Open Mic Adventures XI: Spooktacular Supergroup Covers “Monster Mash”

25 October 202222 October 2022 The Portly Politico11 Comments

The third front porch Spooktacular was a smashing success (at least according to my mom, my girlfriend, and me—a pretty unbiased group, yeah?), with many of my private music students taking the stage to share their talents. Even a few former students, now off to bigger and grander things, stopped by to sing a song or two.

As is tradition at these events, I invited anyone with an instrument or a voice to join us on stage for a couple of songs. By the time I offered up this invitation, most of my younger students and their families had left, but several were still around.

From those remaining—two bassists, a guitarist, two piano players, a singer, my niece, John (on acoustic guitar) and myself (on drums)—we formed an ad hoc supergroup. One of my younger students—the young man who walks Murphy for me while I’m at work—took lead on the vocals, and really nailed it. He sounds like a younger Bobby Pickett!

SubscribeStar Saturday: Spooktacular 2022 Review

22 October 202221 October 2022 The Portly Politico2 Comments

Today’s post is a SubscribeStar Saturday exclusive. To read the full post, subscribe to my SubscribeStar page for $1 a month or more. For a full rundown of everything your subscription gets, click here.

The 2022 Spooktacular is in the books, and it was the best one yet.

Yes, yes, people always say that—“you’re the best Music students I’ve ever had!”; “that was the best concert ever!”—but in this case, it’s true! As far as Spooktaculars go, the 2022 one was the best so far. The musicians, the sound, the crowd—everything was on-point to make for a great evening.

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SubscribeStar Saturday: Spooktacular 2022 Preview

8 October 20227 October 2022 The Portly PoliticoLeave a comment

The Spooktacular—my annual Halloween concert—returns in one week, on Saturday, 15 October 2022. Since 2020—during the height of The Age of The Virus—I’ve hosted this annual celebration of musical spookiness (and spooky musicality) from my front porch. It’s worked pretty well, and even spawned a published piece in Self-Reliance, so why mess with success? We’re back on the front porch again.

I am adding one innovation, though, one that worked quite well with the TJC Spring Jam earlier this year: like the Spring Jam, I’m turning the Spooktacular into a recital. My buddy John and I will still play some tunes, and we’ll invite the kids up to play with us on “Monster Mash” and KISS’s “I Was Made for Lovin’ You,” but the opening segment of the Spooktacular will feature my private music students. Indeed, it’s an open invitation to anyone who wants to play a tune—come on out!

Of course, I’ll be working hard this weekend to get the house prepared for the Spooktacular—and to remind folks about it! There are many little tasks to complete and items, large and small, to prepare, both to give everyone a fun time, and to squeeze some buckaroos out of the event.

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Phone it in Friday XXV: Spooktacular 2022 T-Shirts

16 September 202215 September 2022 The Portly Politico3 Comments

The 2022 Spooktacular is coming up on Saturday, 15 October 2022, which means it’s time to have some t-shirts made up.

This year, I’m debating between two designs:

Vampire

Spider

The white image is a vampire playing a bass guitar (which he is apparently hypnotizing). The caption on the bottom reads “Blood-Suckingly Spooky Rock ‘n’ Roll.”

The yellow image is a spider whose legs make up notes on a treble clef staff. His caption reads “Venomously Good Rock ‘n’ Roll.”

The vampire could also be made yellow (or any other color).

So, I’m asking readers for your input: which design do you prefer? I’ll probably only make one this year, and I’ll use reader feedback to decide which one to order.

Thanks for voting!

—TPP

TPP in Self-Reliance Magazine

10 May 20229 May 2022 The Portly Politico10 Comments

It’s a celebratory time of year. Sunday was Mother’s Day. Social media was abuzz all weekend with graduation announcements. Wedding season is gearing up. And summer vacation is just around the corner.

So is the 2022 TJC Spring Jam. This year, I’m making the first portion of the Jam into a recital for my private music students. That’s going to make for a fun evening, and I suspect it will boost attendance—all those parents and family members coming out to hear L’il Billy play his piano piece.

Last fall, I submitted a piece to Self-Reliance, a magazine about independent living, entitled “The Front Porch Concert: Opportunity for Musicians in The Age of The Virus.” They accepted it and cut me a check some time ago, and I’ve been waiting patiently for the article’s publication ever since.

Much to my delight, I arrived home from a school event Saturday evening to find the Summer Issue, Issue #25 of Self-Reliance, in my mailbox. There on page twelve is my article, taking up four beautiful pages.

