GRATEFUL DEAD night monthly with GLJB @ the Brass every 3rd Friday
June 14, 2010 by chrisk
Filed under All Blogs, Announcements, Event Reviews, Featured
After a successful celebration of the birthday of Grateful Dead leader, Jerry Garcia, last month at the Brass Lantern, the members of the Good Lovin’ Jam Band (GLJB) were asked to return for a monthly residency.
Every third Friday until 2010 (or beyond), starting this Friday at 9pm, PlusVibes Productions is especially proud to establish a consistent monthly spotlight on Grateful Dead music once again in Reading, at the Brass Lantern.
It’s been some years since the likes of Grateful Dead cover bands such as Living Earth, Double Dose, and Solar Circus (just to name a few) frequented the Reading area in small clubs like the Brass Lantern, Mr. Charlie’s, The Strand, and Top of the ROC (all but the Brass have long since closed). With all of those bands dissipating over the years it has been extremely difficult to find a solid replacement until now.
The Good Lovin’ Jam Band has filled the shoes of its predecessors in providing a complete show for Grateful Dead fans, starting off with a set by Pangea Acoustic, a set by Neo Trio, and ending with combination of both openers to form the Good Lovin’ Jam Band for two full sets.
It’s a 4-set night of magical music in tribute to a band that’s influenced the ears of happy-hippie listeners since the 1960′s – the Grateful Dead. We’re sure that all Deadheads will be satisfied in the right on performance that the Good Lovin’ Jam Band provides each and every show.
Take a listen or download the GLJB show from August here.
Here’s all the information:
The Good Lovin’ Jam Band
every third Friday at the Brass Lantern
featuring Pangea Acoustic & Neo Trio
9pm – 2am
21+ only
$5 at the door
Friday, May 21st
Friday, June 18th
Friday, July 16th
Friday, August 20th
The Brass Lantern offers:
- $2.50 domestic drafts, $6.50 pitchers
- $3 Jager, Rumplemintz, Blackhaus, & other shots
- Wings, Burgers, Nachos, Patty Melts, Salads, & more
- Kitchen open until 9:45pm!
- Friendly service & great overall vibe
+VIBES joins Berks Jazz Fest ’10 – hosts Grammy winnner
February 5, 2010 by chrisk
Filed under All Blogs, Event Reviews
After many years of showing tribute to Berks Jazz Fest by hosting live jazz during the festival’s traditional days at the Brass Lantern, +VIBES has become a member of the Berks Jazz Fest in 2010 and together they will be bringing you two premiere (non-ticketed) events, each to be listed and promoted by all Berks Jazz Fest media outlets.
On Friday, March 19th, the very first day of events of Berks Jazz Fest, the Brass Lantern will feature its very first Grammy award winner on its stage in David Cullen, appearing with the Good Lovin’ Jamband, a Berks County bred Grateful Dead tribute band.
David Cullen is a world-reknown Classical guitarist and has won a Grammy Award for BEST POP INSTRUMENTAL RECORDING. He has performed with Will Ackerman, Samite, Michael Manring, Victor Wooten, The JacoBig Band and with members of the Philadelphia Orchestra. He earned his Bachelor of Music in Classical Guitar Performance from the Hartt School of Music.
David has performed throughout North America for Classical Guitar Societies, Jazz Festivals, and Performing Arts Series. He has released 9 CDs for the acoustic guitar label Solid Air Records and his recordings have been featured on NPR stations across America.
In honor of all that is jazz, David and the Good Lovin’ Jamband, whose drummer is David’s brother (Matty), will be performing a very special set in tribute to “Jazz Is Dead” in which the classic tunes of the Grateful Dead are performed all instrumental with a heavy jazz edge.
David has been known to play Grateful Dead tunes at local solo acoustic shows for many years in the Berks County area, and the combination of the full band with David leading on Classical guitar is mind-blowing. It will be a historic event for the Brass Lantern and PlusVibes Productions is extremely excited for this event!
On Saturday, March 20th, the Brass Lantern will be hosting Reading-native and another jazz-guitarist, Josh Taylor with his trio. Josh is a seasoned guitar veteran and is versed in many styles including jazz, blues, rock , bossa nova, Latin, and flamenco. He has played at various Berks County venues over the years, including gigs at Bixler’s Lodge, The Brass Lantern, The Inn at Reading Cabana Bar, and Gerald Veasley’s Jazz Base at the Crowne Plaza, and he has been involved with Berks Jazz Fest for many years – a time when his expertise can shine, and he can capture an audience on his very first note.
Josh is joined onstage by local stand-up bassist, Trey LaRue who is the full time bassist in The Kingpins, a self proclaimed “tortured, mean rockabilly” band also based in Berks County, and drummer John Fundyga, who plays in various projects including local veterans, John King’s Dance Band and the Ukrainian Club House Jazz Band.
We expect both nights to be fantastic nights with great crowds, so we recommend you get there early. We’ll have the fireplace stoked and the mood set to “jazz lounge” at the Brass Lantern for these and all shows during the Berks Jazz Fest celebration.
