Hot News!!

December 2, 2009:   Autographed picture or me and Pete Seeger is now available.

     WOMR FM Community Radio in Provincetown, MA is offering a single copy of a single photo of Pete and me singing together. The photo is offered as part of their Fall Pledge Drive and was donated by Econosmith. Econosmith is one of the top photographers in the music world. Not only that but Econosmith is actually two people. You can find out more and see more great pictures at Econosmith. Thanks to Bob Weiser and “The Old Songs Home” for making this photo available.

    

July 15, 2009:   “It’s Your War Now, Mrs. Bly” receives 2009 Just Plain Folks Nomination for Best Political Song.

     The folks at Just Plain Folks said: “In what is literally the world's largest music awards, the judges were given 1 criteria to judge: Does the music move you? If (you’re song was nominated) … that means you moved a lot of people to make it all the way to the nominations from the largest body of music ever considered.

     Thanks to the people at JPF for this prestigious accolade! Read Press Release

April 25, 2009:   Spook Handy Trio at New Jersey Folk Festival.

     This is going to be fun. AND we’ll be joined by Gary Oleyar (of the Loggins and Messina Band) on violin.
Wanna help us promote? Print out this NJFF FLYER and post it around your town. Thanks. You’re the best!!
 

April 7, 2009:   Spook on EBTV all month.

     My friends in East Brunswick, NJ can catch me on EBTV - Channel 3 on “Old Ways in New Jersey,” Tuesdays at 4 p.m.; Thursdays at 6:30 p.m.; and Sundays at 12 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. through the end of April. I’ll be looking for you through the tube!
 

October, 2008:   “Vote” charted at #10 in October 2008 on the Folk Radio Charts.

     Thanks for everybody spreading the word to their local DJs. And thanks to Tom Florek for producing the “Vote” Video

March 31, 2008:   Reply to “Anti-War Songs Fall Flat”

     Robert T. Cullen wrote an insightful blog on Politco.com called “Silent Treatment: Anti-War Songs Fall Flat.” Here is my response to his blog.

     I wonder if one reason anti-war songs are not more mainstream is exactly because they are too in your face. In fact, most people think of anti-war as synonymous with irreverent and iconoclastic behavior. That’s fine for irreverent iconoclasts, but don’t expect a Bush-bashing song to go mainstream.

     And going mainstream may not be the goal. However, I personally feel that scolding the choir may be more important than preaching to the choir. The “choir”, those of us who are already on board and against the war, have a greater need for a call to action than for a verification of their anger. That’s why I believe that anti-war songs should have some sort of redemptive quality.

     But there is also a value to music that can reach the mainstream and can raise questions. Listen to “Dover” by John Flynn. Is this song anti-war? Hell yeah. But it also hit #1 on a Clear Channel station in Delaware. Why? I think one reason is because it touched on a universal feeling among both supporters and opponents of the war - that war really hurts and real people die. It’s a powerful song that makes anti-war people say “Right on!” and supporters of the war cry because they are reminded that war really does hurt.

     So, why DO anti-war songs fall flat? Maybe it’s the song’s fault. Vietnam didn’t happen after Monica Lewinsky. Vietnam happened after the civil rights movement was well under way. People already knew the power of song from previous social movements. Iraq is coming on the heals of no social movement that involved singing. So this movement has to teach itself from scratch how to sing.

     If we know how to address the issues that people care about we can get them to sing. And if we can get them to sing we can get them to think and feel more deeply about the issues. This creates a cycle in which people begin to care about and sing about deeper and deeper issues.
 

March 4, 2008: The Power of the Peaceful Warrior

Hi Folks,

Last year, in Franklin Park, NJ, in two separate incidences, two young kids were gunned down in gang related violence. In response Dan Conley, a concerned citizen, asked me to put together a special program to promote peace and community over gangs and drugs. I named the program "The Power of the Peaceful Warrior." It is our goal to video record this program and market it to other cities in America where such a program can make a difference.

Last week, the Spook Handy Trio presented the concert in Memphis Tennessee at the Grizzlies Academy, a school of about 50 high school age students many of whom would otherwise be in jail or are currently homeless or teen parents. Seeing the life, love and spirit of these young souls brought tears to my eyes - not because I felt their struggle, but because I felt their enthusiasm for life. I performed 19 concerts over a 6 day period that week and this one was by far the most fulfilling.

I want to move this project forward and find other venues to spread the message to drop the gun and find the Power of the Peaceful Warrior. If you have any ideas let me know.

One last thing. You should have heard these young students sing "This Little Light of Mine." It was revealing to watch everyone's faces as I sang the final verse. Each student had a different reaction to each line. Some yelled "Amen" others became very self conscious. The third verse of my version of this song is:

“Some say a real man carries a gun I say sitting in jail's no fun. Some say follow those gangster rules I say don't be nobody's fool Some say let's do drugs tonight I say don't turn off your light What we do in this whole wide world we're let our little lights shine."

