YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio, August 26, 2010 – Rosetta Stone Café and Wine Bar, located at 110 West Federal Street, closed on Thursday, August 26 as part of a reorganization effort.

Given the current economic climate, the owners made a conscious decision to regroup and adjust their business model.  Since its opening, Rosetta Stone has had a vested interest in the redevelopment of downtown Youngstown, and is now exploring new ways to meet the changing needs of the community.  The business will reopen, but a reopening date has yet to be determined.

Rosetta Stone Café and Wine Bar opened in downtown Youngstown in January,  2008, as an upscale dining and entertainment destination.  The establishment offered breakfast, lunch, and dinner, as well as live music, and a display area for local artists.

My band, Fillmore Jive (local psychedelic two-piece) is opening for one of the most famous psychedelic bands in the world, The Black Angels, in Pittsburgh, at Diesel, on Friday, September 10th. This is a really big show for our band because it will probably be our big break in Pittsburgh.

We have to sell a lot of tickets for the show, so we are putting on a free show down at The Lemon Grove on Monday, September 6th, to try and sell some tickets. The show will feature Fillmore Jive and Nashville psychedelic band, Bad Cop, and free ticket give-a-ways to the Pittsburgh show.

I was thinking it would be great if Jambrain had an article written telling people about the show down at The Lemon Grove, and letting people know that they can buy tickets to the Pittsburgh show at IndieWax Records in Boardman or The Lemon Grove in Youngstown any time.

Good thinking, Kevin. Please check Fillmore Jive’s profile page on JamBrain for more information about this talented and ambitious project.

My mother has been known to say, “It seems like, for the longest time, there’s nothing to do, and then everything happens at once.”

The first part or her ‘seeming’ is of course not technically true, but this is the weekend epitome of her contention. It might, in fact, seem like there are more musicians performing this weekend than fans available to enjoy them.

VEXFEST VII (7): VexFest, now in its VIIth year, is Youngstown’s signature music festival. Presented again by Youngstown Local Music on Sunday, Aug. 15, the 2010 event features more than 40 local and regional bands of all genres playing continuously on four stages on West Federal Plaza, downtown. Performances will alternate on the two outdoor stages at either end of the street, and simultaneously indoors at Barley’s (which has hosted the festival every year) and Downtown 36, across the street (a first for this new venue).

As usual, there will be plenty to eat and drink, with concessionaires and other vendors along the street; and, again as always, admission is free for all. Bands start around noon and play into the early hours of Monday morning.

For the complete schedule of performances, go to http://s188.photobucket.com/albums/z116/thirdarm/?action=view&current=VEXTIMESFINAL.jpg

THE BLITZ: Also celebrating its seventh year, the annual festival of music, games and camping — always the second weekend in August — at Buffalo Hollow kicks off Thursday morning and runs ’til Sunday.

Buffalo Hollow is a private events area owned by the Beight (Monuments) family at their homestead near Petersburg, hard by the Pa. border (see the google map on their JamBrain profile page).

This year the Outlaws highlight the musical offerings with eight other bands over the three days on the spacious stage fronting amphitheater seating. Many of the people who have this weekend circled on their calendar each year camp there for the duration — $40 for three days — although single day ($15) entries are also available.

Food and drink are available on site, and, in addition to the musical entertainment, there are fireworks and a whole range of contests for participation and viewing. Please see the schedule at http://www.buffalohollow.net/buffalohollowblitz2010.php

Two other multi-band events are scheduled for Saturday night in Youngstown.

The YOTOWN MUSIC FESTIVAL, sponsored by Jamz 101.9 will feature Wiz Khalifa in a night of rap and hip-hop outdoors at the Covelli Center. Other performers include Durrough, Super Blanco and members of the YoTown Music Family. Tickets are $25 at the gate; $19 in advance. Go to http://www.covellicentre.com/event.php?id=452 for more information.

The Cedars Lounge will host a night of metal featuring Album, with Fillmore Jive and Akron’s Superpreditor, among others starting at 10 p.m. with a $5 cover charge.

Mom’s going to have a tough trip trying to fit all this in her schedule.

About a decade ago, singer/songwriter Simon Kenneally was in a local band called Sijupana (a combination of letters from the members’ names) which didn’t practice or play out. They met each Thursday and recorded the music they created on the spot.

In 2001, when the lure of sharing their efforts with others became irresistible, they created an event for that performance which reflected their ethos of artistic eclecticism, and called it Bon Frog to avoid any possible alternative connotation. They’ve done 12 of them, mostly at Cedars and Nyabinghi and recently at the Lemon Grove, and all have been “hugely attended,” Kenneally reports.

The July 24 Bon Frog is a combined effort at Cedars, Lemon Grove and a third stage in the Commerce Street parking lot at the rear of the two venues, starting at 1 p.m. and running into the night. There is a $10 entry fee; free to children under 12.

