2005 Just Plain Folks Roadtrip Itinerary
Hi Folks,
We've finalized the dates for the next 2 major Just Plain Folks Roadtrips. Below you will find information on what happens during a roadtrip and what you can do to get involved. In 2005, we plan to visit the Eastern 2/3rds of the US and parts of Canada. All the details for the Roadtrip tour and how it works are below. Roadtrips are open to all current Just Plain Folks members and we also welcome new members, so feel free to invite your friends to join and participate. The more the merrier!
I have posted a FAQ of the 20 most common questions I get below. If your question was still not answered, send me a note to justplainfolks@aol.com and place QUESTION: (Your City) in the subject and I will try to answer promptly. But PLEASE read the info below first or I will just refer you back to the FAQ if it is answered below.
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Q: What is a Just Plain Folks Roadtrip?
A: Each year JPF Founder Brian Austin Whitney packs up the van and heads out across North America to meet members face to face, bring the local membership together for various events and check out the wide range of music being made in the grassroots community. With few exceptions, these are free events to attend, and the trips are financially supported by a combination of community partner sponsors, member donations and JPF T-Shirt and Hat Sales. Most events fall into one of three types: Showcases, Chapter Meetings/Workshops and Networking Dinners. For 2005 and 2006, we are adding a new twist, and that is Interview Sessions for our Documentary project.
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Q: What happens at a showcase?
A: Our most common Roadtrip event is a JPF Networking Showcase. At these events we secure a local venue in your town, and host a night of music performances by local or touring members. Every show is different in make up (which keeps it interesting) but in most cases, members perform 1 or 2 songs each in a similar format to an open mic. The difference is that all slots are scheduled in advance and the idea is to meet and greet and network with all the artists involved. It's not uncommon for us to have 30 or more artists performing in one evening, which makes for a great change to meet peers, find potential co-writers or band members, folks to share gigs with, people to tour with, people to share other resources and connections with and simply find some friends who share our mutual passion: Music! We've had every level of performer from people performing live for the first time in their lives to #1 Songwriters and #1 Artists, all mixing together without hidden motives or political agendas.
Usually we welcome all genres of music and configurations of bands. In some cases, if a venue is limited in size or noise codes, we may focus on smaller or acoustic acts, but we work hard to accommodate as much diversity as possible. In a given night we've had Classical Opera Singers, German Death Metal, Old Time Folk, Rap/Hip Hop, Alternative Rock Bands, Drag Queens singing Show Tunes, Solo Instrumentalists (from the musical saw in Central Illinois to world famous Theremin artist Pamelia in NYC), Jazz Cats and Pop Divas, string Quartets, Bagpipe players, Latin Mariachi bands, Children's entertainers and lots and lots and lots of Singer-Songwriters and anything else we might have left out. Sometimes the artists cause the cats to screech and the dogs to howl (think Bad American Idol auditions) and sometimes you'll see people that will literally blow you away with an insane amount of talent. We've seen pretty much everything (though I've learned that there's always something new out there.. it's part of the reason I keep doing this crazy stuff!). The idea is that 1 time per year, we, as an artist community, should come out together, leave any elitist or genre bias to the side and simply enjoy a night of music, laughs and networking for community's sake.
We've done hundreds of these shows in nearly every US State (we'll still be missing Alaska at the end of this year) and over 7000 different artists have performed during a Roadtrip Showcase. We video tape every showcase and take tons of photos which eventually are posted on our website in our Roadtrip section. (See the Roadtrip Section for previous years).
Friends, family and fans are welcome to attend, but always remember our focus is on supporting our members first and foremost. These are NOT filtered shows. If we aren't supporting, even the most entry level artist among our membership, who will? Everyone needs a break and a starting point, and that is one important purpose for our events.
For those of you more polished, we use the showcases to gauge the talent level of the members around the US. We often give referrals to venues around the country for the best artists we find on the road. We also let industry folks of all types know when we find something/someone special. We also use the Roadtrip shows to find the candidates for Live Artist of the Year for the JPF Music Awards. Our 3 previous Live Artist Winners were Von Em (An Americana/Rock Band from Woodstock, NY area), Little Sista (an 11 piece R&B band from LA) and Sekou (tha Misfit), a Spoken Word artist and all time JPF Award winner record holder with 9 awards! (He's one talented guy!). We rarely ever endorse an artist for an opportunity that we haven't seen live, so this is our chance to see you (and get you on video tape) so if the right opportunity comes around, we can recommend you from a first hand point of view.
