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Hellooooo Road Show friends !!!!!!!!! yes, I know it's been a while since my last update !! But you have to admit----it was long, cold, dreary 2010 Winter & staying indoors was the rule, not the exception !! But like every cold winter , there comes a warming spring & finally time to get out & S I N G !!!!!! Road Show has had a wonderful few months so far this season, starting with Irish Night in Boston , seeing good friends & having a wonderful time performing with all the other acts. Then, a few short weeks after that, we, along with many other quartets & choruses, sang at the Beverly Bash !! And as always, it was ........a BASH !! A great evening of song & tags. From there (and another "few short weeks" !!) Road Show had the privilege of singing for the audiance & judges at the combined Pine & Granite Division contest , held in Billerica,Ma. That was a thrill for us , as it had been a while since we had sung on a "real" stage , trying out newer material & recieving a raucous responce form the crowd !!! Now THAT felt good !!!
Currently , we're preparing for the annual Coastline Show Chorus / Narragansett Bay show, to be held in beeeeutiful downtown Cranston , R I ---- minutes outside of Providence----at the newly renovated Park Theatre !! (o k , "some" would want to call it by it's current name-- R I Center For The Ahhhts !!! Well, I grew up IN Cranston & to US---is the PAHK !!! ) The show is Sunday , May 16 , at 2:00 pm. !! Joining us & the choruses , will be Boston Accent , Academy , A Cut Above , Wake The Neighbors , X-Men & others !!! A great show is gauranteed !!!
We'll be looking forward to our once-a-year trek across the "pond" ----to Block island , Saturday , July 24th , for the annual B.I. barbershop festival , joining many other quartets, including a few mentioned above !! It's always a great show, as the "island" people & the tourists join in the fun !!!!
After our usual array of summer singouts , it's on to annual shows in Concord, New Hampshire (Sunday, October 3rd) and the Norwich ,Ct show, on Sunday,Nov 7th!! WOW---that's right after my birthday !!!! ( ahem, ah, Nov 4th. ----i'll be 25 .....er,ah, 35.....ahh, 45.....no,no, ah.....ok, 5 5 !!!!!!!!!! YIKES !!! ) BUT----17 in barbershop years !!)
So we hope to be singing & chatting & laughing with many of you this year !! Have a great & safe summer & we'll talk ( and update !) soon !!!!!!
Jimmy Berger
bari
ROAD SHOW
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A quickie note here !!!!! Sunday's show at the Park Theatre (5/16/10) was simply fabulous !! If you were there , i'm sure you'll agree. The choruses & all the quartets were on their game & a great time was had by all!! And a great house, as many tix were sold last minute plus a brisk walk-up business !! It sure appears that this will be the new home for NBC & Coastline for future annual shows !!! Kudo's to Gail Jencik for all her hard work in preparing both choruses to hit the stage & really entertain the appreciative crowd !!! And of course, our own Mr Humble , Mikey Maino for all he does in preparing pretty much the WHOLE show , great job !!!
Again, if you were at the show, it was a gas !! If you weren't able to attend , we certainly hope to see you at one of our next performances !!!!!!!!
lata !!!!!!!
Jimmy B
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JULY 2009
" Summer Summer oh Summer" !!! (that could be a trivia question----what 1-hit wonder scored a huge hit by that title ??? E/mail us if you know !!!)) Hey folks --- welcome to -----Summer ?? pretty darn wet & wild. Just a quick update regarding Road Show stuff----hmmm, not much !! B U T !!!! We are singing on Block Isle this July ( the 25th) at the annual barbershop weekend that's been held there for as long as Mikey Maino has been alive. We're talking decades here !!! We then don't sing out untill September 26th , when we travel on up to beautiful downtown Portsmouth, N H , to have some fun with Jim Dodge & his wonderful chapter. Also, before I forget to mention, mark down Sunday, Sept 13th on your social calenders , for that is the date for the annual NBC/Coastline Show Chorus show, at Veterans Memorial , Providence, at 2:00pm. Unfortunately, due to a work schedule conflict in the quartet, R S will not be able to attend in full, BUT it promises to be a great show !!
Speaking of Mr. Rafone ( you can call him Mike ) , he just came back from International (Anaheim, dontcha know) and had many great stories to tell , form the obviously stupendous quartet competition (Congrats to Crossroads !!) , to the MAJOR upset in the chorus competition ( VM ?? "not today ! " ) to Conan O'Brian and Dick Van Dyke and everything in between !! Hope some of you got to attend, but if not.....just drop us an e/mail & Mr Maino will tell ya all about it !!!
That's it for now, folks !! Hope your summer is going great & we certainly hope to see you from near & afar , " everywhere we go" !!!
