A Fun Fundraiser and Local Joys

DUKES FANS:   

Local Times and Specialness 

I have been on the Philadelphia are music scene for over half a century...lol...a long time. And I truly love it. In fact, I wrote a piece back in September of 2021 about the pleasure and joys of being a local musician. It is, to me, a very special gift to have a home base from which to play and to work. 

I am thinking about this because I felt all that joy and specialness this past Sunday at the Memphis Stomp fundraiser for Johnny Never and I for our January trip to the IBC in Memphis. Jamey's House of Music was filled, and It was great to see so many folks from so many places. There were people there from just about my entire music and teaching career. The Dukes of Destiny used to play monthly at The North Star Bar in Fairmount, and there were two folks at the fundraiser who used to see us there way back then. There were folks from the Mermaid Inn, The Flash, some of The Dukes’ outdoor concerts, Jamey’s, of course, and more. There were folks who have seen Johnny and I together over the past four years in various breweries and clubs in DE and PA, including St George’s Country Store, Letty’s restaurant, Jamey’s, of course, and other places. There were a couple of ex-students and neighbors as well. It was a good cross section of important parts of my life.  

   And the musicians...I had not heard Gary Cogdell play acoustically in years, and it was great to hear his versions of Robert Johnson songs and his own material. Roger Girke and Jimmy Pritchard are two of my favorite players, and I am lucky to have known and played with them for a while. I can’t remember the last time I saw Fred Miller, and it was great to hear and see him again. And Harmonica Slim is one of my favorites on the local scene. I so loved all of the music. 

   Most impressive to me, though, were all of the helpers and workers. When I taught history, I always focused heavily on the workers-the infrastructure. Any society, and especially any civilization, is all dependent on its infrastructure-the workers and what they make and do. Dave, Marla and Allie at the door; Ellen and Carol at the raffle table, Greg, Meghan, and all of the other Jamey’s workers, including SuYun in the kitchen, all contributed to the smoothness and joy of the event. Thanks to all of them we had a great time. 

   Sunday’s fundraiser will be get us to Memphis, but we do want to and have to get back. The second and final fundraiser is January 7th at “Delaware Veterans Post #2”; 129 Pear Street, Dover, DE. It runs from noon until 5PM. There will be great live music provided by  best blues artists including Roger Girke, Jimmy Pritchard, Harmonica Slim, Diamond Jim Greene, and The Johns. For more info go to 

https://johnnynever.com/international-blues-challenge- 

And if you can’t make the concert but still want to donate, there is a “Donate” button at that link. Thank you all so much. It is a joy to play for and to represent you folks!

(if you want to read the newsletter about being a local musician it is on John's Blog on the Dukes website, September 2021)