GRATEFUL DEAD night monthly with GLJB @ the Brass every 3rd Friday

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

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

Roots, Rock, Reggae Weekend @ The Brass Lantern

It’s another edition of ROOTS, ROCK, REGGAE at the Brass Lantern starting Thursday, December 17th and running through Saturday, December 19th.

Beginning on Thursday the 17th is the final edition of “Thirsty 3rd Bluegrass Thursdays with the Manatawny Creek Ramblers” for the year.  Daniel Bower’s traditional bluegrass (roots) group has been faithfully providing foot stompin’ throw downs every month bringing traditional tunes to the forefront, in addition to catchy original numbers (of course with that bluegrass feel).  The Ramblers have brought in some quality guest musicians such as Kris Kehr (mandolin) and Johnny Kilgore (guitar) over the months to make every night a special evening of friends and music at the Brass Lantern.

Friday the 18th brings 2009′s final “Grateful Dead Night” at the Brass Lantern.  Matty Cullen’s troupe of seasoned Deadheads comes together to bring another 4-set night of authentic Dead tunes (rock) with opening sets by Pangea Acoustic and the NeoTrio, and then a full two sets at the end of the evening with a collaboration of the two opening acts coming together to form the full band, the Good Lovin’ Jamband.

These nights bring out all kinds of guest musicians.  In October they brought a second percussion kit, manned by drumming veteran, Rob Wolfe, and the night was filled with the authentic feel [of two drummers] that the Grateful Dead brought to the stage every night.  And we’ll let you in on a little secret – scheduled in March, during the world re-known Berks JazzFest, Grateful Dead night will have a little jazz twist in it, with the guys bringing in very special guest, and Grammy Award winning guitarist, David Cullen for an extremely  rare “Jazz Is Dead” set at the Brass Lantern.

Stay tuned for more information on that show coming in early 2010. 

Saturday the 19th completes the triangle with another “Reggae Night” at the Brass Lantern.  We are pleased to announce a special one-night-only show featuring our old friends Mystic Rebel and special guest Jah Witness. 

Mystic Rebel has blessed the Brass Lantern with many irie reggae nights in years past, showcasing mainly the music of the legendary Bob Marley and the Wailers, and we are very happy that they will be reuniting for another special evening of positive vibrations.

+VIBES Productions is very excited for the fantastic music coming up THIS weekend.  It is very important during this holiday season that we bring you the music that makes you smile!  So we encourage you to take a break from your holiday shopping (aka the “craziness”) and come out and let loose with your family in music at the Brass Lantern.

We hope to see you there.

Here’s all the information:

Thirsty 3rd Bluegrass Thursdays

with the

Manatawny Creek Ramblers

Thursday, December 17th, 2009

9pm – 12am
21+ only

$4 at the door

————- – ————- – ————- – ————–

Grateful Dead Night

with the

Good Lovin’ Jamband

with opening sets by

Pangea Acoustic and the Neo Trio

Friday, December 18th, 2009

10pm – 2am
21+ only

$5 at the door

————- – ————- – ————- – ————–

Reggae Night

with

Mystic Rebel and very special guest Jah Witness

Saturday, December 19th, 2009

10:30pm – 2am
21+ only

$5 at the door

All shows are at the Brass Lantern.

Bodega, RYAT, Tim Conley, JUGGLING SUNS @ Brass

This weekend is cooking up to be a jam-roast, with instrumental powerhouse Bodega on Friday (10/23) night, and the now 4-piece jam veterans, the Juggling Suns on Saturday (10/24) night  at the Brass Lantern.

With the fireplace now in full roar, the Brass Lantern kicks into cold weather mode, which, more importantly, means its peak business (see older blog, “SAVE THE BRASS LANTERN”).

PlusVibes Productions has a full roster of great music scheduled through the New Year at the Brass Lantern, including confirmed shows with fantastic bands such as MIZ (featuring Mike Miz), PUSH, Quagmire Swim Team, Cabinet, Pychedelphia, Flux Capacitor, and a special Brass Lantern Christmas show with Gingham.

The Brass Lantern also features three residency shows every month with DJs Gregg Nyce and Evolution, the Manatawny Creek Ramblers, and the Good Lovin’ Jam Band featuring members of Pangea Acoustic and Neo Trio.  See the Brass Lantern‘s official website for further information.

THIS Friday, October 23rd, are the young (but certainly

Jack Said movie download

veterans on the jam band circuit) Bodega.  Billed as high-energy dance music, they always kill it at the Brass Lantern.  You can hear their past shows from the Brass The General rip , available now on Internet Archive. 

This time they are bringing the duo RYAT and Tim Conley (Grimace Federation) with them.  The duo perform a very unique electronic show with RYAT laying down captivating vocals with very spacey effects, and Tim playing his guitar through heavy effects as well, with both of them controlling beats, loops, and samples on laptops.  The whole show has a very Björk overall feel.

On Saturday, October 24th, the Juggling Suns come back to town.  The Suns have reduced their numbers to four, losing rhythm guitarist and vocalist Tim Morris, leaving the rhythm and solos to guitar master, Mark Diomede – a feat that Mark conquered immediately, as evident in the most recent rain-soaked Sun’s awesome performance at the Dragonfly Equinox Festival

• Goodfellas video

on September 26th at Blue Falls Grove.

The new ensemble has opened up space to return to its roots – the long intricate jam (much to any music fan’s delight).  The live shows have become havens for those wanting to dance, to sing, to play air guitar, and most importantly, leave every venue or festival grounds with HUGE smiles on their faces, saying, “Damn, that Juggling Suns show brought the house down!”

It’s a sight and saying that I have seen and heard multiple times this year.   This Saturday will be no different at the Brass Lantern.  Don’t miss it!

Hooligans buy

Here’s all the information:

Bodega with RYAT and Tim Conley

Pray 2: The Woods rip

Friday, October 23rd, 2009

9:30pm – 2am

21+ only
NON-SMOKING venue

$5 @ the door

————— – ———— – ————- – ————- – ————-

The Juggling Suns

Saturday, October 24th, 2009

10pm – 2am
21+ only
NON-SMOKING venue

$8 @ the door

The Brass Lantern offers:
 - $2.50 domestic drafts, $4.50 micro brew drafts
Blue Streak trailer
 - $3 Jager, Rumplemintz, Blackhaus, & other shots

Love Actually film

 - Wings, Burgers, Nachos, Patty Melts, Salads, & more
 - Kitchen open until 10pm!

Bottle Shock

 - Friendly service & great overall vibe

Hope to see you there.

Shrek the Halls video

Jerry Garcia Birthday Bash, 8/1 @ the Brass

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

• American Pie Presents: Beta House dvd

, 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

One-Eyed Monster hd

Black Knight film

featuring the

Good Lovin’ Jam Band

@ The Brass Lantern

• Monster House divx

 
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!