(NOTE: Are you looking for the Pickup Band or R&O Tunes?)
October 2007
Dear R&O musicians, past, present, and future,
Rum & Onions is gearing up for its the 28th year, R&O XXVIII, in fall of 2007. For those of you new to our community, R&O (as it's affectionately known) is the name of the band which, for many years now, has formed and rehearsed for several weeks in the fall to play at a Halloween contra dance organized by the Princeton Country Dancers. We have been joined in the past by many musicians from near and far. Instruments of all kinds are welcome: melody, rhythm, percussion.
Barbara Greenberg and Michael Bell will be leading the band this year. The caller for the dance will be Ron Buchanan from Pittsburgh, well known for his fast patter squares and great contras.
THE BIG EVENT:
The R&O Halloween dance is scheduled for Saturday, October 27 at Princeton High School. There will be an afternoon dance from 3:00 to 5:30pm followed by a pot-luck supper starting at 6:00pm, and then an evening dance from 7:30 until 11:00pm. The band will have to arrive well before the afternoon dance, probably by 2:00pm, so we can get everyone miked, run a sound check and get to hear ourselves in a different hall with a big sound system. Details of the arrangements will be provided later.
SIGNING UP:
Please let us know by August 31 if you'd like to join us so we can arrange to have enough music. (If you're not sure by then, a "maybe" answer is also helpful. If you're on vacation and get this message later, answer when you can.) Also tell us what instrument you play, if we don't already know or if you're trying something new.
REHEARSALS:
We will be having six rehearsals on Sundays in September and October, tentatively set for Sept 9, 23, 30, Oct 7, 14: 7-10 pm Oct 21: 1-6 pm. There's a gap of two weeks between the first two rehearsals, then they're held weekly. Locations - Suzanne Patterson Center, Princeton, NJ.
ATTENDANCE:
Although we play tunes mainly from the contra dance repertoire, we always include a few surprises and make special arrangements, which is why we ask you attend most of the rehearsals. If you must miss one or two, let us know.
THE WARM-UP DANCE:
By tradition, R&O also performs for the weekly contra dance in Princeton on the Wednesday immediately before the Saturday event. This year the warm up dance will be on Wednesday October 24, 8-10:30pm, once again at the Suzanne Patterson Center. * We encourage as many of the band members as can to come and play for the warmup dance. It helps the band gel by playing for a real, live dance.
We do hope you can join us and look forward to working with you to make R&O XXVIII fun and a great musical experience for all involved!
| For site feedback or corrections, click here |