Rockin' 4 Gleaners 11/19

Back again...man it seems like its been weeks since I wrote anything. Well, actually it has, shame on me :) Performances @ The Well for November is our 3rd Annual Rockin' 4 Gleaners featuring the young teen phenoms...Forget The Obvious! And no I'm not making fun of my lack of memory...that's their name! Forget The Obvious, and they rock. If you rock at any level, at any age, you'll love these kids.

Alzheimer's show approaching

On Sept. 17 the Performances @ The Well continues with a musical fundraiser for Alzheimer's. Performing that evening will be Arnie Smith and the band 2nd Chance Rocks.











A great night of classic covers from the 60's, 70's & 80's. Don't miss this show!

Fantasy Band continues...

Ok we closed out the Bass Player competition recently. We heard from Dusty Hill fans, Chris Squire, Roger Glover, Stanley Clarke and one Geddy Lee nomination. All excellent choices, but the reasons they were nominated were even better. We got some great stories, not too many we can print...but we got stories.

Here is a reprint of an entry I wrote over two years ago about my main man Joe Bouchard. I know it's being lazy, but nothing has changed in the story :) LOL So here is my entry into the fantasy band and why.

REPRINT from Feb. 11, 2009

So for my fantasy Bass Player...Joe Bouchard, a founding member of Blue Oyster Cult. I had the opportunity to meet Joe, his brother Albert and Eric Bloom back in 1978 at Discount Records the afternoon of their show in Lansing. Joe and I immediately hit it off and had a great conversation. Now I'm not going to try and tell you that Joe and I are best buds thereby making him my favorite Bass Player, but I was impressed with the genuine warmth he shared with me in our time together. Albert and Eric seemed preoccupied with the mob of fans at the store but Joe's eyes and mine met and he greeted me with a smile and asked me how I was doing. Asked ME how I was doing! This from someone who didn't have to give me the time of day. Naturally I got his autograph but the thing that I remember most is that we had a conversation! Now this STILL isn't the reason he is my favorite Bass Player. The reason is this...by the time I first saw B.O.C. later that evening I had already been to 30-40 rock shows and Joe was the first Bass Player I ever saw do a solo---and it blew me away! Since then, I have seen others attempt this feat, but none have succeeded to the level Joe did. Joe's bass playing was an integral part of the B.O.C. sound and something that (and please no offense to Eric, Don and Allan) was sadly missed when he left the band. His brother Albert left the band first, replaced by Rick Downey, but when Joe left the soul of the band left with it in my incredibly bias opinion. Again my apologies to the surviving members of B.O.C. and the individuals who replaced the Bouchard brothers, but if you want to get the "feel" of the B.O.C. check out albums up to, but not past "Fire of an Unknown Origin". Would I still see B.O.C. when they come to town even without the Bouchards---yes, just like I would still go to see Pete and Roger from the Who, but I think even they would agree they're not the same with out Keith and John.

Remember, Right Turn Only rocks at Performances @ The Well this Saturday at 8pm! Until later keep your stick on the ice and stay tuned.

Performances @ The Well, May 2011

This Saturday night is our monthly fundraising show and we're raising funds for the Well's Mission Trip to Mexico. Performing will be Right Turn Only, doors open at 7, show will begin at 8.

We're pleased to say that we have some great "bucket raffle" items to help raise money. Karen Huckabone the photographer has given us a coupon as has Sue Stevenson, the Pilate instructor at Hamburg Fitness. Then, Karla Griscom from LaFontaine came through with TWQ free oil changes. More to come on this event in the following days, so stay tuned.

Tomorrow...

Sorry about the previous post, we usually like to stay on the side of entertainment but that expo rant was needed. So, back to the really important issues at hand, tomorrow nights show.

Performances @ The Well for April will be featuring a comedy show raising money for Pinckney H.S. Football. We are fortunate to have Darnell Anderson hosting a half stand-up, half improv show that has been in development for several months. Comedy is needed in this area so this could be the beginning of something big here. You will want to be present this Saturday. Tickets will be available at the door as well as on Eventbrite.

As for our band contest, entries have been slow, you all are probably waiting for our first nomination to set the stage. Well, it's been slow and we don't want to detract from tomorrow's show, but we have eliminated Chris Squire from our Bass player competition. Nothing against Chris, just that we're leaning more towards either Roger or Joe as our all-time Bass player.