WE’VE JUST ADDED ANOTHER JAZZ FEST EVENT. The Dirk Quinn Band will be coming back, fresh off their latest tour, on THURSDAY, March 25th at 9pm.
Here’s all the information:
Berks Jazz Fest 2010
March 19th – 28th
Good Lovin’ Jamband @ The Brass Lantern
with very special guest, and Grammy-award winner,
David Cullen
Friday, March 19th, 2010
9pm – 2am
21+ only
$7 at the door
——– – ——– – ——– – ——– – ——– – ——–
the Josh Taylor Trio @ The Brass Lantern
Saturday, March 20th, 2010
9pm – 1am
21+ only
$6 at the door
——– – ——– – ——– – ——– – ——– – ——–
the Dirk Quinn Band @ The Brass Lantern
THURSDAY, March 25th, 2010
9pm – 1am
21+ only
$5 at the door
——– – ——– – ——– – ——– – ——– – ——–
The Brass Lantern offers:
- $2.50 domestic drafts, $6.50 pitchers
- $3 Jager, Rumplemintz, Blackhaus, Kettle, Stoli & other shots
- Wings, Burgers, Nachos, Patty Melts, Salads, & more
- Kitchen open until 11pm on weekends!
- Friendly service & great overall vibe
Jerry Garcia Birthday Bash, 8/1 @ the Brass
July 16, 2009 by chrisk
Filed under All Blogs, Event Reviews
In a posthumous celebration of guitar-icon, and Grateful Dead leader Jerry Garcia on Saturday, August 1st, the Brass Lantern is bringing together local veteran musicians bound together by one concept – keeping the music and the vibe of Garcia and the Grateful Dead fresh in the hearts and minds of the Deadheads in Berks County.
Nightmare Detective ipod Music and Lyrics dvd The concept is “a launch pad for improvisation. While respecting the original songs and lyrics of the Grateful Dead classic songbook,” [they] “ interpret the material in a new way every performance”, (from the Reading Eagle’s Spotlight on: Good Lovin’ Jam Band, 11/06/2008 The Blob full ).
The Good Lovin’ Jam Band is that concept. The “band” is unique, in that it actually consists of three bands – Pangea Acoustic, Neo Trio, and a “super group” combining members of the two groups to form the Good Lovin’ Jam Band Plaguers buy .
Formed in the summer of 2008, the players are Craig Burkey (bass, vocals), Matt Cullen (percussion), Dan Dolla (guitar, vocals), Cory Heller (keyboards, vocals), Brian Reppert (guitar, vocals) and there’s always some surprise guest artists.
Notable stops in their schedule include the Stonersville Hotel, The Alpenhof Guesthouse El Cid: The Legend full
, the “In and Out of the Garden We Go” Festival (Snipes Farm), JerryFest ’09 (Kempton), and they even headlined “Deadhead Night” at the Reading Phillies’ First Energy Stadium.
The show on Saturday, August 1st at the Brass Lantern epitomizes the concept to which they are sharing with their audiences. The birthday celebration will surely set the vibe as soon as you enter the building. We are asking that you wear either a tie-dyed shirt, a shirt with Jerry’s image or art on it, or a classic Dead concert shirt in Jerry’s memory.
Here’s all the information:
Jungle Cubs on dvd Jerry Garcia Birthday Bash
featuring the
Good Lovin’ Jam Band
Saturday, August 1st, 2009
10pm – 2am
21+ only
$5 at the door
– Sound & Lights provided by PlusVibes Productions
Hope to see you there.
On a side note, the GLJB will be performing every THIRD Friday at the Brass Lantern, starting Friday, September 18th at 10pm. This series has been one that the Brass Lantern has been wishing for since the days that Living Earth was a staple there.
End of an Era: The Brass Lantern To Change Ownership
Purchased by John and Ginger Ortiz in 1999, the Brass Lantern, located in the Northeast section of Reading, Pennsylvania, started off as your typical neighborhood bar and restaurant, with a standard American-style menu but focusing mainly on the [at that time] growing fascination with microbrews, which is simply another term for handcrafted beers produced in limited amounts (which varies by region).
The Brass Lantern featured seven different beers on draft and a massive bottled beer selection from microbreweries around the world. If you wanted a “good” beer in town, you came to Northeast Reading.
After building a successful clientele in a short amount of time, the Brass Lantern became a pioneer in the live original music scene in the Berks County area. They purchased an entire sound system, built a stage, and began showcasing the best musical talent in the area, such as Frog Holler, The Worms, The Youngers, Hexbelt, and Dakini. All these bands built a large part of their fan base at the Brass Lantern over the years.
With talent like those bands listed above, the Brass Lantern quickly fit the bill as “Berks County’s BEST Original Live Music” and they established themselves as THE venue to play in the area. This, in turn, brought the Brass Lantern to the attention of touring bands nation-wide, and they began to receive press kits and demos from bands around the country (so many that they filled an entire coat closet full of demo CDs!).
Acts such as Brothers Past, Townhall, Fat Mama, RAQ, The Recipe, and Lotus all had multiple successful shows at the Brass Lantern in the early part of the millenium before becoming headlining national touring bands.
