Hudson River Radio dot com. It beats listening to nothing. Oh my godness,
Being Frank fright where the only way to be is Frank. Hello everyone,
and welcome to Being Frank. We're the only way to be is Frank.
I'm your host, Franklebono, and i'd like to thank you for joining
us on what we like to call the Intelligent conversation podcast, where no conversation
is out of bounds and all points of view are welcome. So I want
to further welcome move to our holiday extravaganza. Well, it's sort of an
extravaganza. I am wearing a Santa Claus hat. Can't see it, but
I am. But we're going to promote the twenty seventh rendition of Blankfest,
a full day of music and revelry whose ultimate goal is to bring free blankets
to the homeless in New York City. And they say that music is the
international language. It can be to both soothe and inflame. Poetry also known
as the spoken word, can have the same effect. When well crafted,
they can change the world. It's all in how we apply them. Well,
on this edition of Being Frank, we'll meet three people who use their
considerable talents in those arts to make the world a better place for everyone,
especially the less fortunate. And they've been doing it for a long time too.
Their continued efforts could not have come at a better time. Not only
is it the holiday season, and in fact we're recording live to tape,
it's the first evening of Hanukkah, so a wonderful festival of lights for all
who celebrate, and so many innocant people both here and around the world are
suffering as well. So we need to have some good news and have some
fun tonight, some intelligent fun. So without further ado, let me introduce
our guests. First, the Mayastro, the founder of Blankfest uh the U,
one of the moving forces, driving forces between behind one of my favorite
bands, The Bag Daddy os Uh. He is ken Raul. Will also
be joined by Yvon Sotomayor, who's a poet living in New York City,
and she'll bring her powerful voice to our program tonight. She's relatively new to
Blankfest, but has become a creative force as well there and joining us full
time this time is the man I call the Mailman because he also delivers.
One of the founding members also of the bag daddios. He's their drummer.
Enuff said, we all know a lot about about drummers, and it's all
true. Mister Neil Richter joins us tonight. Thanks everybody, thanks for being
here, and happy holidays to everyone. Happy Honicarday. Yeah, thank you
guys. Let's again, Ken, Why don't we start with you, because
the point of this is to really let people know about Blankfest, which is
coming up. We're taping. It's the seventh of December. It's also the
anniversary of Pearl Harbor, and we never forget December seventh, nineteen forty one,
of course, the day that lived in infamy, but it's also a
happy day as well, on the occasion the Festival of Lights, the first
day of Hanukkah, so there's lots to celebrate. And coming up on the
seventeenth, which is a Sunday, is the twenty seventh rendition of Blankfest.
My god, Ken, where has the time gone? Can you remember back
to the first Blankfest twenty seven years ago? I feel so old? And
it is ironic because this year's Blankfest is on December seventeenth, which is ten
days away, and we did the first Blankfest literally within ten days ten,
I mean, and I had mentioned it to check to Brwin who was at
the time bartending at brucks Hills. And it's a boring just again relatively speaking,
because you know, we were based in Rockland County, New York,
out of Stony Point, but because we stream, we go to other areas
just to give people a little bit of relevance as well too. So that
talking about a kind of a legendary place in Nyack one of many legendary places
night stops in Naiak. But continue. There was a time in the nineteen
nineties when Nayak had clubs, bars, restaurants all up and down the main
street strip. And Neil and I had just gotten done playing a show in
Golly. Where wasn't Neil? It was my brain is fried at this point.
It was at my place. Anybody remember my place, m Ai Place.
It was next to the Thai restaurant called the King and I And when
we got done, I walked up the street to this other legendary restaurant and
now I called Block Cells. And that's where Chuck de Brown, who used
to be the front man actually still is the front man for the horse that
rode in on this is really really really cool band. And then one of
the performers on the at blank Fest Sunday the seventeenth, correct, right,
Yes, they're going to be there too, you know. And I remember
I had mentioned it to Chuck about a week before. It wouldn't be really
great if we had a benefit show and it got some blankets at the door
and we can hand them out on Christmas Eve. And we didn't hear a
you know, we did. I didn't give it a second thought until after
the Bagdad show. I walk up the street to brock Cells. I sit
down for just you know, pind it and just to relax a little bit
before going home, and Chuck said to me, he goes, you know
that idea you came up with about a week or so ago, that's a
great idea. We should do that. And I thought, think, you
know what, we should. Within ten days we put on the first blind
Fest. It was I mean, it barely made a debt in the papers
and we were lucky to pull it off. We had it was supposed to
be a four hour show. We only ended up doing three and a half.
And originally it was supposed to be a one off. And when I
got to the end of the show. I walked out to just say goodbye
to this just only a handful of people were left, and I say,
can I you know, thanks for coming, thank you for your generous donations.
