REMEMBERING "JAVA" JENNIFER CONCERT

REMEMBERING JENNIFER

A Concert To Celebrate a Beautiful Life Friends and Family Come Together to Celebrate a Beautiful Life!!

Jennifer who passed away on October 1^st, was a longtime resident of Brevard county. She spent a number of years in the corporate world, and was a large supporter of the local Art and Music scene largely as owner of the music venue Kool Beanz Coffeehouse. Before during and after Kool Beanz, Jen was always helping others by organizing, attending, or donating to help others in need. She is survived by her husband of 15 years, “Java” John, and her 13 year old son Dylan.

Sunday, November 7^th 2pm-9pm
At The SPACE STATION - In The CLARION HOTEL
260 E. Merritt Island Cswy. Merritt Island, FL 321-305-4951

Live Music Lovingly by friends of Jen:

Featuring:
LARRY HOPPEN of ORLEANS
Hits like - "Dance With Me", "Still the One", "Love Takes Time", "Let There be Music"!

The “KOOL BEANZ” set: Jeanie Fitchen, Bluesgotus, One Street Over, Terry Kelly, Dianne Karlovich, & Logan Bell

The “JAVA THE HUT” Set: Taylor Made, Anna Delgado, Billy Chapman, Billy Lee & Dave Clark, & Steve Setron

Also, Jessica Ottway, Robin & Eddy, and possible surprise guests!

HOSTED BY FM ODYSSEY'S FRED MIGLIORE!


$20 (suggested) Donation at the Door.
There will be Raffles, an Auction & More to Benefit Jennifer’s Family

MAP TO EVENT

LARRY HOPPEN/ORLEANS

OBAMA In FLORIDA!

PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE BARACK OBAMA
Maitland, Florida, May 21st 2008














After weeks of anticipation, my wife Jen and I arrived at the Sheridan in Maitland for a 'private' reception (400-500 people) for Mr. Obama around 6pm. What a scene! Newsmen from all the local stations and major networks were there. There were t-shirt & button hawkers, and folks handing out pamphlets for their causes. And of course Barack Obama supporters of all kinds from all over the state of Florida.

First we had to sign in and get in line to be searched before entering the conference room. No prob, the mood was electric! People chatting, some drinking, and much swapping of Obama paraphernalia .

The line in front of, and behind us to enter the conference room:


















We ran into our ol' friend Pam (seen here in front of the stage) -who coincidentally works for our friend Arna (who was largely responsible for arranging the event). We had not seen Pam since our coffeehouse closed six years ago.















Then as we were watching them set up the stage wondering who was going to perform, I saw a gent reaching for a guitar and asked Jennifer if it was Larry. "Larry who" she asked...Larry Hoppen from the band Orleans. "I don't know". So I shouted LARRY! He turned around and I shouted ""Java" John here"...he came right over. What a nice surprise (I'd written about Larry a few month back in this blog).

Larry said he was there with Beth Schafer and that they were going to do a set to warm up the crowd. He also said they were going to feature a song called "Build that Bridge", a song they recorded together (it's the title track from her recent CD). They are offering this wonderful song to the Obama campaign. They performed that song, a few Orleans tunes like "Still The One" and "Dance With Me"and some classic rock hits much to the delight of the unsuspecting crowd.

Thanks to Beth, here is an MP3 of "Build That Bridge" and "Unsung" a song that uses a reprise of the "Build That Bridge" chorus...both are truly beautiful songs. I hope Obama uses the tune!

01 Build That Bridge 1.mp3

11 Unsung.mp3

Beth, the band, Larry and Senator Barack Obama.













When the Senator took to the stage the place went nuts! A solid three minutes of applause easily. Barack was clearly embarrassed and amused by the adulation, but he managed to calm the crowd, pointing of specifically to one elder woman who was near hysterics with delight!

Obama then shared thanks for folks involved, and delivered a brief but eloquent speech. The man knows how to work a crowd, and is a master at public speaking -unlike some current politicians we know. (there are a few Youtube clips from the event below).










these photos by "Java" John









For a few days prior to the event I worked on designing a poster commemorating the event (below) in hopes of getting Barack to autograph it for me. Well, with many, many thanks to Arna for getting it to him, our next President indeed signed it for me.

