THE OPEN DOOR IS THIS FRIDAY, MAY 3rd!

Just Desserts has been hard at work polishing up the songs on our set list and planning the evening.  We are expecting (hoping?) there will be lots and lots of people attending this Open Door, so would you please plan to bring a snack item for the refreshments table? Cookies, brownies, chips - any such item a person can neatly eat with his/her hand (not cake or pie, for example) would be very much appreciated!

 

We made some significant changes to the usual format, partly to save time and partly because it makes sense to us.  Here's the evening's line-up:

7pm-7:15pm Heidi Welch

7:15-7:30pm Phil Duke

7:30-7:45pm Michael Leacher

7:45-8:15pm FEATURE: Toni Spiegel and Friends

8:15-8:30pm Fred Sprague

8:30-8:45pm Decatur Creek

8:45-9:15pm Just Desserts

 

As The Feature, I’ll be singing Sarah McLachlan’s Angel and The Stones’ Wild Horses, each accompanied by Sharon Dowling on Celtic harp; Faith Hill’s Breathe and Fleetwood Mac’s Landslide with JP Stohrer on guitar; Martina McBride’s Anyway and In My Daughters Eyes with Barbara Daley's keyboard accompaniment; and Rick & I will end my set with Sugarland’s Stay.

 

Just Desserts is going on last because, this being our last coffee house as its house band, we thought it would be fitting for us to do the finale.  And who would want to take the stage after us, under these circumstances?

 

Remember, this is not the end of The Open Door!  It will continue come September and JP & Pam have some interesting things in mind to keep you entertained. You'll want to come back to Smith church this fall to find out what's happening with your coffee house.

 

So, gather your friends and your snacks to share, and get on down to The Open Door, a Community Coffee House, this Friday, May 3rd, for the last Open Door of this season and the very last performance anywhere by Just Desserts.  We are all looking forward to seeing you there.

 

JUST DESSERTS' SET LIST REVEALED!

And now, at long last, the announcement you have been waiting for! (Seriously, not like that last one)
Your top votes for Just Desserts songs have become our set list for the May 3rd Open Door, and here they are: ta da!

Independence Day (11 votes)
Margaritaville (10 votes)
Blue Bayou (8 votes)
Sweet Home Alabama (4 votes)
Crazy (5 votes)
Wake Up Little Susie (4 votes)

As our seventh song, we decided to add Devil in a Blue Dress/Good Golly Miss Molly because Barbara couldn't go on without hearing Rick growl Good Golly Miss Molly, one more time!

 

Come on out to the last Open Door of this season and the last time you will get to hear us, Just Desserts, perform together.  Should be an excellent night of music and friendship and you won't want to miss it.

BIG NEWS FOR TONI & RICK, JUST DESSERTS AND THE OPEN DOOR

There are some big changes happening around here, and it's time to make the corresponding, and equally big, announcements. First, the good news (well, for Rick and me, anyway): Rick is retiring (finally, at 71 years old!) this fall and he and I will then take off in our travel trailer to see this big, beautiful country, with an eye toward eventually settling in New Mexico.  To that end, we are putting our house on the market this spring.  So, because we need to be ready to move at anytime, we will be unavailable for regular rehearsals as well as unable to commit to concerts this summer.  That brings the bad news for us all:  Just Desserts' final performance will be at the May 3rd Open Door.

Now, you may be wondering what will become of The Open Door if Just Desserts is not around to put it together.  Take a second to resume breathing, close your gaping jaw, put away your soggy hankie, and fear not, for now follows the best news yet!

You know that this coffee house is a true community event and that everyone who has participated, either on stage or in the audience, feels some ownership in it.  It's that very sentiment that I'm relying on to keep The Open Door going.  The particulars are coming together now and will be solidified by the September coffee house, but you will be thrilled to know that:  JP Stohrer will be putting the talent line-up together each month and will act as Emcee; Pam Stohrer will handle all the goings on in the refreshments room; and some folks from Smith church will be setting up and putting away the tables and chairs.  Of course, everyone who stays to the end of the evening has always helped put away the tables and chairs and that is tremendously helpful, so plan on continuing to do so, please!!

There are many changes coming for The Open Door and it will look different in some ways.  That is a fact.  Also factual is that Just Desserts was not the only good thing about this coffee house.  We have met lots of excellent local musicians and have enjoyed many different musical styles.  All of these talented folks will continue to perform for you, I'm sure, and JP will, no doubt, be on that stage performing as well as Emceeing, so don't you worry.  And remember, too, that feeling of community you get just by being there, and the energy the event generates.  I'm counting on your still wanting to get your Open Door fix each month.  And Rick and I will be there as often as we can in person, and every time in spirit.

