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.
It was 7:30am a few weeks ago when I was jolted awake by an ear-piercing, hi pitched noise. I covered my ears and took a moment to remember where I was (a hotel in Pennsylvania) and what had awakened me (the fire alarm)
In the next moments I looked at the time (7:30) I looked at Jim (already up and getting dressed.) Next, I visualized our escape route. I quickly dressed (not easy to do with your fingers in your ears) then we checked our door before opening it (the door was not hot) and dutifully made our way outside (easy, we were on the 1st floor). I smelled smoke…..it smelled like burnt toast.
The procedure in any building is to evacuate when you hear the fire alarm. We know the drill; we have practiced the drill in many places across the country and twice at sea in Alaska. You must evacuate – they will go room-to-room and get everybody out until the fire department arrives. In this case, going outside was the best and only way to escape the painful shrieking of the alarm.
During evacuation, so many thoughts very quickly go through my mind: What do I need? Where do I go? What do I bring? What did I leave behind? On a ship in Alaska, I wonder how cold the water is. If I end up in the ocean, my life preserver will only save me until hypothermia takes over. The time it takes to evacuate is the time I have to think about my situation. Even as I am in the process of taking action, I have those very same moments to contemplate the end of my life and how I might die.
In every situation, when we finally get the “all clear” from the fire department I feel relief. I also feel irritated by the rude awakening, and I also feel more than a little bit silly for letting something like the smell of burnt toast cause me to consider my untimely demise. All in all, I am just plain grateful to live another day.
HERE IS A BREAKDOWN OF ALARMS AND CAUSES IN MY 20-PLUS YEARS OF TRAVELING:
Alaska Cruise ship FIRE ALARM! CAUSE: Incinerator fire (aren’t fires supposed to be in incinerators?)
Midwest hotel TORNADO SIREN! CAUSE: No tornado, but we made a lot of friends in the stairwell.
Symphony Christmas Concert FIRE ALARM! CAUSE: The entire audience and all performers were evacuated from the building and into the snow during our performance. There was no fire, a vendor was roasting chestnuts in the lobby. Which set off the smoke alarm.
Alaska Cruise ship FIRE ALARM! CAUSE: Dang incinerator again
Midwest hotel FIRE ALARM! CAUSE: No fire, someone smoking in their room.
I saved a news article I wanted to share with all of you, but, time passed…. I lost the article, and I found it again, then I realized that I had forgotten where it came from. So, with apologies and appreciation to the (unknown) news source, here is a true story What is My Coffee? written by Pam Kearney:
I suppose my coffee is entertaining. My goal as a performer is to make people feel good by performing heartfelt music. John Denver music makes it sooo easy for me to make good coffee!
Tell me in the comments – WHAT IS YOUR COFFEE?
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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
It’s time to begin our Christmas tour! This year, we are driving from home base in California to shows in Michigan (Dec 2) Texas (Dec 16) back to California (Dec 20) and Arizona (Dec 23). The show in California is technically not a Christmas show – the promoter wanted to celebrate John Denver’s 80th birthday (Dec 31, 2023). So, a lot of driving (to avoid airline fees and car rental fees) and a lot of hotels are ahead of us this month. It got me to thinking about the higher cost of EVERYTHING!
Dealing with high costs requires a certain amount of flexibility. You have to lower your expectations. You might not want to afford to stay in the usual hotels you count on (we used to stay exclusively at Comfort Inn Hotels) you might take a chance on a hotel with a lower rate. That leads to staying in some sketchy hotels.
Jim Connor (author of “Grandma’s Feather Bed) told a story about staying in a blackfoot hotel. You see, the hotel was not owned by Native Americans, he called it blackfoot, because that’s what your foot looks like if you walk around without socks.
The first sketchy hotel we stayed at was in 2008…it was the worst ever! We kept looking for a chalk outline in the parking lot, and our pleas for clean towels and sheets were answered with, “We don’t have any”. Lesson learned: no more Knight’s Inn (never, ever).
Take a good look at the picture #1. Yes, that is the bathroom sink on the floor. Just last year this lovely room was offered to us at a premium price. We had to go back to the front desk twice to get a room that was not in complete disrepair. Jim (a fixer) is constantly baffled by the incredibly bad handiwork he sees, even in good hotels! Bad tile work, bad plumbing, bad carpentry (a ragged notch cut in a bathroom door because the toilet was in the way of the door opening – see picture #2). Often, Jim repairs things in the room himself before he can relax.
Do you have a sketchy hotel experience? Share it here!
From sea to shining sea, life is a beach….at least it is on the edges!
Although we live on the Pacific side – seems we’ve been spending a lot of time closer to the Atlantic. We recently visited beaches in Norfolk, Virginia and in Outer Banks, North Carolina. Outer banks is the area where Orville and Wilbur Wright famously flew the first powered aircraft in Kitty Hawk, NC.
Our concert was in Kill Devil Hills, NC – a very memorable show because of the enthusiastic audience (thank you, Outer Banks Forum for the Lively Arts!!) – but what really got our curiosity going was the name of the city: Kill Devil Hills.
Once the concert was over, we spent some time with one of our hosts, David, who was more than happy (and probably asked often) to explain why the city had such a name. In colonial times, ships full of molasses would frequently pass by on their way to ports further north. The area had a treacherous coastline and shipwrecks were frequent. Wrecked ships were quickly plundered, and barrels of molasses would be brought into the hills to make rum. Another name for rum was “Kill Devil” as it is told that the drink was strong enough to kill the devil himself. Thus, the name Kill Devil Hills.
The beaches were lovely and the people welcoming….we hope to return soon!
No…..we didn’t try the rum!
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