Hi All,
Where is this summer going? I cannot believe we are already heading into the Fourth of July weekend!
This issue has some great artwork and an interview with the comedy duo Drinking Partners.
We are also taking submissions for the Fall issue... email them to holidaycafe.nicole@gmail.com
Hope everyone is enjoying the warmer weather and their summers so far. See you again in the Fall!
Nicole
Friday, July 1, 2016
Bluejay
Bluejay, by Rhianna Browell. Watercolor.
Rhianna just finished her freshman year at Canon-Mac High School, but she’s been creating art for years, accumulating Gold and Silver Keys (Scholastic Art Awards) since seventh grade. This watercolor is part of her portfolio from her first high school art class. Art is just one of her interests, which range from Kenpo Jiu Jitsu, soccer, and archery, to bible studies and writing fantasy fiction.
Summer Reading List
This issue Gwen and I have switched places in that she found a really great interview and I told her to go for it, that left me to do the book review... I just couldn't find a good book to read and feel good about reviewing. I was hoping the Drew Berrymore book Wildflower would have been just more...
It wasn't. I also wasn't too keen on Loving Amy, a Mother's story (Amy Winehouse). It wasn't all I was hoping for either.
Then I thought perhaps I would go in a different direction - give a summer reading list, good books to take on vacation or just for reading around the house. I searched far and wide, compared lists from books stores and all that Google could offer me. The first four of these books were on multiple lists, the fifth book is my personal pick... Because if you have been a reader of our little site for a while you would know that many issues ago, I got the privilege to interview Marie. She is a very down-to-earth person and if I remember correctly, either she or her husband has family in the Pittsburgh area.
I will list the book title, author and a brief description for you... and please note that all books can be purchased via Amazon.com and are not listed in any particular order.
It wasn't. I also wasn't too keen on Loving Amy, a Mother's story (Amy Winehouse). It wasn't all I was hoping for either.
Then I thought perhaps I would go in a different direction - give a summer reading list, good books to take on vacation or just for reading around the house. I searched far and wide, compared lists from books stores and all that Google could offer me. The first four of these books were on multiple lists, the fifth book is my personal pick... Because if you have been a reader of our little site for a while you would know that many issues ago, I got the privilege to interview Marie. She is a very down-to-earth person and if I remember correctly, either she or her husband has family in the Pittsburgh area.
I will list the book title, author and a brief description for you... and please note that all books can be purchased via Amazon.com and are not listed in any particular order.
- The Vacationers: A Novel by Emma Straub - This book is about a Manhattan family's two week stay in Mallorca. The parents (Jim and Franny) are celebrating their 35th wedding anniversary and their daughter Sylvia has graduated from high school. During the two week vacation secrets come out (some old some new) and new humiliations are the result.
- Where'd you Go, Bernadette: A Novel by Maria Semple - This book is about a woman named Bernadette Fox, a fearless and strongly opinionated woman would is a revolutionary in the field of architecture. She goes missing and her daughter is on a mission to find her mother.
- Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danler - This book is a coming of age book about a young girl named Tess. It starts off with Tess renting a room in Williamsburg in the summer of 2006 and followers her into womanhood.
- Jonathan Unleashed by Meg Rosoff - This is a book about Jonathan who is juggling a half-crazed boss, a girlfriend with unrealistic expectations and a blah apartment. His brother asks him to dog sit for him and that is when Jonathan starts to contemplate the meaning of his life.
- Desire After Dark: A Gansett Island Novel by Marie Force - This is book 15 in the Gansett series and takes a look at the budding romance between Slim (Tobias Jackson) and Erin and the trials and tribulations she is going through after losing her twin brother and how Slim helps her with her loss and doing the things she hasn't been able to do since her twins death (like flying in a plane).
That is just a very small list of some of the great books out there for summer reading. A little lighter reading than usual, vacation worthy, if you will.
Whatever you decide to read this summer, enjoy!
Nicole Leckenby is the driving force behind the Holiday Café blog spot. She also works full-time and runs after two very energetic boys at home.
Aspens in Autum
Aspens in Autumn, by Felicia Browell. Fused glass on birch base.
By profession, Felicia is a professional writer, but writes fiction and works with glass to help keep her sanity. Her two daughters keep her creativity jumping, and she enjoys exploring fused glass, mosaic, and stained glass methods to create her art.
Musings for Moms: Beating the Heat
I, for one, am not going to complain one little bit about the hot weather in Pittsburgh as of late... It's
summer and all too soon I will be bundling up the kiddos and waiting in the freezing cold for that school bus that seems to take its sweet old time on the really cold days.
