Wednesday, October 29, 2008

halloween, election, ought eight

D cor,

Have you ever noticed that we almost never bring up politics in this newsletter? This is not easy as we often have politics on the brain, but in the realm of the D Note we try to transcend personal differences. (Hmm, this actually sounds like the rhetoric of a certain presidential candidate we know but aren't publicly endorsing.) If fighting is your thing there are better establishments. We'd rather dance. This reminds us of a story we once heard in which best friends Jimmy Stewart, a die-hard republican, and Henry Fonda, a staunch democrat, broke out into a fist fight over a dinner argument. The two didn't talk for a year, but then they missed each other and became friends once more, agreeing to never discuss politics again. However, we'll be happy to discuss politics with you, next Tuesday, Nov 4, at the D Note, as we gather around with our sponsors, PeaceJam, and watch the election results together. We encourage the McCain/Palin fans to make it out, especially, as they were outnumbered at our debate parties. Should a dance break out there will be live bands playing: Altitudes and The Damon Scott Vibe. Both bands encourage people to bring instruments and play along. Should be the best election night ever!

Wow, we're so swept up in election fever that we almost forgot about our favorite holiday. This Thursday Quillion is having a halloween show, with Denver School of Music opening. Quillion is a band made up of friends of the D, and they will rock you like a hurricane full of hobgoblins. $5

Friday night we have the 4th annual Halloween show featuring the Wendy Woo Trio and The Reals. We defy you to have more fun on halloween this year than we will be. The theme, if you care to be a joiner, is old school halloween, ghosts, goblins, ghouls, etc. Dyxlesic Dinosaurs will play at 6p, Slo Children, featuring ourselves, will play an entirely halloween based set at 6:45p (kids welcome), then Wendy, then The Reals. And there will be costume contests. $10. Should be the best halloween ever!

Saturday night we'll have our friends Angus Mohr, a Scottish highland version of rock and roll, replete with bagpipes. Samhain is the celtic version of halloween. Peace, Love, Jigs and Reels will open the show. $12. Should be the best Samhain ever!

Tough choices. We hope you can make them all.

Ah yes, before we forget, a little birdie asked us to tell you Hazel Miller's coming for a special Thanksgiving show November 28. And we may as well mention that Otis Taylor is coming back Dec. 13 too.

Dvilly,

Dgor

extra credit: Shakespeare, to heighten the mood...

Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn and caldron bubble.
Fillet of a fenny snake,
In the caldron boil and bake;
Eye of newt and toe of frog,
Wool of bat and tongue of dog,
Adder's fork and blind-worm's sting,
Lizard's leg and howlet's wing,
For a charm of powerful trouble,
Like a hell-broth boil and bubble.

late to later October, ought eight

Pumpkin seeds,

The idea of the D Note is, in theory, for everyone to get involved and participate, to define the space for themselves, to denote it to be as they would have it be. Every band that plays the D Note changes the sound of the place. Every new piece of art changes the look of the place. Heck, Diandra has even taken it upon herself to turn the place into a giant jack-a-lantern this halloween, a beautiful way to define it. Come party inside our pumpkin. The imagination takes off, like Cinderella in her pumpkin carriage. How many times can we say pumpkin in this d-mail? A lot more. It's fun to say.

We have some killer shows coming up. First on the list to discuss is Greg Harris Quintet this Saturday night at 8pm. This is the first time Greg will play the D Note with his jazz/hip hop fusion quintet. Some of you may have seen Greg play vibes with Pete Wernick over the years at the D Note. We've been bugging him to bring his other projects and he has finally agreed. Before Greg, at 6pm, is the terrific experimental slide guitar wizard Glenn Taylor with his orchestra. After Greg, at 10pm is a show with local r&b hip hop acts: Denver Avengerz, Three The Hard Way and Diamond Boiz. This night promises to be legendary from start to finish. $7

Thursday night we have the return of the Zydematics. There will be a zydeco dance lesson at 8pm and the band will kick on after. We love to drink beer and dance to Zydeco.

Friday night this week we have The Spin, and they will take you for one, on the dance floor. 8:30pm. Before The Spin, 6-8pm, we have a going away performance by our lovely barista Val from Bliss. She's a fantastic singer and songwriter so come out and support.

Saturday day, if you got the kids, bring them to see The Jammy Man Band at 3pm on Saturday. Can't make it Saturday? Bring them out to Baby Boogie on Sunday.

Sunday night we have our fifth annual Halloween Salsa Bash. $100 prize for best costume. Always some great costumes and dancing for this party.

Okay, there's the insider scoop for you. Now, come fill up the pumpkin with the seeds of your creativity.

yours,

Peter pumpkin-eater

Extra Credit: Today for extra credit we will analyze the lyrics to a song by Slo Children, which they will sing this Halloween at the D Note, Oct. 31, where they will be opening for Wendy Woo and The Reals.


