Paper Bag
#30
2007
The Program
Go to the
top of Bag
#30
Paper Bag
#30
2007
The Program
Go to the
top of Bag
#30
Paper Bag
#30
2007
The Program
Go to the
top of Bag
#30
Paper Bag
#30
2007
The Program
Go to the
top of
Bag #30
Paper Bag
#30
2007
The Program
Go to the
top of Bag
#30
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The artwork for the 2007 Program was again created by Mark Coffey, the wonderful man who designs our bag shirts. The Pigpen thing was a natural for the Dirt Bag. The answer to Woodstock's question is "as long as we are physically able. The older we get, the better we were.
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We intend to play rock 'n' roll for as long as we are physically able
…so far, so good.
Paper Bag #30! Think about it. No computers, no cell phones, no digital keyboards, A Shure Vocal Master with two columns was a PA system. Few things have remained the same (with the notable exception of Mike Cummings' hairy back).
Theme - In honor of the Bag turning Dirty Thirty, we present to you the the Dirt Bag. Again, with a theme that is just too obvious and too easy, we will feature songs that are in some way connected to dirtbags. Most of our material was recorded and released 40 years ago. In a very unusual move for the Bag, we will be doing a song that was published this century. This is due to the influence of my teenage daughters. You guys are gonna love Wheatus. The Body Bag is full this year. Brad Delp from the band Boston, fellow Paper Bagger Gene Martin Gennusa, Jim Pin himself, Smiley the dog and . . . prepare yourself for ULTIMATE DUELING JAMES BROWNS. We have had regular Dueling James Browns (consider what that means) but the world has seen nothing like ULTIMATE DUELING JAMES BROWNS. I predict that the Godfathers of Soul, the Hardest Working Men in Show Business, will rock the house.
Each member of the Executive Board was given the opportunity to select a song for Paper Bag #30. This resulted in a remarkably interesting and diverse songlist. More than 35 of the songs are new to the Bag. The tentative songlist was put into show order at the Exec Board meeting in March. I have been cranking it out on the ipod in my car for weeks now. It is a cool list. We have tried to cut down on the number of songs so that we can goof around between songs more, and get to the Wheel. The past two years we ran out of time and did not get to enjoy the Wheel.
The Financial Report We are covering our bills. Our operating budget is about $15,000 including printing, shirts, sound-lights-video-staging, cd's, beer & food for the band & for Executive Board Meetings, trophys, tips and $30 to Judy Davis for gas. Thank you to most of you who cover your share of advance ticket sales. Approximately 10% of you do not contribute to ticket sales (names omitted to protect the dirtbags). We now have a huge inventory of video tape and still images from almost every Bag. I hope to prepare them for distribution to you. Sell one extra ticket.
What you see at the Bag is me, my family & my closest friends doing what we do best. Playing rock music. That we have been able to sustain this, at this level, for so long is absolutely remarkable and is a testament to the level or respect we have for each other, and our dedication to music. Music is a true gift to life. It is my job to have fun, and I am a professional |
The Tech Crew
The Paper Bag is an incredibly complicated piece of machinery to assemble and operate. It takes a lot of planning to accomodate over 80 musicians using the stage, all needing microphones or direct inputs to the sound board. We require a complex stage monitoring system to allow us to hear what the heck we are doing. There are 17 guitar amps, 8 bass rigs, a keyboard ghetto, two full drum kits and a whole riser chock full of conga/bongo/timbale/shaker/banger thingies. These instruments are linked with miles of cable and many complicated mixers, processors and amplifiers. There is a full automated stage lighting system that must be programmed. On top of all that, not only are we being video taped by 4 cameras, there is a technician hunched into a small spot out there where he does all the video editing on the fly (in real time so to speak) as it happens. These guys and girls work for weeks to plan and pack the correct gear into the trucks, 2 days setting up and testing everything and, when we all go home tonight, they will have hours of work ahead of them. SK Sound and EKO Productions (video) have been with the Bag for over 20 years. Greg Hebel has been our Lighting Director for 27 years. Without them there is no show. I don’t know how we would spec this job out to anyone else. Thank them when see them. Better than that, buy them a drink. |
Peas & carrots, peas & carrots, peas & carrots …
