First Friday Coffeehouse

From Bob Moore

Musicians, poets, stargazers that are drawn toward the cosmos, broken hearts that are drawn toward poetry, lamenters of a by-gone day that are determined to live in the here and now:

All is well if you are willing to let it be. We are looking forward to another visit by French Canadian singer/songwriter Lucie Therrien as she is getting ready to charm us again with her original ballads and contemporary blues. She is sure to encourage us to sing some of her native and homespun tunes as well as songs you may recognize from your formative years. I think we have Lucie going on shortly after the coffeehouse begins about 7 PM. We are also featuring poet John Simon who will present some of his own poems as well as lyrical ballads and contemplative pieces he is known to recite by heart. John makes frequent appearances at the Poetry Hoot at Café Espresso in Portsmouth, and also hosts a month poetry gathering at Serenity Café in Rye, New Hampshire on Route 1A every third Monday of the month.

 

This month we’ll also feature a surprise artist/painter. She’ll be introduced during the coffeehouse, and will answer any questions about her work which is now being shown on the walls of the FUUSE Sanctuary. Hope you can make it for another evening full of poetry, music and art.

Blessings to you all,

Bob

The First Friday Coffeehouse featuring singer/songwriter Lucie Therrien and co-featuring poet John Simon.

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The First Unitarian-Universalist Society of Exeter

12 Elm Street (Parish Hall), Exeter, NH

Friday, May 2nd

7:00 PM

Sign-up for performers starts at 6:30 PM.

Musicians, poets, families, performing art enthusiasts encouraged to attend.

Bring a dessert. Coffee and tea will be provided. Donations gratefully accepted.

Tell a friend and see you on Friday, May 2nd

 

For more information, e-mail bmoore628@comcast.net or phone: 642-4648.

 

First Friday Coffeehouse 3/7/14

Since many won’t follow links, I pulled this one out for your listening pleasure!

Mike

From Bob Moore

Musicians, poets, songwriters, riders on the storm of Old Man Winter’s perpetuity:

Hope all is well in the land of ice and snow. We have a wonderful coffeehouse planned for this Friday featuring singer/songwriter Mara Flynn. I met Mara several years back when I took a fateful trip to join the Writers in the Round Retreat at the Isles of Shoals. That first year introduced me to songwriters I had never met before including Mara and Guy Capecelatro III among others. It was a great experience and I have been woken to new voices in the land of music and poetry. Mara has a lilting voice that is dream-like. She writes songs that are about changing the way a life can be lived, can be seen. She writes about possibility which is a balm for what we have grown to expect in the day-to-day news of the mundane. Mara will be performing in a trio with her collaborator and friend Guy Capecelatro III (bass, guitar) and another dear friend, Juliet Nelson (backing vocals, cello). You don’t want to miss this show. Here’s some more information on Mara’s music background:

Mara Flynn released two albums as Milksop Holly (1999 and 2000, on Shimmy Disc). In 2011, Burst & Bloom Records released her debut solo album, small as a heartbeat, a collection of emotional songs featuring lush vocal harmonies. Her follow-up, wide open, was released in the summer of 2013. She is co-director at Acting Out, a children’s theater studio in Newburyport, MA. She lives with her family in South Berwick, Maine.

“Mara Flynn welcomes a song into the world with a voice hovering somewhere between heaven and earth, rich with love and tenderness, yet tinged with pain—even sadness, and a womanly wisdom that only sorrow knows. Her writing is fresh and nuanced… I could listen to Mara sing her lines of hope… forever, and never tire of the beauty of her voice. Even in—especially in—the darkest midnight.–John Perrault

“Wide Open” is Flynn’s follow-up to her 2011 Burst & Bloom debut “Small as a Heartbeat”… the result is a soulful 11-song album that blends elements of roots-rock, country, jazz, and blues. Flynn’s voice is dreamy and meditative… There’s no skipping over tracks on “Wide Open”. It’s an invitation to slow down and let the album fully wrap itself around you like a blanket” — The Wire, NH

To listen to samples of Mara’s music, here are a few sites you can visit:

http://burstandbloom.bandcamp.com/album/wide-open

https://myspace.com/maraflynnmusic

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The First Friday Coffeehouse featuring singer/songwriter Mara Flynn with Guy Capecelatro III, and Juliet Nelson

The First Unitarian-Universalist Society of Exeter

12 Elm Street (Parish Hall), Exeter, NH

Friday, March 7th

7:00 PM

Sign-up for performers starts at 6:30 PM.

