================================================ *** 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 January 2004 Editor: Emily M. Parris ================================================ http://www.rockymtnhigh.org * emily@parris.net ================================================ Table of Contents January 2004 * Issue #117 John Denver Events..............................2 John Denver Event Reviews: "First Night New Year's Eve in Monterey - by Judy Therrien..........................3 "Take Me Home, Highway 9: John Denver Tribute Comes to Ben Lomond"...........................3 CD Reviews: "Windsongs" - Dan Monroe......................5 "Why I'm Here" - Mack Bailey..................5 Reviewed by Emily M. Parris John Denver Notes...............................6 Poetry Corner: "2-0-0-4" by Emily M. Parris..................8 "Baby Bear" by Cynthia Helen Gullage..........8 "Clouds Are My Mountains" by Victor Pellerano.....................9 John Denver Want Ads/For Sale..................10 NEW Email Address: emily@parris.net Current Website Url: http://www.rockymtnhigh.org ======================================= J O H N D E N V E R E V E N T S ======================================= January 17, 2004 - Largo, Florida - "Rocky Mountain Memories" - a musical tribute to John Denver performed by Ron Rich / Largo Cultural Center / 8:00pm (727) 587-6793 Tickets: $15 * Info: Larry Van Scoy lvscoy@aol.com February 6-7, 2004 * Las Vegas, NV / Jim Curry's John Denver Tribute Show at the Silverton Casino. 8:00pm Silverton Hotel & Casino / 3333 Blue Diamond Road / Las Vegas, NV 89139 Phone: (702) 263-7777 http://www.silvertoncasino.com (866) 668-6688 February 13, 2004 * Daytona Beach, Florida - "Rocky Mountain Memories", a musical tribute to John Denver performed by Ron Rich 8:00pm SMT Downtown, 176 N. Beach Street (386) 252-6200 Tickets $15 / $10 for children 12 and under http://www.cabinsong.com (866) 811-4111 Theatermania.com Email: lvscoy@aol.com March 6, 2004 * Leesburg, FL "Rocky Mountain Memories" - a musical tribute to John Denver performed by Ron Rich 8:00pm Paul Williams Auditorium, Lake Sumter Community College, 9501 US Highway 441 $15 http://www.cabinsong.com (See Ordering information in the listing above) March 6, 2004 * Gwynedd, PA * Christopher Westfall return engagement at the Friends Folk Coffeehouse 8:00pm http://www.gwyneddfriends.org/coffeehouse0304.html March 19-24,2004 * Join Mack Bailey & Kevin Brooks of "Them Eastport Oyster Boys" on a six day tour of Ireland. www.travelingtroubadour.com / info@travelingtroubadour.com March 27, 2004 * Barton Under Needwood, England - Mack Bailey / Concert for The England Friends of John Denver http://www.travelingtroubadour.com/index.html April 23-25, 2004 * Cassville, PA / Spring 2004 Retreat - PA Friends of John Denver. Bitter Goose Lodge. $45.00 Pat Liddic: tigersnwolves@comcast.net May 8, 2004 * Doylestown, PA - Second Annual Spring Folk Concert - Christopher Westfall, Charlie Zahm & Ted Marks. 7:30pm Salem United Church of Christ * honer@erols.com September 11, 2004 - South Lake Tahoe JD Tribute Event is being Organized. Bill Templin 916-601-9954 For information: kingsriverwet@hotmail.com November 13, 2004 - Flanders, NJ - Christopher Westfall at Crossroads Coffeehouse 8:00pm http://www.crossroadsmtolive.org/coffeehouse.htm <+> <+> <+> <+> <+> <+> <+> FIRST NIGHT NEW YEAR'S EVE in Monterey, California by Judy Therrien It was one incredible evening! Jim and Anne Curry were chosen along with 79 others, out of 500 applicants, to play downtown Monterey for First Night, right on John's 60th Birthday, in a filled meeting room that holds 200 people! They played 3 sets which means 600 people heard many many songs that John made heart warming to us all. As I looked around the room, I saw more smiles and happy faces than I could count. Afterwards, the wonderful Currys 4 came over to our house and played for us all, for everyone who wanted to come, for two more hours until 2:30 in the morning! And after all those beautiful notes, they still weren't all sung out! It was Anne's birthday, too, so the cake said on it, "Happy Birthday to Anne and John." Brandon Curry, 16, entertained us with his Indian Flutes and sang a couple of songs for us, too. The Curry's extremely talented friend from way up north, Gordon Lustig, joined in with harmonies, keyboard, piano, guitar, banjo and anything else he could. Of the people that came, I am sure there are many who feel that this was the very best New Year's Eves, ever! Thank you, Jim and Anne for coming to celebrate such a special day and night, in Monterey! Blessings and Happy 2004 to all! <+> <+> <+> <+> <+> <+> <+> "Take Me Home, Highway 9: John Denver Tribute Comes to Ben Lomond" Santa Cruz Sentinel 12-11-03 by Wallace Baine "Little John" - a tribute to John Denver Henfling's Tavern, 9450 Highway 9, Ben Lomond, CA One day last summer, Capitola resident Steve Kern was disembarking from a plane at Denver International Airport carrying a guitar. "I got into the terminal, and people just froze," said Kern, 46. "They were like, 'Ohmigod, you look just like...' 