Music in the Round Almost Sold Out! Saturday March 7th @ Via Vecchia Winery

One of the fringe benefits of owning a small coffee shop is being kept up to date on many of the cool events happening around town by our knowledgeable customers. As luck would have it, this morning while it was still dark, underground music mover Erin Corrigan informed me that this year's Music in the Round event was a mere 18 tickets away from being a sellout. Again. Wow! Who says people don't support local music? With a doozy of a line-up featuring Happy Chichester, Josh Krajcik, Jared Mahone and Counterfeit Madison, it's no wonder seats are scarce.

I was fortunate to play a Music in the Round event a couple of years ago, and let me tell you, the vibe at the Via Vecchia Winery was one of the coolest I had ever been a part of. But don't take my word for it, move your ass going and get those tickets pronto at Musicintheround.com

Proceeds to benefit Rafiki AIDS Orphanage, Troubadour Performing Art Center, and the Cap Square Rotary Foundation.  - Colin G.

Must-see Jerry Lee Lewis Documentary Helps Explain My Questionable Decision Making - by Colin G.

January and February are really hard times for a small business like Colin's Coffee. Holiday credit binges are coming due and people just do not like to venture out in the cold, snowy weather. This is the time of year to tighten the belt, save your pennies and eat lots of cheap, tasty Sam's Club pasta with bottom-shelf red sauce warmed up in the microwave....at least for me anyway. 

Time to hunker down and just grind out some.....RING    RING    RING. 

"Colin, wake up,  Biggie is on the phone….."

"Uh, what, ok, yeah…..What? Is somebody dead? Why are you calling so late?"

"Jerry Lee Lewis is playing a Mississippi casino in nine days. There are only thirty tickets left. We have to go and we need to decide now. Are you in or are you out? I need to know right now. It's going to sell out any second. I will drive. It's The Killer for chrissakes. We saw Little Richard but we have never seen Chuck. We could make this happen. It's only 750 miles away. Come on, tickets are down to 23. We HAVE to do this. It's Jerry Lee Lewis….."

Are you in or are you out?

(cue dream sequence to this documentary…)

Jerry Lee Lewis - arrogant, opinionated & unquestionably the Real Deal. His music - uncompromising, self-assured & rooted deep in the sounds & culture of the Southern States of the USA. His personal life - full of both success & excess, in equal measure. All set alight by some of that Old Time Religion.

I'm broke, I'll have to find somebody to cover the shop and Owen has basketball that weekend but…I'm in. Damn you, Biggie. Damn you and Jerry Lee straight to hell. Pick me up at 3pm on Friday.

Click here for details on where to meet up. for the Watershed tour stop in Memphis.

Watershed Drinking Tour Stop in Memphis January 31st / February 1st.

For immediate release: Watershed has announced a two-stop Mississippi Delta tour for the weekend of January 31st in Memphis, Tennessee. Fans of the book Hitless Wonder are familiar with the groundbreaking "Drinking Tour" concept first pioneered by the band in 2012. The "Drinking Tour" allows fans to interact with the band without all the hassle and noise of an actual performance. If you would like to actually see the band live, click here for a pro shot full concert. on Youtube.

Saturday January 31st Watershed guitarist Colin Gawel, along with legendary road manager Mike "Biggie" McDermott, will be making a 7 pm appearance at Sam's Town Casino in Tunica, Mississippi. The exact location is TBA, but expect them to be at a bar near the River Palace Entertainment Complex where later that same evening they will be attending a performance by Jerry Lee Lewis. Click here for details on the show. 

Sunday February 1st Biggie and Colin will be joined by roadie extraordinaire and rock historian Ricki C. at the fabulous Buccaneer Lounge (1368 Monroe Ave, Memphis, TN 38104 Click here for more info). The event is scheduled to begin at 5 pm or whenever they finish touring Graceland earlier that day.   