And it was really really awkward, and for lack of a better way
of signing off, I just said, we'll see you next year. And
I walk up the stage and they go, oh, what did I just
promise? After that we were off and running. And twenty seven years later,
why the idea of blankets at I mean, people think of toys,
food obviously, and we've had people to people on the Rockland County Food Bank.
We're going to talk a little bit about them a little further on in
the program because people have needs. That way, what gave me the idea
for blank for blankets? And get us through the whole procedure of how people
bring blankets? You distribute the blankets. But first things first, what game?
What came in your head? Why blankets? Well, growing up in
New York, we were always aware of, you know, those little human
interest stories that we would get. You know, you've usually buried on page
thirteen of the New York Poster, the Daily News, where they'd say,
you know, they found a homeless person, you know, that's frozen to
death in the middle of the night, you know, on a great somewhere
on the street in New York. And the more I was playing music in
New York City, the more I was literally stepping over home most people you
know, on our way to it from a show, you know, And
I mean the serious answer, I guess is that there's people freezing to death.
And it was kind of like a knee jerk reaction of like, well,
the freezing given a blanket, you know, And if you want the
silly reason, you know, it didn't make any sense to hand the poor
I'm almost personal slinky. So we just figured, all right, get them
a get them a blanket, keep them warm. You know, we never
meant to solve the problem. It was just sort of like kind of a
band aid until we could get a more permanent solution. Now, how did
you convince you've grown, as you said the first one, from three and
a half to four hours to now you do a full twelve hours with and
we'll talk a little bit, but I want you to mention at some point
some of the performers that will be there, it's a tall hour all day
thing at the Hudson House in Nayak, which is a wonderful classy restaurant but
has a really kind of it's the whole town Hall in Nayak. So upstairs
where the Village of Justice Court used to be, is where these performances take
place. Correct, Yeah, I mean when I was a kid, my
dad used to say, you're going to end up in court someday, and
literally were in court up on the second floor what used to be Naia's town
Hall, and that's where the stage area is. If I want to bring
you into the conversation, you're relatively new relatively speaking to Blankfest, but I
know you've been involved for the last few years. What did you think of
it when you first heard about it and how did you become involved? Well,
I'll tell you a story. Eleven years ago, there was Hurricane Sandy.
I was sick in my parents' house. I was having to take care
of stuff, and there was this online dating app and so that's how I
found Ken Row and one of the things that drew me to And besides this
cookiness is as funny as we all know. You know, he's a character.
Is is Blankfest? When I saw that. I said, this guy
has a heart. This guy has a heart, and I, you know,
ventured to say hello, you know. And it's been since then,
since twenty twelve. The first month we were dating, I was already helping
with Blankfast and that was eleven years ago. Obviously I thought very highly of
him because that got me to say hello and yes to a date. It's
terrific. Neil the male man as I like to call him, He's always
delivers. He's our engineer here at being Frank with Hudson River Radio. But
he's also, as I said, a musician and drummer and involved for many,
many years with the bag Daddy OS. What was your impression when Ken
came to you and said, of we're going to play for nothing again.
Something seemed to do quite well. That was nothing new, but you know,
with any band really. But yeah, I think that the thing that
struck me or impressed me the most was the immediacy of it. That people
donated a blanket and then the blanket got delivered really right, no no middleman,
right to the people who need it. There was, you know,
no red tape, no fooling around. People donated the blanket and the people
who needed it got them a few, you know, a few days later
on Christmas Eve, and I was like, that's if that's not what Christmas
is all about, I don't know what is, you know. So that
was what impressed me the moment I said this, this is great, this
is this is a great idea. Well, you know it's another great idea
is not having to have me talk through this whole thing. We've got music,
We've got bad Daddy, We've got bad Daddy ohs music, and this
is a holiday extravaganza. Prom I did promise our listerns in the beginning,
so they don't have to hear me drone for the whole program. We have
music, we have some poetry. Why don't we set up our first song?
I believe it's It's Christmas Ain't for lonely people? Is that? Is
that what we've got cued up? Guys? I I believe so right?
All right, tell us tell us a little bit about this tone, either
Neil or or Ken. Tell us about what we're about to hear. Well,
I'm the I'm the brilliant mind that came up with it. You wrote
it, You tell them, I'll tell the story in the studio maybe,
but oh kay, oh yeah we can. Yeah. There's a tune that
was going through my head since I was seven years old. And when I
was eighteen, I was writing lyrics in the corner of my political science college
notebook, and so I had the first of the chorus obviously, you know,
Christmas A for the only people, repeat three times in rents, you
know, and then the first verse or so, and then I never finished
it off until the early two thousands when I was living in this lonely Spanish
colum law on Eastard's Emptune Street, and I was actually up visiting my parents
for Thanksgiving in Nayak and they were watching some puny Eastwood movie downstairs in the
family Dead, and I'm up in the living room all by myself with the
guitar, and I finished it off that it just came straight from the heart.