Pumpkin Seeds

See them grow,
watch them grow,
see them grow, them pumpkins,
pumpkins from pumpkin seeds,
pumpkin seeds from nothing,
from nothing to pumpkin seeds,
from pumpkin seeds to pumpkins.

Betty Lou she's my grandma,
Betty Lou makes pumpkin pie,
how I love that pumpkin pie,
pumpkin pie from pumpkins,
pumpkins from pumpkin seeds,
pumpkin seeds from nothing,
from nothing to pumpkin seeds,
from pumpkin seeds to pumpkin,
from pumpkin to pumpkin pie,
serve it up with cool whip cream,
straight from cow, from breast of cow,
oh how I love that pumpkin pie.

Carve it up with a knife,
carve it up that pumpkin,
carve it up with a knife,
jack-a-lantern from pumpkin,
pumpkin from pumpkin seeds,
pumpkin seeds from nothing,
from nothing from nothing
from nothing to pumpkin seeds to pumpkin,
scare all the kids on halloween
scare all the kids on halloween

See them grow,
watch them grow,
see them grow them pumpkins.

mid to late October, ought eight

D Fault,

McCain and Obama are debating each other at the D Note tonight, Wednesday October 15 at 7pm. Then afterward the Clamdaddys will come on stage and settle the debate. PeaceJam is sponsoring the debates at the D Note. In the spirit PeaceJam brought the Dali Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu to Denver, they bring the presidential debates to the D Note. Thank you PeaceJam.

This Friday we have an evening of New Orlean's inspired music. First at 7pm we have The Otone Brass Band, with the great Aden Harrell at the helm. This band has graced the D note stage for 5 years now and feel like part of the family. If you're not familiar, they are a bombastic brass band with terrific original compositions plus charisma. After Otone there's a zydeco band from Louisiana called JJ and The Zydeco Dogpound. There will be a zydeco lesson at 9:30pm. $10.

Saturday is a full day. From 1 to 5pm we have drum rehearsals by the students of Pro Drum Studios, which should be entertaining. The backing band is a young and upcoming swing blues band called Anna Purna. Then at 6pm we have Jeremy Dion. Jeremy's from Silverthorne Colorado. His sound is Paul Simon meets Ryan Adams. At 8pm is Conscious Elliot, an indie pop band with some really good songs. Check out the cool poster for the show on their myspace while you listen to a tune. A local band called Schofield comes on at 9pm. Think Dave Matthews and Jack Johnson. Then at 10pm we have the return of The ManApes, a really cool rock and roll band with hints of The Velvet Underground and Nick Cave. Check out the other cool poster for this show at The ManApes myspace page. $5 for the lot.

Heads up on upcoming shows. Greg Harris w/ Glenn Taylor and Basheba Earth on Oct. 25 is gonna be hot. 5th annual Halloween salsa bash on Oct. 26th will be caliente. Quillion's halloween show on Oct. 30 will rock. The Reals with Wendy Woo and Slo Children on Oct. 31st will be too much fun. The theme this year is Old School (classic) Halloween. Finally, the Samhain with Angus Mohr is gonna keep the spirit going in Celtic fashion Saturday Nov. 1. Take a deep breath and work on your costumes.

Extra Credit: How about some one liners by the comic poet Mike Topp found on scn.org/realpoetic.


CONFESSION

I used to be ashamed of my striped face.


SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT

What's another word for thesaurus?


SHISH KEBAB

Alternate little pieces of shish with pieces of kebab.


PHENOMENOLOGY

A rolling stone can gather moss if it is rolling very, very slowly.


POOL

I'm told one of the problems with the gene pool is that there's no life guard.


STEVEN

Steven confessed this morning that he's been writing an unauthorized autobiography.


FIRE ISLAND

It was on Fire Island I realized that hermits have no peer pressure.


TODAY

If it's true that you are what you eat, then I am one flaky pastry.


CHILDHOOD

I find it very hard to believe that I was ever a half-twin.


WAR

In November 1915 Chief Secretary of Ireland Augustine Birrell said, "I, for one, would forbid the use, during the war, of poetry."


BIG LIES FROM GRASSY

Grassy told me once that when he was a child in the Pacific Northwest, a fruit tree grew from the head of a deer shot with fruit pits.


TENNIS

Tennis is more than raising a racket.


HEARING PROBLEM

You'll have to speak up, I'm wearing a towel.


SPARROW

There's a little bit of Sparrow in all of us.


SCANDAL

Safety matches just kill the smart kids.


CHEMISTRY CLASS

In chemistry class my chemistry teacher keeps changing my seat.

mid October, ought eight

Deer,

If you like to de, then you are a deer. If you like to be, you are a beer. If you like beer you are a de.

