Corky Siegel's Chamber Blues - Extended Liner Notes

MY TRAVELS WITH CORKY SIEGEL'S CHAMBER BLUES

On the Road - Recording the New CD - Page Three

Now we are on a snowy drive to the Calumet Theater which is an ornate gem (see inset detail) at the northern most point of the upper peninsula of Michigan near Canada. It is February. Snow is so deep that at some point they just give up shoveling and begin to pank. Panking as it was explained, is simply packing the snow down to flatten it because there is no where else to put it!

After sound-check we thought we'd stroll down about a block to an old hotel/restaurant on the street. The theater crew questioned us: "Walk?!" "Are you sure?! I don't think you want to walk to the corner! This is WINTER!" We thought they were just kidding us, after all it's only a little over a block away. It was soooo cold and windy, none of us thought we would make it alive to the next corner - laughing or crying only made our tears turn instantly to ice. We are from Chicago - we know about cold - we thought. When the group walked on stage that night they took their bow clad in heavy parkas, mufflers, mittens, hats, boots - the audience howled.

Later as you can see, Mark Agnor heated things up with his euphonium and some help from his Hawaiian shirt, sun glasses, and a new wind-burn from the walk to dinner! After the concert, the rest of the group warmed up by driving the one block back to the hotel/restaurant for a nite cap. There was a local blues band playing and Corky sat in and wailed some hot harmonica, while the group danced the night away!

The theater put the group up in a nearby ski chalet. This is Nell Flanders choosing her way carefully through the mountains of snow in front of our chalet. We are getting ready for our departure back to Chicago where our next concert is Valentine's Day with our friend and special guest jazz vocalist Kurt Elling at College of Du Page in Glen Ellyn, Illinois. The group will be back at College of Du Page on April 2, 2005 with Siegel- Schwall and Marcy Levy - vocalist with Eric Clapton.

Here is Randy Sabien, a favorite guest artist (Manhattan Island) singing: "Don't Cry for Me Argentina!" from his balcony bedroom. Our Sound guru, Mark Tako Sarantakos is content with an Old Style, crackling fire, and peace and quiet - "hey, Tak, we'll pick you up in the Spring thaw!"

NEXT: My Travels ... Page Four



Also On Our Site: About Chamber Blues Siegel-Schwall Bios Chicago Blues Reunion Symphonic Blues Music Shop History and Tall Tales Corky's Home Page	MY TRAVELS WITH CORKY SIEGEL'S CHAMBER BLUES On the Road - Recording the New CD - Page Three Now we are on a snowy drive to the Calumet Theater which is an ornate gem (see inset detail) at the northern most point of the upper peninsula of Michigan near Canada. It is February. Snow is so deep that at some point they just give up shoveling and begin to pank. Panking as it was explained, is simply packing the snow down to flatten it because there is no where else to put it! After sound-check we thought we'd stroll down about a block to an old hotel/restaurant on the street. The theater crew questioned us: "Walk?!" "Are you sure?! I don't think you want to walk to the corner! This is WINTER!" We thought they were just kidding us, after all it's only a little over a block away. It was soooo cold and windy, none of us thought we would make it alive to the next corner - laughing or crying only made our tears turn instantly to ice. We are from Chicago - we know about cold - we thought. When the group walked on stage that night they took their bow clad in heavy parkas, mufflers, mittens, hats, boots - the audience howled. Later as you can see, Mark Agnor heated things up with his euphonium and some help from his Hawaiian shirt, sun glasses, and a new wind-burn from the walk to dinner! After the concert, the rest of the group warmed up by driving the one block back to the hotel/restaurant for a nite cap. There was a local blues band playing and Corky sat in and wailed some hot harmonica, while the group danced the night away! The theater put the group up in a nearby ski chalet. This is Nell Flanders choosing her way carefully through the mountains of snow in front of our chalet. We are getting ready for our departure back to Chicago where our next concert is Valentine's Day with our friend and special guest jazz vocalist Kurt Elling at College of Du Page in Glen Ellyn, Illinois. The group will be back at College of Du Page on April 2, 2005 with Siegel- Schwall and Marcy Levy - vocalist with Eric Clapton. Here is Randy Sabien, a favorite guest artist (Manhattan Island) singing: "Don't Cry for Me Argentina!" from his balcony bedroom. Our Sound guru, Mark Tako Sarantakos is content with an Old Style, crackling fire, and peace and quiet - "hey, Tak, we'll pick you up in the Spring thaw!" NEXT: My Travels ... Page Four
CORKY SIEGEL'S TRAVELING CHAMBER BLUES SHOW The latest CD on Alligator Records. Listen: Opus 17.2