Land Sailin' to Walton
"Over the river and through the woods" became more than just a lyric from an old song as A tiny band of Pirates boarded their land ship last night and set a course for beautifully pastoral Walton, NY. The Coast of the Catskills, PHC had been plotting a Tropical Rock assault on the village for many months. Tonight the siege would begin! Shortly after 7:30 PM John Frinzi (left) took the stage commanding the rapt attention of the collective masses in the grandly restored, very ornate Walton Theater. John's original work is a mixture of ballads and blues, relating tales of real life in America. From his flowing story of leaving rural America for an adventure in New York City and ultimately leaving to head back to the country, to snippets of life on the road and in the islands related in John's laid back, country 'down island' style, he was excellent. After John's wonderfully entertaining set, "Sunny" Jim White (right in yellow) captured the stage and the hearts of Walton's bon vivants (Parrot Head style) with a totally different take on the 'trop rock' genre. Upbeat, funny, and homey, Jim spun tales musically and between songs, that truly warmed the crowd and made one feel the spirit and style of life in the tropics. Again, original compositions by the artist was the order of the night, and the random Pirate was impressed at the quality of songwriting and performance "Sunny Jim" was capable of. Living for 2 decades in the Cayman Islands and Florida gives him a genuine 'down island' attitude and delivery. For the final set the two artists joined on stage to perform a series of original and a couple of covered tunes which proved to be the crowd favorite of the show. Alone they're good, together they're fantastic. Solo performances of this quality need no back up musicians, and these two performers have perfected their collaboration. After the show, the POTS members were invited to join John, "Sunny Jim", and the CotC members at the local bar. We sat on the deck enjoying the warm September night and making friends with the Coast of the Catskills members and two very talented 'Trop Rock' artists. The historic old Walton Theater was a valuable co-star of the show. The pictures of destruction following the flood of 2006 record a stark contrast to the nearly restored beauty she now enjoys. It's unbelievable what has been done in so little time by so few people. The Coast of the Catskills, PHC and it's members have been instrumental in the rebuilding. Their efforts in fund raising and donating countless hours of manual labor, has done much to further the restoration. CotC President Mike Ripa, his wife Renee', the club's Secretary Patty from Akron (don't ask), and member Chris were perfect hosts who did the monumental task of putting the show together. They rolled out the red carpet for POTS and gave us a personal guided tour of the facility. We were blown away by what we saw. Well done Walton, and well done Coast of the Catskills, PHC.
Please go to the urls below for more information:
www.johnfrinzi.com
http://www.coconutbeach.com/sunnyjim.html
www.waltontheatre.org
Friday, September 26, 2008
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Talk Like A Pirate DAy 2008
Avast ye land lubbers!
September 19th has blown ashore and drifted away yet again, and once agin the world was a talkin' like we pirates do. It dawned a great good glorious day on the planet, and all sails were up fer the big doo. Piratical shenanigans and bad behavior was the order of the day, and scurvy pirates could be viewed anywhere ye looked. This old sea dog took great grand pleasure in the looks he got from fellow sailors on the I-88 shippin' lanes when he passed them in full pirate gear. The Mad Pyrate was on his way, pirate wench in tow, to be on the new fangled contraption called telly vizshun. 'Course the Harbor Master in the News Channel 34 port o call was a scurvy tyrant who common-deered our crew and parrot, and made us sing fer our supper grub. Before it was over, and the dust settled in the mall hall, we'd stuck the weather mate with a pirate pin and had a great grand jolly laugh on him and all the Susquehanna Pirate roamin' area.
Breaking free o the lines tetherin' us to 34's dock, our ship sailed a few leagues to the east and tied up at Delgado's Cafe for a right piratical feast. Grog flow'd like sea water, and soon the Pirates were feelin' no pain. Much singin' and merriment was shared by the crew and various shanghai'd townfolk, and $200.00 in gold and silver pieces were plundered from the gathered merry makers. The entire pile of booty went to a breast cancer charity called "Traci's Hope". A right worthy cause headed up by the late Traci's clan to help other folks in need of support during their bouts with the dreaded disease.
Batten down yer hatches, and man the guns! Keep sailin' with the wind at yer back 'til next September 19th, when we'll do it all over again, only better! Arrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
September 19th has blown ashore and drifted away yet again, and once agin the world was a talkin' like we pirates do. It dawned a great good glorious day on the planet, and all sails were up fer the big doo. Piratical shenanigans and bad behavior was the order of the day, and scurvy pirates could be viewed anywhere ye looked. This old sea dog took great grand pleasure in the looks he got from fellow sailors on the I-88 shippin' lanes when he passed them in full pirate gear. The Mad Pyrate was on his way, pirate wench in tow, to be on the new fangled contraption called telly vizshun. 'Course the Harbor Master in the News Channel 34 port o call was a scurvy tyrant who common-deered our crew and parrot, and made us sing fer our supper grub. Before it was over, and the dust settled in the mall hall, we'd stuck the weather mate with a pirate pin and had a great grand jolly laugh on him and all the Susquehanna Pirate roamin' area.
Breaking free o the lines tetherin' us to 34's dock, our ship sailed a few leagues to the east and tied up at Delgado's Cafe for a right piratical feast. Grog flow'd like sea water, and soon the Pirates were feelin' no pain. Much singin' and merriment was shared by the crew and various shanghai'd townfolk, and $200.00 in gold and silver pieces were plundered from the gathered merry makers. The entire pile of booty went to a breast cancer charity called "Traci's Hope". A right worthy cause headed up by the late Traci's clan to help other folks in need of support during their bouts with the dreaded disease.
Batten down yer hatches, and man the guns! Keep sailin' with the wind at yer back 'til next September 19th, when we'll do it all over again, only better! Arrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sunday, August 3, 2008
"The Year of Still Here"
Jimmy's still touring and going strong. Tonight, August 3rd, 2008, Jimmy Buffett and the Coral Reefer Band will be at the Newport Folk Festival. After tonight they're off until they show up at the Boardwalk Theater in Atlantic City on August 24th. They're 'still here' and in perfect form. You can go to Buffettnews.com to pick up the recent concert set lists and information about the shows, tickets, etc. Having seen the Camden, show in June, I can vouch for how great the 2008 tour is. Jimmy may say he's still here, but to the concert goer it seems more than that. He's not just still functioning, he's still knocking the crowd dead with old and new material. He and the Reeferettes show little sign of aging and one can easily see why this act is perennially one of the highest grossing acts of the summer tour season. If you haven't seen them at all, or just not yet this year, go to Buffettnews.com and find some tickets. August 27th they'll be in Jones Beach, NY. That's close enough for any upstate NY Parrot Head to make the trek. You've never before or will again see anything remotely like a Buffett show. Phinz up!
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