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10/15/2009
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10/15/2009
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Sweet Baby James LIVE!
10/8/2009
Happy October!
This month I would like to recognize 3 people who are doing some amazing work:
Karen Wozniak, aka Special K, a Kilimanjaro climber and cancer survivor who has a passion for mountains, Africa, curing cancer, and film making. Though she considers herself a “novice” she has incredible natural talent as a film maker. View her short film for Journeys of Inspiration. http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=125166686724
On October 17th I will be featuring a new song called “Angel with a Dream” which was written for Karen.
Lisa Zahra is passionate about helping deaf children in Africa. She learned that “ there are an especially high number of deaf children per capita in Africa due to untreated disease and poor medical care, which in turn leads to an increased number of infant ear infections. With little hope of ever getting to a doctor where a child could be tested to see if hearing aids are needed, how could these deaf children possibly have any hope of a bright future?” Visit her website to learn more: http://deaaf.org/fundraiser.htm
Johannes Bockwoldt, local film maker, , produced this short (3 minutes) film in Rochester recently. Please, watch this powerfully poignant mini-flick about one man’s experience returning home after living in a warzone , become a You Tube member, join the group, and vote for it. I know you'll love it. Thank you very much.... http://www.youtube.com/group/rochester175#play/all/4/JWNWtWGDR2g Don’t forget to vote!
NEXT CONCERT: Saturday October 17 at the Tow Path Café (formerly Fairport Coffee) in the village of Fairport. You might be interested to know that they now have their beer and wine license! Come on down and enjoy a cool glass of bubbles while listening to Sweet Baby James.
This week’s concert will feature the smooth lead-guitar playing of Chuck Abell and sonorous, backup vocals of Mike Stutzman. Check the calendar below for details and future dates.
CHECK OUT OUR NEW WEBSITE: http://www.bluedanceband.com Many Thanks to Mike Stutzman our webmaster, sound guy, and backup vocalist…8 > )
Find Happiness in Your Heart
-Bruce
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Sweet Baby James LIVE this weekend !
9/17/2009
Hey everyone!
How was your summer? I’ve had a busy yet, wonderful summer. It feels like the first summer I have had a good, old-fashioned summer in a very long time. I enjoyed: lemonade and cucumber sandwiches, time with family and old friends, making new friends, going to concerts, kayaking, hiking, sitting by the campfire, yard work, swimming, grilling, picnics, badminton, home renovation, philosophical discussions, playing the guitar, sleeping under the stars, Mexican night, dancing, and visiting Maine to name a few. It was a stunning summer ahhh!
One of the highlights for me was running with oldest daughter, Maggie, on her first marathon. I can’t believe we ran the whole thing! I am so proud of her and grateful that this old geezer could participate! This has been a life-long dream fulfilled to run in a race with my children. Please, let me know about your summer too!
ANNOUNCING: I am happy to announce that I have purchased tickets to Africa for February 2010. I plan to join Journey’s of Inspiration climb of Mt. Kilimanjaro in order to raise awareness and funds to help seek a cure for cancer. Let me know if you have an interest in supporting the cure and/or my climb. http://www.journeysofinspiration.com/
NEXT CONCERT: Our fall winter season opens this Saturday night at the Tow Path Café (formerly Fairport Coffee) in the village of Fairport. You might be interested to know that they now have their beer and wine license! Come on down and enjoy a cool glass of bubbles while listening to Sweet Baby James.
CHECK OUT OUR NEW WEBSITE: http://www.bluedanceband.com Many Thanks to Mike Stutzman our webmaster, sound guy, and backup vocalist…8 > )
This week’s concert will feature the smooth lead-guitar playing of Chuck Abell and sonorous, backup vocals of Mike Stutzman. Check the calendar below for details and future dates.
