***
Bring your instrument and sing your heart out
This is your chance to shine!
Sign-ups start
at 4:30 pm
*** original
songs only
hosted
by John Tolley, NSAI singer/songwriter
The
Cup's Entertainment blog 2008 — thanks to Diane
May
11, 2008
Last night was the 1st appearance for Pete
Sallis at Saturday's Live
at the Cup and it was our treat. Pete is a song
writer from Nashville and we loved his songs, voice and lyrics. He
kept taking out original songs, one after another, that were amazing.
My favorite was 'Small Towns' which is a song I could listen to every
day on my drive home from work. It takes you back to a simpler time,
good old Southern comfort. It was so exciting to hear about the cuts
that various artists are making from his songs. I can't wait to hear
about Pete's continued success the next time he appears at The
Cup.
Pete was joined by special appearances from John, Melissa and Francis.
It was a great time had by all.
May
4, 2008
MAGIC, PURE MAGIC... The Cup will
be starting a series about Tips on Livingand
the 1st session will help you with stress management. But Saturday
night's
Live at the Cup gave
me a head start on washing away my entire week's tension. I think
this was the 1st time in almost 3 years
of Saturday evening performances where my brother Steve actually
sat down beside me, had a bite to eat and relaxed. He is such a
busy guy. We listened to the smooth and balanced sounds of Rendezvous featuring Johnny
Angel and Shauna Dee. Their music is just plain
good for the soul. It was a special moment. Hearing 'One More
Time'
took me on a walk down memory lane remembering how brave my parents
were to pack the 3 of us kids (Sue, Steve and
myself (Diane)) in the blue station wagon for a trip to New York.
There are things you always
remember, like how important it is in the summer to drive through
the city of Needles at night! I could tell by the smiles in the
audience, everyone was experiencing great memories and enjoying
the evening. Steve and I looked at each other in shock when Shauna introduced the song 'Cruizin
for Bruizin'. We didn't know there
was actually a song by that name! Oh my gosh, our Dad use
to say that when we were heading for trouble. We could hear him
saying..."you're
cruizin for a bruizin." Steve and I looked at each other and
laughed. Thanks Rendezvous, for making our hearts smile.
April
27, 2008
Saturday evening
began with the Jewelry Fair and Mother’s
Day benefit. We had so many terrific vendors selling beautiful items.
In addition, we were entertained throughout the event by SWAY, SAS,
Angel Smythe and Kahlid Woods each performing for half hour sessions.
This is a very worthy cause since a piece of jewelry from each vendor
and a portion of all proceeds will be donated to Ashland Home a local
women’s shelter, for victims of domestic violence. So if you
did not have a chance to attend, please join us again on May 10th
and help us make Mother’s Day special for everyone.
Angle
Smythe also appeared at Live
at the Cup with a full band
and they were awesome! There were lots of people to join in the
fun and
Angel will be back
again in August. Stay tuned because you don’t want to miss her.
April
20, 2008
After a day of marathon cooking for Passover I took
a well deserved break to listen to Jason Luckett who was back at
The Cup Saturday night. He charmed us with his million dollar smile
and personality. I love the stories he tells as he chats between
songs and makes us all feel we are friends gathering to spend some
time together. It's fascinating watching him play the guitar. He
makes it seem so effortless as his fingers skip over the strings.
We went on a journey through the night, with smiles and chuckles
as Jason sang some of our favorites like 'Stack of 45s' and 'Good
Day in LA', which just made you feel good inside. We took a vote
and truly believe the Mayor of LA should adopt Jason's song to be
the theme song of Los Angeles. It's absolutely fabulous. Jason will
be going to New Hampshire in a couple of weeks and be on a road tour
for a couple of months. We wish him well and can't wait until he
returns.
April
13, 2008
What a great evening
at Live at The Cup Saturday night. SWAY
with Gina, Perry, Lawrence and Trevor was a blast. Love it,
Love it, Love it, what a beat, what a sound! There is no other group
like SWAY. There was a large crowd but Gina and the group made it
feel so quaint, just 60 or so of your closest friends. The music
and atmosphere was so much fun. I love the weekends because I get
to catch up with family and meet new friends like Linda and Russ.
The energy was contagious. SWAY has so much going on we have to keep
an eye on them because they are really going places. They are doing
great in the Nashville Star competition and have been called back
for a personal audition. Stay tuned for updates on that. Also, SWAY will be having a record release party at The
Cup on June 21st and
you are invited. All you have to bring is yourself and a love of
music…and good times of course. You don’t want to miss
this group. They have a sound that is so balanced and rich; we
know they are going to go far. Hopefully always returning to The
Cup.
