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Patterson Chapter News
Volume 19, Issue 2: November & December 1998
Newsletter segments:
Kingston chapter news, Patterson chapter news, Poughkeepsie chapter news, and other articles.by Bruce Morrison
September's Coffeehouse opened with an enthusiastic crowd. Ron Gluck began the evening with "Been In The Pen" and a pair of instrumentals titled "Stuck In G" and "Stuck In A Minor". Michelle Levey followed, singing "Ain't Misbehavin'", "Summertime", and "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" a capella. After Michelle was former Chapter President Brian Sullivan performing "For Real", "Orphans Of God", and "Shopping". Next up was Barbara Mahon with "Somos El Barco", "Bring Me A Rose", and "Telling Me Lies".
Carol, Greg, and Peter (Hotte, Neaga, and Martin) provided us with a wonderful feature. Carol's provocative voice and singing style was anchored by Peter's bass playing and complimented by Greg's jazzy fingerstyle guitar. Greg opened solo with 2 instrumentals including "Sammy's Gone". Then Carol & Peter did "Mythical Kings" and "Yadda Yadda" as a duet after which Greg joined them for "Language Of The Heart", "The Hollywood Sign", "Leave It Like It Is", "Shadow Of Your Smile", and "Nobody Knows You When You're Down And Out". They dedicated their encore, "Makin' Whoopee", to President Clinton.
Following the feature, Martin Aronchick played instrumentals called "Patent Pending" and "For Nancy". Ray "Stage Fright" Kludys was next with his renditions of "Harley D." and "Like There's No Tomorrow". The Hayden- Morrison Trio closed the evening with "Sueno", "River", and "When The Singers Gather".
Special thanks this month to Barbara Mahon and Ed Schaffer for their help with refreshments and sound.
Patterson's October 17th Coffeehouse welcomed several newcomers to HVFG, along with some of our returning favorites. One of our first-timers was Ms. Siri Milkove of Beacon who, though she initially came to be part of the audience, appropriately opened the evening's Open Mike with two energetic instrumentals from the 20's on Melissa Holland's keyboard, "Hail, Hail, the Gang's All Here" and "Five Foot Two, Eyes of Blue." Brian Sullivan followed on guitar, sharing his more sensitive side with two original tunes, "The Fallen Ones" and "How Long Will I Continue." "Budda Sludge Light," a vocal duo consisting of Parker Gambino (w/guitar) and Joey DiBennedetto on vocals, entertained us next with their unique cover of the country tune, "I Fought the Law" and a 50's style original tune by Joey called "We Could Dance." Next, Ralph McTell's folk favorite, "Streets of London" and Glen Campbell's "Gentle On My Mind" were impressively performed by Michael Rosenthal of Mahopac (another newcomer to Patterson). Making one of his rare appearances in front of Patterson's sound system instead of behind it, Steve Nash swapped his banjo for his guitar and demonstrated he can expertly flat-pick anything with strings by performing two bluegrass tunes, "Shady Grove" (w/vocals) and Doc Watson's signature instrumental, "Black Watson Rag." Following Steve, were two of Patterson's favorite regulars, vocal stylist Carol Hotte accompanied by Peter Martin on classical guitar. Carol's rendition of "I Dance and Dance" was just one more reinforcement that Dory Previn songs must have been specifically written for Carol to sing!
October's Double Feature combined the talents of three outstanding performers, happily regulars to Patterson: Melissa Holland, John Iannitto, and Sheila Valastro. Sheila and John (both on guitar) opened the set with Stevie Nicks' (Fleetwood Mac) "Rhiannon" to remind us that Halloween was a-coming. Sheila's moving vocal on her original tune "Lay Your Burdens Down" (this month's title) with bodhran and conga accompaniment, was next. John also did an impressive lead vocal on his original tune, "Inside," with Sheila harmonizing. Another Stevie Nick's song, "Kind of Woman that Will Hurt You," followed and was dedicated to President Clinton. Melissa (on recorder) joined Sheila and John for Douggie McLain's "Ready for the Storm," and John and Sheila (w/black boa) and Melissa (on keyboard) ended Part One with a very entertaining, "I'd Rather Be Blue" from the movie, Funny Girl.
Melissa Holland (also from Beacon) demonstrated her extraordinary singer / songwriter / performer talents throughout her set. Introducing each song with the scenarios which inspired their writing, Melissa and her keyboard led us through the experiences of being "Stuck In China" and traveling through life with a "Suitcase Full of Pain," while also sharing with us the musical "Legacy" passed on to her. John I./guitar joined Melissa for "You Didn't Have to Try So Hard" and Sheila V. harmonized on "Trust Me" (a beautiful tune that could one day be #1 on the Top 40). John & Sheila stayed on for the final two numbers: a synthesizer's special effects gave "It Better Stop Raining" a most unique sound, and appropriately, "The Last to Leave," was a song written about Melissa's experience at weekend music workshop, (my personal favorite). For an encore, the trio performed the Indigo Girls' "Crazy Game" with Sheila on vocals, John on guitar, and Melissa on flute. The audience really responded to the professionalism of these three performers and we hope to see them at Patterson regularly.
The Open Mike continued with Mr. Pat Daley (returning to Patterson after a 3-year absence) giving us two terrific guitar instrumentals, "In Christ There is No East of West" and "Windy and Warm." Ray Kudys, making an all too infrequent appearance, followed on guitar/vocals with an entertaining, original country-western tune "Santa Fe" and Eric Clapton's "Lay Down Sally." Barbara Mahon (that's me) ended the evening with an a'cappella rendition of Lorrie Wyatt's "Lullabye" complete with sign language, and wished everyone a safe trip home. Appreciation is extended to the evening's volunteers: Mario Zecca and friends for Refreshments; Ed Schaffer for manning the Door, Steve Nash for Sound, and "Yours Truly" for Performance Documentation and being the evening's M/C.
To our members who were at Patterson in June and October 1998, hope you've enjoyed this trip down memory lane . . . to everyone, hope we get to see you in Patterson soon!
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