Wow--was the last Journal update back in Oct. about FARM & SERFA? Time to fill you all in!!
First, the sad news. We lost Bob's dad, Peter Andina, to three massive strokes and their aftermath on Nov. 4, 2010. Friends and loved ones flocked to say goodbye at his wake and funeral in Chicago and wake & interment in Queens, where he and Bob's mom Elizabeth are reunited, both returned to the Earth and to eternity. Condolences go out to the families of those killed in the Tucson mass shooting this past Saturday, and prayers for healing and courage go to the wounded (chief among them Congresswoman Giffords) and their families. And finally, for Debbie Friedman, who revolutionized Jewish music, liturgy, and congregational participation--rest in peace, may her memory be for a blessing, and may we bless her by singing the musical setting of Mi Sheberach she composed that brought comfort, strength, and healing to so many over the years.
Now the good news. FARM, SERFA, and NERFA turned out to be more fun and productive than we ever dreamed imagine: old friends, new connections, and wonderful music to hear and to join in performing. And two of the prettiest mountain ranges you'd ever want to see--the Ozarks and Catskills (as well as Poconos and Alleghenies on the way home from NERFA). The Bar Show, "Plea," revivified by a huge infusion of fresh new talent (our biggest cast in years) was a success and a stone gas.
We're gratified and delighted that our song "Caffeine" was chosen as #3 by WDCB "Folk Festival" host Lilli Kuzma on her Top Ten Fave Songs List for 2010; that our CD "Two Guitars, a Dulcimer, and an Attitude" also made her 2010 Favorites list; that the CD was approved by the Recording Academy for inclusion on the preliminary Grammy ballot in 7 categories; and that EVERY ONE of its 14 songs has received airplay--worldwide, broadcast, webcast & satellite--some of 'em in rotation! "Where Did the Good Man Go"was chosen for and is on the just-released Acoustic Rainbow "Roots/Americana" sampler; and "Morning" will be on Acoustic Rainbow's first-ever Bluegrass sampler!
And now, as promised in my Sandygram, "the organ recital:"
My right knee continues to heal nicely from the partial lateral meniscectomy arthroscopic surgery I had in July--and will NOT need to be replaced for at least a few years--I've been fitted with a support brace to make sure I don't tear anything else in it and that my patella stays where it belongs; and there's much less damage in the medial compartment than we'd thought (the damage on the lateral side's been smoothed by my ace orthopedic surgeon and will not require "unloading" of the forces on it). And although the verdict on my left knee was initially grim--the medial (inner) condyle is bone-on-bone and the knee is a candidate for not a partial but a total replacement because I haven't had an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in it since ''94--I now have a combination ACL support/osteoarthritis "unloader" brace that will take most of the pressure off the inner surfaces of the knee and keep it from locking or collapsing. And it is a spiffy purple (almost went with Candy Apple Red metaillic). This ought to keep me from going under the knife for at least another year, and make exercise (walking, hiking, stairs, and elliptical training) much easier.....and hopefully, help me shed a little of my excess "baggage." Come to my gigs, and I'll show it to you!
And the rest of the "organs?" Well, my bronchi misbehaved for a few days following the Bar Show (having had the courtesy not to go blooey during the run of the show) and my back went out for two weeks--the second day of its lumbar rebellion coinciding with both a massive snowstorm and the vandalism of my garage and car. (All that was lost was my driver-side window, a dying GPS, my sense of security--and to my greatest regret, my inability to entertain you at the Andina & Rich Holiday Show in Madison, hosted by the wonderful Shava Bas Riva. Thanks so much to Stephen, his wife Ingrid Frances Stark, and Nancy Rost for stepping in and delivering my intended musical contributions)! But my body seems to be behaving just fine now........kinahorra........(Yiddish for "knock wood"). And my car's been fixed and I have a new GPS (as well as a reinforced garage door).
What's coming up? This Friday night 1/14 at 6:45 pm, I will be participating as one of the Worship Song Leaders at the TBD Minyan service at Emanuel Congregation (5959 N. Sheridan, Chicago), in honor and memory of Debbie Friedman. Next Sat. 1/22 from 8-10 pm, help me celebrate my Big Six-O birthday at Grounds For Appeal in Berwyn. (Details in the Calendar Dates section, in the last Sandygram, and a reminder next week--at our age, we need all the reminding we can get).
And check the Calendar Dates section for details about: our showcases at Folk Alliance in Memphis on 2/18 & 19 (conference runs 2/16-20), house concert for Two Crows Farm in Upper Sandisky, OH on 2/25; and our biggest break thus far: opening Sat. night 2/26 at Carnegie Lecture Hall in Pittsburgh for Red Horse (John Gorka, Lucy Kaplansky and Eliza Gilkyson)! Then it's on to Conewago Coffee in Elizabethtown, PA on Sat. 3/5 (with a possible jam/writers' round in the Wilmington, DE area Fri. 3/4), with special guest our old friend Aaron Nathans; our annual concert at Ethical Humanist Society of Chicago in Skokie Sat. 3/12, with the inimitable Norm Siegel opening (and helping us close); Wild Hog in the Woods Coffeehouse in Madison, WI Fri. 3/18; The Mad Hatter's Room in Iowa City, IA Fri. 4/8; KOPN Sunday Morning Coffeehouse on-air 4/10; taping the syndicated "River City Folk" with host Tom May (we'll fill you in on air dates!!!) 4/13; returning to Cafe Semolino in Hays, KS Fri. 4/15; attending the AFM Local 1000 retreat at the Highlander Center near Knoxville, TN (members only, limited spots going fast!) 5/16-19; then on to SERFA as it moves to the spring at the Montreat Center in Asheville, NC 5/19-22; and places in between till our return to Cheeseland for the Mill Bluff State Park Art & Music Festival in Camp Douglas, WI Sat. 6/4; People's Church, in Chicago (tentative) Fri. 6/10; and Maxwell St. Days in Madison on Fri. July 15. More to come in between and after, of course (and we're already booking into 2012, to tease ya)!
Stay warm, dry, and if you must go out on the ice, at least wear skates and carry a hockey stick (cue the vamp from "Chelsea Dagger")!!!