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July
13, 2008
CIRCLE:
Salute to the States
|
Inspired by the Independence Day
holiday, the first states that come to mind are the 50 that make
up the USA, but we're betting that our creative songmeisters can
come up with references to many other states, geopolitical and
otherwise (state of anxiety, perhaps). |
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June 1,
2008
CIRCLE:
Country Classics
|
Everybody has their own idea about
what constitutes a country classic. Is it Hank & E.T.
& Loretta, or is it Jimmie Rodgers and the
Carters? Or maybe Bill and Lester and Earl?
Maybe even Roy and Gene. Whatever it is, we pretty much
heard it all. |
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May 4,
2008, 5:00 pm
POTLUCK SUPPER
+
FEATURE:
OPEN MIKE
|
It has become a tradition
to invite our brothers and sisters in song from Reading, PA to
be our guests at our annual potluck supper. After stuffing face,
they offer their ample talents in exchange for ours. A group of
BCFSS musicians return the favor at an upcoming FCMS
meeting. These music swaps are always a delightful change of
pace. Regrettably,
Full Circle was not be able to make it this year, so we had an
open mike instead. We hope to resume our FCMA exchanges in
the future. |
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April
6, 2008
CIRCLE:
Progressive Theme
|
Once again it's that totally
demented progressive theme circle we came up with a number of
years ago. The theme varies in the course of the circle as each
song has to be related in some way to the previous one. If
you have a particular song you wish to perform, better get your
hand up first at the beginning or hope someone else does a song
you can relate to it. |
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March
2, 2008
FEATURE:
Steve Begley
|
Just a few years back. Steve Begley, a.k.a. Skip
Flatt, blew several decades worth of dust off his old Gibson
J-50 and hit the open mike scene. Now he specializes in
Piedmont-Style finger-picking. His repertoire can best be
described as "Americana" featuring traditional &
contemporary folk music, old-time rags & blues. |
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February
3, 2008
CIRCLE:
Matters of the Heart
|
Now how hard could this be?
In February the winter is beginning to wane, Valentine's Day is
here, and our fancy lightly turns to thoughts of...what
else??? No subject on earth has inspired more music that
matters of the heart. Many songs may not have
"heart" in the title or even in the lyric, but it's
the thought that counts, right? |
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January
6, 2008
FEATURE:
Easily A Muse
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Easily A Muse is one of our most
recent collaborations, featuring the A Capella vocals of Carl
Hemenway and Gwen Huber. The unusual combination of Gwen's
high voice with Carl's low voice give this duo a
unique sound. When the group first formed, they considered
calling the group "Tony and Kim," after Tony Soprano
and Kim Basinger. But they thought better of it. |
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December
2, 2007
CIRCLE:
Saints & Sinners
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Play us a gospel piece if you're so
inclined. If gospel is not your thing, there are lots
of secular numbers that would fit the bill. Why you
could even salute New Orleans and their football team. Now
that's what we mean by "theme stretching". |
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November
4, 2007
CIRCLE:
Changing Time(s)
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In case you hadn't noticed,
Congress has moved the dreaded end of Daylight Saving Time to
November this year, so here was a chance to put in your two cents
on the subject, or anything else relating to it. |
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October
7,
2007
FEATURE:
Delaware Crossing
|
Tonight we featured Delaware
Crossing, our "acoustic duo of 'mature' guys" (their words), who
play almost every flavor of acoustic music imaginable. The focus for this acoustic group has been on borrowing the good
ol'
stuff and making it their own! |
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September 9, 2007
CIRCLE:
No Theme
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Those us who spend the weekend at
the Doylestown Arts Fest often lose consciousness by meeting
time, so this was be an open circle with no theme, just to make
life easy. Yes, we know -- the lack of a theme makes it
harder for some. |
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August
5,
2007
FEATURE:
Singer/Songwriter Showcase
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This format has proved quite
successful over the past year or so. This month three more
of our singer/songwriter members, Will See, Toby Hill, & Joanne Adler
strutted their best stuff in a round robin format consisting of 3 songs
each. Regrettably, our fourth scheduled participant, Marti
Rogers, had to bow out due to a family emergency, but she will
undoubtedly appear in a future showcase. |
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July 1, 2007
CIRCLE:
Speechless
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This didn't mean you had to sing
about speech (or the lack of it). The deal here was that no
introductions or words of explanation were permitted. You
just went anonymously into a song on whatever topic suited your
fancy. If it was about silence, so much the better, although
"Sounds of Silence" was done the previous month. These
circles move right along, leaving us plenty of time for our eating, jamming, and socializing. |
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June 3, 2007
CIRCLE:
Vision/Blindness
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The possibilities here are endless,
from "Beautiful Brown Eyes" to "Seven Spanish
angels" (by Ray Charles). Or almost anything else you
can envision. |
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May 6,
2007
POTLUCK SUPPER
+
FEATURE:
FULL CIRCLE MUSIC SOCIETY
|
It has become a tradition
to invite our brothers and sisters in song from Reading, PA to
be our guests at our annual potluck supper. After stuffing face,
they offer their ample talents in exchange for ours. A group of
