Last night, Thursday May 31, 2012 marked the conclusion of a magical, eclectic, happy, sad, invigorating, reminiscent 3-year journey at the Hideaway Cafe & Recording Studio in St. Petersburg, Florida on Tuesday and Thursday nights.
Owners John & Nicole Kelly took an empty storefront on Central Avenue in the Grand Central District and transformed it into a place where local musicians, regardless of age, experience or affiliation or genre came every week to practice, try out new material, play with fellow musicians/singer/songwriter's or just to hangout in "the living room" which it truly felt like both in decor and feel.
It has been embraced by so many, and the "regulars" ( you know who you are) appreciate it even more than the countless numbers that have walked through the doors from all walks of life and locations in this wide world because it is "home" to all of us.
So thank you John & Nicole and the many people who also worked and volunteered there and served us so many delicious meals and snacks, a few cold beers and tasteful glasses of wine, not to mention friendship and love. You all have gained our love and respect.
We look forward to the next chapter of the Hideaway Cafe.....where music is always the main entree....see 'ya soon.
Attended a breakfast with the Tampa Bay Bucaneers on Wednesday, May 30 at One Buc Place which is the corporate offices of the Bucs and was introduced and listened to a short presentation by new Head Coach, Greg Schiano. Was very enlightening and uplifting as the Bucs want to get re-involved with the communities throughout the Tampa Bay Area. Many Chambers of Commerce were in attendance and enjoyed the event. If you have never been to this location, they have great memorablilia on display which encompasses the Bucs history.....check it out !
Human compassion, open hearts and general goodness does still exist in the world today amid all the bad we always hear about. On Friday and Saturday, several hundred people, many friends, many strangers, joined together for a young, 16 year old named Andy Brettner who suffers from Cerebral Palsy and is confined to a wheelchair. Andy's biggest wish was to be able to attend high school and stand up, a simple task for most of us to have accomplished in our lives. A daunting one, to say the least, for Andy who is a bright, young, vibrant person in spite of his challenges. Issue - stand-up wheelchair cost = $ 40,000. You have heard it before, insurance won't cover it, family can't afford it. Step in several, unselfish business people in Treasure Island, namely Bill Edwards, Jo Massaro of Benjamin Studios, Don Mega, Duke from Duke's Island Bar & Grill, Treasure Island Chamber of Commerce, Windjammer Motel (to name a few) and countless others who donated time, monies, cars, silent auction items and too much more to list here. It was an outpouring of love and hope starting at Saturday night's silent auction at Benjamin's Studios and culminating at Duke's on Sunday with 5 bands donating their talents. Drink and food specials were abound the entire day, not to be missed. The outcome at the end of the event... Andy is being fitted for his stand-up chair this week.
This past weekend was an awesome time in Treasure Island on the beach with the 3rd annual Sanding Ovations Master Sand Sculpture Competition with 10 sculptors from around the globe vying for the 1st prize and Master's Cup. Sunny skies, 80 degree temperatures, balmy breezes and music, food and merchandise all contributed to the fun-filled, exciting weekend that brought a huge crowd throughout the 4-day event. The winner of the competition was Jan Selen from Amsterdam, Holland with his winning sculpture "We are all Individuals" (see photo below). Super congrats to the City of Treasure Island, Treasure Island Chamber of Commerce, Meredith Corson from Sanding Ovations and all the sponsors who helped make this a great event. Music throughout the weekend was orchestrated by our own local Jeff Jensen who definately rounded out the talent and gave us all a taste of everything starting with two locals bands on Friday night - SunzaBeaches and Kent Pearson and the Roadhouse Rockers followed by American Idol Finalist Danny Gokey who had a Meet & Greet before his performance. On Saturday a full lineup was brought out starting with the Mojo Gurus, Have Gun Will Travel, and Experimental Pilot. The awards presentation was at 6 PM followed by Russ Anderson and his famous Elton John Show. The night was capped off by the ever popular and best fireworks shows on the beach. Sunday's entertainment started out with a young, rootsy-folky-bluegrass band called Jubil's Kin followed by the native cracker Sarasota Slim with his band and ending with a beautiful sunset and the well-known Charlie Morris and his band. Special local guests T.C. Carr on harmonica and vocalist Lori Cherry helped Charlie round out the finale....can't wait until next year ! For more coverage of the weekend and photos, please see my Facebook page. Congrats and thanks to all.......
Well, back from the magic of Key West and MOTM 2011......had a great time, saw alot of my friends from NJ and other states, missed some that I wanted to see, saw great artists, missed a few of them too (just so much to do and see, it's impossible ! ). Thanks to Mr. Buffet who showed up on Duval Street and gave us a great show ! (thanks for the pics too, Jimmy ! ) Drank too much, ate too much but overall, glad I didn't miss it.....thanks to all my friends, artists, fellow parrotheads, Key West businesses and Rob O'Neal........see 'ya next year (maybe sooner).
Went to a totally awesome performance at the Palladium in St. Pete on Friday to the Simon & Garfunkel Retrospective Show by AJ Swearingen and Jonathan Beedle. Both artists are originally from Bethlehem (pronounced BETH-LEM), with AJ living in St. Pete now and Jon still in Pennsylvania.
Words here cannot describe the sound, feelings, warmth and magic that they conveyed to the audience. This was their first performance in Florida and I can safely say will definately not be their last. During the show, I closed my eyes several times and literally heard Simon & Garfunkel and brought back memories of Bleeker Street and the sounds attributed during those very profound times in NYC.
I highly recommend to catch this show next time in Florida and if you are anywhere near their national tour schedule, without question, do attend their show, you will not be disappointed. Check out their website at http://www.simonandgarfunkeltribute.com/
Before their show, the awesome talented, local singer/songwriter Jayne Kelli performed a nice handful of songs from her album "Wake" including the title track....catch her on http://www.jaynekellimusic.com/
