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Kingston Chapter News
Volume 19, Issue 3: January & February 1999
Newsletter segments:
Kingston chapter news, Patterson chapter news, Poughkeepsie chapter news, and other articles.November report by Denise Finley
December report by Cheryl Rice
The Kingston Chapter was still in the short-handed mode for October. Joe Murray did a great job basically doing everything with his wife Ann, watching the door. For another month there was no feature at Kingston, and it was small gathering of eight performers. Lyn Burnstine played thumb organ and piano and sang a traditional tune, one by Kathy Winter, and one by Bob Beers, bringing in the audience on the singing, as is her hallmark. Ed Leaver played twelve string and sang "Dawning of the Day", "Wild Birds" and a third song with a mythological theme. Peter, Carol and Greg (Martin, Hotte and Neaga) performed "Nature Boy", "Rusty Old American Dream", and "Wall of Tears". John and Rebekah Martucci did an original of John's, "The Ever Falling Rain" (awesome lyrics), "Darcy Farrow" and "The World Turned" with percussion effects by John's over-turned guitar and Rebekah on drum. Robert Helfman performed on piano..."People of the Children", a French aire, and some freestyle inventive chording. Bruce Ackerman started out with a Merle Travis tune, "Saturday Night", "Autumn Leaves" (with that Ackerman twist...) and "Grandfather's Clock". Anna Barnes, all the way from Danbury rounded out the evening with "Love in Vane" (Robert Johnson), and a tasteful rendition of "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star".
In November Vince Sauter made his debut as M.C. We think we'll keep him. Greg Neaga started out the evening (sans Peter and Carol) playing an original tune and then asked Denise to join him with Alison Kraus's version of "Now That I've Found You". Richard Carr played a remarkable set on fiddle and later joined feature, Lyn Burnstine. Cheryl Rice was back to read her wonderful poetry. Vince Sauter took a break from his outrageous M.C. work to play a couple of songs. Bruce Ackerman, Kingston chapter's cherished regular, played his way through another (too short) set. Duncan Urguhart came all the way from Canada to play harmonica (come again). Sarah and Rusty Boris played their peppy brand of music calling themselves "Point of Departure". Bobby Kennedy sang an outstanding original set with teenage twin daughters who brought the house down with their back-up vocals. Newcomer Jacquelyn J. Helme sang sweetly and Ed Leaver brought the evening to a close with his haunting style.
Patricia Bradaigh also played this month. It is wonderful to hear this now regular performer in Kingston! Her traditional songs and clear, high singing are a special part of our repertoire. Lyn Burnstine's feature set was strong and varied. As always, audience was asked to join in the singing. Linda Breithaupt joined Lyn and Richard for an exquisite trio piece, and Joe Murray played guitar on a country-western flavored tune. Thanks to Ann Murray for watching over the door and to Vic and the Unitarians for the great snacks. Overall, the evening was perfect and a good time was had by all.
Unlike past years, the 1998 December open stage in Kingston was held on what had been a gray, drizzly and decidedly mild day. The crowd (and a crowd it was) was treated to a line-up of over a dozen performers, with styles ranging from blues to gospel to formal Latin carols!
First up was the Hayden-Morrison trio, consisting of Bruce Morrison, with Brandi and Bill Hayden. They harmonized beautifully on Bill Staines' "Sueno" and a Morrison original, "When the Singers Gather," a song that captures the spirit of the Guild. They'll be the May feature at the Poughkeepsie open stage. Next up was Patricia Bradaigh (pronounced 'Brady') who has in the past graced us with traditional Irish ballads. This time around, though, with the help of Greg Neaga, she was able to perform two of her "absolute favorite songs of all time," "Arco Ires" (encouraging the crowd to sing along, as there were "no Spanish teachers here") and "Heaven is Less Than Fair," a Kim & Reggie Harris tune recalling the Underground Railroad era. Mike Dolan followed with two charming instrumentals, and was in turn followed by Greg Neaga, solo this time. Greg first heard "New York State of Mind," Billy Joel's love song to the Empire State, in his native Germany, and was inspired to see first-hand the beauties described. So he has for the last three years. For his second number, Greg was joined by Ronnie Gluck, one of the many dear friends he has made here in the States, for a foot-stomping rendition of "Sweet Georgia Brown." Greg will return to Germany at the end of January.
The one-of-a-kind Bruce Ackerman took the stage with "Winter Wonderland," making every effort to "drag it out" (claiming his songs were so short he should be allowed a third), then "Mr. Sandman," the audience bum-bumming along. Bruce will be the featured performer here in May. Mr. Gluck returned after Mr. Ackerman with those mournful blues, exclaiming though that, because of his prior duet with Greg, he had "found out how to break the two-song rule." "Been in the Pen," and "Wandering," belied his joy.
After the break, the second half of the evening kicked off with December's featured picker, Vince Sauter, former high school classmate of Kingston Chapter president Denise Finley! Must be something in the Arlington water! Sauter, a prolific songwriter as well as an accomplished performer, presented a solid set comprised of many originals plus a few popular favorites. "Magic of a Summer's Night" and "As Lovers Do," his first two tunes, are prime examples of the romantic ballads Sauter seems to produce with ease. Dave Wilcox's "Rusty Old American Dream" was another kind of love song, this time to four-wheeled sweethearts. "Love Me Again As You Did So Long Ago" came next, another Sauter composition, followed by Tom Waites' "Heart of Saturday Night" and the John Prine classic, "Dear Abby." His closing tune, another original, left no doubt as to who he sang for - "Just For You."
Two tributaries to next April's feature here, Lazy River, gave listeners a sample of what to expect. John and Rebekah Martucci crooned the Everly's "Devoted to You," and, in a complete turnaround, performed a 16th-century carol, "Quem Pastores." Barbara Mahon will join them in April Beth Ashton returned to the Kingston stage after an extended hiatus with two of her own songs, "one ten years old and the other ten days." "Glory Bound" and "People That Way" demonstrated her powerful song-writing skills. A regular at each December stage, Steve Otlowski opened with a poem entitled "Closure," bringing the soul and sacrifice of hunting back to our consciousness, and closed with a song by the late Stan Rogers about the treacherous Great Lakes, "White Squall." Steve's Folk Guild appearances should definitely be more than an annual event!
January's feature, Mike Clarke, recalled those bright summer afternoons beside the stream in "Hangin'," though with temperatures close to 60 degrees in some spots this past week, those days didn't seem so far away! "Christmas Crunch" brought us back to the season (of gastronomic delights)! Closing the evening was Denise Finley, accompanied by soundboard wizard Joe Murray. Reminiscing about the births of her three children, Denise's first song, "How Fair is My Baby" echoed what may have been the thoughts of another young mother in a Bethlehem barn long ago. "One More Dollar" brought to mind those who travel to work, and work to get home.
Kingston's next open stage is January 2nd (with Mike Clarke and Company featuring), and will be a great way to kick off the last year of this century! February's feature will be Linda Breithaupt. I'll be looking for you...
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