By 2003 the Brass Lantern had caught the attention of NATIONAL touring acts and hosted maximum capacity shows with Michael Glabicki (of multi-platinum record selling band, Rusted Root) and Melvin Seals & JGB.
It was shortly after these shows when +VIBES founder, Chris Kratz came on staff at the Brass Lantern as a bartender and, by the end of that year, took over the booking responsibilities from the co-owner, John, who had booked all the phenomenal shows up until then (those were some big shoes to fill).
From there, it was full steam ahead for live music at the Brass Lantern, with shows two, three, four, and sometimes fives days a week for several years. It showcased THE premier artists (of ALL genres) in the jamband circuit, including Quagmire Swim Team, Alchemy, Jazzam, Cabinet, Living Earth, Future Rock, Jah Works, Pnuma Trio, BioDiesel, Boris Garcia, Kris Kehr & Julie Edlow, Juggling Suns, Family Groove Company, Natural Breakdown, U-Melt, Mike Miz, Codename, Bodega, Ronnie Penque (of New Riders of the Purple Sage), Jeff Bujak, David Cullen (Grammy winner), Marco Benevento, and many more. It is roughly estimated that, through the years, the Brass Lantern has hosted over 1500 shows with over 200 bands with over 600 individual musicians.
Those numbers demand respect, especially in the fact that 90 per cent of those bands performed their own original material and not just a night full of cover songs (with the exception of the Grateful Dead and “reggae nights”), so every night was its own unique show.
It was undoubtedly evident that the Brass Lantern had established itself as a landmark for live original music in Reading, Pennsylvania.
But while the music flourished over the years, Father Time had taken his toll and danced his heavy boots all over the Brass Lantern property, leaving a trail of evidence – a leaky roof, a pothole-ridden parking lot, a shattered front marquee, broken tables, chairs, & bar stools, broken beer coolers, and many other little tedious broken things throughout the building.
Showing the utmost respect to what it had become in the music scene yet having its demeanor not going un-noticed, people have even called it the “Brokedown” Lantern, in reference to a Grateful Dead classic.
So these extra repair bills and responsibilities, in addition to a city with a rising crime rate, as well as a declining national economy (which hurts the overall patronage to the venue) and that equals a financial liability for the current owner, who has a family including a newborn to worry about, and also a thriving interior & exterior renovation business.
Understandably, the business was put on the market in 2009, and it is now official – the Brass Lantern has been SOLD! The final day of the current ownership is tentatively Thursday, April 29th, 2010.
Although deeply saddened by the situation, PlusVibes Productions keeps its head high in knowing that it has provided the best hospitality around to all the artists, the crews, the patrons, and our beloved Brass Lantern “family” of regular customers, and also, that it has been such a positive experience for everyone involved – the memories, the lasting friendships made, the laughs, the tears, the smiles, and most of all, the MUSIC!
It will NEVER be forgotten.
After speaking with the NEW owner, he has stated that he wants to give the Brass Lantern a much needed makeover and improve the general security inside and outside the venue, but keep the overall vibe the same. Upon the urging of his wife, who ironically worked in the building when it was a seafood restaurant, he plans to simply name it, the ‘New’ Brass Lantern.
We are very anxious to see what the future will bring for the landmark Berks County venue and hope that +VIBES will be able to continue to provide the same quality live music to our beloved community of music lovers at the Brass Lantern.
Stay tuned for information on that as the changeover approaches.
In the meantime, +VIBES has put together a proper lineup of music from now until April 30th, with some of the artists that have been our true friends throughout the years.
Please be sure to catch one of your favorite acts before the changeover, and say goodbye to the current owner. In honor of the years past, we are encouraging patrons to write down on a small piece of paper, a positive experience or good story about the Brass Lantern and attach it to our band wall.
Here’s the final lineup of the ‘old’ Brass Lantern:
3 on the Tree
9pm, Thursday 4/8
Three’s Company feat. DJ Gregg Nyce, DJ Evolution, & VJCA
10pm, Friday 4/9
I Yahn I Arkestra
10pm, Saturday 4/10
Cloud Party
9pm, Thursday 4/15
Good Lovin’ Jamband
10pm, Friday 4/16
DJ Alpha Zulu vs. DJ Spacecase
9pm, Saturday 4/17
Bodega
10pm, Thursday 4/22
Frog Holler
10pm, Friday 4/23
Quagmire Swim Team with Ben & Josh (of Alchemy)
9pm, Saturday 4/24
FINAL SHOW OF THE OLD BRASS LANTERN
Jah Works
9pm, Thursday 4/29
Kitchen CLOSED this evening!
For all show information, go to http://www.thebrasslanternlive.com/.
And KEEP POSTED to http://www.plusvibes.com/ for information on FUTURE shows at the Silo Upstairs Lounge, Trooper Thorn’s, possibly the New Brass Lantern and other venues near you.
And we are ALSO sponsoring four festivals again this summer. More information on that coming soon.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT OF LIVE MUSIC & ARTS!