We hope to see you all tomorrow night. Good times are planned by all. Until later, keep your stick on the ice and stay tuned.

KayLyn is Merchandising & 3DaddyO is class!

This was the fifth time I have seen KayLyn since the Brighton Summerfest and each time she amazes me. Last Friday at the Pierson Fundraiser we actually had to put out a concessions table for her stuff. She had 8x10's and posters for sale and she was autographing them, trying to build her following and it was great.

I don't know which I get a kick out of more, the older, more mature patrons who are just in amazement over KayLyn, or the little girls who just idolize her. Both are excellent to watch her interact with. Autographing her own likeness is a new step for KayLyn and she handled it with the same style and grace she has handled every other challenge in her career. She also does something real classy that a lot of older, more experienced performers could take a lesson from---she stays to see the other acts. I don't see that enough really, but she shows respect and treats others with dignity. Something that is appreciated and noted by the acts that see her there for them.

Now continuing with class let's talk 3DaddyO. By the time 3DaddyO hit the stage, the raffled items had finished and the place was clearing out. Now here's where I see a lot of performers (of all ages and experience) fall short. When there is a small crowd certain performers start to whine or hold back from their performance. They prefer to wait until the crowd is bigger etc. etc. Well I have had to tell many a band that if you're getting paid, the customer doesn't want to hear excuses. I MC and I know it is tough to put on an act for a small crowd, but I have to do it because I have been contracted to do a "show". Now here is where 3DaddyO excelled, they played a full set and everyone there loved it! When I complimented them on it they said they just get caught up in playing. If you love to play, things like audience size don't matter---how brilliant! For those of us who remained, we appreciated them and they appreciated us, it was magical. A valuable lesson for the wannabe performers out there.

Well that's all for now. I do want to thank Kelly Fielding for introducing me to Anne Marie Scrivens and I wish to thanks Anne Marie for putting so much trust in me. Got to run, more later, so remember, stay tuned.

Fundraiser for Faith Medical Clinic

Today more than ever the health care situation is crucial to our society because more and more Americans cannot afford health care coverage. If it wasn't for the Faith Medical Clinic, the only free clinic in Livingston county, thousands would be without the health care they so desperately need. On February 19th at the Well, we have a chance to help with this predicament. Come show your support on that Saturday evening by enjoying some great music, sharing some fellowship and walking away knowing you did your part to help. This isn't just any fundraiser, this one's for all of us! Until next time, keep your stick on the ice and stay tuned!

More to come!

I'm sure you all know the story of the Pierson family, a tragedy that has hit most of us emotionally. If you have ever thought about hugging your children, do it now and do it often. Life is too short and one can never predict the changes that can be thrown at us.

It has been our honor to assist in the Friends of the Pierson Family Fund Raiser set for Feb. 25th at Highlander Way Middle School in Howell. Anne-Marie Scrivens, a realtor in Howell, has done an amazing amount of work in putting this event together and she has come to us to fine tune some details. We appreciate the opportunity to serve and want to send out a big thank you to the community of performers who have responded to the call and wished to be part of this. When we put this out there for help we were overwhelmed with responses. To the artists of all genres, God bless you all---we are proud to be associated and work with you. With a deadline approaching, it really came down to a first come, first serve basis. That said, let us give kudos to those who will be working with Anne-Marie on the 25th.

Let me first send a shout out to Bob Clark and Kees Oosthoek that manage possibly the greatest web site any musician could know, the Michigan Musicians Collective. If you a performer you need to be connected with these guys and get on this site. If you're not a performer, go there and check out a really cool site and you will see constant updates of Open Mics and Open Jams all over the area that you can go to and enjoy great local performers. Anyways this site, http://michigan-musicians.ning.com/ was instrumental with the numbers for response and feedback we got for this show. So kudos to Bob and Kees---you guys rock!

Our first act on the 25th will be KayLyn Pace from Dexter. Some of you may remember KayLyn from the Cystic Fibrosis show we did and she is a phenom in the making. Our main performer is the great rock/blues band 3DaddyO. Call Anne-Marie @ 517-219-3086 for more details.

Upcoming Shows/Events!