Almost all of the 26 bands playing on the three stages will be doing original music as part of the event celebrating all forms of creative expression. Afternoon performances are designed to be ‘family friendly’ and then trending toward more adult themes when Cedars opens about 7 p.m.

“It can be really thrilling for an audience,” Kenneally says, “because great things happen when we pull together as a community. Each time we do another Bon Frog, more and more people participate in all genres of creative expression.”

Artists of the Rustbelt are helping coordinate the installation displays.

Kenneally recently signed on as general manager of the Lemon Grove. Owner Jacob Harver called his talents and interests, “a perfect fit for what we’re trying to do here.”

JamBrain-area rock fans have two choices for their rock-’n-roll weekend with benefit shows raising funds for worthy local causes.

Kisses for Karlie

Ace’s Wild Wings in the Boardman Plaza is hosting a benefit, Saturday, featuring five of the area’s heavy hitters to raise funds for the family of Karlie Stith, a 4 year old girl diagnosed with ALL Leukemia. Music starts at 8 p.m. and continues through the night. There is an $8 cover charge, and there will be raffles for various prizes (donated by sponsors); all proceeds go to the Stith family to help with the huge costs for Karlie’s treatments.

Please see the JamBrain listing for the lineup.

The Rockin’ Rendezvous

A two-day camping and concert at Buffalo Hollow will raise funds for Paws for Peace, benefiting the New Castle, Pa., Police canine corps.

The event kicks off just before noon on Saturday and extends through Sunday, with 19 bands on the covered stage, and amphitheater-type seating on the bucolic hillside. Admission for the two-day show is $20 in advance and $25 at the gate, and includes camping Saturday night (RV hookups are an additional $15). Fans are welcome to bring their own food and drink — concessions are also available on site — but they are not permitted in the audience area.

Two tribute bands, Bon/Fire does AC/DC and Black Diamond performs KISS music, and performances by several local bands will be featured.

Buffalo Hollow is a private campground just a few miles north of St. Rte. 14 near the Pennsylvania/Ohio border. Check the map on their JamBrain profile page for specific directions.

JonesFest was supposed to be ‘different.’ Now, in its third year, it is exactly as envisioned.

Jimmy DeCapua, his cohorts at Youngstown Local Music and the fellow members of his Jones For Revival band had already resurrected and successfully run VexFest, the eclectic downtown music festival, and were planning to do it again, when they got to musing. If we were to design our own event, from scratch, they wondered, what would it be like. It is JonesFest III, 2010.

VexFest was working every way originally intended: mostly local bands of a broad range of genres drawing crowds to enjoy hassle-free, downtown Youngstown.

JonesFest was to be more musically homogeneous and decidedly more laid back; read here, no heavy metal head-banging, for instance.

Jones For Revival is a jam band. They start with one of their original songs and riff on its themes according to flights of fancy. It is a contemplative, reflective style — anathema to an aggressive agenda — which draws and rewards a more laid-back audience. The Jones boys had played summer events with other jam bands and loved the atmosphere around them.

The first attempt was a wash. Downtown Youngstown was not conducive; the music still had too much of the street in it. Then the genial folks who own and run Nelson Ledges Quarry Park near Garretsville, west of Warren, squeezed them into an open weekend in 2009 and the magic was born. This years event is Memorial Day weekend, with music all day Sunday.

If your concept of what this might be like is a little fuzzy, imagine The Greatful Dead playing Golden Gate Park on a sunny Sunday afternoon and then take it one bucolic bit further from the city bustle and add some other psychedelia from similar bands, belly dancers, hula hoopsters, a magician, flaming jugglers and a sand castle contest on the beautiful beach at the park’s pristine lake.

The music starts about noon and goes on into the night; fortunately, you can still sleep in Monday morning and make it to Aunt Ethel’s in time for the family outing (this is not suggesting your family needs to be ‘outed’).

Of course, Jones For Revival headlines the show, sharing the feature stage with Moser Woods and John Welton Music. JonesFest stalwarts The Young Stonians and Melva represent the city with incoming bands Super Massive, Sultans of Bing, Keeping Riley and Smokestack Horizon.

The cost for the show is $20 at the gate, but one might consider camping over which has major benefits in addition to the idyllic setting: most of the bands stay over, setting up their campsites together and near each other. Wandering through this cornucopia of nearly continuous music, fans will find themselves eagerly welcomed visitors.

This is how Jonesfest was meant to be, and this is the weekend of its being that way.

by Dave Nery

First Night is becoming THE traditional New Year’s Eve event for more and more families, and this year again, area residents will have three celebrations to choose from, in Youngstown, Canfield and Salem. Admission buttons for each cost $10.

“First Night® is an international alliance of over 200 New Year’s eve celebrations in 4 countries that combines the traditions of marking the passage of time with modern day festivities. First Night® cultivates a sense of community, brings together the family, revitalizes the downtown, decreases alcohol consumption on New Year’s Eve and stages a public observance of the coming of the New Year,” according to the official theme of the alliance.

