The Music of Kaitlin Lang & the Comedy of Ken Frye

Posted on November 4, 2011 by Carla

September-November @ Jozart

Posted on September 9, 2011 by Carla

Saturday, September 24 – “Your Forgotten Friend”, winners of the first annual Youth Battle of the Bands, will perform with “Scheduled Reality” and another act TBA. Doors open at 7:30 pm. Tickets $5. All ages, alcohol free event.

Date TBA – Poet Ken Frye will perform with Lyricist Kaitlin Lang. Doors open at 7:30 pm, Show begins at 8. Ticket prices TBA. All ages, alcohol free event.

Wednesday, October 26 – Annual Open Mic Halloween Party. Come in costume. Prizes awarded. Event begins at 8 p.m., is free and open to the public, and is alcohol free.

Thursday, October 27 – “Black Syrup” Art Exhibit Opening, featuring the work of artist Matthew Holesapple. Exhibit opens at 12 Noon.

November 17 & 18 – Second annual “Aspiring Architects” workshop/competition

Saturday, November 19 – Second annual “Youth Talent Revue” featuring the talents of area pre-professional youth including dancer Allen Free and musicians Cat Zisk and Sully Dunn. Doors open at 7:30 pm, show begins at 8. All ages, alcohol free event.

Other events TBA

Regular, weekly events: Wednesday Open Mic Nights from 8-11 pm with host Peter Wright. Performers sign up for slots. All ages, alcohol free event. Open Easel Sessions with artist Terry Binkney on Mondays from 10 am-9 pm and Wednesdays from 10 am-5 pm. Zumba with Lynne Hayes Langley Saturdays at 10 am and Thursdays at 7:30 pm. Yoga with Paula Sabo Tuesdays at 5 pm.

Jozart continues to offer guitar, mandolin and drum instruction by appointment with Duane Galensky and Rob Berletich, respectively. Also, the facility is available for rental for your special event.

FMI, visit the Jozart site at www.jozart.com or call 724-938-9730.

Open Mic – Booked Solid (August 17, 2011)

Posted on August 23, 2011 by Carla

Greetings open mic fans,

It seems like the fall rush has started early (at open mic, not the Greek orgs). We just had a lot of performers and quite a few audience members last week and schools (and this college) haven’t even started yet. Regrettable we were unable to give away a monkey since they were apparently all locked in their cage and I don’t have a key. Luckily, I managed to liberate enough of them for at least the next few weeks.

Anyway, I played first with the inimitable Garret on box drum and some vocals. We did a nice set and I probably would have played longer if less people had been appearing. None of them wanted to go “first” so Garret stepped up. He did a great Talking Heads cover and (a rarity for him) a sort of mainstream song, Petty’s You’re So Bad. His originals rounded out a strong set.

Marty Z. graced us with his presence again and performed an original about his truck, some classic country sounds and a song a friend of his wrote in Nashville which was certainly ready to broadcast on the radio. Charles played a number of his originals and proved once again that he can write strong hooks that drive songs. His fans were not disappointed. 12 til Midnight played next and consisted of a singer with Charles on guitar and another guitar player. All three perform well and sound good together.

Yes, even Jesse Kitts and Mallory were back (Jesse performed). Jesse played a selection of his (original) greatest hits such as (wrong names) Sun Bulb and Snow. His passion and the good songs kept everyone’s attention. Allen Free played a few songs such as those by Bright Eyes (I missed part of his set) and did a great job running the coffee shop. Josh Gilotty covered Folsom Prison, For What It’s Worth and Heaven’s Door among other songs.

The next Josh (Feick) (who also played at the Saturday Pig Roast on Scenery Hill as did Cat Zisk) played a solo set including a Blink 182 song which Jesse must have liked since he was wearing a Blink 182 shirt as well as his well-known song about being really angry at someone. Finally, the Sammy Downs Band came onstage as a trio with two guitars and a singer/tambourine player. They are tuning up for a real gig and have a very interesting sound. Basically the singer is strong and they are a few rehearsals away from getting paid regularly.

And so, we packed up and went home (where I rested from all this action),

See you Wednesday and please sign up early if you want to be sure to get a slot.

Best wishes,

Peter

September & October @ Jozart

Posted on August 23, 2011 by Carla

Jozart Center for the Arts will offer the following classes beginning in late August:

Zumba with Lynne now on Thursdays at 7:30 p.m. as well as on Saturdays at 10 a.m.
Yoga with Paula Sabo now on Tuesdays at 5 p.m.
Guitar & mandolin instruction by appointment with Duane Galensky.
Drum instruction by appointment with Rob Berletich.

Open Art Sessions with artist-in-residence Terry Binkney are held twice weekly on Mondays from 10 a.m.-9 p.m. and Wednesdays from 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

In keeping with a decade long tradition, Jozart Center for the Arts holds a weekly “Open Mic” event from 8-11 p.m. This event is for all ages and is alcohol free. Musicians, poets, comedians and artists of all types are invited to sign up for a performance slot. The Center’s coffee shop is open during “Open Mic” and offers coffee, tea, soda, water and light refreshments.

Mark your calendars: Wednesday, October 26 is the date of the Center’s annual “Open Mic” Halloween Party. Come in costume. Prizes awarded for best costumes. Thursday, October 27, an exhibit featuring works by Matthew Holesapple and Jared Altamare will open. A meet and greet reception with the artists will be held beginning at 6 p.m.

For more information about classes or events, please call the Center at 724-938-9730 or email carla@jozart.com.

Open Mic – Busy, Busy, Busy (August 10, 2011)

Posted on August 17, 2011 by Carla

Greetings music fans,

Last week the open mic was in full fall form despite the fact that it is still summer. We had a strong turnout and a lot of good music. I started out and had only played a song or two when Garret arrived. We worked over Annabelle, I Walk the Line (Garret singing), and Johnny Too Bad among others. We sounded pretty tight I might add.

After us 12 ’til Midnight played with our old friend Charles and his friend. It was mostly two guitars and one voice, but they also did a nice duet. The friend did some good picking too. Charles rounded out their set with some solo covers “Dance All Day, Talk All Night” whatever song that is and a few others. His originals tend to have strong hooks.

Chris Sovereign took the stage for some anime-related stand-up. Luckily some of the audience knew enough to play along and he got a respectable reaction. In case you forgot, doing stand-up well is very hard. Garret had fun with “When You’re a Boy” (Boys Work it Out). He also played a number of his originals although not ones I recognized too well. He did a very nice cover of It’s All Over Now Baby Blue which he said was based on the Them version that I didn’t know existed.

Izaac Short and Josh Gilotty performed next with a two guitars one singer approach. Both can play leads well so it was fun to watch. I think they are still working up their act. Cat and Sully then played the three songs they wrote together (as in two weeks ago) but they sounded tighter and the details were cleaner. One of them has real jazzy elements as well. I suspect practice had occurred! They also tried several of each others’ songs as a duo like Chemistry and (If You Would) Be My Girlfriend.

AJ closed the action as we pushed up against 11 PM with a couple of songs like his original No Matter What You Do. All in all, it was a good night of strong music and non-stop entertainment. Luckily the rumored strange visitor in town event did not occur although a few people were on edge for the first hour.

Anyway, see you tomorrow at the Jozart open mic, 8-11.
Best wishes,
Peter