Lynn Asher
1998
Big Brother has been blessed with great singers: Janis Joplin, Kate Russo, Lynn Asher, Sophia Ramos, Kacee Clanton, Andra Mitrovich, Cathy Richardson, Lisa Mills, Lisa Battle, Kathi McDonald, Jeri Verdi, Jane Myrenget, Halley DeVestern, Darby Gould, Arianna Antinori, Stacy Bauer, Jennifer Espinosa, Melissa Etheridge, Eileen Humphreys, Valerie Johnson, Mari Mack, Kristina Kopriva Rehling, Francine Sama, Mary Bridget Davies, Wendy Rich, Jody Joseph, Desirée Le Mieux, Diane Lotny, Chloe Lowery, Magdi Ruzsa, Boudicca, Michel Bastian, Shiho Superfly, Trish Burke and Maria Stanford.
Now, before the History Police come and break down my door to inform me that, for example, Melissa Etheridge was never in the band and she sang only a couple of tunes, I hasten to add that several of these singers were only with us briefly.
Each of these people sang very well when they were with us, and I love them all.
I am very fortunate to have performed with people of this caliber. Photo: Robert Altman
23 January 1998 Six Rivers Brewing Company McKinleyville California
6 February 1998 Bay Brewing Company Milwaukee Wisconsin
7 February 1998 Marquette University Milwaukee Wisconsin
Margaret Nelson Gurley.
10 February 1998 Tuxedo Junction Danbury Conneticut “See ya, James.” “Not if I see you first.” Typical Gurley exchange.
20 February 1998 The Emelin Theatre Mamaroneck New York
21 February 1998 The Call Providence Rhode Island
22 February 1998 Bodles Opera House Chester New York
“James, you’re a great guitar player.” “Takes one to know one.”
26 February 1998 Manny’s Car Wash New York City Oh, man, I love being in New York and meeting people like Kate Russo.
27 February 1998 Mexicali Blues Teaneck New Jersey Catherine Cavalieri and Carl Peachman took LSD that night. That was interesting. We all drove home together. To show you how stoned they were, I was doing the driving. There was a still, meditative feeling in the car. Rather different from Ninety-nine Bottles of Beer On The Wall.
Having passed her acid test, Catherine begins booking the band. Typical sweet, helpful note from her.
28 February 1998 Van Dyck Schenectady New York Don Wilcock was a jazz writer attuned to the passing scene.
With Lisa Battle
1 March 1998 Khyber Philadelphia
2 March 1998 Letter from Jack Ortman.
Jeannie Anderson James Anderson Elise Piliwale Margaret Joplin
Dusty Street Gilbert Klein
7 March 1998 Bammies
Koko Dree.
14 March 1998 Cocodrie San Francisco
22 April 1998 Dave’s CC Club Tallahassee Florida This was a real juke joint out in the woods. The owner Dave is a good man.
24 April 1998 Ray’s Downtown Club West Palm Beach
25 April 1998 Cheers Fort Lauderdale
26 April 1998 Mr. Pub Ocala Florida
1 May 1998 Trader’s Lakeland Florida May Day ! May Day ! This pilot’s distress call from World War Two was originally M’aidez ! Help Me !
2 May 1998 Sebastian Beach Inn Sebastian Beach Florida
12 May 1998
15 May 1998 President Casino Biloxi Mississippi
16 May 1998 Tipitina’s New Orleans
12 June 1998 Mount Tabor Portland Oregon The Mt. Tabor Theater was named after an extinct volcano located within the city boundaries of Portland, Oregon. The theatre was operating prior to 1941 and was still open in 1950. Although it closed and fell on hard times, it still displayed the name on the marquee and some unique neon tubing. It is situated across and down S.E. Hawthorne Street from the Bagdad, which has fared much better.
The colorful gentlemen who used to build, finance and own these places in the 1950s called them “carpet joints.”
13 June 1998 Reno Hilton Reno
19 June 1998 Six Rivers McKinleyville California
With Peter Walsh and George Michalski
20 June 1998 Altamont Speedway Livermore Caliifornia
25 June 1998 Manny’s Car Wash New York City
Look at the people who played here in one month’s time: Kerry Kearney, Susan Tedeschi, Jimmy Vivino.
Talking to Daniel Aloi.
26 June 1998 West Strand Grill Kingston New York
Kingston is on highway 87 almost due north of Manhattan. Woodstock is a little to the northeast of Kingston.
Buffalo is in the western part of New York state between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, where the Falls are.
27 June 1998 Mohawk Place Buffalo New York Someone made such a great recording of us here, including a fugue that Tom Finch and I played.
Elise Wainani Piliwale
28 June 1998 Stanhope Blues Fest Stanhope New Jersey
1 July 1998 Kingsbury’s Elmira New York Mark Twain’s wife Olivia Langdon grew up in Elmira.
The Clemens family lived in Hartford, Connecticut, but they summered at Quarry Farm, Elmira, New York.