Find Happiness in Your Heart
-Bruce
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Blue Dance Concert this Saturday Morning
8/12/2009
Hi everyone
Wanted to send you a reminder on our next concert, which is this Saturday morning in Canandaigua. I just returned from a self-propelled Songwriting Retreat with my youngest daughter, Julia. We camped in the Adirondacks at Rollins Pond. Know the place? It’s near Tupper Lake. We setup our largest tent to protect us from the mid-summer’s rain fall and enjoyed falling asleep to its hypnotic patter each night. Besides camping and canoeing our intent was to explore the mysteries of song writing together. Julia has a wonderful knack for creating fresh melody line…
Hope to see you Saturday at 10am at Kershaw Park!
Happy Summer
-Bruce
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THIS WEEKEND - Friday and Saturday =>Music and Dancing! SBJ and BDB
6/2/2009
This Friday we’re at the Towpath in Fairport and on Saturday we’re playing a barn dance in Bristol!
Hi folks
Late spring is rolling gracefully into summer. just returned from a weekend canoe camping trip in the Adirondacks with Kevin, my 16 year old son. We explored a wilderness area known as Bog River flow, which is just south of Cranberry lake . This pristine wilderness is less than 5 hours from Rochester (when you drive like a grandfather…) we were about 10 miles back from the dam near Horseshoe lake. We faced a strong head wind and a current for the leg out. This was Kevin’s first canoe trip and Kevin is my hero. He persistently faced a hard paddle for five and a half hours to reach our lush campsite. My ponderings include: Why does all camp-food taste gourmet? Our rewards were many: a beautiful sunset reflecting on still waters, perfect weather for stargazing, a crackling fire as salve for our tired souls, and being lulled asleep by the sound of amphibian peepers and distant, hauntingly beautiful loon calls. Hope to see you soon.
Warmly
-Bruce Wayne
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REMINDER: SBJ Music tonight in Fairport
5/9/2009
Hi all
Sorry for the late notice...3 gig weekend...
We are at the Towpath (formerly the Fairport Village Coffee) this evening, Saturday night, at 8pm.
Come out of the wind and rain!
Hope to see you there
-Bruce
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REMINDER: What to do when it's raining...
4/3/2009
Hi Folks
What to do on a rainy weekend? Stay dry and warm of course! On Saturday April 4 roll-on down to the Towpath Café (formerly Fairport Village Coffee) and bask in the sunny music of Sweet Baby James. We’ll be introducing Bruce’s latest tune: One Step More. We start at 8pm. I hope to see you smiling face!
Bruce
aka Sweet Baby James
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Sweet Baby James LIVE at FVC
2/26/2009
Please come join Sweet Baby James (Bruce McLellan, Mike Sperber, Mike Stutzman, and Chuck Abell) this Friday, Feb. 27, from 8:00-10:30 pm at Fairport Village Coffee as we celebrate one year together as a group. If you have not been to FVC before, its an atmospheric and welcoming venue for seeing live music, conveniently located on the canal in Fairport -- and there's never a cover charge! Even if you're a regular at SBJ performances, we hope you'll come and hear our new material, as the group branches increasingly into blues, jazz, funk/R&B, and world music. Expect a lively and exciting evening of music - and, by all means, bring a friend!
Also, mark the date -- March 29 -- at which we will be one of the featured bands at Rock the Losar (2-4 pm), supplemented by all-star musicians John Seiger and Paul Mastriani, among others. Information on this rollicking party is available (or will be shortly) at www.chuckabell.com.
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Sweet Baby James Music Performance
12/5/2008
I hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving celebration.
I am grateful for all of you. And, especially those that assisted me with the song selection for the International Songwriting Contest. With your help I chose a song to submit and learned something I had not anticipated.
I had not anticipated that Andria, Purple irises, and Winter Song would run neck and neck throughout the selection process. Though Andria was the clear winner, I was gratefully and confidently able to submit all three! (I did not realize until submission that I could submit more than one!) The contest results should be available in February 2009. FYI The song, Andria, was written and recorded in 1996 for the youngest cancer survivor I know. Growing into her magnificent spirit, this teen is one of the best rock climbers and human beings that I know. Watch out boys! 8 > )
Andria has become the central inspiration for the mission of this musical group.
Thank you for your help and support!
At our next concert we’ll celebrate Christmas cookies, Solstice bonfire, and Winter.