Musicians, poets, families, performing art enthusiasts encouraged to attend. Bring a dessert. Coffee and tea will be provided. Donations gratefully accepted.

Tell a friend and see you on Friday, March 7th

For more information, e-mail bmoore628@comcast.net or phone: 642-4648.

First Friday Coffeehouse

From Bob Moore

Musicians, poets, storytellers, contra-dance enthusiasts, snow-bounders, flatlanders, folks returning from the south and wishing they were headed back south once they got home:

I hope you’re getting used to the snow. I guess we might as well, since apparently there is more weather coming our way. As it looks now, I think we’re in the clear for this Friday night. We have a musician coming up from the Boston area to perform at this coming First Friday Coffeehouse. He has been playing the Boston circuit for many years and has opened for many noteworthy musicians. His name is Howie Newman. He’s an entertainer by trade, and has several CD recordings to his credit. You can learn more about his music and background at: http://www.howienewman.com .

Here’s more on Howie’s background:

Howie Newman is hailed as one of the most engaging performers on the New England folk circuit. He combines music, comedy and audience participation to provide a truly unique entertainment experience. Newman has opened for Tom Paxton, Vance Gilbert, Bill Staines, Lui Collins, Don White, Modern Man and many others. His songs have received national airplay on the Dr. Demento Show, National Public Radio and Midnight Special as well as dozens of other outlets across North America. He has 3 recordings to date including, “Trust Me You’ll Like it”, “Baseball’s Greatest Hits, Vol. 2”, and “The Live CD”. The coffeehouse starts at 7:00 PM, and is being held in the FUUSE Community Room. Sign-up for the open-mike begins at 6:30 PM. Donations are gratefully accepted. Bring a dessert, tell a friend, and we’ll see you on Friday, February 7th. For more information, e-mail: bmoore628@comcast.net, or phone: 642-4648. The First Friday Coffeehouse is held at the Exeter UU Church, 12 Elm Street, Exeter, NH.

The First Friday Coffeehouse featuring singer/songwriter Howie Newman

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The First Unitarian-Universalist Society of Exeter

12 Elm Street (Parish Hall), Exeter, NH

Friday, February 7th

7:00 PM

Sign-up for performers starts at 6:30 PM.

Musicians, poets, families, performing art enthusiasts encouraged to attend. Bring a dessert. Coffee and tea will be provided. Donations gratefully accepted.

Tell a friend and see you on Friday, Feb. 7th

For more information, e-mail bmoore628@comcast.net or phone: 642-4648.

First Friday Coffehouse 6/7/13

image002Decatur Creek

A note from Bob Moore.

Musicians, countrymen and women, folks that like to hear a good story weaved into song, students (and teachers) looking forward to the freedom of summer:

Hope you’re managing through the early heat wave these last few days. Maybe you’re finding the best way to cope is by heading to the beach, hanging out in the shade, or maybe finding your favorite private or public watering hole somewhere near home.

I wanted to let you know that we have another great line-up of musicians coming to visit the UU church this coming Friday, June 7th. Decatur Creek is an acoustic trio of songwriters that hail from southern New Hampshire west of Manchester. I first heard Doug Farrell and Jack Carlton last fall at the Spireside Coffeehouse in Dunbarton, and was taken aback by their musicianship and their songwriting skill.

Steve Dionne has joined forces with these two musicians and they came visiting the First Friday Coffeehouse this past March when we featured Jack Kid. They have a great sound and take turns supporting each other’s original compositions. I highly recommend you check these guys out. More information is give below about the band Decatur Creek.

