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Woodstock is downright religious about politics. Our political cultists are looking for salvation, and their savior is the Democratic Party.
One of my neighbors was so overjoyed by the election of President Obama that he painted this large sign on his garage/barn. Note the peace sign cleverly integrated into the sign.
President Bush was as hated in Woodstock as Obama is adored. Somebody went to the trouble of painting this sign and hanging it on a tree along Route 212.
Back to my tour of the Woodstock business district.
Remember all those hippie dreams of making your living through arts and crafts? Saying no to working for The Man?
Some people succeed at this dream. Loominus has been around Woodstock for as long as I can remember. The store recently moved from an obscure building on Route 212 west of town to a prominent position on the Village Green.
That must mean the store is making some money.
This is a high end shop, selling scarves that start at about $175.00. I‘ve never been inside because… well… I don‘t think I‘d spend that much for a scarf. In fact, I don’t even wear scarves.
The jackets and scarves are very beautiful. If you‘ve got the money, and you‘re interested in fine upscale clothing, stop by Loominus on your next trip through Woodstock.
Route 28 is the main corridor between Kingston and Woodstock. I travel this 8 mile stretch of road almost every day. A new, unnamed custom shop opened up some time ago.
I’ve been meaning to stop by to take a picture… the deep color contrasts of the cars and the old, repainted gas station catches my eye every time I pass by.
This hulk of a classic Chevy looks ready for restoration. I’d guess that this is a ’56 or ’57 Belair.
I know that this pickup is a Chevy, but I have no idea what year or model. Note the big exhaust pipes behind the cab. Damn thing is sitting right on the ground.
The grille and lights on the pickup give it a human sort of face, like Robert Crumb’s great Zap Comix cars.
This front view of the Chevy is a bit ominous. How much will it cost to fully restore this classic?
Across the street, this sign for Levon Helm’s new CD has been erected. Does anybody actually sell CDs any more? Levon is the local legend. His Midnight Ramble concerts at his home still seem to be doing well.
Big Joe Vaccarino and I played at The Castle yesterday. During our break, I took this picture of a couple of kids riding the go-carts.
Until I took a close look at the picture, I didn’t notice the yarmulkes on the kids. A big group of Hasidic Jews took their kids out to the park.
Back to the struggle to pass clinical. I’m hanging on by a thread. The Karaoke Queen enlisted the support of all her friends at work. They’re praying and lighting candles for me.
Big Joe Vaccarino and I will be returning to The Castle in Chester, New York this Sunday afternoon.
The gig is from 2 to 5 p.m. Stop by and say hello.
I pulled up to Tail O’ the Pup in Lake Placid last Friday morning for The Nite Train Band’s three day gig. The owner greeted me with a handshake, and asked:
“You guys any good, or do I have to get out the chicken wire?”
For those of you who don’t get it, this is a reference to The Blues Brothers first movie. The boys get out of prison and head to Chicago to reform their band. Of course, you can’t just hit the stage for your breakthrough gig, so the boys find an agent who’ll book them in a dive in the stix.
The Blues Brothers is probably the best movie ever made about the realities of the music business. The agent finds a booking for the blues band… in a country and western honky tonk in downstate Illinois. This is a common practice in the music biz. Agents lie. Club owners lie. Musicians lie. Everybody lies.
So the band takes the stage and begins to play some classic blues song. The audience of rednecks and cowboys takes offense and begins to scream curses and throw beer bottles at the band. A curtain of chicken wire descends in front of the boys to protect them from the audience.
In an effort to pacify the rioting audience, the boys try to come up with a country song to play. The only one they know is the theme from Rawhide, which they proceed to play repeatedly.
The gig at The Tail O’ the Pup was fun and hilarious. We played seven hours a day for three straight days. Ken did a great job of engaging the audience. Every day, we brought in a different drummer and guitar player.
Since our audience consisted of campers and families stopping in for the BBQ, we almost always had a group of little girls, under 6 years old, dancing in front of the bandstand.
On Sunday night, the owner sat down with us and said: “You guys are the best entertainers we’ve ever had here.”
We laughed our asses off.
We‘re back at the Tail O‘ the Pup this Sunday for another marathon seven hours of jamming. Chicken wire not required.
I’m in the midst of an intense struggle. Ironically, transferring to part-time at nursing school means attending full-day clinical sessions for the entire month of July.
On top of that, I’ve got a weekend of gigs in the Lake Placid area with Nite Train coming up.
I’ve been playing gigs with Ken Briggs and the Nite Train Band for a couple of months. They mix up blues, rock and R&B. Ken is a good front man who engages the audience. His wife, Marla, has a very strong blues voice.
Sometimes, Ken’s daughters join in for a few tunes.
Add to all of this my work for the pharmaceutical company, and my continuing work with Big Joe in The V-Twins… whew! Big Joe and I will have a new album of acoustic songs together within a couple of weeks. I’ve got to design a logo and a CD cover.
I’ve been working in the cancer ward at a local hospital. The work is emotionally demanding and physically draining. And, working with the cancer patients reminds me always of those weeks in the hospital as Myrna’s life came to an end. She has been gone almost five years.
If I can just get through clinical, I’ve got August off. Might take a vacation. I’ll get out to look for gigs for the V-Twins and Nite Train.
Life is full.
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