I want to get a pop-up bus shelter for those days... is there such a thing? perhaps I need to patent this idea and go on Shark Tank...
I digress...
The real point of this post is about hot to keep cool in the hot weather. Fun activities to do inside when it is too Hot and Humid to keep the little ones outside for too long. In no particular order... these are the ones that sound fun to me and I have put on my summer bucket list.
Nicole Leckenby is the driving force behind the Holiday Café blog spot. She also works full-time and runs after two very energetic boys at home.
I want to get a pop-up bus shelter for those days... is there such a thing? perhaps I need to patent this idea and go on Shark Tank...
I digress...
The real point of this post is about hot to keep cool in the hot weather. Fun activities to do inside when it is too Hot and Humid to keep the little ones outside for too long. In no particular order... these are the ones that sound fun to me and I have put on my summer bucket list.
- Making homemade ice cream (then either making cookies/buying cookies and making ice cream sandwiches).
- Depending on the age of your children (for the complexity) do a scavenger hunt.
- Have a backyard luau with fruit punch and a kiddie pool
- Water balloon or squirt gun fights are always a good way to cool off
- Use colored masking tape to create a road for matchbox cars or a board game on the living room floor or outisde.
- Use sidewalk chalk in the driveway and create a bean bag toss or just draw...
- Indoor camping (if too hot outside) pop the tent in the gameroom. Use a wickless battery opperated candle for the faux campfire.
Whatever you decide to plan to keep the kiddos entertained over the summer, make sure they are well sunscreened and hydrated. Have fun.
Nicole Leckenby is the driving force behind the Holiday Café blog spot. She also works full-time and runs after two very energetic boys at home.
And the Beat Goes On
My name is Natalie Belin. I'm 31 years old and have been a drummer most of my life. I started taking
Most aspects of my life can be very unpredictable at times. I plan to make things happen the way I envision, but it often derails causing me to take a different direction. When I am forced to an alternate route it's frustrating at first…but often all works out! In my mind it’s another piece of the puzzle to why I am here on earth. During these times of craziness, drumming has always found a way into my life.
My stepdad, Stephen Dunn, has been a music fan since he was a little kid. His instrument of choice has been the bass guitar since the mid / late 70’s. He was one of the first people in my life who took the time to educate me in music. When I was younger he would always try to introduce me to music he was listening to at the time. Often it was blues, and sometimes it was rock. I remember around the time I started learning how to play my drum kit Steve started playing in a band called The Blue. At times the band members would encourage me by saying they could tell “I have heart”, or they would take the time to show me different things to play. They would always encourage me to “keep practicing”. I remember on a few occasions the band would allow me to jam with them on stage. I was so nervous, but excited at the same time! When it comes to music, my personal opinion about my stepdad is that he really doesn’t have an off-switch. It’s always "music, music, music". I recently asked “why he didn’t become a famous bass player?” his response was “it’s not always about becoming famous. Sometimes you have to just do it for the music”. Another good piece of advice Steve told me was “you are never too old to play an instrument”.
My husband, Christopher Belin, is a musician. Chris has been playing the drums since he was 2 years old and is the sole proprietor of Chris Belin’s <Traveling> Drum School, in addition to being a professional freelance drummer. The fact that both of us play some form of percussion definitely helps our relationship more than anything. Sometimes I have to laugh because I know I surprise him with the things I notice. For example, we were at a concert and I said “is that guy playing the cowbell on the offbeat?” Chris stopped and listened for a second, and he responded by saying “yea, he is” keep in mind Chris had been impressed, but he had a shocked look on his face.
The first show Chris and I played together was this past spring. The show was a Nancy Guthrie Conference held at the First Reformed Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh. There were approximately 400 women present for this conference. Chris was playing hand drums (Congas and Cajon). I played conga, tambourine and a shaker. Ever since that show it has been very busy for us.
Chris and I now play in a band called Steeltown Religion, which is a country / classic rock band. Chris will play a full kit while I play a variety of shakers, tambourines, and a slap stick. They just released a new album titled "Florida Rain" on iTunes & disc. I'm very excited to play these songs live because it will give me an opportunity to hopefully bring some new percussion into the mix. The band also breaks down into smaller units, playing acoustic sets, where I play a bigger variety of percussion.
Steve, Chris and I are also in a band called The Ben Flint Band. They are currently a cover band that plays a variety of really good music. For this particular group, I will play tambourine or a variety of shakers on a few songs. I hope to play some hand drums for Ben Flint in the near future....just to stir the pot a little!
Also, I had the opportunity to play with The New Mingle, an instrumental duo with Chris and his close musical comrade Matt Calvetti, this past September for an event in Pittsburgh called Run around the Square. Their music is jam based and often improvisational.