It's you know, it's that that feeling of like sometimes when you're alone,
uh, you're isolated, I guess, the emotions can really get to
you. And it's almost like a rueful kind of like Christmas ain't for lonely
people, is it, you know? But really it is, because I
think we all take turns on the Loneliness Carousel, so to speak, Neil,
what you said you had a studio story. It was I remember,
you know, going in and recording it, and it was it was kind
of a departure sort of of what the usual bag daddy O sound. It's
it's would you agree, Ken, it's not oh yeah, yeah, it's
not the overdriven, amplified sound that we usually have. But yeah, but
I do remember after after we recorded and got it all done, while we
were in there, apparently a storm had come through and it was like a
big snowstorm and I remember getting out and all of a sudden, all the
roads were like a sheet of you know, snow and ice, and I
was like, oh, Merry Christmas. Yeah yeah, everybody got home okay,
But it was like where did this come from? You know? But
when you're when you're busy in the studio, you really don't pay attention to
what's going on outside. Were record during wats disasters or you know, lizards,
you know, if we were, if we were on the West Coast,
I'm sure be recording during an earthquake or something like that. No,
it's just it's just for some reason, we see we're a lightning Rod for
that sort of thing. But yeah, as a matter of fact, you
know, you brought up the recording studio. And again for any of the
listeners. You might not know the name Kevin Lacey, but he's one heck
of a producer and uh, you know he's got a recording studio. When
Annuel in New York and I remember at one particular blank Fest, he was
watching us do our thing and he came up to me and he was just
so caught up. I remember he gave me a hug and a big kiss
on the side of my face and said, man, what you do for
these people, these you know the almost it's it's a wonderful clause. He
goes, I just want to do something to show my appreciation. You just
name it. So he said, could you record my band for you know,
like for like three songs or so? He said absolutely. So we
polished off three songs, two of which from the same session. You're gonna
hear it tonight. Now I understand that you're going to premiere a video of
this song. Unfortunately we don't do video that people can listen to it.
But where when people want to see the video, where can they go to
check it out well. And when I never major to marketing, I should
have or else I probably would have ended up picking an easier name to find
on online than bag daddyos because people spell it all differently, they pronounce it
wrong. It's it's wonderful actually. But if you go to b H G
H d A D d I O S and watch out because there's a great
band out of Scotland called the bag Daddies, we're not them. And if
you type in bag daddy os, it'll try and change the spelling. You
gotta steer it back to bag daddiosh with the H in the middle and all
that. But if you put bag daddy os on YouTube, that video comes
right up. Also, you want to go to my Facebook page. I
I just put it out there for all of our friends. Terrific. Well
let's check it out, Neil, you're ready, You're ready, You're ready
with this? All right? We got Christmas ain't for lonely people. The
bag daddy Os here on being friend Christmas, aple loly people, Christmas,
aplely people, Christmas and for lowly people. You should know that by now
marry Christmas. I helo not another friend to stove lots of blinking. It's
so kay for me, it's just a loo. The day happy people on
my TV shell distracts me so much that I almost begetting all that. Christmas
A for lowly people, Christmas A for lowly people, Christmas A for lowly
people. You should know that by now My comfend's going to her sister space
and now a bet is chanced a empty space. Three days, double on
my children. Let the holler days begin. Sits kipping messed up jingle bells
said he knows you, My friend said, I wish you well. Who
Christmas A for lowly people, Christmas A for lowly people. Christmas and for
lowly people. You should know that by now see a crazy man talking to
himself on the bus. But I'm staring passing on or think about his sirs.
I be trying to call you a bunch of silvers onis off distole sa
in the tarkness of my lonely Spanish art of law. I miss my dad
and I miss my mom. The rich I now live in Florid on my
sister and kids a living end of verbs. But the buses aren't Lord,
It's I'm strended out the good The girl on aware the Netwick Withers smiled.
Here's me bookading before only wonder. Christmas aple lowly me, Christmas A for
lowly people, Christmas ale lowly people. You should know that by now,
yes, Christmas A for lowly Christmas A for lowly people, Christmas ale lowly
people. You should know that by now, I provide a collar up to
my head, weed down, turn towards to me. I'm just trying to
carry ross down to FESTI snow as now Judge's lunch when you by yourself be
concerned tells me too much. All I want is to be with you.
But I guess the juken to who have to do a look at pictures and
try to remember this swis happens to me when we get to decemb My hero's
voice is saying to it, they're a charter just Dememory w Christmas A for
lowly people, Christmas for lowly people, Christmas April only people. You should
know that by now Christmas A for lowly people, Christmas and for lowly people,
Christmas aple lonely people. You should know that Christmas aple only people tells
you forget Christmas af loly people. You should know that by now the Bag
Daddy Os with Christmas for Lonely People. That was terrific when I enjoyed that.
