Very special announcement

Dearest notes of all,

Much news for you. The biggest being that the D Note has been sold! It will no longer be a DeGraff enterprise. We are going out in grand style after a full D cade of bringing you beautiful music, art and food. We are having a 10 yr anniversary celebration Feb 15 and 16. Check out the Westword nod for more info here. We started on Valentine's Day 2003 and it was an appropriate holiday to begin with because this has definitely been a labor of love for all of the DeGraff family, including Jeremy, Adam, Genevieve, David and Pamela who all deserve big ups. Also our old high school friend Jeff Jackson was an invester and deserves a hand. Perhaps Matthew and Monica DeGraff deserve the biggest heap of gratitude for their generous support over the years.

The new owners, Dave and Mernie Rosenberg, come to the D Note as fans. They will give it their own flavor, of course, "denote" in their own fashion, but it will always have a little of the DeGraff love in the place as by now that love has seeped into the walls!

We will still help book the bands, for the time being, and so regular events like salsa, baby boogie, blues night, trivia, open stage, Zumba, Yoga, etc, will continue, as well as many of the musicians that you are already familiar with and love.

Come to the D Note soon and raise your glass to more decades to come for the Rosenberg's!

This weekend we have two very worthy causes and much great music, including the world-influenced reggae of one of our all time favorite bands, Mono Verde. Also some very fine jazz for the jazz lovers Saturday afternoon.

Feb 1
[5:00p]
Bill McKay (of Leftover Salmon)

[7:00p]
Fundraiser for Knowledge For People (raising awareness for Autism) w/ Mono Verde (world beat). $10 suggested donation.

[10:00p]
Volunteer Funk Department $5

B2

[10:30a]
Zumba $8

[4:00p]
West Quarto (jazz) $5

[7 :00p]
Benefit for the family of Scott Mayo w/ The Rush Experience (Rush tribute band), Trust No One, Black Rainbow, Mint Novacaine. $10 suggested donation

Come say bye and hi!

D Scribe

Extra credit: One of the great Colorado/Finnish/Universal poets, Anselm Hollo, died this week. He was a good friend and we'll miss him. But we are consoled, at least, to still have many books of his poems to spend our lives with. Here is but one of those poems.

Shed the Fear

Who has a face sees
    the world,
but the world
    is not

to be borne-
   or only
when seen as
  another:

how did this
  come together? How
did I find you?
  so many turns

in the road
  so few of them
possible!
  How not to spin out

in hairpin turns
  of disbelief...
TheSufi martyrs
  insisted

"The world
  is a wedding"
Why not go with them,

in the face of
   present carnage
centuries
  later.

D Note love letter 1/23/13

D batteries,

Some fun dance music this weekend w/ Big Universe and Rough Satin on Friday night and the ever popular Hafla on Saturday night followed by the sweet sounds of Sweet Corn at 10p. There will be awesome energetic Salsa music Sunday night to with the band Sabor De La Calle too.


Yours in all things D

Scribe

Extra credit: Michael McClure is of the beat poet generation, friends with Keroauc, et al. He also just so happened to write the Janis Joplin hit "Lord, won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz". And he wrote one of our favorite books of nonsense "Ghost Tantras", which he once famously read to the lions in the S.F. Zoo. Here's a new poem of his from last week's New Yorker.

MEPHISTO 20

SOFT TOES CURL ON THE FLOOR. PRIMATE STYLE
  with gleam of varnished wood beneath them.
    The garden does not sleep at night.
       THE POWERFUL KNOWLEDGE
      is all around. The cortex is the shape
    of a self-curled and widespread butterfly;
   wings open in scents and all probable
             stream bottoms
       finding stars, blotches of odor,
     and pulses of organs
       in unlighted dimensions
         and awaking chakras.
       IT
       IS
         CORE ESSENCE
         of nothingness.
Like the twitch of a zebra's haunch
  in the herd by the game lodge
    at the lip of the crater.

      You know me by
   my white haired adventures
     at the cliff's edge.

love letter 1/17/13

D Ports,

Each moment is rare and precious, but sometimes we get tricked into thinking these moments go on forever. Don't fall for it. 

We are excited about the bands this weekend. There are two great bands on Friday night, Chain Station Mountain Music (bluegrassy) and Carry me Ohio (alt country/indie rock).

And then The Rocky Mountain Opera Bowl and Eclipse (Journey tribute band) on Saturday night. That line up makes a certain weird sense no? Steve Perry from Journey did bring a kind of opera singing in rock and roll. This is the second year we've had the Opera Bowl and it was just so cool last year. Just to hear the sheer power and precision of the voices.

