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Flood City Music Festival ’09

the Balko — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 14:21:55 +0000

Changes Come to the Johnstown FolkFest

Yeah, time to get back to posting again. We’ve got a lot of catching up to do and, although it’s a lot of fun to annoy Theresa by not doing anything, it’s probably past time to fulfill her fantasies, so here are the shots from the 2009 Flood City Music Festival.

Kudos to JAHA and Ameriserv for taking a huge risk by turning the Johnstown FolkFest inside out. The bigggest change is probably in the timing of the event. JAHA has moved the Fest from Labor Day weekend to the middle of August. This means that Johnstown PA now enjoys 3 weekends of big summer events rather than just 2, and that can only be a good thing for the city and surrounding area. The organizers are now actively soliciting “contributions” for admission to the event. While this may rub some the wrong way, I was more than happy to throw for the $20 weekend pass in anticipation of bigger name future acts and for access to the Train Station area. The Fest is also presenting fewer acts than in the past, encouraging the hiring of bigger names and minimizing the “Okay, which one should we listen to now” dilemma. Oh yeah, almost forgot. They got rid of the scrip! Woo-hoo!

All that said, I’ve got a few suggestions regarding the event that I hope JAHA and Ameriserv will take in the spirit in which they are intended:

More Blues! What this town really needs is a good blues club and/or an annual blues festival. In the meantime, FCMF could help a brother out by adding a few more blues acts to the lineup.
Jams in the Train Station – I sat in the Station for a bit, drinking my beer amid the ferns and other decorations, wishing there was something to listen to; maybe some local accoustic acts or, here’s an idea: how about some blues?
Scheduling – As always, the ’09 Fest generally had a good variety of musical acts from which to choose, but all the early Sunday afternoon acts were just a bit more laid-back than I might have hoped for. I’d like to see the organizers put just a little more effort into scheduling divergent acts playing at the same time.
Did I mention “more blues?”
Bring back the scrip!! – Just kidding

Anyway, we had us a real good time at the ’09 Fest and look forward to bigger and better events to come. Good job JAHA.

Enjoy the pics.

Windber Hospice Benefit Horse Show

the Balko — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 16:34:37 +0000

Equine Benefit Aids Windber Hospice

Contrary to the opinions of a vocal few, there is a variety of activities to enjoy in and around Johnstown, PA. I took a few hours a while back to visit the Windber Hospice Benefit Horse Show held at the Greater Johnstown Saddle Club in Salix, and sponsored by the Saddle Club and the Golden Star Horse Farm of Windber. Admission was free, food was good, competition was exciting, the entertainment was first-rate and it was all for a good cause. It is a rare individual in the region whose life has not been touched, directly or indirectly, by the good works of the Windber Hospice.

This year’s event took place over two days and offered Jumping, Games and Performance competitions, as well as a poker ride and a benefit auction. Musical entertainment was provided, in part, by Ole’ 97, the Johnny Cash, June Carter Tribute Band. Keep your eyes on the saddle Club and Hospice links above for info on future events and how you can help support the Hospice.

Ebensburg’s Wheels and Wings 2009

the Balko — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 19:39:43 +0000

“I couldn’t get to the wings!”

Don’t let the sparseness of the crowd in the photo to the left fool you. I haven’t seen a crowd this thick since the 1987 Boston Ice Cream Festival. Behind me, on the wing block, it was “shoulder to shoulder, backs to the wall.” You couldn’t slip a sheet of paper between any 2 people there. But it was all good. It gave me an excuse to try my first slice of Clark Powell’s pizza. And that led to my second. And so on, and so on… Anyway, I was in town to shoot cars, meet folks and have a good time, not to eat wings. And they had some real pretty cars in Ebensburg, including the sweetest ride I’ve ever seen: Chris Ryan’s, of Ninety Six, S.C., 1948 Cadillac Series 62 convertible. Oh, what a beauty car. Check out the photos.

Johnstown Bike Rally 2009

the Balko — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 18:54:32 +0000

Bands, Bars, Cars and Mason Jars

Okay, there were no mason jars, except for what I found cleaning Mom’s garage, but there were plenty of cars and bars and bikes and trikes, and more great jams than Donnie Iris can shake his dipstick at. Saturday was the biggest crowd I’ve ever seen in Johnstown, PA. This event is going to take 7 stand-alone galleries and 3 posts just to catch a glimpse of what a blast every moment was. For convenience sake, I’ve combined 4 of the galleries into this post and set aside Wheels and Wings and Parade of Lights for their own posts, but, as always, you can catch the individual gallery links up at the top of the post.