And I promise you if you come to Blankfest at the Hudson House of
Nayak in Nayak twelve seventeen, that's a Sunday from noon to midnight, you'll
be able to hear live the Bag Daddy Os with Ken Rowl and Neil Richter
our guests tonight. They are the house band, if you will, and
also known as the band that just Won't Die. I think that's one of
your correct I love it. We're trying not to, you know. It's
keep rocking like that and you certainly and you and you certainly won't that's for
sure. Know my favorite part of that song as I get to sing backup
and it's you know, you can really hear it, really, really crystal
clear. I just wanted to point that out to you that it is no
but seriously seriously that you know Ken's songwriting, his lyrics are so clever,
his songwriting is so great. That's what attracted me to you know, I
campaigned to be in a band with him back you know, way back when
should we say what year it was you know, but I was only you
know, fourteen at the time. But yeah, the child prodigy. Yeah,
yeah, so I've heard no. But seriously, yeah no, if
I want you to, I want to want you to introduce one of your
poems. But before we go to that, since we've written the musical mode
and we mentioned the bag Daddios, the so called house band for blank Fest
the seventeenth of December at the Hudson House in Nayak. The fundraiser, remember,
the only admission, it's free except for a blanket. Gently used blankets
are accepted. You can bring a new blanket, all shapes and sizes.
I don't know if it's anything like last year. My god, they seemed
like there were hundreds of them. That's the seventeenth of December, Blankfest at
the Hudson House. The Bagdaddios. You've heard Ken, who else? Who
are some of the other people appearing? Let's give them a plug now,
like and some really top shelf entertainment. Absolutely, let me see here.
I actually have my fire, because if I don't have it, I won't
remember. Hold on, I have it. It disappeared. There we go.
We actually have Let's start right off with The Young Dead featuring Bobby Steele,
And oddly enough, we have somebody familiar sitting in on drums with The
un Dead featuring Bobby Steele. Who is that name? And who would that
be? No? I ye, no, I am like really honored to
be able to. I guess they're they're you know, current drummer or whatever
was unavailable, and I guess they contacted you, Ken and said, do
you think you know your drummer would want to fill in? And you asked
me, and I said what I want, I'd be yeah. You know.
It's it's funny because a couple of months ago, you know, when
you were told me about playing Uh. I can't speak for Neil, but
I hadn't really played out with a band for about even nine months, and
Neil and I were both talking about like, you know, breaking the Rust
office, you know, and we went from that to playing the New York
City Marathon about a month ago, and nothing like playing eight hours off and
on over the course of the day to really get your your game back on.
So I knew when Bobby's wife Diana said, you know, would your
drummer be interested? I was like, oh, I know, I know
the answer to this one. I ran by Neil and it was like,
you know, he was ready, pribed and ready to go, and it's
just great. He's he's going over the songs with them right now. We
might even get a live rehearsal or two. But even if he doesn't,
these guys are going to hit the ground running their old season pros. So
I can hardly wait to hear what they sound like, you know, and
let me say that that that Bobby Steele and the Undead. Bobby Steele was
also a member of the legendary punk band The Misfits back in their heyday,
back in you know, the late seventies. So to me, this is
like, you know, like a dream come true. This is like,
you know, well, if you ever see the legendary documentary called American Hardcore,
Bobby Steele's a whole log of that, you know, it's I had
a horror band member, or to give me a holler from halfway across the
United States going oh my god, there's Bobby Steele. You know. You
know, I saw him in the theater and I was like that, you
know, that's the guy who shows up almost every year for Blankfest, and
in his first year he showed up. We were actually broadcasting on Internet radio
for iHeartRadio the live show. I thought that at the stage we got overloaded
so much. Everything crash, It crashed the internet connection. Yeah, I
remember that. I remember that. Yeah. So who else do we have?
Ken? I know you have quite a few outstanding performers. Let's let's
plug them, let's get more over. Well, we also have Patty Rothbert,
she of our EI label, who also played the Tonight Show with The
David Letterman Show. She's guest VJD on MTV. She's toured with the Black
Crows in Japan. She's got a pretty pretty strong, strong background. But
even if it wasn't for that, we knew each other before she was signed,
when we were both playing Stevie Gimi together. And I've always thought the
world for as far as being a front person, a songwriter or a really
great songwriter in her own right. And she's a multi instrumentalist. So she
is going to be back again. She couldn't make the first Blankfest because she
was touring Japan, but she did make Blankfest two in nineteen ninety eight.
She's been with us ever since. Moving on. If you're from the Hudson
Valley, or even if you're not, if you're from Europe, or you're
from Japan, or if you're from Wheeling, West Virginia, or if you're
from California. A great touring band is called Joe Durso in Stone Caravan.
Joe Drso. I've known him since I was a kid. He went to
high school with my sister Jen. Great, great guy and actually one of
the co owners of the new reborn CBGBI in the mid two thousands. Joe
Drso on Stone Caravan. They do the Light of Day tour in Europe every
year. I think he's in Belgium right now, even as we speak,
as we're taping this program. I believe, as a matter of fact,
I was able to nail him down for the show and he actually uh,
I got to be said, there's a little bit of a time deferential.
