A Changing Of The Guard At Bluegrass & Beyond

No, you can only wish - I'm still here!

But the big news is that co-founder and co-host Bill Giles wants to step down from the responsibility of leading each and every jam, because of increased work commitments. Talk about misplaced priorities... and I thought I knew him?

Of course, after 2 years of building the jam and getting to work with me every second week, it's hard for him just walk away - so he wants to continue on as an occasional guest host - not to mention gracing our masthead and poster as co-founder emeritus (and I thought that you had to be, like, a 100 years old for that honor).

Co-host AJ was willing to carry the load, Atlas-like, along with my meager help, but, fortunately, we have good news for all (especially AJ).

Through a combination of various Bluegrass & Beyond search committees, market research groups and advanced computer algorithms, an exhaustive nationwide scouring for qualified co-hosts turned up only one obvious choice.

And right under our noses, at that.

Please welcome our newest Bluegrass & Beyond co-host - "Banjo" Mike Mulhollan (He's currently undergoing an intensive 24-hour training session to be ready to step in and help out co-host AJ tomorrow night).

I, of course, will continue in my useless, non-capacity as color commentator, Scotty's straight man and occasional DobroCop (as Sarah sometimes chastises me with).

See you Monday, Mike et al,



Dave Comins
www.bluegrassandbeyondnyc.com
Facebook / Bluegrass & Beyond NYC

October 18, 2010 - The "Paddy's Pirates of Kip's Bay" Jam

Yo-ho-ho, Mates,

I must've been watching too much Johnny Depp while being sick last week because when I walked into Paddy's the other night night, I felt as if I was aboard a ship in Frenchman's Cay in the 1700's - instead of a bar in Kip's Bay, 2010.

Co-host AJ greeted me wearing his new pigtail, bandana and facial hair - and as I looked around all I could see was ponytails, pigtails, beards and stubble (and that was only the women...). And so began the Kip's Bay Pirates Of Paddy's jam...

Craig (who would fit in sailing under any Jolly Roger) started us off with "You're No Longer A Sweetheart Of Mine" - surely a pirate classic.

Long, tall Steve didn't lead any songs, but certainly fit the image sporting his new stubble. Give him a cutlass and he'll pass.

Scottie, who would have to be the cook on our ship (with the obligatory mischievous monkey) - sailed into uncharted bluegrass waters with Elvis Costello's "Allison" (in F - I guess his compass was broken) and James Taylor's "Fire And Rain". 

Cabin boy Scott (...the younger), stayed the bluegrass course with "Little Girl Of Mine In Tennessee" and "Molly And Tenbrooks".

Judy, who would probably stay ashore, gracing a seedy sailor's joint in some hellish pirate port, gave us a little Spanish flavor with a bluesy rhumba. Scotty helped her with that one (I haven't reached the "Latin Rhythms" chapter in my Scrugg's book yet). She also pumped out "Got Your Mojo Working" - almost working the crew into a mutiny.

Even a pirate ship needs a "Professor" (look at Gilligan's) - and our's has "Peg Leg" ("Pistol") Professor Pete, who forgot to wear his bandana, but came instead with numerous barely known country songs from who knows where (but ask him, and he'll tell you... at length). His voyage started with Harlan Howard's "Too Many Rivers", veered into the doldrums with The Stewart Family's "Just Out Of Reach (Of My 2 Open Arms) and he lowered his sails with Charlie Walker's "Who Will Buy The Wine?".

Bob doesn't need an eye patch or a hook, nobody'd mess with Bob on our ship - he's seen it all. Although while he led "Are You Tired Of Me, My Darling?" - I couldn't help thinking that a bright-colored parrot would look good with that Martin. Ay-y-y-y-y...

Cynthia would be carved in wood as our mast head - long hair flowing in the Carribean breeze - cutting through the waves, just like her voice cuts through the bar with EmmyLou's "Montana Cowgirl" or Warren Zevon's "Poor, Poor, Pitiful Me".

Co-host (and First Mate) AJ, along with helping Sarah out of trouble with "Dallas", when her sails floundered, contributed Johnny Cash's "Big River" and a crowd-pleasing "Will The Circle Be Unbroken?".

It's too bad that "Banjo" Mike and (2nd Mate) Mr. T were serving time in the brig and missed this one - they would've fit right in, having enough hair between them for a whole motley crew. I always pictured Tony on the bar, with a barrel of rum hoisted on one shoulder, waving a sword in his other hand leading the bar in "A Pirate's Life For Me".

As for the rest of you (including me, I'm afraid) - shape up, or ship out! You look like a bunch of landlubbing port dwellers who've never scraped a barnacle in your lives... Paddy's doesn't have a plank to walk, but if you've never seen the basement - beware, it's just as scary!