We hope you can make it!
Sweet Baby James will perform at the Fairport Village Coffee Saturday December 13th. Music starts at 8:00pm.
See you soon!
-Bruce
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SBJ and Copernicus!
11/21/2008
Nov. 20, 2008 -- DNA studies on two strands of hair and a tooth have ended a centuries-old hunt for the tomb of Nicolas Copernicus, the 16th century astronomer who shocked the world by declaring that the Earth was not the center of the universe READ MORE http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/11/20/copernicus-tomb.html
Referring to Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copernicus SBJ discovered that one of his students, Georg Joachim Rheticus, deeply inspired by the master’s work contrived a choral work dedicated to his mentor’s scientific revelation. This musical tribute was found folded as a book mark in a copy of work De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium (On the Revolution of the Heavenly Spheres) and a copy of the text is included below.
Coperincus
When the sun became the center star and Earth rotates just once each day
No center guides the planets and no hub can steer the stars
This is the dawning of the age of Coperincus
The age of Coperincus - Coperincus! - Coperincus!
Heliocentric understanding, new cosmology astounding
No more grand hallucinations Earth is not the central station
in his astro-revelation for our mind's true liberation
Coperincus! - Coperincus!
Let the sun spin! At the center of our world!
Let the sun spin! At the center of our world!
(Thanks to my daughter, Maggie, for the heads up!)
NOTE: Sweet Baby James will perform LIVE at the Fairport Village Coffee this Saturday at 8:00pm **** Winner of Bruce’s song entry for the Song Writing Competition will be announced!
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Sweet Baby James LIVE this Friday!
10/20/2008
Hi Everyone!
We are back with our Autumn lineup!
MY (END OF) SUMMER VACATION REPORT
I have up until recently pictured myself as a passionate, outdoors aficionado; an expert camper, hiker, and backpacker. A natural guide able to plan and execute serious expeditions to places like the Himalayas or even the Amazon. I am here to tell you that this is far from the case. Over the Labor Day week-end, my 4 day backpacking trip convinced me that In fact I have been in delusion about my capabilities as an outdoorsman. But, I have never been the least bit off about my passion for the outdoors. As a result of this overly generous approximation of myself and the wish to be grounded in reality I have compassionately created an alter-ego and nickname for myself: the backpacking klutz. I have decided to write about my life experiences in a book titled, “The Misadventures of the Backpacking Klutz” I hope that the words within capture this blundering yet soulful journey of the human spirit and the lessons of an aspiring outdoorsman and human being.
We would love to hear about your summer vacation. So here’s a chance to tell us about YOUR life experiences in the summer of 2008.
Sweet Baby James will perform at the Fairport Village Coffee on:
FRIDAY October 24, 2008night. Music starts at 8:00pm.
See you soon!
-Bruce
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Sweet Baby James this Saturday...
7/7/2008
I hope everyone had a fabulous 4th of July celebration. We had the great fortune to perform on the 4th of July at the Veterans Medical Center just before noon. The VA Medical campus in Canandaigua is laid out like a fortress with well kept grounds. It’s a beautiful place! In the center of that fortress is a courtyard. And, that’s where we performed. This was an USO-styled event that we shared with Mary Therese Friel’s talented models. There were some elderly vets in wheelchairs along with their families. Other’s sat on picnic tables around the pavilion that provide shade from the sun. But, what I found so moving was that some vets, who were unable to leave their rooms, listened from their windows opened to the gorgeous summer morning. I must admit this was a very meaningful performance allowing us to share time with men and women who have risked everything for our independence. Thanks to All!
Sweet Baby James will perform at the Fairport Village Coffee this Saturday night. Music starts at 8:00pm.
See you soon!
-Bruce
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Sweet Baby James ~ Memorial Day Weekend
5/22/2008
Hi Everyone
Long weekend coming up for many. What are you planning to do? What’ve you been up to?
I hoping to get into and glide on a canoe. I’ve been taking a canoe workshop through the ADK club with - Marc Orstein.