Quick bio of Decatur Creek:

Doug Farrell, Steve Dionne and Jack Carlton are accomplished songwriters and performers who have discovered another musical dimension performing as a group. Their diverse styles complement one another as Decatur Creek’s original sound continues to evolve. They blend to create a unique acoustic sound that’s part Americana part folk .

Check out Farrell’’s ““My Last Life”  at www.reverbnation.com/dougfarrell for a sneak preview of their upcoming demo CD.

The First Friday Coffeehouse featuring  Decatur Creek ,Doug Farrell Steve Dionne Jack Carlton

The First Unitarian-Universalist Society of Exeter

12 Elm Street (Parish Hall), Exeter, NH

Friday, June 7th

7:30 PM

Sign-up for performers starts at 6:30 PM.

Musicians, poets, families, performing art enthusiasts encouraged to attend. Bring a dessert. Coffee and tea will be provided. Donations gratefully accepted.

Tell a friend and see you on Friday, June 7th

For more information, e-mail bmoore628@comcast.net or phone: 642-4648.

First Friday Coffeehouse 3/1/13

From Bob Moore,

Musicians, poets, steel-string guitarists, nylon string guitarists, guitarists that perform with two hands on top of the fingerboard and play it like a keyboard, keyboardists that play with two hands on top of the keyboard and play it like a guitar, any guitarist looking for a glint of spring on the horizon:

Well, I heard the groundhog didn’t see his shadow this time around which I figured meant we’d be edging toward an early spring right about now. But maybe the ‘not seeing his shadow thing’ only applies to the greater Punxsutawney area in Pennsylvania. My guess is the groundhogs around here are wondering what to do with all the snow above their hibernation holes. I know the residents up and down my street (me included) are wondering what to do with all the snow in our driveways and walkways. I have to admit, the sun did come out today, the new snow looked nice on the trees this morning, made for nice scenery, but an early spring is looking mighty slim. So, I’ve been talking to a lot of folks that can afford to fly south for a few weeks, and that’s their way of dealing with the gift of snow that keeps on giving. Anyway, we have a very talented musician featured this coming Friday by the name of Jack Kid. I had the pleasure of seeing Jack perform in Dunbarton, NH at the Spireside Coffeehouse and he is a gifted guitarist and is a veteran player and songwriter. We are very lucky to have him come by the First Friday Coffeehouse. Jack has many albums to his credit. After September 11, 2001, and the wars that followed in Afghanistan and Iraq, Jack, a Vietnam Veteran, responded with the album entitled “Blackjacks” that features the song “So Many Angels”. The song was an Honorable Mention winner on Billboard Magazine’s 2004 World Song Contest. Jack’s other recordings include “Threadbare”, and “Espresso Ecstasy”. Lately Jack has been working on two-hand guitar originals inspired by the eclectic virtuoso Michael Hedges. You don’t want to miss this performance. Jack is multi-talented, an original folk artist from New Hampshire and has performed for many years. He also runs a First Friday Coffeehouse in Peterborough, New Hampshire but was able to get coverage to come across the state to ours. See more about Jack Kid below:

Bio for Jack:

Jack Kid, a Hancock, New Hampshire singer/songwriter, likes to call his original blend of acoustic music “a brew-ha-ha of edgy urban folk, blues and fingerstyle guitar.” WMPG-FM Folk DJ Chris Darling remarks, “A dash of blues, some folk, awesome guitar chops, excellent writing and singing and there you have Jack Kid.” A publicity statement issued by Charlie Hunter’s “Flying Under radar” singer/songwriter series of Bellows Falls, VT said, “Kid falls in the New Hampshire legacy of Bill Morrissey-Meets-Greg Brown.

