Share the Music and Feed the People, April 30, 2011

Well hello once again to you all. By the time you all read this installment, the Jam 2011 will be history

It was a great piece of volunteer work on Saturday, April 30th, 2011. There were four months of hard team work and it all came together at the Central Hotel.
Now I will be quite honest with you all. I truly had my doubts about this year’s outcome long before Saturday. We had some people who cancelled out, some bands who had other obligations or illness and even some non interests were underling factors this year.

If anyone would have held the printout of the original lineup of the bands, they would be quick to see the people we lost.

Also donations from the local community were not quite what they once were in prior years either. So with that all said and done, we pressed on - and like Dominic said last weekend when I was about to cry over all of these short-falls - he put it all in perspective. "Once the first band takes the stage we'll forget all about this" And was he ever right! Let us enjoy what we have.

The show that followed was absolutely awesome. We began with “The Wild Ones" from around Sidney way. We had a fill in picker that stepped up last minute so the boys could play. I gotta tell ya, these guys cooked. Every song was like they played it a hundred times in the past. A very special thanks to our Brother Cliff Clune for filling the void of the day. Gordy, Paul and Chucky - thank you for the outstanding show. Next up was The C.O.D. band. This band was very active in the late 80's early 90's. They have only done one other show in the last 21 yrs. and that was at the last Jam in 2010. There was some very sharp and crafted tunes by the boys – “Two Lane Highway”, “Hotel California” and not to mention, the smoking conclusion of “Free Bird” Yeah Mr. Chuck Mott had them all looking his way at those fiery leads he was playing. Special thanks to Herb and Tom as well for their continuing support for CHOW. Act Number three was “Pawn Shop”. Now if you have not heard these guys, you once again have missed the boat. They have some awesome guitar work and vocals by all. A very notable rendition of Ring of Fire and not to mention a close out song by “Lady Gaga/Talking Heads” and special thanks to Patty and Jeff and all the rest of the band for coming to our defense. Last up, but not least – “The Short Change Band”. By the time 4:30 pm came along we were truly ready to come out and jam a few tunes. That we did. We opened up with a bit of Merle Haggard then on to a couple of original songs and an oldie and took the show home with an original off the new album “Two O'clock in the Morning". The absolute kick ass performance by Dean on that fiddle was worth the price of admission alone. Dean Goble, thank you so much for coming down and showing your support for the cause. Gosh, I wish he was our fiddle player.

So this is the part where we come to terms and thanks to all. Special thanks to Gary for traveling all the way from the Albany area to help us out with sound and lighting. You're a special guy buddy. Then there's Krissy, Dom, Donna, Drea, Cindy, Chopper, Theresa, Hailey, Robin, Tammy, Chris, And all the hosts - Ty, Bobby, K.W.,D.D. and one kick ass master of ceremony Eddie.... Also special thanks to Robert and Brandon for cooking and grounds setup. And I'm probably missing a few others as well, but it is not intentional by any means. Anyway - that's quite the staff isn't it?

So now that I have bored you for the better part of ten minutes with this extensive "Thank You" Here is what we raised for CHOW: Our 2011 Jamboree yielded $2,300.00 that will be forwarded to the Afton Food Bank. That beats last year’s fundraiser by about $75. Not too shabby huh? It wasn't the 3K we were aiming for, but hell It's All Good!

The band is off this weekend for Mothers Day Weekend and a much needed weekend for some R&R...

Thanks again for all of your continued support and for the ones who missed it, there will never be the solidarity of our 3rd annual Jamboree every again. This was truly a "one time" priceless event... And we thought last year’s rocked!

And as always, Peace and love to all and Happy Mother’s day to all you "Mothers"

-Mikee^Dee