Rick and I want to thank all the other members of Just Desserts (Barbara Daley, JP & Pam Stohrer, and Keith Fields) for being such a wonderful group of people to make music with and, even more importantly, for being such great friends to us.  We will always value your friendship and recall our time together with smiles on our faces and gratitude in our hearts.

Extra special thanks to JP and Pam and Smith church for stepping up and taking responsibility for keeping The Open Door going. Our thanks, too, to Yvonne and Herm Wiegelman for doing posters and other publicity; and to Jeff Rand who runs sound for our sets and helped with set up and tear down.  And thank you to all of you for chipping in and helping out in every way you can, just as you always have.  Rick & I will miss our bandmates and all of you very much and hope you will keep supporting The Open Door as it goes through this transition phase, and beyond.

PEOPLES' CHOICE JUST DESSERTS SET LIST FOR MAY 3rd

Here's your chance to create our set list for the May 3rd Open Door.  That will be the last coffee house of the season and JUST DESSERTS wants to play your favorites!   The 7 songs receiving the highest number of votes will become our set list.

 

Following is a list of the songs “we’re supposed to know” so you keep your choices to ones from this list:

Across the Great Divide/A

Against the Wind/G

All I have to do is Dream/E

Amie/A

At Last/C

Back in the USSR/B

Blackbird/G

Bless the Broken Road/C

Blue Bayou/Ab

Blue Suede Shoes/A

Brown Eyed Girl/G

Crazy/A

Dream a Little Dream of Me/A

Desperado/G

Devil w Blue Dress/Good Golly/C/Eb

Game of Love/Dm

Hot Rod Lincoln/A

How Long/C

Harvest Moon/D

Hotel California/Em

I Fall to Pieces/A

Independence Day/E

I Shall Be Released/G

Landslide/G

Last Train to Clarksville/G

Lay Down Sally/D

Long Black Veil/G

Margaritaville/D

Mary Had a Little Lamb/E

Me and Bobby McGee/D

Moondance/E

My Girl (My Guy)/C

Money(That's All I Want)/E

More Than Words/G

Peaceful Easy Feeling/E

Proud Mary/D

Ramblin' Man/G

See You in September

Shower the People/G

Some Kind of Wonderful/D

Something Tells Me/D

Spooky/G

Stay/D

Stay Just a Little Bit Longer/E

Still Got the Blues/Ami

Summertime/Am

Sweet Home Alabama/G

Take it Easy/G

Take It to the Limit/G?

Take the A Train/D

Tennessee Waltz/D

Tequila Sunrise/G

Teach Your Children/C

The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down/C

The Rose/B

The River/E

The Twist/E

The Weight/G

Turn, Turn, Turn/D

Wake Up Little Susie/D

Walkin' After Midnight/C

When I'm 64/C

When Will I be Loved/E

Whiter Shade of Pale/C

 

Thank you to all the early voters!! Time’s running out for you to vote for your favorite Just Desserts song!

Here are the preliminary results:

Independence Day 8

Blue Bayou 6

Margaritaville 4

Summertime 2

And the following songs have One vote each:

The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down

All I have to do is Dream

I Fall to Pieces

At Last

Crazy

Mary had a Little Lamb

Harvest Moon

Still Got the Blues

Some Kind of Wonderful

Ramblin' Man

Sweet Home Alabama

Voting closes this Wednesday, April 10, so make your choice count! Post your vote in a comment on this page, or via email to me at JustDessertsBand@gmail.com

It's Open Door Time This Week!

Here it is Tuesday evening, suddenly April, and we are on the verge of another Open Door!  This Friday, April 5th, at 6:30pm the doors will open on the next-to-the-last Open Door of this season.

Here is the talent line-up:

7pm-7:15pm Greg Gage
7:15-7:30pm Linda Ray
7:30-7:45pm Carl Beverly
7:45-8:15pm Just Desserts
INTERMISSION
8:30pm-9pm Cow Hampshire Folk
9pm-9:15pm Craig Webb
9:15-9:30pm Virginia Rubino + Fred Sprague

Just Desserts is working on the following tunes - hope you will enjoy them and maybe even sing along!

Against the Wind
Take it to the Limit
Mary had a Little Lamb
Desperado
My Guy
Summertime
Some Kind of Wonderful

Every month we look forward to seeing all of you at our favorite local musical gathering, The Open Door, so write it onto your calendar: Friday, April 5th and Friday, May 3rd.  Bring your friends and goodies to share and have a good time with all of us!