We also have a Music Train Family Concert Saturday at 4pm featuring Kutandara, an African Marimba band. That was also really cool last year and we look forward to this one too. The kids will love it.

Then salsa dancing and music on Sunday night. Then next Tues, for you big band fans we have Bob's Big Band.

We are proud of these kinds of eclectic weekends, the unique shape of them. And we are so happy to share them with you!

18 [7:00p] Chain Station Mountain Music $5 [9:30p] Carry Me Ohio (FREE)	19 [10:30a] Zumba $8 [4:00p] Music Train Family Concert presents: Kuntandara, African Marimba Band. $7 adults/$3 kids [7:00p] Cabaret Otaku presents: Rocky Mountain Opera Bowl. $15 (4 for $50). [9:30p] Eclipse (Journey Tribute Band) $5
20 [10:00a] Free Form Yoga ($5 - $10 Suggested Donation) [2:00p] Baby Boogie, bring your kids into dance! [8:00p] Salsa Dancing (lesson at 8pm, Orquestra La Brava at 9pm) $8	21 [7:00p] Open Mic Night (Open Stage-sign up at 6:30pm)	22 [7:00p] Bob's Big Band FREE

Love to you and yours from us and ours.

D maniac

Extra Credit: A charming poem by Frank O'hara...

A True Account of Talking to the Sun on Fire Island

The Sun woke me this morning loud
and clear, saying "Hey! I've been
trying to wake you up for fifteen
minutes. Don't be so rude, you are
only the second poet I've ever chosen
to speak to personally

so why
aren't you more attentive? If I could
burn you through the window I would
to wake you up. I can't hang around
here all day."

"Sorry, Sun, I stayed
up late last night talking to Hal."

"When I woke up Mayakovsky he was
a lot more prompt" the Sun said
petulantly. "Most people are up
already waiting to see if I'm going
to put in an appearance."

I tried
to apologize "I missed you yesterday."
"That's better" he said. "I didn't
know you'd come out." "You may be
wondering why I've come so close?"
"Yes" I said beginning to feel hot
wondering if maybe he wasn't burning me
anyway.

"Frankly I wanted to tell you
I like your poetry. I see a lot
on my rounds and you're okay. You may
not be the greatest thing on earth, but
you're different. Now, I've heard some
say you're crazy, they being excessively
calm themselves to my mind, and other
crazy poets think that you're a boring
reactionary. Not me.

Just keep on
like I do and pay no attention. You'll
find that people always will complain
about the atmosphere, either too hot
or too cold too bright or too dark, days
too short or too long.

If you don't appear
at all one day they think you're lazy
or dead. Just keep right on, I like it.

And don't worry about your lineage
poetic or natural. The Sun shines on
the jungle, you know, on the tundra
the sea, the ghetto. Wherever you were
I knew it and saw you moving. I was waiting
for you to get to work.

And now that you
are making your own days, so to speak,
even if no one reads you but me
you won't be depressed. Not
everyone can look up, even at me. It
hurts their eyes."
"Oh Sun, I'm so grateful to you!"

"Thanks and remember I'm watching. It's
easier for me to speak to you out
here. I don't have to slide down
between buildings to get your ear.
I know you love Manhattan, but
you ought to look up more often.

And
always embrace things, people earth
sky stars, as I do, freely and with
the appropriate sense of space. That
is your inclination, known in the heavens
and you should follow it to hell, if
necessary, which I doubt.

Maybe we'll
speak again in Africa, of which I too
am specially fond. Go back to sleep now
Frank, and I may leave a tiny poem
in that brain of yours as my farewell."

"Sun, don't go!" I was awake
at last. "No, go I must, they're calling
me."
"Who are they?"

Rising he said "Some
day you'll know. They're calling to you
too." Darkly he rose, and then I slept.

D Note Love Letter New Year's 2013 edition

Happy Holly D,

Once upon a time there was you. And that's where our story begins.

