Dukes Fans:
i love words and have loved them since I was a kid. They educate me,
infuriate me, confuse me, please me, mystify me, humor me,educate me,
and much, much more. When I was a kid my mother subscribed to Reader's
Digest, Ebony, and the National Geographic, and I consumed them all. The
Geographic and Ebony often used words I had to look up in our
dictionary. Reader's Digest had vocabulary quizzes, crosswords, and a
feature called "Word Power' that built your vocabulary. Naturally, I
always did very well on vocabulary quizzes in elementary school. That
love of language still motivates me.
I
have a well-used dictionary and thesaurus, although I now mostly look
up words online. I like to find out the etymology of words; where they
originated and how they evolved. And in much of my writing and speaking I
try to be conscious of just what I am saying. I used to drive my middle
school students crazy telling them that that new movie they were
talking about or their new jeans were not really "Awesome!" "Awesome," I
would tell them, "originally meant, extremely reverential" or "worthy
of God." "The Grand Canyon," I would say, "is truly awesome. That movie
is not." Of course, they would roll their eyes and groan.
I
am thinking about this because i recently spent the better part of a
day watching several episodes of a History Channel Show entitled, America's Secret Slang.
It
is a show that shows the origins of some of our common words and
phrases such as, "bury the hatchet", "Y'all" and many more. It was
interesting to me see not only the meaning of so many terms but where
they originated. For example, many of the terms originated from military
experiences. "Bury the hatchet" comes from Eastern Woodland Native
Americans who would literally bury a hatchet to signify acceptance of a
treaty. Of course, the origins of some of these words is still up for
debate-does, "Bite the Bullet" really come from soldiers biting a bullet
when undergoing operations without anesthesia, for example. But it was a
fascinating several hours for me spent delving into the meanings of
many words and phrase with which we are familiar.
You have to subscribe to The History Channel to watch all the episodes
of Americas Secret slang. There are a few bits on YouTube, but not much.
There are also many other etymological sites on the web. of course, and
I invite you to take some time off from regular life and just enjoy
exploring some origins and meanings of things we probably say without
thinking. It could be fun... infuriating.... mystifying... etc, etc,
etc...
1) Tuesday, June 6th; Seger Playground; 10th and Lombard Sts. Philadelphia, PA 5:30-7:30
2) Monday, June 26-Lovett Library-Germantown Ave and Sedgwick Street, Philadelphia, PA; 6:30-8PM
3) Wednesday, June 28th Narberth Wednesday Series; 5-7PM: Haverford Ave and Narberth Ave, Narberth, PA
As the next three Dukes’ gigs indicate, it is spring and summer outdoor concert time. The Dukes love playing outdoor gigs- there is a wonderful mix of people of all ages, good food
always abounds, and there is spirit of good feeling in the
air. I especially love that kids get to see that music is made by
actual, real people and it is not just something on a stream or a video.
It is true fun. And these are three gigs that are in wonderful places.
Seger Playground is in my old stomping grounds; I used to live at 12th and Rodman St, literally two blocks away. It is a great spot in a great neighborhood. Lovett
is my local Philadelphia public library, and it is just two blocks away
from where I live now. I spend a lot of time there, and now I get to
spend time there playing as well as reading and taking out books.
Finally, Narberth
is one of my favorite small towns with great shops, a nice library, and
plenty of good restaurants. We are fortunate to have these gigs and we
invite you to come to any and/or all of them. Great sounds in great places. Hope to see you there.
Our next two gigs are in two wonderful small towns west of
Philadelphia. Both Kennett and West Chester feature very walkable
downtowns with plenty of great shops, interesting architecture,
and lots of friendly people. They also feature great food! Letty's is
one of Kennett's favorite dining places with creative and original food
offerings as well as some old favorites.They also have great brews. We played here several months ago, and
loved both the ambiance and the food. We are glad to be back. The Jack
Lowe Plaza in West Chester has nearby bars and restaurants with great
food and a welcoming vibe. We love plying
in this town and are happy to be joining thousands of others around the
world welcoming summer with International World Music Day. Come visit either or both of the great small towns, and then come enjoy the music of Johnny Never and John Colgan-Davis.
The Sunday Blues Jam; Jamey’s House of Music; 32 S Lansdowne Ave; Lansdowne, PA:215-477-9895 ; House band set from 12-1PM: open jam from 1-3:00 pm. No cover.
Blues lovers and players have made Jamey's Sunday Blues Jam the place for great blues jamming, really good and inexpensive eats, ales on tap, fresh ground coffee and espresso, and friendly people who love the blues. Each
Sunday features an hour long set by a house band, and then an open jam
until 3PM. Most Sundays the great Philly Blues Kings, featuring guitar
and keyboard ace Dave Reiter, do the 1 hour set, and on the second Sunday of the month The Roger Girke-John
Colgan-Davis Project do it. Got an instrument? Sing? Just want to
listen to some exciting blues? Come on out and take part in this great
blues jam with great food and wonderful liquid refreshments; it is a
great time.
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