Each band that I have had the opportunity to play in is different in dynamic which has helped me grow as an artist. Each member of the bands that I play in I consider a coach because they give me great advice which leads me to make good decisions in playing the types of percussion that I do.
There is one particular artist that I hope to work with in the near future. Her name is Christiane D. Her music is so fresh and diverse. Every musician she has in that band brings something to the table. The things that Christiane has done for the arts and what she has accomplished are incredible. With Christiane’s music being so diverse I know I would be able to bring in some fun and funky percussion. My fingers are crossed.
“Music expresses that which words cannot be put into words and that which cannot remain silent”. – Victor Hugo
Victor, I totally understand what you mean by that quote. People may see me as just a percussionist; however, I help the band stay in time. I also add fullness. My goal is to inspire other woman to play percussion. When people are at a venue that I am playing I want to give the crowd a night to remember! I want my percussion sound to be fresh and shocking, but not overdone.
Natalie Belin holds an Associate's degree in Specialized Technology Le Cordon Bleu Pastry Arts. Natalie is a part-time percussionist and loves the arts and adventure!
Temple of the Dog - 25th Anniversary
At a small club called the Off Ramp in Seattle, Washington, on the night of November 30th, 1990, a small crowd of approximately one hundred people watched as a group performing under the name Temple of the Dog took the stage. They played for an hour and they played all the songs that would
be released the following year on their one and only album. The songs were incomplete and still being written, arranged and finalized. This would be the first and last full concert that the group would perform. You can actually still find old grainy video of this show on YouTube. But this is not where their story begins…
Mother Love Bone was a band on the rise. They were the first of the Seattle Grunge bands to be signed to a major label (Mercury). Their singer and band leader, Andrew Wood, was described by many as Seattle’s version of David Lee Roth. He had an energetic stage presence and the rock star persona. Like with so many musicians, outside appearances can be deceiving. Wood was a heroin addict and on March 19th, 1990, he died of a heroin overdose. Tragically, his death came just one week before Mother Love Bone’s major label debut album was released. Wood’s band mates took his death hard, but none took his death harder than his roommate and best friend Chris Cornell.
Chris Cornell’s band Soundgarden was starting a tour just a few days after Wood’s funeral. Cornell dealt with his best friend’s death the only way he could - through his songwriting. Cornell wrote and dedicated several songs to Wood. Cornell knew these songs were both lyrically and compositionally not going to work as Soundgarden songs. Several months later he decided to reach out to two members of Mother Love Bone whom he had become friends with through living with Andrew Wood, guitarist Stone Gossard and bassist Jeff Ament, to see if they would like to collaborate on this project with him. They both emphatically said yes.
After mourning Andrew Wood’s death, the longtime friends Gossard and Ament decided to move on and start fresh with a new band rather than trying to do the impossible task of replacing Wood. Along with new guitarist Mike McCready who was a childhood friend of Gossard’s and new drummer Dave Krusen, they formed a new band called Mookie Blaylock. The band had an album’s worth of songs written, but they were still looking for the right singer/lyricist. Until they found him they were on hold. So the timing was perfect to work with Cornell on the project he named Temple of the Dog, a title he got from a lyric from the Mother Love Bone song Man of Golden Words.
The recording of the Temple of the Dog album took place at London Bridge Studios in Seattle, Washington. The day before they were to begin recording the album, Mookie Blaylock held a tryout for their open vocalist position. Gossard and Ament were blown away with a young surfer named Eddie Vedder, who had come up from San Diego to tryout. They ended up hiring him to join the band. In the coming months Mookie Blaylock would change their name permanently to Pearl Jam. The next day Temple of the Dog recorded what would become the biggest hit off the album, Hunger Strike. Cornell was wanting to sing the second verse of the song in a deeper octave but was having trouble with his vocal range. Vedder stepped in and sang the verse and Cornell said it was exactly how he wanted it to sound. At that point Cornell decided to make the entire song a duet with him and Vedder. Over the next fifteen days the rest of the album was recorded and finished. The final lineup ended up being Chris Cornell and Eddie Vedder on vocals, Stone Gossard and Mike McCready on guitars, Jeff Ament on bass and Matt Cameron on drums.
The album was released on April 16th, 1991 through A&M records. The album did not chart in the top 100 on its release and only sold 70,000 copies its first year. In the summer of 1992 both Pearl Jam and Soundgarden had become mainstream successes behind their albums Ten and Badmotorfinger respectively. A&M records realized that they were sitting on an album that was essentially a Pearl Jam and Soundgarden companion album and decided to capitalize on the surging popularity of the bands. A&M reissued the album and accompanied it with a music video for Hunger Strike. The album would go on to sell one million copies and reach platinum status.
