Hello!

I built a home made pedal board and I'm trying to figure out a good way to transport this thing now. Rough dimensions are 3 ft long, maybe a foot wide (how wide is a crybaby? hah).

I'm looking for advice / suggestions on a good way to protect the board and it's precious stomp-boxes when I leave the house.

I'd really like something like a hard case but don't want to spend $100.00 either.. a soft case would work. It's not like it's getting loaded on a plane or truck. I'm also up for the home-made DIY style solution, such as an old brief-case, suit-case, maybe even a tool-box or converted tackle box!

Again just looking for ideas! What do you use to carry your pedal board in when you leave the house? Thanks for any input you have!

On February 5th, the Worcester community will come together at the Lucky Dog Music Hall to help raise money for earthquake relief efforts in Haiti.

The night will include a wide range of area bands and musicians (with a few special surprises!) performing from 5:15pm until closing time.

A raffle will feature contributions from local businesses and donors, and several local restaurants will be supplying food.

There will be a $10 cover at the door, with proceeds benefiting major reputable disaster relief organizations on the ground in Haiti.

5:00-5:45 - Chris Reddy
5:45-6:30 - Sam James
6:45-7:30 - Kayla Daly
7:45-8:15 - GSpots
8:30-9:00 - American Motherfuckers
9:15-10:00 - Sarah G and Sunta with Kid Colossal
10:15-11:00 - Bee's Knees
11:15-11:45 - Dave Rivers Group
12:00-12:30 - Cowboy Matt and Torbin Harding
12:45-1:15 - Shane Hall and the Ticklebomb Orchestra

Come out for a one-of-a-kind, monumental night of music to benefit relief efforts in Haiti!

And please repost/invite your friends---looking to pack the Dog all night!

The Lucky Dog
89 Green Street
Worcester MA

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=442716235651

508 is a show about Worcester. This week Greg Opperman, Tracy Novick, Brendan Melican, and Mike Benedetti talk about the school budget, the uncontested world-champion vegan macaroni and cheese recipe, Whiskerite, and today's Haiti fundraiser.

mp3 link, show notes

Three Big Challenges between February and March!

1. February 22nd - Little "a" Poetry Series presents a Dead Poets' "Slam"!

Typically, a Dead Poets' Slam is a poetry slam in which contestants are allowed to only do cover poems, and only poems written by deceased writers. The word "Slam" appears in quotation marks, because the traditional rules of slam will not be applied - First, judging will not only be closed, but the judges will not be announced. Second, scoring will not be done on a scale of 1-10, but rather on a point system that will be a secret. If you are a poet that would like to give us an impersonation of your favorite writer (wear a costume! imitate their voice! get creative!) come to the Little "a" at the Q on February 22nd. There will be prizes!

It should also be noted that this will be the last Little "a" reading to occur on a Monday, from March forward we will have the reading on Thursdays.

2. March 13th - 50/50 Songwriter Challenge Part II!

In October, we held a 50/50 Songwriter's Challenge - basically, there was an entry fee of $10, and the winner (Jessica Lovina O'Neill) took home half of the dough. The other competitors were Shane Hall and Dr. Gonzo, and our judges were Victor D. Infante, Lydia Fortune, and Torbin Harding.

This time around will be the same deal. If you register before March 12th the entry fee will be $8, the day of will be the full $10. We're hoping the same judges will be on board, and that many of you will be able to attend!

For spectators, there is a suggested $3 donation to the Q Arts Corp.

3. March 21st - Homemade Instrument Challenge Part II

See Rich Leufstedt's post -

Hope to see some Worcesterites at one or all of these events!

CALLING OUT TO ALL ACTORS OR ASPIRING ACTORS! THIS IS YOUR CHANCE TO SHOW OFF YOUR TALENT!

Molehill Productions, in association with the Q Arts Council and Vemplore Studios is proud to announce auditions for it’s upcoming spring production of Becky’s: (under construction and) In Concert, 7 p.m. Tuesday February 9th upstairs at Ralph's Chadwick Square Diner 148 Grove St. Worcester, MA 01605. We are seeking six actor/singers of either gender ages 20-45 and auditioners should be prepared to sing 16 bars of a song that demonstrates their range, perform a cold reading and learn a verse from the show. For questions, directions, or to schedule an alternative audition please email Molehill.Productions@gmail.com.

or contact Sorana Gatej at soranagatej@gmail.com regarding any questions you may have.

Thank you,
The crew!

Have a very GLAM Valentine's Day!

The 9th show in the popular Green Street Music Series comes to the Lucky Dog Music Hall for a special Valentine's Day show on Saturday, February 13 with Green Street Under Pressure: a local celebration of the music of Elton John, David Bowie, and Queen! The show features local super-group Total Blam Blam and more than 25 guest singers performing over 50 songs and over 5 hours of music! The hits-heavy show kicks off at 8 PM sharp with doors opening at 7 PM. Tickets are $12 in advance, more the night of the show, and you need to be 21 or older to get in.

The Green Street Music Series began in 2003 with Exile On Green Street, a show commemorating the Rolling Stones' club appearance in Worcester, MA at Sir Morgan's Cove (now the Lucky Dog) in September of 1981. Seven shows have followed in the years since, the most recent being last spring's Radio Free Green Street, a local celebration of the music of REM and U2.

I talked a couple friends of mine to drive down from Boston to check out the Abbey this Sat night...I know they don't take reservations, so what would be a good time to get there and have a reasonable shot at a table for 4?

Looking for input.

I have compiled a listing and have a pretty good start towards a comprehensive listing of 2010 Northeast Music & Dance Festivals.

View here.

Please take a look and post your comments and ideas for additions/corrections/updates here.

On this week's Worcester podcast, Brendan and I catch up on news and talk about cargo cults.

mp3 link, show notes

I am looking to get some basic recording software that allows you to record and mix three or four separately recorded tracks together. This is just to record demos of my own songs to bring to the band, so it does not need to be totally professional grade. I have used Audacity in the past, but Audacity does not let me, for example, play a piano track, and then overlay a guitar track, etc.

Can anyone recommend something moderately priced that would accomplish this? I definitely don't want to pay for the full ProTools package, but I'm hoping there is a decent, usuable alternative out there.