We generally require at least 20 interested artists to host a showcase. We've had as many as 65 artists perform in one night. If we have less than 20 artists but more than 10, we'll usually host a networking or chapter meeting instead. Details on signing up to perform can be found later in this FAQ.
Showcases require us finding a local venue willing to host us, supply appropriate sound support (or having a local member who can), and who doesn't charge a cover or a usage fee for the venue. We've only charged 1 time for a member showcase, and that was only because of a miscommunication with the venue and a lack of time to find a new one. We rely on local membership to help find a safe, appropriate venue. We prefer venues with food available or that allow food to be brought in since our events can last 3-5 hours.
If you can help us secure a local venue that can hold 30-120 people (depending on the lineup size), please let us know by emailing justplainfolks@aol.com and placing VENUE: (City Name) in the subject field. If possible, include information on the venue (a web link would be great) and any contact info you can provide. We often prefer to do the show between 7PM and 11PM if on weeknights and 7PM-12PM if on Friday or Saturday, but we're flexible as long as the local membership is.
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Q: What happens at a Chapter Meeting or Networking Dinner?
We have chapters either up and running or in the process of starting in cities all across the US and a few in countries outside of the US. If we visit a city with an active local chapter, but not enough members for a showcase, we'll usually have a chapter meeting. This is often held at a members home or friend venue/location where we can discuss JPF, opportunities for the local chapter and answer questions about the music industry that you might have. If there's enough interest, we will also add guest speakers (usually industry professionals) to also give presentations. Every chapter is different and has different interests and strengths. If we elect to have a chapter meeting in lieu of a Showcase, we will let you know the format for that evening. Personally, I really enjoy the chance to sit down face to face with all of you and chat about what's going on in your careers and in your local community while sharing some current info about JPF. We'll plan a meeting or Chapter meeting as long as we have at least 10 interested local members. If not, we will often just meet a smaller group for a networking dinner where we can sit around for a few hours and discuss the same topics, only in a smaller, more intimate setting.
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Q: What happens at the Interview Sessions?
A: We are planning a 2 year documentary project where we tape performances and interviews with artists, songwriters and industry professionals in all 50 US States and across Canada. Our plan is to choose both individuals and groups to interview on a wide range of topics including: personal bios/histories of your music careers and struggles/successes, great stories (humorous and poignant), and local round table discussions about what's going on in the local music scene and in life in general as a grassroots recording artist, songwriter or industry professional in today's music scene. This is a brand new project for us and we'll be learning as we go in terms of filmmaking and will often request support from local members to help with equipment, sound and lighting. If you have any particular expertise in these areas, we'd definitely like to have your help and learn anything from you that you care to share. We've been touring for the last 7 years and each year we lament that we wish we had a quality record of the people and places we've seen to share with the rest of the world. So this year we invested in a professional camera and we're just going to do our best to capture as much of it as we can. The plan is to do these interviews in towns where we have multiple days, a segment of free time before or after a show, or in towns where we don't have enough interest in doing a showcase (or can't retain an appropriate venue). If you are chosen for an interview, you'll have to sign a release for us to be able to use the footage for our project. Should the footage and content exceed our initial expectations, we've had interest in possibly pitching a reality TV show using the footage as a pilot. We'll keep you all posted as the process gets underway. We expect the first few segments of the tour to serve as our "guinea pig" learning process.
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Q: How can JPF and Brian afford to do these shows/tours for free?
A: In nearly every large city, there are other orgs. which offer a variety of paid events in a given month. We thought it would be great to have events where no money had to change hands so that everyone could afford to participate. However, that doesn't pay the travel costs, (which are going to be huge this year with the price of gasoline alone) or for food and rooms for the JPF staff, let alone actual living expenses etc. Fortunately, we've done very well by offering voluntary ways for members to support the organization through selling JPF Hat's, T-Shirts, Guitar Case Stickers, Buttons etc. and taking donations from members. Our hats and shirts are usually priced at 20 dollars and that money not only funds the Roadtrips, but a great portion of all the other work we do during the year. Rather than charge a cover at the door or a mandatory membership fee to everyone, we rely on the good will and support of all of you on a voluntary basis and in the last 7 years every Roadtrip has at least broken even. Please plan to support the org. by buying a "souvenir" or making a donation to help us keep it all going. But if you really can't spare a few bucks, we still welcome and encourage you to come out and participate!
