Hot Times at Old Town

Appearing below are selections from the hard copy Hot Times. The objective is to highlight activities at the School and in the larger community, especially those featuring or of special interest to teachers and staff. Your suggestions are welcome. Enter a comment (under any item); it will come to me rather than automatically appearing.

Friday 3/7 – When the school’s communities get together!

You like coming to the school, enjoy the folks you meet, and love your classes — right? But you haven’t been to a First Friday? Jeeze Louise! You’ve missed out! First Friday is when everything happens: when the School’s communities come together to have fun. Things jump off at 6:30, at our 4544 N. Lincoln building. A $4 donation is requested.

Festivities begin at 6:30. Guitar teacher Cathy Norden leads the SONG CIRCLE. You don’t need to bring an instrument, don’t need to bring a song, you don’t even need to know a song — just stop by and join in. Fiddle teacher Walter Hojka or Danny Miller hosts the STRING JAM and beginners are welcome! Fiddle, banjo, guitar are standard but bring what you have! Steve Joyner convenes the SONGWRITERS’ CRITIQUE & EXCHANGE. Here’s where you can bring in a song you’ve written, are writing, (or even are thinking of writing) and get feedback. This is the best audience for new songs that you’re ever likely to find! Harmonica teacher Skip Landt (yep, that’s me) and a guitar teacher jointly host THE BLUES-SWING-JAM-THING kicking off at 6:30. (It’s also known as Skip’s Backporch Jam). We do a lot of blues, but other stuff as well — preferably songs that everyone can jump in on. You’re welcome to bring a song; and we ALWAYS need vocalists! The jam attracts excellent musicians. While the jam technically ends at 8:30 — that’s when the teachers leave — the jam usually rolls on for an hour or two. My co-hosts change from month to month, but have included Andrea Bunch, Mark Dvorak, Dan Fulkerson, Arlo Leach, and Chris Winters. This month: we’re hoping for the hot blues presence of Chris Winters! And you never know who else may stop in.l
Throughout this, THE CAFE, our pocket-size restaurant, is open with wine, beer, and various edibles. (I can hear you thinking…restaurant? Yes! The Cafe Manager, Micki Greenberg, is a chef. If you haven’t tried his soups, salads, sandwiches, and combination plates, well, that’s another reason for visiting the School!)

But that’s not all, folks!

Think you might like to play in a band? The best place to get started is in one of the School’s ensemble classes. And the best way to get a feeling for those classes is to hear THE STUDENT ENSEMBLES PERFORMANCE show at 7 pm.

Like to dance? From 7:30 – 9:30 there’s our MONTHLY BARNDANCE with a live band of teachers and students. The dances are taught; no need to be an experienced dancer (or a dancer at all) to join in this fun. And if you enjoy it, folks there (or here) can tell you about the barndance scene in the Chicago area.

And best of all — When did you last go to a great concert that cost $4? Not a new $4, but what you’ve already paid to get in! What I’m talking about is the FIRST FRIDAY CONCERT. Every month this show features one or more Old Town School teachers, performing the music they love best. In February it’s Jordan Wankoff with Wabolabr and Dr. Hojka’s Medicine Show. That’ll kick off about 8:45.

The evening ends (within the school, anyway) with a closing performance by another Old Town School teacher, usually someone from the private lesson staff, providing a capper for these hours of music and fun.

First Friday at the Old Town School of Folk Music happens every month, year-long. When scheduling in accord with the calendar is problematic, as it was in January, we throw the standard calendar to the wind. The School then proclaims that the initial appearance of the word “Friday” that month was a misunderstanding, and that the real First Friday is…whenever we wish to schedule the above activities. (Such is the power of music!)

Why not stop by this Friday, February 1st?

Filed under: Interesting at Old Town by Skip | January 29, 2008 | Comments (0)


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