Jimmy B bari Road Show
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HOLY MOLY-----Where DID that summer go ????? HEYYYYY readers , HAPPY HOLIDAYS !!!!!!!!!! Contrary to un-popular belief ---- the N'Eastern District web site---AHEM--------- we ARE alive & kickin' and RAREIN' to sing ! There hasn't been a LOT of action this fall , due to schduling conflicts & all that , BUT--we DID have the pleasure of singing on the Seacoast Vocal Union show, in September , directed by our very dear friend , Mr Jim Dodge ! Sharing the bill with us were our very good friends & close bud's, The Academy , AND a very entertaining women's chorus, Voices From The Heart !! And in spite of some "microphone issues" ---- " IS THIS MIKE ON ??? " ( very inside Jimmy joke--ask me, i'll tell you !!) a GREAT time was had by all. Thanks again, Jim D , as always, you ARE the perfect host !!!
Aside from learning new material & updating some old charts , we're just biding our time until "show-season" rolls around in the Spring & hope to be out there in full Road Show regalia !! We ALWAYS miss being on stage --- rehearsals are fun & all, but there's nothing like a live & enthusiastic audiance !! And there's no better audiences than here in the North- Eastern District !!
So have a happy & safe holiday season & we certainly hope to see y'all real soon !!
Jimmy Berger ,bari Road Show
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dated 7/26/2010 ::: THE ANNUAL BLOCK ISLAND FESTIVAL WEEKEND !!!!!!!!
Gooooood Morning Road Show friends & family !!! Hope your Summer is going swimmingly !! And how about the cold & damp conditions ???? N O T !!!!!!!!! Can you believe this heat ??? Why, it's so hot , I saw the devil his-bad self , drinking a Sam Summer !! And where did I see the devil ?? Man, i'm just crazy from the heat !!!!
Now--onto the 46th annual festival !!! Folks, those of us who were there truly partook in one of THE best weekends of barbershop singing & friendship in recent memory! I was not able to head over early ( on Friday) but from what I was to gather, it was a beautiful evening of singing & relaxing amongst the performers, at Peter & Sandy Greenman's house ! Peter & Sandy have worked hard over the past so many years, keeping this annual event vibrant & meaningful. A big bell-chord to them !!!
Saturday night's show had the uneasy makings of possibly a not-so-well attended event, as the heat during the day was unbearable. We all just basically sat all day, trying to grab any breeze we could to spell relief ! By 7:30 , just a half hour before showtime, there was maybe 20 people in attendance!! By 7:45 , maybe another 10-15 . BUT--- by the time Bob O'Connell sat down & started tickling the ivories as to warm up the audiance, by 8:00 , we had our almost-full house we ALL so desperately wanted, as all performers do! It was very warm inside the church , with just ceiling fans making it bearable , but the show made all thinking of heat go away !!
First out of the shute & onto the stage were those well seasoned vets from "planet Jerry" , the X Men!! With Jerry Xavier on lead, sounding ever so Rich Knapp-like , Sir Tony Daniels on bari, Fred "who's on first" Kingsbury on tenor & Mr Rafone (but you can call him MIKE(Maino) on bass, these guys did a great job opening the show to a rousing applause !! They were quickly followed by Coast To Coast , with the aforementioned Tony D , Freddy the K , Jerry X , rounded out by Peter Greenman . Again, with Jerry on lead, this quartet sang crowd favorites , keeping with straight barbershop to keep the audiance "warm" !!!
Next up were those annual crowd-favorites,those "felines-of-fun", the Alley Cats !! Chris,Lori,Pat & Carroll did their always entertaining package of prrrrrteee ballads & costume changes & prancing props! The 'Cats have been an island festival favorite for a number of years now. They were a prrrrrrfect fit for the show !!!
Following the cat women were Southeast Light , again anchored on stage by Jerry "what , me again??" Xavier , Tony D, Freddy K and his beautiful wife, Carol Kingsbury !! This very entertaining quartet always pleases the audiance with their smooth renditions of classic pop tunes with a little hilarity thrown in to keep the crowd guessing what they'll do next !! And to end their set , they featured Carroll , singing a beautiful rendition of "Beauty & The Beast". A very nice way to end the first half.
After a much-needed outside break , the second half of the show began with a rousing set of great tunes by the award-winning Sweet Ads quartet ( and Road Show's little sisters in harmony ) WAKE THE NEIGHBORS !!! Lead by the multi talented "sing like Mike" Gail Jencik on bass, the new & improved vocal prowess of Stephanie Goddard on lead , the wicked great "fill in those harmony notes " Karen Nadeau on bari & the lovely Venessa " ooh la-la" La Rochelle singing those gorgeous tenor notes. Folks, this group is heading places in the barbershop Sweet Ads society , they'll be leaving other quartets in their "wake" !!