Performances @ The Well series for Feb. 2011 features a fundraiser for the Faith Medical Clinic, Pinckney, the only free clinic in Livingston county. The show will feature Right Turn Only! Performances @ The Well for February is on Saturday, February 19th at 8pm. Tickets are $10 and available at Brighton Tropi Tan, BT's Guitar Shop in South Lyon, here at the Lamocu office and through Event Brite.

Hope 4 Autism, Jan. 15, 2011

Please join us on Saturday, January 15th at 8pm for a very special show featuring Howell's own budding star - Lauren Alm. Tickets are $10 and available at Brighton Tropi Tan, BT's Guitar shop in South Lyon, here at Lamocu and now on Event Brite http://wellperformancefaithmed.eventbrite.com/.

More later, until then keep your stick on the ice and Stay Tuned.

Performances @ The Well in January

January 15th, 2011 - The Hope For Autism Foundation

The Performances @ The Well series for 2011 kicks off on January 15, 2011 with a musical fundraiser for the Hope For Autism Foundation. The show will feature Lauren Alm from Howell and special guests. There will be certificates and coupon books to raffle and sell from our great sponsor Buffalo Wild Wings of Howell, a craft show in the afternoon leading up to the show and Tony's Hot Dogs will be handling concessions again for us. Show time is 8pm but there will be a charity craft show during the day in the Youth area up front. For more information on the craft show, interested parties may contact Ms. Sabrina Ramey, Marketing Mgr. of Lamocu Productions @ 1-517-294-9559.

Lauren is a great folk singer with original and cover material that will captivate and entertain any age group. Lauren is a Howell HS grad currently attending Specks Howard for audio engineering. This is truly a family show that everyone can enjoy and families is what this charity is all about---ensuring that children with Autism have structure and support as they enter their adult years.

For more information on Hope for Autism check out www.hopeforautismmi.com

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.

One of those things...

Performaces @ The Well for October will be a variety show for Cystic Fibrosis as you may know by now. But what you might not know yet is the young phenom Kaylyn Pace and you should.

At barely 15 Kaylyn has a stage presence and confidence that put her years ahead of her age. We've seen veterans of the club circuit who lacked many of the qualities that Kaylyn has. You might recall that LeAnne Rimes and Taylor Swift both hit the big time before their 18th birthday and we feel Kaylyn has positioned herself to do the same. Catch her while you can at this October 16th show at the Well.

For more information on Kaylyn check out www.myspace.com/kaylynpacemusic and for booking information, join her fan club or sign up for her newsletter just write Kelly4pace@yahoo.com

Tickets for the show as always are $10 and available through this office or on the web through Event Brite, http://wellperformancecysticfibrosis.eventbrite.com/

More later, for now thanks for reading along and stay tuned.

Local comic comes home for benefit show!

Award winning local comic Trevor Smith will be part of the entertainment on Ocotober 16th when Performances At The Well hold a fundraiser for Cystic Fibrosis. Trevor will be the final act in an evening full of music and comedy.

Trevor a graduate of Pinckney High School is an award winning comic who has worked with such national performers such as Kyle Cease and Louie Anderson. Trevor is also a regular at nationally known local clubs such as Joey's and Mark Ridley's.

Also performing that evening will be the duo from Milford, John & Rick and the young phenom Kaylyn Pace---both veterans from this year's Brighton Summerfest. In between all this we have some "old guys" doing comedy sketches. We will have our usual gift certificates from our friends at Buffalo Wild Wings to raffle off as well as some swell bucket raffle items.

Tickets are $10 and available through Event Brite http://wellperformancecysticfibrosis.eventbrite.com/ or by contacting us here at Lamocu 810-623-8131 or through Mr. Mike Eaton @ 810-623-2058.

More to come on this, in the meantime we suggest you educate yourself a little on Cystic Fibrosis. We were amazed at what families who have this in their lives must go through on a daily basis and we think you will be too. Until then, keep your stick on the ice and stay tuned!

Performance @ The Well 7/17/10

This Saturday the Performance @ The Well series continues with a musical fundraiser for the American Red Cross. Open Mic will feature the very talented Kali Mills who will be on her way to American Idol auditions in Minnesota next week. Then we will be entertained by the very talented duo of John Bonham and Rick Thompson...or as their fans may know them...John & Rick...or...Rick & John.

Either way you look at it, or them, you will be treated to a great night of local entertainment while supporting organization we all need, our

American Red Cross!

That's it for now, until tomorrow, stay tuned.