BCFSS musicians return the favor at an upcoming FCMS
meeting. These music swaps are always a delightful change of
pace. |
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April
1, 2007
FEATURE:
Open Mike
|
First 12 signups at the meeting got to do a number and show off
their stuff. If you've never soloed in front of a group
before, there has never been a better opportunity to start. |
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March 4,
2007
CIRCLE:
March Forth
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This may be the first time ever
that the date itself has matched our theme. We heard
marches, and songs about marching off, marching home
again, marching through Georgia, or just the month of
March. |
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February
4, 2007
CIRCLE:
We've Got Issues
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Songs about issues of concern. Maybe your
issue is the state of your favorite franchise whose season is
long since over. It's your call, but no instant replays
allowed. |
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January
7, 2007
FEATURE:
Unsafe At Any Speed!
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"Unsafe" is their name,
and not merely an observation. This was a slightly
early observation of the folk, county, gospel, bluegrass, etc.,
etc. quartet's 15th anniversary on the BCFSS stage. |
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December
3, 2006
CIRCLE:
Wise Men & Otherwise
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Despite being vaguely related to
the holiday tradition, this theme was really wide open.
Know any songs about Einstein or Newton? |
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November
5, 2006
FEATURE:
Singer-Songwriters
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This was a follow-up to our
successful singer-songwriter feature in August.
Singer-songwriters Carol Deaver, Wes Powers, John Fox, and Bert
Coffman presented their best stuff
in a round robin format. |
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October
8, 2006
CIRCLE:
Creepy Crawly Things
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In honor of Hallowe'en,
naturally! This brought out (in song, of course)
a host of monsters, ghouls, and other creepy crawly
critters. |
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September
10, 2006
OPEN CIRCLE
|
This was the end of the second day
of the Doylestown Arts Fest, so we decided not to challenge our
weary participants with a theme. |
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August
6, 2006
FEATURE:
Singer-Songwriters
|
Four BCFSS singer-songwriters presented their best stuff
in a round robin format. We will do this again soon. |
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July 9, 2006
CIRCLE:
Bastille Day
|
No one lost their head over this
one (we hope!). They just came up with something revolutionary. It
was the best of songs and the worst of songs, but we didn't cut
anyone off short. |
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June 4, 2006
CIRCLE:
Songs About Instruments
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There were lots of
possibilities, like "Oh, Susanna" (...with a banjo on my
knee...) and "Mr. Tambourine Man". Almost
every instrument imaginable was represented in some obscure way
or another. |
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May 7,
2006
POTLUCK SUPPER
+
FEATURE:
FULL CIRCLE MUSIC SOCIETY
|
It has become a tradition
to invite our brothers and sisters in song from Reading, PA to
be our guests at our annual potluck supper. After stuffing face,
they offered their ample talents in exchange for ours. A group of
BCFSS musicians return the favor at an upcoming FCMS
meeting. These music swaps are always a delightful change of
pace. |
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April
2, 2006
FEATURE:
Joe Mahon
|
Joe sang a mix of traditional and
original tunes, accompanied on banjo and guitar. His kids
provided his source of inspiration and motivation as they were
growing up, but he is now back to playing for his own amusement. |
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March
5,
2006PROGRESSIVE THEME
CIRCLE
|
Once again it was that totally
demented progressive theme circle we came up with a number of
years ago. The theme varies in the course of the circle as each
song has to be related in some way to the previous one. |
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February
12, 2006
JAM:
Informal gathering for brave travellers
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This was an informal gathering in
deference to the whims of Mother Nature who had the audacity
to snow upon our meeting location. Two hardy souls
actually braved the elements. |
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January
8, 2006
FEATURE:
Marlowe-Hill
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The music
of Jane Marlowe and Toby Hill can be
described as a fun alternative to “adult/alternative”
music, rendering tunes that range in style from “tin pan
alley,” to country-blues, to more edgy folk-rock numbers. |
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December
4, 2005
CIRCLE:
Earth, Wind, Fire
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Innumerable songs make reference to
one of more of these elements. There's no end to the
possibilities, and we heard lots of them. |
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November
6, 2005
FEATURE:
Marti Rogers and Tom Levy
(and friends)
|
It had been too many years since
Marti last graced our feature stage. Joined by her
husband, Tom, on bass and a host of other accompanists, she entertained us in her inimitable authentic folk style. |
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October
2, 2005
FEATURE:
Open Stage
|
The stage was open for an hour or so
to anyone who wished to sign up at the meeting -- first come, first
served. We had a dozen volunteer performers for what turned out
to be an excellent show. |
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September
11, 2005
CIRCLE:
Tools of the Trade
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We heard no musical saws, but heard
songs about an incredible variety of other tools and tools or trades.
