Folk Notes

 

QCBFolkNotes

November 2009

It’s not easy being green—but let’s make Leo a “waste-wise event”

There’s little doubt about it these days—the world is awash in seas and mountains of garbage. And while the Leo Coffeehouse is not exactly leaving huge piles of trash at the door, the time has come for the Balladeers to become a little more environmentally responsible and help color Leo, well, green.

    We don’t need to belabor the facts, although here is one: If you use one disposable cup every day, you create about 23 pounds of waste each year. And another: Styrofoam cups are the worst culprits because they never degrade. Americans throw away 25 billion Styrofoam cups every year. Even 500 years from now, the foam coffee cup you used this morning will still be sitting in a landfill somewhere.

    So what can we Balladeers do about it? After all, coffee and roots music are among our greatest loves and, hey, coffeehouses are for combining the two.

    Here’s one idea: Let’s consider this to be the beginning of club-wide considered thought and dialogue about what we can do to make Leo greener.

    Another idea:  QCB members can bring their own reusable cup or mug to Leo for coffee or tea. It can then be rinsed and reused. We can take them home or maybe come up with a plan to store them at the Zion UCC for weekly use. And the disposable cups we must use at Leo can be paper, not Styrofoam.

    We can also bring cookies and other goodies in reusable dishes and containers instead of on paper plates. And let’s declare a plastic bag-free zone

    Eventually, we can also work on reducing the number of copies of this newsletter that are printed on paper to a bare minimum.

    So can we really do this? Can we really make Leo more environmentally friendly? The answer is a resounding yes! If we avoid creating waste in the first place, then we can avoid having to dispose of it and adding it to a landfill, which not only costs a lot of money but also creates air and water pollution and wastes valuable resources.

    So let’s all start to think about it and talk about and work together to make Leo a greener place—and help make the world a little greener, too.

    Maybe soon we’ll be able to say that every Sunday evening, as we enjoy our favorite drinks and goodies and music at Leo, we’ll all be participating in a truly “waste-wise event.”

At  Leo in November

NOVEMBER 1

7—Open mic—three 10-minute slots—arrive at 6:30 to sign up

7:30—Mike Helm—dynamic singer/songwriter and progressive guitarist; www.bluejordan.com.

8:15—The Flock—Celtic, blues, folk and more; www.myspace.com/theflockcincy.

NOVEMBER 8

7—Cash Ownly and the Badaires—bluegrass and more; www.myspace.com/cashownly.

7:15—Lisa Biales—a great mix of   jazz, blues and folk; www.lisabiales.com.               

8:15—Don Pedi—traditional dulcimer from North Carolina; www.donpedi.com.

NOVEMBER 15

7—Open mic—three 10-minute slots—arrive at 6:30 to sign up.

7:30—Greg Hansen and Friends—finger style guitar, beautiful singing and fine songwriting, a Leo favorite joined by family and friends; www.cdbaby.com/cd/greghansen.

8:15—Raison D’Etre—Singing lovely harmonies is this trio’s “reason for being;” www.raison3.com.

NOVEMBER 22

7—A Night of Blues with Mark Michaels—making his Leo debut.

7:30—Anna & Milovan—father/daughter duo performing blues tonight. They placed in the Cincinnati Blues Challenge; www.anna and milovan.com.

8:15—Greg Schaber—Cincy favorite award-winning blues singer/songwriter and guitarist; www.gregschaber.com.

NOVEMBER 29

7—Open mic—three 10-minute slots—arrive at 6:30 to sign up.

7:15—The Rabbit Hash String Band—old-time music from this Cincy favorite; http://home.fuse.net/russchilders/rhsb.html.

8:15—The Cincinnati Dancing Pigs—Cincinnati’s premier jug band; www.cincinnatidancingpigs.com.

DECEMBER 6

7—Open mic—three 10-minute slots—arrive at 6:30 to sign up.

7:30—Rubber Knife Gang—Eclectic alternative Americana music from Cincinnati; www.myspace.com/therubberknifegangband.

8:15—Steve Bonafel & One Iota—original and traditional bluegrass; www.stevebonafel.com.

Coffee klatsch/volunteer corner

Here are the Leo hospitality volunteers and emcees for November 2009:

1—Dave Surnbrock and wife

Emcee—Ellie Fabe

8—Mike Connolly

Emcee—Mike Flanders

15—Dave Surnbrock and wife

Emcee—Elaine Diehl

22—Robert and Wendy Linck

Emcee—Andrea Dale

29—TBA

Emcee—Dan Walz

The votes are in

The voting has ended and the result of the 2009-2010 QCB board member election is in with the same slate of candidates continuing in the same board positions for another year.