I think at the time he was in the UK. Now he's in Belgium.
But he comes like right off the road. There's been there's been blank
fests where he's literally gotten off the plane, gotten in a car service and
they dumped him in front of the club and he walked in. They handed
him a guitar, and up he went and did his thing. So we're
really psyched that he's there. You heard me talk about the horse you rode
in on that is with Chuck to Brune and Lance McVicker and I know I'm
forgetting some names. And Joel Joel Finn on bass, Joel find drummer,
the great drummer. I can't remember his name. Oh my god, this
is where I need to do my homework. We also have singer songwriter Sharry
Dall. The last I checked, she was coming in from Connecticut, although
she might have relocated back to native New York City. Uh Nuns and posers.
John Rerick is another strong musician. He was with the band back in
the late eighties early nineties Fall Kablama Chunk, and they were fantastic. They
used to blow the doors off every place they played. The Guests are an
acoustic trio that do some incredible harmonies together. Actually, Bobby Still's daughter,
Hannah is one of the lead vocalists of the Guests, and they actually last
year because of some logistics problems, Bobby and crew couldn't make it, but
Hannah felt so bad she had Diana driver out to the club and she came
up she did. She did was one song or too. She did two
songs, yeah, including this her very very moving rendition of Hallelujah. So
you know again. I can't say enough good things about her and the rest
of the group. Sophia McClue played for the first time. I believe it
was last year, and we recruited her at the last minute and we were
just so glad to get her on the stage. She's another talented singer songwriter.
I'm sure you're gonna be blown away by her. Ross Byron is a
seasoned veteran who used to have a celebrated cable TV show on the Manhattan News
Network, and I've known him going back well over twenty years. When he
asked if he could be a part of this, I leapt at the opportunity
to have him on board. Tim o'donniue is on Red Schoolhouse Records. He's
a label mate with Joe Derso from years past. He's got a great earthy
roots rock sound, a little bit of country mixed in. Very very talented
singer songwunter. Plus he's part of the o'donahue family. And if anybody's from
Nia, they know how important the o'donne, who's are to Nayak's cultural impact?
I loved him. He's just good people. Donald Sabasnik He's He's another
one of our friends from New York City, a great singer songwriter. I
tell him this all the time. He always reminds me of Blue Red.
He's just got that visceral kind of owth to them. And Count of Nine
is gonna be on with them as well. There is not enough good things
I can say about Joe Dugan and his lovely, lovely wife, Abbey Mills
Dugan. I've known them going back twenty twenty five years. As a matter
of fact, he played drums on one song that Neil couldn't make the recording
session for. It's another one of our Christmas tunes called let It Be Happy.
The video for that we did at their home. Oh God, let's
go back about five or six years ago. Just a great people, great
band. They've always got, plus interesting takes on cover tunes that you've ever
heard, plus some really really cool synth driven originals. Michael G. Potter,
You're gonna love this. Michael G. Potter does a regular gig at
Strawberry Fields in the Central Park. He will play live all the time,
and he has gotten a dedicated loyal following that shows up just to hear him
play. And one day Michael Moore recorded him on his iPhone and just broadcasted
out on his Instagram. So Michael G. Potter and Michael Moore go hand
in hand for this one. And then finally we've got our very special guest,
David Tanner, who is a seasoned veteran of the promotions of business in
New York City, but he started life as a musician and occasionally he'll grab
his buddy Jesse's guitar, and his buddy Jesse passed away unfortunately several years ago
and left him a spender stratt. David gets up and he does some songs
that he's written from his heart, and we feel very very fortunate that we're
able to get him up for a rare public appearance. And the real cool
part is whenever David plays, he brings his entire family. By the way,
the first year I was with Yvonne, she was right we celebrated our
first month anniversary as a couple. She was literally sitting on my lap in
the front of David Tanner's van as we are a hustling equipment for the bronx
U Tanayak to do this show. So far, that's what we have.
We actually have a few more that are warming up in the bullpen, but
we can't mention any names yet because it's not a done deal. But right
now, counting all of them and the bag Daddio's Andy Vaughne, we've got
sixteen x ready to roll. It's an incredible lineup of a full day of
music at the Hudson House of Nayak the seventeenth of December blank Fest. Bring
a blanket. You won't regret it. I never miss it. I don't
in the twenty seven years. I may have missed a feudive because I was
on assignment. But if I'm here, I'm going to be there, you
know. And it's it's just a great thing because it's like not giving something
for nothing. You're getting something out of it. You're getting some great entertainment.
You get to do a good thing for the price of a blanket.