And a couple of really AWfuL puns. |
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August
7, 2005
CIRCLE:
But Siriusly, Folks
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It was the "Dog Days" of
August, which you probably realize are named after Sirius, the
Dog Star. So we sang about dogs, stars, hot weather, or any
other Sirius subject. |
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July
10, 2005
CIRCLE:
No Talking
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This was a newly-conceived meeting
format in which we participated in a circle that had no
theme. What made this no-theme circle different is that
absolutely no spoken words were permitted. Introductions
of new members and guests took place before the circle
began. It was the fastest circle anyone could remember,
i.e. more time for food and jamming. |
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June 5, 2005
FEATURE:
Open Stage
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The stage was open for an hour or so
to anyone who wished to sign up at the meeting -- first come, first
served. We had 13 volunteer performers for what turned out
to be an excellent show. |
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May 1, 2005
INFORMAL GATHERING
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This was a newly-conceived meeting
format which was actually no format at all. There was no
formal meeting because our annual Spring Concert was the night
before, but 13 hardy souls showed up for an intimate jam
session, and a good time was had by all. |
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April
3, 2005
CIRCLE:
House of Cards
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There are lots of songs involving
houses and lots more about cards. What a deal!
A few really clever folks put the two together. |
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March
6, 2005
FEATURE:
W.a.T.T
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W.a.T.T. stands for Wasserman and
Two Tuckers. That would be flat-picking virtuoso, Dave
Wasserman, along with the amazing duo of Tom and Marianne
Tucker, who harmonize delightfully while playing almost every
instrument known to folk singers. |
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February
13, 2005
CIRCLE:
Love Letters
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How much imagination does this
take? We'll be doing love songs, letter songs, and maybe
some songs that are actually about love letters. All in
honor of Valentines Day, of course. |
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January 9, 2005
FEATURE:
Peter Johnson
|
Peter Johnson is from Richboro, PA
and has performed as a solo guitarist/vocalist in area pubs and
restaurants. He has been a BCFSS member for the past two
years. |
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December 5, 2004
CIRCLE:
Rime & PUNishment
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Rime: Another name for
frost.
PUNishment: Don't the CAPs give it away?
We heard songs about ice, songs based on puns, songs about
punishment, and even puns related to frozen punishment. |
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November 7, 2004
FEATURE:
Nancy & Charlie
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Nancy Shill and Charlie Pellegrino
entertained us with some hot fiddle licks and
plenty of old time music. |
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October 3, 2004
CIRCLE:
Trick or Treat
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C'mon folks, how much explanation
does this one need? Do a trick (song), get a treat (as
always). Songs with tricks, songs about treats, or scary
ghost and monster songs. Costumes were optional. |
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September 12, 2004
FEATURE:
Ken & Donna
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Music brought Ken and Donna
together and harmony eventually led to matrimony. Their
expert picking and smooth vocal blends made for a delightful
evening. Did they do "The Kiss at the End of the
Rainbow"? You bet! And oh, by the way, if
you're Dave Carter fan, you weren't disappointed. |
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August 1, 2004
CIRCLE:
Sewing Circle
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There was no need bring your sewing
machine (unless, of course, it's a Singer, or you could play a
tune on it) We had songs that had to to with threads or
cloth or any kind of needlework. And some humorous numbers
kept us in stitches. Actually we had more songs about
sowing than about sewing. |
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July 11, 2004
CIRCLE:
Days of the Week
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Lots of songs refer to days of the
week. We had every day from Sunday through Saturday and a
many other references to today, and tonight, but no one got
creative and came up with one about daze of the
weak. |
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June 6, 2004
CIRCLE:
Gems & Precious Metals
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Some days are diamonds, some days
are stones, but this day was be a gem. Many songs have
been written about gold and jewels -- and we heard 'em. |
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May 2, 2004
FEATURE:
Full Circle Music Society
|
It has become an annual tradition
to invite our brothers and sisters in song from Reading, PA to
be our guests at our annual potluck supper. After stuffing face,
they offered their ample talents in exchange for ours. A group
of BCFSS musicians returns the favor at an upcoming FCMS
meeting. These music swaps are always a delightful change of
pace. |
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April 4, 2004
CIRCLE:
April Showers
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Let it rain, let it rain....