YOU RAISED $464.00 FOR HDHS MUSIC'S DISNEY TRIP!!

Thank you so much to everyone who contributed to the success last night of our promotion to help support the HDHS Music Department's trip to perform at Disney World!  A whopping $464.00 was collected in donations and will certainly help defray some of the costs of the trip.

If you couldn't be at the Open Door last night (and, btw, you missed a GREAT show!), you can still make a donation to this very worthy cause: online by going to www.gofundme.com/HDHSDISNEYMUSIC and following the instructions there; or by check made payable to HDHS Music, mailed to:

HDHS Music

c/o Heidi Welch

12 Hillcat Drive

Hillsborough NH 03244

Please write "2013 Disney Trip" in the check's memo line.

Remember: ALL DONATIONS MUST BE IN BEFORE MARCH 22!

This coffee house is such a marvelous event, in the quality of the musicianship, the support of the audience, and the enthusiasm of eveyone involved.  I am proud to be a part of such a generous community.

REMINDER! The Open Door is THIS Friday, 3/8!!

My last post about The Open Door was on 2/18, so here it is again, just as a reminder.  It's a big deal this month (not that it isn't always) because we are trying like crazy to raise money for the HDHS Music Department's Disney World trip.  Read on:

The next Open Door community coffee house, Friday, March 8th, will feature Red, White & A Capella (RWA), Hillsborough-Deering High School's accomplished a capella singing group, directed by Heidi Welch, NH's reigning Teacher of the Year.  All proceeds from the night will be donated to the HDHS Music Department for their trip to Walt Disney World in Florida over April vacation.

The HDHS Music Department performs in Walt Disney World every four years, the first time in 2005, and this April marks the third time they will have made the trip. After the first year, it was such an amazing experience for the students that Mrs. Welch felt strongly that all of the musicians should have that opportunity at least once in their four year music career at HDHS, and so began the challenge of going every four years. They currently have just under $30,000 left to raise, and have raised nearly $60,000. Their efforts began last May and they have done everything from selling candy bars to citrus sales to concerts to concessions to parking cars at NASCAR races to help raise funds to alleviate some of the financial burden to the families, as the trip cost for each student is just over $1,000. The drop dead date for all funds to be in is March 22nd.

The buses will depart at 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday, April 17th to return Tuesday, April 23rd. It is a 26 hour bus ride each way . . . but that ends up being one of the best parts of the trip! The Marching Band will perform two pieces in the Magic Kingdom parade at 10 a.m. on Saturday, April 19th, and the Chorus and RWA will share a half-hour program in Downtown Disney on the Waterside Stage at 6:30 p.m. that evening. They will serve up a mix of Beatles songs, as well as a variety of choral literature that focus on hope, love, and courage.

You can make a donation online by going to www.gofundme.com/HDHSDISNEYMUSIC and following the instructions there. If you would prefer to mail a donation directly to the HDHS Music Department, please send your check to:

HDHS Music

c/o Heidi Welch

12 Hillcat Drive

Hillsborough NH 03244

Please write "2013 Disney Trip" in the check's memo line.

Remember: ALL DONATIONS MUST BE IN BEFORE MARCH 22!

Even small amounts add up if everyone pitches in, and this is a great opportunity to support deserving and accomplished kids in our community. Just Desserts is proud to support these efforts and have earmarked ALL of the donations received at the 3/8 Open Door for this cause. There are a lot of kids in need this year who could use a hand, financially, in order to get to participate. Please make a special effort to come out to The Open Door on Friday, March 8th to hear our excellent line-up of performers, including a 30-minute set by RWA, and please do make as generous a donation as you can.

The Open Door is an entertainment event held once a month in the function hall at Smith church. There’s lots of free parking and the doors open by 6:30pm. People bring goodies to share and Just Desserts band provides decaf coffee and decaf tea, ice water, and hot cocoa and, of course, the exciting entertainment. Admission is FREE.

The Talent Line-up for Friday, March 8th:

7pm-7:15pm Bible Hill Boys (songs to include "The Open Door Anthem")

7:15-7:30pm Sharon Dowling on Celtic harp

7:30-7:45pm Phil Duke

7:45-8:15pm Just Desserts

INTERMISSION

8:30pm-9pm RWA

9pm-9:15pm Arte Kenyon (Boston area Blues performer)

9:15-9:30pm Rob Carlson (another! Boston area performer)

The Open Door's warm and welcoming atmosphere, wonderful audience and great performers will keep you coming back month after month. Just Desserts has an exciting and fun evening planned for March 8th, including a 50/50 raffle in addition to the musical entertainment, and we are all looking forward to seeing YOU there!