Despite the album’s popularity and longevity, the show at the Off Ramp in front of one hundred people remains the only complete live performance by Temple of the Dog. Occasionally Chris Cornell will stop in at a Pearl Jam concert and they will perform two or three Temple of the Dog songs, but that is it. Recently Rolling Stone asked the different members of the band if there were any plans for a 25th anniversary show and they all said not at this time, but they were all open to someday doing a reunion show….here’s to hoping.
In closing and on a personal note, I consider the Temple of the Dog album to be my favorite album of all time. This past April marked the 25th anniversary of the album’s release. I remember buying the cassette tape when I was fourteen years old for the standard $10.98 price at Peaches music. I listened to it so much the track list on the side of the tape was smudged off. It is one of the few albums that I listen to as much today as I did back then. It has also been one of the few albums that I have upgraded every step of the evolution of music. I bought the CD when I got a cd player and then upgraded yet again to digital and I have no doubt that when I am 80 years old I will have a copy of it on whatever the format for listening to music is then. It is a timeless album where every track beginning to end is an absolute orgasm for your ears and your soul.
Sean O'Brien is the Music Writer for the Holiday Café. He enjoys going to concerts, playing the drums and rocking out to Grunge music. He resides in McDonald, PA with his wife and daughter.
Mother Love Bone was a band on the rise. They were the first of the Seattle Grunge bands to be signed to a major label (Mercury). Their singer and band leader, Andrew Wood, was described by many as Seattle’s version of David Lee Roth. He had an energetic stage presence and the rock star persona. Like with so many musicians, outside appearances can be deceiving. Wood was a heroin addict and on March 19th, 1990, he died of a heroin overdose. Tragically, his death came just one week before Mother Love Bone’s major label debut album was released. Wood’s band mates took his death hard, but none took his death harder than his roommate and best friend Chris Cornell.
Chris Cornell’s band Soundgarden was starting a tour just a few days after Wood’s funeral. Cornell dealt with his best friend’s death the only way he could - through his songwriting. Cornell wrote and dedicated several songs to Wood. Cornell knew these songs were both lyrically and compositionally not going to work as Soundgarden songs. Several months later he decided to reach out to two members of Mother Love Bone whom he had become friends with through living with Andrew Wood, guitarist Stone Gossard and bassist Jeff Ament, to see if they would like to collaborate on this project with him. They both emphatically said yes.
After mourning Andrew Wood’s death, the longtime friends Gossard and Ament decided to move on and start fresh with a new band rather than trying to do the impossible task of replacing Wood. Along with new guitarist Mike McCready who was a childhood friend of Gossard’s and new drummer Dave Krusen, they formed a new band called Mookie Blaylock. The band had an album’s worth of songs written, but they were still looking for the right singer/lyricist. Until they found him they were on hold. So the timing was perfect to work with Cornell on the project he named Temple of the Dog, a title he got from a lyric from the Mother Love Bone song Man of Golden Words.
The recording of the Temple of the Dog album took place at London Bridge Studios in Seattle, Washington. The day before they were to begin recording the album, Mookie Blaylock held a tryout for their open vocalist position. Gossard and Ament were blown away with a young surfer named Eddie Vedder, who had come up from San Diego to tryout. They ended up hiring him to join the band. In the coming months Mookie Blaylock would change their name permanently to Pearl Jam. The next day Temple of the Dog recorded what would become the biggest hit off the album, Hunger Strike. Cornell was wanting to sing the second verse of the song in a deeper octave but was having trouble with his vocal range. Vedder stepped in and sang the verse and Cornell said it was exactly how he wanted it to sound. At that point Cornell decided to make the entire song a duet with him and Vedder. Over the next fifteen days the rest of the album was recorded and finished. The final lineup ended up being Chris Cornell and Eddie Vedder on vocals, Stone Gossard and Mike McCready on guitars, Jeff Ament on bass and Matt Cameron on drums.
The album was released on April 16th, 1991 through A&M records. The album did not chart in the top 100 on its release and only sold 70,000 copies its first year. In the summer of 1992 both Pearl Jam and Soundgarden had become mainstream successes behind their albums Ten and Badmotorfinger respectively. A&M records realized that they were sitting on an album that was essentially a Pearl Jam and Soundgarden companion album and decided to capitalize on the surging popularity of the bands. A&M reissued the album and accompanied it with a music video for Hunger Strike. The album would go on to sell one million copies and reach platinum status.