In addition to donations and sales at the shows, we also look for local hosts for Brian and occasionally a second person if someone is traveling with Brian during the tour. Hotel room and restaurants aren't a great use of precious Org. resources and often staying with members in their homes offers a much better way to get to know members, and really learn about the local membership and music scene. If you have a home with a safe parking space (this is VERY important as the travel Van has a lot of stuff in it), a private place to sleep for 1 or 2 people, either a phone line or high speed internet access that Brian can use for the night and/or are willing to invite Brian for dinner to save on travel expenses, please send an email to justplainfolks@aol.com and place CITY HOST: (Your City) in the subject field and include a description of the possible accommodations available as well as a specific address and contact info and a verification that there is a safe place to park the van at or near the location and we'll get back to you. This has been a long and successful tradition and we thank all of you in advance for any help you can provide.
We also want to acknowledge the 2 Just Plain Folks Community Partners who have offered financial support to help with JPF Roadtrip expenses this year: TAXI and Disc Makers. Without their ongoing support over the years, our music awards, roadtrips and many other programs would be very difficult to continue. Both companies have committed to supporting JPF and to help keep it free for all of you, so please consider using both companies services, who are each the best in their fields, and thank them for their support of JPF when you contact them!
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Q: What else happens on Roadtrips?
A: Over the years a lot of different things have been included during Roadtrips. If we have any free time, we love to play tourist in the local communities. We also often do Radio shows, TV Interviews, speak at other local orgs. meetings, universities and occasionally high schools. If you'd like to show Brian the local sites in your area before a show or on an off day in your area, or if you are connected to a Radio station or other media opportunity who would be interested in an interview, or possibly in playing samples of JPF Music Award winners music etc. please email justplainfolks@aol.com and place EXTRA OPPORTUNITY: (Your City) in the subject and let us know what you have in mind. If we have the time, we'll probably be interested in checking it out. The same goes for local music conferences or other events we might want to check out as well in your area.
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Q: How do I sign up to perform or attend a Roadtrip Showcase or event?
A: Our first challenge is to determine the interest level from the local memberships. We visit small and large towns and sometimes the largest interest is in the smallest places and vice versa. To figure out what size and type of venue we need for each date, (or if we need a second or third show for a larger city) we need to get RSVP's back from you with the following information:
Send these requests to justplainfolks@aol.com (this is the ONLY email address you can use to sign up. PLEASE do not send requests to jpnotes@aol.com, jpfolks@aol.com or anywhere else. You won't get signed up!).
For performers:
In the Email Subject field, please place the dates and cities you want to attend
Inside the email, please include:
Date(s)/City(s) Interested in:
Artist/Band Name:
Contact Name: (If different from above)
Full Address:
Phone Number:
Email Address:
Website:
Music Genre:
Band Size and Instrumentation:
Short Descriptions of your music, style and experience: (Please keep this to a couple sentences MAX!)
Special Time Needs: (Note: we can only accommodate "early" or "late" in a first come first served basis)
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Here's a fictional Example:
Subject: June 15th, Indianapolis, July 2nd, Cleveland
Date(s)/City(s) Interested in: June 15th, Indianapolis, July 2: Cleveland
Artist/Band Name: Goth Divas
Contact Name: (If different from above) Brian Austin Whitney
Full Address: 5327 Kit Drive, Indianapolis, IN 46237
Phone Number: 317-555-5555
Email Address: jpfolkspro@aol.com
Website:
www.gothdivas.com Music Genre: Dance/Electronica/Pop
Band Size Options and Instrumentation: We have 12 members: 5 Female Lead Singers, Drummer, 2 Keyboardists, 2 guitarists, 1 bass player and 1 Sax Player. We can also perform just with 5 vocalists using backing tracks.
Short Descriptions of your music, style and experience: We do originals and covers of power pop, electronica and dance music with soaring 5 part harmonies from female vocalists dressed in Gothic Makeup and leather who also provide comedic interactions between songs.