April
6, 2008
Saturday night during Live
at the Cup was a little chilly but you could never tell with the music of
Alec Marken & Deep
Stirrings. Their name definitely fit the style especially with the
Bass. Now that is an awesome string instrument. As always Alec treated
us to additional instrumentation in his band. He introduced us to
David on drums, Shafi on vocals, Chris on the Bass, Marcus on guitar
and Henry on keyboard. It was a full house and a wonderful evening
of entertainment.
March
30, 2008
Joel Ackerson is back on tour again
and just out of the studio when he appear at The Cup on Saturday
night. He apologized
for his voice sounding tired but to us it sounded deep and sexy.
No need to apologize for that, right ladies? We love when Joel sings
and shares stories about his songs and life experiences. It was
great fun and can’t wait until the next time Joel appears at The
Cup.
March
16, 2008
Yvonne
Perea was entertaining at The
Cup this weekend. It was a small, cozy gathering due to the holiday.
The weather was
perfect and we didn’t need any heaters. The ambiance was
like a family party, giving it a personal touch with Yvonne singing as
we chatted together. She just came back from two months in New Mexico
and we were so happy to have her back with us. We love when Yvonne sings
those blues! Her new song ‘Hardest Days of Grey’ debuted
at the Cup, which was a big hit and we were honored. It was a pleasure
to hear Yvonne sing. In case you had a hectic week, this was the
perfect remedy. Yvonne’s music makes your heart feel good.
Now, bring on the new week’s challenges!
March
16, 2008
There was lots of energy in the audience
Saturday night. Kahlid Woods entertained the crowd and was joined
by Mike
Cleveland on sax. It’s always amazing to listen
to Kahlid’s
deep, resonating voice, Wow. Kind of grabs you by the bootstraps. Carlos also made a surprise appearance. As members from Liqdzunshine joined in, it was as if we were experiencing a reunion. Lots of energy,
lots of friends and lots of FUN.
March
9, 2008
Saturday night
was a treat with Brooke
Ramel returning after bringing her new daughter into the
world. We welcomed LuLu
to The CUP who happens to share the same birthday
with Steve, December
29th. How fun is that?
Brooke sounded as magnificent
as ever and introduced us to some of the songs on her new CD,
Lullaby, just
released (I know it’s fabulous because I listened to mine all the way
home). We were treated to those special stories Brooke shares when
she appears. Motherhood has added extra depth to an already fantastic
personality.
A cute side-note to the evening…Brooke has never
worn tennis shoes while appearing, but alerted us to the fact that
she made an executive decision to do so this evening. We did get
a quote from our famous celebrity…”It’s hard to
have fun when your feet hurt”. And we had lots of fun!
February
10, 2008
We
had the most amazing Saturday evening with Bernard Parnham from
NBC’s 'Nashville Star', auditioning so many talented
performers. There were 28 performances in the 3 hours. 'Nashville
Star' has had five seasons and this summer is moving to NBC. Bernard
shared his reservations in finding true stars for Nashville in
California and has been scouting and holding auditions throughout
the state.
We were not surprised when he told us the performers he heard at The
CUP last night were the best pool of entertainers he had
heard by far. And any reservations he had about California were
blown away.
We knew the talent that appears at The CUP is
truly amazing and now the country will know it as well. So stay
tuned as we keep track
of the competition. We will keep you updated in our newsletter.
Here’s
a list of the performers that appeared last night so you can look
for them as they get called back and cheer them on. Congratulations
to all of you!
Saturday night was all about experiencing
the music and the crowd. It was another packed audience listening
to the diverse
sounds of Alec Marken and Deep Stirrings. There
was standing room only which accommodated those that were dancing
to the music. This
was Alec’s largest band ever, accompanied by Shafi, Tommy,
Henry, Warren, David and Rob. The band not only presented their
vocal talents but also treated us to flavors from the guitar, keyboard,
drums, sax, flutes, and violin. On top of that, we had an amazing
musical journey from Ireland, to New York, Africa and many other
exotic locations. It was a great night.
January
6, 2008
Another fantastic
Open Mic Night, I hope you didn’t
miss it. If you did, you will want to save some future dates because
this is a Must-Do for your list. There is always a wonderful variety
of entertainers and it’s just a good time for all. So save
the 1st Saturday of each month to stop by and set a spell.
We
also had an amazing time experiencing the performance of Jason
Luckett. What a smile and the joy he sings with, contagious. This
was Jason’s 2nd appearance at The Cup and a great way to
start the year. Fantastically smooth rhythm reminiscent of ‘Breakfast
At Tiffany’s’.
With Jason’s Mom and Sister in
the audience he shared conversations and stories behind the music.
We were treated to one of my favorites ‘Stack of 45s’.
His song, ‘Democracy at the Point of a Gun’ is in the
new short movie ’68 and Clear’, at the film festival.
Way to go Jason! He certainly got the crowd going as we joined
a sing along. I don’t think my foot stopped tapping. And
I believe I saw folks moving their hips as they sauntered to their
cars at the end of the evening. Now that was a cute sight.