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.

Watch Aztec Ruins vanish at OTS!

Keep alert! These ruins will disappear right before your eyes! (And will fill yer stomach!)

Aztec Ruins are Tina’s newest combination at the Cafe. And what a mix! Picture this: the hot and spicy choriso rice (rice, choriso, red bell peppers, onion) topped with tuna salad (tuna, mayo, lemon juice). The effect of the spicy rice, served hot, with cool, comforting tuna from the fridge is amazing, almost addictive!

We’ve consulted labeling authorities and are told that this combination totals 604 calories and 18.5 grams of fat, plus various amounts of carbs and those other grammish things they put on labels. But, most important, Aztech Ruins are a whole bowlful of great eating! Tip: they’re available whenever you see choriso rice on the menu.

Filed under: Interesting at Old Town by Skip | January 16, 2010 | Comments (0)

Jugging forward!

The Chicago jug band renaissance continues with a monthly Jug Band Jam!

For great fun and wonderful music, stop by the Grafton (4530 North Lincoln Avenue) next to the Old Town School of Folk Music on third Monday of each month. You can join join the members of the Barehand Jugband in making that great old-time jug band music — one of the hottest bands in town, with that music that sets the toes to tapping!

This is the most recent development in the renaissance. Last November saw the Second Annual Chicago Battle of the Jug Bands, including a number of bands based at the Old Town School: the Hump Night Thumpers (winners of the 2007 Minneapolis Battle), the Schticklers (Chicago’s All-Jewish Jug Band), the Barehanded Jug Band (2nd place at the 2009 Minneapolis Battle), and Strictly Jug Nuts (the winners of the 2009 Chicago Battle).

Also keep in mind the jug band class — which is both an open enrollment class AND
the Hump Night Thumpers practice! Join the class, join the band! (Wednesdays at 8 pm!)

Filed under: Interesting at Old Town by Skip | January 6, 2010 | Comments (0)

First Friday

Don’t miss the January First Friday — even though it skips a week, landing on January 8th.

As always, First Friday will offer all sorts of fun. Some examples:

- The Gather-All at 5:30 — Folks of all ages, including kids just learning an instrument, gather in the room
next to the registration desk to sing and play. No instrument? Just come and sing! Just learning an instrument? Bring it along — Jason McInnis will call out the chords! All-ages, all-skill levels are welcome!
But come early; the room fills up!

- Skip’s Back Porch Jam at 6:30 — Lots of blues and related music led by Skip Landt and a guest guitar teacher from the School. We usually have guitars, harmonicas, fiddles, mandolins, bass, accordian, keyboard, and even an occasional banjo. Singers are especially welcome, especially if they do blues (and bring the words/chords!)

Beyond this, there will be the usual variety of activities: a square dance, a fandango, other dance opportunities, song-writer’s circle, a singaround, and a feature performer. Want to jam? You can also
request a room where you can do your own thing! (Bob Ball is there to find you an open spot).

First Friday is part of the Old Town School experience — once you’ve been to it, you’re sure to come back. (The cost? You contribute $5 at the door).

Filed under: Interesting at Old Town by Skip | January 5, 2010 | Comments (0)

Bottles go solo!

The School is now taking the next step in recycling — separate bins for bottles. Dawn Patch, one of the all-but-invisible-but-god-knows-what-we’d-do-without-her adminstrators, has found a recycler who will take our bottles. The message: bottles go solo (but please give them soft landings).

This is a followup to the enormous reduction in our paper usage by Todd Lido and the Marketing Department; earlier this year they moved from thick paper catalogs to the attractive single sheet class schedules.

Beyond this, Gail Tyler is working with consultants to explore other ways to reduce our environmental footprint; stay tuned!

Filed under: Interesting at Old Town by Skip | September 27, 2009 | Comments (0)

What ever happened to the good ol’ gals?

Nothing — they’re still with us, their voices ringing out in their music! You can be part of this revival in a class with Peggy Browning, featuring their songs and stories, starting October 29th.