(c) Spook Handy

I know that all of us in the music industry enjoy knowing that we can make a difference in the lives of others. That's how I feel about this program. So, if you have any ideas of how to carry this program further let me know.

Peace and Love

- Spook :->

March 3, 2008: “Vote” reaches #19 on Folk Charts

Thanks to all the DJ around the country who are playing “Vote” off of “Breakfast at Bill’s” as well as all the other songs they are playing of the new CD, “Whatcha Gonna Do?”

Jan 29, 2008: Pasta for Peace

Last week Dennis and I performed a concert for the NJ Peace Alliance to support the campaign for a US Department of Peace. This is a very worthy cause so check out the website.

One of the attendees, Garine Isassi raised an important question in her blog. She was concerned by the feature speaker talking about conspiracy theory and other negative things going on. I think there is a place for this if addressed in the proper proportion. Read what she had to say and my response at garinepeace.blogspot.com/2008/01/pasta-for-peace.html#links.

Dec 26, 2007: Spook Handy Trio leads sing-along at “Pete Seeger: Power of Song” in Philly

If you haven’t had the opportunity to see “Pete Seeger: The Power of Song” I highly suggest you go see it. It’s a moving documentary about one of America’s truest heroes – a hero not because he fought the enemy on the battlefield of war, but an even greater hero because he empowered the most patriotic of Americans to stand up for what they believe in – civil rights, workers’ rights, peace, a clean environment, good citizenship and more.

Last night there was a special showing of the film at the Bryn Mawr Film Institute followed by Q&A with WXPN’s Gene Shay – one of America’s most beloved DJs. Gene was kind enough to invite the trio to lead the audience in song. And we did. We had the whole audience singing “If I Had a Hammer” and “Take it from Dr. King.” It was great to see so many friends from the Philadelphia Folksong Society. And it was great to see so many non-members come out and join in the tribute and celebration.

Dec 5, 2007: "Whatcha Gonna Do?" Makes the Folk Radio Charts

The New CD made a strong debut on the Folk Radio Charts in November coming in at #12. “Mom and Pop’s Small Towne Corner Hardware Store” came in at #18 on the singles chart. And Spook was the 5th most played artist of the month. You can learn more about the Folk Radio Charts at www.folkradio.org.

Sept 11, 2007: Recipe for Spook Juice:

Start with 8 oz of lemonade.
That being organic and not full of artificial stuff.
Sugar is OK, but high fructose corn syrup should be avoided.

Add 2 or three of the following:

1 oz pure cranberry juice
1 oz pure blueberry juice
1 oz pure black cherry juice
1 oz pure pomegranate juice
1 oz pure grape juice

Add about a 10th of a teaspoon of baking soda.

About 4 or 5 dashes of salt

Add enough water to total 32 oz

Mix together. Shake well. Chill and enjoy!!

Oct 12, 2006: Announcing Spook’s New Workshop Series:

I’ve been making up songs since I was a kid and performing since I graduated college. Now, I’ve put together a series of Songwriting and Performance workshops to be presented at schools, libraries, art centers and elsewhere. Here’s a description of my Workshops See you there!!

Aug 13, 2006: Spook and Pete Seeger sing “Take it from Dr. King” together

Pete has asked me to add this song to repertoire and so he taught it to me in the morning and we performed it together in the afternoon at the Corn Festival in Beacon, NY. Check out the Picture.

July 17, 2006: Spook Handy starts “New Open Mic” in Freehold

Beginning Wednesday, July 19, 2006 and running at least 4 weeks (if not until the end of September - check here to find out more) Spook will be running a new open mic in Freehold, NJ. The show is called “The New Open Mic” and runs from 7 - 10PM at the East Main Street Gazebo on East Main Street near the corner of Rts. 537 and 79. That’s about as downtown Freehold as you can get.

As with previous open mics Spook has run in the past, (The Spook Handy Show and The Red Lion Open Mic ) this is not technically an open mic because you have to sign up in advance to perform. To sign up, send an email to Spook@SpookHandy.com and put “New Open Mic” in the heading. An email will be sent back telling you what spots on what dates are still available.

Since this is an outdoor event some shows may be postponed due to inclement weather. If the weather is not clement check out this website.

June 7, 2003: The Power of Music to Enrich the Peace Movement

At the Pathways to Peace conference at Raritan Valley Community College on June 7th, Kathy Moser, Sharleen Leahy (Somerset Voices for Peace) and I gave a 75 minute workshop on The Power of Music to Enrich the Peace Movement.

We discussed how important it is to add some light moments to otherwise grave endeavors, how music helps strengthen bonds within the Peace Community and how a Peace Concert can be used to have a fun, healing, relaxing event for Peace Makers and possibly even raising funds for their organizations.