 26 at 7 pm. Check out Peter King website and see the photos I shot for his latest CD cover. For tickets write to info@peterkingmusic.com ($13 in advance). If you live locally, Peter teaches guitar lessons privately and at Chatam University. You can contact him and sign up now to learn to play away the winter blues.
Club Café Southside
Christopher Jones will be returning to the Club Café, 12 Street, this Saturday, October 9, from 7-9 PM with a four-piece band of excellent Western PA musicians–Jim Spears on bass, Mark Weakland on drums and Max Schang on guitar. Peter King, will open for him @7. (peterkingmusic.com).
A couple of Christopher’s songs from his CD Heartland Variations are on the soon-to-be-released DVD I’ve finished, Michael Wurster: City Books Session.(Thank you Christopher) And there will be a re-release of Christopher’s 1978 Transatlantic recording No More Range to Roam available Saturday night. Admission is $10 @ the door.
Took this shot the night of Peter King's CD Release Party.
Dancing in the Streets at the Italian Festival (2 images)
Saturday night, Steve and I’d eaten dinner and I was working on some photo project and he said, Do you want to go to the Italian Festival? So we did. The neighborhood of Bloomfield hosts Little Italy Days (the 9th year according to the banner behind the band) Wish I had the playlist to post.Let’s just say I knew them all. “I Saw Her Standing There.” (’60′s music as well) . The band played straight with not even a breath between numbers and they closed the evening with Donna Summer’s “Last Dance”. Finesse Band website for more info. Turns out they have opened for Earth Wind and Fire and Chicago. Anyway, after a few numbers the young dancers made there way to the space up by the main stage but they started out behind the barricade down the street. Their energy and enthusiasm added a lot to the crowd’s enjoyment.
Enjoying the music from long before they were born!
Gershwin & Jazz at Bakery Square
Left the gym to get coffee at Coffee Roasters and found live music. With the weather change it was chilly but I drank coffee and ate oatmeal to warm up. Tania Grubbs, Jeff Grubbs, Daniel May on keyboard (in from CA). Tania will be performing at the new 5 star hotel @ Market Square Wed Sept 8th 5:30-8:30 in Andy’s Winebar. Jeff is a member of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.
Right on Penn Avenue, Saturday afternoon.
The Best Damn Band in the Land Tryouts
After Erika and Laura ran the Spirit of Columbus Half Marathon, we drove home via Ohio State University Campus. There in a hot parking lot were the Marching Band Tryouts. Known as The Best Damn Band in the Land, all brass and percussion. The kids loved marching around to the rapid drum beats. We saw a young man running to his music audition portion, carrying his cymbals in a padded case. Four hundred+ trying for 225 slots. You have to try out every year. With two buckeyes in the family now and OSU being Steve’s and Dorothy’s alma mater one thinks about how team allegiances are born, how rivalries are formed. A lot depends on where yo live. Or move. People have strong feelings about teams. And Marching Band music heightens pride and emotion.
Steelers’ fans not limited to just Pittsburgh but are around the world. For more info on the OSU Marching Band click here We had a nice but really hot day! Check out the buckeyes on the ceiling of stadium entrance.
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All That Djazz – Great Gyspy Jazz at Twisp River Pub. WA
Gershwin, Djazz, All of Me, Black Orpheus to name a few....Sitting along the Twisp River, enjoying the 3 hours of music without a single break.
Mary, David and I enjoyed three hours of music. Final night in WA we drove up to Twisp River Pub. There was a guest clarinet, Wayne Mendro. John Weeks on the violin. Dick White on guitar arranges everything. Mike Lundstrom on dobro and singing. Ron Clark on the bass and a guitar tonight.
Here is what I found at their website. … “All That Djazz” is a Gypsy Jazz quartet based in North Central Washington state with a repertoire comparable to that of Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli, the guitarist and violinist who formed the legendary “Quintet of the Hot Club of France” in 1934. The “Quintet of the Hot Club of France” is considered by many jazz historians to be the best jazz ensemble of all time. Django Reinhardt was certainly the most renowned jazz guitarist of his day. “All That Djazz” pays homage to their hero and mentor Django in the spelling of Djazz.” quote from the website for All That Djazz (click)
The light on the right is an old beer keg. Note the hops growing behind the band.
The Woodwinds- Waiting for Planes to Return Home (2 views)
Confratute at UCONN completed and we went to catch our plane to Cleveland, in route to Pittsburgh. At the Bradley Airport, Hartford CT, a circle of students (who had just completed ARIA International Summer Academy at Mt. Holyoke college) caught my ear, first! Then my eye. Clearly skilled! I asked if I could photograph them for the blog even though our plane was starting to board. A lovely unexpected performance. Sitting in airports can be tedious but not today. Thinking about how live music enhances emotion. Touches us. Turns out I had just missed their rendition of Star Wars. Bummer. They were all headed different directions. Teachers would check the comment box, “uses time wisely”.
Check out the bass clarinet! WOW.
Road Crew Rests-18th & Carson St. Southside
Waiting to set up for a band or maybe just finished unloading the back of the truck.
I sat at the red light and took a quick shot as one waved to me.
Roadies and Band Equipment
Would credit them but don’t know the band.
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