Lots of GREAT music this weekend. Gypsy Flamenco into Tom Petty Tribute band on Friday night! and a night curated by Mark Sundermeier of the Toad Tavern on Saturday night sure to please. Also on Fri, early is a fantastic songwriter Sterling Witt from Kansas City. Worth making the trip out for all by himself. (Check him out on sterlingwitt.com)

We have a rocking NYE on Monday night w/ Daniel Lawrence Walker, Broke Bridge Bluegrass and Musketeer Gripweed. From Musketeer Gripweed's website, "Self-described as an “American Revival Stomp Shake Ass Holla” band, Musketeer Gripweed is equal parts roots rock, Delta blues, and performance art, a Musketeer Gripweed performance transports audiences to a world long past – one crisscrossed with dusty country roads and populated by highway bandits, snake-oil salesmen, and charlatans.This experience is centered on front man Jason Downing, who transforms on stage into the charismatic Reverend Monkey-Paw Patterson. A wild-eyed pioneer preacher armed with gasoline, straight razors, and hellfire, Rev. Patterson leads shows with all the energy and hunger of a prairie fire.Crowds at a Musketeer Gripweed concert are whipped into a near-religious frenzy, and can often be seen shaking their own “monkey paws” (an open hand with fingers clenched) in time with the beat.The album cranks the tempo and energy level of Gripweed’s music to the next level, creates a modern day music revival that pulls rock up from the roots, and also features the soulful slide guitar work of Luther Dickinson of The North Mississippi All Stars and The Black Crowes."  Only $10 and includes the great Dan Walker and Broke Bridge Bluegrass opening.


Dec 28

[5:00p]
Sterling Witt (Singer/Songwriter)

[7:00p]
Tito Malaga (Flamenco/Gypsy/Mediterranean)

[9:30p]
Legendary Hitchhikers (tribute to Tom Petty) $5

Dec 29

[7:00p]
Eric Coffman

[8:00p]
Mark Sundermeier (Sad Star Cafe)

[9:00p]
Dusty Radio

[10:00p]
Bailout

[11:00p]
Red Fox Run. $5

Dec 30

[10:00a]
Free form yoga lead by Nicki Viera

[2:00p]
Baby Boogie, bring your kids into dance!

[8:00p]
Salsa Dancing (lesson at 8pm, music at 9pm) $8

31

[5:30p]
Dan Walker

[7:45p]
Broke Bridge

[10:15p]
Musketeer Gripweed


Under and in,

D scribe

Extra Credit: Here's one for the New Year from the great Scottish poet Robert Burns? First the original, for the sound of it, then the "translation" for the sense.

AULD LANG SYNE
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind ?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
and auld lang syne?

CHORUS:

For auld lang syne, my jo,
for auld lang syne,
we’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.

And surely ye’ll be your pint-stowp !
and surely I’ll be mine !
And we’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.

CHORUS

We twa hae run about the braes,
and pu’d the gowans fine ;
But we’ve wander’d mony a weary fit,
sin auld lang syne.

CHORUS

We twa hae paidl’d i' the burn,
frae morning sun till dine ;
But seas between us braid hae roar’d
sin auld lang syne.

CHORUS

And there’s a hand, my trusty fiere !
and gie's a hand o’ thine !
And we’ll tak a right gude-willy waught,
for auld lang syne.


OLD LONG SINCE
Should old acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind ?
Should old acquaintance be forgot,
and old long since?

CHORUS:

For old long since, my dear,
for old long since,
we'll take a cup of kindness yet,
for old long since.

And surely you’ll buy your pint cup !
and surely I’ll buy mine !
And we'll take a cup o’ kindness yet,
for old long since.

CHORUS

We two have run about the slopes,
and picked the daisies fine ;
But we’ve wandered many a weary foot,
since auld lang syne.

CHORUS

We two have paddled in the stream,
from morning sun till dine^† ;
But seas between us broad have roared
since old long since.

CHORUS

And there’s a hand my trusty friend !
And give us a hand o’ thine !
And we’ll take a right good-will draught,
for old long since.

love letter 12/7/12

D lovelies,

Big ups in the cray cray dizzo...

Great music this weekend, from the smooth pop rock aesthetic of Drew Schofield, to the Velvet Underground sound of Sub Sleep to the Indigo Girls sound of Dear Marsha to the real deal Zydeco of Dikki Du from New Orleans. We're excited.

Dec 7

No Cover All Night [5:00p]
Folk Ragout

[7:00p]
Drew Schofield Band CD Release, w/ Lexi Shanley. $5

[10:00p]
Sub Sleep. $5

Dec 8

[10:30a]
Zumba $8

[5:30p]
Free Horizon Montessori's Choir and Jazz band. $5

[7:00p]
Dear Marsha. $5

[9:00p]
Dikki Du and The Zydeco Krew. $10

That's the weekend, plus Zumba, yoga, baby boogie and SALSA! Check dnote.us for the rest of the scoop. Also, if you don't already have NYE plans, we have a really fun band from Ft. Collins called Muskateer Gripweed that night that will fully deliver the goods. Keep us in mind...