This proved to be a soggy circle, as all offerings had have some
connection with rain. |
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March 7, 2004
FEATURE:
Northbranch
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Northbranch
is one of our more recently formed groups. This eclectic
quintet is stacked with talented and experienced
musicians. |
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February 1, 2004
CIRCLE:
PRESIDENTS & PRECEDENTS
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A nod to President's Day. If
you couldn't think of a presidential song, a precedent or
precedence would do. If you could combine them, so much
the better. |
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January 4, 2004
FEATURE:
Group W
|
Lisa
Wildman and Dave McCullough
have added Saverio Minicucci to form
one of our newest groups. The result was more than
gratifying. |
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December 7, 2003
CIRCLE:
WAR & PEACE
|
In remembrance of Pearl Harbor, of
course. This subject has always provided fertile ground
for musical inspiration. Perhaps nothing else in human
experience stirs the emotions to such an extent. |
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November 2, 2003
FEATURE:
NEW MEMBERS
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So many talented new members had
recently joined our ranks that we decided to feature a group of
them in what might be the first public performance for some. |
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October 12, 2003
CIRCLE:
SONGS OF DISCOVERY
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This was in honor of Columbus Day.
Lots of songs have been written about discoverers and
discovery. But we wouldn't let you get away with "I
just discovered this song". |
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September 7, 2003
CIRCLE:
NO THEME
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Regrettably, our featured
performers, Ken Yavit and Donna Ryder had to postpone due to a
family emergency. We hope to reschedule them real soon.
Meanwhile, we had an open circle to keep everyone's life simple. |
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August 3, 2003
CIRCLE:
SONGS ABOUT SONGS
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This was agreed by the participants
to have been one of our all-time best circles. We may do
it again some day. |
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July 13, 2003
CIRCLE:PHOBIAs
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Everyone has phobias: some are just
more bizarre than others. Many are entertaining, and
those are the one we especially wanted to hear about. |
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June 1, 2003
FEATURE:
BENT HARPOON
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There's never a dull moment when Bent
Harpoon takes the stage. This zany duo defies
description, but their off-the-wall humor and amazing vocal
talents never fail to please. |
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May 4, 2003
POTLUCK SUPPER
+
FEATURE:
FULL CIRCLE MUSIC SOCIETY
|
It has become an annual tradition
to invite our brothers and sisters in song from Reading, PA to
be our guests at our annual potluck supper. After stuffing face,
they offer their ample talents in exchange for ours. A group of
BCFSS musicians return the favor at an upcoming FCMS
meeting. These music swaps are always a delightful change of
pace. |
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April 6, 2003
CIRCLE:
BODY PARTS
|
Yes, we hear you snickering
already. Well just remember this is a family-oriented
society. Our performers were creative enough to pull this
off without getting us reported to the vice squad (but not by
much). |
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March 2, 2003
FEATURE:
BLYND SYGHT
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If you love those "Old
Time" tunes, this is the group for you. In one
short year these 5 guys have developed such a remarkable
repertoire of blazing instrumentals that your fingers will get
tired just watching. And they do it without actually using
a fiddle (but they do have a mandolin -- the closest plucked
instrument to a fiddle and just as good) |
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February 2, 2003
CIRCLE:
GROUNDHOG DAY
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If you saw the movie, well don't
think this gave you a license to repeat the same verse 7
times. Beside woodchucks, we heard about shadows, or
winter turning into spring, or climbing into or out of a
hole. |
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January 5, 2003
FEATURE:
NO WINDOWS
|
Tonight we observed the 10th
anniversary of the first public appearance of our famous
"Four Women In Harmony", a.k.a. "No
Windows". It's hard to believe it was way back in
December 1992 that these talented ladies first graced our stage. |
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