Dearest Friends, as we near the very end of our 2024 Christmas tour, we wish you all the very Merriest Christmas! Once again, we’ve been blessed with good health and good weather throughout the tour! We did encounter some of the white stuff, but that is to be expected (and sometimes wished for) this time of year.
To be able to tour our beautiful Nation and sing the very best music is a gift that we will never take for granted. We continue to appreciate the very talented John Denver for his legacy of music that is forever relevant in time. In other words, John’s message is the same for our generation and generations to come: take care of the earth and each other.
We are already preparing our 2025 shows! If we missed you this year we hope we will see you in 2025. Until then, keep the prayers and the email coming!
Love, from all of us to all of you… (From left) Anne Curry, Jim Curry, Larry Ruckman, Tom Williams and Christopher Wills.
Kool-Aid Man Loves John Denver! Remember the Kool Aid Man?
He would burst through the wall and yell, “Oh Yeah” in a deep voice.
Here’s a clip to remind you of the Kool Aid Man
That was my first thought at one of our recent concerts, when I heard a deep voice in the back of the room (it was dark and I couldn’t see who it was). I could hear him bellowing out, “Oh Yeah!” in between songs. “Ha!” I joked to myself, “The Kool Aid man is at our concert!” He was certainly having a great time, and he sounded like he was having a few drinks of something other than Kool Aid.
I couldn’t see the back of the room. The stage lighting only allowed me to see the first 5 rows of tables and chairs at the front of the stage. The first 5 rows were premium seating for concert goers, the coveted front seats, up close and personal. I had noticed at the beginning of our show that 2 of those seats – front and center – were uncharacteristically empty, and they remained empty as the show progressed. We normally have folks sitting in all of the premium seats, and although I was supposed to be performing songs, I found myself looking down at those empty seats and I began hoping that it was just because they forgot the date of the concert and not some sort of medical emergency that kept them from attending. I sent up a quick prayer and got my mind back to work….many folks DID show up, and they deserved my full attention.
Well, guess who else noticed the empty seats? Oh Yeah…..you guessed it; sometime close to the end of our show, the Kool Aid man made his way from the back of the room to the very first row with no one stopping him. In fact, the girl who was serving drinks quickly placed an adult beverage in front of him as soon as he sat down, as if to welcome him and reward him for his boldness. His age, long blonde hair, jeans and tank top made him look like he got lost on his way to a Guns and Roses Concert.
The Kool Aid Man was not content with stealing a front row seat and playing it…..um…..cool. You might think, having gotten away with his crime, he would sit quietly and try to go unnoticed. NOPE! He proceeded to stand with his arms in the air and bellow out deep and loud! When the other premium seat holders protested, he turned around and bellowed at them. It was distracting to us and intolerable to those around him. The lone security guard made two attempts to remove him, and the Kool Aid Man flatly refused to leave. We were close to the end of the concert, so I suppose security decided not to fight him. In his last act of defiance, the Kool Aid Man decided to break another rule and began videoing himself and the angry people around him with his phone.
After the show, the Kool Aid Man told Jim that he just loves John Denver (we already knew that, he shouted it several times during the show). Then he turned and busted through the wall and disappeared. (Not really, but it wouldn’t have surprised me).
Was this a prank? Did this guy lose a bet and his buddies forced him to humiliate himself at a John Denver Tribute Concert? Will his video be on YouTube someday? Tell me what you think in the comments. it was a different and rare experience for us ….hopefully the last one like that.
As the hot months quickly approach, I think back on some of the awesome summer concerts we have done in the past. This picture is from Dana Point, California in 2017. Dana Point is right next to the ocean, so the scene was picturesque from every angle!
But, as all summer concerts tend to be…IT WAS HOT!! Some people do okay out in the sun, I am not one of those people.
When attending an outdoor concert, most people don’t realize that by the time they start showing up for the concert, the musicians and the sound people have already been out in the heat for hours – setting up our gear and sound checking. By the time the afternoon is cooling, and the crowd is arriving ……the performers are like wet rags, trying to get up the gumption to smile and play after standing up all afternoon hugging the walls for the only available shade!
I remember a HOT show in Apple Valley, California (the closest I’ve ever come to passing out from heat) a HOT show in Indiana (with a bonus hornet’s nest behind the drummer) a HOT show in Arizona (we all got sunburned…not prepared). I remember shows so hot I couldn’t touch the microphone and shows so hot we had to hang tablecloths for makeshift shade so our instruments wouldn’t melt.
But then, the fun begins! We get back on stage as the afternoon cools down and we play!!
