SINGER/SONGWRITERS IN THE SIDE ROOM PRESENTS KERRY REGAN OF WATKINS AND THE RAPIERS

Hi,

This blog started out giving you posts of the songwriter’s notes, lyrics, and music for my original songs. As with many things, it has gone in new directions. So, if you just started reading my post and are interested in my original material, here is a link to "The Road Less Traveled," one of my original songs. You can read about the song’s history, review the lyrics, and listen to the song. If you want to add the song to your playlist, you can download it at Amazon or iTunes.

On Thursday, 12/3, Kerry Regan will be our performer in the “Side room” at Buffalo Bill’s. Kerry, who regularly performs with the group, Watkins and the Rapiers, will be showcasing a special show of his original material. I hope this little description from the Watkins and the Rapiers’ web site entices you to come to Kerry’s show!
“We play mostly original music, written by the band’s four songwriters. It’s Americana music, folk music with a beat, exploring many genres, rather than calculating a sound to fit a marketing category.

We had our first performance in January 1996. At the time, we weren’t a band, but friends who took turns hosting a weekly hootenanny / jam session with other musicians. The date, at the Rose & Crown, was arranged by our crowd’s mandolin / fiddle player, but the opportunity came up too quickly, and he was unable to participate. So Scott Regan asked the mandolin / fiddle player from his band, the Water Street Boys, to join us that night. Always up for a musical challenge, Bruce Diamond accepted. He raised us to a new level, and the next thing we knew, we were the bar’s Wednesday night band.

For that first job, bar manager Will Taggert had taken out an ad in advance, before he knew who would perform. He called the band Watkins and the Rapiers, the name of his own band from his teenage years in England. (The name derived from an inexpensive electric guitar from the 1960s, the Watkins Rapier.) We didn’t have a name and figured taking on the bar owner’s choice was good politics. And that’s how we became Watkins & the Rapiers.

A few months into the gig, Bruce invited his old band mate, drummer Marty York, to sit in. Soon he was a regular, and our original six-member lineup was in place. We played about a year of Wednesday nights before we had a practice. It was fun, like bowling night, Bruce noted. We played a wide-ranging repertoire, including many original songs along with covers by the likes of Donovan, Steve Earle, Roger Miller, the Morells, John Prine, Jonathan Richman and the Troggs.

We began to practice only after we decided to record a CD of some of our original songs. That CD, Play Along with Watkins & the Rapiers, was recorded and released in 1997. In 1998 we staged the first of our annual Christmas shows. By writing a few new songs for that show each year, we have amassed more than 40 original Christmas songs.

By 1999, accordionist/guitarist/songwriter Rob Goodwin was preparing to move to Bozeman, Mont. To ensure we had a record of the leading songs in our repertoire, we recorded our second CD, What Ever Happened to Watkins and the Rapiers.

We took some time off after Rob left, and then reformed in 2002 as a five-piece, often with friends sitting in. In May 2006, we went back into the studio to record about two dozen songs, half of which are on our third CD, It’s Christmas, Baby!, which we released at our 2006 Christmas shows. The rest were released in 2010 on The Return of Watkins & the Rapiers.

In between, in 2007, two players who had been sitting in with us became full-time members: Steve Piper, who mainly plays electric guitar with the band, and Rick McRae on trombone and keyboards.

We continue to play at pubs, coffeehouses, cafes, concert halls, festivals, fundraisers and farmer’s markets.
The Band’s Members

Scott Regan (guitar, percussion and vocals) — the older of the two Regan brothers is one of the band’s four songwriters. He was a finalist in the Rounder Records songwriter contest, circa 1991. Co-founder with Colorblind James of the Water Street Boys, an Upstate New York jug band that has been active for more than two decades. Also performs solo. Has recorded two other CDs, one solo, the other with the Water Street Boys. morning disc jockey on WRUR-FM.

Kerry Regan (bass, guitar, harmonica and vocals) — Another songwriter, he has played in rock and bluegrass bands and solo in New York City and Upstate New York. Featured Saturday night performer at the Landmark “Toy Bar” in Park Slope, Brooklyn, in 1980s. Led the Electric Mudpies, who had radio airplay in major markets in 1991. Former music critic. Day job: marketing and public relations writer.