Listeners across the country have heard Jack Kid’s songs over 50 stations in 30 states. He has appeared on nationally syndicated radio programs like “Rock ‘n’ Roots” and has been featured as a guest over many folk radio programs. Jack’s live performances have been featured at midwestern and New England venues including St. Paul’s singer/songwriter mecca, Gingko Coffeehouse and in Boston area listening rooms like The Burren, Nameless Coffeehouse, and Club Passim.

Jack’s easy rapport with an audience comes from his many public performances and having been a public school teacher for twelve years.

Returning to New England from Minneapolis, MN in May 1999, Jack has been performing original songs from his first success “Threadbare.”

Jack’s second CD “Espresso Ecstasy” included a finalist award in the Folk/Country category from the Unisong International Song Contest, 2000. His newest CD “Blackjacks” opens with “So Many Angels,” an Honorable Mention winner in Billboard Magazine’s 2004 World Song Contest. “So Many Angels” was also included in the presitigious national CD compilation “Before Their Time, Volume III” with artists including among others, Paul Reisler, Joel Mabus, Eric Bogle, Anne Hills, Dave Carter and Tracy Grammar. Proceeds from this non-profit album helped support the National Hospice Foundation, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, and the NH Youth Suicide Prevention Association.

Jack’s newest CD “Blackjacks” is centered around events beginning with 911 and culminating with the present war in Iraq. Drawing from his experiences as a Vietnam Veteran, Jack has composed universal anti-war songs including “Men of Vengeance,” “Camouflage Mirage,” and “Missing.” His title song “Blackjacks” is an intriguing ballad of the Essex whaling ship tragedy of 1821, the same historic incident that inspired Herman Melvile to create “Moby Dick.”

Longstanding Boston songwriter Geoff Bartley recently commented, “Jack Kid offers strong original material with engaging storylines.” If you have a taste for music that is varied and heartfelt get ready for Jack Kid, a voice with crackerjack tunes that surprise and entertain.

The First Friday Coffeehouse featuring singer/songwriter, solo guitarist Jack Kid.

Jack Kid @ Parish Hall Open Stage

The First Unitarian-Universalist Society of Exeter

12 Elm Street (Parish Hall), Exeter, NH

Friday, March 1st

7:30 PM

Sign-up for performers starts at 6:30 PM.

Musicians, poets, families, performing art enthusiasts encouraged to attend. Bring a dessert. Coffee and tea will be provided. Donations gratefully accepted.

Tell a friend and see you on Friday, March 1

For more information, e-mail bmoore628@comcast.net or phone: 642-4648.

First Friday Coffeehouse 12/7/12

garytrishtopdownstairscloseuplights

Wild Maple

The latest, from Bob Moore.

Musicians, poets, holiday shoppers recovering from Black Friday and Black Thursday and Cyber Monday, and Giving Tuesday, and what day is it anyway?

Yes, the last few days of 2012 are upon us. Chances are we have 27 days, 21 days till (you know what day), and you’re probably settling into watching Elf for the 5th time, or A Charlie Brown Christmas, or How the Grinch Stole Christmas, or making a fire and listening to some Mannheim Steamroller, or Trans Siberian Orchestra. So, I hope you can get into the mood, and I’m hoping we’ll see you this Friday for another cool evening of music. This time we’re featuring the very talented acoustic duo Wild Maple with Trish DeCaprio on fiddle and vocals, and Gary Dolinsky on guitar and vocals. The last time they were here, we were wowed by their musicianship and their choice of tunes. If you don’t know about Wild Maple, please read more below (and visit their website). So, make it to this Friday’s coffeehouse if you can with tidings of good joy, a holiday poem or song if you wish, and if we don’t see you this month, we’ll see you (fingers crossed) in January for some 2013 reveling.