And the report is that he truly loved it and was grateful for the copy I gave to him.
THANK YOU, Sir.

Orlando Mayor got a hold of one of the few copies I brought, and reportedly loved it as well. Enjoy Gents.



































Possibly the two women most excited to be there Wednesday night, and the two who made it a real treat for me: Arna and my beautiful wife Jennifer. Thank you both!

















Obama arriving in Maitland Florida 9pm :



Speaking in Maitland:




Obama in Tampa 3 hours earlier:



Beth Schafer's Obama/Unsung Video


MAKE SURE TO GET OUT AND VOTE!!
It's your right, your duty, and the smart thing to do!

BARACK OBAMA
OBAMA MYSPACE

register to vote:
ROCK THE VOTE

LARRY HOPPEN

BETH SCHAFER

HE'S STILL THE ONE!

LARRY HOPPEN








Monday morning I started my birthday off with a wonderful interview with one of the lead singers for The Band Orleans - LARRY HOPPEN. I had a great chat with Larry, a very nice guy with a lot of musical stuff happening. It's no secret that I'm a huge fan of ORLEANS, since first seeing them perform on the Pretender Tour with Jackson Browne in Miami Halloween 1976, and having had Larry's bandmate JOHN HALL perform at our venue Kool Beanz several times.


(cluster graft from BAND TO BAND tracing rock's family tree)

I want to share the interview with you, but I've got good news & bad news...first the bad news - for the interview I was using/experimenting with a new piece of recording equipment (my birthday present from Jen - thanks baby!) and the mouthpiece on my phone was bad & rendered my voice and the recording horrible. The good news is that I salvaged a few minutes to share with you, and Larry gave us a few MP3s of new and rare stuff for you as well! - A New Solo track, a live one by Orleans, and a vintage live recording from 1969 of Dancin' In The Moonlight, by Larry's early band BOFFALONGO. (from Wiki: The song was written by Sherman Kelly in 1968, whose brother, Wells Kelly - King Harvest's drummer in the early 1970s (and later Orleans')- introduced the song to the band. It was originally recorded in 1970 by the American band, Boffalongo).
Hope we get to chat again soon Larry....

So, a little about Larry Hoppen:
Larry is of course, a founding member and 'the voice' of the band Orleans, whose critically acclaimed music and memorable harmonies are loved the world over. People instantly recognize Larry's uplifting tenor from Orleans' timeless classics: Still the One, Dance with Me (both BMI certified, with a combined airplay of over 6 million!) and the self-penned wonderful hits Love Takes Time, Let There Be Music.

A musician's musician, Larry's vocal, keyboards, guitar, bass, Hohner Melodica, and other instrumental talents have been featured on tours and album releases by such artists as Graham Parker, Michael Franks, Lulu, Felix Cavaliere, and Livingston Taylor, Screaming Cheetah Wheelies and Blues Traveler.

In 1996, Larry produced (his side project) The UnHerd's Looking for the Light. With David Sancious, Tony Levin, Terry Silverlight and other world class artists Larry created a wonderful collection of meaningful compositions. All CD sales profits and 100% of Larry's publishing are donated to Sunshine for HIV Kids, which he and wife Patricia, co-founded in 1993. The symbiotic combination of Larry's musical career and charitable efforts is something to which he is deeply committed.

Larry's newest CD as singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist is titled "Handmade", and recently, Larry has been touring the globe with RPM (Rock and Pop Masters) whose members enjoy 25 Gold Albums, 26 Platinum and Multi-Platinum Albums, 57 Top Forty singles, 25 Top Ten singles, and 10 Number One Hits!

Today, Larry is in Woodstock, perparing for a gig with ROBBIE DuPREE at the The Bearsville Theatre on Friday, February 1st.The Time and Tide CD concert will be a special concert because they will preview all the new songs from "Time and Tide", Robbie's Brand New CD (Today!) in the first part of the evening, and in the second half of the show, they will perform favorites and hits, reaching back through his recording history.

"Time and Tide" is Robbie's first studio record in 5 years, and features an awesome band: David Sancious, Larry Hoppen, Leslie Smith, Rick Chudacoff and Peter Bunetta. Together, they've been friends and music partners for more than 30 years.