Tom Whitmore (bass, guitar, mandolin and vocals) — Another of the band's songwriters, “Whit” has performed for more than a quarter century, including a stint as lead guitarist with the Syracuse-based quartet, the Sputniks, which included two other Regan brothers, Phil and Craig. Has a strong repertoire of campfire sing-alongs. Day job: telecommunications executive.

Marty York (drums, percussion, washboard and vocals) — A 20-plus-year veteran of the Rochester music scene, Marty has played in dozens of bands over the years. His earliest performances included lip-synching to Alvin and the Chipmunks as a seven-year old and playing drums on Roger Miller songs at a sixth grade spaghetti dinner. His career highlight: meeting Ed Begley, Jr., Spinal Tap’s original drummer. Day job: dental lab manager.

Steve Piper (guitar, ukulele and vocals) — Steve Piper is a songwriter and performer who has two solo CDs. His style is roughly in the folk/country tradition, but he also loves Mozart, Stravinsky, Satie, John Coltrane, Hank Williams, Sandy Denny, Miles Davis, Merle Haggard, Capt. Beefheart, Johnny Hartman, those Texas people like Townes Van Zandt, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Guy Clark, Al Strehi and others. He also photographs and draws. Day job: photographer with Gelfand-Piper Photography.

Rick McRae (trombone, keyboards) — Rick's escapades with the trombone have been multifaceted. He has performed in blues, rock, orchestral, chamber, salsa, klezmer, African-based, and experimental ensembles. He has recorded and performed with They Might Be Giants, and bands devoted to the music of Frank Zappa, Sun Ra and John Zorn. Once he played two gigs on the same day — in New York City and Toronto. And he has also played trombone while neck deep in a Maine lake. In addition to Watkins, Rick also plays with the Outer Circle Orchestra, 12 Corners Klezmer Band, BioCentrics, and whoever wants him to sit in during open mic night at the Flipside Bar & Grill. Day job: music librarian.”

Here is a video of Kerry doing one of his songs, “The Most Dangerous Game,” with Watkins and the Rapiers.
Here is a video of Kerry doing one of his songs, “There Ain’t No Radio,” with Watkins and the Rapiers.
To learn more about Kerry and Watkins and the Rapiers, click here. Hope you can join us for the show!

The concert is free, but we do ask for donations to support our performers. Siobhan has created three CDs, one for each of our three seasons. Each CD contains songs of the performers who appeared during that season. The requested donation for each CD is $10, and the proceeds go to the performers who are playing on the night of the donation. The CDs have gotten good reviews, and we hope they get passed around to let others know about the great talent we have appearing at this venue.

The concerts take place on the first and third Thursdays of every month in the side room of Buffalo Bill’s Family Restaurant and Taproom, 19 Main Street, Shortsville, NY. The show runs from 7 to 9 PM. To learn more about Buffalo Bill’s, check out their site right here:
Buffalo Bill’s Family Restaurant and Taproom

Here is a link to videos of performers playing in the Side Room. The videos will give you a feel of how much fun we have at each show. Check them out!

Hope you can join us on December 3!
All the best,

Siobhan and Frank

Upcoming Shows:

Gordon Munding, December 17
2016
Fred and Alex Vine, January 7
Eva and the Dog Boys (Elaine Verstraete, Tom (T-Bone) Farley John Denniston), January 21
John Carter, February 4
The Maria Gillard Trio (Maria Gillard, Elaine Verstraete, Perry Cleaveland), February 18
Brian Ayers, March 3
Joe Dady of the Dady Brothers and Perry Cleaveland, April 7
The Stid Hill Stompers (Jack Jones, Kendall Paul Wilt, Fran Cary), April 21
Scott Regan, May 5
Jeff Riales, May 19
The Healing Committee (Alan Whitney, Tim Pitcher, Cathryn Koch), June 2
Connie Deming, June 16
Lisa Winter, July 7
The Michael Yacci Trio (Mike Yacci, Paul Yacci, and Bryan Maslin), July 21
Eddie Lee and Closing Time, August 4
Steve Piper, August 18
Leslie Lee and Steve Gretz and Perry Cleaveland, September 1
Paulsen and Baker Band (John Paulsen, Keith Baker, and Tim Chaapel), September 15
Paul Swiatek and Perry Cleaveland, October 6
Tom Whitmore of Watkins and the Rapiers, October 20
The Cadleys, November 3
John Dady of the Dady Brothers, November 17