SubscribeStar Saturday: Spooktacular 2021 Review

6 November 20213 November 2021 The Portly PoliticoLeave a comment

Last Saturday was my annual Halloween Spooktacular, marking the third Spooktacular and the second hosted from my front porch. I hit upon the idea of doing a front porch concert around Halloween last year, when most venues were still closed to live music, or only very slowly bringing it back. I’d heard of other musicians doing outdoor gigs, and though, “Hey, why not turn my front porch into a stage?”

That first at-home Spooktacular was wildly successful—far more so than I thought—and I followed it up with my Spring Jam in May 2021. That event was also successful, though the turnout was slightly lower than the Spooktacular.

This year, I suspected that the success of the first two front porch concerts might be diminished somewhat, especially as the concert was on the Saturday before a Sunday Halloween, which meant most people were trick-or-treating and throwing parties that night instead of on Halloween proper. Several of my biggest patrons, who usually drop some serious coin at these events, were unable to attend due to other plans.

Still, I was excited for the evening, and while my concerns about lower attendance were confirmed—and the event resulted in a substantial but not debilitating loss, at least in the short-run—it was a fun night, one that also carried with it some important lessons.

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Lazy Sunday CXXXVII: More Halloween Hijinks

31 October 202131 October 2021 The Portly PoliticoLeave a comment

I’m getting a late start tonight, as I’m recovering from last night’s Spooktacular. It was a good night overall, though attendance was down somewhat from last year. Still, we had tons of trick-or-treaters (they literally came by the truckloads, with kids dangling off of truck-pulled trailers), and some good music. I’ll have a full rundown later this week.

For now, it’s HALLOWEEN! As such, here’s a collection of some recent Halloween-related posts for your delectation:

“SubscribeStar Saturday: The War on Halloween” – This post details some of the ahistorical attacks on Halloween, and why the All Hallows’ Eve haters are wrong.
“Halloween and Spooktacular Preparations” – This picture-filled post covers some of the preparations for yesterday’s Spooktacular. If you want to see my dog Murphy and a bunch of decorations, this piece is the one for you!
“TBT^2: Happy Halloween!” (and “TBT: Happy Halloween!” and “Happy Halloween!“) – My annual Halloween post, which always features pictures of my Jack O’Lanterns. I think this year’s came out pretty well.

Here’s hoping you all have a wonderful Halloween—and that I don’t get any more truckloads of trick-or-treaters, because I am all out of candy!

Happy Halloween!

—TPP

Other Lazy Sunday Installments:

SubscribeStar Saturday: Spooktacular 2021 Preview

30 October 202129 October 2021 The Portly Politico6 Comments

It’s hard to believe, but tonight is another Spooktacular. It’s technically the third Spooktacular, but it’s the second conducted from my front porch. The very first “official” Spooktacular was held at a coffee shop in Darlington, South Carolina, in October 2019. The following October, that coffee shop—along with many others—had shuttered during The Age of The Virus, or had not reopened for live performances.

As such, I decided to try something different: instead of finding a venue to take me in, I made my home the venue. I have a front porch that is just big enough to hold four musicians and their gear comfortably (albeit a tight comfort, like a college girl wearing yoga pants to her 8 AM class).

I’ve documented all of this elsewhere, but I will confess I am proud of myself for making it happen (with a follow-up front porch concert in May 2021, the TJC Spring Jam). It’s not a completely original idea, but I’m glad I was able to turn a bad situation into an opportunity for everyone to have a good time.

Well, tonight is the big night, and I’m not sure what to expect. Some of my major contributors are not able to attend this year, but my opening act, Jeremy and The Blissters (named in part for Jeremy Miles, no stranger to this blog), possess a dedicated following and should bring out a good crowd. I’ve also heard from a number of folks who are coming tonight, so I think we will have a good crowd.

All that said, I have the inside scoop on what’s going down tonight, and big crowd or not, it’s going to be a fun time.

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Halloween and Spooktacular Preparations

26 October 202125 October 2021 The Portly Politico12 Comments

It’s Halloween Week! Besides Christmas (and probably Spring Break), it’s quite possibly my favorite week of the year.

It’s also the week of my third annual (and second on the front porch) Spooktacular! As such, I spent a good portion of the weekend making the preliminary preparations for having lots of people sitting on my front lawn for a couple of hours or so.

Among the myriad tasks I completed (such as some long overdue weed eating, and applying more ant bait to the lawn), I engaged in my favorite Halloween season ritual: carving a Jack O’Lantern! I picked up a couple of massive pumpkins from Sam’s Club for $7 each, and this one made for particularly attractive gourd. Just look at its perfectly jaunty, stout stem!