February. Feb-RU-ary. I find myself saying it Feb-U-ary, what’s with this ‘ru’? I dunno. Oh – and happy Chinese New Year – now entering the year of the Dog… that seems about right.
No worries, we’ll keep doing what we do – and in so doing extend you a sincere and heartfelt invitation to join us at any of the following upcoming J Ryan Trio outings – you know we’d love to see you.
The Bay Restaurant in Whitefish Bay
342 E Silver Spring Dr, Whitefish Bay
414-455-3045
www.thebayrestaurant.net
Friday Feb 23
8pm – 11pm
A relaxed venue in the heart of charming Whitefish Bay, the menu features tasty dishes, the bar features a fine selection, and the J Ryan Trio feature an eclectic mix of jazz and cookin numbers. Sounds like a right-fine combination.
Milwaukee Bucks
Bradley Center – East Atrium
Sunday March 4
5:30pm until tip-off at 7pm
Bucks vs Philadelphia 76’ers. Last season at Bradley Center – check out the Deer in action as we wind down the end of an era.
Bugsy’s Backalley Speakeasy
218 N Water St, Milwaukee (but enter via the alley off Chicago Ave)
414-221-6565
www.bugsysbackalleysaloon.com
Friday March 23
9pm – 1am
Bugsy’s – voted best Speakeasy in Wisconsin. We are making a Friday appearance on this one – seems like a fine way to cap the week.
Our busy schedule is also available on our website at www.jryantrio.com. As I am sure you can relate, I find myself often running full tilt just to keep up. Thus when things break, wear out or otherwise malfunction I find it overwhelming to chisel out time needed to engineer a fix. To the rescue I deploy a clever technique I have dubbed: “Fix-ished”.
“Fix-ished”: not fixed properly, but mostly almost good enough. A real time-saver when needing repair with time simply not available, or when time could be better spent watching Blues Brothers on TBS because, I mean – really who knows when they’ll re-run that film.
Now don’t get carried away: “Fix-ished” is not for everything. Things like… mmmmm, aircraft maintenance, dental work, veterinary science – these would be good candidates for doing the job, you know, completely legit. The following examples, however, I feel were low-hanging fruit ripe for the plucking.
With snow to shovel and holes in my glove – what to do? Almost too obvious, this slathering of duct tape is for the beginner ‘fix-ished’ aficionado. More advanced learners will graduate to caulk, bailing wire and eventually JB Weld.
A musical entry – this keyboard pedal suffered a broken housing due to, um… unbridled enthusiasm during a Stevie Wonder song. The giant washer and Herman Munster looking bolt have held this hot mess together for several years now.
Aaaah – an automotive entry. My beloved ride is 20 years young – far too tender an age to consider recycling into soup cans. Concerned that crafty thieves might steel groceries from the trunk through the holes in the fenders (and having lost a case of Dr Pepper through the same rusty egress) a meticulously crafted patch-panel was unceremoniously caulked and screwed to the vehicle. Both classy AND functional? Yes you can have it all once embracing the “Fix-ished” lifestyle.
Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin – a great cause to add to our charity mission – completely impressed with what they do and how they do it.
Alissa and Mike at Shank Hall – JRT opening for the sweet rockin sounds of Jasmine Cain.
Every time we play equipment is moved from vehicular stowage to full setup and back again. Some join a gym and honestly I just don’t get it. If you’d like to be in great shape and save $50 a month, call me and let’s talk about being a roadie. We’ll make sure you work the abs, glutes and Rolands.
We witnessed on Dec 23 the end of an era – last solo public appearance for the venerable and fabulous Mr. Joe Hite. He will in 2018 pilot the Joe Hite Orchestra through the heady airspace of weddings and corporate events – depriving us proletariat of slack-jawed stupefied amazement of his work on mic and keys. He is as stellar an individual as he is a musician.
And this is a picture of some cats… because no photo album is complete without beloved family pets. You know I will include for you, dear reader, whatever shameless schlock I think will keep you from hitting ‘unsubscribe’. Just look at those faces… I mean, c’mon.
JRT – sinatra crossword puzzle
Speaking of new friends… check out our ‘who’s who in the zoo page’ at www.jryantrio.com/the- sometimes-trio to meet our newest low-note-wrangler Mr. Dave Ciepluch.
But back to The Ditty Bag. Let’s review some choice song selections from this American classic:
Safety first: the J Ryan Trio has gone 935… uh… 8 days without a loss work injury. Our convivial lighting designer, chief heckler, webmaster, and part time haberdasher… our dear Heather suffered a fractured fibula and tender tibia after a terrible tumble right here at JRT Towers. Fearing a lawsuit, our staff did their best to move her onto public property to avoid litigation. As the attached medical record will show, her cast was subsequently vandalized – callously usurped in a shameless plug for the J Ryan Trio. In fairness, we find our most loyal demographic are those unable to escape our musical cacophony.
Greetings from Washington DC. Pleased to report I finagled enough time to pop on over to Blues Alley – the iconic jazz club in Georgetown. Also ran across a very solid cat playing jazz guitar late night in the park. He was unwilling to commute to Milwaukee to jam with us…
We find ourselves between the holidays Memorial Day and Fourth of July – a prime time to reflect on those whose sacrifice and service protect our republic. A sometimes imperfect union, it remains a nation built on uniquely sound principles and ideals worth striving for – and worth fighting for. I wager that each of us knows at least one veteran whose willingness to place their comfort, life and liberty in jeopardy such that ours be safeguarded is worthy of heartfelt thanks.