I mean that that's some good stuff. Guys. Before we go to the
break, I want to bring Yvonne in for a little spoken word. Uh
and uh here our contribution. I know she contributes her talents as well to
blankfest So what can we hear from you now, Yvonne? Please? I
don't know, Neil, Why do we have cute up first? Anything you
want? Oh, he's the mailman. That's why he delivers. You ask,
you ask and he delivers. Not necessarily me, but you guys can
Neil is such an MP three for a song. We haven't done a video
for her yet. By the way, if you take Yvonne's name and put
it in YouTube and it's spelled like the Supreme Court justice s O t O
M A y O R spermor uh Yvonne with a Y, you will see
a bunch of poetry videos basically music videos that you know, uh are are
for spoken word. But she has one Christmas video out there, but we
figured we wanted to keep it festive. There's another poetry video we're working on
right now. It's what's what's it's called? It's called uh Yeah you have
you have the lyrics right in front of us Christmas in New York City,
and oddly enough, it's shut to a bagatio nostalgic Christmas. I want to
have that, don't want to how that happened when you exchange bows. You
know. Well, if I'm what which what? What? What are we
going to hear? Set it up for us? Okay, So this first
poem is called Nostalgic Christmas. It's about Christmas in the city, which is
again where Ken and I met, where we've worked, where we've lived,
and going back to businesses we moved a little further up north. It was
a different perspective and it felt different, and I really realized how much I
miss and all the details that make up Christmas in the city, and so
I decided to to write about it. Write write about the rockets, and
the cathedral, and the lights and and of course the lighting of the Christmas
tree. And I don't know if we had said this before or not,
but I'm a bilingual poet, so what I write in English, I translate
to Spanish. So if I may say a few words in Spanish to the
hopefully a few Spanish listeners in rockland Inglis's show Domingo, the same thing.
The Hudson House Kaestn. Main Street, Nayaka is the inglist is a Yemma
blankfest Is, Glamu's Pondos met this song and Cutson House in Nayaka, and
so here we go with nostalgia Christmas Christmas with green and red ribbons going straight
to my heart, the warmth and the chuckles music to my long years.
I'd almost forgotten such joy and good year. Kids running around in circles singing
Halleljah. I stand in its energy as the skaters go by, and lovers
proposed by the Rockefeller trip as hot chocolate is simpically flopping windows onto the Grand
Cathedral filled with the leaf and hope, giving respite to the cold admirers rushing
in and clutching trendy bags and chocolates. Back outside to the storefronts with magical
light, shoes full on display, filling the night as noisy crowds with merry
music and carold We all know from heading down to the Midtown where a center
nerve pulses, it's a band of beautiful ladies dancing and kicking and synchronous charm.
Further down to the windows made famous in name, each a special Christmas
scene, all different for stilling theme the same. It's Christmas, Christmas everywhere,
It's Christmas again. Can't wait till next years. Naida Consinta verde viloas
the end, the director Corra soon, el calori, lassas music, Caparami,
solidos, aciosus, Cassirio, Viravo, tante ria, buen animos,
Ninos, corin and circulos, cantando al Luja, my parents, son and
Tia, miter Ros, Patine, Lores, parsan los, amants, popon
and hunto largo, rocket teller, he interest vere, Chocola de galin,
resilas, bantanas, Corniola, Ala Ran cathedral, vamos Eno, the fay
esperanza, Dando espiralos a milores, Leorentos and Tandrie Garando bols have them.
Mona is the mother. There were the puer looses, caparades, caned,
spectaculus, the looses, macibos, infantire, completa, Ernando, las vidos
as multiculoci co musical and sikos gitos are Hindo c Santa la suda don the
nervious central pulsa as Navan, the most damas by land, Patieno, Couni,
cantos, Synchronisao masaba, colasanas, h as famosa and number calunas sen
and especiali those differentis braun and elmis montemas Navida Navida and thas parties is Navida
de Nuego, Noma want past Proximolia. That was Ivon so To Mayor with
Nostalgic Christmas. Here on the Being Frank Holiday Extravaganza with my guest Ken rowll
Ivon Sat Tomayor and Neil Richter. We're talking about Blankfest, the twenty seventh
year of the fundraiser called Blankfest, a full day of music from twelve noon
to twelve midnight at the Hudson House, Main Street, Nayak on the seventeenth
of December. It's great fun. It's free. The only admission is a
blanket. We're gonna take a quick break. When we come back, we'll
have some more music, some more conversation. I'm talking about Blankfest and the
holidays and so much more Here on Being Frank. Don't go anywhere yet,
We'll be right back Hudson River Radio dot com. Bring a dash of green
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a movie Hudsonriverradio dot com. We're so good we don't need a transmitter.
Welcome back to Being Frank the Intelligent Conversation Podcast. It's the Extravaganza program.
Thanks for sticking with us. I'm your host, Frank Lebono. We're talking
blank Fest, the twenty seven year ongoing day of music and revelry at the
Hudson House on Main Street in Nayak. The only price of admission here a
full day of music and revelry, is to bring a blanket or two.