Peggy has started a new class, dedicated to the pivotal women who pioneered traditional folk music. She’s guiding the class through the music and history of greats including Elizabeth Cotton, Sara and Maybelle Carter, Ola Belle Reed and Hazel Dickens. The class will include creating arrangements of their music, focusing on rhythm, melodies and harmonies using both instruments and voices

What fun! The class will meet at 8:30 Thursdays, at the Lincoln Avenue location. It’s open to students who can change basic chords comfortably on any instrument.

Peg’s email is pbrowning@oldtownschool.org.

Filed under: Interesting at Old Town by Skip | September 24, 2009 | Comments (0)

Sorry!

The School has great concerts, and they’re in “the best listening room in Chicago” — that’s what the news media keep saying, and that’s the upside.

The downside is getting tickets: shows often sell out. Beyond that, they often sell out so early that only folks with memberships in the School can get a chance to buy them.

For example, tickets to these popular fall shows are already gone:

Leon Redbone – Friday, October 9th – sold out
Los Lonely Boys – Friday, October 23rd – sold out!
Leo Kottke – Sunday, November 1st – sold out
John Sebastian & David Grisman – Friday, December 11th – sold out

The lesson here? Look at the concert schedule. If you’re interested in any of the shows, call now for tickets: 773 728-6000. And to avoid this in the future, sign up and become a member. It gets you priority for tickets during the “members only” window, and it provides support the School needs to continue it’s great programs.

Filed under: Interesting at Old Town by Skip | September 18, 2009 | Comments (0)

Truth about Old Town Revealed!

Read this now before it disappears!

The truth is that the “Old Town School of Folk Music” is NOT a school, at least by most traditional measures. Sure, some people come in, take a class, and go home. But they’ve missed the clues about what is really going on here; the “school” is really a cult. « Read more »

Filed under: Interesting at Old Town by Skip | August 30, 2009 | Comments (1)

Jam with us or create one!

Everyone knows that the best way to keep improving is to keep playing — one great way to do that is to join one of the School’s jams: the Wednesday Mid-Day Jam, 12-2 pm or Thursdays, 7-10 pm.

For the past year, we’ve missed only one Wednesday of jamming; we even continue during periods between class sessions. Each Wednesday we meet in the lobby, then set up chairs on the main stage of the School (at Lincoln) and put up our Open Jam sign. We start about noon and end about 2 pm. The group is wonderfully varied in instrumentation: pretty much always guitar, banjo, harmonica, fiddle, and mandolin; sometimes bass and a wonderful tapdancer! People suggest songs in turn, often but not always from the songbook; we also do some fiddle tunes (calling out the chords when needed). If you’re free during the day, come on by! (No need to be an Old Town School student; everyone is welcome). A similar jam is held on Thursday evenings: same place, on the main stage of the school. « Read more »

Filed under: Interesting at Old Town by Skip | August 30, 2009 | Comments (0)

Add jug band to your resume!

Or if not to your resume, at least to your life. Registration is open for the next term of school’s jug band! It’s both a band AND a class, with the next class starting in late October. So when someone asks you what you’ve been doing — here’s what you can say.

“You didn’t know? I’m now a member of the Hump Night Thumpers Jug Band. That’s the band that won the 25th Annual Battle of the Jug Bands in 2007.” « Read more »

Filed under: Interesting at Old Town by Skip | April 27, 2009 | Comments (0)

You missed Fender day?

Ouch! But it should be a reminder: keep checking the School’s website!

One Saturday earlier this year, the Different Strummer (the School’s store) had staff from Fender come in to do free bench checks on electric guitars. No Fender? That was ok too, they didn’t discriminate.

By the end of the afternoon, 90 folks had received FREE restrings and and set ups. And those who bought Feder or Squier products got 10% back in cash, on top of the already discounted prices. But this wasn’t a standard sales offer. « Read more »

Filed under: Interesting at Old Town by Skip | April 27, 2009 | Comments (0)


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