Wild Maple, comprised of Trish DeCaprio on vocals and fiddle, and Gary Dolinsky on vocals, guitar, and octave mandola has an extensive background performing a variety of music genres. The duo’s repertoire includes a mix of traditional Americana, Celtic songs, as well as covers of contemporary roots influenced singer-songwriters. Guest percussionist Roger Ebacher will be joining Wild Maple for this performance. Wild Maple goes on at 7:30 PM. Sign-up for the open mike starts at 6:30 PM. Open-mike begins at 8:30 PM. Suggested donation for the coffeehouse is $3-5. Tell a friend, bring a dessert, and will see you on Friday, December 7th. For more information, e-mail: bmoore628@comcast.net . For more information about Wild Maple, visit www.wildmaplemusic.com

First Friday Coffeehouse

Musicians, old-timers, young whipper-snappers, poets, folks who’ve just learned to use their generators for the first time, folks who wish they had a generator:

Welcome to another annual dose of interesting weather. I hope you’ve been able to ride out the storm safely with a bit of humor, patience, and at least some downtime to write a poem, or practice your instrument. The First Friday Coffeehouse is pleased to announce our next featured performers, “Banjos and Old Lace” on Friday, November 2. Banjos & Old Lace is a musical duo whose members include guitarist and banjo player Robert Phillips from the Boston area and singer/multi-instrumentalist Sarah Jane Nelson from Londonderry, New Hampshire.

Phillips and Nelson perform classic banjo pieces for piano and banjo as well as Anglo-American parlor songs. Phillips is a regular feature at coffeehouses and historic homes throughout Massachusetts, and has repeatedly been a first place finalist at the Lowell Banjo & Fiddle Contest in recent years. Nelson is also a longtime member of the Gypsy Minor dance band and can be heard regularly at barn dances and folk festivals across New England. Her most recent performances include the Down East Folk Festival, Mostly Waltz at Springstep in Medford, MA, and the New England Folk Festival.

The coffeehouse is held in the Parish Hall and begins at 7:30 PM. Sign-up for the open-mike begins at 6:30 PM. The open-mike portion of the coffeehouse begins at 8:30 PM. Bring a dessert, tell a friend, and we’ll see you on Friday, November 2nd.

For more information, e-mail: bmoore628@comcast.net, or phone: 642-4648.

Hope to see then,

Bob

First Friday Coffeehouse 4/6/12

From Bob Moore

Poets, musicians, fiddleheads, folks that have had enough of global warming and are wishing it was spring again (I think you got your wish):

Hope life is treating you well, or you’re treating yourself to life, or you’re done looking around the corner everyday and the days are beginning to look less like a Coen Brothers’ movie with a twisted plot and feeling more like a comfortable pair of jeans. We have one of our favorite bands returning to the First Friday Coffeehouse, the notorious, diverse, and ever impressive “Deep Hole Road”. The band has been laying low until recently, have been working on a recording project, and also been working on some new material. They’re excited to try out their new tunes at this Friday’s coffeehouse. If you are unfamiliar with Deep Hole Road, the band is a foursome featuring two fiddlers, Sharon Pangaro and Sue Cassista (Sharon and Sue perform on an array of other instruments including bodhran and xylophone), and their lovely husbands who play a number of string instruments, Nick Pangaro and Phil Cassista. The evening will be guaranteed to thrill you with surprises, stories, and New Hampshire humor (if there is such a thing).

As always they’ll be an open-mike following the featured set. See below for more information on Deep Hole Road.

Deep Hole Road is a fun string band with two couples: Sue & Phil Cassista and Sharon & Nick Pangaro. DHR has been exciting people in southern and central New Hampshire and Massachusetts with an eclectic mix of roots music ranging from bluegrass and old time to blues, Cajun and folk. The two fiddlers, Sharon and Sue, bring electricity to their music with beautiful harmonies and intertwined melodies. Both supplement their fiddling with other instruments, including bodhran, djembe, cajon, guitar and kazoo. Phil provides superb melodies and rhythm on guitar as well as his distinctive banjo pickin’ style. Nick entertains audiences with his wonderful performances on mandolins, bass, guitar and harmonica. Together, Nick and Phil demonstrate strong songwriting skills and the entire group comes together with beautiful vocal harmonies.