Each of the local entities has its own website, and we offer them here, with only a brief overview of some of the special features of each and a list of the musical performers.

http://www.firstnightyoungstown.com

http://www.firstnightcanfield.com

http://www.firstnightsalem.com

YOUNGSTOWN

2010 marks the 10th year of Youngstown’s First Night event, and the scope and variety of entertainment continues to grow, including this year, the swearing-in ceremony for Mayor Jay Williams’ next term in office. The 20 venues and 19 restaurants taking part are on the YSU campus and along East and West Federal Plaza, with community skating, two fireworks shows and other events at the Covelli Centre. Horse-drawn carriage rides are also available.

Many of the musicians playing at First Night are part of the repeating tradition. They include: Davis and McKay, Miss D and Joni, Ryan Ross, Tim Drummond, Blue Rays, String Theory, Conjunto Riquena, November Loop, Grand Fury, The Zou, Robbie Jay Band, Father Vit Fiala, Meg Daniluk, Jones For Revival, Lethal FX, Classic Cruisers, County Mayo, Steve Fazzini, Chasin’ the Blues, Colin Dussault’s Blues Project, and the Youngstown Connection. Check the website for details.

CANFIELD

First Night Canfield will host events at 18 venues in 5 locations, and will end with fireworks and a community bonfire. Many activities are designed specifically for the younger crowd, and there will be dance and drama.

Musicians playing Canfield include: Thomas Solich, Seraphim, Colleen McNally-Harris, Dr. Dan Laginya, “Harper Kirk”, Get Out and Push, Jaclyn Hodos, Ladies of Country Music, Thought the World, FROG, JD Eicher (solo) and the Goodnights, Lee Alverson, Erie Travelers, Steve Fazzini, Rock N Roll Heaven, Dickey White and the Allstars, Magma, Cahal Dunne, Naples Sisters, Jim Frank Trio, and Billy Smooth and The House Rockers.

SALEM

First Night Salem includes free trolley rides between venues on East State Street and North Lincoln, plus horse-drawn carriage rides, to the 14 venues providing entertainment. The night will culminate with a Grand Finale balloon drop countdown and community cake and hot chocolate social, where many of the evening’s performers will do short shows.

Playing live music at this year’s events will be: Dottie Aiken Reynolds with Tumbleweed, David Pasco, Bill Schilling, Linda Sigismondi, Stockdale Family Band, All 4 One,  Chip Richter, Salem Jubilee Chorus, Dulci-More, Allegheny Drifters, Ted Thorne, God’s Quad, Sharyn Chrystal, Tapestries of Ohio, Sugar Tree Alley, Jack Vasko Band, EVB II, Above 209, and Tribute. In addition to maps and schedules, the Salem website offers pictures and biographies of each of the performers.

by Dave Nery…

For first-timers, listening to a guitar and flute duet is a multi-stage experience, and each level has its special pleasure. That was how JamBrain found the Oct. 29 performance by Duo Allant in Bliss Recital Hall.

Duo Allant (two going forward, continuing to grow) is flutist* Kathryn Thomas Umble and classical guitarist Francois Fowler, both faculty members of the Dana School of Music and widely celebrated musical performers.

*JamBrain still prefers the traditional term “flautist” for its decadence.

The Thursday concert featured traditional and modern works of varied styles, but appreciation of the music was the final phase of the fun.

Flute and guitar are not obvious companions. From the former, a wind (nee woodwind) instrument, the vibrations of the breath across the mouthpiece are gathered through its length and presented as a modified, mellowed, finished sound. In contrast, the vibrations of the strings of the guitar are always upfront and immediate, though modulated by the resonance of the wooden body’s sounding board.

The uneducated ear hears them separately, at the outset, creating something of a mental dissonance. Then the similarities begin to appear, first in the instruments themselves, soon after in the skill of the performers, and finally the listener can attend to the composition, with each shade an exciting discovery.

Of course, the only “dissonance” is incongruence, because neither flute nor classical guitar is anything but harmonious, and the instruments played by these master musicians are clearly of superior quality. Once the ear attunes to the tone of the tools, the craft of the artists wielding them becomes conspicuous.

In their first piece, four settings of “Histoire du Tango” by Astor Piazzolla, one listens first to flute, then guitar, each on its own, with a common tango beat and background. The four 16th century lute songs — pop hits then — by John Dowland and arranged by the performing duo play more to their commonalities and showcase their skills, until finally the picture absorbs your awareness. The 1981 composition, “Toward the Sea,” a tribute for Green Peace by Toru Takemitsu is a seamlessly flowing confluence of winds and strings and water; and it was hard to imagine, during Robert Beaser’s recent Mountain Song interpretations, that two other instruments could so melodiously meld. They added Jacques Ibert’s “Entr’acte” for a finale fillip.

Duo Allant will be ‘going forward’ further with an International Musical Journey, performing music from Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Japan, United Kingdom and America in a Sundays at Stambaugh concert November 8 in Christman Hall, with lunch served at 12:15 and the program following. (Reservations are required by Nov. 5)