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Hi Everyone,

Hopefully this newsletter comes early enough for you to get over to the Farmer’s market and enjoy the homespun music of Terry Moran. As a musician it means so much to have a few people stop by, listen quietly if even for a few moments. That connection is what brings our music to the level we strive to achieve. Without your support it can become self indulgent, just a job or even worse uninspired. Remember that during the offertory at beach services as well. Our musicians pour their heart out for that connection and it does affect the performance if it becomes background music among all the conversation.  

​Arts For Alzheimer’s
My friend LG Taylor has been working very hard on the Arts for Alzheimer’s event at Barbara’s Bookstore in Vernon Hills. It’s shaping up to be an amazing two days of Music, Art, Lectures, Drama, Meditation, Chair Yoga and more! The Arts for Alzheimer’s Website is now live, so check it out and please share.
                                                                         Mark Your Calendars:
                                                                         August 2: Terry Moran at the Lake Bluff Farmers Market
August 7: The Love at Lake Forest Day Beer Garden 7:30 - 10:30 pm
August 10:  Hellhounds perform for the Beef4Hunger benefit in downtown Lake Bluff. 6 - 10 pm
September 1: Suede & Susie at Art Fair on the Square, Lake Forest 10:00 - 11:45 am
September 2: Suede & Susie at Art Fair on the Square, Lake Forest 10:00 - 11:45 am
September 6: Elliott Delman at the Lake Bluff Farmers Market
September 7: Suede, Dave & Lynette at Deerfield Farmer's Market 9:30 - 11:30 am
September 14: The Love at Humble Pub in Highwood 8:30 - 11:30 pm
September 20: Terry Moran at the Lake Bluff Farmers Market
September 21st and 22nd: Arts for Alzheimer’s at Barbara's Bookstore in Vernon Hills  
October 5: The Love at Gorton Center 7:00 - 10:00 pm
See you soon!
​Ken 

Always inspiring: the opening address to the 1964 Berlin Jazz Festival by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

God has wrought many things out of oppression. He has endowed his creatures with the capacity to create—and from this capacity has flowed the sweet songs of sorrow and joy that have allowed man to cope with his environment and many different situations.
Jazz speaks for life. The Blues tell the story of life's difficulties, and if you think for a moment, you will realize that they take the hardest realities of life and put them into music, only to come out with some new hope or sense of triumph.
This is triumphant music.
Modern jazz has continued in this tradition, singing the songs of a more complicated urban existence. When life itself offers no order and meaning, the musician creates an order and meaning from the sounds of the earth which flow through his instrument.
It is no wonder that so much of the search for identity among American Negroes was championed by Jazz musicians. Long before the modern essayists and scholars wrote of racial identity as a problem for a multiracial world, musicians were returning to their roots to affirm that which was stirring within their souls.
Much of the power of our Freedom Movement in the United States has come from this music. It has strengthened us with its sweet rhythms when courage began to fail. It has calmed us with its rich harmonies when spirits were down.
And now, Jazz is exported to the world. For in the particular struggle of the Negro in America there is something akin to the universal struggle of modern man. Everybody has the Blues. Everybody longs for meaning. Everybody needs to love and be loved. Everybody needs to clap hands and be happy. Everybody longs for faith.
In music, especially this broad category called Jazz, there is a stepping stone towards all of these.

-Ken
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Hi folks.
Recently, after hearing Eva B Ross and company rehearsing, Christine, who is involved in the music business for a living and has been worshiping with us asked me, “Where do you find all these wonderful musicians”? I’ve often thought about that and I would like to highlight a couple reasons. Number one is Fred Koch! He is kind of like the Tree that all the branches have grown from. I met Fred when my kids were toddlers attending
“Lil’ Cow Band” concerts and since then he has introduced me to a countless number of amazing musicians. Those musicians introduced me to more amazing musicians, and so on. If you see Fred, please say thank you for what he has done. I couldn’t be more grateful for his unselfish support through the years. Number two is all of you! When any musician plays for people that, as Eva put it, is “a good listening crowd” and ever so appreciative, that not only affects the performance, but naturally makes them want to come back. So thank you all for the love and support you’ve shown the musicians who have come to share their talents! The beauty is that the branches of the tree are still growing and you all nurture that.  
Fred Koch

Announcements

MUSICIANS: I regularly check out Facebook and your home pages to see where you all are playing, but often I miss or don’t get the information in time for the newsletter. If you’d like me to advertise your gigs, please let me know when and where you're playing.