SINGER/SONGWRITERS IN THE SIDE ROOM PRESENTS JOHN DADY OF THE DADY BROTHERS

Hi,

This blog started out giving you posts of the songwriter’s notes, lyrics, and music for my original songs. As with many things, it has gone in new directions. So, if you just started reading my post and are interested in my original material, here is a link to "Saturday Morning," one of my original songs. You can read about the song’s history, review the lyrics, and listen to the song. If you want to add the song to your playlist, you can download it at Amazon or iTunes.

On Thursday, 11/19, John Dady will be our performer in the “Side room” at Buffalo Bill’s. John, who regularly performs with his brother Joe in the group The Dady Brothers, will be showcasing a special show of his original material. I hope this little description from the Dady Brothers’ web site entices you to come to John’s show!

“The Dady Brothers are a musical duo who have been performing and winning the hearts of crowds professionally for over 40 years. The Dady's music transcends genres and generations by the melding of American Folk Roots and Irish Traditional influences into an amalgam of sound that is uniquely their own. John and Joe are highly skilled players and singers. The instruments they have command of are: The guitar, 4 and 5 string banjo, pennywhistle, ukulele, fiddle, mandolin, bodhran, harmonica, concertina and the uilleann pipes. They have taken their talents to many diverse venues from the reaches of Alaska to Ireland from the Caribbean to Nova Scotia. They have performed well over five thousand shows at concert halls, schools, music festivals and night clubs. John and Joe have shared the stage with notables like: Tommy Makem and Liam Clancy, Terry Gibb, Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown, Ani DiFranco, Rick Danko, Arlo Guthrie, Kate Wolf, The Clancy Brothers, Johnny Paycheck, Paddy Keenan, John Hume, Papa John Creech, Jay Unger and Molly Mason, The Makem Brothers, Pete Seeger, Paddy Reilly, Cherish The Ladies”

To give you a feel of John’s original material, here is a video of John doing, "Mind to Move." To learn more about John and Joe, you can check them out right here. Hope you can join us for this show!

The concert is free, but we do ask for donations to support our performers. Siobhan has created three CDs, one for each of our three seasons. Each CD contains songs of the performers who appeared during that season. The requested donation for each CD is $10, and the proceeds go to the performers who are playing on the night of the donation. The CDs have gotten good reviews, and we hope they get passed around to let others know about the great talent we have appearing at this venue.

The concerts take place on the first and third Thursdays of every month in the side room of Buffalo Bill’s Family Restaurant and Taproom, 19 Main Street, Shortsville, NY. The show runs from 7 to 9 PM. To learn more about Buffalo Bill’s, check out their site right here:
Buffalo Bill’s Family Restaurant and Taproom

Here is a link to videos of performers playing in the Side Room. The videos will give you a feel of how much fun we have at each show. Check them out!

Hope you can join us on November 19!
All the best,

Siobhan and Frank

Upcoming Shows:

Kerry Regan of Watkins and the Rapiers, December 3
Gordon Munding, December 17
2016
Fred and Alex Vine, January 7
Eva and the Dog Boys, January 21
John Carter, February 4
The Maria Gillard Trio (Maria Gillard, Elaine Verstraete, Perry Cleaveland), February 18
Brian Ayers, March 3
Joe Dady and Perry Cleaveland, April 7
The Stid Hill Stompers (Jack Jones, Kendall Paul Wilt, Fran Cary), April 21
Scott Regan, May 5
Jeff Riales, May 19
The Healing Committee (Alan Whitney, Tim Pitcher, Cathryn Koch), June 2
Connie Deming, June 16
Lisa Winter, July 7
The Michael Yacci Trio (Mike Yacci, Paul Yacci, and Bryan Maslin), July 21
Eddie Lee and Closing Time, August 4
Steve Piper, August 18
Leslie Lee and Steve Gretz and Perry Cleaveland, September 1
Paulsen and Baker Band (John Paulsen, Keith Baker, and Tim Chaapel), September 15
Paul Swiatek and Perry Cleaveland, October 6
Tom Whitmore of Watkins and the Rapiers, October 20
The Cadleys, November 3