Special Time Needs: We have no special time needs.
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For non performers (i.e. non performing songwriters or industry folks who just want to attend)
In the subject, please place the dates and cities you want to attend:
Date(s)/City(s) Interested in:
Contact Name:
Full Address:
Phone Number:
Email Address:
Website:
What do you do? (i.e. Songwriter, Publisher, Label, Attorney, Manufacturer etc..)
How many in your party?
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Once you sign up, we will compile a list of all interested members/performers. If we have enough interest in having a venue showcase, we will secure an appropriate venue for the event. If there isn't enough interest, we will look for a home or similar space for a meeting or networking dinner. Once we secure a venue, we will let everyone know the location, timing and start putting together a performance line up. At that time we will ask all participating members to confirm their attendance by posting a reply on our Message boards. This will allow other area members to learn about who you are and give us an easy way to communicate with everyone involved before and after the show. This is a new thing for us, and we really feel this will great improve the networking benefits of these events.
Instructions on how to register to post on the message boards:
Visit this page:
http://www.justplainfolks.org/cgi-bin/Ultimate.cgi?action=agree (or click "Register" link on our message boards).
Follow the instructions to register to post. Once you are registered (i.e. you have selected a user name and filled out the requested information) you will receive a password via email to the address you signed up with. You can elect to make your email address public or private, so don't worry about privacy issues if you have that concern, simply elect not to reveal your email address to the public (though we encourage you to include contact info so folks can network with you). Then you can visit your local event page which we'll email all participants and post a note to indicate your participation. This is also a great time to include a bio about you or your band, and anything else you'd like to share with the rest of the membership. Our networking message boards provide all sorts of opportunities not just in your community, but all over the world. You can also post links to songs for feedback, lyrics for feedback, or ask any type of music related business or craft question on the appropriate message boards. To check out all that are available, click here:
http://www.justplainfolks.org/cgi-bin/Ultimate.cgi The local chapters are all listed towards the lower half of the boards by region. Anyone is welcome to post on any of the boards. If you have questions or difficulties, let us know. Always remember that when logging in to post, passwords and user names are CASE and S P A C E sensitive.
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Q: Will I get a confirmation and a specific performance time if needed?
A: Once a lineup is set for a showcase, we will contact all participants with final information. In some cases, we may elect to set the final performance lineup at the venue the night of the show. We can't' offer exact performance times for any performers. If you have a special time need (i.e. day job the next morning and needing an early slot, or you need to get there later in the show and need a late slot) we can offer either Early or Late slots by request as they are available on a first come/first served basis. If you request an early slot, we will start at the beginning and move forward. If you request a late slot, we will start at the end and move back in time. Because we often have 30 or more performers at a show, we can't EVER offer an exact performance time. We do these events as a community and expect folks to show up for the entire (or at least the majority) of a given show. If your time is so limited you can only attend for a short time, please sign up as a non performer, come out and meet folks and don't perform. That way you can come and go when you need without affecting others. If you ARE performing, the worst thing you can do is show up just before you perform and leave right afterwards. Not only does that defeat the purpose of the events, but it will likely cause more negative attention to you and your music than positive. Once a year folks should be willing to come out and support everyone. At every show someone has to go first and someone has to go last so please try to stay for the entire event, or at least a couple hours if you are limited on time availability. Let's give the same support and respect to everyone involved from start to finish. If you don't, the next show YOU might be going first or last.
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Q: What will be provided in terms of Back Line and Stage Size?
A: Every venue and event is different. We will try to provide information on available back line (i.e. Amps, Drums, Keyboards etc) and space limitations (i.e. if we're in a tiny coffee house, full bands probably won't work). Each event is handled individually and we try hard to accommodate as many folks as possible.
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Q: How long do I get to perform?