Conversation topics expected to be covered over the weekend include: Sun Studio, Dewey Phillips, Stax Records, Big Star, Cheap Trick, Elvis, Jerry Lee crashing into Graceland, Watershed crashing into Dash Rip Rock's van in Memphis, BBQ, Mike Conely is a bad ass, Cheap Trick again, the Memphis Yellow Fever epidemic, where are we going to watch the Super Bowl?, Biggie's under-inflated balls and much more. 

Admission to both events is free though fans are encouraged to buy drinks and/or chocolate milk (Ricki) for band members. They will be happy to sign any Watershed-related records, CD's, or books. 

If you missed September's Watershed drinking tour stop in St. Paul, Minnesota, you missed a great time with Joe Oestreich and Mike "Biggie" McDermott. Don't miss this one. See you on historic Beale Street.

details at watershedcentral.com   or follow @colingawel on Twitter.

A Belated Year End Note From Pencilstorm "Founder" Colin Gawel

I would like to personally thank the 24,000 different people who visited Pencilstorm last year, but that would take too long. Truth be told, I have exactly ZERO idea if 24,000 is a number of which to be proud or to be embarrassed by. To a life-long musician and coffee shop owner like myself, any number north of say, 45, seems like plenty, so imagining an arena full of people reading Pencilstorm is beyond flattering. 

However, I do have time to thank the individual contributors who have enriched my life during 2014 and hopefully yours.  

- Ricki C is my older brother in rock & roll and without him Pencilstorm might as well be fifty monkeys clanking out a Nickelback review for the Drudge report. In addition to writing great stories, Ricki edits and corrects all kinds of shoddy grammar, giving Pencilstorm just the faintest hint of professionalism. In gratitude to his work, I promise to google "How to Write a Headline" sometime in 2015. Thanks Ricki.

- It took me two years to finally finish Doris "I Wrote Team of Rivals" Goodwin's Teddy Roosevelt bio but it wasn't all for naught. Though I had heard the term "muckrakers" once or twice during 10th grade history class, I had no idea how important McClure's magazine was to shaping American life as we know it. That aside, editor S.S. McClure identified talented writers and gave them a platform to showcase their efforts and I knew I had to do a better job of reaching out in a similar way. There are just so many talented writers floating around in cyberspace. We may not have added an Ida Tarbell or Lincoln Steffens, but in my opinion we took a huge step up in 2014.

 Thanks to these new Pencilstorm contributors:

Brent Baver for covering OSU Football

Scott Carr for covering rock n roll history

The North Coast Posse for covering Browns football

Ryan Haye and Kevin J Elliot for covering Reds baseball

Jim Brazytis for covering Tribe baseball

Greg Bartrum for covering World Cup Soccer

Nick Jezierny for covering Watershed.

I'm sure I'm forgetting people but it's late and my brain just isn't what it used to be. As for our regular writers, surely you must be used to being taken for granted by now or you would have already quit. As always, I sincerely appreciate all your efforts in keeping this labor of love afloat. Love will keep us together. Unless you have already quit. Then love isn't keeping us together, but it's still an open relationship. No hard feelings. Sneak out for a fling whenever the mood strikes. I am usually working in the toolshed out back most nights after 9 pm…. and, if you know somebody who is over-achieving with their Facebook posts, have them send us something through our submissions page. We are always looking for new contributors.

Anyway, in closing, let me add: Pencilstorm rules, Grantland drools. Please tell a friend about us if you can. Not verbally of course, but that social media Facetwitter thing all the kids are into nowadays. Thanks again and Happy 2015.  - Colin G.

Keep The Hope of New Year's Alive All Year by Wal Ozello

What are you demanding for yourself this year?

A new relationship?  Making an old one new? Ending one that’s on a road to nowhere?

A change in habit? A healthier lifestyle? A commitment to losing weight? Handling stress better?

Fiscal improvement? Investing money? A new job? Less work?

Why do we place such pressures on ourselves over the tick tock of a clock?

If you really think about it, January 1, 2015, is just another day. But most people on this earth treat it as catalyst for a personal makeover. With a simple move of the second hand on our watches, we wash away the pain and anguish of the previous three hundred and sixty-five days and embrace the brand new year with hope for awesome opportunities ahead.

