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.

Strange-looking device comes to OTS!

It’s all over but the cheering! Armed with jugs, washboards, kazoos, and other musical weaponry, six jug bands of all sizes and descriptions clashed at the SECOND ANNUAL CHICAGO BATTLE OF THE JUG BANDS on Saturday, November 14th. Most important, the battlle trophy, a strange-looking sausage making thing has returned to Chicago. For the past year the trophy has been in Denver or one of those other cities out west of Galena. That’s where the leader of the Blue Ribbon Jug Band, last year’s winner, now resides.

The winning band, Strictly Jug Nuts, was decided by audience vote, using ballots designed to replicate those in Chicago municipal elections. But, ironically, ballots were not made available for sale. Overseeing the election were Battle Election Comissioner Steve Bishop, wearing a handsome top hat, and Comptroller Marsha Gilden, having boned up her math skills and planning to add this credential to her resume. « Read more »

Filed under: Interesting outside the Old Town School by Skip | November 14, 2009 | Comments (0)

Chicago booklovers….

Love Chicago? Love books? What about books on Chicago?

Sharon Woodhouse, the nice lady who runs our favorite publication house, is having a series of holiday receptions — wine, cheese, cookies, books, and, she tells me, collectibles..as well as comraderie.

She invites us to stop by the “new” Lake Claremont Press office (1026 W. Van Buren, Second Floor) for one of her four holiday receptions for refreshments and affordable holiday shopping.

Wednesday, December 2, 5:30-8:30 p.m.
Wednesday, December 9, 5:30-8:30 p.m.

She’s one block one block from UIC-Halsted blue line station, one block from Morgan Street exit. There’s also free parking available in gravel lot at Van Buren & Morgan.

Want to attend? RSVP:

www.lakeclaremont.com
lcp@lakeclaremont.com
312/226-8400
312/226-8420 (fx)

Filed under: Interesting outside the Old Town School by Skip | November 11, 2009 | Comments (0)

Kids can fight H1N1

Youtube now has a catchy hand washing anthem to help curb the flu. It’s called “Wash, Rinse, Dry” and it can be found at http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=u2-A8FbZ9Gs. This lively, timely musical nudge is thanks to Old Town School teacher Joel Frankel, the Chicago Children’s Choir and Children’s Memorial Hospital .

Show it to your family, pass it along to your friends, tell folks at work. Every little bit helps!

Filed under: Kids' stuff outside by Skip | October 27, 2009 | Comments (0)

Teacher: Nathaniel Braddock

Guitar teacher Nathaniel Braddock is featured in the December 2009 issue of Guitar Player magazine. His band, the Occidental Brothers, “are likely the only U.S. band to specialize in classic Ghanaian and Congolese styles. At a time when this older music is scarecely played anymore in Africa, Braddock and his musicians are evolving it, creating new hybrids with other dance styles and jazz. As the crowd stepped out recently at Lincoln Center’s Midsummer Night’s Swing, it was clear that Braddock’s [band] has legs.”

Among Nathaniel’s classes for Session 6 are Guitar 3 rep (Thursdays, 8:30 at Lincoln) and Guitar 4 (Wednesdays, 6 pm at Lincoln).

Filed under: Teacher bios by Skip | October 7, 2009 | Comments (0)

YOUR audience is just a few steps away

Want a chance to perform outside the Old Town School?

Opportunity awaits, right across the street at the Mad Dog Tavern. Old Town teacher Scott Besaw runs an open mike every Wednesday night and will welcome you to show your stuff! There’s a signup list that he has out starting at 8; you get on the list, and then — depending on how many sign up — you’ll get your turn some time after the show starts, at 9 pm.

If there’s ever a non-threatening performance opportunity, this is it. Scott is there and runs it in the Old Town School style, welcoming, friendly and supportive. And since the Bad Dog is largely patronized by Old Town School students and their friends, you’ll have a receptive setting for your performance. (It doesn’t hurt to bring some of your own friends, of course!)

Hesitant to give this a try? You’re no different than most folks. But most people who do open mikes find out that they love the experience, and want to do it again. The best way to find out for yourself is….stop over some Wednesday, if only to listen!

Filed under: Interesting outside the Old Town School by Skip | October 5, 2009 | Comments (0)

Our Hall of Fame Nominee!

We are pleased to announce the great news!

Diane Blumensaadt, Teacher and Customer Service Representative at the Old Town School of Folk Music, has been nominated for membership in:

The White Castle
Cravers Hall of Fame

Diane has been nominated based on her account of an experience in one of Chicago’s Great Blizzards. It was a cold, windy, stormy day in Chicago, and the snow was piled high on all sides. Walking was difficult, and the icy wind chilled you to the bone. But she and a friend, cold and hungry, were on a long trudge home, through the drifts. Then, before them, white and gleaming, was a place that symbolized warmth and comfort — a White Castle. Each spent their last 12 cents on a slider, which they still remember: that slider bought both comfort to the stomach and a smile to the face. Diane still lives near that White Castle, and treasures that memory which comes to mind each time she passes that location. (Details in this account may differ from hers; I heard her account only once).

Diane has already been awarded an attractive White Castle Cravers Hall of Fame Nominee metal; if she is a finalist, she’ll be flown to the White Castle National Headquarters to be specially honored. But whatever celebration they have, we’ll have a bigger shindig here at the School!

Be sure to wish Diane well and cheer her on as the awards process continues!

Filed under: Uncategorized by Skip | October 5, 2009 | Comments (0)

This January, go on the road with your teachers!

During the last year our teachers have brought Old Town School style teaching, jamming, and celebration to Brazil, Estonia, Finland, Russia, and Mexico, Morocco, Quebec and Russia. Right now, during October, a teacher’s group is in India.

The news: we’re planning of the School’s first foreign excursion that is open to everyone staff, students, and friends as well as teachers. WARNING: Stop reading now if there’s no way you can get away in January! « Read more »

Filed under: Interesting outside the Old Town School by Skip | October 1, 2009 | 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)


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