Brian Mulhern was one of 4 guitarists to participate in Paper Bag #1 at The People’s Picnic in Whitehall, NY. During the late 70’s, Brian played in several bands in and around the Huntington area often teaming up with his brother Kevin as (what else?) the Mulhern Brothers. I mixed sound for them several times at Chelsea’s. Sally Scudder played keyboards and sang in many bands with numerous Bag members. Sally was great to have in the band. Perfect pitch, big smile, never conplained, always had fun. Every time the Jim Small Band plays, I look over to the other side of the stage and I can see her, boppin’ and tappin’ her bare feet. Adam Calaci played bass and sang in some of the most successful bands to ever play on Long Island. On stage, Adam was a solid presence. His bass playing was strong and yes, it was loud. Backstage, he was a very, very funny man. Bruce Rogers had perfect pitch and keyboard skills that brought that physical marvel to life. Standing in Canterbury Ales while Jim Pin was cranking away (I think Rob Barraco was playing a way-outside solo) Bruce was able to quote to me the chord changes to “Hot Fun in the Summertime” (which are very #7/ b11-ish) out of his head. He played the grand piano on stage at Paper Bag #2 and played the Tonight Show theme at the very end of the show. He also had the good fortune to be singing “Low Spark of High Heel Boys” at Bag #9 when Scotty K came onstage as the Energizer Bunny. Little Buster never played in the Bag but he was a tremendous influence on many of us who do. I was Busterized many times. Boy was he fun to watch and listen to. He was the real deal. Gene Gennusa played guitar in the Bag from 1980 through 1985. He photographed the Bag in ‘86 and ‘87, went on to become a well respected photographer in the music industry, and then returned to the Bag in 2004. Hundreds of his photos are on the Bagsite. In addition to playing guitar, Gene played pedal steel and banjo. I took banjo lessons from him in 1985. He not only played “Scruggs style,” which is the Beverly Hillbillies style, he also played Keith style,” developed by Bill Keith whereby one can play chromatically on a 5 string banjo. It is wickedly difficult. More importantly, Gene was a friend and a good guy.
We are musicians. We live a different life, in bars and diners and clubs and catering halls and come home as the sun comes up and put off joining the “real world “ as long as possible. It is a great life, rich and rewarding and so so so much fun. We look after each other and are loyal to each other. Sometime during the night tonight, remember someone missing from your life, smile and have some fun for them. We all can live on in the memory of our friends, family and colleagues. Take care of each other, be loyal to each other, and most of all, have fun. |
The Savannah Joe Kommnick “Are these donuts fresh?” Moment
Many of you in the Paper Bag community knew Joe Kommnick simply as “Savannah.” I had the privilege working with this gentle man in the clubs on the South Shore for over 10 years. Savannah Joe was a bright ray of happiness that cut through the smoky air and shined into your heart. He was always ready with a joke, your favorite libation, or an absurd movie quote . There was never anything harsh about Savannah Joe…none of the rough edges many of us who live the night life develop. I miss his company. In 1996 we inaugurated the tradition of performing a song each year that connects us with Joe, so that we may have a vehicle to help us remember this fine man. This year, Join Together by the Who is dedicated to Savannah Joe. In keeping with Joe’s sense of humor, and to ease the melancholy of the moment, before we begin the song, We ask all of you to place an index finger, held horizontally, just below your nose and all together ask in a falsetto voice …“Are these donuts fresh?” |
THE BROWN PAPER BAG
is the only thing civilized man has produced that does not seem out of place in nature. Crumpled into a wad of wrinkles, like the fossilized brain of a dryad; looking weathered; seemingly slow and rough enough to be a product of natural evolution; its brownness the low key brown of potato skin and peanut shell, dirty but pure; its kinship to tree unobstructed by the cruel crush of industry; absorbing the elements like any other organic entity a No. 8 Kraft brown paper bag lay discarded in the hills of Huntington and it appears to live where it lay.
by Tom Robbins
Even Cowgirls Get the Blues
Thanks and a tip of the old Paper Bag hat to Naomi Margolin for discovering the origin of this quote |
Thi is the spot where I get to thank… Dick at Supreme Trophy in Huntington Station; Eko Video; S-K Sound; Lightcraft; Mark Coffey and the crew at Goldman Bros.; Minuteman Printing in East Northport; The Maker of the Melon Peggy Irwin; Dawn Barca - the sign girl; Lisa Layton for her wonderful work collecting and distributing food; the faculty and staff at all the Island Trees Schools; my brothers and sisters working at the front door missing the show; my three girls, Emma, Sara & Sue for making me the happy boy you see here tonight. As you can see, I live a charmed existence.
Mulcahy’s… is some great place to enjoy the Bag. From John Murray, right across to the bar backs, every one of the seemingly endless number of employees of this club is unfailingly helpful. These people understand the the Paper Bag at its purest essence. Mul’s is the Bag’s home for life, in no small part due to the support provided by these fine people. Please thank the Mulcahy’s staff when you see them. Patronize this fine establishment all year. Get home safely
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Where did you say the section leader meeting is? 