============================================= *** R O C K Y M O U N T A I N H I G H *** ============================================= The John Denver Internet Fan Club Monthly Newsletter J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 8 Editor: Emily M. Parris ================================================ http://www.rockymtnhigh.org * emily@parris.net ================================================ Table of Contents January 2008 * Issue #165 John Denver Events..............................1 John Denver Peace Cloth - New web address.......3 "A Folksy Holiday Tribute to Music's 'Country Boy'" by Misha Berson................3 Review of "Bring Me John Denver"................4 CD Reviews: Mark Cormican: "One Fine Autumn Day" Reviewed by Emily Parris....................6 John Denver Notes...............................6 Poetry Corner: "We Honor Him" by Emily Parris................7 "Dear John" by Cynthia Gullage................8 John Denver Want Ads............................9 "Treat the Earth well: It was not given to you by your parents, It was loaned to you by your children. We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors, We borrow it from our children" ======================================= J O H N D E N V E R E V E N T S ======================================= January 12, 2008 - New York, NY - Stern Auditorium / Perlman Stage "A Recreation of a Live Beatles' Concert, Special Guest: Pete Huttlinger, Guitar" http://www.carnegiehall.org January 18-20, 2008 - Norwell, MA "Almost Heaven: Songs of John Denver" The Company Theatre / 30 Accord Park Drive / Norwell, MA 02061 (781) 871-ARTS Tickets: $30 January 29-30, 2008 - Hartford, CT - "Almost Heaven: Songs of John Denver" Bushnell Theater 7:30pm (860) 987-5900 http://www.bushnell.org/index.cgi/24671 January 31, 2008 - Byron Center, MI - "Almost Heaven: Songs of John Denver" 7:30pm Van Singel Fine Arts Center / 8500 Burlingame Ave SW / Byron Center, MI 49315 (616) 878-6801 * http://events.grnow.com February 8-9, 2008 - Pittsfield, MA - "Almost Heaven: Songs of John Denver" Colonial Theatre / 111 South Street / Pittsfield, MA 01201 http://www.colonialtheatre.org info@thecolonialtheatre.org (413) 997-4444 $25-$40 February 10, 2008 - Morristown, NJ * Community Theatre at Mayo Center / "Almost Heaven" The Songs of John Denver" www.mayoarts.org (973) 539-8008 February 14-18, 2008 Cruise from New Orleans to Cozumel * 2008 Polyesterfest Cruise with Pete Huttlinger $599 http://www.polyesterfest.com * http://www.petehuttlinger.com Kathy Denis, Cruise Director kathyw@joystarcruises.com (866) 844-8441 Final payment needed by 11-20-07 March 8, 2008 - UK - John Adams and Guido Bos at the Broughton Astley Village Hall, Station Road, Broughton Astley, Leicester LE9 6PT * http://www.fojd.org.uk Information: fojdclub@fojd.org.uk March 28, 2008 - Florissant, MO - "Almost Heaven: Songs of John Denver / Florissant Civic Center / Parker Road & Waterford Drive (314) 921-5678 8:00pm April 6, 2008 - Cerritos, Ca - "Almost Heaven: Songs of John Denver" - Cerritos Sports Complex / 19900 Bloomfield Ave. / Cerritos, CA * (562) 916-1254 http://www.cerritoscenter.com * (562) 916-8501 August 15-16, 2008 - South Lake Tahoe, CA - "Dancing With The Mountains: A Musical Tribute to John Denver" - Tahoe Valley Campground / 1175 Melba Drive / South Lake Tahoe. The "Friends With You" band will be featured. Info: Laurie - Laurie@LaurieKern.com http://groups.msn.com/TheSpiritofJohn October 10, 11, 2008 - Aspen, CO - 11th Annual Musical Tribute to John Denver / Wheeler Opera House October 10, 2008 - Aspen, CO - Steve Gillette and his wife, Cindy, will be presenting a concert at the Aspen Community Church / Aspen & Bleeker Streets / Tickets: $15 Send a check to: J. Therrien, 12 Dunecrest Ave., Monterey, CA 93940 * info: jht2008@pacbell.net October 11, 2008 - Aspen, CO - Second Annual Pine Creek Cookhouse event 11:00am - 3:30pm < windwalker@samsco.org > Branson, MO - Monday through Saturday 10:00am "A Tribute to John Denver & Country Music Legends" James Garrett sings John Denver's best-loved hits. IMAX Little Opry Theatre / 3562 Shepherd of the Hills Expressway / Branson, MO 65616 (800) 419-4832 <*> <*> <*> <*> <*> <*> <*> <*> <*> <*> <*> <*> <*> The John Denver Peace Cloth has a new web address! The John Denver Peace Cloth, a Windstar Foundation Connection, has gone through some reorganization and is now operating via our new domain at: http://www.johndenverpeacecloth.org The website is in the process of being reorganized. If you have any problems with any links or need assistance, please email us at mail@johndenverpeacecloth.org We dedicate the John Denver Peace Cloth in loving memory of John Denver; to John's family - without whom we could not have come this far; and to the many people who sewed and dreamed and gave it life. <*> <*> <*> <*> <*> <*> <*> <*> <*> <*> <*> <*> <*> "A folksy holiday tribute to music's 'country boy'" By Misha Berson Seattle Times Theater Critic November 30, 2007 People tend to have strong feelings about John Denver. Many considered him a quintessential American troubadour, prized for his soaring voice, easy manner and open-hearted Earth-friendly songs. Others found his music treacly, or too easy-listening lite. But nobody can deny that Denver was successful. He wrote numerous folk standards from "Rocky Mountain High" and "Take Me Home, Country Roads" to "Thank God I'm a Country Boy." And he made a whopping 14 gold albums and eight discs that went platinum. "Back Home Again: A John Denver Holiday Concert" mingles the singer-songwriter's own odes with traditional Christmas tunes he recorded for