The Company You Keep

The quality of life is often determined by the quality of those you choose to keep around you. This year’s rally was top-shelf because of the moments I got to share with Karen, the En Brothers (Glenn and Ken – no relation), Ken’s new friend Theresa, and, the lightning in my thunder, the Lovely Brenda. And we got to meet plenty of other fine folk along the way, and it seems, since Satori Sunday that I’ve acquired the habit of meeting old friends I never knew I ever knew. All in all, I had me a real good time.

Location, location, location…

I’ve got thousands of biker pics on the hard drive, and hundreds on the site. This year was time to branch out and see what else could be seen. We took in the sights at Richland Fire Hall, Ebensburg’s Wheels and Wings, and along Graham Ave. in Windber. The En Bros. and I even incorporated the World Famous Windber Walking Tour into our visit. I missed Beavedale Hill Climbs and Cernic’s Somerset party, and blew off Greenhouse Park and Cambria County Fairgrounds. We hit a lot of bars, Hurdle’s, TNC, Windber Hotel, Town Tavern, Crousey’s, Jerry’s, Ohio Street Lounge; but left many undiscovered. Maybe next year. Ate lots of great food: snack at Clark Powells (no wonder their pizza has a county-wide reputation), breakfast at Erikson Field (Geistown-Richland Lions), lunch at the Knights of Columbus (best halupki ever), and dinner split between TNC (blow-you-away baked Italian hoagie) and Town Tavern (just a quick chef salad, cause I’m not getting enough veggies). Again, next year I’ll have to try harder on the food.

Jammin is My Life

The Wheels Rock! Course, any band that covers Tom Waits, Bob Dylan and Gram Parsons, as well as writes their own excellent material, is okay by me. Check out their MySpace page up above. Nice to catch up with The World’s Greatest Cover Band, The Desperados, once again. Michael Obrian and Full Kilt (also linked above) rounded out the cream of the crop. The Desperados don’t need no stinkin’ website. WHOA! Almost forgot. Honeys abounded once agan. I LOVE this town and I love my life. Thank you Jesus.

All right, wrap it up. I’ll take it. Here’s most of the phots and more to come in the next 2 posts.

Fire on the Mountain

the Balko — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 16:47:56 +0000

the Balko Finds the Best Seat in the House for Johnstown, PA’s 4th of July

I’ve seen some fireworks in my time. There’ve been bi-, tri, and sesqui-centennial celbrations; First Nights and New Year’s Eves, Tall Ships and Millenia, big cities and small towns. We did Boston’s Esplanade 4th one time, along with 300,000 others: couldn’t see the band, no alcohol, couldn’t get to the bathroom, couldn’t get IN the bathroom, couldn’t get out of the park at the end of the night, and getting onto the T was murder. But sitting directly behind those howitzers was a BLAST! Man, dig that crazy sound: BOOM! BOOM! Like much of my Boston experience, though, once was enough. Coolest show I ever saw was Ocean City’s 2000 NYE from the door of my tent on Assateague Island across the bay. But that entire night was special. Last night in Johnstown was pretty special, too.

A Plethora of Pyrotechnique

After shooting last year’s unlooked for 4th of July at Highland and Wheat from the shelter of Larry’s porch, I determined to take advantage of a higher vantage. So, with the cooperation of Albert’s weather, I humped my lard ass and 20 pounds of photo kit up to the top of Wheat Street. I had no idea! I got to witness dozens of fireworks displays in a 180 degree arc, from small, personal shows to the official programs from Westmont and Johnstown; some at my feet, some directly in front of me, to all the way down the length of the valley. What a show! There were at least several sources from each neighborhood and municipality I could see: Ferndale, Lorain, Yoder, Hornerstown, Kernville, Oakland, Daisytown, behind Yoder Hill from Brownstown and/or Cambria City; and even flashes from the West End; and ALL OVER Moxham. No, it wasn’t a BETTER show than the Boston Pops, it was just different, and at least as satisfying and far more comfortable. Next year I’ll have to load up some Tchaikovsky on the iPod before I head out, or, better yet, Exile on Main Street. Now THERE’s some fireworks music.

