Saturday, September 27, 2014

MIKE PORCO CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION



Mike Porco owned Gerde's Restaurant, an Italian eatery situated in Greenwich Village east of Washington Square on West 4th Street. On January 26, 1960, Gerde's turned into a music venue in cooperation with Izzy Young, the director of the Folklore Center. GERDE'S FOLK CITY then became the unlikely epicenter of a global music paradigm shift.

During Mike Porco’s stewardship (1960-1980) the club hosted early performances by a constellation of Folk Music stars – notably, Bob Dylan, Simon and Garfunkel, Phil Ochs, Judy Collins and José Feliciano.
Folk City's distinctive fraternity of such aspiring young artists and legendary recording stars borders on myth. Gerde's was where the cross-fertilization of different styles and musical eras forged important links in the chain of American musical history.
In his autobiography, Bob Dylan called Gerde's "the preeminent Folk club in America." Rolling Stone's Book of Lists called Folk City one of the three top music venues in the world, along with The Cavern and CBGB.

POSITIVELY PORCO is a star-studded documentary film under production. It chronicles the 1960’s Folk and Blues Revival as it was experienced at a place many musicians called HOME. 

Hosted by Porco's grandson, the Mike Porco 100th Birthday Anniversary concert will act as a reunion and celebration of the music that emanated from the Village's golden era.


Live music performances by David Amram, Tom Chapin, Rob Stoner, David Massengill and others will make the100th anniversary of Porco's birth a special evening. Director's cuts of POSITIVELY PORCO will be shown for good measure. 

7:30PM
Thursday, October 23, 2014
doors 6:30

379 Main St
Beacon, NY 12508

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Folk City 50th Anniversary Guitar: Last Play



I've been reviving distant memories of my grandfather's club. It started with the 50th Anniversary. It continues today with the film. 
POSITIVELY PORCO
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5O6T...

And thanks to a little help from friends, it continues. A new friend bought this guitar to bring the completion date closer. I had to play it one last time for fun. 

Gerde's Folk City 50th Anniversary guitar
Signed at 130 W.3rd St NYC June 7, 2010

1. David Massengill
2. Frank Caputo (Christian)
3. Happy Traum
4. Guy Davis
5. Willie Nininger
6. Jonathan Kalb
7. Nick Holmes
8. Erik Frandsen
9. The Dirty Birdies Jug Band (5 autographs)
10. Poez
11. Jack Hardy
12. Vincent Vok (inscribing: Thank you Bob P.)
13. Sylvia Tyson
14. Richard Chanel
15. Marilyn Kirby
16. Bob Horan
17. Eric Weissberg
18. Joe Virga
19. Terre Roche
20. Brian Rose
21. Dominic Chianese
22. Vince Martin
23. Lydia Adams Davis
24. Heather Wood
25. Biff Rose
26. Bev Grant
27. Steve Ben Israel
28. Victorio Roland Mousaa
29. Rod MacDonald
30. Mark Dann
31. Randy Burns