May « 2009 « Orchard House Cafe

Saturday, June 27, Manhattan Valley Ramblers, 8 PM and 9 PM

Saturday, June 27, Manhattan Valley Ramblers, 8 PM and 9 PM This band draws on old-time, bluegrass and rural ballad traditions recorded in the first half of the 20thcentury. Their music combines fiddle/banjo instrumentals with the harmony singing that is a staple of country and bluegrass. John Saroyan, who plays banjo, guitar and mandolin, hails from the West Coast by way of Louisiana. He has performed at the New Orleans JazzFest and North Carolina’s MerleFest, and he played banjo with Crooked Road when they toured the Northeast in September. Bill Christophersen, born in the Bronx, plays fiddle and guitar. He has recorded with the revivalist Fly-By-Night String Band and the Lazy Aces and currently performs with the bluegrass bands Rock-House Gamblers and American Flyer.
Saturday, June 20, Live music with Port o’ Monkeys, 8 PM and 9 PM

Saturday, June 20, Live music with Port o’ Monkeys, 8 PM and 9 PM This eclectic band uses a wide variety of acoustic instruments, including flamenco guitar, oud, kanun, bouzouki, guitarrone, yayla tanbur, flute, harmonium, bass trombone, mandolin, afghan rebab, nyckleharpe, and various hand drums and other percussion. They carefully mix the aural timbres in each song to bring out its unique character. The interpretations of traditional pieces and the original compositions take their inspiration from sources as diverse as Flamenco, American folk, Basque, Celtic, ancient Greek, Afghani, Turkish, Armenian, Hindustani, Klezmer, Persian, and Gypsy. Some of their music could be called street music, the music of fiestas, the music people make when they get together in homes, folk music; other pieces are more directly meditative. The common denominator is a shared musical spirit, a sense of integrity and joy in our common humanity and aspiration. On this occasion Port o’ Monkeys will feature Chris Wertenbaker, Jeff Greene, Paul Harris, Don Hayward, and Dolphi Wertenbaker. (http://www.myspace.com/portomonkeys)
Sunday, June 14, Live music with Ethan Karetsky, 7:30-9:30 PM

Sunday, June 14, Live music with Ethan Karetsky, 7:30-9:30 PM Ethan Karetsky began writing songs as soon as he picked up a guitar at age eight. At sixteen, he released his first album, "Because They Didn't." Now seventeen, Ethan arrives at the Orchard House Café performing songs from his debut album along with some favorite covers and some new material. “This is a fantastic debut album by a NYC teenage tunesmith... With meaningful, almost poetic lyrics, he moves from ballads to pop effortlessly. I cannot wait for his next release." - MusicMavenNYC
Friday, June 12, The One O’Clock Poets. 8-10 PM

Friday, June 12, The One O’Clock Poets. 8-10 PM Poetry reading from This Full Green Hour The One O’Clock Poets are members of a writing group that has met monthly for several years. Six members of the group--Guillermo Castro, Katie Johntz, Katrinka Moore, Joan Lauri Poole, Elizabeth Poreba, and Sarah Stern--will discuss the transformative power of working within a poetry community and read from their recently published anthology, This Full Green Hour.
Tuesday, June 9, Nice People CAN Finish First, 7 PM

Tuesday, June 9, Nice People CAN Finish First, 7 PM It’s a common belief that “nice” people finish last. Daylle Deanna Schwartz will give tips for taming people pleasing (at the expense of yourself) instincts to become a healthier version of nice. This FREE TALK is for everyone who has felt lousy about themselves for being nice after getting taken advantage of or feeling used and who wants to feel empowered while still being a nice person. It’s the antithesis of becoming tougher or more aggressive to succeed in life. Daylle Deanna Schwartz is a self-empowerment counselor, speaker, and author of 10 books, including Nice Girls Can Finish First (McGraw-Hill, 2009).
Saturday, June 6, René Daumal’s “Holy War,” 8 PM

Saturday, June 6, René Daumal’s “Holy War,” 8 PM Best known for his allegorical novel of spiritual search, Mount Analogue, Rene Daumal had more than one masterpiece to offer. Written as the Nazi armies were crushing Western Europe and approaching France, his prose- poem “Holy War” takes the battle inside. Daumal endows the words holy war with their truest meaning as he evokes with ruthless honesty and rich humor the inner struggle toward consciousness and conscience. This is the unseen warfare that many spiritual traditions regard as the surest basis for peace. A work intended for the page in a time of chaos and scarcity becomes eloquent theater in the performance of: Priscilla Smith (voice): Dolphi George (dance); Chris Wertenbaker (oud); Jeff Greene (strings). The presenters will invite post-performance audience discussion.
Friday, June 5, Window with 4 Panes, 8-10 PM

Join us for an evening of poetry with David Appelbaum. David Appelbaum is a hiker and biker, former editor of Parabola Magazine, publisher of Codhill Press, whose poems have appeared in American Poetry Review, Commonweal, and Verse Daily. His books include A Hellsmouth for Orpheus (designed by Carl Lehmann-Haupt), the Nieuw Pfalz poems, and most recently, Window with 4 Panes
Saturday, May 30, Elliott Glick, Live Music, 7 PM - 9 PM

Elliott Glick has been a musician and songwriter for more than 45 years. His most recent CD, "I've Been Told," is an homage to his rock legend heroes, and includes sweet jazz riffs. This narrator of li fe's journey has sold more than 1,000 music downloads from that CD. Since 2007, Glick has had two of his songs included on legendary songwriter Neil Young's "Living With War" web site ("Baby, This One's For You" and "Bitter Tears"), both consistently in the top 150 out of more than 3,200 songs. He'll perform songs from his "I've Been Told" CD, with master guitarist John Guth on lead guitar, as well as offerings from his first CD, "The Return of the Starving Artist." Glick will debut new original songs as well.
Friday, May 29, Physical Fictions, 8-10 PM

An Evening of Dance Theater with FREEFALL FREEFALL Co-directors Lynn Brown and Lynn Marie Ruse create dance theater pieces mining texts from history, literature, pop culture and our own emotional memory banks for physical and theatrical storytelling. With words and movement, they weave through space, over and around each other, seeking physical metaphors for emotional complexity. Tonight's program will feature performers Lise Brody, Mary Spring, Lynn Brown, and Lynn Marie Ruse. For more information: www.freefallnyc.org
Tuesday, May 26, Bringing Theater into the Environmental Movement, 7- 9 PM

Prepare for the approaching environmental storm by joining with a powerful global performance movement. Find your passion, your voice, and your action plan in community. In this 2-hour experiential workshop for the general public, you will watch a self-revelatory performance titled Broken Body/Broken World and learn to develop and share your own story. This event is co-sponsored by We, The World’s (www.wetheworld.org) global water campaign, and the Theatre Within (www.theatrewithin.org). Jana Smith brings 40 years of social work and drama therapy experience from NYC, and will be joined by We, The World founder, Rick Ulfik. For more information contact Jana Smith at 212 2603238 or jansmth@aol.com

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