    The reelected officers include Al Peck (president), Chuck Black (vice-president), Pam Temple (secretary), and Bruce Fogwell (treasurer). The historian position was included on the ballot as a write-in but there were no nominations and no write-ins for the position.

    A ballot appeared in the October issue of QCBFolkNotes. Because no votes were received by ballot, the 11 persons present at a recent QCB board meeting unanimously voiced their votes to accept the slate of current officers for another one-year term.

Balladeers take note

LOU AND PETER BERRYMAN

Tickets are still available for the Lou and Peter Berryman special concert at Leo on Friday, November 6. Don’t miss these wonderful singers/songwriters! Purchase tickets at Leo or send a self-addressed stamped envelope to P.O. Box 9122, Cincinnati OH 45209 . Tickets are $10 for members, $12 for non-members in advance; $12/$15 day of show. Lots more information is available at the QCB website at www.qcballadeers.org or call 321-8375.

WHERE CAN THEY STAY?

Occasionally we get out of town artists who are touring and need a place to stay. Because they perform for free at Leo, we try to find lodging for them to help with their travel expenses. If you are willing to help out and let a Leo artist stay in your home, email Pam Temple at wildcarrot@wildcarrot.net or call 513-321-8375. Currently we’re looking for someone to house four artists from Virginia in March 2009.

ARE YOU DUE TO RENEW?

Lately some QCB members have renewed their memberships at Leo, and some have renewed prior to the expiration date. We wanted to say thanks—your membership is always extended from the actual expiration date. Check at the door if you are not sure when your membership expires. You will receive a notice by mail when your membership renewal is due.

The local scene—and beyond

NOVEMBER 2009

6 Ellie Fabe at Rohs Street Café; www.myspace.com/elliefabe

7 Wild Carrot at Fairfield Community Arts Center; www.wildcarrot.net

7 11th Annual Blues and Boogie Piano Summit featuring Ricky Nye, Southgate House, Newport KY; www.southgatehouse.com

10 Old Crow Medicine Show at Madison Theater, Covington KY; www.madisontheateronline.com

12 Raison D’Etre at Kentucky Historical Society, Frankfort KY; www.raison3.com

12 Wild Carrot at Live at the Library Artists Series, Xenia OH

12 Mt. Pleasant String Band, Hillbilly Thursday at Southgate House

13 Ricky Nye Inc. at Southgate House

13 Robbie Fulks and Nathan Holscher at Southgate House

21 Texas Guitar Women featuring Cindy Cashdollar at McAuley High School Theater; www.gcparts.org/tickets/htm

21 Bromwell-Diehl Band at College Hill Coffee Company; www.collegehillcoffeeco.com

27 Wild Carrot and the Roots Band at Dilly Deli Wine and Gourmet, Mariemont

 Did you guess it? Here’s the story

Hey, how could anybody not know that the guy in the back in the picture in last month’s issue, second from the left, is none other than a young John Denver?

    But here’s the rest of the story: After Denver left the Mitchell Trio, he formed Denver, Boise and Johnson, and they came to Cincinnati to appear at the old Wise Owl in the YMCA on Calhoun Street. The appearance was in the 60s, but the exact date is unknown.

    In the photo above, Bob Hefferan, one of the group’s guitar players, is standing on the right, next to the bearded guy, who many of us recognize as Paul Prestopino, the group’s other guitar player. The other two are David Boise, standing on the left, and Michael Johnson, seated. And we all know the guy peeking out from behind the group.

    Next to the photo above is a picture of Bob Hefferan’s QCB membership card—a little smudged but a nice memento of the trio’s visit to the Balladeers!

    Our thanks to QCB member John Marlowe, who sent us the picture and the scan of the membership card that he received from Bob Hefferan.

Help stamp out bounce-backs!

You know what they are—those pesky messages that say an email can’t be delivered because the address has changed.

    If you change your email address or get an new ISP, please remember to send the change to ramblinchuck@fuse.net or call 321-8275 to let us know. That way we can keep delivering your newsletter to you each month via email instead of having a “could not deliver” message  bounce back to us!

QUOTATION OF THE MONTH:

They’re all folk songs—I ain’t never heard a horse sing.           

                                                      —Big Bill Broonzy

Our special thanks to the major sponsors who so generously support the Queen City Balladeers and the Leo Coffeehouse!

 

 

                

 

 

Note: Paper copies of of QCBFolkNotes are available at the Leo Coffeehouse or by mail when you opt as a QCB member to receive it in that format. Or you can choose to receive it by email in PDF format, which retains the full color and design format.