A: Because the goal of these events are to sample each artist/writer, they aren't intended as extended performance opportunities. In most cases, everyone will be performing one or two songs depending on time and final number of participants. We occasionally offer a featured slot if we have a special guest (for example we offered Steve Seskin, writer of 7 #1 country songs, an extended slot because frankly, everyone in the room wanted to hear him do more than 2 songs!). In addition, if you are a current (i.e. 2004) JPF Award nominee or winner or a past winner, we will offer you 1 extra song if time permits as part of the benefit for winning/being nominated. This is a long tradition we've always offered since the awards began. If we have a mix of bands and solo/duo performers, we try to offer the bands a second song first as time permits. If you have a 1 song limit, we expect you to perform a song of 5 minutes or less. If it's 2 songs, 10 minutes or less. Please don't abuse this time limit. We want everyone to get their shot to perform.
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Q: What can I perform? Can I sing to a track? Can I play a recording?
A: You can perform anything you like, but we encourage original music as much as possible. This isn't intended to be Karaoke night. If the venue can accommodate music tracks, you are welcome to sing along with a track. You will be responsible to make sure the proper equipment and cables are available. (it's the same as if you play guitar.. you wouldn't assume someone else had a guitar for you to play). You'd need to bring a CD player with cables that could plug into a mixing board the same as a guitar. Often venues have CD players, but 7 years on the road has taught me that Murphy's Law is often the rule and something goes wrong with the house system. To be safe, bring your own player and cables. When we meet for chapter meetings and dinners, we occasionally will have a song circle at the end. In these cases, it may be possible for us to play something on CD for feedback. We'll let folks know ahead of time, but we don't generally play pre-recorded music at live shows.
Also, we prefer that you perform PG versions of any songs. If your song has expletives, please use judgement. If it is safe for the mainstream radio, it should be fine for our shows. We often have a very mixed crowd and there's no reason to needlessly offend people. Leave the non radio friendly content for your own shows, and play the biggest crowd pleasing songs you have to get the best response at these shows. If you perform Metal, Industrial, Rap etc. with gratuitous expletives, please perform the clean version of the song (especially in all ages venues).
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Q: Where can I attend/perform at events?
A: One of the coolest things we offer is a chance for members to visit cities away from home to perform at our events or attend our meetings. This is a great way to meet artists in another town that you might want to do touring in, perhaps perform in a local venue to make connections with their booking people and get out on the road to supplement your regular tour off nights with JPF events. We've had many members who have joined us for multiple cities on these tours. Keep in mind that the same limit to # of songs applies even if you are out of town however. But if you'd like to play in NYC, Boston, Portland and Toronto (for example) and want to follow us around a bit, you can do that. Just sign up using the same process as everyone else for a slot. The only exceptions are in cities where we have more folks interested than time allows. In NYC last time around we did 3 shows with an average of 50 artists a night. We had to limit each artist to performing in only 1 show in NYC that year (but all were welcome to perform in NJ, CT etc..). We don't expect a problem, but it's important to sign up early if you want to make sure you get a slot.
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Q: What happens if I sign up and don't show up?
A: You'll be shunned for life! Actually, we understand that things can come up that cause you to miss a show. However, it really plays havoc with our scheduling and you have no idea how much work it is to simultaneously book and keep up with nearly 100 events in 35 states on a tour like this! So PLEASE, if you need to cancel, contact us and give us advanced notice, even if you have to call us at the venue itself. If we at least know you won't be there before the show starts, we can juggle the line up. And email will suffice as long as it comes the day/night before the show. If you need to cancel the day of the show, we'll supply a phone number for you to call. If you cancel ahead of time, there's no problem. Unannounced no-shows may get you banned from future shows and opportunities with the org. and will result in you being placed last in future lineups if you are included. Please be considerate and cancel in advance!
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Q: Can I take videos/photos? Can we have access to the JPF footage/photos?
A: Yes, you can take any photos and video of your performance that you want. Just don't block the stage or views of folks in the venue. We always post the photos we take at shows on the site and everyone is welcome to use them as desired as well. We can't, however, send copies to members of the video footage. There are too many shows, too many performers and too few of us and time in the day for us to do that. We keep all the shows in our historical archive and hope to get usable footage at shows for the documentary project.
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Q: I'd like to host Brian at my home for this tour. What are the requirements?
A: A safe place to park the JPF Van (this is critical!), a clean private (i.e. a bedroom or other private area) place to sleep, internet access via high speed or a phone line that can be used to check email and flexible time schedule since events often end late at night and so Brian will be getting in often well after midnight from the show(s). Breakfast, lunch and/or dinner is nice too when available! Brian isn't picky! Reasonable proximity to the venue and/or to a main highway leading to the next day's city is a bonus! Brian will likely want to get some video footage of any hosts and the places he stays during the trip for the documentary.
