Harper October Blog

Hey Everyone,

Autumn is upon us already here in Michigan and Im starting to feel the chill in the air. We managed to escape the fury of Hurricane Earl over Labor Day Weekend. The national news services had us all terrified but thankfully Earl turned out to be more of a storm than a hurricane. After our shows at the Dinosaur BBQs in upstate New York, we drove to Albany just to be careful. At that point we weren't sure if our show at Harry's Bar in Hyannis, Massachusetts would be happening. Hyannis was directly in Earl's angry path. The show went ahead & it was bitter sweet, because Harry's was due to be closed after Labor Day. Despite the weather, we had a packed house and perhaps the wildest after party at a club I have ever experienced. I guess Harry's owners Laddy & Fred decided to let their hair down after more than twenty years in the business. Its such a pity that the owners of the building got greedy and doubled Harry's Bar's rent, making it impossible to continue operations. But that's corporations for you. Very little ethics, always after the dollars no matter what the cost to people's lives!! Our shows at Inn on the Blues & The Time Out Pub were also alot of fun. We are sorry to hear of our amazing timeout friend Kathy whose partner passed away suddenly. We are sending all our love to you Kathy.

So then it was back to Michigan for Dally In the Alley in down town Detroit. At first we were a little disappointed that we had an early afternoon slot. But it turned out to be the best slot of the festival because after our set- it just poured with rain for the rest of the day. We visited a new club for us- Treasure Lake Ski Lodge in Du Bois in Pennsylvania which was fun. The next day was Camp Jam in the Pines in New Jersey which was just fabulous. Camp Jam is located at The Old Cedar Camp Ground in Monroeville, a stunning location with a bunch of very cool people. We met up with other road musicians- the Skyla Burrell Band who played a great set. Then it was back to Michigan for the Rootenanny at the Rocky Top Farm in Ellsworth. We got to hang with the Rootstand guys who are the nicest people that you could ever meet. We will be doing a double bill with Rootstand at The Loading Dock in Traverse City for New Year's Eve. It should be a great show.

We finished the month with a show in Chicago at Martyrs for the Chicago World Music Festival. My band & I opened up for an Indian Sitar group which was a very unique experience. I also received some great news. I will be writing the music for a documentary about the life of Marilyn Chambers. Some other exciting news is that drummer Marc Dixon became a proud new home owner. Hope to see you out on the road this Autumn.

Peace,

Harper & Midwest Kind

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