Satori Sunday in Moxham

the Balko — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 09:42:41 +0000

Protected: ETJ Baseball

the Balko — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 01:51:18 +0000

A Satori in Johnstown

the Balko — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 20:04:21 +0000

I went looking for enlightenment, and found a street party in the Village

Moxham and culture: two words you would have never used together in a sentence back when I was waiting behind Diamond Drugs for the Old Man to come striding through the US Steel gate at the end of his shift: “Take me to the Stonycreek.” Moxham was Moxham and culture was the occasional Country and Western show tearing up Cochran’s auditorium on a tear through the nation’s third class cities.

Everything changes. Diamond Drugs, US Steel and Cochran Junior High School (what you young’uns call “Middle School”) are all gone, but Moxham continues to grow as a cultural center in Johnstown (yes, that’s what I said) when, this coming Sunday, June 14, Satori Gallery presents A Satori in Johnstown, an all day celebration of music and art taking place around the neighborhood’s Village Street Shops. Dave DiStefano, Satori’s proprietor, says it better than I can, so here’s the gist of his latest email:

“Satori Gallery on Village St. will be presenting “A Satori in Johnstown” an art & music street festival on Sunday, June 14. It will be taking place in front of the Village Street Shoppes in Moxham and will last from noon – dusk.

This is a free festival composed of all local talent showing and performing their own original works. ALL are welcome and encouraged to attend in hopes of raising awareness of our local art scene here in Johnstown.

The music lineup includes: The Wheels, Dave DiStefano w/Grand Hadron, Endless Mike & the Beagle Club, The Jeff Perigo Opus, Inside Out, The Sunflower Spectacle, Emmett and Mary, Dallas Zimmerman, Justin Garman, AM Radio, & Glenn Henry.

Johnstown’s Songwriting group “Songworks” will be performing as well as hosting an open mic all day. All artists of the area are invited to show their work. Registration with the gallery required. There will be an open drum circle at sundown, and refreshments by Village St. Cafe. Schedule updates and artist details are provided at www.myspace.com/satorigallery. Thank you all for supporting local art & music!!!!”

and theatre, too…

And, as long as we’re talking Moxham, culture and awareness, check out the Satori site (linked above) for details on this week’s presentation of When the World was Green, Sam Shepard and Joseph Chaiken’s “elegiac” and “stately” exploration of exhaustion and…sensual pleasures that exist only in recollection.” (Ben Brantley, New York Times). Performances are Thursday & Friday @ 8. Admission is $10. Proceeds benefit the Keystone Chapter of the American Red Cross. Reservations are strongly recommended. Reserve your seats by emailing unapologeticproductions@gmail.com or by calling (814) 244-3135.

Of course, I’ve got no photo’s from this week’s party (yet), so, to get you warmed up, here are some shots from August 08′s Second Sunday featuring, I think, Jazz in Your Face.

Cruise In to Windber PA

the Balko — Tue, 19 May 2009 00:59:57 +0000

This isn’t your father’s Windber. It seems that, ever since the hospital told the Memorial mega-medicinal conglomerate where to stick it, this town has been redefining it’s character, and I’m giving serious consideration to moving there. They’ve got great people, low taxes, some very cool bars, their own theatre, and they know how to throw a party. They’ve even got their own vampire convention.

Three weeks ago, the En Brothers (Glen and Ken – no relation) and I took the World-Famous Walking Bar Tour (another post for another time) on a road trip to Windber . Since then, I’ve been back 4 times. This past Friday, it was for the Inaugural Friday Night Cruise In: classic, antique, and state-of the-art muscle cars and hogs lining Graham Avenue, jams in the Gazebo by Day Well Spent, and beer by the Windber Fire Department. Clear skys, a beautiful sunset, and a typical good-natured Windber crowd all contributed to the good times.

There was a time when this sort of thing drove the authorities nuts. Even today, in Lancaster, driving up Prince Street or down queen Street, you can see the signs forbidding “passing this point three times in one hour.” Some towns still don’t like this activity. But progressive Windber has embraced it, and they’re reaping the rewards.

Sponsors for the (almost) weekly event include Conzatti’s Market, Rizzo’s Restaurant, and the Windber Hotel. I know there are more, and as soon as I get back there, I’ll get a handle on the details and repost for you. They’ll be doing this all summer long, but it’s not exactly every week. They’re skipping Memorial Day weekend, but coming back the following week. Anyone who can add more info, provide links to other sponsors, or who can help identify the cars in the photos, leave your comments below. You can check out the photos from here / / /, or click the galley link at the top of the post, or the 2009 Galleries link at the top of the page.