Pig-A-Palooza 2009
August 4, 2009 at 11:53 pm | Posted in Music in the Ville | 2 CommentsTags: Musician for a Musician, New American Groove, Page One Studios, The Toys
Great food, awesome live music, and over two hundred of their closest friends and neighbors came together this past weekend to celebrate Pig-A-Palooza 2009 in Valley Grove, West Virginia, hosted by Carla and Jeff Hayes and Chuck Rahi.
Jeff & Carla Hayes
For the past five years, I have attended this neighborhood block party and enjoyed music by bands from all over the Ohio Valley.
It all began in 2004 when Jeff, who is a musician, organized a block party to meet his new neighbors. He said he wanted to have fun and listen to live music with some of his musician friends. He never intended it to continue, but neighbor Chuck Rahi offered to help him and the next year Pig-A-Palooza began.
Neighbors Nora and Ron Black also help Jeff and his incredibly organized wife Carla make the large event come off without a hitch. Well, there was one slight hitch Saturday morning when Ron was roasting 30 chickens and a 125-pound pig over an open fire.
Nora & Ron Black
He was basting the pig with a sauce Jeff had made with just a little too much butter. Flames shot up and singed his hair and his arm but Ron just poured a little beer over it and kept on cooking.
Chuck Rahi & Mr. Pig
Everyone has a good time and friends and neighbors bring food to share.
friends having fun
New American Groove - top L-R Justin Rector, & John Whorton, bottom L-R Jonathan Banco, & Mark Gray
Some of the musicians who perform donate their time to give back to their fans.
“New American Groove,” “Mark and Curt,” and “The Jimmy Lay Band,” are returning bands. New to Pig-A-Palooza this year were “Page One Project,” “Mongo and Buck,” and the ever popular and my favorite, “The Toys” who closed the show.
The Toys - top L-R Carlo Vohl, Jeff Hayes, & Dino Giovannone, bottom L-R Johnny DiCarlo, Bruce, Virtue, & Josh Cochran
Jeff was a member of the original “Toys” in 1981 and a former member of “The Jimmy Lay Band.” After “The Toys” reunited in 2005 to raise money for musician Rick Treglia, and again in 2007 for drummer John Peck, they decided to continue playing together.
Page One Project - top L-R Curt Lehman, & Jeff Hayes, bottom L-R Tim Malone, & Danny Page
Jeff is also a member of “Musicians for a Musician,” a group of four musicians who devote their time and energy to raise money for local musician’s medical expenses.
Pig-A-Palooza 2009 was a great success and if people keep asking for it, there just might be a Pig-A-Palooza 2010.
The Dean Martin Festival Kickoff Concert
June 19, 2009 at 9:43 pm | Posted in Events in the Ville, Music in the Ville | 1 CommentTags: Dave Salera, Dean Martin Festival, Deana Martin, Lauren Mascitti, ohio, old fort steuben, Russ Loniello, steubenville
Last night I attended the Dean Martin Festival Kickoff Concert held at Old Fort Steuben on South Third Street in Steubenville, Ohio.
Dean Martin Fans
Over a thousand Ohio Valley residents and many out of town Dean Martin fans enjoyed the outdoor concert that began the weekend festivities. People came from all over the United States and many fans have continued coming back to the annual festival since its beginnings in 1996.
Deana Martin, Dean Martin’s daughter, began the show with songs from her new CD, “Volare.” She told the crowd volare means to fly and said it was also the name of her private plane that she and husband John Griffeth used to fly in for the festival. Both Griffeth and Martin are pilots.
Deana Martin
Deana signs her new CD, "Volare"
After the show, Martin met with her fans to sign her new CD taking time to chat with each one and pose for pictures.
Dave Salera sings Frank Sinatra
It was a beautiful evening and fans of all ages enjoyed songs by performers Peter Teris, from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Michele Anastasio, jazz singer from South Florida, Dave Salera, as Frank Sinatra, and Eric Richardson and Matt Macis as the comedy team Dean and Jerry.
Another entertainer who wowed the crowd was 17 year-old country singer, Lauren Mascitti, from Canton, Ohio. Mascitti won the crowd over when she belted out the famous Italian American Connie Francis song from the 50’s, “Mama,” to add a little Italian flavor to her country line up of songs. This is Mascitti’s fourth year at the Dean Martin Festival and she has been singing professionally since the age of seven. She also just finished recording her sixth CD in Nashville, Tennessee.
Lauren Mascitti
The evening ended when Russ Loniello from Madison, Wisconsin wowed the entire crowd with his tribute to Dean Martin. Even though he resembles Dean Martin and sounds a lot like him, Loniello prefers to pay tribute to Martin in his shows rather than impersonate him.
An entertainer of over 12 different styles of music who has performed all over the world, Loniello began to concentrate on Dean Martin tributes in 1983. Since then he has performed over 2,500 tributes to the famous Steubenville son and considers Dean Martin music his signature style. This is Loniello’s ninth year to perform at the festival.
Russ Loniello
The annual Dean Martin Festival not only brings a community together to reminisce about their famous native son and enjoy his music, it also brings together a new community of friends and entertainers who travel to the Ohio Valley each year … and memories are made of this.
Deana Martin & fan
For more information about the Dean Martin Festival or Deana Martin go to www.deanmartinsteubenville.com Or www.deanamartin.com For more information about Russ Loniello go to www.russloniello.com and for more information about Lauren Mascitti go to www.laurenmascitti.com
Wheeling Celtic Celebration
March 10, 2009 at 12:30 pm | Posted in Events in the Ville, Music in the Ville | Leave a commentTags: ohio valley, wheeling, wheeling celtic celebration
In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, more than 4,000 people from the Ohio Valley attended the 13th annual Celtic Celebration this past Saturday at the Wheeling Artisan Center.
You didn’t have to be Irish to enjoy the festivities and there was plenty of Celtic music, dancing, food, and green beer, well mostly Guinness, to go around.
Celtic Marketplace photo by J L Marini
The event also featured a Celtic Marketplace that included Thousand Oaks Barrel Company, Celtic jewelry and T-shirts.
Festival goers enjoyed traditional Irish dancing by the Pittsburgh Scottish Country Dancers, Bell School of Irish Dance, the Pittsburgh Ceili Club, and the Burke School of Irish Dance.
Burke School of Irish Dance
The Macdonald Pipe Band of Pittsburgh treated the crowd to some Patriotic Music and a little history with their Irish songs.
Mike Gallagher, Gallowglass, and The Odd Couple, Paul and Peggy from Brigid’s Cross, who are not only talented but also extremely funny, entertained a toe tapping and hand-clapping crowd.
Paul & Peggy from Brigid's Cross photo by J L Marini
And the nationally known Irish rock band, The Prodigals from New York City, closed the show. The Wheeling National Heritage Corporation sponsors the yearly one-day event.
Wheeling Artisan Center photo by J L Marini
Located on the corner of 14th and Main St. in downtown Wheeling, West Virginia, the Wheeling Artisan Center is a renovated three-story industrial building. The center displays West Virginia arts and crafts and has a 7,500 square foot loft for community events, shows and festivals. The center also includes River City Restaurant. For more information and a list of events visit, www.artisancenter.com or call 304-232-1810.
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