Taking the Show on the Road

We've been playing lots of music lately--most of it for Bird People. Last week, The Zick and I did a brief (too early) morning appearance on the local TV station, WTAP. We got to play two songs and part of the station's "Daybreak Concert Series", one of which will be shown on the morning show on March 20 at (the safe-for-the-public hour of) 6:00 am or so. I believe WTAP will also stream the segment on their website after it airs. Unless, of course, there are restraining orders issued.

BWD's Founding Publishers, Bill & Elsa Thompson recorded a "Daybreak Concert" appearance, too. Theirs will air the day before, on March 19, 2007, and will also be available on the WTAP website.

Fresh from our WTAP show, we display our beaming faces (which are better suited to radio).

Late last month we played some acoustic music in Oxford, Ohio, with our buddy, John Kogge, for the Ohio Ornithological Society's Owl Symposium. We billed ourselves as Chick Sandwich (JZ is always in the middle on stage) and played for about 120 or so souls at Hueston Woods State Park.

John Kogge, Julie Zickefoose (chick), BOTB performing as Chick Sandwich. Photo by Hugh Rose.

Of course there was a $20 cover charge and a two-drink minimum. Sign by Jen Sauter. Photo by Hugh Rose.

Each summer our family goes to The Chautauqua Institution near Jamestown, NY for a week-long working vacation. We often teach classes on bird watching and give lectures to the delightful and robust Bird, Tree & Garden Club there. Increasingly, we also play music there, since Chautauqua is such a haven for the arts and musicians are made to feel very welcome.

JZ and BOTB performing al fresco (or is it al dente?) last summer at the Chautauqua Institution in western NY.

This coming weekend we're again taking our show on the road to The Aullwood Audubon Center and Farm where we're performing our program "Music of the Birds." This program is all fluff. You will learn NOTHING about birds, bird ID, bird feeding--it's just music and pretty pictures. If you're within shouting distance of Dayton, Ohio, come on down and see us. Show starts at 7:30 pm on Saturday, March 17. Good seats are still available.

We'll be playing acoustically at Aullwood, so no electric guitar, no necktie, and no fancy headgear.

One thing I'm a little concerned about is the fact that we're going to see acoustic guitar whiz and fab singer/songwriter Bruce Cockburn the night before at Stuart's Opera House in Nelsonville, Ohio. This is a belated b-day present to me from Zick. Bruce's performance may make me want to saw the neck off of my guitar. If that happens, I'll fall back on the old comb/wax paper/homemade-kazoo thing as my instrument of choice.