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Q: I want to bring family/friends to the event. Is that okay?
A: Absolutely. In some cases there may be age restrictions at venues (check with the venue before bringing minors), but we have no JPF limitations on who can come to our events and encourage you to invite friends and family. Just let us know how many you expect on the RSVP so we have the right sized venue. Keep in mind these are NOT filtered shows, so some performers will be great and some won't be. But we've learned that even rank amateurs need to get a start somewhere and some very strong and successful performers have gotten their starts at one of our shows. Also make sure they know there may be a variety of genres performed. In nearly all cases, there's no cover charge for our events. But please plan of eating and drinking at the venue when appropriate. We want this to be a good experience for the venues as well so they invite us back next time.
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Q: Will there be "industry" there to see me?
A: Over the years we've had a mix of about every type of industry professional attend a show across North America. We've literally had a few members get label deals after performing at one of our shows. (Seth Horan, our 2002 Male Artist of the Year for example). But we don't plan these events to be industry showcases (and 99% of those supposed "Industry Showcases" only serve to make money for those putting them together.. but that's another topic). Our shows are community events to meet and check out your peers. If we have publishers, media folks, producers, labels etc. in the audience, we usually don't point them out ahead of time. If you're doing a good job working the room and networking, you'll find them though. And if someone is interested in a performer at a show, we will help them contact you after the show if appropriate.
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Q: How should I take most advantage of the showcase?
A: Prepare to network! Make sure you have an ample supply of business cards to give out. If you have CD's available to hand out, you are welcome to do that. CD exchanges can be a great way to check out your peers, but keep in mind that not all artists can afford to give away their CD's, so don't expect someone to give you their CD in exchange unless they offer voluntarily. You should meet every single person in the room and get to know as many as possible. Even the least talented person in the room might have an amazing contact that could help you out. (This I have experienced MANY times). You just never know who is in the room unless you make the effort to meet and greet them all. If there are 30 artists performing at the show, you should leave with business cards from the other 29 and make sure you give your card to all of them as well.
Also, you should be checking out how the other artists present themselves, who has the best stage presence, what type of music is getting the best audience response and so on. We will post the names of all the performers before and afterwards, so you should follow up and visit the website of any artists/writers you meet that you might want to share a gig with, co-write with, recruit into your band or even do a tour with. If you're from out of town, making these contacts can be a great way to establish yourself with successful/connected local artists for gig sharing (both in your town and theirs) as well audition for the venue owners/management with your performance and so on. This also gives us (JPF) a chance to see how well you perform and get it on video so we have the perspective of having seen you live in person. This allows us to suggest artists to venues and conferences/festivals when they contact us looking for quality performers. It also serves as our entry process for the Live Artist of the Year category with the winner getting a featured slot at our Awards show in Hollywood in the next cycle.
And finally, and perhaps most importantly, we all get to ave a lot of fun with like minded, passionate creators of music. How often in the last year have you gone out and made music with a lot of peers just for the fun of it without strings or agendas attached? I think we all need to do that as often as we can.
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Q: Can I give my CD to Brian or someone else with JPF at the show/event?
A: Yes. Make sure you have written your complete contact info on both the CD liner notes AND more importantly on the CD itself (Name, Email Address, Phone Number, Website at minimum). We've gotten over 25,000 CD's from members over the past few years and we immediately separate the CD from the case before the screening process starts. If you have no contact on your disc, it's possible we'll be unable to find you should we want to support your music or move you forward in the music awards process.
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Q: Is Brian at all the shows? Can I talk with Brian before, during or after the event?
A: Yes, I Emcee every show. I have only missed one Roadtrip event in 7 years. I also encourage everyone to introduce themselves to me and at least say hi at some point before or after the show. During the show I am often on stage introducing the next act performing, taking photos, adjusting cameras or dealing with lineup problems (or actually just listening to the performances), so that's not always the best time, but I am always at venues before the show and always there after the show. If the show ends reasonably early or if I have an off day the next day, I will often go out with members for coffee or a snack after events to chat and unwind. Anyone is welcome to join us if it works logistically.
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