Mark is the penultimate canoe-dude. Check out his fancy canoe antics online video. (His competes in free-style canoeing which is like ballroom dancing on water) http://www.freestylecanoeing.com/ . If I were you, I’d ask him to demonstrate the “Christie” Like a pirouette on water…
Congratulations to George, our official roadie. George had a knee replaced this week. Don’t worry George will be back hauling guitars and amplifiers in no time. And, after all – “New Knees is good Knees.”
(OK… OK… I’ll stick to music)
I have some special thanks this week for my mountain buddy, Rich Marlin.” Thanks for the snow shoes man!” Rich made my trip to Mt Marcy last month possible. And, I’d say thanks to Steve Craddick , photographer extraordinaire. Man, you make me look G~O~O~D!
If you are looking for some LIVE MUSIC this weekend “Christie” on-down (sans snowshoes) to the Fairport Village Coffee on Saturday night. Music starts at 8:00pm.
We’ll keep the tunes warm for yah!
8 ^ )
-Bruce
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Sweet Baby James- LOT'S OF FIRSTS!
4/24/2008
Lots of Firsts!
Thanks to all of you that attended or contributed to our first annual Journey’s of Inspiration Concert /Fund Raiser. With your help we raised over $1,800 to fight cancer. But, I think we accomplished much more than financial gain.. We have initiated a wave of energy and awareness that will move through people into actions and ideas. If I try to imagine what the results might be, it might be a change in people’s hearts. I hope that heart seeds that we have initiated can grow in the light of human “compassion-in-action.” I trust that the resulting “heart-flower” we grow has the power to heal at all levels of body, mind, and spirit.
My youngest son, Kevin, and I celebrated our first annual Spring summit of Mt. Marcy in the Adirondacks last weekend. Click the link to view our trip pictures. Pictures from Bruce McLellan
Grab your calendars for some good old summertime plans! I am happy to announce our first-ever, annual SBJ “That’s Why I’m Here” Fan Appreciation Day and Open Air Concert which will be held at Mendon Ponds Park all day on August 10th. We have rented a lodge. Plan to come all day and bring a picnic and Frisbee. Details will come soon!
JUST LIKE THIS: Some are like summer coming back every year. Got your baby got your blanket got your bucket of beer, I break into a grin from ear to ear And suddenly it's perfectly clear. THAT’S WHY I’M HERE!
May You Live with Peace in Your Heart
-Bruce
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TGIF from Sweet Baby James
3/20/2008
Hey Friends
Happy Spring Equinox! It’s nice of the moon the share the day evenly with the sun… It’s a promising relationship. I believe I may have seen the moon smiling a bit as she surrenders the sky to the sun for a season or two. 8 ^ }
Saturday night we will be playing that mid-winter blues tune that we all wrote together last month. It has a new name we now call it- Digging In. I hope you can make it!
I would like to welcome home the Kilimanjaro climbers. Welcome to the USA! Welcome home! Sweet Baby James will be OFFICIALLY welcoming the wayfarers home on April 12th – This event is NOT to be missed… see below! See the attached Invite! Bring a friend
Live with Peace in Your Heart
-Bruce
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Sweet Baby James at Fairport Village Coffee 3-22-2008
3/7/2008
Hey everyone!
How was your week? I admit that I do love winter. But, right now I hunger for the balmy breezes of spring or perhaps the balmy breezes atop Mt Kilimanjaro?
Check out this D&C blog on the Journey’s of Inspiration (JOI) trip to Africa- http://php.democratandchronicle.com/blog/news1/ Very cool! Patrick, thanks staying in touch! Read below about our upcoming benefit concert for the American Cancer Society and JOI.
Sweet Baby James welcomes new member Chuck Abell on lead/jazz guitar and backup vocals. Welcome Chuck! Chuck “sat-in” with us at the Boulder gig in February and got hooked (lucky for all of us!) Chuck will be joining us at Fairport Village Coffee on Saturday March 22nd. You should hear what this guy does to Summertime!
VERY LE HOT! Can’t wait!
Live with Peace in Your Heart
-Bruce
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