My guests are people who are so heavily involved in Blankfest. The originator,
the creator, the driving force. Mister ken Row, a poet and new
to our show and always welcome. Ivon so to Mayor and the mail man
who's always with us. Neil Richter, our engineer, is also a drummer
with the Bagdaddios, the house band for Blankfest. Again, we will remind
you that that's coming up on the seventeenth of December. That's a Sunday at
noon and it goes all the way to midnight. I want to remind you
that we bring our audience a fresh topic every week, premiering on Thursday nights
here at Being Frank. We stream from Hudson River Radio, located in beautiful
and historic Stony Point, New York. But you can catch Being Frank anywhere
you get your favorite podcasts like Apple, Spotify, iHeartRadio and all the others.
And because every Being Frank is archives, you can listen to any of
our programs any time you like. That's why we always give you a date
so you can have some context as to when we're actually recording our program.
You can find the link to Being Frank on the Hudson River Radio Facebook page
or at our website Hudsonriverradio dot com. Just click and you're there. Leave
us a comment and please consider subscribing to the podcast, and if you really
like us share being frank with your family and friends. All right, let's
get back to having some intelligent fun. We're listening to some music, some
spoken word, and the more we get to listen to that, the less
you have to listen to me. So let's uh, I think we've got
another tune queue up by Neil. Why don't you tell us a little bit
about this one coming up? Ken rawl Christmas at CBGB's pretty self explanatory,
but it conjures up quite the image for me. Tell us a little bit
about this song, Ken, Well, CBGV was our home away from home.
The third show of the back Daddy has ever did was at CBGB.
It was December first. As a matter of fact, I think it was
ninety Neil was ninety two or ninety three, ninety two, I believe,
Yeah, late late ninety two. You guys are old. I wasn't only
like two at that time. We had fake ID It's okay, I was,
but we're talking on Q there. But yeah, I mean CBGB was
just our spiritual place. It was the only place where filter at home.
And don't get me wrong, I mean we're proud of the fact that we're
from the Hudson Valley Naic and all. But you know, we'd go when
we'd play like three Originals that have like ten songs in a set, and
people would be like, you know, you know, you're a little too
top heavy and the Originals here. We'd go down in New York City and
it would be like the other way around. We'd play eight songs and we'd
do like two covers and they'd be like, you know, you're playing way
too many covers. So they really put the axe out of the original stuff.
And Hilly, who owned CV, was one of the sweetest, at
least to us anyway, most accepting people that would just you know, invite
us up all the time to go and do some shows. Louisa booked.
The bands would always seem to give us a really nice spot, and we
just enjoyed what we were doing so thoroughly. So one day, I'm living
in a basement apartment in Nayak and I just woke up. It was the
middle of July. It was like one hundred degrees out. Don't even ask
me why, but I woke up and I just started singing Christmas at CBGMI
and I just ran to the foot of my bed, grabbed a guitar and
wrote the whole song and walked into the studio that night and said I got
a new one. And we recorded it right there on the spot. And
we didn't think we could get a video done for it until we met a
great guy named Fred Rawls out of Connecticut, no relations, out of Connecticut,
who did animation for Showtime HBO, and he was with a band cold
Ill review I think it was cold, And he did a cartoon video for
us, and that's which you'll find out on YouTube if you look up this
song, so I won't talk no more. You can play it all right,
Well, it conjures up an image. Even if you can't see it,
you can hear it. Make up your own image of Christmas at CBG's
recorded in July. By the way, Hen Raoul and the bed Daddy got
from the con Man and the beer on the bone, that's a bucket in
the Colly Master back home a home, that's a d He was sitting about
the doll smile and he said, I'm about the sunny. So he had
a good preach. This morning. We got ten bricks, back book,
the boments, got something to go to a watch, got clean and d
and I get some all the prints like the turned on the monory on the
water, Louis like the cover she always wanted to want to go until he's
getting in the corner. I make the bed a mark w subject the shot
out and I went until the start y's got the turn when that cos the
mom's got some everyone's got crushes out. Seeing here with all the friends,
I knows the things back the same here, don't very know we got he
don't see them knowing, and I guess even better go I said that the
amazing and a pretty colored rose see because it's nothing mes that make good that
you don't do really has got back both the moments got somes not great,
and I can't get some psid BSI knows that say that. How so every
good night lest a couple of Louise. This guy gonna three life not copy
fine and SENSI sky not Christmas Now it makes perfect sense. Christmas at CBGB's
with the bag Daddy os with Neil Richard that you want the drums there.
Full full disclosure. I didn't play on that track. It was it was
July. I was at the beach. I wasn't you know, good for
you. Well, let's the bag Daddy. O's the house band for blank
Fest, a full day of music and revelry whose ultimate goal is to bring
free blankets to the homeless in New York City. It occurs on the seventeenth
of December. That's a Sunday, starts at noon, goes to midnight with
just so many great musical acts, all for free. Just bring a blanket.
