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The Kitchen Sink - Installment #7
by Benjy eisen - benjy@archive.phish.net

Hi music lovers!

We're cleaning out some old inventory to make way for some new items. The following CDs are clearance priced while supplies last. Phone orders only please - (800)6LEEWAY.

* FRED WESLEY * Swing & Be Funky - James Brown's horn player. CDs $15 CLEARANCE now $11

* SOUTHERN CULTURE ON THE SKIDS *Ditch Diggin $15 * For Lovers Only $15 * Peckin Party $14 CLEARANCE price $11 each!

* MELVIN SPARKS * I'm A Gittar Player * Legends of Acid Jazz CLEARANCE CDs were $16 now $12

* DAVE MATTHEWS BAND * Before These Crowded Streets CLEARANCE CD was $16 now $12

* Various Artists - Hempilation - featuring: Widespread Panic, Blues Traveler, Black Crowes, Cypress Hill, Gov't Mule, 311, Sublime, Ziggy Marley, & many more - CLEARANCE CD was $16 now $12

* Various Artists - Hempilation 2 CLEARANCE CD was $16 now $12

For the complete selection of CDs visit www.homegrownmusic.net/catalog.html

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The Beatroots and Ekoostik Hookah
LIVE

By: Fritz N Schroeder <fritzschroeder@juno.com>

Good music has a way of taking you on a journey. This journey can bring out any number of emotions, as the great artists of past have shown. Bob Marley transcended nations and cultures as the Grateful Dead transcended generations. Both had separate but relevant messages and above all they spread a music of hope and celebration. Today the torch is carried through a KIND generation of Home Grown bands that have evolved into a melting pot of cultures and influences from around the world. Mix in some American roots of jazz, funk, blue grass and rock, as well as many others, and you have some of the most moving live music you can see anywhere, as a recent journey I took suggests!

Friday January 8, 1999 THE VAULT Baltimore, MD

A converted bank serves well for one of downtown Baltimore's newest venues, The Vault. The 200 friendly faces that braved the fresh snow and sleet were treated to a good sound system and friendly Home Grown mentality which make this venue an up and coming place to catch your favorite bands.

I've made many a journey to catch Ekoostik Hookah and on this evening I was more than willing to brave the weather and a 1 1/2 hour drive to reach tonight's Hookahville. Going to college in Ohio gave me the opportunity to spend many nights soaking in Hookah's thought provoking lyrics, while being carried away by Steve Sweeney's guitar riffs. No matter what is going on in my life, I can always count on having an ear to ear smile as I groove to the positive vibes of Hookah's growing community.

This evening I was doubly blessed as I had the opportunity to see one of my favorite new Home Grown bands, The Beatroots, make their first appearance in Baltimore. The Beatroots play music that is different than anything I have ever heard before. With a Middle Eastern sound their psychedelia jazz and funk jams are refreshingly different. This five piece band has been heavily influenced by their individual world travels which is reflected in their instrumentation and lyrics. Vocal duties are shared by Mariam Broady (electric guitar / violin) and Bowen Swersey (acoustic guitar, sax, and bamboo flutes). With a driving percussion section, their groove is up beat and transformational.

The club was empty as The Beatroots took the stage. Only the few in-the-know, including members of Hookah, took in the beginning of this show. The Beatroots were unaffected as they turned on the trickle-in crowd to a vibe that lasted throughout the night.

Hookah hadn't played in Baltimore since last spring and it had been almost 5 months since I last saw them at the fall Hookahville music and camping festival. For me the anticipation was building and they did not disappoint.

With no set list, Hookah's sound continues to evolve as new and old songs are constantly reinvented, showing why they have gained an incredible reputation for their live shows. On this night, Cliff Starbuck's (bass, vocals) birthday, there was special revelry as the band and crowd melded flawlessly. There was not a motionless body in the house as even the bar tenders and bathroom lines were converted to friendly glances and shimmying bones. Highlights included a raucous second set with 'Keeping Time', 'Float', and three Cliff tunes, to ring in his birthday, including the always popular 'Moonshiner'. The set ended with a cover of The Beatles 'I Am A Walrus' and an encore of the ever poignant 'Hookahville'.

The live show is the pinnacle of the Home Grown experience. It's the discovery of something new brought out in every performance, whether it's the first time you've seen a band or the 50th. It's the feeling of community you get when you look around the room, it's the feeling of hugs from old friends, and it's the vibe that's carried in every musical note. I believe Carlos Santana said it best in the song 'Somewhere in Heaven', "We heal the people with music, we free the people with music."####

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Day By the River
Presents:

WATERMARKS

We are happy to announce that on March 30th, 1999, Day By the River will release a new and exciting musical experiment. We're thrilled to have you participate. Watermarks is an album consisting of over four hours of music. All of the tracks are live, and all of this music is on one CD. The entire album is encoded in MP3 format. If you are unfamiliar with MP3 technology, we encourage you to drop by and see our friends at MP3.com to find out more about this incredible new digital music format (you can sample live Day By the River in MP3 format right here on our web site in the MP3 Samples section).

The CD will contain not only the music, but an easy-to-use HTML interface. You will be able to navigate through pages containing the music, software needed to play the music, recent photographs of the band, and a wealth of information about the music and the people behind it.

Starting on Tuesday March 30th, you can point your browser to the web site for Lauan Records, sponsors of Watermarks, and order the CD on line. Or you can call the Home Grown Music Network to order as well: 1(800) 6 LEEWAY

Keep your eyes peeled in the coming weeks, as we will have frequent Watermarks updates, including sneak peaks at the extensive track list and album art, samples of the music, and a contest for you to win your very own copy.

We'd like to thank all of our fans who have waited patiently for a live Day By the River album. We're doing this for you, and we couldn't have done it without your help and support. Thanks a million...

Day by the River Home Page - http://www.daybytheriver.com

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Blue Yard Gazette
Vol. 8 edition 16
Twinbrook Edition

-BYG Wire-
March 10th,1999- 8:45pm

What's up folks? Hope all are doin' ok out there. We doin' ok here. Over here at the main office we are getting ready to crank up the party wagon for the weekend, just wanted to let ya know where we will be making some stops. Also, wanted to let ya know about some MP3 files that we finally got on line (mp3's are crystal clear compressed downloads that you can save to your computer to listen when ya want to) You can check 'em out at MP3.com & AMP3.com & Musicmatch.com (they have a real cool free mp3 player that displays lyrics and pictures-AWESOME!!FREE!!) We have also been selected for an mp3 compilation cd that the fine folks over at cdbaby (our on-line record store) are putting out

We are also happy to report that Sennen has rejoined the band. You may have noticed him sitting in with us as of late. We are real stoked to have his Key's and Guitar skills back in the band filling out the BYG sound.

The website is constantly changing so swing by and say hi on the wall. We (Jay & Eric M.) just returned from a very successful trip to NYC for the Music and Internet seminar. We met a zillion cool folks and ran into the likes of Chuck D, Flava Flav, Terminator X, VH-1, and some folks from MTV just to name a few. Big thanx to the kind souls who put us up and to the great folks at CDbaby who made us feel like we were at home!

That's about it for now, so get those groove shoes on and shake those blues away.........

Empyrean Records
PO Box 536 Rockville MD 20848
http://www.blueyardgarden.com