We paid tribute to two musical sources that have been a treasure trove for the Paper Bag. We celebrated the 40th anniversary of Woodstock and the 50th anniversary of the founding of Motown. My sweetheart Emma Guido danced with her Daddy on stage to Scarlet Begonias, Mike Flyntz channels Jimi with the Star Spangled Banner, Leslie Carter "What it is!!!!", Scotto Savitt and Rudzie take Whippin' Post to a whole new level, Jim Small as Isaac Hayes - a likeness that was so real it was scary, more cheesecake from Denise Corazón with Hey Big Spender, Dave the Rave gets to sing his wedding song to his bride on their 20th wedding anniversary - right here on our stage being showered with rose pedals and bubbles, a slammin' version of My Guitar Wants to Kill Your Mama by Dave Morris, just having Joanie Pollack and that big voice back on-stage, almost reasonable behavior by the guitar section, another strong outing by the venerable Cheese Calzones - still strutting their stuff, a great year for the vocal section
song # | song title | artist | Paper Bag vocalist | |||
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1 | Opening - Thriller | Michael Jackson | ||||
2 | Paper Bag Theme Song | Phil Gagliano Band |
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3 | I Don't Wanna Work | Todd Rundgren |
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4 | Billie Jean | Michael Jackson |
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5 | Stay With Me | Rod Stewart |
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6 | Carry On Wayward Son | Kansas |
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7 | Woodstock | Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young |
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8 | The Fish Cheer - Fixin to Die Rag | Country Joe & the Fish |
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9 | Jingo | Santana |
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10 | Ball & Chain | Janis Joplin |
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11 | I'm Just a Singer in a R n R Band | Moody Blues |
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12 | Paper Bag Awards | |||||
13 | Ain't No Sunshine | Neville Brothers |
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14 | Whippin Post | Allman Bros |
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15 | Scarlet Begonias | Grateful Dead |
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16 | You're All I Need to Get By | Marvin Gaye & Tammi Tyrell |
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17 | I Believe in You and Me | Four Tops |
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18 | You Really Got a Hold On Me | Smokey Robinson |
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19 | Love Child | Supremes |
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20 | Rock Steady | Aretha Franklin |
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21 | At Last | Etta James |
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22 | Hey Big Spender | Shirley Bassey |
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23 | Bodhisattva | Steely Dan |
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24 | Shaft | Isaac Hayes |
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25 | Be My Baby | Ronettes |
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26 | Bernadette | Four Tops |
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27 | My Guitar Wants to Kill Your Mama | Zappa |
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28 | All Summer Long | Kid Rock |
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29 | Wind Up | Jethro Tull |
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30 | Prove It All Night | Bruce Springsteen |
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31 | the Designer Bag Contest | |||||
32 | the Paper Bag Drum Solo | |||||
33 | Hot Fun in the Summertime | Sly & the Family Stone |
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34 | Feelin' Alright | Joe Cocker |
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35 | White Rabbit | Jefferson Airplane |
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36 | We're Not Gonna Take It | the Who |
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37 | Magic Man | Heart |
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38 | House Party | Louis Jordan |
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39 | Dancin Days | Led Zeppelin |
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40 | Do You Love Me | Contours |
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41 | If You Really Love Me | Stevie Wonder |
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42 | Can't Get Next to You | Temptations |
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43 | I Want You She's So Heavy | Beatles |
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45 | Mitch Ryder Detroit Medley | Mitch Ryder |
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46 | Only You Know & I Know | Delaney Bramlett |
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47 | Let Me Stand Next to Your Fire | Jimi Hendrix |
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48 | Wish You Were Here | Pink Floyd |
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49 | Honky Tonk Woman | Rolling Stones |
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50 | I Feel Good | James Brown |
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51 | Walk Don't Run | Ventures | ||||
52 | Down on the Corner | Creedence |
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53 | Crossroads | Cream |
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55 | Pride & Joy | Stevie Ray Vaughn |
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56 | Wolly Bully | Sam the Sham |
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Introducing Paper Bag #32 ~ Bagstock 2009 ~Woodstock turns 40 Motown turns 50also featuring - the Body Bag - music by artists that died this yearTues June 30, 2009 at Mulcahy' in Wantagh Paper Bag #32 ! This is really getting absurd now. There is no good reason on the planet why this thing, this carnival of delight we subject ourselves to every freaking year since 1979, lives. Raise your hands now, who, way back there in the wild and wooly '80s, ever dreamed that we would be going strong 30 years later? As I scan down the list of participants, I realize that my life has been charmed. Not only do I have a great family, I have been given a bounty of uniquely eccentric friends. Together, we have built into our lives a touchstone, a place where we know that once a year we will connect with each other, accomplish an extraordinarily complex and creative task, and have entirely too much fun doing it. Wow. Theme: Bagstock - Woodstock turns 40 - Motown turns 50: Coming up with a theme this year was easy. Woodstock - 1969, Motown started - 1959. The discussion about whether we should put off the Woodstock tribute until it turns 50 ten years from now was brief, for obvious reasons. The music of Woodstock and Motown is right in our wheelhouse. I think the Executiv Board has assembled a songlist that you will enjoy. The Body Bag - is again full this year: Isaac Hayes, Estelle Bennett (the Ronettes), Levi Stubbs (Four Tops), Uriel Jones (drummer in the Funk Brothers, the Motown backup band), Jimmy Carl Black (Mothers of Invention - the Indian of the group), Delaney Bramlett, Richard Wright (Pink Floyd) and Hiram Bullock deserve recognition. We are also playing Bodhisattva by Steely Dan in honor of one of our own. Barry Ambrosio, guitarist for Huntington legends the New Day Band, who passed away this year. He was a fine man and a good friend. Where did you say the section leader meeting is? See you all soon |
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 complained, 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 minor 7/ b5-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. H:e was truly 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. Gene was a friend and a good guy. Barry Ambrosio was the guitarist and singer for the legendary New Day Band. His guitar technique was flashy but clean. At a time when guitarists almost exclusively used Fender and Gibson guitars, Barry was the first guy I know who played a "custom" guitar, with swirly cutaways and a strange headstock. He had a smile that was infectious and indicated that mischief was not far behind. 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. |
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The Savannah Joe Kommnick "Are these donuts fresh?" MomentMany 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, All Summer Long by Kid Rock 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. |
This 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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the 2009 Paper Bag EXECUTIVE BOARD Many people wonder how this crazy, complicated show, with all its myriad details, ever comes together at all. Most of the credit goes to the Executive Board who work many hours so that we can all enjoy the Bag. Thank them when you see them go by. Tony Rome • Scott Savitt Cheese Calzones • Mary McAndrews, Marianne Barton Vocalists • Tony Barca Guitarland • Joe Anziano, Mike Cummings Keyboard Ghetto • Gary Quenqua, Larry Ketchell the Down WInd Horns • Lenny LaPinta, Val Angrosini Harps • Joe Santino, Paul Shields Basses • Jim Myers Percussion • Scott Kistenberger Sound • Larry Phrögk Perlman Lights • Greg Hebel Construction • George Ranzette Door Crew • Phil Guido Ladies Auxiliary • Sue Guido Mr. Guido's Valet • Jim Mola Mr. Guido's Spiritual Advisor • Tom Russo The Band's Barcreep • John Christison The Group W Bench • Ed Lowe The Kid • Ken Teknus |