So, with all of the HOT show memories in mind, I am very pleased to say that we are doing ZERO outdoor concerts this summer! All Jim Curry summer shows are in indoor, AIR-CONDITIONED comfort!! Bonus: NO MOSQUITOES!
Check out our website home page for details:
July 5 – Pinetop, Arizona at the Hon Dah Casino
July 13 – Rancho Cucamonga, California at the Lewis Family Playhouse
August 3 – Franklin, North Carolina at the Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts
August 7 – Berlin, Ohio at the Amish Country Theater
August 10 – LaCrosse, Wisconsin at the Weber Center for the Arts
August 13 – St. Cloud, Minnesota at the Paramount Center for the Arts
August 18 – Oakmont, Pennsylvania – at the Oak Theatre
August 21 – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – at the World Café
August 23 – Boonsboro, Maryland – at the Vanish Hall Brewery
September 11 thru 15 – Laughlin, Nevada at Don Laughlin’s Resort and Casino
During our recent visit to the Manatee Park in Ft. Meyers, Florida, I was reminded that sometimes humans help animals without planning to. I’m not talking about rescues or programs, just plain old human activities that benefit animals without even trying.
I’ll explain: The power plant in Ft. Meyers was developed for humans. The plant discharges heated water into the canal that leads to the open ocean. Somewhere in time, Manatees discovered that the warm water in the canals helped them survive if the water in the ocean became too cold for them to thrive during the winter.
Granted, most of the time humans exploit animals, and it would be easy for me to list the many ways that humans impact animal life in a negative way…….but the story of the power plant and the Manatee Park in Ft. Meyers is the perfect example of animals using humans as a tool for survival.
Another example from my own experience, is from when Jim and I worked on cruise ships. We noticed that birds were flying right outside our cabin window while we were out at sea. Our rooms were very high at the top and at the bow (front) of the ship. The birds would cruise along right beside us, looking down. Then they would swoop down to the ocean and scoop up the flying fish that were skimming out of the ship’s way. The birds were using the ship as a tool to catch fish.
That’s just two that come to mind. Let me know if you have observed a way that animals have benefited from unintentional human activity…….
Don’t panic! I am still singing harmony and playing backup in Jim Curry’s John Denver Tribute Show!
What I meant to say is that I have taken on a new responsibility in our shows,
Here’s why:
Many of you already know that our wonderful flautist and business partner, Diane Ireland, just retired and is managing her arthritis more comfortably at home rather than in a bouncy van. What many of you DON’T know is that Diane, in addition to playing the flute during our shows, also pushed the button that started the videos we show during each song.
This button-pushing job sounds easy…heck…what could be hard about pushing a button?
Let me tell you that what Diane did flawlessly for so many years comes off a little less polished when I’m in charge! I must REMEMBER to push the button at the beginning of the song or I will mess up the timing of the images. For instance, when we are singing about eagles, we want to see eagles! When the dolphin jumps out of the water and spins, it should be at the exact moment the music swells……if he’s late, it’s MY fault.
The button must be pushed when the song begins, not two seconds before or after. IF I FORGET…….. I can’t skip ahead or fast-forward. If I forget to push the button at the beginning of a song, the video will lag behind. The eagles will be late, the horses will be late and the dolphin…….well, he will be jumping out of the water and giving me a dirty look!
One of My Many Tasks on Stage: Making Jim Laugh!
This is a LOT of pressure! Let me tell you that in the history of doing our shows for the past 25 years, I have learned how to perform every single song in every single show by NOT PUSHING A BUTTON AT THE BEGINNING OF EVERY SONG!! Let me also tell you that I have other things to think about and other buttons to push (mute button, tuner button, etc), not to mention remembering lyrics and chords and smiling and not falling down and all the other important stuff!
As old dogs go, I’m pretty much out of tricks. I think the saying goes that old dogs CAN learn new tricks, but it takes them longer to learn.
Soooooo….. Here’s to learning, and here’s to my new button-pushing future!
Just in case you haven’t already seen this commercial – I am featuring it in my blog this Holiday season.
Underneath the heartfelt, tear-jerking message, is the joy we felt hearing the music they used to bring their message home.
Thanks Chevrolet! We already knew that John Denver wrote the sound track of our lives…..it’s about time this is recognized by big media advertisers and the rest of the world.
"It was an amazing evening. We have had many different performers at our conferences; The Beach Boys, Tony Bennett, Three Dog Night, America. Jim Curry ranks among these acts. I would book Jim and his band again in a heartbeat."
Daniel Young Corporate Function, Keystone, CO
"I have to tell you I don't know when we've enjoyed a show as much as we enjoyed yours. It just swept us away and we did not want it to end! You are all so gifted. And the music of John Denver speaks for itself. It touches the heart."
