What an amazing birthday month! Tons of travel, tons of fun, tons of music! I’ve said it before, but the best part of writing an article every month is taking a minute to look back at all I’ve done the past month. It truly gives me a minute to pause the craziness, and truly reflect on all of the amazing things I get to do in a month!
This month kicked off many moons ago on a Saturday night with M&M’s debut show at Flinchy’s. M&M is Megan Yvonne (Sheibley) and Matthias Cabbell. M&M met by going to the Sierra Madre’s open mic nights. They both are super talented, and they really do make a great duo. This debut show they played some songs solo and some songs as a duo. They really compliment each other beautifully. Keep an ear out for these two powerhouses, I’m sure you’ll see more of both of them throughout the area.
Next up was some Labor Day festivities! Matt Jameson had a private party cancel on him, but his local watering hole, Moe’s took advantage of his open night and had him come play a show to celebrate the Holiday Weekend. It was awesome to see so many of his friends come out and support him. There were quite a few people that sang a long which always makes the night quite interesting. I wish Moe’s did more live music, but I guess I’ll just be happy for the occasional show.
Sunday I grabbed Cindy, and we headed out to Cape Carl for Music on the River! Cindy said it best on her post: Music, Food, Dogs, and Dancing! What a most amazing time! Great tunes by Matt Jameson Live and Slade Heller!! And Crash Acoustic stepped in and gave the guys some much needed breaks! Tons of food and fun!! Can’t wait for next year! Thanks to our amazing hosts Jeff and Kierstin Carl, such a glorious day on the river. Absolutely amazing weather, with even more amazing friends.
The first Tuesday of the month was Megan and Dave’s Open Mic at Copper Pub, and lucky for me, my birthday! Megan and Cindy both worked hard and made sure I was treated like a queen for my birthday. It was quite awesome to sit back and relax with so many family and friends and listen to great music and eat delicious food for my birthday. Thanks also to Holly and Matt for my delicious Chocolate Peanut Butter cupcakes! I am such a lucky girl! Thanks to everyone for coming out and playing music for me on my special day!
On Wednesday I headed to The Blue Sky Tavern for Matt Jameson Live’s open mic after I got the latest magazine delivered, with Emily’s Toybox on the cover. I caught the tail end of the open mic, but still managed to see 3 guys play that I never saw play before, all 3 of them were great! John Flinchbaugh, Jay, and Ed Wright. I also saw some regulars, Rob Davis and Ben Darrow jammin’ and a friend, Amy Freeburn showed up and sang along with Matt too. The most shocking part of the night, was hearing Aaron Zimmerman, the rockstar guitar player from Steel, step up and play Skid Row’s “I Will Remember You” with Matt singing along! So glad I didn’t miss that!
The next day my birthday celebration continued with a trip down to Florida to see my good friends Terri and Mike! Always my most favorite time of the year is anytime I can make it to Florida!! 5 days, of sun, beaches, seashells, and friends!
When I got back I made it back to Blue Sky’s open mic. It was a light night, but always still a blast. Matt improvised by letting the musicians play longer. It was a perfect time for the musicians to try out some extra new songs to a crowd. I heard Matt himself, Crash Acoustic, Joe Wright, Merve Music 717, Kat from Kat and Bubbly sang some Alanis with Matt, Stephen Robert, and then the big jam at the end! It was a great time had by all! Don’t forget, open mic is hosted by Matt Jameson Live every Wednesday at Blue Sky Tavern from 6:30pm – 9:30pm. Hope to see you there sometime!
On a Thursday I had to run up to Belleville to check out one of our newest Elite Experiences properties, Rocky Ridge Retreat. This property is a great pre-game spot for anyone heading up to a Penn State Game. On my way home I swung in to the Doyle Hotel for Stephen Robert. Wayne Lesperance was guest bartending behind the bar and Duncannon’s music lovers were there, we were all singing along and having a great time! When Stephen isn’t playing music solo, you can catch him rockin’ out in Hank the Buffalo, or even doing some handyman services, under the name, Steve Bob’s Handyman Services. If you need something fixed at your house, give Steve Bob a call!
After Stephen’s show I headed to the Copper Pub to meet up with friends at the 176ers Dueling Piano’s show. The deck was packed and even over-flowing into the parking lot tables. The requests were stacked up, and Dr. Nyce and Cagan were entertaining everyone! If you haven’t seen a Dueling Pianos show yet, you really should. They are a blast and make every request special! We eventually had the crowd up dancing and singing along there too!
