JPF Home Page Forums Northeast US Chapter Message Boards Newark, Jersey City, Morristown Chapter Message Board New Jersey Roadtrip Dates: Tue, May 31 & Wed, June 1, 2005

Hi Folks,

Here's the information you need for the New Brunswick, NJ JPF Roadtrip Showcase on Tuesday, May 31st. Big thanks to Spook Handy for sharing his legendary Spook Handy open mic with us once again. He's getting near 1000 consecutive monthly shows! Amazing.

We have a great lineup of old friends and new faces at this show. Keep in mind this is an acoustic only show (i.e. no guitar or bass amps and no drum kits). PA is provided, you need to bring anything else you need for this show.

We will be filming the show for the documentary project and will do short impromptu interviews during the show so be ready with a witty response if you want to make it into the final project!

Here's some guildelines to help keep the show moving:
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Brian's 10 Simple Rules to make the Show go smoothly:

After hundreds of these showcases over the last 7 years all over North America, I've learned a few good rules to make them work the best. So here's 10 rules to make it easier and more fun for everyone:

1. NO onstage tuning! That means NONE! We will give you ample notice when your slot is coming up. Be completely tuned and ready to plug in (whatever instrument you are playing) and play when your time comes. Also, if you are playing guitar, make sure you make eye contact and get the "OK" from the sound person BEFORE you plug in or unplug so we can be sure the channel is muted first. Also, make sure before the show your guitar battery works!

2. Please perform your very best song that lasts under 5 minutes. Please no 12 minute ode's to your cat or 18 minute Prog Rock/experimental Jams. This is your chance to blow the room away with your talent and writing skill (and let us get your very best effort on camera). Don't waste it on a new song you wrote on the way to the show. This is the time for your biggest crowd pleaser.

3. Please no political/religious/rants/speeches/diatribes. This is a music event, not a political/religious event. You are welcome to do political or religious songs, but remember, any political speech you make will likely offend 50% of the rest of the audience and religion can be a touchy subject to someone who believes differently. Let your music tell your story if that is the type of music you do and don't make speeches from the stage. Long song explanations aren't productive either. Do, however, tell folks who you are, make a few comments if you'd like (humor is always good) and say your name again after you peform (so we get it on film).

4. CD's. You are welcome to sell them, but remember almost everyone else has a CD to sell as well. Trading or giving out CD's is a great networking tool if you can afford it, but some artists can't, so don't expect everyone to trade unless they offer.

5. JPF T-Shirts and Hats. We have BRAND NEW T-SHIRTS! This will be the first show we'll have our new shirts for sale. It's a color variation of our original shirts from 1999 which people have been requesting the last few years. We have them in Black, Purple and a Light Khaki Brown type color called Prarie Dust. We have Black and Prarie Dust in Long Sleeves too! We also have our trademark JPF Red Hats. Remember, we fund the entire organization from T-Shirt/Hat sales, member donations and some community partner sponsorships. But the Roadtrips are generally funded entirely with money collected at shows. Help us out so we can help you!

JPF Signature Hat: 20.00
JPF T-Shirt: Short Sleeve: 15.00 (17.00 for XXL and XXXL)
JPF T-Shirt: Long Sleeve: 20.00 (22.00 for XXL and XXXL)
JPF Hat and Shirt: $5 dollar discount off combined price depending on size/type.

We also accept donations of any size if you don't want a hat or shirt. But you should plan on getting a shirt or hat. People will stop you on the street when you wear it and tell you they're JPF members too! (It's happened to members literally around the world!). The shirt theme is "We're All In This Together."

6. Cancellations: We understand things come up. But please try and email us to justplainfolks@aol.com the day before a show with any cancellations. If you have a problem on the day of the show, please call the venue to let us know so we can make adjustments to the lineup. Unannounced no shows at events may result in you being placed last in future events or eliminated altogether.

7. Come early, stay late! I am usually at the venue at least an hour before the show getting ready. Feel free to come and say hi during that hour. If a show ends at a reasonable time, I may be available to grab some coffee or a snack nearby to unwind with a group of members. In general, please try to come for the entire event or as much as possible. Someone has to go first and someone has to go last and we want them to get to perform for as many peers as possible. We take our traditional group photo at the end of the show as well, so if you stay, you'll end up on our home page for a few months in the Roadtrip photos.

8. These shows are not filtered in any way. You may see some folks who will blow you away with their talent, and you might find some that belong in a blooper reel from bad American Idol auditions. Either way, please treat everyone with respect and support. Even the best performers among us had to start somewhere, and if our own community of peers don't give a chance for entry level folks to get their feet wet, who will? Lets celebrate the diversity and if someone is really not doing well in their performance, be glad it isn't you and offer some friendly support! That's the best way for them to learn, get better and grow.

9. Network, Network, Network! Bring business cards and a friendly demeanor and meet as many people as you can. You'll never know what good can come out of a new contact, and often doors open that you hadn't even thought of. There's a lot of folks to meet at these events, so don't waste the opportunity!

10. If there is a problem, relax, it will get fixed. We're here to have fun. Stuff will happen and things will go wrong, they always do. We'll get past it, so don't stress. Be flexible and we'll be flexible and that should allow us to have fun and get past anything that comes up.
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Show Location and Times:

The show is Tuesday, May 31st, in the basement of the Corner Tavern (corner of Easton Av. and Somerset St.) in New Brunswick, NJ. We will have networking starting around 6PM and the show will start at 7PM. Our portion of the night should end before 11PM.

Here's the performance order for the show. If you have a time conflict, let me know and we'll adjust it. Please remember these lists are approximate. I may need to insert or delete an artist to accommodate a time need or a cancellation. If you need to cancel, please do so BEFORE the event if possible. If not, call the venue and leave us a message. For each cancellation, we move the list up so your slot may come earlier than you see below. If everyone is reasonably flexible, we should have no problems.

Set 1: 7-8:00PM (Time very approximate)

01. Cindy Gordon
02. Arlon Bennett
03. Alan Bitterman
04. Provo
05. Sudden Death
06. Alexanderman Band
07. Jackie Sheeler
08. Alice Marie
09. Massimo
10. Helena & Maria

Set 2: 8:00-9:00PM (Time very approximate)

11. David Blanche
12. Dave Kleiner
13. emith
14. Evil Dick and the Congregation
15. Vanessa Torres and Touching Ground
16. Ten Foot Tall
17. Peter Charles Prasa
18. Gemini
19. Deanna Ransom
20. Frank Glaz

Set 3: 9:00-10:00PM (Time very approximate)

21. Isabel Ruano
22. Kevin Hildebrandt
23. David W Jacobsen
24. Ferd Piccuirro
25. SusanJoy
26. Rich Deans
27. Provo Jr.
28. Joe Petraitis
29. Charisma Mendoza
30. Laura Bernstein

Set 4: 10:00-10:30

31. Bobby Syvarth
32. Art Richards
33. John Daubert
34. Ashleigh Wehmeyer
35. Charlene Johnson
36. Spook Handy
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That's where we stand as of 4PM, Saturday, May 21st. Watch here for further updates or changes.

See you all next week!

Brian

Brian Austin Whitney
Founder
Just Plain Folks
www.jpfolks.com

[This message has been edited by Brian Austin Whitney (edited 05-31-2005).]