1969. November. A Saturday Evening. My family climbed into our station wagon and headed to a local school auditorium for a concert…
Walter Cronkite was the voice of the news. And the news was filled with:
- The Viet Nam War
- The Apollo Moon walk program
- Civil Rights
- The ravages of DDT on the environment
And, a crazy folk singer who thought that by building a replica of a Hudson River Sloop we could clean up The Hudson River…
His name was Pete Seeger. And we had his LP “Pete Seeger’s Greatest Hits” at home. We listened to it all the time. His “Greatest Hits” was essentially a live concert with this man who delighted in getting his audiences to sing along at the top of their lungs.
Americans knew how to do that then. Sing. Sing along. People used to sing together to change the world. Interesting idea. huh? Sing together and change the world… hmmmm
I didn’t start writing songs in 1969. But, I wanted to. That night the spark got lit that eventually turned into the fire in my songwriter’s belly. By 1976 I started writing “keepers”. You could say that it was inspired by that man, that one night. It’s been 40 years of struggling to figure out how to “get them out”. Wow. Time well spent if you ask me!
That night an 8 year old boy got to be in Pete Seeger’s “band”. It forever changed me. I’ve been attempting ever since to honor that moment when my mission became clear “to touch the lives of other people in a positive way with these songs that have been choosing me to bring them into this world…”
So today. Today, I would URGENTLY like to invite you to join me and my band on Saturday, November 19th
at 7:00 PM…
I’m calling them “The Rogue Mystics”
and it is at this point a 10 piece band of some of the most fabulous musicians I’ve played with in my 40 year adventure into the wilderness of songwriting.
Some of them you might know very well. Roger Mock, Pete Furlong, Sarah Puig. Joy Adler, Brian Melick…
Others you may have never heard of before. Joe Mennonna, Gene Moore, Rilee O’Neill, Mike Covey, and a few mystery guests…
They are each world class in their own way. I want YOU to hear THEM. And I want THEM to hear YOU.
I want us to create an “us” with you right in the center with the musicians.
I want to create an evening that would combine their voices and instruments with my songs and YOU. Yes YOU. Singing with us. You. Singing along at the top of your lungs (if you feel so moved). You. Absorbing all the waves of healing and inspiration carried on waves of sound.
The space is a beautiful wooden recording studio in an old church (Overit Studios 435B New Scotland Ave. Albany, NY 12208). It is a small and intimate setting (couldn’t fit you all in my little living room ;o). It is a space where we will be able to hear and see each other exquisitely well.
Some of the program will be songs of mine you know. The rest of the program may be new songs or improvised pieces that even WE don’t know. But we will be creating and discovering together.
Please. Please. Please. take a moment right now and go to the link below to purchase your tickets. Tickets are $40 and there are only 40 seats left. I want to make sure you have a chance to get yours before they’re gone.
Want a Bonus? A $100 bonus?!!?! The first 30 people to buy tickets will also get to choose one of my paintings to take home. I normally sell them for $100. If that doesn’t motivate you to take action now, no hard feelings I’ve just got to do everything possible to get an audience to show up. :o)
The money I make on the tickets is going directly to the musicians, and to renting the studio and hiring the video crew and providing meal for the crew between our sound check and the concert.
I can’t do this without you. I’m asking for your help. If you can’t make the event, would you consider buying a ticket and passing it along to someone else who might not be able to afford it? I simply want to create an amazing experience for all of us that honors the value that these amazing musicians will give to our community and our lives on Saturday, November 19th at 7 pm…
Thank you for reading this and joining us!
How to get tickets
Step 1: Go to this link: Mark Shepard & The Rogue Mystics Nov. 19th 7 pm
Step 2: Follow the instructions.
Paintings will be available for viewing before the program and during intermission. Ticket holders will get to choose their paintings in the order they bought their tickets. So the sooner you buy your tickets the more choice you will have (one painting per household).
Please feel free to email me at Mark@MarkShepard.com if you have any questions!