Next up was the Fall Music Fest at the Fogleman Farmstead, this is an annual even to benefit the PA Wounded Warriors. Some fun was had before I could get there, but I made it for the tail end of The Full Circle Band, Hank The Buffalo, Rockbox, The Neighborly, AM Radio Tribute Band, Roger Bowyer Acoustic Music, and Best Friends Girl – A Tribute to The Cars! Not only was all the entertainment great, but the food is phenomenal, and just being with friends and hanging out to support the PA Wounded Warriors was pretty awesome too! It was a really amazing day!!! Kudos to all who work behind the scenes to pull off such an amazing event.
As if that was enough fun for one night, I heard Steel Panther was playing at XL Live, and I couldn’t resist. My old friend Tony Treese introduced me to Steel Panther, and their songs are unlike pretty much any other songs out there. Their music is raunchy yet hilarious! I’m glad we made it.
On a Late Wednesday night I got a call that some friends were heading to Gary’s Bar in Palmyra for Karaoke hosted by Rachael Thomas of Ragged Grace. The locals call it Gary-Oke. An unbelievable amount of talented singers come out every week for Gary-Oke. It’s advertised as 9-12, but til she can get through her list she’s usually there until 1:30am! If you’re looking for a new lead singer for your band go check out some karaoke. These singers were all so talented! I’m so glad I got out to hang with my friends a bit!
The following week I had another flight out to Lawrenceburg, Indiana for a Fall Music Fest for BRP Entertainment. On the first leg of my flight, my old friend Dan, from The Incredible Rubber Band, sat down beside me. It was great catching up during the flight. His band was on the cover February of 2007. Seeing Dan made me think about how long it’s been since I’ve been writing articles. Turns out this month marks 19 years!! Pretty crazy. I’ve seen so many bands and I’ve met so many amazing people! November marks 43 years of the PA Musician Magazine. Hard to believe I’ve been doing this almost half of those years. Thanks to everyone that continues to read my articles and supports the PA Musician Magazine.
On a Tuesday night I made it to Sierra Madre for Hank the Buffalo’s open mic night. They got bumped to Tuesdays because of Monday night football, but that didn’t stop the musicians from coming out to jam! I made it out in time for a jam with Crash Acoustic and Matthias Caddell, Jon Blosser jammed solo and pulled up some friends to jam too, Greyson Beardsley, Megan and Dave, Matt Jameson Live came to jam and hang out on his night off, Ben Darrow, and Phil Cannizzaro finished off the night! So much talent on one stage! So much fun!
On a Thursday, Cindy and I finally got a chance to hang out all night long! We started with a road trip up to the Doyle Hotel to hang out with Steve Mazur. It’s been a while since I caught one of his shows. The bar was full and everyone was having a great night! Thanks Steve for “All Along the Watchtower”. I’m telling ya, I’m gonna get myself one of those cool foot tambourines so I can play along next time! Steve is a full one-man band, playing all kinds of fun instruments during his shows.
After Steve, we ended our night swinging into the Sturges Speakeasy for The Exactlys. The Exactlys haven been playing area stages for 10 years. It’s awesome seeing these two friends jamming and having a blast together. Their fans were just as much of the show as the guys themselves. You can tell they’ve all been enjoying their shows for years, and they are practically part of the show themselves.
My last night out this month was a twofer, I first stopped at XL Live to see Steel opening for Crazy Train. It’s always a blast seeing some of my local faves jamming the big stage. Steel has been busy lately and it’s cool to see their schedule grow. These guys work hard and deserve all the fans they can get! After their set I headed down to Horn Pub for the end of Matt Jameson Live’s show. It was cool to see old friends and new friends at the Horn Pub. It’s a blast hanging out with friends, but it’s also super cool seeing people hear Matt for the first time, and truly appreciate every song! It was a very awesome night of music. I’m so proud of all of my musical friends! You can check out Steel and Matt’s ads in this issue and get out there and support these awesome musicians for yourself!
My birthday month officially ended with a trip down to Fort Lee to visit Zack at his AIT training. It was a perfect day getting a chance to celebrate with my son, for his birthday and for mine! It was a whirlwind of a trip, but I’m so glad he’s close enough that we can take the opportunity to go see him. It’s nice I can text or call him now, but it’s super special to get a nice, big hug!
Rocktober will be another amazing month of music! I’m looking forward to the 6th Annual Music Festival to rock with my friends and support the Children’s Miracle Network on Saturday, October 11th at the Mechanicsburg Picnic Grounds. You can check out the ad in this issue for more information, and the information for a bunch of other shows throughout the month. Do yourself a favor, and get out there and go SUPPORT LIVE MUSIC!