You can eat at the wonderful Hudson House. The food is terrific.
There'll be a cash bar. I'll be there, friends will be there,
great music will be there. Why don't you join us? Just bring a
blanket. We only have a few minutes left, and I want to hear
more from Yvonne. I want to hear some more poetry. So let's queue
one up and Yvonne, what can we hear from you to help close our
program? Oh? Thank you? Well, this last one is called I
Am, which is kind of there's like an anthem for everyone to be proud
of who they are, and it also mentions, you know, with our
heart and home. And that also ties into Blankfest because we do distribute blankets
on Christmas Eve every year for the homeless, and like Neil had said earlier.
It is direct, there's no middleman. We actually go out there and
get out of our cars and deliver the blankets to the homeless, hands in
hands. The other part of what I'd like to say of I am,
besides that it's also in Spanish, as I am a bilingual poet, is
that I am very proudly, very happily and very lovingly missus raul So,
not just the bilingual house poet for Blankfast, but I am his wife.
And since twenty twelve we've been together doing this as boyfriend girlfriend and my husband
and wife. And though I sometimes proclaim it in truth our Elliday because it
is exhausting to be out overnight, you know, from Christmas Eve to Christmas
Day, it is a very kind, sweet thing to do. And this
is actually what showed me is heart. So I am this is row.
I am very proud. I am thankful to you, to your podcast and
Nyell to everyone. The bat dliosos so dealing with King Hudson House is there,
then amos novos is so this is a King Hudson house and I will
limos thank you so much when you can find me in Yvonne Poeta p O
e t A dot m y c of course on all the social media.
And we have videos as well made by my own back Dadio here which has
his music, his original music as backing for my poetry. So let's say,
all right, let's let's do. I am by ivonne sotomayor without force
or calm, without beast or burden, without smile or laughter. I am
without fault or blame, without wins or loss, without heart or home.
I am without coin a dollar, without sight, or I am without fear
or worry, without anger or bless. I am without you or me,
without subtleties, without shame, okay, I am without loneliness or it hurts
without blood or tears. I am I am, I am h h sin
posa la calba sinvestia okarga sincen risa la risa gee soy singh coupaupa visa singha
answers of las sinoga ocassa George soy see moneta o dollar sina pus ladda gee
soy sintmro pre coopers sine novo la felina Joe sooy sinhi omi sin supulesa slone
Joe soy sin soil all alone Sin Sanlamas, Joe Soi, Joe Soi,
Jojoji Wow. Just just one small example of some of the great entertainment you
can catch on the seventeenth of December. That's a Sunday at Blankfest, a
full day of music and revelry whose ultimate goal is to bring free blankets to
the homeless in New York City. It's at the Hudson House of Nayak,
which is right on Main Street. I'd like to thank our wonderful guests for
their time this evening, mister can Rowl, Miss Ivan so Tomyo, you
are in the mailman, mister Neil Richter. And of course we offer special
thanks to our listeners who take time to give us a voice in their lives.
Remember we offer fresh topic every week and you can catch us wherever and
whenever you get your favorite podcasts like Apple, Spotify, iHeartRadio, Speaker and
more. You can also check us out on the Hudson River Radio Facebook page.
Like us, leave us a comment. We also ask that you consider
sharing being frank with others. I'd like to mention one more date for charity
event that's really wonderful and again you get something forgiving something and that's on Monday,
the twelfth of December. It's called Getting Saucy. It's a fundraiser for
Rockland County's largest food bank. People to People, where celebrity chefs will cook
up there special homemade sauces. I happen to be one of them. Of
course, I believe mine is the best. But you guys go. It's
at the Nayak again in Nayak, New York. That's on Monday evening.
I believe it starts at six pm on the eleventh. Go taste my sauce,
eat some spaghetti, and raise some money for a great cause. People
to People. I'd like to leave you with two small things. One is
a quote from Winston Churchill. It's one of my favorites, and I think
it's very appropriate for our program in this time of year, and it says,
we make a living by what we get, but we make a life
by what we give. Remember that, folks, especially at this time of
year, when giving is so important. We'll leave you with a classic by
the bag Daddy Os. Their version of felis Navedad. I'm your host,
Frank Lebarma. This has been being Frank, and we sure hope to see
you next time? What please me time when medid please do me? Do
it? Dad? I want to see one Mary Christmas. Wanta less see
one that Christmas? W see one that a bottle? My mom? Please
have me? God release me, job release DoD? What about a god?
Wady s did by good Dad? About any god? One Christmas?
I want one that is Christmas? Why do I see one? Marry Chris
pa? Wannabo Christmas? What do I see on that Chris my photo on
my glacis waz this Hudson River Radio dot com