February 2012

Rock and Roll Diary

February was a great month of live music and shows.  There was a new venue to play and the return to a venue that I haven't played in years.  I had a show in Boston and Providence and many points in between.  At the shows I met some nice folks and enjoyed the company of good friends.

New Venue

I played at a new venue in Hingham, Mass in February.

Zendo is an Asian Bistro in the Hingham Shipyard shops.

The place has a very nice atmosphere.  I enjoyed playing there.

If you are in the area check out Zendo.

Happy Returns

I returned to JP Ryan's in Abington for a show in February and have some more shows booked in the coming months.

I hadn't played there in a couple years. 

It was a fun night.

I also played at JP Greer's in Weymouth in February.  

It had been a while since playing there.

Definitively a fun night.

Some more gigs are booked at JP Greer's in 2012.

I had a Sunday night show at Cappy's Tavern in Hyde Park.

It was a fun night.

More shows scheduled at Cappy's Tavern later in the year.

I played at McGuiggan's Pub in February

My friend Cheryl made a cameo appearance and sang an awesome tune for the folks there.

More shows booked through the year at McGuiggan's Pub

It was another fun Sunday Funday at Hajjar's in Weymouth in February.  

And More Fun Shows

I also had fun shows at ...

Chubby's Bar in North Providence

St John's Athletic Club in Fall River

KC's Pub in Weymouth

O'Toole's in Whitman

Thankful for another great month of making music.  Music makes life better.

January 2012

Rock and Roll Diary

Chubby's Bar

The first gig of the year was at Chubby's Bar in North Providence, RI.

I enjoy playing at Chubby's Bar and have met some really great folks there.  I am glad to have bookings throughout the year at Chubby's Bar in 2012.  Here is a link to Chubby's Bar on the map.

More pics from the January show at Chubby's Bar are online here.

Damien's Pub

I had a really fun show at Damien's Pub in Hanson in January.

My friend Mark came out for the show with his buds Tom and Bob along with the ladies.  Mark has a great Karaoke act and is also the bass player for a killer band called Tomato Jonez.  If you get a change to check them out do it.  They play at Damien's and other venues that I play at.  It was great to see Mark at a gig because I know how busy he is with his own music.  Great to see Tommy and Bob and the ladies too because we have had a lot of fun nights at Damien's Pub.  Mark got up and did a great rendition of Sweet Caroline.   A bunch of friends came out for this show.  Really fun times at Damien's Pub.  They have the best pizza in town and the coldest beer. More pics from the night are online here.

Sunday Funday at Hajjar's

I was lucky to land a Sunday evening gig at Hajjar's in Weymouth.  I have had some fun nights there. There is a fun group of folks who hang there on Sunday evenings and Hajjar's is a place where people love to dance.

Pictures from Sunday Funday at Hajjar's

The second half of January was one big birthday celebration!

Fat Cactus (Lynnfield)

There was a scheduling mix up in January.  I thought I was booked at The Fat Cactus in Randolph when really I was booked at The Fat Cactus in Lynnfield.  To my surprise when I finally got set up in Lynnfield a bunch of friends walked in and it turned into a surprise birthday party.  My friend Dennis did the honors of playing the guitar and leading the place in the Happy Birthday song.

It was a great night.  More pics from the show at The Fat Cactus are online here.

Cappy's Tavern

I played a fun Sunday night gig at Cappy's Tavern in the Hyde Park section of Boston, Mass.

I have just started playing at Cappy's Tavern recently and I really like the place.  I have some weekend gigs booked there later in the year.

More pics from the January show at Cappy's Tavern online here.

KC's Pub

I played a fun gig at KC's Pub in Weymouth, Mass.

KC's is on RT 53.  It is a little bit hidden and back from the road.  Here it is on the map.

KC's is a cool place to hang out for a bite to eat and a drink.  

I play there once a month.

More pics from the gig at KC's Pub are online here.

Red Rose Cafe

I played a gig with my friend Chrissy White at The Red Rose Cafe in Weymouth, Mass.  

Chrissy sings and plays a mean flute.

It was a great gig.

A very fun night.

More pics from the gig at The Red Rose Cafe are online here.

Fore River Grille

I played a Thursday night gig at The Fore River Grill in North Weymouth, Mass.

This was my first time playing at this venue under the new ownership.  They did a great job remaking the place.  Hoping for some more gigs at The Fore River Grille.

More pics from the Fore River Grille gig are available online here.

Swan Song at The Chateau

I played my last gig at The Chateau (Stoughton) in January.  They have decided to discontinue the live music.  I appreciate that I had the chance to play at The Chateau while they were having music.

I enjoyed playing there and especially the great folks I met there.  

I will miss them.

More pics from the last show at The Chateau are online here.