Larry and I discussing the Rock and Pop Masters

larry-RPM.mp3

Larry and I talking about the new Robbie DuPree project

larry-robbie.mp3

solo Larry

3 Unsettling Down.mp3

ORLEANS

Mission of Mercy.mp3

Boffalongo `69

Dancin' _ BOFF '69.mp3

Check Out The Websites below for Larry, RPM, Robbie and Orleans...this bunch is still kicking out some awesome music!

LARRY HOPPEN

ORLEANS

RPM

ROBBIE DUPREE

Sunshine for HIV Kids

BAND TO BAND

They Say It's Your Birthday....

Well, Happy Birthday to Me!

First off, THANK YOU all very the wonderful response and support during my first two weeks of blogging on SPILL THE BEANZ. I've got lots of kool things coming up, I'm lining exclusive interviews, concert & book reviews, lots of art and more! Please be sure to go to the bottom of the page & click the link that says "subcribre to:"...or email me to be kept up to date with new posts.


Today I'm going to share with you a bunch of January 28th related things. This morning I had a great interview with ORLEANS frontman Larry Hoppen, I'll share some of that with you tomorrow when I get done editing. In the meantime I'll share an MP3 or two that he passed along with you....I'll also share with you a recording of another Orleans frontman, John Hall, singing Happy Birthday to me 7 years ago at Kool Beanz, and some great news.


My 10 year old son (The Florida Gators Fan!) sculpted this replica of (my team) the Miami Hurricane's Mascot "Sebastian" for my birthday today - AWESOME!!









Here are a few other notable
1/28 Birthday celebrants:
1887 Arthur Rubinstein
1909 Lionel KP "Buster" Crabb
1912 Jackson Pollock
1929 Acker Bilk
1936 Alan Alda
1943 Dick Taylor (The Pretty Things)
1950 Barbi Benton
1962 Sam Phillips
1968 Sarah McLachlan
1977 Joey Fatone Jr. ('N Sync)
1980 Nick Carter (Backstreet Boys)
1981 Elijah Wood
...and my Unlce Phil....



TODAY: JIMMY PAGE PRESS CONFERENCE ...LED ZEP REUNION?
More From The Associated Press:

Led Zeppelin Guitarist Wants World Tour
By ERIC TALMADGE – 1/28/08

TOKYO (AP) — Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page said Monday he was ready to take the iconic band on a world tour after burning up the stage at last month's reunion concert in London. But it probably won't be before September.

"The amount of work we put into O2 was what you would normally put into a world tour anyway," Page, 64, said of the intense rehearsing the band did for the Dec. 10 concert at London's O2 Arena.

The band's three surviving members — Page, singer Robert Plant and bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones — were joined at the sold-out benefit show by the late John Bonham's son Jason on drums.

Page, who was in Japan to promote the new Zeppelin release, "Mothership," said the two-hour-plus concert was proof that Led Zeppelin can still perform at its best.

He said the band, which formed in 1968, was ready musically to get back together and take it out on a wider run, but it was not clear when it would go on tour as the singer had other plans.

"Robert Plant has a parallel project and he is busy with that until September," Page said.

Plant and bluegrass star Alison Krauss will begin their world tour with a run of shows in the southern U.S. this spring. The two released an album in October called "Raising Sand" that debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard chart in the U.S. The duo will tour Europe in May before returning for North American shows still to be announced for June and July.

Page said the band set their standards very high before agreeing to do the reunion, their first in 20 years. Led Zeppelin broke up in 1980 after the elder Bonham's death.

Page said they rehearsed for weeks, apprehensive that the cohesion they had in the 1970s when they were at their peak might be hard to rediscover.

"We wanted people who might not have even been alive in 1980 when we finished to understand what we were," he said.

Page said all went well until he broke a finger in three places, forcing the band to postpone the show for several weeks.

"But we did the show, and it was great," he said. "It was instant in terms of chemistry."

ANNOUNCED TODAY:
QTRAX - FREE LEGAL MUSIC DOWNLOADS by Major Artists

from QTrax:

Qtrax is NOT just another P2P network, it provides a complete system for finding and downloading music. The player provides access a web site filled with artist content, including Videos, Ringtones, Lyrics, Album Art, up to the minute artist news! Try finding THAT on any other P2P network. Even better – its FREE AND LEGAL on Qtrax.

