Hi to all!
The band traveled to Olympia for a wedding. It is usually dark, grey and raining during this time of year. Not on Sunday! It was so clear that as I crossed over Lake Washington on the I-90 bridge, I could see both Mt Baker to the North and Mt Rainier in the South. Heading South towards Olympia, Mt Rainier just kept getting bigger as the sun began to set. Finally it was a wonderful sunset and a very red Mt Rainier.

It was a small wedding, but spirited and much ruach! One of the joys of traveling is playing for a new community. We play a lot of original music and I am not always sure how it will go over. We played some of the tunes on this site and some others. The mother had raised a family of classical string players. As musicians they much appreciated the band and our music. At the end of the evening we were rewarded with more chocolate cake than is ever possible to eat! (I brought a bunch home for the family)

Next band gig in December!

Watch the Sunrise, Sunset and take time to gaze at the moon.....then work like a dog!

Klez Fest was a success!! Shawn's Kugel played the first set and it went well. We had to end before we got through our set list. That is better than not having enough. Wendy Marcus sat in and sang "Eishes Chayil" from our new CD. The new CD was ready and my son's sold a few of them. (It's a start!) I then did sound for the rest of the festival.

Marina Belinky was next and did a combination of Russian material and old standards like Have Nigila. Her band consisted of two guitars, bass and another vocalist. It wasn't too hard to mix the guitars and vocals.

Klez Kid's was next and about 25-30 showed up. I usually play bass with them--but I needed to run the sound. I jumped up to play sax on a shout chorus--just add a little stability to the brass section. They had everyone tapping their feet and dancing in the back.

"What the Chelm" from Bellingham was next. They were missing a couple of players but still showed up as an 8 piece. I liked their younger clarinet player a lady. She played with much ruach. They played some pieces that I had not heard before and they also did some standards that we all have heard .

Mark Smason and the Katatonics was the final band. Mark like myself was in the Mazeltones a long time ago. He is a very fine player of the trombone, he also does some singing. He had his daughter Eve play with him. She did a nice job of covering the violin parts and singing harmony. Wendy Marcus sat in on an old Barry Sisters tune.

That was the festival----a grand time had by all who attended.

I am back to the normal routine this coming weekend with a wedding in Olympia. Should be fun as they have a great community down there.

Hello to all,
Shawn's Kugel is releasing our 4th CD: "Odyssey". If all goes according to plan we will have our release at Klez Fest on Sunday 11/16. We will be performing as the large band: 6 piece with horns. We may even be able to convince Wendy to come a tune with us for old times sake.
Contact www.templebetham.org for more info. 5 Bands for $5.