McGuiggan's Pub

I had a great gig at McGuiggan's Pub in Whitman in January.

Folks danced and it was a really fun night.

I also was surprised to receive an awesome gift from my friends that night.  A tee-shirt with a guitar and one of my mottos on it 'Music Makes Life Better' and on the back it says "I Love My Job' :-)

More pics from the show at McGuiggan's are online here.

Sunday Funday at O'Toole's

The last show of the month was at O'Toole's Pub.

This was my first time playing a Sunday evening gig at O'Toole's. It went great!

O'Toole's is on Raynor Ave in Whitman Mass.  Fun times at O'Toole's!

More pics from the gig at O'Toole's are online here.

The Year Ahead

Rock and Roll Diary

The Year Ahead

After reflecting on the year that has passed it is good to look ahead and set some goals.

Birthday Weekend

I will be celebrating my birthday in January at two shows in Weymouth Mass.  The shows are at KC's Pub on Friday Jan 20th and The Red Rose Cafe on Jan 21st.

One Thousand Shows

I don't have a specific date when I will hit the one thousand show mark but I have roughly figured based on past shows and current bookings that it will be in December of 2012.  Looking for ideas for how to best observe that milestone.

Booked 

Much of the year ahead has already been booked.  I have shows scheduled at a lot of fun venues.  See the map...


View A Map Of Where Jimmy Plays in a larger map

St Patrick's Day

I will be playing in Whtiman Mass on St Patrick's Day.  An early evening show is scheduled at O'Toole's on Raynor Ave.  Later in the evening I will be playing at McGuiggan's Pub.

Cinco De Mayo

Looking forward to having a fun Cinco De Mayo show this year at The Fat Cactus in Randolph.

Summer

Looking forward to another great summer this year.  I am scheduled to play again Saturday afternoon's at Daddy's Beach Club at Nantasket Beach.  I also have some Sunday afternoon shows planned for The Fat Cactus on RT 1 (Saugus/Lynfield).  They have an awesome open air patio that will be great for performing.

Also hoping that things work out to play again down the Cape this summer at The Sand Dollar Bar.


Other Goals

It's been a while since I have released a CD. My goal is to record two CD's this year.  The first one I want to produce will be traditional Irish music.  The goal is to have this ready for St Patty's Day.  The other CD will be a new all original CD and I hope to release it this Fall.  The goal is also to get some videos put together to help promote some of the songs.

There is a charitable cause that I hope to help out by organizing a benefit show this year.  Stay tuned for more info on that.

Here's to a year full of live music!  Music makes life better!

Peace, Love, and Live Music,
-Jimmy

Looking Back At 2011

Rock and Roll Diary

Looking Back

In retrospect 2011 was an amazing year of making music and good times.  I am fortunate for all the opportunities to make music and entertain folks.  So many good times were had.  I played over 150 shows.  There were so many memorable moments.  This blog is just a sampling of the shows I played at public events.  There were some awesome private occasions too in 2011.

First Show

The first show of the year was at Damien's Pub.

I love playing at Damien's.

I was able to play there the night my friend Kathy celebrated her birthday.

More shows throughout 2012 scheduled at Damien's!

A Great Birthday Celebration

I celebrated my birthday playing music at McGuiggan's Pub in Whitman.  It was a great night.  I really felt celebrated.

More shows scheduled at McGuiggan's in 2012.

Live On FM Radio

I had a couple live appearances on the FM radio in 2011.  One performance  at The Tinker's Son in Norwell was broadcast on WATD 95.9 FM.

St Patrick's Day

One of my favorite shows of the year is when I play on St Patrick's Day.

Everyone is Irish on St Patty's.  In 2011 I played at O'Toole's Pub in Whitman.   More shows booked at O'Toole's in Whitman in 2012!

When One Door Closes...

Said farewell to a great venue in 2011.  There were some legendary sing a longs at the Piccadilly Pub in Randolph.  I met a bunch of awesome people there.

One show was a informal reunion of some Braintree High School kids.  I have had a lot of fun with them since meeting them at The Pic.

Thankfully the friendships made there are lasting longer than the venue did.  When one door closes another one opens.  I am now performing at both Fat Cactus locations as a result of having played at 'The Pic.'

The last show there was in April.

Awesome Summer

Summer is a great time for music and the summer of 2011 had a lot of great times.

 I played a number of times at Daddy's Beach Club at Nantasket Beach.

I played during the afternoon and early evening.

Daddy's is right at the beach and has a great view of the ocean.

You can eat, drink, listen to tunes and take in the sights all at the same time.  Scheduled to play Saturday afternoons at Daddy's Beach Club in 2012.

Fun Times on Cape Cod

Made my first foray into playing on Cape Cod in 2011.

I had a weekly engagement at The Sand Dollar Bar in Dennisport MA.