Livy’s sister Susan Crane lived here. She built a study in the form of a pilot house for the author. This is where he wrote his best known books. Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn, The Prince and The Pauper, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court. He would breakfast in the main house and then walk down to the study to write all day.
| …since we have perched away up here on top of the hill near heaven I have the feeling of being a sort of scrub angel & am more moved to help shove the clouds around, & get the stars on deck promptly, & keep all things trim & ship-shape in the firmament than to bother myself with the humble insect-interests & occupations of the distant earth. |
Twain’s study in the form of a pilot house out in back of the main house where Susan Crane, Livy’s sister, lived.
3 July 1998 Godfrey Daniel’s Bethlehem Pennsylvania
4 July 1998 Burke Estate Hastings-On-Hudson New York
Catherine Cavalieri, who had begun to book us, decided to have us perform near her home in Hastings-on-Hudson. We performed on the grounds of the Burke Estate which has quite a history.
The place had belonged to Billie Burke, perhaps best known as Glinda, the good witch, in The Wizard of Oz.
Billie Burke was married to Florenz Ziegfeld, the preeminent showman of his time.
Flo Ziegfeld hired all of the famous actors of the day for his regular theatre times, but at midnight he had a special set of shows which featured performers like Will Rogers who was a kind of latter day Mark Twain, wise, funny and talented. Billie, herself quite gifted, helped her husband keep track of all these luminaries.
So, Catherine Cavalieri brought us to play on the grounds of Billie Burke’s estate. It was a beautiful sunny day and there were a lot of children with their families.
19 July 1998 Uncle Henry’s 90th Birthday Celebration Guerneville California Peter played stand up bass, and I sang How Long Has This Been Going On at this event.
24 July 1998 Atom Club Tokyo
26 July 1998 Shizuoka Royal Hotel Shizuoka Japan Our hotel is at the ‘H.’
28 July 1998 Rag Club Kyoto
31 July 1998 Casanova Makawao Maui Hawaii
1 August 1998 Hapa’s Kihei Hawaii
2 August 1998 Anna Banana’s Honolulu This is Fort Street, about 1930.
Anna Banana’s.
15 August 1998 St. Paul’s River Feast St. Paul Minnesota
16 August 1998 The Twisters Kenosha Wisconsin
19 August 1998 Mad Frog Cincinnati
20 August 1998 Wilbert’s Cleveland I liked this place. Friendly people.
22 August 1998 B.B. King’s Los Angeles
23 August 1998 House of Blues West Hollywood
11 September 1998 Teatro Metopolitan México, D.F. One of the best gigs ever. Kate Russo came along and sang and played so beautifully.
I did several interviews in Spanish and they seemed to understand me, which is good, because they often don’t understand me in English.
Danny Uzilevsky came along and played some great guitar.
Sound check: We were here with Fito de la Parra and his merry men, and that is always fun.
Elise was with me, so this trip was extra special.
Playing a couple of tunes at El Tianguís del Chopo, signing autographs and selling CDs.
¡ Saludos a México !
Kate Russo.
9 October 1998 The Call Providence Geri Verdi sang these gigs with us.
10 October 1998 Harpers Ferry Boston Halley DeVestern sang with us.
11 October 1998 Consolati Performing Arts Center Sheffield Massachusetts
14 October 1998 Ram’s Head Annapolis Maryland
15 October 1998 Friar Tuck’s Norfolk Virginia
16 October 1998 Jaxx Springfield Virginia
17 October 1998 Stanhope House Stanhope New Jersey
18 October 1998 The Schoolhouse Croton Falls New York
22 October 1998 Milestones Rochester New York
23 October 1998 The Van Dyck Schenectady New York
24 October 1998 Sandy’s Glen Falls New York
25 October 1998 Riverstreet Jazz Café Wilkes-Barre Pennsylvania
27 October 1998 Hard Rock Café Atlantic City New Jersey
This is when the Carol guitar entered the Hard Rock system. She now travels all over the world visiting all the Hard Rocks.
28 October 1998 Khyber Philadelphia
30 October 1998 Mexicali Blues Teaneck New Jersey Kate Russo
A major marketing mistake? Or did it not matter much that Columbia Records released five singles at once? One thing is for sure. They are all great songs.
Peter Lewis. Great voice. Really very good guitar player. Hard worker.
Look at the guy on the right. Same guitar that he plays today.
We did these tunes and many others as well.
With Jerry Miller and Bob Mosly at Wetlands, New York City.
27 November 1998 19 Broadway Fairfax California I love the Russell brothers.
These guys can burn the house down in fifteen minutes.
5 December 1998 Boulder Theatre Boulder California
See you next week?
Tom Finch, Bernard Purdie, Sam Andrew, Halley DeVestern
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