All because Pope Gregory XIII said the year would end one second and then start the New Year a second later. Think about that. We’re basing our emotional attitudes on what some guy declared almost five hundred years ago.

Instead of counting seconds, why not make each day count?  Imagine waking up every day and having that same hopeful feeling you do on January 1st?  That feeling you’ve wiped your slate clean and can achieve anything you want to?

Why do we wait three hundred and sixty-five days to have that euphoric feeling?

There’s a lot we need to accomplish in the days, weeks, and months ahead. Lots of things we still need to fix from 2014. As a nation, we need to figure out how we can correct pockets of excessive force used by law enforcement AND at the same time improve the appreciation we have of those that gracefully serve.

We need to figure out how to battle world-wide diseases without being isolationists AND protect American lives.

We need to establish a better, easier path for those that want to share in the American Dream AND protect the foundational laws that make this nation strong.

We need to help defeat oppressiveness in remote parts of the world as the Middle East AND set them up for success to pave their own path to freedom.

We can’t let these issues disappear with the New Year.

At the same time, January 1 can’t be our only day of hope. More challenges will arise in 2015. Let’s commit to tackling them head on as they appear, instead of hoping they fade away when the clock changes from 2015 to 2016.

One day isn’t enough to change the world.  We need a lifetime.

Wal Ozello is  a science fiction techno-thriller novelist and the author of Assignment 1989: The Time Travel Wars  and Revolution 1990. He's a resident of Upper Arlington, Ohio and a frequent customer at Colin's Coffe

Santa Is Real... My Letter To My Sons On Christmas Day by Wal Ozello

Every Christmas morning my wife and I leave a personal letter from Santa to my sons. Since my youngest son is coming of age we fear that this may be the last year he believes in Santa. It's about time that he knows the truth.  So instead of pulling him aside and breaking the news to him before going into Middle School, we decided we'd leave a special Christmas note for the boys this year explaining how real Santa really is.

Here's a slightly edited version of the note below.  From all of us at Pencilstorm, a Happy Holidays to you and yours!

Dear Ozello Boys:

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

You’ve had a wonderful year and you boys never cease to amaze me with how kind and loving you are.

You’ve both been doing great at school, at sports, but most importantly have shown love and kindness to everyone. It’s beautiful to watch you grow and become the men you’re going to be! You have strong compassion for others and are such a great friends.

Now that you boys are older, I’d like to address a question that every child your age is asking.

I am real?

Yes I am.

I am as real as the love your parents have for you because that’s what I am. Santa means love and it’s been the magical way that your parents have shown you how much they care about you. Mom and Dad love you immensely and it’s been them all these years who have listened to your heart’s desires and searched high and low for the special gifts that you’ve really, really wanted. It’s been Mom and Dad who work tirelessly to wrap your presents and sneak them under the tree on Christmas Eve after you’ve gone to bed. (Okay, some years it’s been mostly Mom.) It’s been Mom and Dad who write these notes every year and eat the cookies and carrots.

Why do they do this? Why have they worked so hard to keep up this illusion? It’s simple. To see your magical smiles of pure joy when you wake up on Christmas morning and open up your gifts, especially the ones that you didn’t even realize you wanted. They do it because they love you with their whole heart.

So let’s all make a deal. Now that we’ve told you the “secret of Santa,” Mom and Dad will still continue showing you love, especially on Christmas, if you promise to continue growing into the awesome, amazing, loving, caring and beautiful boys that you are destined to be. Deal?  I don’t think it will be very hard for any of us to keep up our end of the bargain. Together, we'll treat every day like it's Christmas and keep the magic of Santa alive forever.

Love,

Santa

Wal Ozello is  a science fiction techno-thriller novelist and the author of Assignment 1989: The Time Travel Wars  and Revolution 1990. He's a resident of Upper Arlington, Ohio and a frequent customer at Colin's Coffee.