DHR has opened the Richmond Blueberry Fiddle Festival in Keene, been featured performers at several coffeehouses in Southern and Central NH, and opened for country/bluegrass legends Holly and Barry Tashian, and Sweet, Hot and Sassy. They have also performed at The Big E in Springfield, MA and various town celebrations such as Days On the Plains in Kingston, Nottingham Day, the Nashua Holiday Stroll and the Make Some Noise Series in Haverhill, MA.

The First Unitarian-Universalist Society of Exeter

12 Elm Street (Parish Hall), Exeter, NH

Friday, April 6th

7:30 PM

Sign-up for performers starts at 6:30 PM.

Musicians, poets, families, performing art enthusiasts encouraged to attend. Bring a dessert. Coffee and tea will be provided. Donations gratefully accepted.

Tell a friend and see you on Friday, April 6th

For more information, e-mail bmoore628@comcast.net or phone: 642-4648.

 

 

 

 

First Friday Coffeehouse 1/6/2012

From Bob Moore,

Poets, musicians, New Year revelers, folks concerned about the length of time in 2012:

It’s a new year filled with new possibilities, and we have another coffeehouse coming up this Friday. This month I thought we would just focus on the folks that keep coming to the coffeehouse, so this month is an open-mike starting at 7:30 PM, and we’ll go as long as artists are willing to perform. The sign-up sheet will be out around 6:30 PM so come on down when you can and we’ll look forward to hearing new music, new poems, and new thoughts about the New Year. For some following the Mayan calendar, these days should be especially valued, so this is a good time to sing about them…

We’ll see you then,

Bob

The First Friday Coffeehouse

The First Unitarian-Universalist Society of Exeter

12 Elm Street (Parish Hall), Exeter, NH

Friday, January 6th

7:30 PM

Sign-up for performers starts at 6:30 PM.

Musicians, poets, families, performing art enthusiasts encouraged to attend. Bring a dessert. Coffee and tea will be provided. Donations gratefully accepted.

Tell a friend and see you on Friday, January 6th

For more information, e-mail bmoore628@comcast.net or phone: 642-4648.

First Friday Coffeehouse 9/2/11

From Bob Moore,

Musicians, Poets, Poets for Change, Existential Beings, Aliens from the Planet of your Choice:

Sorry for the delay on this (power issues, computer issues, etc..) This weekend is the third annual Exeter UFO festival. So, we thought it would be appropriate as a theme to celebrate the alien invasion by asking those of you who are up to it, to dress in the alien attire of your choice. Dress as the creatures who were alleged to abduct Betty and Barney Hill as one suggestion. It’s your call if you’re willing and able. We have a couple of special features/surprises for you this Friday including The Peacemongers. The Peacemongers consist of FUUSE’s own Barbara Benham on vocals, Wayne Benham on harmonica, and Bob Moore on guitar and vocals. The Peacemongers repertoire ranges from rocking rhythms, and country ballads, to Chicago blues. The Peacemongers will also be playing at the Alien Café (Loaf and Ladle) during the UFO festival (September 3rd) this weekend from 6:30-8:00 PM. It’s possible that we’ll have a visit or two from some extra-terrestrials that are likely to land in Exeter for the weekend. Other surprises are in the works but I will keep them under the rug (or under the alien craft) for now. The coffeehouse begins at 7:30 PM. Sign-up for the open-mike begins at 6:30 PM. Open-mike starts at 8:30 PM. Tell a friend, bring a dessert and we’ll see you this Friday, September 2.

Bob

The First Friday Coffeehouse featuring The Peacemongers and special alien guests from planets yet to be determined.

The First Unitarian-Universalist Society of Exeter

12 Elm Street (Parish Hall), Exeter, NH

Friday, September 2               7:30 PM

Sign-up for performers starts at 6:30 PM.

Musicians, poets, families, performing art enthusiasts encouraged to attend. Bring a dessert. Coffee and tea will be provided. Donations gratefully accepted. Tell a friend and see you on Friday, Sept 2

For more information, e-mail bmoore628@comcast.net or phone: 642-4648.