This included a fantastic July 4th performance.  

Another new thing was the billing at The Sand Dollar Bar was a country night.

Hoping to return to play at The Sand Dollar Bar in 2012.

Wedding in Newport

I played for a nice wedding ceremony in Newport RI along with my friend Dean Plowman.

KC's Pub

I played regularly at KC's Pub in Weymouth Mass during 2011 and had a lot of fun times.

I have more gigs scheduled in 2012 at KC's Pub.

I will be playing there once a month in 2012.

I Knew If I Had My Chance I Could Make Those People Dance

Its really great when folks dance especially when performing with just a solo acoustic act.  I am thankful for all the people who 'chose to dance' in 2011.

Chubby's Bar

My musical adventures brought me to North Providence RI a number of times in 2011.  I play at a fun place called Chubby's Bar.  More shows booked at Chubby's in 2012.

I played at Chubby's for a fun Halloween party in 2011.

St John's Athletic Club

I played regularly in Fall River Mass in 2011 at St John's Athletic Club.  People get up and sing along and they request great classic rock songs there.  I always feel among friends when I play there.

More shows scheduled for 2012 at St John's Athletic Club.

The Chateau 

Started playing at a couple new venues in 2011.  One was The Chateau in Stoughton, Mass.  Its a dinner crowd at the beginning of the evening so I usually play mellow tunes at first.  Later in the night I can 'let my hair down.' :-)

Some shows scheduled in 2012 at The Chateau!

Cappy's Tavern

Another new venue for me was Cappy's Tavern in Hyde Park, Boston.  More gigs booked in 2012 at Cappy's.

The Red Rose Cafe

Another new venue for me in 2011 was the Red Rose Cafe in Weymouth.

I played there for Halloween weekend.  More shows planned at The Red Rose Cafe in 2012.

Fat Cactus (Randolph and Lynnfield)

I started playing at the Fat Cactus in Randolph and in Lynnfield (on RT1 just north of Saugus)

Looking forward to more fun times at the Fat Cactus in both locations in 2012.

Paddy Barry's

I played a couple fun gigs at the greatest little pub in the world, Paddy Barry's in Quincy Mass.

Chilihead BBQ

I played a couple of fun gigs at The Chilihead BBQ in West Bridgewater.  A couple of shows are booked for the Summer at Chilihead BBQ.

Steve's Backstage Pass

I did a Wednesday night acoustic series show at Steve's Backstage Pass in Taunton, Mass.

Sunday Funday at Hajjar's

I was fortunate to be able to play some Sunday evening shows at Hajjar's in Weymouth Mass in 2011.  One of the most memorable moments of the year was at a 'Sunday Funday' at Hajjar's.  I was playing the volcano song and folks started a conga line.  Before long everyone was in the line.  Then I noticed the bar tender run and get in the line.  So I sampled a verse and chorus of the song AND I GOT IN THE LINE TOO! :-)

I was lucky to have my friend Chrissy White play flute and sing with me at one of the Sunday fundays.

Stay tuned for more Sunday fundays at Hajjar's and other venues in 2012

Slap Shotz

I played a number of times at Slap Shotz in Avon Mass.

Some awesome times at Slapshotz.  I had the great pleasure to perform for my friend Kim's birthday there.

More shows booked at Slapshotz in 2012.

JP Greer's

I played a number of fun shows at JP Greer's in Weymouth Mass.

I had some really fun nights there in 2011.

Stepping Stones

I played a few shows at Stepping Stones in Carver Mass.

Stepping Stones is a hidden jewel of a bar.  

Definitely some fun times at Stepping Stones in 2011.

Flat Iron Cafe

I a played a few shows at The Flat Iron Cafe in Middleboro at the beginning of the year.

Quincy Elks

In June I played a show at the Quincy Elks.

Louis Crossing

I played at Louis Crossing a number of times in 2011.

Louis Crossing is in Houghs Neck, Quincy.

Four Square

I played a really fun show at Four Square in Braintree/Weymouth.

Chili-fest at The Commonwealth

I played for the annual chili-fest at The Commonwealth in Quincy Mass.  I played the event along with my friend Mike Shea,

I like when I get the chance to play shows in Quincy.

In Memoriam

As I reflect on the year one sad note was the passing of my friend Ronnie.  I had the pleasure of his company along with his dear wife Sue and friends at many shows during the year.  Ronnie's years were cut way too short and he is missed.  He exemplified to me that saying that you want to live each day to its fullest.  I admired Ronnie most because he achieved something that many people never do, a loving relationship that is eternal.

Thank You

Thank you to everyone who came out to shows during the year to enjoy some live music and have some fun.  You are the reason I am able to play so many places and be a part of so many good times.

Peace, Love and Live Music,
-Jimmy