So Long Oscar Peterson

People who are actually important in the music world are all weighing in with their obits and memories of what Oscar Peterson did for them, so I won’t go there. I’m just going to leave you with this.

Do yourself a favor and push play, then close your eyes, grab a gin and tonic, and just let this thing wash over you.

I up and made a website

The Rockstar Storytellers website is now up (needs more work, but I think it looks okay so far).  Check it out!

Yes, Foster Looks Possessed

Merry Christmas from your Minnesota Fringe staff!

FREE TICKETS to Buckets and Tap Shoes at FIRST AVE Saturday!

Hey all,

I’ve got TEN free tickets to Buckets and Tap Shoes at First Ave (yes, the club Prince made famous) this Saturday night.  Here’s the repost about the show.  First come first serve.  Hurry!

Allegra

———-
Hello Cherubic Chums,

We’re only DAYS away from Dec 15th, 2007…

The 3rd Annual “BUCKETS and TAP SHOES, HOLIDAY BASH 2007! ”
FIRST AVENUE MAINROOM, this SATURDAY DECEMBER 15th.
Doors 7pm, Show 8pm
ONLY $10

After another year of travel and performances in theaters around the US
including 2 recent successful sold-out performances at the 2800-seat New York
City Center’s annual Fall For Dance Festival, “Buckets and Tap Shoes” returns
to the First Avenue Mainroom, Saturday December 15th, 2007.

“BUCKETS AND TAP SHOES” was originally conceived and developed in the streets
of downtown Minneapolis. It’s premiere at the 2004 MN Fringe Festival was a
huge success earning them “Best of Fringe 2004” and Minneapolis City
Pages “Best Dance Performance 2005”.
“B&TS” had the highest ticket sales at the 2007 MN Fringe Festival, and was
remounted as part of the Fringe Invitational in downtown St. Paul last
September.
“B&TS” also had a 2-page feature article in the 80th Anniversary Issue of
Dance Magazine, Sept. 2007.

“Buckets and Tap Shoes, HOLIDAY BASH 2007!” includes the multi-talented
bucket-drumming, tap dancing brothers Rick Ausland and Andy Ausland with
bassist Dan Ristrom (son of jazz guitarist Ruben Ristrom and Vocalist Diane
Ristrom), Aaron Wiener on trumpet, saxophonist and MN Fringe legend Ms.
Allegra Lingo.

“B&TS” creates music and magic with tap shoes and 5-gallon paint buckets, as
well as traditional musical instruments including guitar, electric bass and
all types of drums. The show will feature local percussionists, dancers and
some very special surprise guests.

Tickets are only $10 and are available at the 1st Avenue box office,
local 1st Avenue record store ticket outlets and through
Ticketmaster (651) 989-5151.

For more information visit
http://www.first-avenue.com and http://www.myspace.com/bucketsandtapshoes

3rd Annual “Buckets and Tap Shoes, Holiday Bash 2007!”
Saturday December 15th, 2007.

Doors 7:00pm, “B&TS” Show 8:00pm, Saturday Night Dance party 10:00pm – Close
(under 18 will be admitted if accompanied by parent or guardian with ID)

First Avenue
701 – 1st Avenue North
Down Town Minneapolis
(612) 338-8388

Musings on dog ownership

If anyone is looking for Christmas ideas for the dog, it would have to be these.  As you can see in the post a couple below, we bought him a little stuffed monkey (duh.  would we buy anything else?) with rope arms and legs.  Since we got him home, James has been carrying his monkey everywhere.  He plays tug with it, fetch, whatever. 

And then yesterday while I was making dinner, he sat down and meticuoulsy shredded the arms and legs.  The monkey is now quadriplegic, a Black Knight monkey, still sqeaking but that’s about it.  James put him in his doggie bed (not quite sure why we got that, though, as his favorite place to sleep seems to be either the couch if we’re not home, or in bed with us). 

I don’t understand his need for willfull destruction.  Is it a “woo hoo, I did it!” kind of thing?  A “if you leave me alone during the day again, your pillow will look like this” kind of threat?  Or is it just a desire for something new? And the best part was, he waited until we were home to do it, teeth and one eye on the monkey, one eye on me. He wanted there to be no mistake that maybe the cats did it.

I haven’t decided how I should play it yet–go out and get a new toy right away so he has something that he likes, wait awhile, outright reprimand him.  ’cause at the end of the day, I just see the monkey, surrounded in shreds of limbs, its smile even taken halfway off. 

And I just want to tell him, “Dude, that’s your monkey.  Do you even realize what you did?”

And he’ll just look up at me with that little dog grin, blink his eyelashes, and roll over onto his back so I can rub his belly.  And I’ll rub it, and tell him he’s a good boy.  ’cause this little dude’s a keeper.

Why I work off a script

We had our first Rockstar Storytellers show last night, which I think was quite a success.  Not quite the audience numbers we were hoping for, but we gotta start somewhere, right?

People often ask me why I work off a script.  It’s partly because it’s my trademark now, partly because my memory’s really not that great, and partly because if I don’t, I am not to be held liable for what comes out of my mouth.

Last night I hosted the show, so wasn’t working off anything.  I started off the show reading the definition of the word “betrayal” and this was one of the first things that came out of my mouth:

“Let’s see, definition of Betrayal: ‘to deliver or expose to an enemy by treachery or disloyalty’.  I guess that’d be like Benedict Arnold, Brutus, or Judas Iscariot.  I think it’s kinda funny that the biggest betrayal in Christianity is one guy kissing another guy.  Maybe that’s why they have such a problem with homosexuality.  Or, on the other hand, if Judas hadn’t kissed Jesus, then there wouldn’t have been a crucifixion and subsequent resurrection.  Which means, you know, there wouldn’t have been Christianity.  So maybe they should like gays!”

I swear to God I’m Catholic.

Guess who brought home a dog today?

The newest member of the family, currently named Blizzard but as soon as he responds to it, Jimmy. He’s a year and a half old, American Eskimo, that was rescued a couple months ago. He’s a little gimpy (just like his owner), because his back paws were caught in a trap that nearly severed them, but they were able to repair them. He’s got a limp while it heels, and has some scarring, but is a good little one.