Not that the rest of us didn't try to get aboard...

Karen led great versions of "Rain And Snow" and "Rider" - although keel-hauling her would be too good for leading it in the key of E.
 
Chris finally put down his dobro for a song (at least I know one person reads these things) and led Elvis' version of "Blue Moon Of Kenturky", while later Gary led "Hand Me Down My Walking Cane".

Kim and co-host Bill led a nice "Arkansas Traveler" (with Scotty providing the harmonics at the end... What?? I'd like to see him do that with a hook!). Steve led the Stone's "Dead Flowers" - say, didn't Keith have a part in one of those Depp movies?

Sarah pulled out a new one, Lucinda William's "Howling At Midnight".

I managed Vince Gill's "Give Me The highway" and almost started more mayhem with Sam The Sham's "Wooly Bully". We lost a couple overboard on THAT one...

We'll be back in port in two weeks, see you then - who knows what the crew'll look like by then!

May the trade winds be at your back, and your cutlasses stay sharp,


Dave Comins
www.bluegrassandbeyondnyc.com
Facebook / Bluegrass & Beyond NYC

The Oct. 4, 2010 Jam

Hi folks,

Well, thanks to the miracle of being married, I'm able to reconstruct the last jam from Sarah's copious notes - even at this late date, and after being under the weather... as well as showing early signs of dementia.

Sarah's notes claim that I even enjoyed myself. Even though I only led one song all evening, it was a winner - "Sinner Man" - with a raucous reaction from the crowd. I guess finding sinners at a bar is about as hard as fishing with dynamite in a pond. You're bound to find a few!

My fellow co-hosts really stepped up big to compensate for my overall uselessness. (Some would argue that this is the normal state of things at B & B).

Bill, besides practicing his German with Zubie's wife, Ingrid, did Ralph Stanley's "Hallelujah, I'm Ready To Go", and one of the hits of this, or any night - Neil Young's "Rockin' In The Free World".

AJ, not to be outdone, gave us John Prine's "Angel From Montgomery" and the Carter Family's "Gospel Ship".

Sarah lead off the evening with Lucinda Williams' "Crescent City" and later did her "Get Right With God" as well.

Am I the only one seeing a mini gospel theme here? Is Bluegrass & Beyond really home to that many sinners?

No wonder we always have such a good time!

And speaking of repenting, Scotty showed no signs of it last time - starting off with Bread's "Guitar Man", veering off into BJ Hooker's "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head" for no apparent reason, and then culminating in a 1 chord wonder song "Rock On" (Hey, kids roll and roll...) from the 70's. I was almost able to play on THAT one, but I couldn't find the chord...

Zubie made a rare appearance, showing off for his wife, with "San Antonio Rose", "Down Yonder" and "The 1919 Flu Epidemic" (or was it 1918?).

Speaking of showing off, Liz's boyfriend borrowed a guitar and led John Prine's "Paradise" - with some help from Liz on fiddle, Craig and co-host Bill.

Despair and sorrow were well represented as usual with Gail's version of Jimmy Martin's "Steppin' Stone", Jonathan's Stanley Brothers' "Highway of Regret", Steve's covers of Merle's classic "Mama Tried", along with George Jone's "The Race Is On" - not to mention Judy's 1930's "Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out".

And if you weren't sad enough after all that, Craig pulled out John Prine's "Christmas In Prison". I don't know what's more depressing, being in prison, or the fact that there are only 68 more shopping days until Christmas!

On a more positive note, Kim did Tim O'Brien's heartwarming "Nellie Kane".

Instrumental to the jam, literally, were Dan's "Cherokee Shuffle", Banjo Mike's "Hucklin' The Berries", Bill's "Big Sciota" - and, as I was leaving, a weird double banjo version of "Cluck Old Hen" with Bill and Banjo Mike, helped by Scottie and Danny on fiddle - sounding like a mix of "Zorba The Greek", "Arabian Nights" and the Stone's "Paint It Black".

By the way, I have to point out on an instrumental note, that Chris - even though he knows he's breaking my heart by not leading any more Wayne "The Train" Hancock songs - is really kicking on the resonator guitar these days.

As I walked down 2nd Ave. late after another fine jam, I heard the melodious strains of Tony (talk about sinners!) wafting into the night air - "I'm only walkin' after midnight, searching for you..."

Well sinners, you don't have to search at all... every odd Monday at Paddy's... Bluegrass & Beyond...

See you next time, let's raise some hell! (and repent in song...),

Dave Comins
www.bluegrassandbeyondnyc.com
Facebook / Bluegrass & Beyond NYC