Catching up!

Well Rockin' 4 Gleaners was a success, the exact totals are to be done today. Shadowglen blew away the audience away with classic covers and their classy originals. Lauren Alm did two sets due to the size of audience she brought that night and got a paid gig out of it! How cool! This is the way it's supposed to work.

Since that time we have been blessed with the holiday of Thanksgiving and someone's long lost son made his way home to reconcile. It IS all about being thankful and I know one dad who truly is.

On Black Friday we ran a very successful blood drive for the Red Cross at the Well---24 while two other blood drives were going on in the county! Mike Lenninger made some great chili to go along with our juice and cookies and in contained a secret ingredient....M&M's. Then this writer got to spend Thanksgiving with his children at Zukey Lake Tavern. Why Zukey? Easy, KayLyn Pace was warming up for Justine Blazer, had to KayLyn again!

Our December show is shaping up to be an afternoon craft show on the 18th. It will be everyone's last chance for Christmas gifts, we'll have door prizes, music, food---just in the afternoon this time, noon-5 at the Well. More details coming as they become official.

That's it for now, got to get to work and make things a reality. Until then, keep your stick on the ice and stay tuned.

It's in, it's in...

Our first newspaper add hit the stands yesterday, today it can be seen on page 4A. There's the possibility of a write up about us tomorrow---but no guarantee. But there IS an ad :)

Tomorrow we pick up the candi we're giving away to EVERY person who comes to the show Saturday. This sweet creation is done by none other than Oh My Lolli so many thanks to them. But what is really cool is the logo, yes the logo...Performances @ The Well, thanks to Raquel at Oh My Lolli has it's own logo now to begin branding. It's slick and made three grown men go "Wow" almost simultaneously as the attachment opened for our review. These candi's are a collector's item and will only be available one night, the night of our anniversary this Saturday.

Met with Michelle at Gleaner's today and optimism is a good way to describe our meeting. Michelle and I have worked together for almost two years now and this is most excited we have been. Still have to finalize some details with our friends at Bufallo Wild Wings but all systems seem to be a "go".

Last night in Ann Arbor, Trevor Smith won the opportunity to advance to Atlanta next spring in the Skull Factory tour. This wasn't just a typical competition, this was a regional step within the national contest. Whether he wins or not in Atlanta is not as important as him getting there, having this on his resume and the networking/contacts he is making almost insures him of steady work in his dream field next year. Way to go Trevor, we're all very proud of you.

Until tomorrow keep your stick on the ice and stay tuned.

Show's approaching...

With our November show of Performances @ The Well approaching I took some time off and went to the Open Mic at Memories last night. The Michigan Musician's Collective holds these Open Mic's on the 1st and 3rd Monday of each month at Memories as well as countless locations throughout southeastern Michigan. I always encourage performers to register at this site and begin networking with others. Some performers do and some don't, but all seem to say the same thing "there's no place to play". Well there is no excuse for that really. I mean some of the venues may be a drive and tough to do on weeknight but, I'm sitting at Memories with five other people and just that morning I heard a guitar picker moan "man I wish there was a place to jam".

I went to network myself and meet long time correspondent pal Bob Clarke who was running the show. To my delight I got to meet Kees Oosthoek the administrator of Michigan Musician's Collective site and it's founder. I told them both the work they are doing in fabulous and under appreciated. So from now on, when I get notice of an Open Mic, I'm going to post it here and follow up with my performers to see if they're taking advantage of it. Speaking of which...

there is an Open Mic tonight :

Time: November 16, 2010 at 7pm to December 27, 2011 at 11pm

Location: Billy's Tip'n Inn, White Lake, MI

Organized By: Phil Vigelius
Event Description:Open Mic jam hosted by Phill Vigelius.Equipment: PA, drums, keyboard, 1 bass amp , 1 guitar ampAll styles welcome

Tomorrow's Stray Dog session in Milford has been cancelled, set to resume the Wednesday after Thanksgiving.

Also, for those of you lucky enough to see KayLyn Pace at the Cystic Fibrosis show last month, she will be at Zukey Lake Tavern on the 26th. KayLyn will be warming up for Nashville recording star Justine Blazer. Get there early for a good seat, Zukey traditionally fills early on a Friday and even earlier when there's music---hope to see you there.

This Saturday's show marks the first time we have taken out a newspaper ad, one that will run this Wed., Thur., and Friday. There is the "possibility" though remote that they may do a feature on our work with this series, but no guarantee. Also we will be handing out commemorative candies from Oh My Lolli to mark this special occasion for us. This is THE season the help Gleaners so come out, rock your socks off and kick off the holiday season with us, Shadowglen and Lauren Alm.

Until tomorrow, keep your stick on the ice and stay tuned.

Performances @ The Well this Sat.

Finalizing details for this month's show on Saturday. Remember it's for Gleaners and as usual we have some music you can't afford to miss. The 2nd Annual Rockin' 4 Gleaners, this Saturday at 8pm; the November installment of "Performances @ The Well".

Runnin' behind

Here we are a week and a half away from our November show and there are many final details. Such is the norm I guess so we could say "business as usual", on the other hand...