holiday albums. All are performed by a countrified band led by someone who knew the man and his music well: Seattle's Dan Wheetman, a champion fiddler and picker who spent seven years in Denver's band. During his rise to superstardom in the 1970s, Denver also acted in films ("Oh, God!" with George Burns) and lent his support to many environmental and other causes, including gun control and wilderness conservation. The Denver evoked in "Back Home Again" is the folksy strummer. The show, which premiered in Ventura, Calif., in 2006, is directed by Randal Myler, who co-authored it with Wheetman. (The pair also concocted the hit Rep revues "It Ain't Nothin' But the Blues" and "Fire on the Mountain.") Among those playing alongside Wheetman here are Nashville vocalist Gail Bliss and Seattle twang-masters Nova Devonie and David Miles Kiernan. <*> <*> <*> <*> <*> <*> <*> <*> <*> "If He Looks and Sounds Like John Denver..." A review of "Bring Me John Denver" at the Granbury Opera House Granbury, Texas 9/25/2007 by Rick Mauch The current show at the Granbury Opera House is actually two shows in one. It's a musical/tribute to John Denver, and it's a concert by a terrific Denver impersonator. Parker Scott, however, doesn't make his living as an impersonator of the late folk/pop music legend. He's an actor/singer, and one with a pretty good voice. But if Scott ever did want to take his Denver impersonation act on the road, he would have no trouble turning that into a career. Thanks to the Opera House makeup department, he's almost a twin looks-wise, and his voice and mannerisms are equally exact. Scott said he mastered Denver's stage persona from reading the former Fort Worth resident/Arlington Heights student's biography. Like Denver, he has parlayed the singer's personal experiences into the music, bringing more to the stage than just a sound-alike voice and style. Scott delivers each song with the emotion Denver had in every note, whether it's the touching "Annie's Song" (written for his wife) or the hand-clapping "Thank God I'm a Country Boy." And Scott understands that Denver always had a message in his songs, be it to an individual ("Follow Me" was his plea to Annie to join him on the road) or to everyone (the classic "Rocky Mountain High" is an ode to the appreciation and protection of nature). There's a reason there aren't a lot of Denver impersonators. The guy had an amazing ability to rarely take a breath while singing songs that rarely had musical riffs to allow for a breath. Scott has mastered this technique as well, making it all the more amazing when he is able to hit the high notes at the end of songs as Denver could. Scott does not appear in the show until the second act. So it is up to the rest of the cast to hold interest until the concert portion. They do, sometimes in spite of a script that has a few holes in it. Sparkling performances by Allison Rihn and Steve Lasiter keep the lulls from being too long. Set in the early 1980s, Lasiter plays Toby, a member of the planning committee for "A Taste of Stephenville." He is in charge of getting the entertainment, and since the director (Ben Britton) has a wife who adores John Denver, Toby is given the seemingly impossible task of acquiring the singer to headline the festivities. Toby is also teased by the possibility that booking Denver will get him a relationship with his supervisor, Annie (Bethany Wagner). It's not a stretch to foresee, however, that he will eventually end up with Cheyenne (Rihn). Rihn has a magnificent voice. Her rendition of Denver's "For Bobby" is stirring, and when she replaces Olivia Newton-John as background vocals on "Fly Away," it's moving. She also knows how to rock the stage, as she shows in grabbing the spotlight on "Dancing In The Streets," although I'm wondering at the selection of that song, along with a few other non-Denver choices. Much like the recently concluded "Patsy Cline: The Early Years" had several songs that were not Cline's, several of the numbers in this production weren't by Denver. So be prepared if you are thinking every song is a tribute to Denver (which would have added impact to the show). The show clearly takes an upturn when Scott takes the stage. In the meantime, while it could use a little strengthening in direction and script, the play manages to be good enough to not dissolve our anticipation--which is well rewarded in the second act. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - http://www.granburyoperahouse.org. http://www.judynorton.com "Bring Me John Denver!" is an original musical written and directed by Judy Norton (of "The Waltons"). It ran at the Granbury Opera House from September 20 - October 7, 2007. ====================== John Denver CD REVIEWS ====================== "One Fine Autumn Day" by Mark Cormican Reviewed by Emily M. Parris There are a lot of John Denver songs on Mark Cormican's cd "One Fine Autumn Day." One of my favorites is Mark's rendition of "Sunshine On My Shoulders." He has surely picked out all of my favorites to include in this album and he delivers them with a simple honesty. The title track - "One Fine Autumn Day" - written by Mark, is a tribute to John - a story about the fine autumn day when John's plane went down in the waters off of California. The words are simple and the music is beautiful. It is a wonderful tribute to John. Two of the John Denver songs, "Healing Time" and "Love Is The Master" are not heard on very many John Denver albums. One other Denver song, "Storms of November", is one I have never heard before. So it is a treat to have them included on this album with Mark doing the singing. I'd recommend this album to any John Denver fan because Mark does a fine job of honoring John and his music. ======================================= J O H N D E N V E R N O T E S ======================================= Cindy Doe, the President of the California Friends of John Denver passed away on January 9, 2008. She was instrumental in organizing the first tribute to John Denver in Pacific Grove, California in 1998. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - The 11th Annual Musical Tribute to John Denver will be held October 10 and 11, 2008 at the Wheeler Opera House in Aspen, Colorado. Karmen Dopsloff of the "Expect a Miracle Now" Foundation will be the producer of the show. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - "Magnum P.I. - Complete Seventh Season" has been released on dvd. John Denver's song, "Looking For Space" is played in the episode called "Limbo." - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Review: A Tribute to John Denver - Branson, MO - IMAX "I went into the show loving John Denver music but came out a James Garrett fan. Didn't know what to expect my first time in the small theatre. All the performers were so talented and fun to watch. They are so down to earth. I have been a few times and it is different every time but the quality stays the same. I hope to enjoy it many more times this year."...36reta Posted on... www.1branson.com - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Jim Horn has sheet music available called "Jim Horn Presents John Denver For Flute". It is available on www.Amazon.com - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Kathy Shipton < gshipton123@earthlink.net > Pandora Radio has personal "radio stations" that listeners create themselves. You can search for stations that other people have labeled "John Denver" and listen to them, or create your own. http://www.pandora.com/ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - from Audrey... (Denver Delights) "My daughter takes clogging lessons. We arrived early for lessons one day and the previous class was dancing to 'Pickin' the Sun Down' by John Sommers." - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Online Memorial site for John: http://www.christianmemorials.com/tributes/john-denver/ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - =========================== P O E T R Y C O R N E R =========================== We Honor Him by Emily M. Parris In love and simplicity we honor him With music, poetry and each word We honor the songs of John Denver; The beautiful music we heard We tell how the music changed us How the words inspired us so And though he is gone, his message Continues to beautifully flow With tears we express our caring; In love we remember him well Delighting in all of the music; The stories we heard him tell _________________________________ Copyright 1-12-08 by Emily Parris <*> <*> <*> <*> <*> <*> <*> <*> <*> <*> <*> Dear John by Cynthia Helen Gullage Somewhere I hear a voice that I love dearly. Somewhere an old guitar weeps plaintively. Its' notes drift high, and ride upon the night wind, to touch my cheek, and become one with me. Sometimes I hear the sound of happy laughter. Sometimes a venue echoes forlornly, as if to say,"Dear John, we really miss you, yet you live on in fondest memories". My friend, I've found the strength to live without you. I know you're in a place of perfect peace, and your guitar plays softly, for the angels. There's no more war, and troubles ever cease. It's ten years now, that we have been without you. But in our hearts there'll always be a place for that one person, who we love so dearly, who made a diff'rence in this human race ____________________________________ Copyright 10-1-07 by Cynthia Helen Gullage ================================================= JOHN DENVER W A N T A D S / F O R S A L E ================================================= 2008 Color John Denver Calendars and Cloisonne' pins (Guitar design) are available. Please contact Carol Blevins blevins@epix.net or Dottie kurthhoner@msn.com for info. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - John Denver's Windstar Foundation Please visit http:///www.wstar.org to join. John's newest cd "John Denver - Live in the USSR" is available as well. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Belle Davis < christmas4cowboys@yahoo.com > I have many John Denver DVD's available. They are 2 hours long. http://www.angelfire.com/folk/duncanpumpkin/archive - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - SWF, 58, would like to hear from SWM John Denver fans. Contact Dianejdfan@aol.com - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - The John Denver Peace Cloth http://www.johndenverpeacecloth.org Ron Deutschendorf's speech at Pacific Grove, California http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hwk4Zk7qk8 Pacific Grove Pictures: http://community.webshots.com/album/553565156yEMCSX John Denver Sanctuary: http://aspenportrait.com/john_denver_sactuary/index.html "Aspen in October 2007 collection" (click on this collection) http://www.flickr.com/photos/moonstarjd 100.9 FM - Albany Magic - Albany, New York http://www.albanymagic.com Michiel - video clips http://www.tenbrug.nl/JohnDenver To subscribe: rockymountainhigh-subscribe@emissives.com To unsubscribe: rockymountainhigh-unsubscribe@emissives.com ************************************************************* Rocky Mountain High: The John Denver Internet Fan Club emily@parris.net http://www.rockymtnhigh.org January 2008 * Issue #165 * Editor: Emily M. Parris *************************************************************