We have a lovely weekend planned for you in true D Note style. Let's start with Friday night. This is the second annual salsa fundraiser for Friendship Bridge. Salsa dance instruction with Joseph Snowhawk begins at 8:30 followed by awesome Puerto Rican style salsa band, Sabor de La Calle. $10. Proceeds will benefit Friendship Bridge, a non-profit, non-governmental organization that provides micro-credit and educational programs so women and their families can create their own solutions to poverty. Friendship Bridge blends the short-term economic development needs of women through access to credit and education with the long-term goal of breaking the generational cycle of poverty by providing educational opportunities for their children. Friendship Bridge has affected the lives of hundreds of thousands of rural people by investing in women entrepreneurs, first in Vietnam and now in rural Guatemala - women who become leaders and agents of change for themselves, their families and communities. So, basically, you can learn how to dance salsa, hear an incredible salsa band AND help up a sister when she's down, all at once.

Saturday night we are having a Topsy Turvy - Wicked, Dark, & Curvy Halloween Show & Hafla. Phoenix & the Sultry Emberz have brewed up a special evening for you which includes a spooktacular show, two live bands (Yallah! and Kara Nomadica), dancing, contests, mix of various styles of music for the late night dancers, and surprises. $8 adults, $5 kids. Should be a fantastic kick off to our halloween season. www.phoenix-dancing.com

Tonight, if you get this in time, Thursday Oct. 9th, we've got two new bands to the D note at 8pm, out of the woodwork of Golden Co, Gromet, and Tethys Ocean. Cool bands both. We're listening to Tethys Ocean's "brighter days" tune on their myspace as we write this and totally loving it. myspace.com/tethysoceanband and myspace.com/thegrometmusic. $5.

The debate watching party at the D Note on Tuesday was a big success. Thanks so much to PeaceJam for helping out. Next Wednesday is the next one, 7pm. if you wanna watch it with friends, then come on down to the D Note town hall. Clamdaddys will perform afterward.

No argument here,

D bater

Extra Credit: A short poem by Nicaraguan poet Mariana Sanson. English translation by 5th grader from San Francisco, Blanca Martinez.


A lo lejos del camino...

A lo lejos del camino
gritan las cosas:
Despierten!
La eternidad no espera.


Far Down the Road...

Far down the road
things scream:
Wake up!
Eternity doesn't wait.

early October, ought eight

D tails,

Is my wig on straight?

Tonight, Thursday, Oct.3, Josh Queen is playing at 7 and then we have a screening of a movie called Suburban at 8:30pm. Suburban is a coming of age story about an artist moving from NY back to his hometown of Arvada, Colorado. Check out more info at suburbanthemovie.com. $8.

This Friday we have TnT at 6pm and Duke Street Kings at 8:30pm. TnT stands for Taiko and Tunes and that is what it is, traditional Japanese Taiko drumming with a singer songwriter playing rhythmic guitar. Different, but it works. And then the Duke Street Kings are a classic rock dance band. $5

Saturday night begins with the charming Ragtime Bill on the upright grand at 5:30pm. Then around 8ish the Jagtones are back. We had a good time last time the Jagtones were in. They play the tunes you grew up with, and know how to get people on the dance floor. $6

Sunday we have baby boogie during the day. We'll have the football on the big screen every Sunday morning, so come watch the game and let the kids play and have pzza and beer, all at once. And of course Sunday night salsa is good for the soul.

Next Tuesday night we'll have the Presidential Debate on, 6pm-8:30pm. Come participate in democracy and cheer on your favorite candidate. This event will be sponsored by PeaceJam and we should have a good turn out. We hope you will join us. After the debate we'll have Damon Scott's newly formed Tuesday night groove jam.

In other news, our theme this year for Halloween is "Old School Halloween". Ghosts, goblins, ghouls, etc. We took this theme from a gift of halloween art from dpity. Come check it out and the more of his work at the D note too. He is definitely one of our very favorite artists ever. His works live in a universe unique to the artist and full of poetic narrative.

All our best,

D rail

Extra Credit: Yes, sometimes a wig. And a wishful thinking poem by D.H. Lawrence.

BEAUTIFUL OLD AGE
It ought to be lovely to be old
to be full of the peace that comes of experience
and wrinkled ripe fulfillment.

The wrinkled smile of completeness that follows a life
lived undaunted and unsoured with accepted lies
they would ripen like apples, and be scented like pippins
in their old age.

Soothing, old people should be, like apples
when one is tired of love.
Fragrant like yellowing leaves, and dim with the soft
stillness and satisfaction of autumn.

And a girl should say:
It must be wonderful to live and grow old.
Look at my mother, how rich and still she is! -

And a young man should think: By Jove
my father has faced all weathers, but it's been a life!