WHMI is going to start plugging the show soon and tomorrow I meet with a representative from the "third estate", should be invigorating. Met a sketch comedy troupe today networking, we're having coffee tomorrow at Whitmore Lake Tavern---yeah I know, "tavern" but it is a family restaurant that has breakfast. Now if it was an afternoon meeting, that might be different.

On the comedy front, here is the latest on stand up Trevor Smith:

This Saturday at Lafftracks in Novi, Trevor is in the second round of competition for a prize of $1,000. This show is sold out but it is rumored they are taking names in case of cancellations---interested in trying, call 313-694-3236 for more details.

Then next Wednesday in Ann Arbor will be the regional phase of the Laughing Skull Festival where finalists will be going to Atlanta next spring. This is a huge test for Trevor that could propel his career. It is a 8pm show on the 17th and tickets can be purchased online at http://www.aacomedy.com/ or http://www.skullfestival.com/ and they are $10 each.

What for posters finally making it to the store fronts tomorrow and hopefully some paper ads by weekend. Until later, keep your stick on the ice and stay tuned.

Big Day Tuesday

Yeah, last Tuesday was a big day, no doubt about that, but tomorrow is different. Starting off we're going to the Chamber breakfast and networking event at Zukey Lake Tavern. A fantastic event that most businesses can't wait for.

Just finished our first set of sponsorship packages, they will be our presentation at the breakfast and then we have two (not just one) presentations in Ann Arbor later in the day. Pretty excited, pretty nervous but also pretty confident. We got a product here that everyone can love and benefit from so we're running with it.

By now I hope you all have checked out Shadowglen, if not I know you'll be impressed come the 20th. Lauren Alm, my accompanist during announcements will be opening the show again and we may have another surprise guest do a couple numbers. But let's not forget the night belongs to Gleaners. This IS the Second Annual Rockin' 4 Gleaners after all.

Have to go now, up late attending to details. Until tomorrow, keep your stick on the ice and stay tuned.

Advertising!

Tomorrow we're going to do something radical, something that is almost unheard of these days...we're going to talk to the newspaper and possibly even the radio station about advertising Performances @ The Well. Not many think of these traditional avenues of promotion in today's era of social media, but we've been counting the days until we could include them in our marketing. Expensive? Maybe compared to doing nothing...but it's something advertisers ask us and with good reason.

Not many communities have a daily newspaper---but we do. Very few communities have their own radio station---but we do. Let's be grateful and work together on this. Then again they might be too expensive yet for us but, they still will be on the horizon for us. But we feel it's a bullet that has to be bitten and now is the best time. Why now? The November show at the Well will be our one year anniversary, so that is reason for some special celebration, some special promotion. How it will all work out we can't tell you but we're moving forward with this special event with a lot of pride and optimism. Thank you all for helping making the Performances @ The Well something special for us, our performers and of course, the groups we raise funds for.

Until tomorrow sometime, block out November 20th on your calender for our show, keep your stick on the ice and stay tuned!

A brief bio of Shadowglen...

Shadowglen is a dynamic cover band for alternative, metal, and rock music. We combine two generations of musicians with parents mentoring their kids and friends into a high energy rock and roll band. Curious? Check us out at www.shadowglenband.com. Join us on Facebook.

Shadowglen focuses on covering contemporary rock music from alternative, metal, and classic genres. Our covers include music from Three Days Grace, Bullet for My Valentine, Avenged Sevenfold, A Day to Remember, and others. Also classic tunes from the Who, Led Zeppelin, and Journey.

The band started in the summer of 2009 as a way to give high school kids the opportunity to play some rock and roll. We started with our son Miles on guitar, our percussionist Jay's son Tim on drums, Jay's nephew Tyler on violin, then pulled in neighbors and friends Kevin and Alexis to round things out. In the process of getting this going, we discovered we had good chemistry and have put together a solid song list of good, contemporary rock music.

Shadowglen is.....

Miles Sutphen - Lead Guitar
Kevin Willmann - Lead Vocals, Bass Guitar
Alexis Callis - Lead Vocals
Tim Elliott - Drums, Percussion
Tyler Lee - Violin, Percussion
Jay Elliott - Percussion, Drums, Vocals
Denise Sutphen - Lead Vocals, Acoustic Guitar
Tom Sutphen - Keyboards, Arrangements, Vocals

Tom and Denise Sutphen have been performing together since 1985 when they were introduced in the trio, Gunshy. Since the early 90's, they've gone by the name of Two Steps Higher playing various area bars and events. Tom and Jay Elliott performed together in the rockin' soul band, "Soul Provider", at area clubs, casinos, private parties and events from 2004-2008. Jay continues to lead "Soul Provider". Together, they bring over 30 years of professional performance experience to the group.

Shadowglen, 11/20 @ The Well

Performances @ The Well for Nov. 2010 - Rockin' 4 Gleaners

Here are the first publicity shots we received from our Rockin' 4 Gleaners headliners, Shadowglen. We think you'll see why we referred to them as a "mega" group. Awesome range and versatility so you'll be blown away with contemporary & classic covers as well as great originals. Tickets for Rockin' 4 Gleaners are available through this office, Gleaners (ask for Michelle), and event brite http://www.wellperformancegleaners.eventbrite.com/

Bio and more information on this great group coming shortly. Until then, keep your stick on the ice and stay tuned.