One This Day In History.....
January 28th:

1960 - The first photograph bounced off of the moon.
1960 - Zora Neale Hurston died in Fort Pierce, Florida
1964 : Andy Warhol: Andy Warhol starts the Factory, the first works of art were boxes of food
1965 - The Who made their first appearance on the British TV rock show "Ready Steady Go!"
1967 -Rolling Stones release "Let's Spend the Night Together"
1985- the recording took place for 'We Are The World' the US equivalent of Band Aid. Written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie the all star cast included Stevie Wonder, Tina Turner, Bruce Springsteen, Diana Ross, Bob Dylan, Ray Charles, Daryl Hall, John Oates, Cyndi Lauper, Steve Perry and Bob Geldof. The proceeds went toward worldwide hunger prevention.
1986 : Space Shuttle Challenger explodes during lift-off Space Shuttle Challenger explodes 73 seconds after lift-off killing all seven astronauts, including school teacher Christa McAuliffe. The cause was later determined as a leaking solid rocket booster.
1986 - Joaquin Phoenix: He made his big-screen debut in "Space Camp"
1988- Eleven years after it was released, The Sex Pistols album 'Never Mind The Bollocks, Here's The Sex Pistols' went Gold in the US with sales over 500,000.
1990 - Aaron Neville sang the U.S. national anthem at Super Bowl XXIV.
1994- Paul and Linda McCartney attended the premiere of Wayne’s World II in London. The couple then went on to Hard Rock Café, where the film star Mike Myers presented them with a check for LIPA (the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts) for $42,500 from the sale of Linda’s vegetarian burgers.
1996 - Diana Ross performed as the featured halftime performer at Super Bowl XX.
1999 - Anna Kournikova: Won her first double Grand Slam Title in Australia (with Martina Hingis)
1999 - Pat Boone formed the Gold Records label, which will only sign artists 45 years old and up. The first performer signed was Jack Jones.
2007 - Dreamgirls: Music from the Motion Picture was at No.1 on the US album chart. The musical based on the history of Diana Ross and the Supremes featured Jamie Foxx, Beyoncé Knowles, Eddie Murphy, Jennifer Hudson, Anika Noni Rose and Keith Robinson.




my portrait of original Beatle drummer Pete Best, signed by Pete on my birthday 1995
















Some USA Number 1 Singles on January 28th

1997 "Un-Break My Heart" by Toni Braxton
1993 "I Will Always Love You" by Whitney Houston
1987 "At This Moment" by Billy Vera and the Beaters
1986 "That's What Friends Are For" by Dionne and Friends
1985 "Like a Virgin" by Madonna
1984 "Owner of a Lonely Heart" by Yes
1983 "Down Under" by Men at Work
1981 "(Just Like) Starting Over" by John Lennon
1980 "Rock with You" by Michael Jackson
1974 "You're Sixteen" by Ringo Starr
1973 "Superstition" by Stevie Wonder
1972 "American Pie" by Don McLean
1971 "Knock Three Times" by Dawn
1970 "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" by B. J. Thomas
1969 "I Heard It through the Grapevine" by Marvin Gaye
1968 "Judy in Disguise (with Glasses)" by John Fred and His Playboy Band
1967 "I'm a Believer" by The Monkees
1966 "The Sound of Silence" by Simon and Garfunkel
1965 "Downtown" by Petula Clark
1962 "Peppermint Twist - Part I" by Joey Dee and the Starliters
1960 "Running Bear" by Johnny Preston


Below are some MP3s for your enjoyment. You'll hear from the "Dancin' and We're Still Havin' Fun" DVD and CD by ORLEANS...and a solo track from Larry Hoppen.

"Dancin' In The Moonlight" from the ORLEANS Live DVD/CD

3 Dancin' In The Moonlight.mp3

LARRY HOPPEN solo

10 Love Is Love.mp3

JOHN HALL @ KOOL BEANZ

JavaJohn BirthdayBlues.mp3

ORLEANS

LARRY HOPPEN

JOHN HALL

ROCK & POP MASTERS

(Congressman) JOHN HALL

PETE BEST

LED ZEPPELIN

QTRAX

SUNSHINE FOR HIV KIDS