Yours,

D coy


Extra Credit: Here's a poem from our friend Darin Stevenson


Perfect Kind

A perfect kind of desperation.
Any drop of water knows it.
Falling, in flight, thrown by circumstance.
Or accident. Nothing duplicitous.
This isn’t theater.

Thrown into and through the interval.

A thread of moments traversing an abyss.
Will I manage to become a bird?
Whose eye shall I moisten?
Whose mouth?
Such intimacies as every droplet knows.

By heart.

Love letter 11/15/12

D notables,

Hey! Been trying to meet you...

Maybe this weekend?

Nov 16
No cover all night!

5:00p
Jazz Gem
[7:00p]
Jennifer Leigh Cress, Brave Song Combo

[10:00p]
Volunteer Funk Dept.

Nov 17

[4:00p]
Music Train Family Concert Series: Johnny Barber and The Rhythm Razors $7 adult/$3 kids

[7:00p]
Deborah Hill and The Sugardaddies $5

[9:00p]
The Duke Street Kings  $5


Yours,

D Script

Extra Credit: Today is the great poet Ted Berrigan's 78th birthday. So here's a great poem by the man himself.

Last Poem

Before I began life this time
I took a crash course in Counter-Intelligence
Once here I signed in, see name below, and added
Some words remembered from an earlier time,
'The intention of the organism is to survive.'
My earliest, & happiest, memories pre-date WWII,
They involve a glass slipper & a helpless blue rose
In a slender blue single-rose vase: Mine
Was a story without a plot. The days of my years
Folded into one another, an easy fit, in which
I made money & spent it, learned to dance & forgot, gave
Blood, regained my poise, & verbalized myself a place
In Society. 101 St. Mark's Place, apt. 12A, NYC 10009
New York. Friends appeared & disappeared, or wigged out,
Or stayed; inspiring strangers sadly died; everyone
I ever knew aged tremendously, except me. I remained
Somewhere between 2 and 9 years old. But frequent
Reification of my own experiences delivered to me
Several new vocabularies, I loved that almost most of all.
I once had the honor of meeting Beckett & I dug him.
The pills kept me going, until now. Love, & work,
Were my great happinesses, that other people die the source
Of my great, terrible, & inarticulate one grief. In my time
I grew tall & huge of frame, obviously possessed
Of a disconnected head, I had a perfect heart. The end
Came quickly & completely without pain, one quiet night as I
Was sitting, writing, next to you in bed, words chosen randomly
From a tired brain, it, like them, suitable, & fitting.
Let none regret my end who called me friend.

11/1/12 News

D friends,

We've been playing with ways of seeing the letter D for a decade now. As a prefix it is a reversal, as in "de-friend". As a preposition it may mean "of" or "from", as in "de amor". One might argue that these two meanings of the word are themselves opposites. There is a kind of yin and yang here, the "reversal" leading to the opposite, toward another "of", toward a new "from". The shape of the letter D is thought to derive from the pictogram for Door. It does indeed look like a Door. When you enter in through this Door you reverse your "of" and find yourself within the frame work of a different "from". Ahi estas de la amistad.

Come through our Door this weekend and find out what we're talking about.

Nov 2

No cover all night!
[5:00p]
Alice Frisch (folk)

[7:00p]
Sterling Edge (pop)

[8:15p]
The Greenbelt Rascals (bluegrass)

[9:45p]
Coral Reef (reggae)

Nov 3

[10:30a]
Zumba $8

[6:00p]
Denver Family Institute benefit w/ Clusterfunk and more (rock and roll dance covers). $10 suggested donation.


That's what we're talking about.

See the website for the rest of the scoop.

Next Wednesday we are going back to a blues jam format hosted by Todd Johnson. Our thanks to Farm Jazz for filling in over the summer!

Extra Credit: Here's a powerful poem of understanding, one to remember, by Martin Espada

“Solil­o­quy at Gun­point”
for José
I sat in the car,
win­dow down in the sum­mer,
wait­ing. Two boys
from the neigh­bor­hood
peered into the car
and did not rec­og­nize me,
so one opened his gym bag
and flour­ished a revolver
with black tape on the han­dle,
brush­ing the barrel’s tiny mouth
against my forehead.
I sat calm as a burn­ing monk.
The only god in my med­i­ta­tion
was the one who splices the rib­bon of the film:
a screen of gun­men with sleepwalker’s gaze,
con­fi­dent detec­tives in silk neck­ties,
the coo­ing of hostage nego­tia­tors,
solil­o­quy at gun­point
recited with­out stuttering.
I spread by hand
as if to offer salt
to a lick­ing dog.
The script said give me the gun,
so I said give me the gun.
And he did.