'Yeah, Liza Minnelli, I know.' I ended up playing six or seven songs for the security guards there." Kern is used to this kind of thing - no, not the Liza thing, that was a joke. In fact, Kern has the same lanky blond hair, the same moon-shaped face, the same ear-to-ear grin as one of Colorado's most famous icons. Put him in denim and give him a pair of those big round specs, and Steve Kern is the second coming of John Denver. Kern is now making the most of his resemblance to the late singer/songwriter by appearing as Little John, a John Denver tribute act. He appears tonight at Henfling's in Ben Lomond. Ever since graduating from San Jose State in the mid 1970s - that would be right around "Calypso" for you Denver fans - Kern has been a musician and performer. Mostly, he played bass in jazz bands and worked as a character actor on television and private parties. But it wasn't until after Denver was killed in a single-engine plane crash over the waters of Monterey Bay in 1997 that Kern began to inhabit the Denver persona. Kern waited more than a year after Denver's death to bring out Little John for fear of exploiting a still-fresh tragedy. Then, he decided, "somebody's got to pick up John Denver's torch." As anyone over 30 knows, Denver was the former Henry John Deutschendorf who re-named himself after the mile high city and proceeded to become an international superstar with such ear-friendly pop hits as "Rocky Mountain High," "Take Me Home, Country Roads" and "Thank God, I'm A Country Boy." Often derided by music critics for his syrupy melodies and irony-free earnestness, Denver was one of the only mainstream artists of the time pushing an environmental consciousness in his music. Kern likes to remind audiences of Denver's folk roots and his links to artists such as Tom Paxton and Peter, Paul and Mary. "I was a jazz player and I used to cringe when people said I looked like John Denver. But I've always loved his music, and I've come to understand what a spiritual man he was. All I play these days is folk music, mostly John Denver." Yet he's not above playing on the campy side of Denver as well. At tonight's show, Kern will welcome guest artist Pete Salzer, a professional George Burns impersonator. Burns and Denver, you'll remember, enjoyed a lucrative collaboration in the 1977 movie comedy "Oh, God!" "People from 20 to 30 years old don't really know who John Denver was," said Kern. "But young children do, for some reason. It's like parents are exposing their children to his music." Contact Wallace Baine atwbaine@santacruzsentinel.com * * * ====================== JOHN DENVER CD REVIEWS ====================== Dan Monroe's WINDSONGS Reviewed by Emily M. Parris Dan Monroe's cd, "WINDSONGS" has a beautiful cover that shows a lake, green trees and mountains looming in the background. A guitar is shown leaning against a tree and the entire album contains songs written or made famous by John Denver. The album, recorded in 2003, is a heartfelt tribute to John. Dan was introduced to John's music by his sister. On the insert of the cd he says: "I was always known as that guy who sings John Denver songs...so that finally inspired me to perform my John Denver Tribute and release this collection of songs. It has been not only a successful venture, but also the realization of a dream I've had for years...remembering & sharing John's music with all of you." Peace, Dan Monroe" Dan's lively version of "Druthers" and his heartful version of "Follow Me" are two of the highlights on this tribute cd. This one-man cd has great intrumental background music and vocals all performed by Dan himself. On "Welcome To My Morning" Dan harmonizes with himself in a very creative fashion. I think John would have been very proud of this collection. With so many versions out there of John's most popular songs it is very refreshing to hear again some of the lesser known songs that have been under-appreciated over the years. http://www.DanMonroe.com * * * * Mack Bailey's "WHY I'M HERE" Reviewed by Emily M. Parris The title cut of "Why I'm Here" was written by Mack, Lauren & Caroline Bailey. Mack also wrote 3 other songs on the album and one song ("Am I Ready") was written by Chris Nole and Benny Moon. The sole John Denver song is "Wandering Soul" and Mack creates a very nice version of the song, bringing out the meaning in John's, always-thoughtful, lyrics. Another song on the album that has lyrics that surely also sound like John is "One Heart." This beautiful song will inspire any John Denver fan. It was written by Jamie Houston, Wendy Waldman and JD Martin. <*> <*> <*> <*> <*> <*> <*> <*> <*> <*> <*> <*> <*> ======================================= J O H N D E N V E R N O T E S ======================================= "SUNSHINE SUPERMAN" * Country Music Weekly * December 2003 With its simple, life-affirming words and charming melody, the John Denver classic "Sunshine On My Shoulders" is just right for kids. In fact, it is easy to imagine it as a children's book - which, thanks to the efforts of adaptor and illustrator Christopher Canyon, is just what it has become. The hardback edition includes a CD featuring the late legend's own version of "Sunshine on My Shoulders", along with even more music to read by. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Kace Noyens < c.noyens@planet.nl > The last week of the year, our National Radio broadcasts the "All Time Top 2000." Want to inform you of the results of John's records in this year's list: 449 "Take Me Home, Country Roads" 594 "Perhaps Love" 647 "Annie's Song" 679 "Calypso" 737 "Leaving On A Jet Plane" 1179 "Thank God, I'm A Country Boy" In my opinion he could do much better but the results are the votes from the Dutch people who voted for this list during the last several weeks. I will inform you next autumn when and how people can give their votes for the new 2004 list and I'm sure we'll have John in a better position. To look at the list http://www.radio2.nl and then click on the Top2000 picture. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Helen Stanford < hstanford@tscnet.com > has created a John Denver QUIZ. You can view and take the quiz at... http://www.coolquiz.com/myquiz/myquiz.asp?QuizNum=1293864075 The site is called "Cool Quiz" - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Elliott Kennerson < elliott@edoran.net > I have a band in New York City called Deutschendorf which is a John Denver Tribute Band. We do a show that we call "Nine Feet High" that includes his songs and performances of some written material by and about him. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Jean Kendle - Indiana < jbk944@yahoo.com > I just noticed that in the movie catalog from Movies Unlimited they are listing "Oh, God" in both VHS and DVD. Since most all the local stores have discontinued their VHS inventories, I thought you would like to know this and tell everyone. Movies Unlimited: http://www.moviesunlimited.com - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - The new A&E series "Airline" which premiered recently has a jazzed-up version of John's "Leaving On A Jet Plane" as the theme song. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - John is mentioned in an article called "Alone On The Range" that appeared in the Rocky Mountain News on January 9th, 2004. It says that, although country music was once alive and well in Denver, that there are few clubs playing Country Music and that the Country Music Scene there all but died at the end of the 80's. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Lisa Asher who appeared in Denver Center Theatre Company's "Almost Heaven: Songs and Stories of John Denver" is appearing in Newark, New Jersey in a concert with Craig Carnelia. http://www.njpac.org - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Bradenton Herald - January 9, 2004 "On The Road" is Florida Studio Theatre's celebration of travel - on foot and by plane, boat, car and otherwise, with plenty of detours in between. The musical cabaret pays tribute to songwriters Woody Guthrie, John Denver, Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, Roger Miller and the Beatles. Goldstein Cabaret, Florida Studio Theatre, 1241 N. Palm Ave. Sarasota, FL (941) 366-9000 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Emily < emily@parris.net > There is a very long article about John's accident on AVWeb. It was published on March 28, 1999. If you would like a copy, email me or go to the web site at http://www.avweb.com/news/columns/182276-1.html - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Losing Sky Net: It has been very sad for me this month losing my email address at emily@sky.net and the web page link from sky.net. I know that in an instant on December 31, 2003 many of the links to my Rocky Mountain High website were lost and it will probably take years for all the webmasters to realize and link to my permanent site at www.rockymtnhigh.org. The sky.net address was ours for 10 years. I valued the consistency of having that email address and website when so many other websites seemed to change so often. The volume of my emails dropped from about 80 or more per day to about 2 per day at the new email address. So I have felt like I was in a vacuum this month. I'm also working on getting my own links changed away from sky.net on the Rocky Mountain High web page. At least that is something I can control myself. http://www.rockymtnhigh.org emily@parris.net - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - General information about the current Rocky Mountain High Mailinglist can be found at: http://makeashorterlink.com/?Q6D126917 You can subscribe or unsubscribe from the link. Or you can write to me at emily@parris.net to change your subscription at any time. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ======================================= J O H N D E N V E R P O E T R Y ======================================= 2-0-0-4 by Emily M. Parris >From one day to another We go from year to year As a boisterous "Happy New Year" Is the shout we hear 5...4...3...2...1 - Hurray! We toot upon a horn And a brand new year for living Is begun upon that morn Adorned in gaudy party hats With streamers flying high We embark upon a new year And make a brand new try ________________________________ Copyright 1-2-03 by Emily Parris * * * "Baby Bear" by Cynthia Helen Gullage See the little polar bear Who sleeps by Mama's side, Dreaming, and quite unaware Of happenings outside. For look! Bad men are coming To drill in Arctic lands, And take away the only life A small bear understands. Listen to the progress That has come to wreck and spoil. Soon Mama and her baby bear Will be knee deep in oil. The little bear is crying Can you not feel his pain? Why should he lose his habitat For other people's gain? __________________________________________ Copyright 6-23-01 by Cynthia Helen Gullage * * * "Clouds Are My Mountains" Words & Music by Vic Pellerano (verse) I hear the wind calling your name I see the grasslands dancing with the rain Thunder echoes across the rose tint skies A blind man sees, but not with his eyes (chorus) Here on the open plains, far as I can see Clouds are my mountains, a place where I can dream Of legends, Kings and Queens Mysteries of Mystics sea and climb Here on the open plains, far as I can see Clouds are my mountains, a place for you and me To be what we want to be To see what we want to see and climb Clouds are my Mountains (bridge) The open spaces are a friend to me now There are no walls to confine me, I'm lost in the clouds (verse) Visions of Spirits, they march across the land While the singer sings his songs without any band Sculptors strike without missing a stroke A deaf man hears every single note (repeat chorus and fade) ________________________________________________ Copyright by Victor Pellerano < vppell@msn.com > http://cdbaby.com/cd/vicpellerano ================================================= JOHN DENVER W A N T A D S / F O R S A L E ================================================= S. Luv < starluv4@yahoo.com > Wanted, any kind soul who might be able to make a vhs copy of any overseas tv appearances that John was in. Needs to be compatible with the USA format. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Sheila Ridout < ridoutshe@hotmail.com > John Denver photos for sale; not repros; many "Oh, God" scenes. Small colour. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Lettie Austen < Lettie@theaustens.fsnet.co.uk > I am looking for a copy of "The Christmas Gift." - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Some Ebay John Denver Offerings: http://www.ebay.com John Denver Lot of 3 Sheet Music Hits #2371799852 DVD of "The Leftovers" #3377893217 DVD of the John Denver Aspen Memorial #3378562185 3 disc CD of "Take Me Home" #3578543161 "Sing With the Earth" Newsletter (1978) #3378417502 John Denver Rare 2003 Porgugese CD #2587959982 John Denver 1996 "Free Spirit" Newsletter #3378362370 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Jean Kendle < jbk944@yahoo.com > A friend of mine bought the newest Mollie Weaver/Mack Bailey CD called "Wish You Were Here" in Aspen in October and gave me one. It is just a beautiful tribute of all JD songs, about 12 of them, half by each performer. Mollie has the voice of an angel, and Mack does a great job on the songs he picked, too. http://cdbaby.com/cd/backbailey7 $15.96 Note from the Editor: On the web page it says... "John Denver is not silent... for those of us connected through his music, heart, friendship and/or global consciousness. It is our vision that John's songs will be heard anew through Mack and Mollie's embrace of his message." * http://www.mackbailey.com * http://www.mollieweaver.com * - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 267 John Denver Lyrics Online: http://www.lyricsfreak.com/j/john-denver/ Listen Without Fear http://www.geocities.com/rlasep.JD2.html Victor Pellerano http://cdbaby.com/cd/vicpellerano ************************************************************* Rocky Mountain High: The John Denver Internet Fan Club emily@parris.net http://www.rockymtnhigh.org January 2004 * Issue #117 * Editor: Emily M. Parris ************************************************************* _______________________________________________ Rockymountainhigh mailing list Rockymountainhigh@emissives.com http://emissives.com/mailman/listinfo/rockymountainhigh_emissives.com