FINALLY , after the usual hours of "hurry up & wait" time before a gig, Road Show took the stage like caged lions , actually singing our way out there , doing an intro to 16 Tons , a staple of ours featuring the awsome Mikester on lead-bass ! We charged thru some Road Show favorites, with a little gospel thrown in--hey, we're in church ya know !! With the sweat just flying off us , we ended our portion of the show with a brand new fast-becoming-a - favorite Minnie The Moocher , with yours truly egging on the crowd to follow me on the middle part with all the Hidee Hidee Ho going on !! We had a blast with this crowd, as all the acts did !! After greeting many of the folks outside after the show , we all headed up to Aldo's pizza , also as part of the tradition & we all had some good nosh & suds & sang past midnight. From there , it was car-pooling back to Sandy & Peter's house for most of us, where we all changed into much-welcomed comfy clothes , sat around & talked & laughed & watched as Bob O sprayed us with laughing-beer !! Yup, it IS hard to g'faw & drink at the same time, huh Bobbo ??? Then each of us off to beddy-by , to greet sonic booms of thunder & a light show to rival Disney's Illuminations !!!!! A tremendous storm at 2 in the morning. AHH!
In closing , I know all the performers would like to extend their heartfelt hugs & thanks to our host families, who without hesitation , open their homes to us. To Arthur & Alice Jacob , Bruce & Diane Johnson , Anna & Michael Lofaro & especially to Peter & Sandy Greenman , who continue to work hard to keep this wonderful festival alive & so as to give us performers another place to work our magic! To these people and others, we love you & thank you.
And to those who have never made the trek across the "pond" , please consider it. I t's a show like no other !!
Hope to see y'all real soon !!!!!!!
Jimmy B bari
Road Show
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more of Jimmy's news...
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MAY 2009
Hello again, Road Show fans & guests !! Jimmy B here & have I got a report for you !!
As previously mentioned, Road Show was chosen to represent the N'East in Harmony Sweeps A Capella competition in sunny ( and VERY hot) San Francisco over the weekend of May 15th and folks, what a time we had !!! We flew out very early on Friday and arrived in San Fran at approx noon Pacific time. We hopped in our huge rented buggy and proceeded to our hotel in San Rafael ,which was fantastically located about a mile from the competition hall. We had a very peaceful Friday evening , even taking in a movie ( the new Star Trek flick--- yes, Scottie gave it everything he had and Spock was totally logical---) We proceeded to " live long and prosper" that evening, getting much needed sleep after such a long trip!
The next day ( competiton day!!) ,after a great outdoor breakfast overlooking a beautiful villiage & marina, we proceeded to Muir Woods , a gorgeous state forest known for some of the tallest & oldest Redwood trees on earth !! We hiked for over 2+ hours, just amazed at these grand old behemoths in all their shimmering glory, some as tall as 200 feet ! There were times on the trail that, when you stopped, you could not hear anything else except our own breathing! We were simply mesmerized at the wonders we encountered along the way and were treated, at the end of the trail , by a beautiful deer running across our path, no more than 20' in front of us!! Mother nature at her glorious best, folks !!
We retreated back to the hotel for a much needed swim ( as mentioned, that saturday the temperature rose to a blisstering 100 degrees !!) and basically went into "relax" mode! We arrived at the concert hall at around 4:00 , met many of the other competing groups & had avery quick sound check. Had a few meetings after that, basically logistics about the evening & what to expect before & after the competition. After that, is was get dressed & get into performance mode !!!!
Friends, I don't think anything or anyone could have prepared us for what we were about to experiance , as when it was our time to perform ( strictly 12-min!) and we took the stage, there was a great ovation for us & that got us pumped! We broke right into "That Cat Is High", with our usual HUGE tag & the place went nuts ! We were like "what just happened?" !! Due to time constraints, we launched right into "On My Way To Heaven" with another big tag --yes, Road Show LOVES big tags !!--- followed by a stirring rendition by our big,bad,bass, Mike Maino of "16 Tons" which blew the doors off the place ! We then had just enogh time left to rip thru one of our all-time favorite comedy pieces, "My Old Man" ! We finished up our time, walking off to thunderous applause & feeling great about our set. Every group brought something different to the stage, all 2000 paying customers loving every minute of it and when the dust settled & all the groups were on stage for the announcements, it was Max Factor , a Sweet Ad quartet from the Mid-Atlantic district who came out on top !! And they were deserving,folks, truly a spectacular perfomance by them!! As they only announce places one thru three , and after talking to contest people in the know, we were left to speculate that we came in either 4th or 5th----BUT it really didn't matter, as we unanimously felt this was probably our best performance in this current line-up and we felt all the work we put into the package was justified. We recieved dozens of accolades after the show, genuine compliments from people going out of their way just to say hello to us. Folks, there isn't a better feeling then that !!!!!!!
We look forward to seeing you out on the "Road" !! Come up & say howdy !! Until we meet again , yours in harmony !
Jimmy B !!!
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