Despite the album’s popularity and longevity, the show at the Off Ramp in front of one hundred people remains the only complete live performance by Temple of the Dog. Occasionally Chris Cornell will stop in at a Pearl Jam concert and they will perform two or three Temple of the Dog songs, but that is it. Recently Rolling Stone asked the different members of the band if there were any plans for a 25th anniversary show and they all said not at this time, but they were all open to someday doing a reunion show….here’s to hoping.
In closing and on a personal note, I consider the Temple of the Dog album to be my favorite album of all time. This past April marked the 25th anniversary of the album’s release. I remember buying the cassette tape when I was fourteen years old for the standard $10.98 price at Peaches music. I listened to it so much the track list on the side of the tape was smudged off. It is one of the few albums that I listen to as much today as I did back then. It has also been one of the few albums that I have upgraded every step of the evolution of music. I bought the CD when I got a cd player and then upgraded yet again to digital and I have no doubt that when I am 80 years old I will have a copy of it on whatever the format for listening to music is then. It is a timeless album where every track beginning to end is an absolute orgasm for your ears and your soul.
Sean O'Brien is the Music Writer for the Holiday Café. He enjoys going to concerts, playing the drums and rocking out to Grunge music. He resides in McDonald, PA with his wife and daughter.
Interview with Drinking Partners Podcast
I recently attended a fundraiser in my town that was an evening of food and comedy. One of the comedians in particular, Ed Bailey, brought the house down and was even brought back up for an encore. One thing he mentioned in his act was that he was one half of a podcast called Drinking Partners, with fellow comedian Day Bracey. After the show, I looked up the podcast and decided to give it a listen on my commute. The premise of the show is that Ed and Day go to various Pittsburgh establishments, sample microbrews and chat with interesting people from around the city. I spent the next 30 minutes laughing quite a bit but also learning interesting information as they were interviewing Braddock Mayor John Fetterman. Looking back through their archives, they have an impressive list of guests from City of Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto to local legend Rick Sebak to former Steeler turned full time artist, Baron Batch. Ed and Day were gracious enough to give us some time. Here's more on Drinking Partners:
1 - For our readers that haven't heard of you - tell us a little about your background and how you got started in comedy. We both started doing standup in the fall of 2013 which is actually how we met. Day is from Braddock and had already begun his life as a comedian at that time by posting short videos on YouTube. Ed is from Cleveland and began doing stand up basically off of a dare from his girlfriend. Since then we have both been able to carve out respectable comedy resumès including opening for a slew of national headliners such as Hannibal Burress, performing at the Innaugural Pittsburgh Comedy Festival and Burning Bridges Comedy Festival.
2 - What made you think 'we should start a podcast?' Having starting stand up at about the same time we both gravitated to each other. One reason obviously was because we were at the same stage in our development, but we were also two of the few young black comedians hitting the open mics. What we ended up noticing is that the other comedians would naturally gravitate to our back and forth banter at open mics/shows/get togethers. People would suggest that we do a podcast and when Nick Miller from Epicast Network approached Ed about doing a podcast it all kind of just fell in line.
3 - Do either of you have a background in radio or is this a 'figure it out as you go' thing? No radio experience prior to Drinking Partners other than Day doing his video blogs.
4 - Do you guys plan the podcast in advance or is it more about just letting conversation flow over the beer? We really focus on letting the conversation flow naturally. We obviously like to give background on the guest and highlight any accomplishments but the focus of our interviews is for the listener to get a better understanding of the person and what drives them, interests them, etc. Our concept is literally friends having conversation over drinks and we want to give the listeners a side of our guests that they don't get with other interviews.
5 - If you could interview just one more person for Drinking Partners - who would it be and why?
Day - "Sade. Because I just want to be in the same room as Sade. Preferably a sauna."
Ed - "Martin Lawrence, nobody made me want to do comedy more than Martin."
6 - How can local people attend one of your recordings of Drinking Partners?
epicastnetwork.com/partnerspod
Instagram, Facebook & Twitter - Partnerspod
iTunes, Stitcher & Libsyn - Drinking Partners
We promote all live podcasts and live comedy shows on the website as well as IG, FB & Twitter. Our live comedy shows are monthly in downtown Pittsburgh at the Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre.
Thanks again to Day Bracey and Ed Bailey for taking the time to answer our questions! I highly recommend Drinking Partners for an entertaining podcast. And common sense – save this for after the kiddos are out of the car – it’s comedy for grown ups :)
Gwen O’Brien works full time in higher ed, works full time as a wife, works full time as a mom, works full time as a dog mom and occasionally finds time to write or edit. She resides in McDonald and enjoys reading, yoga and donuts (not necessarily together) when she’s not working.